by Frey Ortega
Well, that, and he needed to get his luggage brought over to this room. He hadn’t even seen the room he was going to stay in when he was pulled into Brian’s and Ronan’s arms. Now, he was without clothes, quite literally and figuratively. He’d have to find a way to go back and ask the kind Minotaur who was receiving guests to help him get his luggage up to this floor.
Then his stomach rumbled. If there was ever any stronger indication that the real world was now calling him, it was that.
Silence filled the room as a twin set of grins looked down at him. Hayden’s eyes widened and his cheeks turned a shade of slight pink.
“Hungry?” Ronan asked, as a lazy smirk appeared on his face. Brian merely ran his hands up and down Hayden’s back.
“Uh, well, I did go straight to your room after the impromptu dance party last night, and I hadn’t even gone to the room they gave me just yet when I got pulled into yours,” Hayden admitted. “I’ll have to ask someone to help me get my luggage over here.”
“Hm, well, why don’t I and Ronan do that for you? Just use the phone here on the nightstand and then take a shower. Meet us downstairs in front of the main hall when you’re ready?” Brian suggested, just as he stood up to his towering height of seven feet and began to stretch his arms and legs. “We were bound to leave the bed, anyway.”
Hayden sighed. “Oh, I know, I wish we had more time, though.” Hayden looked down, biting at his lower lip. “And a little part of me wants to stay in bed because I’m afraid that none of this is actually real, and it’ll slip out of my fingers once you leave those doors.”
Brian shook his head. “It’s real, Hayden. It’s very real. We react to you in such a visceral way that I doubt it’s anything but the truth.”
Ronan smirked. “And to prove it, we’ll get your bags over here so you can stay put. When we come back, we’ll make love to you all day if that’s what you want.” Ronan smiled. His sardonic smirk turned into a genuine grin, but then he quickly added, “And when you come and stay with us at our home in the village nearby, we’ll definitely have a day where we’ll just stay put in bed. Breakfast, lunch, and dinner, along with some breaks for all the lovemaking you desire.” The rabbit shifter groaned in response. “But that’s if, and only if, you get up out of bed and get ready while we ask Rory to help us get your bags up here.”
Hayden nodded and grinned widely. “I guess we’ll talk about how we’ll all live when we get to know one another a little better. I think living in the village would be wonderful, but there are things that I need to settle back home, too.”
Ronan shrugged. “It has its moments. And we’ll be there beside you if you want us to come visit your warren.”
“But we’ll think about all of that once we’re settled. We don’t mind moving a little farther away if it means being with our mate, right, Ronan?” Brian asked, to which Ronan nodded without any hesitation.
Hayden smiled. The fact that they were so accommodating, despite how they looked and how big they actually were, made the rabbit shifter feel a bit more at peace. As his newfound mates began to dress up in fresh new clothes to step out of the room and start their new lives together, Hayden was filled with hope.
A new day dawned for Hayden, and it was one with his two Minotaurs right beside him.
But with new days came new challenges, and Hayden wondered just what was next in store.
Chapter Five
For the entirety of the past week, Brian Connelly could honestly say that for the first mating season ever since mating Ronan, he felt elated.
It was the same feeling he had during the first few days he’d mated with Ronan. It was indescribable, though the best way to come close was that Brian felt like he found a piece of his soul. There was nothing in the world quite like it. It was like finally knowing you were where you belonged, among a whole slew of other synonyms that would just make things sappier and sappier. Brian knew he was head over heels in love with their little rabbit shifter already. It had only been a few days since Hayden entered their lives, but each day spent with the man was like paradise.
Having his two mates by his side satisfied the Minotaur inside of Brian, and that wasn’t even counting the sex they’d been having the past few days. The feeling of Hayden writhing against him and the smoothness of his skin against his body, along with the slick slide of Ronan’s cock sliding against his when they fit inside Hayden’s little pucker, or even the feeling of Ronan’s tongue against his own as they shared a searing kiss while they eagerly made love to their little coinín—
Brian was getting hard just thinking about it.
