Satin peered over her cup, the fire fluid tasting particularly good this morning. "Did anyone else hear…perplexing sounds from Gossamer and Zorander's room last night? Or, was it just me?"

Drayce squeezed Satin's knee with his large hand. "Pick your words carefully, girl."

Her gaze skittered toward him, and, quickly, she focused on her twin, Thistle, who nodded. "Yeah, I heard it. It sounded like a spanking to me."

Cloven dropped his fork onto his plate with a clatter. "You know none of this is your business, right?"

Satin furrowed her eyebrows at him. "Well, I'm not quite sure how to avoid listening unless I use hearing blockers. Their room is just a couple of doors down, Cloven. How about you mind your own business as well."

Stiffening, his eyes widened and he looked at his older brother, Drayce, before redirecting his attention back to Satin. "You invited all of us to answer if I remember correctly. And let's keep it in mind, you're not allowed to speak to me in this manner."

"That's not an appropriate response, Satin. Apologize." Drayce didn't even pick his head up from eating. He knew she'd obey. He had spent years getting her to this point of submission.

She growled in her chest, her arms crossing over her breasts, and she wanted to slap the smirk off Cloven's face. Her brother-in-law loved nothing more than causing trouble. "Sorry, Cloven."

"Mmmm, I'm not sure I'm accepting that apology; it doesn't sound sincere. I'll give you a chance to be genuine, or I'll be talking to your husband."

"I'm right here, Cloven. There's no need to be melodramatic. We all know the rules of privacy and decorum around here, but we're also four couples who discipline their spouses, so there's no way to avoid overhearing private discussions."

"Oh, by the gods, did it happen again?" Zorander strode into the room, his silver robe swaying behind him, his white hair and beard striking, along with his piercing blue eyes. For an older man, Satin found him very attractive and often wondered if her husband would resemble him when he aged.

I hope so.

"Yes, Father." Drayce, although making eye contact with his father, quickly became interested in his breakfast.

Satin did the same, peeping glances at the others, confirming they all were uncomfortable with the knowledge of what happened last night and the inquiring stare of their king.

"Dammit!" Zorander flung his napkin onto his lap, before reaching for the covered pan with the obulusks. The eggs of the exotic bird were rich, creamy and very blue. He heaped a pile of them onto his plate before pointing a fork at every single one of them. "None of you—not a single one—will make mention of this to your mother. She doesn't need the added stress or embarrassment. Clear?"

"Yes, sir," they all mumbled.

"And another thing, none of you will discuss or bring up Christmas. We can discuss it another day, just not today."

"Wow, is there trouble in paradise?" Cloven quirked an eyebrow at his father. And Satin thought, again, that her husband's brother would probably never master the art of subtlety.

"Cloven, for fuck's sake, will you just hush? Don't push any of us today, please." Zorander glared at his youngest.

Swallowing his food, Cloven nodded slowly. "Sure, Dad. I was just— Never mind."

"Thank you."

The tinkling of forks and spoons on plates was the only sound in the room, and Satin swore it was deafening. The air was thick enough to cut it. She knew the men shouldn't have approached their parents about the possibility of going away for Christmas. Gossamer adored the holiday, and obviously, it had caused a ruckus the day before, resulting in the discipline session they all heard the night before.

Gossamer gracefully entered the dining room. Her demure flowing dress was a striking green, almost the same color as her eyes, and contrasted beautifully with her white hair. As a couple, the older Quinns were stunning and their marriage a model for all of their children.

"My goodness, it's awfully quiet in this room this morning. Is someone in trouble?" Gossamer sat down, placing her napkin in her lap before glancing at her youngest, the culprit of the family's trouble, most days.

"Why are you looking at me? This isn't my fault." Cloven looked at his mother with wide, innocent eyes.

"Isn't it?" Artemis narrowed his eyes at his brother. "You pushed too far, and now we're all sitting here like we're in time out."

Tossing his napkin onto the table, Cloven flung his arms in the air. "All I did was ask a question."

"Quiet! It's enough!" Zorander's nostrils flared with his annoyance.

It wasn't unusual for dinner—or any meal—to have an outburst of some sort. The Quinn men were all dominant and opinionated, and verbalizing their feelings tended to become heated, at best.

Clearing her throat, Satin plunged forward. "The women and I were hoping it would be possible for us to go Christmas shopping on Planet Diviljak today. They have huge sales over there, and it's close by. We'd be back before dinner."

Artemis' fork stopped midway between his mouth and plate, his eyebrows furrowed, before turning to look at Thistle. "You're not going alone, little girl. I'll chaperone."

