“No wonder little man likes it so much,” he said, before kissing her again. “Feel okay?” He gently withdrew, immediately missing her warmth wrapped around him.
“Mmm-hmm,” she whispered as she stroked his shoulders. “Whit will probably wake soon.”
“Let’s get you to bed so you can rest then,” Kendry said as he helped her up from the couch.
She looked incredibly beautiful in the firelight as he went to her, bracketing her backside as Kendry embraced her from the front.
“You two are good for my ego,” she said as she looked from him to his brother. “The way you look at me makes me feel beautiful. I could…”
“You could what?” Kendry asked as he nuzzled her throat.
“I could get used to this very easily. Probably too easily,” she replied as she wrapped an arm around Kendry’s shoulders and then reached back to him and stroked the back of his neck. “Thank you. I don’t deserve such wonderful men.”
“You do,” Jared said in a rough voice.
“I don’t, but I wouldn’t change a thing, regardless of how this turns out.”
Jared just shook his head, knowing it would take time for her to believe that this wasn’t a short term thing between them. He’d do his damnedest to make sure she understood and believed it with time.
Chapter Nine
Whit shifted in his seat, or maybe it was his slight intake of breath that woke Presley Ann. She didn’t move at first, trying to orient herself in the room. She wasn’t at home. With a smile, she remembered why. The warmth of two strong men surrounded her. Men who’d made love to her last night until she’d climaxed to within an inch of her life. As she took in a slow deep breath, she inhaled their scents and a shiver of joy rippled down her spine.
Taking stock of her position, she eased out from between them, careful to not knee or jab either of them with her elbows. She scooted to the end of the bed, realizing she had nothing to cover up with. Her clothing was probably still in the living room, and she couldn’t recall where her overnight bag had gotten to during the evening.
The fire Kendry had lit for them in the small bedroom fireplace had reduced to red embers. Moving quietly, she poked at the coals and added a couple of small mesquite logs and then went to Whit. She smiled at him as he looked up at her in the dim light. She grabbed the blanket that was draped over the recliner they’d placed him in and wrapped it around her to stay warm. Whit didn’t care if she was naked underneath so neither did she. She tried to be quiet as she pulled the Velcro closures loose on his seat and, discovering that his diaper was soaked to full capacity, she changed him quickly, got him back in his plush sleeper, and then climbed into the recliner with him.
“Hey, sugar bear,” she whispered as he rooted and made little hungry sounds as she got them settled. “Such a good boy for Mama. Here you go.” He latched on and she sent a thankful prayer heavenward because she’d been engorged almost painfully. He took in a deep shaky breath as she cuddled him and then began gulping as Mother Nature got her groove on.
In the large bed nearby, two wonderful men who seemed to care an awful lot about her slumbered on after making love to her. And they wanted her, and her baby, to be there in the morning. Would she ever get over the sensation she didn’t deserve the happiness that filled her heart?
Whit’s little hand was warm on the swell of her breast and the overwhelming happiness made her flush all over. To feel this happy, this blessed, was something she wouldn’t have believed the day she found out she was expecting. Realizing Whit was struggling to keep up, she slid another pillow beneath her elbow to lift his head so he wouldn’t choke as the rush of milk got a little ahead of what he could handle.
As the feeding tsunami subsided, she pulled the soft blanket closer around her shoulders and laid her head back to gaze into the fire. She didn’t know where this thing with them was going. She didn’t know if they would want to deal with her long term, once the newness of the relationship had worn off, and didn’t know if they could handle having a growing baby that wasn’t theirs underfoot. She didn’t even know if she could handle it, because she’d never had a long term relationship. But she wanted one with them, she realized. It wasn’t because of the comfort she felt in their home, the luxury of nursing before a fire, the beauty of the surrounding land or the river nearby. It was the men sleeping just a few feet away. Just to be near them. To have something that lasted. To be with men who looked at her and could see her true heart and her desire to make something of herself, even if she was getting a late start.
