by Cara Adams
“May we undress you?” asked Gowan.
“Are you going to get undressed as well?”
“I’d like to,” replied Gowan.
“Have you got condoms?”
“Yes, ma’am.” Maitho felt laughter bubbling up through his chest. He hadn’t expected her to give them back question for question.
“All right.”
“Just all right? Not even a hint of ‘yum’ or ‘yes, please’?” he teased.
“Back on the airplane when Gowan undressed, I was too surprised to take a good look at his body, and besides, Xola held his clipboard over the best bit,” she said, her voice rippling with humor.
“Well this time you can look for as long as you want, right after we get you naked,” said Gowan.
Maitho wanted to undress her, but they’d promised her condoms and likely she’d feel more comfortable if they were present right away, so he hurried out to the smaller bathroom between the two bedrooms he and Gowan used. It had been stocked with all sorts of things they hoped to use in the future, while the family bathroom had been left for Dera to use when she joined them.
He grabbed the box of condoms and hurried back to the fire, relieved to see Gowan had waited for him. He should have known Gowan would wait. The Dom was always completely fair and never attempted to use his position to take advantage of anyone. Maitho placed the box on the edge of the rug, then sat on his heels and watched as Gowan removed Dera’s boots. They were solid, heavy winter boots, not what he’d have expected a woman to wear out to dinner, but they were mostly hidden by her jeans. He supposed her feet must have been quite dreadfully cold when she’d gotten caught in the rain and she’d decided not to risk that happening again.
Well, if her feet were cold in bed, he’d consider it an absolute privilege for her to place them anywhere on his body so he could warm them up for her. No woman of his would ever be at risk of frostbite. That was a promise he was very prepared to make.
Gowan flicked a glance at him and Maitho crawled up to Dera’s head. He lifted her body slightly and pulled her sweater off over her head, carefully folding it and placing it to the edge of the rug. Meanwhile Gowan removed her socks and was kissing her ankles. Hmm, he could copy that. Maitho licked the back of her neck on the sensitive, soft skin that was usually covered by her hair, then he pressed a row of kisses to her skin before nibbling along the ridge of her shoulder, first on one side then the other.
Gowan tugged her jeans off, and Maitho feasted his gaze on her long, slender legs. She wasn’t skinny. Or at least, her legs were not like sticks, but she wasn’t fat either. Her calves had clearly defined muscles in them, and her thighs were smooth, not flabby. All in all, they were the prettiest legs he’d seen in a long time. “Your legs are so pretty. Don’t you like to wear dresses?” he asked.
“I’ve been off work for over a year, and money had been really tight for the eighteen months or so before that. It’s been a long time since I bought anything that I didn’t absolutely need. Jeans are much better value as I can wear them anywhere. But yes, once I have a job and some money again, I expect I’ll buy a couple of dresses for summer.”
“I’d never thought of that. For men it’s so much easier. We need a suit and a couple dress shirts and that does it for all four seasons. Take off the jacket when it’s hot, add an overcoat when it’s cold,” said Gowan.
“Whereas women are supposed to have sun dresses, short-sleeved dresses, long-sleeved dresses, winter-weight dresses… It’s never-ending. And shoes to match them all,” said Dera.
“Did you have lots of pairs of shoes, too?” asked Maitho, wondering again about the boots she’d had on tonight.
“I’ve never been a shoeaholic, but I only lived seven blocks from work, so after I sold my car I used to walk. Unfortunately most of the shoes I had didn’t go too well in rain or slush. After a few pairs were ruined, I used to walk in boots and change into shoes after I arrived, but they still tended to look worn far too fast for my pocketbook to keep up.”
“I’d never thought about trying to balance expenses with a job. The farm has never been rich, but we’ve always had enough to get by,” said Gowan.
“Hopefully I’ll soon have a job, too, and the memories will fade as my life becomes normal again,” she said softly.
Maitho wanted to tell her he and Gowan would look after her. That she didn’t have to work if she didn’t want to. That he and Gowan would count it a privilege to take her shopping for anything at all that she’d like. But he knew that would be the wrong thing to say. She’d had the courage and strength to find her own solutions to her problems. She’d faced her difficulties head on, with purpose and logic, and found her own solutions. To just give her what she wanted would be to deny her own strength and take from her the successes she’d struggled to achieve.
“If you would like a new outfit to wear for your job interviews, Maitho and I would consider it a privilege to help you choose it,” said Gowan.
Maitho nodded at Gowan’s careful wording. He had offered to help, not to take over.