Satin's twin rolled her eyes. "Daddy." She dragged the word out like a petulant three-year-old.

"No, Thistle. End of discussion."

Since marrying Artemis, Thistle had come out of her shell and many days was sassier and more independent than Satin ever remembered seeing her sister. But, today, she decided to be agreeable and, instead of arguing, nodded her head silently.

Artemis turned to the other men. "You don't need me for anything here, do you? I know things are better with Zelora and Alistair, but I think we should keep them supervised, just in case."

"I agree wholeheartedly." Drayce looked to his father for a reaction.

Zorander nodded. "We're just training the dragons today, nothing out of the ordinary. You women follow orders and stay together. We don't want another episode of kidnapping like they did with my sweet, Gossamer. Sweetie, are you going with the girls today?"

Gossamer smiled. "I'd like to go, if that's okay with you, my dear?"

"Of course, you may go. You'll each ride your dragons, and be mindful of your surroundings. We don't want any trouble."

"Yes, Sir." All four women smiled cheerfully, agreeing with the king.

Satin knew she would have agreed to just about anything to get out of the castle. Since Gossamer's kidnapping, months before, the men had been overly protective and didn't like them venturing from the castle, let alone the grounds. A day trip would be perfect. They could shop, go out for lunch, and feel free.

Even if Artemis was tagging along, he was the easier of the men. Since he was a Daddy Dom, he leaned more toward coddling and keeping the women happy. But, they had all seen how stern and harsh he could be, so none of them pushed him too far. But when given a choice, Artemis was always the one they'd choose as a bodyguard.

"I see trouble written all over this." Cloven shook his head, focused on his plate of food, not even looking up at the others.

"Why would you say such a thing?" Wish finally spoke up. Satin realized that her sister-in-law had been unusually quiet during this morning.

"Because I'm realistic and know what you women are like when you're together. And, I know the trouble you've caused just this morning on your own."

Wish suddenly turned in her chair, gasping loudly, her cheek turned bright red.

Cloven smirked, knowingly. "Having some trouble, little girl?"

"F— Never mind."

"Good catch. You're already having trouble, no need to add to your misery." Twirling his finger in a circle, he said to Wish, "Why don't you just focus on yourself and your meal before you end up getting spanked, adding to your sitting issues."

"Oh. My. Goddess Gem. You have her sitting on a butt plug, don't you?"

Drayce shouted, "Satin!"

And then Thistle gasped and Wish shouted, "Shut the fuck up, Satin!"

"And now you've done it." Cloven slammed his hands on the table, jumping up and snatching his wife by the elbow out of her chair, dragging her unceremoniously out of the room.

Wish yelled over her shoulder, "Don't leave without me!"

Yanking her attention back to him, she heard Cloven say, "Don't you worry about the women. What were you thinking, swearing at your sister like that?"

"Ow! Not so fast; it hurts."

"Not as much as it's going to hurt."

Everyone at the table had their heads turned toward the stairs watching the commotion, and then with a shrug, the conversation continued as if nothing occurred.

"Zorander, have you noticed Azure, Satin's dragon, is acting a bit odd?" Artemis chewed his food carefully, waiting for a response.

"I have noticed. I was hoping to have Satin spend some time with him today, but I'll do it, instead. Maybe going through the paces will help him straighten up and fly right."

Satin coughed, choking a bit on her fire fluid. "I'm sure he's fine. It's fall, and they get a bit skittish around that time."

Drayce nodded. "Yeah, I thought that was it, too, but it seems to be more. He's just acting odd. I can't place my finger on what's going on."

"Well, I was hoping to ride him to Diviljak today. Is that going to be a problem?"

Zorander picked his head up, looking at his son, Drayce, and then the other two men, Artemis and Cloven.

The latter shrugged nonchalantly. Drayce paused, staring at Satin and then said to Zorander, "It's okay with me. We can work him tomorrow just as easily, and Artemis will be with her if he starts acting too skittish."

"True." Pointing his long finger at her, Zorander warned, "You make sure to let Artemis know if he does anything out of the ordinary. We don't want you hurt. Make sure you're tethered to Artemis, just in case."

"Yes, sir. But I'm sure he'll be fine. Azure is just sensitive. The change in temperature and season probably just had him feeling young the other day."

"Could be."

"If you all don't mind, Thistle and I will leave to get ready for the trip. We both need to dress for the day and…you know…get made up."

Drayce and Artemis rolled their eyes. Drayce spoke for the both of them, "Just hurry."

She kissed him on the cheek, and Thistle did the same with Artemis. Linking arms, they both ran up the stairs.