by Louisa Bacio
He paused and listened to the rain. At times, there was something freeing about talking, as much as he wanted, without getting a response. Sometimes, though, he truly wished to simply hear the sound of his mother's voice again. She used to sing him a lullaby before bed, especially after she got pregnant again. She'd rub Trev's hair and back with one hand, and absentmindedly rub her belly with her other hand.
Trevor had been seven years old when his mother died at home giving birth to his younger sister, Silver.
Almost eighteen years had passed, and he still remembered hearing the weak crying of his new sister, and his own wailing at the loss of his mother drowning out all other sound. After that day, he'd never seen his father again, and they didn't have any other living relatives that were willing to take in two young children. His sister had been adopted out. Who didn't want a newborn baby girl? At seven, he was already considered difficult to place. At that time, they didn't take into consideration keeping the siblings together, and there was no such thing as an “open” adoption. So Trevor had been placed into foster care, like Lily, and he never saw his sister again.
Soon, Silver would be eighteen, and if she requested access to her adoption records, she'd find the letter that he'd given the caseworker years ago. When Trevor hit his teenage years and began undergoing his wolfy transformation, he'd run away from the group homes and hit the streets.
Some nights he slept warm in a safe house, with a full belly, but most of the time, he survived cold, hungry, and alone. That is, until Lawrence saved him.
A crunch of the seashells strewn out along the cemetery's path alerted Trevor to the fact that another had crept up behind him. He tensed up, ready to defend himself, and then heard the deep voice of his lover.
“I thought I might find you here.”
It was Lawrence. The man who always knew how to find him, and the man who could always make him feel better.
Trevor turned around, and without a word, wrapped himself within Lawrence's inviting embrace. The roughness of his cheek rubbed against Law's soft black sweater, and Trev breathed in his lover's naturally woodsy scent. For a creature of the dead, Law always smelled very much alive, and of the earth. Just being near him, in his arms, infused a sense of comfort through Trevor's body. It was as if Law's body gave him energy.
“How did you find me?” Trev asked, uselessly. It didn't really matter where he hid when he was upset. Law always seemed to have the knack of finding him. That's the main reason why Trev always believed his vampire-lover when Lawrence promised never to leave him.
Once promised, Lawrence Justice kept to his word.
“Lily said that you had left a bit … flustered about something,” Law said. “She was afraid for you. As soon as I woke and came downstairs, she sent me out to find you.”
At the mention of Lily's name, Trevor gave a short snort, and flared his nostrils. It was one thing to start to feel dependent on the new woman, and quite something else for her to be acknowledging that connection, even before anything physical had taken place between them.
Then again, maybe Lawrence had already treaded those sacred grounds. He looked into the cool, gray eyes of his best friend and would-be lover, and he new it wasn't his place to feel jealous.
“And I was worried, too,” Law continued. “It's not like you to run off on responsibilities. What's up?”
They continued to have an open relationship. Although they'd been together a number of years, given Law's nature, it was best if he kept other donor-lovers. He needed blood to survive, and unfortunately, Trevor could only offer up so much.
“I'm not sure what to think about her,” Trev said, clearly meaning Lily. “It's like she's already part of our lives. She lives in our home, and works with us, and I see her becoming part of our family, but I still don't trust her.”
“Hold on. We haven't signed a three-way marriage license yet,” Lawrence said, making light of the situation. “We're helping her. It's one of the things we do, right?”
Almost like a parent interacting with a child, Lawrence placed his fingertips on Trevor's downcast chin and tilted his face up to look directly in his eyes. The feeling of possessiveness that coursed through Trevor's body, and straight to his crotch had nothing to do with paternal instincts.
“Right,” he admitted. “But I feel out of control, and she's borderline losing it, and I'm afraid someone's going to get hurt. If not physically, then emotionally.”
“My sensitive little werewolf,” Lawrence teased. “That's why you're with an immortal, right? No one's going to hurt me. And, as you know, it takes someone very special to get into my heart.”
