by Lauren Dane
“It was obviously meant as a dig, one of those casual comments that is a total burn.”
“See! I told him that and he didn’t believe me. He said, ‘Phillip kisses you on the lips’ when I brought up the fact that she always goes for the kisser.”
“Oh my god, that is so totally different!”
“I said that exact thing!”
She looked around at Skye and Phillip, who watched the exchange, riveted.
“What?”
“I feel like I’ve been initiated into a secret club,” Skye said, smirking. “Who cares what Luna thinks anyway?”
“That’s not the issue. I don’t care. It’s the way she did it. Sneaky bitch.”
“Like she has a chance,” Perri snorted.
“As if!” Kari added.
They all went down to dinner half an hour later and Andreas cornered Skye. “What was that all about?”
“I’m sworn to secrecy but it was just girl stuff,” he replied.
“Will this cause me trouble?”
Skye snorted. “Kari is a troublesome female, is she not? But how often does she prove to be worth it?”
Dinner was an informal affair and they all sat and talked until nearly midnight, when Kari begged off and headed upstairs. Her back pain was terrible and Anna sent up a hot water bottle with Ryan, who lay behind her in bed, holding the water bottle to the small of her back, and read to her.
She woke up sometime later and quietly got up to go to the kitchen to get some water. Triumphant at those few minutes alone, Kari stood and looked out at the lake and the beauty of her home with a smile.
Not wanting to push it and have a freaked-out Andreas come hunting for her, she put her glass in the sink and headed back to bed. On her way back upstairs, her eye caught movement in the television room just behind the stairs and she walked through the darkened hallway to see what was going on.
Ryan and Phillip sat together on the glider sofa, talking.
Guilty, but not so much she stopped trying to overhear, she listened for a moment.
“I know you feel an attraction to her. We all do. She’s pregnant and putting out a lot of hormones. All the males are climbing the walls right now,” Ryan said softly. One of his legs pushed the glider slowly back and forth.
“I’m so ridiculously horny. I masturbate like five times a day when I manage to get the time alone and it’s not enough. I haven’t been out on a date in months. I’m almost desperate enough to have sex with Luna.”
Ryan laughed at that. “I know. Being on lockdown here makes it hard on my sex life too.”
Silence stretched between them for a moment. A bit embarrassed that her horny hormones were affecting them and they couldn’t do much about it, she was still happy to see them relaxed and free of having to guard her every moment. She moved to go back upstairs. That was, until Phillip leaned over and kissed Ryan.
A silent gasp caught in her throat and a hot flush burst through her. Frozen, she stood there in the dark and watched them, unable to tear her eyes from the two beautiful men as they kissed and put their hands all over each other.
A low groan came from one of them, bracketed by the soft sound of their clothes rustling as they moved closer in their embrace.
Phillip leaned in and touched his lips to Ryan’s. Slow at first, not quite tentative. The kiss deepened, Kari could see mouths opening wider and the first lazy and then more firm and frantic slide of tongue against tongue.
The popping sound of buttons being yanked loose, flying around the room, sounded over the wet sounds of kissing as Ryan ripped the front of Phillip’s shirt, shoving it off without breaking the kiss.
Reaching around, Ryan grabbed Phillip’s braid and wrapped it around his fist, holding his head where he wanted as the kiss continued to intensify. Phillip’s eyes had snapped open at first when Ryan grabbed his hair but they slid shut and his hands slid up Ryan’s belly and the wall of his chest.
Rapt, Kari watched as Phillip’s hand moved down again, going straight to Ryan’s zipper. With frustrated groans, they both stood quickly. Breaking the kiss, they panted as they yanked their jeans open and kicked out of them quickly. Ryan pulled his shirt over his head. They stood there, totally naked and staring at each other, breath heaving, cocks so damned hard they stood flat against their bellies.
Kari’s mouth watered. Her hand went to her throat as the heat of their sex made her body throb. She knew she should stop watching but she was enthralled at the sight of these two hard and masculine men wrapped up in this intensely passionate moment.