Hayden was definitely their match in every way. In the bedroom, he was just as feisty, if not even more, than both of them combined. Hayden was straightforward and he never pulled any punches. He was kind with his words and wasn’t rude, but he wasn’t the type to sugarcoat what he wanted to say. In fact, there had been a few times when Hayden had joked and poked fun at him for being too thoughtful and even called Ronan out on his snarky words, and the three of them had a stronger bond because of it.
And lastly, the rabbit shifter was voracious about learning about them and their lives, and storing that in some form of super-computerlike memory in Hayden’s brain. From the work that Minotaurs did for the Council, such as doing the heavy lifting for many construction projects, down to the smallest details, it seemed that Hayden remembered everything they’d told him. It was good, too, because both Ronan and Brian could be a bit forgetful at times.
The three of them definitely needed each other.
There was, however, one thing that made Brian feel a certain anxiety in the pit of his stomach, and it was something that was growing and growing with each passing day. It was like a bad case of the jitters, and he wondered how to broach the topic with Hayden. For the most part, the man seemed to be blissfully unaware of it, but Brian didn’t know what to do or what to say to make the news any softer to bear if Hayden actually didn’t know that it was expected of him.
Brian knew that if Hayden knew, his big mouth would have blabbed all about it already. Not that it was a bad thing, but the rabbit shifter’s straightforward nature did tend toward a lack of tact about certain things, least of which was something that was going to affect his life as much as it was going to affect Ronan’s and Brian’s.
With how healthy their sex life was, Brian wasn’t surprised if the three of them were going to expect a swollen baby bump for Hayden anytime soon. It was just the way of life, and why Minotaurs needed to mate other species. Minotaurs couldn’t have children if they mated with one another. There were no female Minotaurs, and Minotaurs were often just too dominant to ever submit or be the receiving partner in sex.
And because of how regular and how healthy their relationship was, Brian knew he had to talk to Ronan about how things were proceeding with Hayden. Finding a moment to get Ronan alone, without Hayden, was becoming more and more difficult with each passing day. Who could blame them? Brian and Ronan wanted to be close to Hayden every moment that they could. It was just natural, considering they were newly mated.
As Brian and Ronan walked up the stairs, he figured now was as good a time as any to pull his lover to the side and to tell him exactly what was weighing in on his mind.
“Look, Ronan, we need to talk about something,” Brian started to say, just as Ronan grinned and shook his head.
“I agree. I don’t know why you insisted we had to get groceries as soon as we could, but if it’s going to be for a marathon sex session with Hayden later, I’m game,” Ronan said, holding up the bag of groceries in one hand as he grinned.
“Well, I can’t say that wasn’t on my mind, but that’s not what I meant,” Brian admitted. He turned a soft shade of red at the thought of Hayden and how insatiable the rabbit shifter was and had been these past few days. The three of them hardly left the room, and when they did, it was mostly to just take a break, stretch, and get some fresh air in between being balls-deep inside of Hayden. “But don
’t you think we have to tell him exactly why we’ve been looking for a third? I don’t think he knows what happens when Minotaurs mate, especially so close to mating season.”
Ronan paused. He stopped dead in his tracks as they were walking up the staircase, his facial expressions contorting. First, he looked confused, and then he looked shocked, but then he looked rather worried. “I’d forgotten about that. But Hayden would know, wouldn’t he?” the amber-eyed man stared up at his lover. Brian shrugged.
“I don’t think Hayden is the type of person who would pass up the chance to ask about pregnancy if it was on the table for a relationship,” Brian replied.
“It’s not like it’s a secret, though, isn’t it? People know about us. Some of the people I’ve asked definitely know that mating a Minotaur, especially during mating season, meant possible pregnancy.” Ronan looked a little bit more concerned now, biting his lower lip, and not in a sexy way. “And Council member Xiang hinted about it, right?”
