by Ines Johnson
Lord Khial must have read Jian's thoughts. His blue eyes widened, his nostrils flared. But he looked away, shame tinting the edges of his eyes. Lord Khial wanted that scene too, but Jian knew it would be some time before he might actually consider acting on it. The loss of Lord Dain still hung heavily in this house and in Lord Khial's heart.
"I am not what happens to me. I choose who I become." Lord Khial's clear blue eyes met Jian's. "You taught me that."
Before Jian could respond, the manservant, Rianald approached.
"Brother Jian, there is a Brother Gerry here to see you. He would not come inside. So, I escorted him to the gardens."
What was Elder Gerry doing here? Was there some emergency at the temple? Or... Jian hesitated to think it. Had he come to offer Jian his robes back? To welcome him back home?
Jian looked to Lord Khial who watched him, clearly wondering the same.
"Would you excuse me a moment, my lord?"
Lord Khial nodded. Jian rose, but then hesitated, his body wedged between two different worlds. Slowly, he turned and headed out the door to the gardens.
Elder Gerry stood admiring the lush blooms, a serene smile on his face. The old man turned at Jian's approach.
"And so, we meet in a garden instead of a field." Elder Gerry said by way of greeting.
It took Jian a moment to understand the reference. The last time they spoke, the older man talked of an ancient koan where individuals would meet in a field passed wrongs and rights. Koans didn't have concrete meanings. You were supposed to sit and think on them at length, potentially for a lifetime.
Jian had no patience for riddles, at the moment. "What brings you here, Elder Gerry?"
Elder Gerry must've heard the impatience in Jian's voice, because he got down to the point. "I come seeking your help, my friend."
Not son. Not brother.
"Whatever I can do, you know I will."
"Your success continues to bear us fruits."
"My success?"
"With Lady Chanyn. Word spread that she conceived a girl child on the first try and then conceived again shortly after her loss. Families of a few young girls are requesting our services as their young daughters approach marriageable age in the next few years."
"What are you asking me? To rejoin the temple?"
"No. I am not asking you to don the robes once more. Your heart is fully entrenched outside of the temple." He looked back to the house. "But, we need to recruit and train new brothers."
New brothers. It was what Jian had been hoping for, for years. Fresh recruits to replenish the ranks. But their reputation had been so dismal, their finances so negligible that not even street thirds saw them as a viable career opportunity.
"The brothers and I discussed it. We'd like you to work for the temple as a teacher. To train the next generation."
"A teacher? Not a brother?"
"A teacher has access to the temple, but outside of the temple, the temple does not have access to the teacher. The teacher would be free to love whom they chose. It seemed the best way through, to me."
Glancing back at the house, Jian saw Lord Khial watching them from the window. Lady Chanyn walked up behind him, her hand on her belly. She reached up to her husband and spoke. In answer, Lord Khial pointed out the window. Chanyn's face brightened when she saw Jian. She leaned in to her husband and smiled at her lover.
Jian looked back at the man who'd veritably raised him. The man who’d rescued him after being discarded. He opened his mouth and gave Elder Gerry the only answer he could.
Chapter Ten
Chanyn stood at the shelf and watched as the two figures ran their hands over her wardrobe. Her heart pounded rapid fire, like the percussion of a woodpecker's beak. She glanced up at what opportunity brought to her door.
"Are you ready?"
Khial framed the entrance to her bedroom where Tem and Brent fussed over the final touches to Chanyn’s dress. He was splendid in a beige suit. His brown skin like the fertile earth, his blue eyes a clear sky. A small smile played on his lips. It quivered like the smallest string on his violin.
Khial offered his arm. Chanyn put her hand in the crook, tucked safe and secure. They crossed the threshold together and headed towards the stairs.
"Are you sure about this?" she asked.
"You don't...?" Khial tensed the muscles of his bicep, trapping her fingers.
"No, no. I do."
Khial relaxed his arm. "Good." But then he frowned. "I just realized I never asked you if this is what you wanted to do. I just assumed. Dain and I knew each other for so long, we just always assumed what the other wanted. And in the times we were wrong..." He smiled that secret smile when he thought of the good times with Dain. "The times we were wrong, we spent convincing each other of the rightness of our positions."