Breaking the tension, Ryan reached out and grabbed Phillip’s cock and Phillip gasped, thrusting his hips. His eyes locked on Ryan’s hands and Kari saw him slide his thumb over that glistening slit at the tip of Phillip’s cock. Kari choked back her own moan as Ryan brought that thumb to his lips and tasted Phillip’s pre-come. Phillip did not. He moaned, ragged, full of desire as his head dropped back.
All of their earlier hesitation and slow exploration was gone. In its place was a surety of action.
Lazily but with a sure hand, Ryan pumped his fist over Phillip’s cock over and over. Kari watched as Phillip’s muscles first relaxed and then began to tighten. With his head back like that, his body was arched forward, thrusting his cock into Ryan’s grip. The tip of his braid reached the back of his calves. He looked like a beautiful statue there. They both did.
Kari was moved by the magnificence of these two adult male werewolves in their prime touching each other in such a raw way. The way Ryan held Phillip’s cock was sure and much tighter than she would have held Andreas’s. There was so much muscle there, so much strength just beneath the skin, that she felt her wolf move within her.
Phillip’s head came up as if in slow motion and he moved Ryan’s hand. They stepped, body to body, and met in a brief kiss on the lips before Phillip’s mouth skimmed down Ryan’s throat and across his collarbone, down over his nipples. Kari’s own throbbed when she caught sight of Phillip’s tongue flicking over Ryan’s flat copper-colored ones. Ryan hissed and arched into Phillip’s mouth.
Ryan reached around and freed Phillip’s hair and it fell like a river of copper around his shoulders and down his back. Their hips rolled, thrust into each other, and Kari saw, in the flickering light of the television, the wetness on each man’s belly as cock rubbed against cock.
They tumbled to the carpet and thrust into each other, grinding, pressing cock to cock. Kari’s breathing was shallow as she imagined what it must feel like to have the ridge of the crown of one cock slide against the other.
It must have been pretty damned good because the writhing and grinding became more and more frenzied, the moans louder and louder, until Ryan broke away. Pushing up to his knees, he faced Phillip, who was on all fours.
And suddenly Phillip moved forward, taking Ryan’s cock in his hand and then moving his mouth to him. His tongue slid around the meaty head and then sucked it inside. Kari wished she could see more but Phillip’s hair played peek-a-boo with the scene as he moved his mouth on Ryan.
“Fuck. That’s so good. God. Yes,” Ryan murmured.
Phillip moaned around the cock in his mouth. Ryan’s hands slid through Phillip’s hair and gripped. Tossing his head back, Ryan began to thrust into Phillip’s mouth, fucking into him. There was no finesse, no slow perusal of the other. It was hard and fast as desire took over. A sheen of sweat glistened on Ryan’s back. Phillip cupped Ryan’s balls in one hand as the other braced his weight on Ryan’s thigh.
“You’re next, Phillip. Oh yeah, damn it. I’m so close...” Ryan’s voice became strangled, his face tightened and a harsh, whispered roar broke from his lips.
Kari had to lean back against the wall. She was unbelievably turned on. The taboo of what she was watching, along with the fact that she was watching in secret—watching these two incredibly masculine men—made her skin itch with desire and longing.
Moments later, even as Phillip had been sitting there regaining his breath, R
yan pushed him back to the carpet and took over. Sure and quick, Kari saw the muscles in Phillip’s stomach tighten and his hips rock as Ryan’s mouth sucked his cock deep inside.
Really inside. Ryan took all of Phillip’s cock over and over. She watched, entranced, as Ryan’s mouth pulled up, exposing the wet and hard flesh of Phillip’s cock, and then slid back down to the root.
“Goddamn, you’re good at that. Fuck.” Phillip reached out and slid his hands through Ryan’s hair and held on.
Phillip’s hair was spread out around his head on the carpet like a Titian painting, but his body was hard and muscled and straining with pleasure. The juxtaposition of that beautiful and flowing hair with the body easily used as a weapon was part of Phillip’s allure. Part of what made him so sexy.
Kari saw when his moment came, as his hips thrust up and his grip on Ryan’s head tightened. His lip caught between his teeth as his back arched. He was beautiful. They were beautiful and Kari slowly backed away and crept back to bed, richer for that secret sharing of those stolen moments.