“I know. But it’s not like we’ve all talked about it, right? And it could be that Hayden knows, but just doesn’t believe it’d happen.” Brian replied, sighing. “We don’t know until we tell him.”
Ronan sighed, a look of resignation on his face. “You’re right. Then we really have to come clean about it.”
Brian peered at Ronan before he spoke. “I honestly think that just telling him would be the best way to go about it. We can’t do anything about not telling him now, but we do have to find a way to make sure we at least get the information to him in the future.”
Ronan nodded. “Do you think he’d be hurt that we didn’t talk to him as early as we could?” His face scrunched up as he frowned.
Brian shook his head. “Aren’t we already trying to talk to him as early as we can? We’ve only thought about it now, after all.” He pouted. Well, weren’t they? It wasn’t their fault that they’d forgotten to check, now, was it?
Ronan’s frown became even deeper. “It’s times like these that we Minotaurs get a bad rep for not having our heads screwed on all too properly.”
They were quiet for a few moments as they walked up the last few steps and were finally at their corridor. For some reason, the rather small hallway looked longer than it ever did before, though maybe it was just the fact that Brian, for the first time in a week, didn’t want to run towards his doors and meet his mate on the other side.
“How are we going to tell him? I mean, it’s a big shock, isn’t it? That mating with a Minotaur can get a man pregnant?” Ronan suddenly asked. Brian looked at Ronan, and then he looked down at a particular tile on the hallway, trying to piece his thoughts together.
“Honestly, there doesn’t seem to be a really easy way to broach the topic. But we do need to tell him before anything more happens between the three of us.”
“Does that mean no sex?” Ronan asked. There was a certain edge of disappointment in the way he spoke.
“Yes, that’s exactly what it means, Ronan Breckenridge. No sex. Do you think we can do that?”
Ronan groaned. “That’s going to be difficult. Hayden is insatiable, and we’re sort of weak-minded when it comes to that sort of thing. I’m just saying.”
It was true. Brian had to give Ronan that. Sometimes it was difficult to think, let alone talk, when Hayden was parading around naked in front of them. Within a matter of minutes, Brian and Ronan ended up hilted inside of their lover in one way, shape, or form. That was the curse of still being in the honeymoon phase of things.
“It only means we have to be stronger about these things. Well, why don’t we make a pact? Until we tell Hayden, we won’t do anything sexual with him,” Brian said, to which Ronan raised his eyebrow at Brian.
Brian took a moment to look at Ronan, before shaking his head. “You’re right. That’s a horrible idea.” After all, Brian was the one who became dominant and rather forceful when he was aroused. Considering just a whiff of Hayden’s need made him groan and one look at Hayden’s nude form sent Brian into a frenzy, he knew he was the one who needed to control himself more than Ronan.
As they reached their corridor, Brian sighed. “But we at least agree that we have to tell Hayden these things as soon as we possibly can, right?”
Ronan looked at Brian. “Look, Bri, I know how important it is not to screw up our mating. Rest assured, when we find a time to sit him down, how about we do that then? Maybe we can talk to him today about things. Then it won’t be so hard on all of us and this won’t keep weighing in on your mind.”
Brian swallowed. He looked at Ronan, carrying the groceries and peering straight at him with those amber-colored eyes filled with concern.
“We’ll talk him through the entire thing. How Minotaurs mate. How we let our mates get pregnant because something in our cum just changes our mates’ body chemistry and all that. We’ll tell him about how we’ve wanted children for a long time, and that’s why we were vying to get our third. All of those things, okay?” Ronan said. The resolve was clear in his voice. “You need to relax a little bit. You’re right. We do need to talk to him, but it won’t do us both any good if you lose your head. I need you, Bri, and you’ve got to stop overthinking. If he reacts badly, we’ll get through it together. We always have.”
