47. Dance with me?
For the next hour, Anya insisted on getting her ready for the evening that lay ahead, determined that she would be a total knockout. Netayah eyed her reflection. “You truly have a knack for this.”
Netayah stood there in the dress she'd chosen for the evening, ta sleek green dress that hugged her curves, that was held together by thin straps and backless save for strings that crisscrossed her back. She stood three inches taller than her normal stature due to the heels she'd put on, her hair placed atop her head in a cascade of curls-where did the curls come from? Eye shadow that perfectly matched the dress was applied, a thin lighter of pink lip gloss, then encrusted diamond hoops hung from her ears.
Anya smiled. “Thank you, my lady, it means a lot that you approve. I've always wanted to be a professional dresser.”
“Then why don't you?” she asked, “You certainly had the knack?”
The maid blushed sheepishly. “Well, I was under the internship of the royal dressmaker, but Alpha Xios had informed me of your desire to have me as your personal servant.”
“I thought....”
Anya nodded. “I know.”
“Then why did you accept?”
“Because it was an honor to have been asked,” Anya felt compelled to inform her of the reason why she'd been persuaded to accept the position she'd been placed in. “It's life-changing for anyone to work in the palace, but as your personal servant. So now instead of being a professional dresser to the pack, I get to play dress up with our leading lady. Or the one who will become the queen bee around here.”
Netayah grinned broadly, definitely looking forward to her with each day, “Well, I am grateful you agreed, you are such a breath of fresh air. Feel free to play dress up with me anytime, this is all so new to me that I don't actually know how to dress half the time, so it will definitely come in handy.”
Less than forty minutes later Anya led her through the vast mansion of the palace, stopping when she came before the double-wide French doors of the veranda. She motioned her on. “Now this is where I must bid you farewell, the alphas are very anxious about your arrival, I don't think you'll have a problem finding them.”
She was right.
Stepping out the doors she crossed the veranda to spy the row of candlelights running along the manicured lawn, creating a path of light. Amazed at the extent the both of them had gone to for her tonight she followed along the path, to see the flowers on either side of her. The path of lights led her toward a pond a good distance from the palace, where a blanket was spread out and a mountain of pillows decorated the area. Then all around the blankets were an assortment of trays and tables, realizing the alphas had created her their version of an elaborate picnic.
Standing on either side of the picnic were her wonderful mates, growing far more handsome with each passing day, the sight made her heart flutter. Bearing witness to the romantic setting Netayah was deeply touched at the lengths the both of them had gone to, to make the evening special for them. For her. She'd heard so much about the intense connection that mates felt, about all the special moments shared and a love so intense it could sometimes hurt. She'd never imagined that one day she'd be lucky enough to experience that same depth of emotion and connection, though she'd often dreamt about it.
Xavier stepped forward upon seeing that she'd finally arrived for dinner, pressing a kiss to the side of her face, an arm hooked around her. “You look absolutely gorgeous, Netayah.”
“Thank you,” she blushed.
She'd no sooner reached the edge of the blanket when Xios finally approached her, kissing the opposite cheek, though his had gone closer to her lips. She was tempted to turn her head ever so slightly to give him access to her lips, though at the last minute, she stopped herself, too embarrassed to try.
“Stunning,” he growled.
His muscular arm took over where his brother had been holding onto her, helping her step over the pillows he assisted her to sit on the blanket. Leaning back against the mountain of pillows that'd been brought out, her legs were folded up under herself, Netayah glanced between them. “I see you've both been busy.”
“A little,” Xavier agreed.
Her eyes took in the vast enormity of food that'd been brought out for the evening feast, feeling mildly guilty at the hard work it must've taken them to accomplish. “I truly hope it didn't take you away from your duties. I appreciate the effort the both of you have gone to for me, it means the world to me, but neither do I want you neglecting the duties to your people. I know how difficult it is for someone in your position, all the responsibilities and people counting on you.”
Xios's hand came down to rest on her thigh, abruptly bringing an end to her statements, the sneaky grin assured her he wasn't innocent of his actions. “Hush now love, you have no reasons to be concerned. We have not neglected our people, this pack runs quite smoothly if I do say so myself.”
“My brother is right,” Xavier leaned into her from the opposite side, a hand came out to brush hair out of her face, unable to miss how his fingertips grazed her neck. “Our k--pack is well taken care of, which gives us plenty of time to focus on you.”
“Good,” she proclaimed.
“Now it's time to feed you,” both said.
That is precisely what they meant.
Netayah spent the next hour tasting the various different dishes that the twin alphas had prepared for the evening, the food delightfully scrumptious. And when they said they'd feed her, they meant it. This time the twins were intent on feeding their destined mate, by their own hands, either spooning her food or hand-feeding it to her. Strangely she didn't complain about their choices, merely opened her mouth when she was instructed to, allowing them to make the choice.
Netayah had become accustomed to the special brand of treatment that she'd received from them by this point, allowing the both of them the choice of what to do. Though deep down, in that part of herself she wasn't fully prepared to acknowledge or at least admit to others quite yet, Netayah liked it. She reveled in the treatment she received, the way their eyes roved over her like she was the most important person in the world, hoping it'd always be like this.
Setting aside the food when she'd declared to finally have had enough, Xavier slowly climbed up from where he sat and extended a hand out to her. “Come dance with me.”
She shook her head. “I don't think so.”
“Come on,” he cajoled, “dance with me.”
She blushed. “I don't know how to.”
Xavier arched a skeptical brow at her. “Come on, sweetheart, it's not like I'm asking you to go into battle for me, I just want the pleasure of dancing with you. It isn't as difficult as it looks, I promise you.”
Finally conceding to the wishes of the man, unable to bring herself to disappoint him, Netayah allowed him to help her back to her feet. “Okay, but any injuries are on you.”
“I'll take full responsibility,” he proclaimed.
Then with that, he hooked an arm around her, guided her out to an opened field beneath the tree, he hooked an arm around her as he swayed. Fifteen minutes later, just as she'd guessed would be the outcome she'd stepped on his feet at least a dozen times already, she stepped on him again.
“I warned you,” she cried, embarrassed. “I'm terrible.”
“Nonsense,” he denied.
“Let me help out,” his brother said.
Xios approached the two of them beneath the tree, grabbing the hand of the girl that'd been placed on his brother, he spun her around to face him. Large hands then came to settle down on her slender hips as she was brought as close to him as possible, their chest literally brushed together. Then as her arms came up around the man that wasn't too tall due to her heels, the two of them swayed together to the sounds of nature. Netayah stared up at the man before her, overwhelmed with emotion as he twirled her around beneath the starry night, far more romantic than she'd thought.
For the longest time Netayah found herself being switched back and forth between the two of them, though there were other times that she felt the press of the both of them. The dance between the three of them was done so perfectly, so effortlessly, the twins so perfectly entuned neither of them seemed to need words to react. As she personally experienced the way the two of them chose to spend the evening, it gave her a better idea of how their life could go. If their life together would be like this, having two men so devoted to her, finding no resentment or anger, just focused on their combined happiness, it'd be absolutely perfect. Netayah was eagerly looking towards what the future held for them together, what between the three of them would be life, being given a new lease on life. For the first time, she was full of hope.