A love Gable wasn’t about to give up on so easily.
He stood, but stopped Varek from standing beside him with a hand on his shoulder. “I’m going to go back to him and force him to hear the truth,” Gable said.
“Let me go with you.” Varek tried to rise again, but Gable stopped him again. This time with a kiss, a gentle kiss on his full lips that was as bitter as it was sweet. What if this was the last time he ever kissed Varek? What if the only way to right the wrong he’d done was to give up both of the men he loved?
Gable swallowed and ran an affectionate hand over Varek’s bald head. It would be worth it. If he had to go so that Varek and Kylar could both be happy, then that’s exactly what he would do. “I love you,” he whispered.
“I love you too,” Varek said, his eyes narrower than usual. He obviously suspected Gable was up to something. Hopefully, by the time suspicion turned to action Gable would have convinced Kylar of Varek’s love and he himself would be gone. Gable turned and started back down the row of bunks.
“Be careful,” Varek called after him.
“I will,” Gable whispered to himself. For the first time in weeks of carefree enjoyment of his two loves, he was going to be very careful indeed.
Chapter Seven
Kylar didn’t hear a sound. There was no crunch of gravel, no footfalls outside the house. Gable was simply not there one minute, and crouched on the sill of his open window the next.
“Get out,” Kylar mumbled from the chair in the corner of the bedroom, the place where he’d collapsed when Gable and Varek had left. He didn’t know how long he’d been there. Maybe hours. All he knew is that the pain wasn’t getting any better. If anything, it hurt more now to look into Gable’s soft brown eyes than it did before.
How could he still be so breathtaking? Even now that Kylar knew for a fact that all that innocent goodness he’d thought he saw inside Gable was only an act?
“No. You’re going to listen to me first.” Gable jumped lightly from the windowsill. He was in his bare feet, but still…he should have made some sound. But he didn’t. He was silent as a ghost, a phantom.
That’s all he was to Kylar now, something terrible come to haunt him.
“I don’t listen to dead people,” he said, his voice smooth and even. He had to stay cold and emotionless, it was the only way to survive whatever lies Gable had come here to tell.
“Are you threatening to kill me?” Gable asked, the feigned devastation in his expression cutting Kylar straight through to the heart.
“No,” he said, through gritted teeth. “I’m saying that you are dead to me. You were dead to me from the second my father told me the truth.”
“The truth.” Gable shook his head, his fear turning to disgust. “As if your father has ever told you the truth. Was it the truth that you were weaker than the other boys when you were young?”
“I was small for my age.”
“But you weren’t weak.” Gable moved closer, the intensity in his eyes making Kylar hold his tongue. “You were strong and you’ve only gotten stronger in spite of how hard that man has worked to keep you down. You’re one of the best trackers I’ve ever seen, and so much braver than I thought you were when we first met. Your bravery is… Well, it’s one of the things I’ve come to love most about you. So please…don’t turn into a coward on me now.”
“Get out of my house.”
“Your father has never told you the truth. He’s played on your insecurities and your fears and used them to manipulate you. He doesn’t love you the way you deserve to be loved.” Gable swallowed and his hands fisted at his sides. “The way that Varek and I love you. We still want to be your family. Love doesn’t just give up because things get hard. I know you’re scared and hurt, but—”
“Get out,” Kylar said, refusing to soften. He wanted to believe Gable was as sincere as he looked, but he couldn’t. Gable was a gifted liar. “Get out or I’ll have you whipped tomorrow. In front of the entire Pride.”
“You wouldn’t.”
“Try me.”
Gable nodded slowly, a new sadness tightening his face. “Maybe you would.” He sighed and ran a hand through his hair. “It doesn’t matter. I won’t be here tomorrow.”
“What?”
“I’m leaving. Tonight. Right now.”
The thought made a fresh wave of pain roll through Kylar’s heart. Gable and Varek were running away together. As a Free member of the Pride he was obligated to stop them, but he wasn’t going to. Let them go. After all, he believed all slaves deserved their freedom…just not at the price of his heart. “Wonderful,” he said. “Good luck to you both.”
“Varek isn’t coming with me,” Gable said. “He doesn’t even know.”
“What? But—”
“This is my fault. It was my idea to try to love you, and now…” Gable shook his head. “I couldn’t live with myself knowing I’d taken all the love in your life away from you and made Varek miserable. I want you both to be happy.”
“I’ll be happy when you’re out of my house,” Kylar said, but his voice broke on the last word. A house. This was just a house now because only Gable and Varek had made it feel like a home.
“I love you,” Gable said, nothing but care in his eyes. “I want you to be that man who dreamed with me and hoped for a future filled with love. I don’t want your father to take that from you. You deserve to be loved.”
Kylar laughed, but it was a mean sound. “You think so?”
“I know so. And Varek loves you. Believe that if you believe nothing else.”
Kylar paused, and some of the bitterness seeped away in the silence. “Maybe,” he finally whispered. “But he loves you more.”
“He’s loved me longer,” Gable said, “but he doesn’t love like that. There’s no pecking order. When Varek does something, he does it all the way. He loves you, and I know you two could be happy together.”