It did feel good to have someone who could understand what he was going through. It was definitely difficult to have all those thoughts weighing in on his head. Someone smarter would have probably been okay, but although Brian was bright, he knew he wasn’t the sharpest tool in the shed. Aside from his daunting physique and his rather straightforward physicality, Brian knew that he was an average guy all around aside from that, and handling emotional things just wasn’t his forte.
Then again, if Ronan were the one handling these things, he knew they would be forgotten. Ronan always was a bit on the forgetful side. True, he was snarky and had a good sense of humor, but he was also forgetful, though he often used that side of him to good humor.
Brian smiled and nodded. “Fine. But I still think we should sit him down as soon as we can. Maybe he’ll talk to us now. There’s no harm in that, right?”
Ronan shrugged. “I’m mostly hoping for the best. We both know that it could go either way. But we’ve claimed him, and he’s submitted to us, so I suppose that’s that, isn’t it?”
But even as Ronan said it, Brian could hear a little bit of doubt in his voice. Every step they took heading towards their room, there was like a resounding clang of a death knell in Brian’s head. He knew that he had to stop thinking about things so badly.
Reaching their door, however, the thoughts were coming back in full force. He started to perspire a little, even, at the idea of telling Hayden something so integral. Maybe Hayden knew, and he wouldn’t get angry? Maybe he was worrying for nothing? These were all just little things he kept telling himself to make sure that he didn’t lose it.
After all, between Ronan and him, Brian knew he was probably the one more prone to groveling and asking for forgiveness from Hayden. He might’ve been the commandeering one in bed, but he also knew that he wouldn’t have anyone to dominate if Hayden weren’t around.
And he just wasn’t going to risk hurting himself and Ronan trying to get either of them to bottom this close to mating season.
Brian quickly pulled out his keycard from within his pants pocket and unlocked the door. Mustering all the inner strength he had, he wondered when this little rabbit shifter had taken a hold of their minds. That the merest thought of even offending the bespectacled young man was enough to make Brian think about pleading for forgiveness seemed impossible, yet here they were. The Minotaur was learning more and more about himself each day he and Ronan were with Hayden.
With Ronan, things were easy. It was tough to offend someone who was so stoic, let alone someone who knew exactly what to expect. When the two of them mated, it was because they loved each other enough. Mating seasons came and passed with the two of them never finding their third, but they survived nonetheless. Finding Hayde
n was both a boon and a bane. Now, Brian didn’t want to risk it on the off chance that Hayden would possibly be offended.
Ronan turned to Brian. “Are you ready?”
Brian nodded his head shakily. “Better late than never,” he muttered. He knew he had to think about the best possible outcome. Taking a deep breath, Brian opened the door.
“Hayden? We’re back,” Brian hollered, just as Ronan stepped right beside him. The two of them stopped in their tracks as soon as they looked on the bed. “And we have something important to tell you…”
Right then and there, through some kind of sorcery or through sheer dexterity alone, was a wholly naked Hayden, splayed out on the bed, handcuffed with his arms above his head, and a blindfold tightly wrapped around his eyes. Hearing their voice, Hayden’s cock twitched to life, pointing ramrod straight to the heavens as he wriggled in place.
“Ah, you’re here,” Hayden said, his smile widening. “Come help me with this, won’t you? I’ve been waiting for quite a while. I’ve lubed myself up, too, I wanted it too bad…”
“Holy shit,” Ronan whispered incredulously, walking in quickly to set the bags down on the small table close to the fireplace.
Holy shit is right, Brian thought to himself, staring at the feast for the eyes before him. Hayden was offering himself up on a platter, and here Brian was, staring at his lover’s smooth, nude form, his cock bouncing against his navel from sheer hardness.
Brian shivered as he continued to stare at Hayden’s form, all the while walking toward the table. He set the bag of groceries down, too, right beside Ronan.
“Surprise,” Hayden said, grinning, though he slowly flexed his hips, pushing his body upward. “I needed to get some time to get you out of the bedroom to plan this. Do you both like it?”