“I want that,” she whispered to herself, and to Whit, in the dark. “I want that for you, too, sugar bear.” She stroked his cheek and smiled when he patted her breast. After a few minutes, she shifted the pillows and then turned him to nurse the other side. Once he was settled, she rested her head back against the cushiony headrest of the recliner and let her thoughts drift as she stared into the fire.
* * * *
Movement on the bed made Kendry stir and turn to his back. The first thing he noticed was the cool space on the bed between him and Jared. Presley Ann should be there. He glanced toward the bathroom and then noticed that someone had added more wood to the fire he’d started in the fireplace earlier.
A rough hand on his shoulder drew his attention, and when his brother’s face came into focus he noticed his sappy smile. Jared pointed at the recliner in the corner where Presley Ann was curled up with the baby. She must’ve wrapped a blanket around herself before climbing into the deeply padded recliner to nurse the baby and had fallen asleep. Her blonde hair was spread out all around her, and the edges of the blanket had fallen away from her as she slept. Now she lay there with her knees drawn up, pillows wedged in all around her, and Whit cuddled up to her chest with his little cheek smooshed against one of her breasts. The bed shook slightly and Kendry smiled as he made out Jared’s soft laughter.
“I wish I had my camera,” Kendry said, “I want to remember her like this forever.”
“Him, too. Lucky little dude,” Jared whispered. “But she’d probably kill you if you did. It would embarrass her because she wouldn’t get why we like her like this.”
“Should we leave her that way?” Kendry asked. “She’ll wake up with a stiff neck if she stays like that.”
Jared climbed silently from the bed, slipped his flannel pajama bottoms on, and whispered, “I’ll take care of Whit. You carry her back to bed.”
With gentle care, Jared bent over her and kissed her crown as he slowly lifted Whit from her chest. She shuddered and stirred and looked up at them sleepily, and then smiled. The baby fussed for a few seconds before Jared turned him and got him settled against his bare chest and he fell right back to sleep again.
Presley Ann and Kendry watched as Jared stood in front of the baby seat, contemplating his next move. He looked at them, shrugged, and then carried Whit over to the other side of the bed and lay back down with the baby curled up on his chest. The baby never made a sound.
She made a sweet purring sound as he wrapped his arms around her nude body and lifted her from the recliner. After placing her in the bed, she turned to her right side and cuddled close to Jared so she could pat the baby’s bottom and Kendry spooned up behind her.
She looked back at him, questions in her eyes, and he kissed her shoulder and laid his head back down. He didn’t mind that she immediately scooted close to his brother, and the only way to prove that was to show her how easily she fit between them. His cock tingled briefly as he imagined her between them in a much more carnal setting but he harnessed his thoughts. He didn’t want her to think he was a horndog and she’d had enough for one night.
* * * *
Sensing morning’s approach, Presley Ann stirred and rose from the bed, engorged once again and in need of feeding Whit. She pulled on the comfy yoga pants and long-sleeved T-shirt that she’d packed to wear that morning, pulled her hair back in a ponytail, and then put on her red sling. She smiled as she eased her sleeping boy
off of Jared’s chest, where he was sprawled.
He’d peeped earlier in his sleep and she’d known it was a matter of time before he started fussing so she acted preemptively to allow the guys to sleep since according to the bedside clock it was five. She got his diaper changed as quickly as possible and then put him in the sling.
While Whit nursed, she went to the kitchen in search of tea, which Jared had told her was in the cabinet with the coffee. She really wanted coffee, especially on a crisp morning like this one, but Whit didn’t need the caffeine so she was contenting herself with whatever decaffeinated tea she could find. In this case it was chamomile. While her tea steeped she started a pot of coffee for the men. If she couldn’t drink it, at least she could enjoy the scent as it brewed.
Sipping her steaming tea, she peered out the windows at the back of the house. The river, dark grayish-green and muddy from a recent rain, rushed by beyond the treed yard. Grabbing his heavy blanket and a towel from a stack on the nearby washing machine, she took her tea and her little man out onto the wooden back deck to enjoy the cool morning air.
