berlains kept to dress visitors so they could attend the Empress. They'd both amassed quite the wardrobe of them, for they were given new robes when they attended court for the first couple of weeks, until both of them had 6 or 7 robes to choose from, and they'd just been wearing those ever since. The other nobles laughed about it, since their generic robes made them look like beggars, but Jason really didn't give a shit what they thought. He sure as hell didn't dress up to impress _them_, he did it because it was custom to appear before the Empress in formal robes, and that was what he did.

_Help me with this,_ Jyslin called, starting to undo the ties of her robe. _I swear; it takes a fucking maid to get this thing off me. I feel like a dork that I can't dress myself._

_I can't do it either,_ he reminded her. Boy; was that ever true. Anya always spent ten minutes fussing with his robes every time she picked him up, fixing them for him 'cause he still hadn't quite got the hang of how they were put on to make it look right. He dragged her over to the bed and sat down on it, and started working on the complicated series of ties, snaps, and buttons that kept the robes in place. _Anya dragged me into a corner and fixed my robes this morning, before the ceremony._

_I saw that. So, what do you want to do with the rest of the day?_

_Sleep,_ he sent immediately, but she slapped him on the top of the head, which made him laugh. _I don't care what we do, hon, as long as we do it together._

_That's better,_ she purred mentally, putting her hands on his shoulders. _Wanna get some movies and just snuggle in for the day?_

_That sounds _wonderful_,_ he agreed.

_Did you send out those gifts for your Christmas holiday?_

_Yeah, I got them all out yesterday morning. I just hope they got there in time. We need to send some thank-you cards out to the guys, too, thanking them for the gifts._

_Curious custom, this _Christmas_ of yours. We don't have anything like it._

_Yah well, I'd be surprised if you did, since it's basically a religious holiday. It's evolved to take on a non-religious aspect as well, but at its core it's based in religion. It celebrates the birth of Jesus Christ, who is the Messiah in Christianity._

_Leave it there,_ she warned. One of the rules of the Fox Shaddale household was that religion was not a topic of discussion. Jason was a Methodist, and while Jyslin wasn't very pious, she did at least acknowledge her religious roots in the Trinity. Neither of them wanted to start a holy war, so religion was a forbidden subject.

_I'm not gonna go any further, goof,_ he chided her, getting the last tie undone that would let her take off the upper garment of the robe. He stood up and took it from her after she took it off, leaving her bare from the waist up.

_Thanks, love,_ she sent, patting him on the shoulder. She sat down and started unlacing her slippers, and Jason started working on the laces of his own robe. There was a fast knock on the door, and the door opened partially. "I beg your pardon for the intrusion, your Grace, but"

The door burst open, and the uniformed hotel worker was pushed aside as Tim and Symone got past him. "Bugger off, Charlie," Symone told him, pushing him out of the door when he gawked at Jyslin's bare breasts, then shut the door behind him. "I swear, what a jackass," she growled, looking back at them. Both of them had changed since the ceremony. Symone and Tim both were wearing tee shirts and faded jeans. Symone's tee shirt was a Washington Redskins football logo tee shirt, and Tim's tee shirt was a plain white unadorned shirt _Hey guys, what's up?_

_Just getting undressed from the ceremony, girl,_ Jyslin answered, pulling a slipper off.

_Here, lemme,_ Symone told him, coming up to Jason and starting to work on the laces. _You're a total klutz at this, ya know?_

_I didn't grow up wearing this crap,_ Jason protested as Symone started working her way down.

_Tim-Tim, help Jyslin with her shoes, dink!_ she ordered.

_Sure._

_Thanks, Tim,_ Jyslin sent as he knelt down and started untying the complicated laces around her calf, and she started on the ties of the waist of her breeches. She got those undone just as Tim finished taking off her shoe, and she wiggled out of her breeches and panties boldly; the panties Jyslin wore under the robes could be called boxer briefs by some, because the trousers chafed her thighs. She didn't like wearing them any time other than when she wore the formal robes. _What are you two up to?_ she asked as she sat back down and pulled the garments off her legs, then got up and went to the dresser, digging for a new pair of panties.

_Eh, we dunno yet, we wanted to see if you two wanted to do something. We didn't want to leave you out,_ Symone answered, finishing her unlacing and helping Jason take the robe off.