Somewhere, deep inside, Kylar felt Gable’s words ignite a spark of hope inside him. Maybe he was telling the truth. Maybe he really was here to sacrifice himself so that the people he loved could be happy. Maybe Gable was as good a soul as he’d believed from the first. Maybe…
“Your happiness and Varek’s…they’re the only things that really matter to me.” Gable took a step back toward the window and Kylar’s heart screamed in protest. Could he really let Gable go, just let him walk out of here and never see his face again? The thought was…unthinkable. “And maybe…” Gable took another horrible step. “Well…maybe your father won’t be as angry about a traditional warrior mating.”
“Fuck my father.”
“Not if he were the last man on earth,” Gable said.
And then Kylar did something even more shocking than the hope. He smiled, a faint curl of his lips that made a laugh rumble through his chest. “Gable, I—”
“He can’t take you up on your offer.” The voice came from outside the window just seconds before Varek vaulted up and over the ledge, squeezing through with a bit more difficulty than the slight Gable.
“Varek!” Gable’s eyes went wide. “What are you—”
“I can’t let you do this for me. Or for Kylar.” Varek’s eyes met Kylar’s, asking silently for his help. “You’d never survive alone, Gable. It would be suicide.”
“No it wouldn’t,” Gable said.
“Yes, it would.” Varek lifted his hands, pleading with Kylar to protect the man they both loved. Loved. He still loved Gable and his good heart, he still loved Varek and his fierce, protective spirit. They were still the people he’d come to care for so much. He’d seen through to the core of them where lies could never survive. Gable’s attempt to right the wrong he’d done wasn’t a lie, and neither was their love.
“Please, Kylar,” Varek begged. “Don’t let him go.”
Kylar took a long, hard look at Varek’s face, but found nothing manipulative or selfish in the other man’s expression. All he saw was care and concern and regret. Varek didn’t want
them to end this way. This wasn’t about who was Free and Unfree, it was about three people who were meant to be together.
Kylar suddenly didn’t care how the three of them had begun, just so long as they ended up a family.
“I’m going,” Gable said. “I’m a big boy and—”
“You’re not.” Kylar stood up from his chair, new life coursing through his veins. It felt like he was seeing clearly for the first time since he sat down in his father’s study. “You’re a runt and the gentlest person I’ve ever met. You’d probably be eaten alive before you made it to Seattle. But…those are two of the things I love about you.”
“They are?” Gable asked, looking at Kylar with eyes that still feared to hope.
“They are. And I don’t think you should go anywhere.”
“You do?” A shy smile curved Gable’s lips. “You don’t?”
“I do,” Kylar said, turning to Varek. “And I’ll say ‘I do’ to both of you whenever you’re ready. I’ll fucking say it tomorrow if we can get the Elders to perform the ceremony. Screw my father and everything else.”
“Really?” Tears rose in Gable’s eyes as a real smile broke across his face. His grin lit up the room, set fire to the last shred of doubt inside Kylar and burned it to ash.
“Really.” Kylar smiled back. “I love you. Both of you. We might have started with a lie, but the way we feel about each other is real.”
“It’s the most real thing I’ve ever known.” Varek reached a hand out to him. Kylar took it and reached his hand out to Gable, who laughed and threw his arms around both of their necks.
“This isn’t a time to shake hands!” Gable pressed a kiss to Varek’s cheek, and then to Kylar’s. There, he lingered for a moment, sighing against Kylar’s skin before moving on to Kylar’s mouth. Their mouths met and lips parted and Gable’s tongue twined with Kylar’s, sending sweet spirals of longing through his entire body. And then Varek was behind him.
Varek’s thick arms wrapped around Kylar’s waist far enough to grab fistfuls of Gable’s shirt and pull them all closer. Gable’s body pressed against Kylar’s, bringing the hard ridge of his arousal tight against his own. Behind him, Varek’s erection nudged into his back with an insistence that left no doubt how much Varek wanted him.
Love ahead, love behind and Kylar wasn’t going to let any of it go to waste.
“I think we all need to be wearing fewer clothes,” he mumbled against Gable’s lips. “Now.”
Gable smiled and reached for the bottom of his sweater while Kylar worked open Gable’s belt and Varek’s busy hands took care of Kylar’s clothing in record time. “Going for the lube,” Varek said, and took off toward the master bath. It was the last place they’d used it, when they’d shared a shower early that morning. Kylar was so glad he wasn’t going to have to go back to showering alone, or doing anything alone, ever again.
“Hurry.” Kylar stepped out of his pants and reached for Gable. He ran soft fingers over Gable’s olive skin, down his flat abdomen to the thick thatch of black hair that sheltered the base of his cock. “It would have been a shame not to see this ever again,” Kylar said as he wrapped his hand around Gable’s erection and gave a gentle tug.
“A crying shame.” Gable’s breath caught as Kylar found a slow rhythm with his hand. A naked Varek returned just as Gable’s head fell back with a moan.
“You two are…” Varek trailed off as Kylar turned and found Varek’s cock with his other hand.