Trevor pushed his wet hair off his forehead, breaking the physical bond with Law, and sank back down to the ground, against the tomb. “We don't know what we're dealing with here, Law. She's like nothing we've come across before. Are you afraid, at all?”
Lawrence settled down against the cold cement with him, looping one arm around his shoulders. “Definitely worried about what might happen. When you've lived as long as I have, though, you learn that no matter what path you take, the future will always happen. And, we can't always control it.”
“We could take steps to help keep the potential danger away,” Trevor said, his train of thought trailing off.
“Like what? Kicking Lily to the streets, without any idea who she is, or what's happening to her?”
With a slight shrug of his shoulders, Trevor sighed. “No, that wouldn't be right.”
“She may end up hurting others, and something tells me she wouldn't survive either,” Lawrence said. “Plus, as you alluded to, there is that physical connection that seems to run through the three of us. Aren't you curious at all where that might end up?”
“Hell yes, I'm ‘curious,’” Trevor said. “So fucking curious that I stand behind that counter and daydream about leaning her over the stacks of books and fucking her brains out, of sucking on her sweet clit until she screams in pleasure. It's about all I can do to keep my hands off her.”
“Ah, I see,” Lawrence said. “Sounds like someone's emotions are a bit too real right now. Anything I can do to help relieve some of this ‘pressure’ you have built up?”
With a sureness of a regular lover, Lawrence rubbed the palm of his hand against Trevor's crotch, squeezing the hardness that yearned for release. The were stretched up to meet Law's lips in a hot kiss that belied the dropping temperatures around them. Lawrence nibbled on Trevor's lower lip, and Trev moaned in response. Hot and fevered, Trevor ran his hands through Lawrence's hair, feeling the slickness and drawing him in closer.
How good it would feel to take him here, to feel Law's mouth against his aching cock. His wicked tongue along the shaft. Law's hand slipped in his jeans, and Trevor inhaled as his cold fingers brushed the burning surface of the skin. He needed the release before returning home and seeing that witch. Witch? When did he become sure that Lilianna was some sort of witch?
“Aww, gawd, not here,” Trevor pulled back. “My mom. I'm sorry Law, but I'd feel like my mom is watching us, and I just can't.”
Lawrence laughed, a deep, throaty release that made Trevor smile just hearing it.
“Come on,” Lawrence said, grabbing Trev's hand and pulling him up from the soft bed of grass. “You wannna go fuck on those statues used in the Easy Rider film? The ones people are always sneaking in here to do the nasty on?”
“No, not tonight,” Trevor said, “maybe another time. I've got one more thing I'd like to do before we leave.”
Together, hand in hand, they made their way back out toward the front gates. At one mausoleum covered with graffiti, overflowing with offerings—wacky tokens such as books, matchsticks, mini bottles of liquor and scattered coins—Trevor stopped. The front nameplate had been cleaned off so many times that the engraved names had lost their edge and were almost flat and smooth. He laid his hand on the side of the tomb, thinking of the countless others who had done the same thing, day after day, for an unknown amount of tim
e.
The material beneath his hand felt oddly warm, as if it held in the heat of the day, or the wishes of those who asked for favors. Or maybe there was another reason why it almost felt alive to Trevor. He closed his eyes and made his wish, what he asked for every time his visited this cemetery, his own desires barely admitted.
When through, he laid a golden Sacagawea coin on the ground, murmuring, “Another strong woman in offering to you,” and looked at Lawrence. The vamp's eyes were dark, and some thought lay hidden.
At first, he didn't say anything, and then he finally commented: “I've warned you about messing too much with what you don't understand,” Lawrence. “Marie Laveau was a powerful Voodoo queen, as was her daughter, but often those favors come with a price.”
“I know,” Trevor said, “but sometimes a thing is worth the price.”