_That's sweet of you, but we weren't planning on doing anything. Just curling up on the couch and watching a movie. You're welcome to hang around if you want._

_Sounds good to me,_ Tim sent. _If you two don't mind company._

_We never mind your company, Tim,_ Jason told him.

The door opened again, and Temika walked in, wearing a heavy overcoat to protect her from the New York winter cold. One look in the room would have sent her running two months ago, but now, she had a much better understanding of the relationship between these four people. After all, it would be easy to read into things seeing Jyslin stark naked, leaning over the dresser drawer with Tim sitting on the bed, while Symone was undressing Jason by the couch. Two months ago, Temika would have immediately jumped to the conclusion that something kinky was about to happen, but she knew better now. The relationship between these two couples was almost like they were intermarried, and this kind of intimate social interaction was entirely normal for them. Jyslin had no qualms about parading around naked in front of Tim and Symone, since Symone was her best friend and she'd already had sex with Tim, quite a few times, so there was nothing about her Tim hadn't seen, touched, or probably kissed, before. Just as Symone had filled Jyslin's shoes when she was with Jason and he was separated from Jyslin, Symone had shared her husband with Jyslin while Jason was in Faey custody, providing her with physical comfort and release. Jyslin had joked that if Tim hadn't have been there to pop her cork, she'd have been ten times the bitch, and she probably could have run the entire house of Trillane into the ground. In that time after Jason was captured, poor Tim didn't sleep in the same bed two nights in a row. Symone had literally handed him over to her best friend every other day, to give her someone to yell at when she was angry, a shoulder to cry on when she was emotional, and a man to just fuck senseless when she needed it.

And it didn't bother Jason at all. He completely accepted the unusual situation between the four of them, and he was honestly happy that Tim had been there for Jyslin when she needed him.

"Hey, y'all, what's up?" she called, closing the door. "Or should Ah just turn around and go?"

Jyslin laughed. "No, no foursome today, we're just changing," Jyslin told her with a wink and a grin. "What are you up to, Mika?"

"That's not a bad idea, though," Symone giggled. "We've never done it _together_. We should try it."

Temika pointedly ignored Symone. "Ah was gonna go down to Times Square and look around. They setting it up for New Year's Eve, and Ah wanted to take a look. Wanna go?"

"No thanks, hon, me and Jayce just wanna relax today. Thanks for the necklace, by the way. It was lovely."

"Ah was hopin' you'd like it, sugah," she said with a smile.

"I love it. It'll go really nice with those blue robes the Empress gave me last time I was at court."

"Oooh, Mika gave you jewelry? Show it off!" Symone said excitedly.

Jyslin opened a small box on the dresser and turned around, showing a blue crystal necklace to Symone.

"Wow, nice!"

"Ah remembered you talkin' about how all the nobles have jewelry, and how you didn't have none, so Ah thought it would help you out. Ah just wish Ah could afford real jewels, but Ah thought it was pretty," Temika said with a flush.

"Push off, Mika, it's gorgeous," Jyslin told her. "I'd be much prouder to wear your necklace than a whole torque filled with rubies and sapphires. At least your present came from the heart. That makes it worth more than jewels."

"You better keep it quiet," Symone told her with a grin. "If word got out you're giving Jyslin jewelry, people might think you want between her legs."

"Eww!" Temika gasped, then she stalked over and smacked Symone on the shoulder. "That's _nasty_, Symone! Ah ain't no lesbo!"

Symone lurched forward and grabbed Temika's head, then kissed her full on the lips. Temika shuddered, then she pushed Symone away, _hard_. Temika looked outraged, but Symone just gave her a roguish grin. "Yup, you're right, you don't like girls. There was nothing in that kiss at all."

"Why you little blue bitch!" Temika shouted, but then she laughed helplessly. "Ah swear, Ah should kill you, Symone!"

"Pft, I'm too cute to kill."

"You better thank God above for that too, sugah," she snapped. "Ah'm leavin', before Ah _do_ kill Symone. We'll bring y'all back some tee shirts, 'kay?"

"We?" Tim asked.

"Me an' Mike," she answered. "Think Ah'd go out there alone, with all those reporters camping the hotel? They all scared of Mike, they ain't never seen no man as huge as he is," she said with an unconscious little trill in her voice. Temika was highly attracted to heavily developed men. Mike was a bodybuilder, and his massive frame really appealed to her. "He chases them away."