Settling back in her bed next to Andreas, her hand slid down to her desire-slicked pussy and she made herself come in the predawn darkness, the sounds of their moans and sighs, the sight of them kissing and loving each other, burned into her brain.
* * *
Kari woke up in her favorite way, wrapped up in Andreas’s arms. He had her cuddled up against himself with his hands protectively spread across her stomach.
“Happy birthday, little wolf,” he growled into her ear and started off her day with a few rounds of fireworks.
“Where are my presents!” she exclaimed as she sat up afterward. Andreas still lay on his back, slowing down his breathing.
He struggled to speak once he got his breath back. “No presents until tonight. You know the rules. And wow, what’s gotten into you?” he said, grinning at her.
“Oh, a little dream I had last night.” She decided that she’d keep the interlude between Ryan and Phillip to herself. It was their business, certainly nothing for them to be ashamed of. But she was embarrassed that she’d stood and watched it all. “I’ll let you name one of the babies if you give me some now,” she replied hopefully.
He laughed. “Nope. And are you really going to tell my father that you’re going to name our son after your brother instead of him?”
“Blackmail. And anyway, your father, though wonderful, did not nearly raise me. Jack did. Why not Jack Tomas? Tomas is such an old-fashioned name.”
“And Jack isn’t?”
“No. It’s a strong name! How about Sean Jack? Or Skyler Ryan? I’m partial to Phillip Ryan myself.”
“We can’t. How will Laurent feel? Or Devon? Or anyone else? If we’re going to name our kids after anyone, it has to be after my brothers, father or grandfather or your brother. Sean Devon, Sean Tomas, Devon Jack. That sort of thing.”
“We could just reject all family names and go out on our own. Something like Liam or Piers.”
“Piers? Uh, no.” He rolled his eyes at her.
She sighed. “You know, you really just should let me have my way all the time. But especially on my birthday.” At his rolled eyes, she snorted. “Okay, let’s shelve this for now and go down and get breakfast. I know Anna will do something special for me.”
“A multiple orgasm isn’t special?” he challenged, and she fell back into him.
“You’re so right. Thank you. It’s the kind of birthday present you can give me every year.” She giggled and got up. “Wow. They’re low today,” she said, looking down at herself.
“You must be getting close.” He got up and danced around the room, pulling on a pair of jeans and forgoing the shirt.
“You have to wear a shirt, Andreas. Honestly, you look so sexy it’ll drive me insane.”
He grabbed a shirt out of the dresser and turned back to her, pulling it on slowly. “I’m a lucky, lucky wolf,” he said, winking at her.
Moving back to the bed, she looked at him over her shoulder and let her robe fall away. “Wanna get lucky some more?” Grinning, she raised an eyebrow suggestively and he laughed and started back toward her until Jade pounded on their door.
“You two up?”
“Why does she do that?” Kari moaned and pulled her robe back on. “Just a sec.”
Andreas opened the door and Jade rushed in, laden with baby things. “Just a few things for the babies,” she said and Kari had to laugh. The woman had bought so many “just a few things” that Kari had had to get another dresser just to hold it all.
Accepting the loss of an opportunity for more sex, she shuffled past her mother-in-law, pressing a kiss against her cheek on her way past. “Hey, Maman. See you all in a bit.” She padded into the bathroom, shutting and locking the door behind her.
When she came out, she threw on a favorite pair of maternity overalls and headed down to breakfast with Phillip and Sean.
“Hi, Emma! It’s lovely to see you.” She gave her sister-in-law-to-be a hug.
“Happy birthday. I hope you don’t mind that I’m here.”
“Emma, you’re welcome here anytime. Both now and after you change. Please, this home is the family home. It’s as much Sean’s as it is Andreas’s.”
Sean smiled at Emma as if to say I told you so and Kari warmed at their easy unspoken communication.
Kari allowed herself to be pulled into the dining room and sat down. Of course, as usual, everyone bustled around to serve her and she watched with a smile.
Jack walked in and tsk-tsked at her. “You’re a spoiled one.”
“Says the man who rubs my feet.” She snorted.