Even through the dark, Trevor could see Lawrence shaking his head, as if he didn't understand. He took Trevor's hand again, and said, “Let's go home.”
Chapter Fourteen
Trevor
“I think we need to further research the possibility of Lily being a witch,” Trevor said. “Her powers lean that way.”
“Already on that path,” Lawrence said, “but good thinking.”
They returned to the store, and Trevor felt a little shy toward Lily. He didn't really want to see her, and answer the questions that he knew he'd glimpse in her eyes. As luck would have it, though, she was right there behind the counter as soon as they walked in.
“Are you all right?” she asked, addressing Trevor right away. Her gaze immediately jumped directly to Lawrence. “I was so worried.”
“Everything will be fine,” Lawrence, said placing his palm on the small of Trevor's back and giving him a little push further into the store. The sound of the door locking behind them made Trevor look back. With a smile on his face, Lawrence flipped the “open” sign to “closed” and gave Trevor a slight wink.
“Trevor needed a little time to think about what's been going on,” Law continued, “and he's got some steam he's got to let out. We were hoping you might be able to help with that situation.”
Damn, what the hell was he doing? Trevor thought. Lawrence knew the reservations that Trevor was having.
“Lawrence,” he said, “I thought we were going to wait and see what was up first.” He lifted his eyebrows and tilted his head in Lily's direction and hoped to hell that Lawrence would get the hint.
“Anything I can do to help,” Lily said, moving around the counter toward them. Her lavender-colored sweater molded to the contours of her breasts, and then flared out over shapely hips. A long, flowing black skirt swayed with each step as she walked closer to him. In slow motion, she licked her juicy red lips, and Trevor zoomed in on the unconscious action, a pulse of desire shooting directly down to his crotch.
His feet planted on the floor, Trevor stood waiting for someone else to make the next move. He didn't trust himself. Fantasy was one thing … acting out on those fantasies before he was mentally, and emotionally, ready? Images of the three of them entwined on the bed, nude, hands and mouths exploring each other's most secret spots sprinted through his mind.
Damn. The fun that they could have.
Again, Lawrence took the lead. After all of his time on earth, he usually wasn't one to wait around for things to happen. And right now, at this moment, Trevor was starting to understand that about his vampire lover. When he wanted something, he went for it.
Lawrence grabbed Trevor by one hand, and Lily by the other, and started walking toward the door to their loft.
“For what I have in mind, we're going to need some private time and space to stretch out,” he said.
They followed behind him, looking like two bad children being led by their parent. At the moment, Trevor felt anything but bad. He glanced at Lily, and the slight look of confusion on her face. Her brain must be running on overtime.
No one spoke another word until they reached the bedroom that Trevor and Lawrence shared. Lily appeared to be taking it all in—the lighting, the furniture, the bed—and Trevor felt like he was seeing it anew from her perspective. Sconces on the wall burned candles. Of course, the room had overhead and electric lighting throughout, too, but especially for setting the mood, Lawrence preferred candlelight.
In the center of the room was an oversized California king bed. A rich, burgundy velvet spread covered the bed, with a dozen fluffy throw pillows along the headboard. Lawrence went to the side, and pulled off the bedspread, revealing cobalt blue sheets. Trevor knew from plenty of experience that they only bought the highest, most softest thread count, and how amazing that difference felt on the naked skin. He was more than ready to get naked now, with these two on the bed.
“I don't know if I'm ready yet,” Lily said, her eyes growing wider. “I know that having sex is one of the items on my ‘list,’ but I'm still getting used to the idea …”
“No worries, mon amour,” Lawrence said, crossing the room, and taking her hands into his. “No pressure. Right now, don't worry about the ‘having sex’ part. Instead, just think about having fun.”
“And remember why we're here right now, it's about Trevor,” Law said, “and taking away some of his fears.”
With those words, Trevor could sense both of them looking at him. For the love of all that is holy, why did they have to put him on the spot like that? Then again, he was the one that had run out earlier. He was the one who couldn't take the pressure of an uncertain future.