Adirondack chairs were lined up randomly on one end of the deep deck, and she took a seat in one. Whit yawned widely, made what amounted to a yummy-sound, and then went back to his breakfast. She cooed to him and brushed at his wisps of black hair as the soft breeze waved them to and fro.
Lately, she’d been having to adjust how she tied the sling because he was growing fast, filling out into a little chunk. She smiled down at him as he grunted softly and pushed his little fist against her breast. He took his mealtimes seriously.
A soft shuffling sound drew her attention, followed by the bouncy sound of a tennis ball rolling across the deck before coming to a stop beside her sneaker.
Looking up, she spotted the source of the noise and said, “Holy freaking moley. They said you were big but I had no idea. C’mere.” Showing no fear, she held her hand out palm up to the pair of enormous Great Danes padding from one end of the deck toward her. One was covered in large black and white patches, with little dots over where she supposed eyebrows would grow, giving him a perpetually puckish look. He walked right up to her and nudged her hand with his big nose. The other Great Dane, a brindle, approached her until he, too, sat next to her chair. He tilted his head at her as he slowly leaned his big boxy head to her and sniffed her hand.
He looked at the other dog, chuffed softly, and then picked up the ball and dropped it in her lap.
She snorted and picked up the sopping wet tennis ball. “Well, I guess that’s that, huh? Did I pass muster?” she asked as she cocked her wrist as if to throw.
They both stood, bodies suddenly full of tension, ready to race as she raised it over her head. The black one made a false start, and she giggled as she threw it into the yard. The deck vibrated as they launched themselves after the ball, play-fighting each other for it as they caught up to it.
The black and white Great Dane, which she had a feeling was Loki, flopped onto the other dog and stole the ball before trotting back with a regal air and dropped the ball in her lap again. He leaned his nose in and sniffed at Whit, making Whit’s hair dance back and forth with the forceful puffs of his breath, and then he licked the top of Whit’s head with his long slobbery tongue.
Shaking with laughter at the flabbergasted look on Whit’s face, she said, “Awesome. Yeah, you’re definitely Loki. Go get it, boy.” She threw the ball and smiled down at Whit, who now sported a mohawk. “That means he likes you, I think. It also means you’re getting a bath in a little while because I don’t kiss boys who smell like dogs.”
The fragrance of burning wood, probably from the fireplace, reached her nose. She settled back, smiling as the dogs chased and tussled for the ball, breathing in the crisp scents of the season, which was more like a stereotypical fall than actual winter. The pecan trees had begun to lose their leaves but the oak trees were still clad in their dark green foliage.
Supporting Whit’s head and upper body, she rose from the chair. Even standing, the dogs’ heads came up to her chest as she stroked both of them and they trailed her as she picked up the blanket and the big towel and walked down the back porch steps and out into the neatly kept yard. Off to one side was another smaller building made from the same sort of rock as the house. A rock path led up to it and rose bushes rambled on either side of the entrance. She was both enchanted by it and curious as to its use.
The dogs stayed by her the whole time as she took a walk around. She’d awakened with stiff muscles but the soreness made her smile as she stretched her arms over her head and twisted around as she recalled the intensity and tenderness of making love with Kendry and Jared the night before.
She’d been understandably nervous, but Kendry had gone slow, easing his cock inside her so gradually that it was she who had begged him for more. And even then, he’d been so gentle, so caring, making sure that she came more than once. They both had. A multitude of emotions rippled through her as she wrapped her arms around herself and Whit. She could grow addicted to that kind of happiness.
She spread the towel on the ground and then put the blanket on top of it. After removing Whit from the sling she laid him down so he could look up into the trees.
Both dogs drew near, tails wagging and ears perked up, and she patted them as they gave the baby tentative sniffs before settling down nearby. If they hadn’t been so well-behaved on the porch she never would’ve gone out in the yard and got down on the ground with them. Judging by their manners, Kendry and Jared had worked with both dogs. It was like having two small horses crowded close to her as they positioned themselves so they were in easy range for ear scratches. They made the funniest conversational sounds as she paid attention to them and to Whit.