"Well, have fun Mika. This time, I expect you to get more than a kiss goodnight!" Symone challenged. "He's never gonna make the first move, girl. Just grab his dick and blow in his ear, that'll show him what you want!"

"That's just too damn _forward_," Temika grunted, not blushing at all. "It ain't the way a lady behaves. He might think Ah'm a tramp."

"He's still unsure about you, Mika, he's not going to do anything you don't initiate," Jyslin told her evenly. "He really wants to be with you, but he knows you're still dealing with those other issues. When you're ready, you have to _tell_ him. He won't take the initiative. We kinda warned him not to."

"You really think he won't think Ah'm a slut?" she asked sincerely.

"Honey, he wouldn't care if you were the biggest whore in the Gamia province," Symone told her. "So go pull his pants down and show him how much you care." She put her finger on her chin. "And remember it good enough to share an image of it. I wanna see his dick."

"Not _my_ boyfriend, you won't," Temika growled, marching out quickly.

_Think she'll get up enough courage this time?_ Symone sent, looking at Jyslin.

_I hope so. She just needs to conquer it once, and that should do it._

Symone laughed. _I'm sure the instant she gets Mike's dick in her, she'll be cured,_ she sent with a lustful taint running through her thoughts. _A girl can't take a dick that looks as big as his without wanting more of it._

_I think I'm gonna have to take your word for that, honey,_ Tim sent dryly.

_You better. I'll share you with Jys, but no way am I letting you go to the sheets with a man._

_I'm so glad,_ he sent dryly. _So, what movie should we get?_

_Something new,_ Symone said as Jyslin stepped into a pair of silky black bikini-style panties and pulled them up. _Wow, nice panties, Jys, they really make you look hot. New?_

_Yeah, I bought them last time we went to Draconis,_ she answered. _Help me find my black shorts._

While Symone helped Jyslin root through the drawers to find her shorts, Jason hung up his robe, then he sat down on the couch and took off the boots. At least for him, it was much easier to take off the shoes. Men wore soft calf boots by tradition, while women wore long-laced slippers that wrapped around the ankles and lower calves and then tied off. He took them off and pulled off the trousers, then caught the sweatpants and tee shirt that Jyslin tossed him and put them on. She put on a pair of short, slinky black shorts and a rather skimpy black half-tank top that barely managed to cover her breasts, and both Jason and Tim had to stop a second to admire how sexy it made her look.

They decided on watching the new _Pirates of the Caribbean_ movie first, and settled in for a rare afternoon of simple domesticity, quiet time that Jason had been craving and desperately needed. They watched three movies that afternoon, with Jyslin curled up on one side, and then he had Symone leaning up against the other with her legs thrown over Tim's lap. He put an arm around each of them, playing with Jyslin's gorgeous red hair absently with his fingers as his other arm draped comfortably on Symone's upper chest, his hand lightly resting on her shoulder, just happy to _be_.

He and Jyslin had no home... and he guessed it was about time to address that, he realized as they started watching the Fantastic Four sequel that didn't interest Jason very much, but Jyslin and Symone had wanted to see it.

Clearly, negotiation would be required. Jason hated heat, and Jyslin hated cold, so he figured they would have to split the difference. Since he could fly his skimmer or Nova wherever he wanted, it meant he could live virtually anywhere and still get around the planet to do his job. But he would kinda like to live near New York, since he'd have duties as the head of the U.N., which was his official position. There would still be a Secretary General to handle the day to day stuff, Jason would just be the guy over him.

Long Island. There were some houses out there, they could find something close to the ocean and also something fenced in, to give them some space from those maniacal reporters. It'd be expensive, but Jason still had some money stashed away on Moridon.

Yeah, they had estates and crap like that out on Long Island. There had to be one for sale out there, somewhere.

_We need a place to live,_ he announced. _Something more permanent than this._

_Ya think?_ Symone sent archly. _Me and Tim haven't looked at anything yet, cause we wanna be close to you guys._

_Well, what about Long Island?_ he offered. _It's warm in the summer, cool in the winter, and they have to have some fenced-in estates out there up for sale, so we can get some space from the reporters. It's close to the U.N., too._

_Sounds perfect,_ Jyslin told him, leaning her head against his shoulder. _Let's start looking tomorrow._

_You can, love, I have court tomorrow,_ he sent sourly. _Wanna come?_

_And watch you flirt with Empress Dahnai? No thanks._

_I do _not_ flirt!_ he protested.