“No, that’s okay. We were told there are plenty of jobs available here in town. Or I might even go back to school and improve my written Arabic. That could be a way into finding work.”
For a few minutes they were all silent. The conversation had been heavy, but it was important. They were all getting to know each other much more deeply.
Finally Gowan bent his head and licked up Dera’s leg. Okay, time to stop talking and start seducing. He was on board with that plan. He slid behind Dera, raising her back slightly, and kissed from her neck down her spine, stopping at her bra. He removed the tiny piece of fabric then kissed her shoulder blades and up and down her spine, licking the row of knobs and puffing warm air on the damp places.
As her bra fell down her arms, he licked her ribs and the soft, full flesh of the side of her breast. Her skin was the slightest bit salty, but mostly it smelled sweet and tasted even better. He kissed all the way down her back and licked a line just above her ass, then lowered her body again to make it easier for Gowan to taste her upper thighs.
Maitho moved back to her head, bending over her and kissing her forehead then her eyelids.
“Oh, God, you two are quite the experts, aren’t you? When do I get to play with both of you? I thought we agreed you’d get naked as well?”
“But you aren’t naked yet,” argued Gowan.
“I’m wearing way fewer clothes than either of you are, though.”
“That’s easy to fix.” Maitho stood up, kicked his shoes off, toed his socks off, and pulled down his jeans. His shirt went flying over his head, and he stepped out of his briefs, his dick standing right up, glad to be freed of the tight restraint of his clothing. “Done,” said Maitho, staring down at Dera.
Her dark eyes were round and her mouth had formed into an O. But she seemed pleased enough to see his body.
Maitho wasn’t vain. He was just a man. Well, a wolf. But not a stripper or a body builder or a cover model. Still, because wolves did a hell of a lot of running, he knew his body was okay. He wasn’t pudgy or flabby. Anyway, the only person whose opinion he cared about was Dera, and she was smiling, so it was all good.
Gowan was almost as quick at undressing, although he dropped his clothing into a neat pile instead of spreading his gear halfway across the room. But the net effect was the same. He kneeled in front of Dera, stroking his cock, and saying, “Can we take off your panties now?”
She gave a sharp little nod, her tongue poking out to lick her gorgeous plump lips. Hell, that was sexy. Maitho’s dick was harder than a spike and oh-so-very-ready for some action. It looked as though Dera was going to let them fuck her. She wouldn’t have mentioned condoms otherwise, surely. But this first time still needed to be all about her. Only by driving her insane with desire, and then giving her a mighty big orgasm, could he be assured of her pleasure and, therefore, of her desire to spend more time with him and Gowan.
He and Gowan lined
up in front of her and each took hold of one side of the tiny blue underwear. Together they tugged gently on it, Maitho doing his best to keep his hand exactly lined up with Gowan’s so the panties slid over her hips and down her legs evenly. And there she was, laid bare for him to see, a nest of black curls as dark as those on her head, but much more tightly curled, covering the entrance to heaven.
He bent over and flicked his tongue across her nipple then sucked the tip into his mouth. The tiny bud was as hard as his cock, indicating clearly she was very aroused. Just what he needed to know. Gently he palmed the breast, cupping her warm flesh in his hand and feeding the areola into his mouth as well as the nipple and sucking on her. Damn she tasted amazing. All her skin was so sweet and delicious.
Dera’s hand touched his cock and he nearly jumped. She was firm but gentle with his flesh, cupping the top of his shaft with her small hand and tugging gently on him. Then she rolled a condom over his erection and kissed the head of his cock before turning to Gowan and sheathing him as well.
Maitho’s eyes were almost crossed. Her hand had felt so good, but he knew her cunt would be even better. The question would be whether or not he could control himself to give her the perfect orgasm first before her beauty and his lust combined to drive him over the cliff.
“Sit on me in reverse cowgirl so Maitho can fuck your breasts as I fuck your pussy,” said Gowan.
Dera slid onto his lap as Gowan had suggested, but it took him a little while until her body and his were both in the right configuration so he could hold her wonderful breasts together and make them a hot and sexy channel for his dick to play in.
Gowan began by moving very slowly and Maitho matched his pace. It was hard because he not only needed to stay with Gowan to amplify the effects of the fucking for Dera, but he also wanted to lick and suck her nipples. They were just inches away from his hungry mouth but his dick was there, not his tongue. Although his dick was enjoying the feeling of her silky heat around it immensely.
