by Cara Adams
There was a large flat area out back of the general store where they held community events from time to time. It didn’t rain much here in the desert, and most of the year round the weather was pleasant in the evenings, so there’d never been the need to build a community center. The open air was perfect.
By the time Jarin arrived, the meat had been cooking for several hours, and he was almost drooling at the delicious aromas. They were not as delicious as those of Grace’s cunt, but almost as tasty. There was a big black SUV parked outside the general store that he didn’t recognize, so he knew Grace’s friends had arrived. He walked out back to the meeting area and looked for Grace, but she was surrounded by people. Sighing, he grabbed a longneck and twisted the cap off the beer, before joining some of the other men.
The population of Vulture Valley was small. More than half were vultures, some were werewolves, and there were a few humans. But only now, knowing all about the werewolf genealogy project and seeing his community all gathered together, could Jarin fully understand. The lack of females in shape-shifter populations was a real threat to their survival. The community didn’t all meet together as a group very often, so Jarin hadn’t done the math. Of course he knew there were more men than women. But now, looking around the crowd, it really was very obvious. There were a lot more males than females. Even the children playing with a dog were mostly boys.
He and Mark were so fortunate to have Grace. He needed to demonstrate to her so very clearly how much he loved her and wanted her. She was precious and rare and she was also the only woman he’d ever desired. Oh sure, he’d had girlfriends and they’d had good times. But it was always Grace he’d loved.
Standing here now he knew they couldn’t put it off much longer. He and Mark needed to propose to Grace. He wasn’t too sure how to arrange the romance and girl stuff, but he’d done his very best to plan something special for her and he wanted to use it all soon.
Just then Grace came over to him with Mark and three strangers. Mark detoured to the table holding the drinks and picked up some more longnecks and bottles of water, which he offered the people as they stopped near Jarin. Jarin concentrated on Grace.
“Georgia, Ethan, Nolan, this is Jarin. He’s a vulture. Jarin, Georgia, Ethan, and Nolan are wolves from the genealogy project.”
Jarin smiled and shook the men’s hands. He’d have guessed Nolan was a wolf, but Georgia’s hair was strawberry blonde, and Ethan’s had a red tinge to it. Almost all vultures had black hair and black eyes. Up until this minute he’d thought most wolves were dark-haired as well. Apparently that idea was wrong.
“It’s a pleasure to meet you. We’re looking forward to being involved in this project.”
Jarin stepped back as the conversation became general. He’d rather watch Grace anyway. She stood silently, letting the others talk, her face calm but with the hint of a smile. Damn, she was so beautiful and sweet, and he wanted her so much.
“Where are all the cattle?” Ethan asked him.
“What cattle?”
“We saw the cattle grids on the roads as we drove here, but we haven’t seen any cattle.”
“There are some cattle around but this land doesn’t support ranching as such. Mostly they just roam where they please. They’ll never be more than a couple of miles from water so they’re easy enough to find if we want them,” he explained.
“Then why are there cattle grids on the roads? If they wander around with no fences, but you can find them when you want them, why are the cattle grids needed?” asked Georgia.
Jarin wasn’t sure if he could answer that question. He noticed both Mark and Grace were staying silent as well. Fortunately Glen was happy to reply.
“That’s what happens when smart people visit us. The occasional tourists who come here never notice such things. The cattle grids form a pattern when viewed from high in the sky where a vulture might be flying. The grids on the roads around here indicate that inside the box they frame is vulture land. If you look carefully you’ll see there are stone cairns marking the corners of our land as well. The cairns were raised long before the roads were made, and function the same way. If vultures are visiting our area or get blown off course, they know they’ll be welcome to rest here.”
“That’s amazing. I like that,” said Georgia.
“It’s time to eat, people,” Vassily called from by the barbecue pit.
“Good. I’m starving,” said Mark.
“Me, too,” said Jarin. But he was also starving for Grace. How and when could he and Mark convince her to commit to being theirs forever?
* * * *
“I enjoyed the barbecue. It’s been a long time since everyone has been together like that,” said Grace.
“You didn’t mind all the noise and people?” asked Mark, staring at her.
“No, not just for a few hours. I could never live in a big city again, though, with noise and parties all day and all night,” she replied.
“What about when you lived with your grandmother? She liked quietness, too, didn’t she?” asked Jarin.
“That’s the whole point. That’s why I could live with her for those few years when she was ill. For a start, she was on the outskirts of a smaller city and her home was designed to block out noise. The windows were double glazed, and all her curtains were really thick with a special backing to them. She had something in her ceiling as well. Not insulation precisely, but thick batts of stuff that deadened all the noise. All her floors were carpeted with really thick rugs except for the kitchen and bathroom. It was very quiet in her home and we got on so well together. I miss her sometimes.”
Mark gave her a quick hug. They were walking back from the party to Jarin’s house and she was looking forward to them all being together again. It was strange how much she wanted to spend each night with them. She would have thought by now she’d be aching for a night alone in her own precious apartment. But the need to be with them, to touch them and hold them, far outweighed her need to be alone. Besides, they were very good about letting her sit in silence when she needed to be still.