_You flirt with her every time you tell her no, love. That drives Faey women crazy,_ she told him, raising her head and looking him the eyes, smiling knowingly.

_Well, this _no_ is not up for negotiation. She keeps trying to find out what I know of the Karinnes, and I won't tell her._

_I know. Just be careful. Eventually, she'll get tired of playing this game and come after you much more seriously._

_Yeah, don't remind me,_ he sighed.

_Me and Symone can help Jyslin look, Jayce,_ Tim offered.

_Sounds great._

And the matter dropped. They returned to silent togetherness through the movie.

When it was over, Symone rubbed her foot against Jason's leg meaningfully. "Let's do it," she said.

_Do what?_ Jyslin asked.

_Together. Let's do it. We've never been all together before. I want to be in the same bed with my husband and my best friends. I want to be able to reach out and touch the two sexiest men alive at the same time._

_I'd love to. I've been wanting to myself,_ Jyslin said. _What about it, guys? Wanna be kinky?_

_A few months ago, I'd have thought that was a crazy idea, but not anymore,_ Jason sent, running his hand up Symone's leg. _I can't think of anything better than making love to my wife with my best friends there to share our joy, and I think making love to Symone while Jyslin watches would be interesting. I want to try it._

_I seem to have been outvoted,_ Tim sent with a laugh. _But I'll admit, I've been thinking of it myself. We trade off often enough; we should just cut out the middle man._

_Damn right. Now get naked, lover, I'm horny,_ Symone told him as Jason started unbuttoning her jeans, and as Jyslin pulled her half-shirt over her head. _Ooh, Jason, take charge, baby,_ she sent with a wink.

                                        * * *

It didn't take them long to find a place of their own.

Jason had been right. There were quite a few estates for sale on Long Island, and some of them were selling dirt cheap, being sold off by people who had been rich before the Subjugation, but then lost their fortunes after the Faey arrived. The big, ultra-luxurious estates had been bought, but there were quite a few walled estates on the market, enough to allow them to basically take their pick.

Jason mentioned the house search to Dahnai at court the next day. She scoffed and gave him a dirty look, and told him she'd take care of it. He had no idea what she intended to take care of, since she ended court immediately after that and also told him to go home, that she had something to do.

That made him nervous.

By the time Jason returned from Draconis a few hours after court, waiting for Anya to deal with some Suralle business, Dahnai had already acted. Anya's shuttle was diverted, and landed at a large walled estate on Cape Cod, in Massachusetts, that overlooked the ocean. Waiting for them there was a member of Merrane, who handed him a set of keys. "Her Majesty owns this planet, your Grace, and all unclaimed or destitute property is, by law, property of the Crown, which she can sell on the open market. This is one such property. She told me to tell you that this is _your_ house now, but it's also not free. She expects you to pay her fifty thousand credits for this property."

_Fifty thousand? It's worth five hundred thousand, at least. Maybe a million,_ Anya scoffed.

"It'd take me a week just to dust something this big," Jason said uncertainly. "It's too big for me and Jys. I'd be spending my whole life just cleaning."

"Jason. You are the Grand Duke Karinne. You do _not_ clean," Anya said, scandalized by the thought of it.

"I wasn't born a noble, I don't think like you do, Anya."

_Well, get over it,_ she sniffed. _And you'd be a maniac for turning this down. Not only is it perfect for you, but you'd _really_ offend her Majesty. One does _not_ turn down a gift from her._

_She's charging me, Anya. That means this isn't a gift._

_Charging you one tenth of its value? Yeah, she _is_,_ Anya snorted.

That about settled that. Jason accepted the terms, reluctantly, and found himself in possession of an estate, ironically enough, named Foxwood. And it was rather nice, almost perfect. It had a pool and a tennis court on the grounds, a cavernous garage with lined spots for twenty cars, and a stone wall fenced in nearly 30 acres that isolated the mansion from the road. It had a large fifty room mansion with all the amenities one would expect from a place like this, already furnished, and what was most important, it had a concrete slab out behind the house that was originally a helicopter landing pad, but would serve him well as landing spot for his skimmer and Nova.

Jyslin loved it, but Jason, well, he felt it was too _big_. He felt lost in the place, it was so damn big, and it didn't feel cozy. It didn't feel like _home_. But, he guessed, he'd be expected to live in a place like this, and all the spare bedrooms would certainly be useful. He left Jyslin to deal with the other issues, like hiring a staff to man the place, because he had to go back to court the next day.

