"Bear" and the Bhannan
Chapter 1 - Part 3 Law & Order
Previously, Balgair and Heather were waiting for his other Bhannan to arrive. Amelia and Nell arrive on the Moon Touched and are overjoyed to finally be reunited with Balgair. Not wanting to waste a moment, two Bhannan demand to know where the nearest inn is.
Once they were all situated in the landau, Balgair found himself the object of three handsy women.
“Hey, calm down. We’ll be there in a minute,” he said, trying to intercept the hands. “Take us to The Black Swan,” he ordered the driver, who nodded and snapped the reins, urging the horses into action.
Within minutes, the carriage stopped in front of Brandyn’s inn, and Balgair was helping his bannaichean out of the landau. Amelia impatiently tapped her left foot while waiting for the rest to leave the carriage. As she waited, she eyed the outside of the inn, her thoughts turning to the idea that it was cared for. She glanced back in time to see her maighstir helping Nell down. Grabbing Nell by the arm, she headed for the door, stepped inside, and looked around.
“Wow,” Nell whispered in awe. “Heather is right. This place looks good.” She glanced over her shoulder as Balgair and Heather stepped inside and looked around for them.
“There you are,” Balgair stated as he caught up to his bhannan. “let’s see if Brandyn has a suite left.” Then, stepping ahead of them, he reached the bar and tapped the top.
“Afternoon, Captain,” the barkeep greeted him with a smile. “What can we do for you?”
Balgair merely raised a brow and pretended to be slightly offended. “Is this how you treat your new Reeve?”
The barkeep chuckled, reaching up and pretending to brush something off the uniform. “Always.” He leaned forward, an honest smile on his face. “Who are these beautiful ladies?”
“Beautiful?” the red-haired caid-ghin grinned, warming up to the tall barkeep. “See, you aren’t the only person who thinks we are beautiful.”
Balgair pretended to roll his eyes. “These beautiful women are my bhanna. Brandyn, this is Amelia.” He placed a hand on her shoulder. “And this is Nell,” he placed his hand on her hip and held her.
Brandyn’s eyes widened slightly. “Ah, these are the mysterious duo.” He half-bowed his head. “It is a pleasure to meet you.” The barkeep glanced back at Balgair. “What do you need?”
Balgiar took a deep breath and slowly blew it out through tight lips. “I need one of your suites for the afternoon.”
The barkeep slid a book from under the bar and opened it up. He ran his fingers down the page. “I don’t know. All my rooms may be full.” He kept a straight face until Amelia batted her eyes at him. “Yes, beautiful one?”
Amelia leaned on the bar, pushing her breasts up from underneath. “Could we possibly get a room? It’s been so long since we’ve seen Maighstir Balgair.” She said in a low, breathy voice.
“Oh yes,” Nell bellied up to the bar, raising one hand to brush her hair over her shoulder. “It’s been so long since we’ve seen this big cuddly bear. We need a room.” She pursed her lips.
Heather watched the two women work the barkeep over, amazed at how quickly they won him to their side. She glanced up at Balgair and caught the trace of a smirk on his face.
Faced with the double attack from the two women, Brandyn blinked and leaned back, crossing his arms over his chest. “Really? How long has it been?” He kept his voice even, not buying into their playacting.
Amelia pursed her lips and coyly lowered her eyes. “It’s been six months.” She exhaled softly. “A long six months.”
Nell leaned into Balgair and licked her lips, drawing Brandyn’s attention from her bond-sister. “We’ve missed him so much,” she said, pretending to look around the common room. “If you don’t have a room, we could slip into that dark booth over there,” she pointed to a booth in the back.
Brandyn coughed, “I don’t think that will be necessary.” He smiled, ceding the point to the duo. “Suite number three is available.” He reached above his head and pulled a key from a peg. “Enjoy the suite,” he shook his head. “But try not to break the furniture.” He handed the key to Amelia.
Amelia took the key with a smile. “We can’t make any promises.” She placed a hand on Nell’s arm. “Nell has been known to break furniture. She gets overly excited.”
The Brunette pouted, “Shush, you redheaded trollop. You aren’t supposed to give out my secrets.” She gave a playful grin. “Get your breasts off the bar, sister.”
