by Cara Adams
Piotr walked slowly over to where his car was parked, then turned and leaned against the fender as he’d promised.
I guess I ought to think about what I need to know about Alex if we’re to work together. So, what is important to me? What is nonnegotiable?
* * * *
Alex hurried through the door marked “Staff Only” and made his way to the entrance to the east wing. Whereas almost every ID card would let a worker through the first “Staff Only” door, this entrance into the east wing would only open to certain ID cards. The wolves who lived and worked there, of course, and a few trusted humans. His card was fine as he was not only a wolf in this pack, but also his apartment was on the top floor. He ran up the stairs then walked down the hallway. His apartment was in the middle with a single window looking out over the castle wall toward the mountain. Well, both apartment and window were generic terms. Because the window was in the castle wall it was made to look like an old arrow slit, except that it had a metal frame and was double glazed. Still, from the distance at which anyone would see it, they would think it was an original arrow slit.
His apartment was like most of those for the single men, one large room that functioned as a bed-sitting room, with a tiny bathroom off to the side. But it was all he needed. There were several large shared living rooms, a communal dining room, and the private innermost courtyard where he could relax and exercise. Hell, even running up and down all the stairs was quite an aerobic workout. That’s why the young men all had apartments on the top floor. The older men were one floor down.
He stripped out of his semi medieval costume of tan leggings, leather sandals, and a hip-length cream linen collarless shirt and changed into jeans and a button-down black shirt along with regular shoes and socks. Actually his uniform was very comfortable, the fabrics soft and cool on a hot day, and the sandals never rubbed blisters on his bare feet. But he was still happier in jeans.
He made his way through the castle and across the inner courtyard, out the private gate in the barbican, and across the outer courtyard. All the staff parking spaces were over by the outer castle wall, so he turned that way then scanned the row of vehicles for a blue Volvo. He’d thought of blue as in the color of the sky, but the car that Piotr was leaning against was so dark a blue as to almost be black. Just as well, the man was waiting for him or he might not have recognized the car from the description.
“So where were you thinking of going?” he asked as he slid into the passenger seat.
“In the interests of not being recognized and having some privacy for our conversation, I thought likely we’d best go all the way into town. There’ll be more choice of what we want to eat there, too.”
“I eat pretty much anything so the food isn’t an issue, but I agree with you that privacy is a must. It’s a damn nuisance being a werewolf, sometimes.” Alex leaned back in the seat as Piotr navigated the narrow exit over the moat, and headed down the hill toward the nearest town then took the main road and was finally able to drive faster. Alex wanted to get to know Piotr a little better, but they could talk about their hobbies in a restaurant. It might be smarter to talk about Tatiana now, though, while they had absolute privacy.
“Am I right in supposing this invitation to eat with you is because of our mutual interest in Tatiana?” he asked.
“Unfortunately it’s more complicated than that. I don’t know for certain if I am interested in Tatiana yet. I like what I’ve seen of her, but I don’t really know her. It might be that we don’t suit each other at all, so I think the next step is for you and me to get to know each other. If we think we can work together, then we can find out if Tatiana is the right woman for us, but if we don’t like each other the entire project has hit quite a big hurdle. I didn’t want to approach Tatiana until we’d reached some kind of an agreement together.”
Alex nodded thoughtfully. “I see your point. It’s much easier for men who’ve had a BFF because they’ve already gotten this first step sorted. We’re starting way behind them.”
“I don’t know. I like the idea we’re all coming into a new relationship as equals at the same time. You and I don’t have a long history together the woman won’t share with us. But tell me, what do you want in a woman, and how does Tatiana fit the model?”
Alex shook his head. “That’s just the point. I don’t have a model. I like women, but I’ve been quite content by myself up until now. But somehow Tatiana appeals to me. I was really glad when you asked me to join you last night because likely by myself I wouldn’t have made the step and approached her. Or at least, not for quite some time yet.”
“Okay, let me rephrase the question. What makes you think you might be attracted to Tatiana?”
“I hope I don’t sound shallow and insensitive, but she’s beautiful. I would never reject a woman just because she was plain, but I like that Tatiana is beautiful. I love the way her big blue eyes sparkle with fun and happiness, too. She’s also prepared to work at something of value to the community. I like that she’s not just selfishly bound up in herself and her own interests, but that she’s prepared to put in time and effort to help out the pack. You know, some of those women’s magazines have articles like, ‘Twenty techniques to make your thumb prettier’ or something. I just don’t understand how a thinking, living woman could pay attention to such trash. There is so much more to a good life than having a pretty thumb.”
“Oh, I don’t know. It depends where’s she’s putting that thumb. If her hand was wrapped around my dick I could really appreciate a pretty thumb.”
Alex stared at Piotr then realized the man was teasing. “If her hand was around my dick I think I’d be too busy ripping her clothes off to even look at her hand right then,” he replied.
They both laughed then Alex realized he’d never asked Piotr the obvious first question. “Why did you ask me to join you last night? Why me instead of any one of a dozen other unattached men around our age?”