It was during the training session after court that Dahnai broached the subject. "So, what did you think of the house?" she asked.

"It's too big," he answered immediately. "Raise your right hand more. Good."

"It's befitting a Grand Duke."

"I'll be sure to tell the Grand Duke the next time I see him," he said dryly. "But Jason doesn't like it quite that much. It may be a house, but it doesn't feel like _home_, you know?"

"I can understand that. Look where I live, after all, the most ostentatious, gaudy building on Draconis. Just do what I do, hon, pick the part of the place you like the best and _make_ it your home. The rest of the place can just be the window dressing for the visitors."

"That's not a bad idea."

"Of course it's not. I suggested it."

"My, that title certainly makes you think you know everything, doesn't it?"

She gave him a look, then laughed. Then she got her butt thrown to the ground because she wasn't paying attention.

But it was a good idea. Jason and Jyslin selected a series of three connected rooms in the north wing, and declared it to be their apartment. They tossed out all the furniture, refurnished it, redecorated it, converted one room into a living room, one into an office and study for Jason, and the other into a bedroom, and moved in. Tim and Symone couldn't find anything available near the estate, so Jason and Jyslin just solved that problem by moving them into the manor. Tim didn't want to live in the manor house, so they instead moved into a guest house on the other side of the pool. After taking a look at the six room house, Jason was kicking himself that _he_ didn't think of moving in there first. The cozy little house would have been perfect.

They weren't alone long, that was for sure. Miaari and Kiaari almost had a cow when they saw the place, and saw that Jason and Jyslin were living in the cavernous manor _alone_, since Jyslin hadn't started hiring a staff and Jason had been too busy fussing with the apartment to think about things. Miaari placed a call to Zaa, Zaa called Dahnai, and Dahnai got on the gravband almost immediately to the Marines. Dahnai had no idea that Jason had moved in without telling anyone, without hiring a staff, without even bringing any _security _for crying out loud, and she was angry with him over it. She moved swiftly to deploy a Marine detachment to the manor, and they quickly secured the place. The detachment commander, a bulldog-jawed Faey Major, Major Zhara Ulinne, was both efficient and discreet, posting guards all through the grounds and in the house itself, but making sure they were never ostentatious. Kiaari almost scornfully took over from Jyslin the task of finding and hiring a staff to man the house, telling her a Kimdori was best suited to dealing with matters of security... and the workers that would be caring for the private residence of the Grand Duke Karinne was _most certainly_ a matter of security. Kiaari was both fast and effective. Jason had to go to court again, but when he got back early in the morning of the next day, Kiaari had a full staff of maids, cooks, butlers, maintenance personnel, and groundskeepers already hired. And she was training them _personally_. It seemed that she and Zhara had got together and worked out a security plan for the manor, and Kiaari was training these new workers in their duties as the private house staff of the Grand Duke Karinne.

"Uh, Kiaari, why are you still here, anyway?" he asked as she came into their apartment one early afternoon as Jyslin helped him dress in the formal robes for court. "Shouldn't you have gone home by now? We're done with what you came here to do, after all."

"You still need me, Jason. You hired me to help you, and just because you're the Grand Duke now, you still need me. If I'm not here to help keep you alive, who's going to? Don't ever think that Trillane has forgotten about you, my friend. They haven't. They'll eventually try to get revenge on you for what you did to them. Major Zhara and the Marines are here to handle the obvious threats and to keep the riffraff out of your hair and let you have some peace and quiet. Well, I'm here to handle the not-so-obvious threats. Kimdori know how to play the game, hon, and that includes playing defense. No assassin is going to sneak into this manor and threaten you or Jyslin so long as I'm here keeping watch over it. And now that we have a permanent place, I can set up a more effective intelligence operation, and bring in some of my people to help me," she said, rubbing her furry hands together. "Miaari may be your ambassador to my people, but I'm still your intelligence chief," she winked.

"I can't afford that kind of an operation," he warned.

"Who said you were paying for it? The Kimdori have always performed this service for the Karinnes, Jayce. It's tradition, and you know how Kimdori are about tradition. I'm just lucky that sister Handmaiden talked Denmother into giving me this assignment. It's a real chance to prove myself. I get to _run_ the operation, not be _part_ of it. For someone as young as me, it's really rare. If I do a good job, I'll bring even more prestige to the clan. Why, our father would almost burst from pride if he had a Handmaiden for a daughter _and_ the youngest gamekeeper among the Kimdori for another daughter."

