by R. E. Butler
She ached to tell them that she wanted to go directly to the lake, set up the tent, and not step foot outside it for a week. But she knew that wasn’t realistic. Their family had come all this way to visit with Daeton. She had the rest of her life to spend with them and she didn’t want to monopolize their time.
Shy’s eyebrows rose. “No one is expecting us to spend time with anyone else but you.”
“But your aunt,” she said.
“Understands entirely,” Teck said. “Unless you want to eat with our parents, I can’t imagine anything better than the three of us being alone.”
“Then we’ll need some food, and that’s in another barn.”
They left the storage barn and moved to the one that held food. Teck said it reminded him of a grocery store.
“Have you been in human cities?” Shy asked as he helped her select food for both the evening and morning meals.
“The herd travels to different human cities to pick up things we can’t make here, like medicine and gasoline for the generators. I got my tattoos in a human city, but Sophie didn’t like me going to the human cities. I think she was worried I’d like television and air-conditioning too much and want to stay.”
Teck chuckled. “They are nice.”
“Tell me about your home,” she said. She was curious about bear shifters, not only because they were her mates but also because she’d never met any shifters aside from Centaurs.
“Most members of our den live underground,” Teck said. “Every family has its own tent, and there are areas that are reserved for growing food and raising animals.”
“How do you grow food underground?”
“Grow lights,” Shy said.
“So you live with your parents in a big tent?” She was having a hard time picturing living underground.
“Our mother didn’t want to live underground, so she and our fathers built a home on the den’s property aboveground. I live with them, and Teck lives in the den.”
“You don’t live together?”
She didn’t miss the look that passed between the two.
Shy said, “We’ll explain later.”
Glancing at their two guards, she nodded in understanding. “Let’s go to the lake. I have a perfect spot in mind.”
After leaving the food barn, they stopped at Sophie and Arsen’s home so Kaya could pack a bag, and then they stopped at the trailer Teck and Shy were sharing with their family so they could do the same. They said goodbye to Rysk and Tyrant and headed to the lake.
Kaya loved the lake. It was one of her favorite places, and getting to spend her first night with her mates at the place she loved the most made it even more special.
“These are golden willows,” she said as she stopped in the place where they’d found her crying just hours earlier. The ribbons and flowers she’d pulled from her hair lay scattered on the grass.
“It’s pretty here,” Shy said. “I can see why you like it.”
While they set up the tent, she made a pit for the fire, finding rocks near the lake’s edge and making a circle with them. As the wood burned, she laid a metal grate over the flames so it would heat for their meal. The tent was set up, and the bedrolls laid together. The oil lamps hung from hooks inside and cast a flickering golden glow over the interior.
The three of them said nothing for a long moment, and then her stomach growled, which made her blush. “I was too upset to eat before.”
“Then we’ll eat first,” Teck said.
While thick steaks cooked on the grate, Shy thinly sliced potatoes into a cast iron skillet that he positioned on the hottest part of the flame. While they ate, they talked about their homes and families. She’d grown up in a world so different from theirs. The simple but delicious meal satisfied them, and she imagined that there were many more meals in the future just like it waiting for her.
* * *
“Come here, Kaya.” Shy stood and offered his hand to her.
She stood, her heart pounding in her chest, and took his hand. Teck joined them, and they moved into the tent. Shy zippered the door flap closed while Teck lowered the privacy shades. Shy led her to the bedrolls, and she sat down in the center. He knelt behind her and began to undo her hair from the complicated mass of braids and ribbons. She hadn’t had a chance to see what she looked like in a mirror, but she was pretty sure that she looked like she’d been caught outside during a tornado and her hair was a tangled, matted mess.
Teck removed a brush from her satchel and sat in front of her, pulling locks of her hair forward and gliding the brush through them. The two brothers worked in silence until her hair was free of the braids and no longer tangled.
Shy ran his fingers through her hair, tickling the back of her neck. “Is the hair style something that Centaurs do on special occasions?”
“Yes. It’s similar to what they do for weddings, too. I’ve heard that in the Medes Realm they do things differently, but I’ve never been there.”
“It was lovely, but I like your hair down.”
She looked at him. “Me too.”
Teck put away her brush and rose onto his knees in front of her.
“I want you to know that I’ve never been with anyone,” Teck said. His voice was low and filled with emotion. “I started dreaming about you when I was ten. I knew you were mine, and I didn’t want anyone but you. Even when the mating heat would come, I made my family lock me away.”
Her eyes stung with tears. “You did that for me?”
“I’d do anything for you, sweetheart.” He cleared his throat, and she watched his cheeks darken as he blushed. “I just wanted you to know that I’ll…get better.”
“What?” she asked, confused.
“At pleasing you.”
She rose to her knees and cupped his face. She gazed at him, drinking in his gorgeous features. His skin was a lovely copper shade, and he had high cheekbones and sleek black hair. He smelled like leather and a deeper, sweet scent like warm sugar. Instead of telling him all those things, she decided to show him how much she wanted to be with him and how important this first night was to her.
“I am so happy right now, Teck. I’ve finally had my dreams come true. It’s not every day that happens, I bet.”