“Ever since Damask began dating Jairus and Grigori, I realized it was time for me to start thinking about my future. When I saw Tatiana I was instantly attracted to her, but there was no obvious way for me to get to know her better until she asked me to help her last night. Part of my thinking about how to get to know her, was also who was I prepared to form a partnership with and your name was right there in my mind. We think alike on a lot of important issues, and we have similar temperaments. I believe a relationship could work.”
Alex nodded. “It’s not just Damask partnering up recently, although since she works for you she would be the one you’re most impacted by. Brody and Roman have just decided to mate Leonie as well.”
Piotr shook his head. “It’s almost expected that those men who travel to study will find a woman wherever they go. Since Brody and Roman were graduating this year the fact they found their woman didn’t mean as much to me. I was pretty much expecting it. Some of them are mated long before they return to the pack, but most of them find a woman during the years they’re gone. But Damask was right under my nose. She’s a really nice person. I’m happy she found some men who suit her. But it did make me think I ought to take a risk and see if Tatiana wants me. Fortunately she approached me, so I didn’t have to do anything except say yes.”
“Well, say yes, and ask me as well. I appreciate that.” And he did. He was grateful that Piotr had asked him to join in and not someone else. Tatiana appealed to him and her nature called to him in ways he could barely understand. He wanted to protect her and help her. But he also wouldn’t mind fucking her brains out. He just had trouble working out how it would be possible and what processes he needed to put in place first.
“How would you envision the relationship going?” asked Piotr.
Alex thought for a few minutes. What he answered here was going to be critical yet the thing was, there were so many areas where he had no idea what might happen. “I suppose I’d want all three of us to be equal partners. I like the way some of the other matings have developed where eve
ryone shares the decision-making and the responsibilities. I mean, I don’t know for sure if you’re a Dom or not, but I suspect you are. I’d be okay with you leading in the dungeon if you are, but when it comes to where and how we live, and who does what when, I think it could be crucial all three of us come to mutual solutions to our problems.”
“Why do you think I’m a Dom?” asked Piotr.
Alex felt his throat go tight and sweat trickle down his spine. Had he guessed wrongly? Had he made a bad mistake already? “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to be rude. I just had a thought that maybe you were. So many of the wolves just are.”
“You aren’t rude. You’re damn perceptive. I thought I’d hidden it very well. Or subdued it, or something. I try to express my need for control by my management of the candy store and helping others in the castle. I haven’t had a sub for years because I haven’t wanted a casual sexual relationship with anyone and until now, there hasn’t been anyone I was looking to form a more meaningful bond with. But last night that all changed.”
They were both silent for a while as Piotr drove to the outskirts of a large town. Then Piotr said, “You said you’re not fussy with food but there’s a huge mall up ahead that I thought we’d go to. What kind of meal would you like?”
“Hey, after all I’m a wolf. How about steak?”
“Sounds good to me.”
* * * *
It was the middle of the day, and Tatiana was with a group of other people in the two rooms where the banquets were going to be held. Already the rooms had been cleaned and each was furnished with a long old wooden table running the length of the area with benches for the guests to sit on. The two rooms used to be storerooms in the old days, but they were several hundred years old and built in the authentic period style so perfect venues for the banquets.
“There’s not going to be much room for dancing. We can go up and down the room so the length is fine, but where we need to go under each other’s arms it’ll be a bit tight,” she said eyeing the available space.
Jairus, who was to be the MC for the banquets said, “The musicians can stand in the top corner of the room, out of your way so you don’t need to worry about them. What about you, Ion? How will it work for your sword fight?”
“We’ll be fine. Like Tatiana was saying, we’ll use the length of the room to move around, instead of crossing it as we fight.”
“Will you have enough space for your waitstaff to serve the food?” Jairus asked the chef.
“Oh yes, plenty. The benches could even be a little closer to the wall from our point of view, which will give the entertainers more space. Any really large guests can always sit on the other side of the bench, the one with more room.”
While the men measured the table and moved the furniture Tatiana danced the length of the room, getting a feel for where they’d need to turn and how long her steps could be. Provided they took shorter paces it should all work out fine. She was very excited that the planning was progressing so well. The banquets were a very exciting new innovation and she was truly looking forward to being a part of them. Of course, dancing up close and personal with Alex and Piotr wasn’t a bad thing either. Even though medieval dancing was just holding hands, not bodies, she still got to spend time with them, to talk, laugh, and dance with them, and to learn more about them.
It was too soon to tell, but she was definitely attracted to both of them and wouldn’t mind getting to know them a whole lot better. Even naked. She giggled at her oh-so-naughty thoughts, then shrugged. She might be working in a medieval castle but it was the twenty-first century after all and even good girls knew about sex and orgasms now. A few orgasms with these men would suit her perfectly. If they truly were interested in her. She really, really hoped they were.