He shared that secret smile with her. He'd begun doing that more often. Sharing stories of Dain along with small smiles.
"My assumption is right, though?" he said. "You do want to bond with Jian. You love him." It wasn't a question. Khial stated the facts.
"I do." Chanyn tucked her free arm around his bicep, lacing her fingers. She leaned her head against his arm. She loved Khial, too. Not in the same heady, romantic way she loved Jian. Not in the same steady, companionable way she loved Dain. When Chanyn looked at Khial, she saw herself, a lonely person reaching out. Chanyn grasped Khial's arm tighter, squeezing herself into his side. Trying to let him know that she was there, that she would always be there for him, holding his hand and his heart.
"I want that for you," Khial put his hand over hers. "For you to have the man you love, in your life." Absentmindedly, he rubbed her fingers, particularly her ring finger which carried the gem of himself and Dain. A fourth gem joined the three. Jian's; a green malachite, which symbolized healing. "I trust him, and I respect him. Jian is loyal."
At the bottom of the staircase stood the man in question. Jian waited for them, dressed in the same beige ceremonial clothes as Khial. His gold sash tied around his waist. Though he no longer wore his robes, he kept his sash. It represented the knowledge he'd earned from his time at the temple. That would never be taken from him. It was that knowledge the monks now sought from him. In a month, Jian would begin training a new class of Pleasure Hounds.
Chanyn watched as Jian took in Khial, the same heat mirrored in the eyes of both males. Then Jian's eyes fell to Chanyn. His face lit with delight. Chanyn felt her entire body warm. The warmth traveled from her heart to her stomach. She knew it was too soon but she was sure she felt a kick in her gut.
Khial squeezed her hand and led them both down the stairs to Jian. The room below was filled with the people who cared about them. The manservants, Rianald, Tem, and Brent stood off to the side. Merlyn, and her intended bond mate stood together. And throughout the room stood the monks of Jian's temple, all come to celebrate their brother.
A month ago, Chanyn had been alone, wishing for family and love. She had Khial's hand in one. With the other hand she took Jian's. In her belly, growing stronger every day, was the love she shared with Dain. Chanyn had yearned all her life for her one true love. In the end, she had found three.
Hand in hand, the three of them walked forward to say the vows that would link them together for the rest of their lives.
Acknowledgements
This book would not have happened without my Dynamos! Leslye, Kara and Angela.
I also have to thank my amazing Street Team: Michelle C., Michelle D., Ella, and Tina.
And a huge shout-out to the Self Publishing Yahoo Group who led me away from making so many missteps in my foray into self-publishing.
In case you’re interested in where the title The Pleasure Hound came from, here’s the story. I was up one night watching HBO’s After Dark programing. On a show called Cathouse, one of the ‘working girls’ captivated me. She looked like a kindergarten teacher, not anything like what I’d imagine a hooker to look like. She said that she was a “pleasure hound;” th
at she could sniff out pleasure wherever it might be. The phrase stuck in my head for years. So when Jian appeared in my head, removed his hood, and asked how he could please me, I knew exactly what to call him.
Wait! There’s more. Chanyn loves Jian and Chanyn loves Khial. But will Jian and Khial ever come to have feelings for one another? Find out the answer in a series of short vignettes, The Pleasure Hound Unleashed.
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Coming in March, Ines Johnson debuts her fairytale retelling romance series. Enter a world where single mothers get a second chance at their one true love with the Cindermama series.
Single mother Malika “Pumpkin” Tavares lost faith in fairytales after she fell for a toad. Now she believes she’s not cut from the storybook, heroine cloth and searches for Mr. Good Enough amongst the sidekicks and supporting men of the town.
Love at first sight isn’t a cliche for town royalty Armand “Manny” Charmayne. For generations the Charmaynes have spotted their soulmates by seeing a golden aura the first time they laid eyes on The One.
When Manny meets Pumpkin he sees…nothing, but sparks fly off the richter scale. The more he gets to know her the more he considers defying fate, if only he can convince her to take a chance on love again.
Release Date: March 17th, 2015
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