Lawrence leaned in and started to kiss Lily, softly on her lips, and then trailing down to her chin, and neck. She moaned, and Trevor knew intimately the sensations Lawrence created. The way his soft lips felt along his burning skin. Now Law centered that loving on Lily, but not a hint of jealousy ran through Trevor. Instead, his senses were on alert with anticipation.
With one swift movement, Lawrence pulled that delicate sweater over Lily's head, exposing her beautiful full breasts. She wore a black lace bra, and the sight of that, with her pale white skin beneath, made Trevor's heart race. Reaching up, Law pulled the straps down her shoulders, fully exposing her before deftly removing her bra.
Lily pulled her arms up to cover her chest, and Lawrence moved them back down again, holding them lightly behind her back.
“There's no reason to cover yourself in front of us,” Lawrence said. “We want to see you in all your beauty. Don't we, Trev?”
That was his invitation to join in, to take that first step into becoming a threesome. He could leave the room now. Walk away, and let them have their fun. Where would that leave his relationship with Lawrence? With Lily? If he told himself that he didn't want her, that he didn't want to make love to the two of them, he'd only be lying.
He stepped out of his shoes, shucked his shirt and pants, sliding off his underwear in one easy motion, and slid under the covers. Might as well dive right in.
“I think we'd be much more comfortable in bed,” Trevor said.
Amusement danced in Lawrence's eyes. Yes, he knew that he had me.
All Trevor could see reflected in Lily's eyes was trust. She had come to them for help, and now she was willing to share this connection with him, and with them. She crawled under the covers, letting out a little nervous laugh. Her striking red hair fell over her face, and she put her head on the pillow.
She left her face covered, as if she used it as a veil to hide her insecurities and shyness. Trevor pushed it aside, and cradling her head in his hands, drew her close to him to sample her kisses.
She tasted like strawberries and chocolate and springtime, and, blended with her own flavor, he caught the faintest hint of Law. The average person probably would not pick up on the various hues, but with his heightened senses, he did. He molded his body to hers, and even through the thin material of her skirt, could feel the warmth of her thighs against his cock.
The bed shifted as Lawrence joined them, lying behind Lily. Trevor made eye contact above her body and thought,
Sometimes I do need an extra push for something I want. Perhaps, he wouldn't stay mad at Lawrence for too long.
Ever so tentatively, Lily reached down through the covers and touched Trevor's cock. He hissed in a breath, and she pulled away.
“It feels good,” he said. “Please touch me.”
Her hand returned, much more securely and firmly. She grabbed him around the girth of his cock, and started to lift her hand up and down, giving him a hand job. Just when the going got good, she stopped, brought her hand up to her mouth and slowly licked its length. She returned her grasp, now even wetter, and she continued her ministrations.
Behind her, Lawrence nibbled on her neck and blew on the lobe of her ear, before sucking it. “What else would you like to do to him?” he instigated.
“Taste him,” she replied.
“Can I taste you?” she asked Trevor.
Within her hand, his cock did a little jump in reply, and she laughed.
“I'll take that as a yes.”
She shimmed beneath the covers, and Trevor couldn't quite see where she was going. Suddenly, a warm inviting wetness slathered him. As her kiss-swollen lips met with his member, Trev about spilled his wad on the spot.
At that moment, he could easily imagine sharing her with Lawrence. Physically, emotionally, it could work. Sure, it would be less than traditional, but fuck traditional. They did things their own way anyhow.
He'd been with women before but there was something about this woman that felt like she completed them. His eyes met the lust-filled ones of Lawrence, and Trevor could see that he felt the connection too.
Lawrence got out of bed, and disappeared from Trevor's view; Trevor could hear him open up the drawer where they kept their lube and a few other sex toys. He came into the bed behind Trevor and pushed his body tight against the young were's. From both sides, Trevor felt desire resonate through him.