Tatiana’s apron pocket vibrated just then. They weren’t supposed to have their cell phones with them when they were working. Cell phones weren’t precisely medieval. But since most of her time she was out of sight in the sewing room, not where any guest could see her, she kept her cell phone with her. Today she’d actually had to wear her costume to come check out these rooms and had forgotten about her cell phone until she was dressed so she’d slipped it into her pocket. Quietly she moved right to the far end of the room, out of sight of the open door, where no guest could see her while she checked her messages.
Dinner 2nite? Please? 7 in the parking lot. Piotr + Alex
Chapter Three
Tatiana was very excited at the idea of a date with Alex and Piotr. It’d been way too long since she’d been on a genuine date. The problem was that all through school and college she’d studied traditional “girl” subjects so the people she hung around with were females. Plus she didn’t have a brother so there wasn’t a male sibling whose friends she’d naturally meet. There were her two male cousins, but time visiting with them was usually on vacations and spent together as an extended family, so again, not really suited to meeting up with potential male friends. Which wasn’t to say she hadn’t had a couple boyfriends over the years, just that she was likely less experienced than the average big-city-dwelling unmarried twenty-eight-year-old woman.
However, her mother had started reminding her it was time to “find a man and settle down,” and her father had started to talk about her “finding a real job, not this sewing rubbish,” which was why she was back at the castle again this summer. Here she could relax and be herself and do the things she really enjoyed while not having to stress about the future. Besides, she had talked to some of the other people here about getting a proper full-time job with paid vacation time and even health insurance. It’s just that it was looking more and more as though the only place that would happen was in a major city a long way from family, friends, and the mountains she loved.
Oh well, she had this summer and she was attracted to Piotr and Alex. They’d seemed truly helpful and friendly, so dating them for a summer romance, or even a single meal together was fine by her.
She stared down at her fingers. They seemed so naked, so bare without polish on the nails. But polish wasn’t medieval and while she was in costume she needed to play the part properly. At least she’d have time tonight to put polish on again before she met the men at seven.
She kept a close watch on the time and left for her room with the other human women in the old priests’ house at exactly six when the chapel bell rang. She had cheated a little bit in that she was packed up and almost ready to leave when the bell rang, but she justified it because she often stayed back and finished whatever she was working on.
It didn’t take her long to shower and change into a floor-length skirt in wild, swirling colors, and a plain purple shirt that picked up and highlighted one of the colors in the skirt. Obviously she needed purple nail polish to match the shirt, which she sat in the kitchen to apply. The women’s bedrooms were the old monk’s cells and were incredibly small, but it didn’t matter because she was only there to sleep. Now, if she wanted to sleep with Piotr or Alex, or even with Piotr and Alex, there was no way three people could fit in her bed. Actually even two people wouldn’t fit. She giggled at the thought.
Anastasia was leaning against the refrigerator drinking juice. “Where are you going, Tatiana?” she asked.
“I have no idea. They asked. I agreed. I guess I’ll find out soon enough.”
“They?”
“Alex and Piotr.”
“Oh, they’re nice. I’m sure you’ll have a wonderful time. If they take you into the wolves’ private dungeons be sure to tell me all about them. I’d love to see them myself.”
“I don’t even know if one of them, or both of them I suppose, is a Dom. But so many of the wolves are. I don’t mind. A good spanking every now and then can enhance the—um. Yeah.” Tatiana broke off the conversation. She had the feeling she might have been about to venture into the TMI territory. But Anastasia just laughed.
“Like I said, if you see the dungeons, tell me all about them.”
Tatiana hurried back t
o her room and replaced the bottle of nail polish in her suitcase. The room was so small most of her possessions were still inside her suitcase because there was simply nowhere else to put them. She slid her feet with their freshly painted purple toenails into her gold, sparkly sandals, grabbed her purse from the bed, and ran down the stairs and out into the inner courtyard.
She might not be as sexually experienced as women who’d grown up in big cities, but there were some advantages to having cousins who were werewolves. BDSM play and sex were common among the wolves and she’d overheard her cousins talking about their adventures often enough to have been enticed to Google all sorts of things. She and one boyfriend had even handcuffed and blindfolded each other and engaged in a bit of spanking and a few simpler games themselves. But something told her it would be much more potent with Alex and Piotr. If either of them was a Dom, and if they were even interested in having more than a single meal with her, that was.
Don’t get ahead of yourself here. This is just a meal. Basically a first date. Don’t scare the men off!
By the time she’d walked out through the barbican and into the outer courtyard, the tourists were all gone, most of the cleaning crews had also finished their work, and the castle was at its best, the old stone walls gleaming in the slowly setting sunshine. It was truly a beautiful old building—the castle walls made of thick old stone, the towers rising from each of the four corners, and the narrow bridge over the river moat the only exit point. I could live here forever in the foothills of the mountains. Except I need a job, dammit.
Both Alex and Piotr were waiting for her, although she didn’t think she was late. But they weren’t frowning, anyway, they were smiling as they walked her across to an SUV and all climbed in.