His mouth quirked up at one corner. She leaned in and kissed him, drinking in the sweet scent of him before opening her mouth to deepen the kiss. Their tongues touched and her stomach flipped, spreading warmth through her. Shy touched her shoulders, moving his hands up and down her arms. He kissed her neck, his teeth grazing her skin and sending electric shocks racing up and down her spine. He pushed the straps of her dress off her shoulders, and the material caught at her elbows, baring her upper body.
Teck broke the kiss, breathing hard. Shy cupped her face, and she turned to kiss him as she slipped her arms from the straps of her dress. The gauzy material stopped at her waist, and she tilted her head as Shy pushed his tongue past her lips. Teck stroked her stomach, his fingertips grazing her skin in slow circles as he moved up to her breasts. Shy nibbled on her lower lip with a soft growl, and she opened her eyes as they parted.
Shy cleared his throat, and Teck stopped stroking her skin and straightened.
“Why did we stop?” she asked.
“It wasn’t without effort, but we need to talk first. About our mating,” Shy said.
Teck kissed her shoulder and rested one hand on the small of her back. “I got carried away.”
“Well, our mate is very addictive.” Shy pecked her on the lips and settled back on his heels. Teck remained at her side, his hand a warm weight against her back. “When our people mate for the first time, it’s traditional for the males to mark the female in her neck with their fangs. We wouldn’t shift entirely, just our fangs would emerge so we could mark you in a way that would scar. The marks will let others know that you’re a marked mate.”
“Does the marking go both ways?” she asked, running her tongue along her upper teeth. “I don’t have fangs.”
<
br /> “Not usually. Our Aunt Sabrina is a vampire, and she marked our Uncle Griegs to make him her beloved mate, but that’s more of a bonding thing for vampires. Bear females don’t mark males during mating.”
Teck’s fingers curled slightly, and he slipped them down into the dress, just to the curve of her bottom. “You can bite us if you want, sweetheart. But unless you can somehow bite deeply enough to scar, the marks would disappear with our fast healing.”
Shy said, “Not only would we bite you, but we’d also drink some of your blood. It helps our beasts to feel connected to you. And we’d score our wrists and you’d drink from us, too.”
Her lip curled. “Seriously?”
Teck chuckled. “Not a lot of blood. Just enough to complete the bond.”
She hummed. “You want to bite me right now?”
“Yes,” Shy said with a chuckle, “but first we want to make love to you, if you’re ready.”
“I’ve been ready for a long time.”
No one spoke for a long moment, and then Shy said, “I think we should wait on truly joining.”
She tilted her head in confusion. “What? I thought you wanted to make love.”
“No, I mean I think we should wait until we get home to join as a threesome. We don’t have any supplies here, and I don’t want our first time together to be uncomfortable for you.”
Images from her dreams flashed through her mind. She’d seen herself between her mates in her dreams, both their cocks inside her, their bodies pressed tightly together. She’d never allowed a male to have anal sex with her. It was something she wanted to share only with her mates.
“I don’t mind waiting until we get home.”
Shy smiled. “Good. We only want you to know pleasure with us, Kaya.”
She undid the buttons on Shy’s vest, pushing the soft hide off his shoulders and baring his upper body. Then she removed Teck’s vest. Her mates were identical in many ways, but their bodies were slightly different. Teck was more muscular, and Shy was leaner, but they both smelled so good to her, and although they’d just met, she felt like they’d known one another for years because of the dreams.
They reached for her at the same time, each cupping a breast and lowering his head to kiss her nipples. When they had their hands on her, she felt the connection between them strengthen, and she knew it would only grow stronger as their relationship was solidified with the marking. She explored their upper bodies, her fingers trailing up their arms and across their shoulders, feeling their muscles bunch and flex under her touch. Their skin was silky smooth and warm.
They sucked on her nipples, and her body flooded with heat. Teck’s hand slid farther down inside her dress and underneath her panties, slipping between her cheeks. Shy released her nipple with a wet pop and grinned up at her, his eyes a pretty amber color that she knew belonged to his beast. He kissed her, and she opened her mouth to his questing tongue with a soft groan as Teck slipped his hand free of her panties and pushed her dress down past her hips. Her dress and panties pooled at her knees. Shy pushed her backward gently, and she eased away from his addictive kiss to stretch out on her back.
Teck tugged her dress and panties free and set them aside, and then he undid the ties on his trousers and pushed his pants past his hips, revealing a thick and long erection. Shy stripped hurriedly from his pants. Teck jerked his off and then snarled softly as he crouched at her feet, pushing gently until she bent her knees and spread her legs. She’d never felt so exposed as Shy joined Teck and the two gazed down at her body. The only sounds in the tent were the low rumbles of their bears and her heavy breathing. Her heart pounded in anticipation, and she stretched her arms over her head and gripped one of the pillows, spreading her legs a little farther apart.
“Fuck,” Teck murmured.
Shy looked at Kaya and then stretched out next to her, grasping her knee and pulling it against his body.
“You’re so sexy, spread out like a feast for us,” Shy whispered in her ear, his fingers digging into the back of her knee. Teck leisurely kissed his way up her body, alternating from leg to leg, nipping and licking and kissing her skin until she thought she’d combust.