Grace stopped and tilted her head right back to stare up at the stars. “They’re so much brighter and clearer out here in the desert. Even with all the lights from the barbecue, they’re still much better out here.”
“Everything is better in the desert, because we’re here together,” said Mark.
And that was right. Being with them was so important to her now. She couldn’t imagine not having them in her lives anymore. Her grandfather wanted her to stay her in the valley with him, but he no longer needed her help. He was healed and well, able to walk and care for himself again. But she wouldn’t leave, couldn’t leave, because Jarin and Mark had burrowed deep under her skin and meant so much to her. Parting from them would hurt every bit as much as leaving Grandpa.
Instead of taking them into the house, Jarin led them around back to the deck. There was a door under the deck closed with a bolt, which Jarin pulled aside. He crawled into the opening and switched on a light.
“Watch the steps. It’s not as exciting as the entry to Mark’s house, but be careful.”
“Oh those poor people. I hope someone has a flashlight to let them into your house, Mark,” said Grace.
“It’s okay. I already took them out there in daylight and showed it to them when I gave them the key. Georgia said she’d heard people talk about house entries like mine, and was really excited to see one in real life.”
“Good.” Grace crawled forward carefully, glad she’d worn jeans and not a dress to the barbecue, and then slid down a couple of steep steps and found she could stand up again. Jarin was unlocking another door, one that led deeper under the house.
“How long as this been here?” she asked. She was almost certain they’d never played here in her childhood.
It’s always been here, but my dad stored all kinds of old stuff, mostly junk, under here. I packed it all up and put it in one area and turned the rest of the space into my own p
ersonal playground.”
“Oo. That sounds exciting.”
“I really hope you like it.” Jarin sounded so sincere she stared at him. This really mattered to him. Well, she’d like it for his sake, whatever it was.
Jarin ushered her and Mark through the second door and locked it behind them. Once he did, the light from the outer area was only visible in the crack under the door and it certainly wasn’t enough to show her the room they were now in. Jarin stomped across the room and Grace realized they weren’t standing on dirt anymore. It was concrete under her feet and that’s why Jarin’s boots were making a noise. Unless he was deliberating stomping. Knowing he was a Dom, that was possible, too. But when she scuffed her boot on the ground she knew it was a solid surface. Ah, interesting.
A candle flame flickered in a corner of the room, and then a second one as Jarin lit them. Okay. He was going with a different kind of light. Not that she could see much with only a couple of candles, but her eyes were adjusting to the dark. Grace looked hard at the wall nearest her and realized it’d been painted black like the entryway at Mark’s house. Now that was a neat trick. People only painted the insides of houses black for a reason, and it sure wasn’t aesthetics. So Jarin planned to confuse people just as Mark’s ancestors had aimed to do.
Grace had a tickle of excitement deep inside her. Jarin had evidently put a lot of effort into the scene he was unfolding for her now. She wondered if Mark had helped him or if it was all new for Mark as well. She had to admire Jarin for trying to please and excite her like this. She was very aware both men had done their best to accommodate her likes and dislikes. Far more than she deserved. They’d gone out of their way to arrange things so she could be happy with them and it was time she started trying to please them instead of selfishly wanting everything done her way.
Grace remained still and waited for Jarin to explain what he wanted her to do, or to reveal his next treat.
A third candle wavered, then caught alight, and it was on the seat of a chair. “Come over here and get undressed, Grace,” said Jarin.
Grace walked slowly and cautiously toward the chair, stretching each leg out slowly before placing her foot down, but there were no items in her way, and the floor was smooth, so now she was certain it was all concrete.
Unlike the men, she didn’t throw her clothing all over the room when she undressed. She took off each item and folded it neatly. Maybe that proved she was a stick-in-the-mud but it also made it a hell of a lot easier to get dressed again than wandering around for ten minutes trying to find where a sock had landed in the dark the night before.
Once undressed, she turned to face Jarin and saw that Mark was beside him. The wolf had moved very silently. She hadn’t noticed that happen.
Jarin blew out the other two candles and moved silently though the dark along the section of the room where he’d been standing. The candle beside her now made it almost impossible for her to see what he was doing. Its light had destroyed her night vision. That was damn smart of Jarin. He’d effectively blindfolded her with a trick and without even touching her.
Deliberately she blocked the candle with her back and tried to let her eyes adjust again to the lesser light in the rest of the room. She was doing well when Jarin lit the two candles he held, illuminating a spanking bench.
“You know what this is, don’t you, Grace.”
Hell yes. Her cunt was already creaming at the thought of being punished by Mark and Jarin as she lay over it.
“Yes.”
“Come here then and let me get you ready.”
Once again she moved cautiously across the dark space to the light. As soon as she arrived the candle behind her went out. Mark must have moved there behind her when she was concentrating on walking forward have blown it out.
Jarin held her hips, stroking her skin with the palms of his hands as she placed her feet in the stirrups and leaned over the bench. Then Mark had joined them, locking her feet into the stirrups while Jarin cuffed her hands. A pair of heavy earmuffs slid over her head and Mark whispered, “We know how much you like silence,” as he fitted them over her ears.
