The Wood Knot Warrior

Then Karter remembered something. He opened his eyes and turned to Dell. "What did Commander Falco want when he dropped by today?"

Dell wasn't pleased he'd been blindsided by Eryllis, but the change of topic was welcome. "He's asking for our help with a group of Orc who are encroaching on the land set aside for the trade route to Portoa. The negotiators will be heading out two days from now to educate them on what the boundary markers mean. We'll go along to ensure the Orcs get the message and to keep the Human messengers alive in the process."

"The commander is getting more comfortable with you two," Karter said.

Dell shrugged. "As comfortable as he can be with weapons he can point at problems but not control." He sighed. "This is the third time he's asked for help, and it always feels like he's being forced into it."

Karter nodded but had no advice for him. "How long will you be gone?" he asked instead as he frowned in concern.

"No more than four days. I'll leave you with the ingredient list for the next dinner event. If you could make the arrangements for us, I'll make an old favorite, pot pies," Dell said with a smile, knowing his father loved them too.

Karter's eyes lit up as he imagined the profits. "Can you make enough for a four-day event?"

Dell frowned. "Four days? Three days at current volume levels is a strain on the crew. They'd need compensation for adding another day."

"Ten percent bonus should do it, prorated by experience," Karter offered.

"Twenty percent with no prorating as the workload isn't less for anyone," Dell insisted. Karter was about to argue when Dell sweetened the deal. "You can cover five percent from my share."

Karter smiled and nodded.

"But you're doing grandpa duty while we're away. Maggie can't be expected to do everything! She has her own family," Dell scolded. Karter raised his hands in surrender as he knew it wasn't a hardship taking care of these two.

"Did I see Wizard Ducane drop by as well today?" Karter asked their live-in Druid.

Eryllis smiled. "Yes, he was here for his last treatment."

"I thought he might be dying his hair and beard. Were you able to fix that?" the man asked in surprise.

"It's not dye. We were able to reverse the aging caused by the magics he used when we first met," she explained.

Karter sat up quickly in surprise, but she held up a hand to stop his next question. "Sorry, it doesn't work on anyone but wizards. He had to channel the same magic for me to repair the damaged areas. He was artificially aged so that could be reversed. Natural aging cannot."

"Obviously, the Wizard has no issue with you retaining the staff. Especially when you can use it to give him more life!" Karter said a little enviously. Eryllis just smiled and shrugged.

They settled down to enjoy the evening then gradually made their way inside.

Karter said his goodnights and headed off to his bedroom after kissing the foreheads of his grandkids.

Kharza disappeared before Dell and Eryllis put their kids to bed. When they entered their bedroom, Kharza was in their bed, completely naked.

She'd shared Dell's bed with him occasionally to satisfy her needs, with Eryllis' knowledge and permission, of course.

But this was the first time she'd been there with Eryllis in the room as well.

Before Dell could say anything, Eryllis dropped her dress to her feet and climbed onto the bed next to the green warrior.

"I want to start making our baby tonight," Kharza said.

"And I want to start making our third. We said three would be our limit, and I don't want the third to be too much younger than the others," Eryllis explained.

As Dell slowly stripped off his clothes for the enjoyment of the two ladies, he counted his lucky stars.

How his life had become so entwined with Kharza's mystified him but delighted him as well. He could see in her eyes that she was ready to open her heart to him... and their child. That added extra lift to his erection which jumped into view as his pants dropped. The ladies purred with excitement.

His eyes locked onto Eryllis' and they shared a look filled with their deep and complete love. She'd saved him from his loneliness, and he'd done the same for her. They'd become greater than their separate selves, and with their children, that love was growing daily.

He smiled as he knelt on the end of the bed, gazing at the two women smiling hungrily back at him.

As a Master Chef, appeasing hunger was something he was exceptionally good at, but this would need an extra hands-on effort.

He was up for that.