The sun peaked out from behind the puffy clouds rolling by on the horizon, and she sat there, watching the river, patting the dogs, and smiling for no apparent reason. It’d been a long time since she’d just…sat and watched the world do its thing. The sun rose higher over the rooftop, filling the morning with promise and warming her back with its rays.
A squirrel or some other animal chittered in the distance and both dogs leaped up and took off for the hunt. Even the ground trembled a little as they raced off.
Smiling down at Whit, she tweaked his toes and lifted his legs up to pump them and said, “What do you think about that? Two new big doggie friends for you and me.” He gave a soundless grin and then rubbed at his eyes with his balled up fists and yawned.
The sounds of the dogs crashing through the brush made her laugh as they emerged from the wooded area again. “I guess they make their own paths.”
* * * *
Standing with a cup of coffee in hand as he looked out the back window, Kendry’s wide open, satisfying yawn was cut short as he watched Loki and Thor emerge on a tear from the wooded area of the yard. They loped straight at Presley Ann, who was currently sitting out in the yard, playing with and talking to the baby.
Coffee sloshed everywhere as he set the mug on the counter and jerked the back door open.
“What?” Jared asked as he poured a cup of coffee for himself.
“The dogs!”
“Shit!”
He ran out on the porch as the dogs neared her and drew breath to yell their names, but Presley Ann beat him to the punch.
“Good dogs. Sit.” She patted the ground beside her and the dogs vied playfully for the spot closest to her until she raised a finger at them and pointed at the ground. “Sit!”
The dogs obeyed immediately and Kendry chuckled, thinking he’d obey her, too. In his experience, Presley Ann was a soft touch, but he’d seen little glimpses here and there of the steel inside her and he liked it.
“Looks like she’s got them under control,” Jared murmured with wry amusement in his tone as he stirred sugar into his coffee. “Wonder how long she’s been up.”
“Long enough to have her tea,” he said as he brought her mug back inside. Then Jared followed him out onto the back
porch and down the steps. She had her back to them, but she looked over her shoulder when Loki and Thor both sat to attention with ears pricked.
“Whatcha doin’, kitten?” Kendry asked as he stroked the back of her head before squatting down beside her. He kissed her and then released her to kiss Jared.
“How do you feel this morning?” Jared asked as he pecked her softly once again.
“I feel good.” She smiled as she looked around them and then down at Whit, who gave her a grin in return. “This…”
Kendry leaned forward, trying to guess her emotions as she seemed to cast about for words. “Yeah?”
She let out a long breath and then swallowed. “I have this moment. All this beauty. Us.” She looked around her, her gaze fastened on the nearby woods which were alive with turning color in shades of red, orange, and brown, before returning her gaze to him. “This is my Christmas memory. Right here.”
Kendry smoothed her hair back and when he saw her eyes well up as she smiled, he said, “Hey, now. What brought this on?”
“You and Jared. The peace. I’m…happy.” Her tone was a whisper by the time she said the last two words and then she chuckled. “I’ve even been getting to know these two giants,” she said, scratching Loki behind the ear and then obliging Thor when he nudged her hand with his nose. “Did you sleep well?”
“Well enough,” Kendry said as he fingered the stiffened fringe of hair standing up on Whit’s head. “I see the dogs have gotten acquainted with Whit-Man.”
“Yup,” Jared said as he gently lifted Whit and his blanket from the towel on the ground and sat down with her. Kendry grabbed up the wet tennis ball and both dogs jumped to attention and froze, eyes on him.
“Get it,” he said as he chucked the ball toward the house. Thor chuffed and they were off again, kicking up clods of cut grass as they chased the ball and each other.
“They act like puppies. How old are they?”
Absentminded Angel [Divine Creek Ranch 20] (Siren Publishing Ménage Everlasting) Page 12