Well that was another neat trick. She was effectively blind because of the darkness and the way the very few candles were arranged, and now her sense of hearing was severely impaired. Also, she was almost without the sense of touch since her hands and feet were cuffed to the spanking bench. She’d be forced to rely on the air crossing her naked skin now to know who was moving where.
But she could always tell which man was which. Even in their bed at night, in the dark, she instinctively knew which of them touched her. Their hands, feet, skin, taste, and scent were all quite different. They were a similar size, and even a similar coloring, but just as their natures were diametrically opposite from each other, so, too, their mannerisms and personal scents and taste were very different. She’d have no doubt at all about which one touched her now.
Chapter Nine
Jarin had been more nervous than he could ever recall being before about tonight. He’d spent a long time staring at this under-house storage area and deciding whether or not to turn it into a dungeon. He’d always planned to have a dungeon. Being a Dom was such an ingrained part of him that he wanted a dungeon of his own. The spare bedroom was a sort of dungeon. Just this last week he, Mark, and Grace had played a few games there. But he needed a space where he could design real scenes that would send Grace straight into the erotic zone ready for love.
He’d been meaning to tidy up the old junk under the house for years, so packing it up neatly and putting it all in one corner of the basement was a no-brainer. Painting the walls black seemed obvious as he knew how effective such a technique had been for the werewolves for centuries. But after that he had to think hard what to do next.
It was Mark who’d given him the idea of the candles just as he had with the black walls. When they’d been talking about romantic things to do with Grace, Mark had mentioned candles, especially scented ones. Instead, Jarin had bought these thick plain white ones and decided they’d be even better than a blindfold. He had an excellent blindfold hood in his toy box, but Grace had been very specific about not wanting her breathing obstructed and a full-face hood might be off putting to her. The last thing he wanted to do was turn her against BDSM play. But having no light worked just as well. And one day he’d ask her what her fear of having her mouth covered was all about. Together the three of them could work on overcoming her fear. But not tonight. Tonight was all about giving her a stupendous orgasm and then asking her to mate them.
Mark had been petting Grace’s spine and checking her breasts were where they could both tease her nipples if they wanted to, and he gave Jarin a thumbs-up. Jarin handed a paddle to Mark and took the flogger. He nodded and Mark thwacked the paddle on Grace’s ass. Jarin knew he’d have judged the amount of force exactly right. Since her ears were covered, it was no use trying to harness the sound as an aphrodisiac, but the paddle was a wonderful blunt force object for delivering a hard burst of punishment over a wide area. The flogger, which he held, was more versatile. It could arouse, stroke, and tease, as well as deliver pain. He trailed the strands over Grace’s sides, making sure they flowed over the sides of her breasts. That should confuse her. She’d want a more definite touch on her breasts for release, but still be immersed in the heat burning her ass from the paddle.
Mark gave two quick strokes with the paddle, this time on the top of each thigh, and then followed up with a harder stroke on her ass. Even as Mark’s hand was still moving, Jarin flicked his flogger across Grace’s shoulders and then on her ass.
He and Mark worked their way over Grace’s body until her skin was pink and her cream coated her inner thighs thickly. He handed the butt plug to Mark and put away their toys. Mark rolled the plug up and down the insides of her thighs coating it in her cream before pushing it at her rear entry.
Jarin stood at the other end of the spanking bench and got undressed. Grace couldn’t lift her head m
uch in that position, but she would certainly know what he was going. He made sure his boots and jeans fell in her field of vision and then slid his boxers down and tugged on his dick. Oh god, he wanted her so much. His dick was hot and engorged and he longed to shove it inside her, but the time wasn’t quite right yet. He squeezed the head of his cock and then put the tip at her mouth. Immediately her tongue licked along the top of his cock and cleaned off his pre-cum. He was as aroused as hell. He sure hoped she was, too.
* * * *
Mark loved touching Grace’s ass. Well, he loved touching her anywhere at all, or even just being by her side, with both of them fully clothed and in public. But the best thing of all was with her naked and his hands on some of her most intimate and delicate skin. In just a few minutes his fingers would be inside her, and not long after that his dick would be where it always wanted to be, balls deep in his woman fucking her hard.
But first, he had to open her ass for his cock. Her cunt or her ass, he never minded which one he fucked, or even her mouth, but her ass was so unbelievably tight, it scrambled his brains just thinking about it. Her cunt was almost as tight and just as hot, but it had the advantage of being wet as well. Although her sucking his cock into her mouth was hot and wet. Really, any part of Grace was perfect. It was impossible to rate them into a top-three order.
After he’d coated the butt plug in her own lubrication, he teased it around the opening of her ass until all her muscles there were rippling and twitching with need. He used his fingers to coat the inside of her rear channel, massaging the walls and loosening the tissues before he began pushing the butt plug inside. There was still more than enough cream on her inner thighs so he oiled the butt plug again and pushed it deeper into her. As it slid farther in, he leaned over her, resting his weight on her thighs as he nibbled and scraped his teeth on her ass. Her skin was still pink and hot there, so he knew licking and teasing her flesh would arouse her higher than before.