"Gamekeeper?"

"It's all nothing but a game, after all," she winked. "The Gamekeeper controls the game. And Terra will be my playing field. I am the Gamekeeper of Terra. This planet's intelligence is my responsibility."

"And Miaari's gonna be there looking over your shoulder," Jason realized.

Kiaari winced and gave him a hard look. "You just had to remind me," she growled. "Of _course_ she's gonna be looking over my shoulder."

"Look at it as always having someone around to give you advice when you need it," Jyslin told her.

"And someone to harp on me when she thinks I'm not doing things the way she wants them," she added.

"That woulda happened no matter what," Jyslin chuckled.

The manor house was entirely too big, but at least it filled up quickly. Jason brought in the rest of the house and gave them a permanent place to stay while they found homes of their own. Everyone had a room, and for a while, the place was lively and felt like home. But one by one, the ex-Marines and the former members of the Legion found houses, and moved out. But, thankfully, they all decided to live very close to Foxwood, so everyone found houses in Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and Connecticut, a quick and easy commute to both Foxwood and New York, which made the Marines Dahnai sent to Earth very happy, since it put all the Karinnes in the same region, a region that they really saturated with troops to keep things safe and orderly. And they didn't have to pay for them, either. Jason bought them their houses, using old leftover Legion funds, making sure they had a good head start.

Not everyone decided to go that route, though. Myleena decided that the action would be at Foxwood, so she went the same route as Tim and Symone and claimed the second guest lodging on the estate, which was a studio apartment over the garage originally meant for the estate mechanic. It also kept her right there on hand to tinker with the two Novas, both the one Jason had nearly trashed, which the Kimdori had repaired, and the spare one. The Karinne dropship was also brought to Foxwood for safe keeping, and Myleenaand Jason for that matter, when he had timewas quite content to putter around on the ships at hand when she wasn't studying the _Scimitar_. In reality, Jason and Kiaari both preferred it if Myleena lived on the grounds. Given she was the only other Generation in the house, Kiaari wanted to keep them both under her watchful eye.

But, it made it more like _home_ to him. Myleena was an interesting young woman, and he both liked her for who she was and admired her for her technical expertise. He liked learning from her, tearing things apart with her, and he just liked her. Having her nearby to basically chew the fat when he needed a distraction was a good thing.

And then there were Tim and Symone. They lived on the grounds, and they probably spent more time in Jason's apartment than they did in their own home... but that was the way all of them wanted it. Tim and Symone were his best friends, and Symone was almost like a second wife to him, not just someone to share a bed with when they were both in the mood, but someone to whom he felt he could talk on a level reserved for someone very special in his life, someone he trusted just as much as he trusted Jyslin and Tim. She knew less about the truth than Jyslin, but she never pushed to know more, and was content in what he was willing to divulge. But what made what existed between them go to another level was that they didn't just share when the other spouse wasn't available anymore. It was broken the night he admitted to Jyslin that he'd been wanting to make love with Symone again, despite the fact that Jyslin was there. Jyslin just laughed and summoned Symone to their apartment that very second, and sent them into the bedroom so Jason could explore his awakening desires for Symone. Then she went to go find Tim.

It was probably the last barrier that had been broken in him, and had allowed him to fully embrace the relationships he had with these two Faey women. Jyslin was the love of his life, and the woman he wanted to spend his life with, but Symone, well, Symone was a fun, entertaining woman who had squirmed her way into his libido if nothing else, and he found sex with her to be both different from sex with Jyslin and also exciting and fulfilling in its own ways. It was what Jyslin considered to be a thoroughly natural _Faey_ response, two friends who had the hots for each other exploring that attraction, but in a way that didn't threaten either of their marriages. Jyslin felt the same way about Tim, finding him to be a really sexy man and a thoroughly satisfying and vigorous lover (the second best lover on Earth, Jyslin had told Jason), and the four of them formed what in Faey terms was called the _amu dozei_, the _harmonious love_, a term closely related to the _amu donai_, the _courtly love_, where a single spouse shared a deep "platonic" love affair with someone outside the marriage that did not involve the spouse. What existed between the four of them involved both pairs of spouses, a combination of friendship and mutual sexual attraction that brought them together as more than just two sets of married friends.

And it