Shy slid his free hand up to wrap around her wrists, caging them and holding them to the ground as he kissed her hard, plunging his tongue into her mouth as Teck slowly licked her lower lips and nibbled on her. He spread her with his thumbs, tilting his head as he licked her entrance. He growled, his tongue vibrating with the rumble.
Shy lifted from her lips as she moaned, and she could see his fangs had descended a little, the sharp tips glinting in his mouth. He lowered his head to her breast, and she arched under him, pushing her pussy against Teck as he plunged his tongue in and out of her. Then he licked a slow line up her pussy until he circled around her clit, barely grazing the tight bud. She moaned louder as he made another barely-there pass around her clit.
“Teck,” she moaned, “Teck, please.”
He flicked his tongue over her clit, and she lifted her hips. He slid his hands under her body and wrapped them around her hips, holding her still as he flicked his tongue rapidly over her clit. She felt herself tumbling toward pleasure, but just at the last moment, he lifted from her. Panting for breath, she lifted her head and snarled at him.
His brow quirked. “I think you like my teasing, lilenta.”
She curled her toes and wiggled in his hold.
Shy released her nipple and looked at his brother. “Let me see how wet our sweetheart is.”
Teck eased to the side as Shy slid his hand slowly down her belly, his fingers spreading around her clit as he curled them into her pussy. He pulsed his fingers in and out of her, pressing her clit with his palm, and just as she felt herself close to climax, he withdrew his fingers and brought them to his lips.
He sucked them into his mouth and gazed down at her with a wicked smile. “You taste as good as you smell, sweetheart.”
She opened her mouth to beg them to stop teasing her, when Teck began to lick her again, his tongue moving rapidly over her bud. Shy cupped her cheek and ran his thumb over her bottom lip. He leaned down and kissed her ear, and then whispered, “Come for us, Kaya. Shout your pleasure to the heavens.”
She fisted her hands as Teck drove her to the height of pleasure. But this time, he didn’t stop. He growled and licked her faster, pushing her over into a white-hot climax. She cried out at the sweet release as it pulsed through her, her pussy clenching and her body shaking as everything inside her turned to liquid. Teck rose over her, his lips glossy with her climax and a look so intense on his face that she could have come again just by staring at him.
He prowled up her body, and she caged his hips with her legs. Shy released his hold on her hands and cupped her breast as Teck pressed his cock to her entrance and slowly slid inside. She cried out, feeling the thick head of him breach her sensitive channel and setting off little aftershocks of pleasure. He pushed into her, and when their bodies were tightly wed, he gazed down at her; she felt the connection between them grow stronger. He flexed his hips, pumping into her a few times. She rested one hand on his shoulder and buried the fingers of her other hand in Shy’s hair, drawing him to her lips.
Teck growled, and she felt his muscles tense. Shy pulled away as Teck rolled to his back and took her with him, his cock twitching inside her. “Take us both,” Teck said, his voice low and deep. “Come with us.”
Shy rose to his feet, wrapping his hand around the base of his cock and stroking himself from root to tip. She sat up and braced herself on Teck’s body with one hand on his chest and reached for Shy, curling her hand around his hip as she took him into her mouth. She moved on Teck, flexing her hips as she bobbed her head on Shy’s cock. Shy grabbed a handful of her hair and helped her move on him when Teck began to play with her clit, his thumb rubbing swiftly on her already sensitive bud. She felt herself racing toward climax again, heat radiating inside her, making her toes curl and her pussy clench. As her climax poured over h
er, Teck roared his pleasure as he came, the heat of his climax filling her. She groaned around Shy’s cock, and he shouted her name as he came, his hand tightening in her hair as he flexed his hips with each pulse.
Teck sat up and wrapped his arms around her, breathing hard against her neck as he fit his teeth over her flesh. Shy withdrew from her mouth and dropped to his knees, kissing the other side of her neck. She had only a moment to realize that they were going to mark her, and then she felt the bite of their fangs and scented the salty tang of blood in the air. She tingled all over, her skin prickling as they sucked on the marks and swallowed her blood. They withdrew their fangs gently from her flesh and her vision blurred, but only for the briefest of moments as Teck shoved his wrist between her lips and she tasted his blood. Instinct took over and she sucked on the wound he’d made on his wrist, swallowing a mouthful of blood. He pulled his wrist free, and Shy gave her his. Their blood tasted similar, but she could tell even with her eyes closed, who was feeding her his blood.
When Shy extracted his wrist from her lips, she opened her eyes, and her vision was clear. She could feel their blood coursing through her, and the connection between them solidified. She was wearing their marks, and that meant she was theirs forever.
Shy cupped her face. “How do you feel, sweetheart?”
“So connected to you both.” She kissed him and then Teck. “It was even better than in the dreams.”
“Most definitely,” Teck said.
Shy growled softly. “Do you want to rest?”
She wiggled her brows. “You’re not tired, are you?”
“I’ll never be too tired for you.”
She kissed Teck and climbed off his lap, pushing Shy to his back and bracing herself over him. “Good. I’m not remotely sleepy.”