“We’re what? Cat got your tongue?” Kylar asked, a hint of a smile on his face that Varek obviously didn’t miss.
“No, you’ve got my cock. Much better.” The larger man’s eyes sparkled as he opened the lube and squeezed a dime-sized circle on the head of his burgeoning erection. “Only thing better would be my cock in your ass.”
“What about my ass?” Gable asked, his tone playful despite the fact that his breath was coming faster with every stroke of Kylar’s skilled hand.
“Let’s take care of your cock first.” Kylar moved his hand aside while Varek dribbled lube along Gable’s arousal and then returned to spread slickness over every inch of his lover’s hot length. He did the same to Varek. He wanted them both to be ready for what he hoped would happen next. He stroked them harder, up and down, faster and faster, until their sacs grew full and Gable began to leak milky fluid. Only when he was certain they were both slick and aching, both near the edge, did he turn and kneel in front of the chair he’d been sitting on when they jumped in the window, lean forward and spread his legs.
“Both of you,” he said, looking over his shoulder. “I want you both to fuck me.”
Gable sucked in a breath, his eyes glittering. Varek’s cock twitched with eagerness, but Varek still shook his head. “We don’t want to hurt you. Let Gable and I—”
“Both. Now.” Kylar tilted his hips, showing them his tight, pink hole. “I’ve been dreaming about this since that night by the waterfall.”
Varek’s expression wavered. “No. I don’t think—”
“What’s the point of being a shifter if you can’t push your body a little too far in the name of pleasure?” Kylar asked, with a suggestive roll of his hips.
Gable smiled, took the lube from the table and smoothed some onto his thumb. “I think you’re a smart man.” A second later, his thumb was in Kylar’s ass, probing him open, relaxing his hole, getting him so slick that—when Gable finally dropped the lube and eased his cock inside—he triggered nothing but a feeling of fullness and desire. A desire that only blazed brighter when Varek’s big hands lifted Gable, arranging his knees beside Kylar’s hips so that Varek’s cock could begin to press inside Kylar’s hole just beneath Gable’s.
For a moment, there was a flash of pain and a burning feeling as Varek’s thick head pushed past Kylar’s anal ring and then…more perfect fullness than Kylar had dreamt he could hold inside him. He was strained to the limit, forced to take all of the men he loved. He could feel how tight their cocks pressed together inside of him, hear the moans of ecstasy as they slowly started to move together—careful, careful, until they couldn’t be careful anymore.
Faster, faster, deeper, deeper—Varek and Gable drove inside of him, until all three of them were grunting and moaning and fighting not to come. Even with nothing but the rough velvet of the chair rubbing against his cock, Kylar was close to losing himself. When Gable’s hand found him a minute later, it was all he could do to hold back, to keep from spilling himself into his lover’s hand.
But he wanted Varek and Gable to come with him, wanted them to come in his ass, wanted them to come so hard that Kylar would feel the spray of them deep inside him.
“Come,” he panted. “Come with me.”
“Always,” Varek growled. A second later, he cried out with the force of his release, a victory cry that sent Kylar spiraling over the edge. His cock jerked and spasmed in Gable’s hand, making Gable shudder and his own orgasm sweep him into the tide of pleasure.
“God, I love you,” Gable cried out and Kylar knew he meant both of them—he and Varek—his two loves who would be inseparable from this night forward.
No matter what came next, Varek, Gable and Kylar would face it together. Kylar’s father might disown him, he might never see his mother again and they might all face challenges from the Pride as the Orion people moved toward a more tolerant, accepting future. But any sacrifice, any hardship, would be worth this…magic they created together.
“I’m so glad you chose us,” Gable whispered as they all lay sprawled on the carpet a few minutes later, too spent to crawl the ten feet to the bed.
“There was no other choice,” Kylar said, running lazy hands over the furred thighs of both the beloved people lying close to him. “I love you.”
“And we love you,” Varek said.
“Yes. We do.” Gable sighed and then they all fell quiet. Because there was nothing else to be said. The decision was made. They were a family and would never face any decision alone again.
>
About the Author
A.D. Christopher came back to his love of writing after ten years as a florist and wedding planner. A love of romance, combined with a passion for…passion, inspired him to pen tales of strong, powerful men and the alpha males who love them. A.D. is lucky to have many gay friends, as well as straight friends who know how to act gay in public.
He welcomes mail from readers and is thrilled to be writing for Ellora’s Cave.
A.D. welcomes comments from readers. You can find his website and email address on his author bio page at www.ellorascave.com.
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Also by A.D. Christopher
Feast of the Flesh
Necessary Seduction
Necessary Temptation
Sacrifice of the Stone
Two if by Sea
Print books by A.D. Christopher
Aquamarine Allure anthology
Glamorous Garnet anthology
Taboo Treats anthology
Discover for yourself why readers can’t get enough of the multiple award-winning publisher Ellora’s Cave. Whether you prefer e-books or paperbacks, be sure to visit EC on the web at www.ellorascave.com for an erotic reading experience that will leave you breathless.
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