As breakfast wore on, more and more members of the Pack began to stream into the lodge. Kari had to remember not to refer to the babies as multiples when people asked about her health and the pregnancy. They hadn’t told the Clan yet about the twins, just a few people knew. Andreas wanted to announce it at dinner.
Her back beginning to ache, Kari got up to stretch.
“You all right?” Andreas asked.
“My back and the contractions are making an appearance again,” she said and Elaine smiled at her.
“It’s your body getting ready. I can see that you’ve dropped.”
“Yeah, speaking of that, please excuse me.” She walked out of the room to go to the bathroom. Of course, Phillip and Ryan came along to wait outside, and she tried not to act any differently. But man, oh man, were the two of them sexy.
When she came back out, she went to the great room and sat down on the couch. Ryan rubbed her lower back. Andreas was on the phone in his office. She loved the normalcy of the moment. Of her family.
Michael came in, shyly dropping a present in the hall and greeting her sweetly. She gave him a quick hug.
Henry and Luna came in. Henry came over and greeted her while Luna just waved and headed into the dining room. Perri gave her a look. Kari shrugged. It wasn’t a formal Gathering, and Luna didn’t owe any sort of formal greeting to Kari anyway.
Alex came in with several presents. He smiled at her and dropped the boxes off on the table. “Hey, hot stuff. I tell you, if all women looked as good pregnant as you, I’d be for keeping the entire gender pregnant all the time.”
She snorted. Despite Andreas’s dislike for Alex, Kari found him oddly charming. “Thanks, I think.”
It had started to snow on and off and some had gone off for a run while others decided to do a bit of backcountry hiking. The house was quiet, the kids were off making snow people outside and Kari read while Perri, Ryan and Skye played a brutal game of cards.
Andreas was on the phone and in his office pretty much all day. The babies had been pretty quiet but Kari’s back hurt and she couldn’t shake her lethargy.
“I’m just going to lie down here,” she said and Ryan got up to grab an afghan from the other room to tuck around her.
She woke up as the sun was going down and Andreas was laying sweet kisses on her face.
She was one lucky girl, w
olf, whatever.
“Hey, petit loup, wake up, baby. It’s nearly time for dinner.”
She sat up and let him help her off the couch. “I’m going to go upstairs and freshen up then.”
“I’ll come with you,” he said. “Laurent, Devon, can you stand guard please?” Andreas said quietly to them, and they both nodded.
When they got to the room, both guards stayed outside, having a drink and playing backgammon. Apparently werewolves were big on board games and cards. Kari hadn’t played so many games since she was a very young child.
“Now,” Andreas said huskily as he shut the door behind him, “I believe that this morning, we were on the verge of getting lucky yet again when my mother decided to barge in. I’ve ignored you woefully today, mon amour,” he said, stalking toward her.
Giggling, she fell back onto the bed and let him make amends for his neglect. Twice.
* * *
They appeared downstairs forty-five minutes later. Kari had changed into a gold and eggplant dress that Drew had brought her for her birthday celebration.
“Happy birthday!”
The love and celebration in their voices made Kari blush. She smiled and clapped when she saw the heap of presents. She loved getting presents. Big or small, expensive or handmade, it didn’t matter. It was the surprise and the wrapping and the fun that she loved so much.
Andreas came forward after she’d opened everyone else’s gifts. “Kari, I want to say in front of everyone here just how much I love you. You’re it, little wolf.” He handed her two boxes. Blue boxes. She looked up at him and gave him the you are going to get so lucky later look.
The first box held a diamond and sapphire bracelet, to match her ring. It was so breathtaking she’d probably freak out wearing it in public, afraid to lose it. The second box held a pendant with a locket.
“It’s empty now. But we’ll put pictures of the babies in it when they come.”
“Babies?” Drew said.
“Yes, more news. Kari is carrying twins. A boy and a girl.”
“Oh my goodness!” Ellen exclaimed. “How wonderful.”
Jade sat and preened, the grandmamma to the first set of twins ever in Cherchez and for the first set of werewolf twins to be born in over a hundred years. Tomas grinned like a fool.