Amelia batted her eyes and winked, “I don’t have to. Balgair likes my breasts. Don’t you, Maighstir?” she asked with a grin.
Heather watched as the two women bantered with each other. To say she was fascinated was an understatement. [Are they always like this, Maighstir?] She meekly asked Balgair, not realizing Amelia and Nell could hear her.
[Yes, we are,] Amelia smugly answered, glancing over to the suddenly blushing Heather.
Balgair slipped an arm around Heather and pulled her close.
[I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to.] Heather started apologizing.
[What are you apologizing for?] Nell demanded with an edge to her voice.
[I don’t, I wasn’t, I] … Heather flustered for a moment as she tried to burrow into Balgair. Then she stopped and glared at Nell, who glared right back. She glanced up at Balgair, saw his hooded expression, and realized he wasn’t going to get involved.
Balgair glanced at Brandyn and asked, “Are you sure you’re ready for this wild ride?”
“What wild ride?” the barkeep retorted. “I’m smart enough to say no to more than one woman.” He paused, freezing as Amelia, Nell, and Heather glared at him.
“Are you saying that Maighstir Balgair is stupid?” Heather ventured, stepping up to defend what she perceived as an attack on Balgair.
“No, not at all,” The barkeep said, fighting his instinct to step back.
“Then are you saying that we are stupid?” Amelia inquired, squaring up beside Heather.
“Goddess forbid,” Brandyn said defensively as he watched the two bhanna.
“Then what are you saying?” Nell asked. “It’s not up to Balgair alone to decide who we accept into our bond.” She raised a brow. “We discussed each bond, except for Heather, because our lady of chains was hurrying Maighstir Balgair.”
Realizing he was outnumbered, the barkeep raised his hands in mock surrender. “I give.” He fixed his attention back on the Reeve. “If I have anything to say about it, I will not bond with another woman.”
Then, he was ambushed from behind, as Lucy quipped, “Who says it’s up to you, Maighstir?” The look of surprise almost made Balgair laugh. “What if I found someone I liked, who would make a good member of our family? Would you deny her a place?” The newly bound woman coyly asked her maighstir.
Brandyn stared at Lucy, wondering what he had gotten himself into. “Is this how it started for you? One woman, then another?”
Balgair, who had experienced this firsthand, could only nod. “Yes. I bonded Amelia when I freed her from a slaver who had tortured her.” Amelia smiled and leaned into him, a soft hum of happiness flowing through their bond. “It was only a few months later that we came across Nell, who was left for dead after a village raid. We took care of her for, what six months?” He glanced at the redhead, who nodded. “Before she was well enough to decide what she wanted to do. When she said she wanted to stay, Amelia took her aside and talked to her before letting me know she wanted to bond with us.” Deep, abiding love filtered through the bond as Nell cuddled to Balgair’s other side. “We were happy for six years, and then I met Heather.” Balgair pulled the blonde close and was rewarded with a smile.
Brandyn closed his eyes and sighed softly. “I must be insane, taking a woman like this to bond.” He groaned when Lucy snuck up behind him and wrapped her arms around him. “Enjoy your afternoon,” Lucy whispered something in his ear. “No, we can’t take the afternoon off. I can’t close just because you want to fool around.”
Lucy blushed and murmured something under her breath. “Yes, Maighstir. Maybe later?”
The barkeep rolled his eyes, “As if I can say no to you.”
“You can say no,” Lucy whispered.
Brandyn sighed. “Sure, I’ll be sleeping in that dark booth over there.” He pointed to the same booth as Amelia had indicated.
A wry smile crossed Lucy’s face. “Who said you’d get sleep?”
The barkeep shivered and looked at Balgair. “I fear that I’ve made a mistake.”
The Reeve chuckled, reaching over to clasp Brandyn’s shoulder. “Maybe, but you will never be alone again.”
Balgair’s bhannan nodded their agreement as they smiled at Brandyn, even as they tugged Balgair toward the staircase.
I’m always interested in hearing what you think. I would enjoy it if you’d
There’ll be more of this story coming up next week, so stay tuned.
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Interesting chapter! I sense I need to understand the social structure better to fully appreciate it. I've bought the preceding book and really need to get around to reading it.
I’m happy to talk to you, maybe we can work something out.