After a bit of wiggling, he managed to hold both breasts in one hand, which left his other one free to stroke down her breastbone to her cunt. He found her clit hiding under its hood and was thrilled to find it both hot and hard. Oh yeah, she was aroused all right. He almost went insane from trying to concentrate on keeping his dick stroking at an even pace and gently tugging on her clit, but he found if his finger kept to the same beat as his cock, he could do it. He switched over hands, then licked the finger that would be on her clit, and circled the tiny button. He was sure it was harder and higher than before. Dera was the most perfect and amazing woman he’d ever known.
Gowan was finally moving faster now, which was just as damn well, because Maitho’s dick was killing him he wanted to come so much. And then she groaned and sagged in release. Instantly Gowan’s arm wrapped around her and held her tightly against him as he pumped hard and fast until he, too, climaxed.
Maitho let go of his control and pounded up and down between her breasts, climaxing almost immediately. As he came, he held her chin in his free hand, claiming her lips, kissing her with all the passion that was pouring out of him.
Maitho hurried into the bathroom and cleaned himself up, coming back with one of the pretty guest towels for Dera. When he returned, Gowan disappeared briefly, then the three of them lay together in front of the fire. Maitho was plenty warm enough from the exercise, but knew it was important that Dera not get chilled, so he placed the towel over her where neither his nor Gowan’s bodies reached.
“I must go home,” said Dera finally, sitting up and reaching for her clothing.
“Why not stay with us? We have a very comfortable bed,” asked Gowan.
But she shook her head determinedly. “I’m sure you do, but not tonight.”
“Will you come out with us tomorrow night, please, Dera?” asked Gowan.
Maitho held his breath. Maybe tomorrow she’d stay the night.
“I don’t think we should go out every night. That’s not a very sustainable kind of relationship, is it?”
“Why not? If we were mated we’d be together every night,” argued Maitho.
“Yes, but we’d be busy scrubbing floors and doing laundry, not dining in restaurants or going out.”
“I don’t mind if you come and watch us do laundry.” Maitho needed her to know he simply wanted to be with her. The activity they did was secondary.
But Dera just laughed. “Maybe on Saturday,” she said.
Well, fuck! That was so not what he wanted to hear her say.
Chapter Three
Dera was relieved to see her cell phone working just as if it’d never been rained on. That rice trick obviously really worked. The next morning she checked her emails but there were no responses to her job applications, not even about the translation work, so she went online again and applied for two more positions. Then she looked around the women’s quarters. Esther was mated now, but she’d also gotten a job and was working. Qwera was working in the general store on the farm. It was only a small building, actually the original farmhouse, but she loved the fact it had a million different things crammed into such a small space. The store aimed to have one or two of everything anyone on the farm might need to save them having to race into town for that single forgotten item. According to Qwera, it genuinely fulfilled its mandate.
Mailiki had the twelve-month maternity leave PA job and was very happy at work. Shakina and Nala had gone for a walk down by the river. Nala was really interested in the different kinds of herbs and planned to start an herb garden. Dera sighed. She had nothing to do and nowhere she needed to be. She knew it was the right thing not to fill her hours by being with the men. They had chores to do and their own lives to lead, but she seriously needed a central purpose for her own life. She looked again at the Jackson Recruiting advertisements. But the more she looked, the more she was convinced they were thinly disguised positions for escorts, lap dancers, topless waitresses, or worse. There was absolutely nothing to indicate any professional skills were needed whereas they specified “young, energetic, and attractive,” No. They were a no-no absolutely. She’d just have to wait until someone contacted her back. She supposed she could keep applying for positions but she already had half a dozen applications out with companies. Any more might make her seem weird. Besides, Gowan had said she would be given some translation work. She just needed to be patient.
Dera supposed she could drive into Coopersville and just wander around, but it seemed unfair to use a vehicle and gas for no real purpose other than to kill time. She could read a book. The men had left an entire bookshelf of volumes here for the women. But it might be better if she was outside exercising. First she checked the weather report. One drenching in a week was more than enough. But the rain radar for the area showed clear skies. Suddenly Dera thought of the quad bikes. She’d had a sort of lesson on how to ride one. As long as she didn’t go too far away or up any big hills, maybe she could take a ride on a bike, just around the farm.
Dera went and collected a sweater, then walked over to the big barn behind the office building, where the farm vehicles were stored. Two quad bikes were there. The sign-up sheet showed no one had requested them for the day, so she signed one out to herself and took the key. She sat on the vehicle, checking the two handgrips, making sure she remembered which was the throttle and which the brake. She placed her right foot on the step so she could easily move it to the foot brake if she needed to, although she knew it was better simply to take her hand off the throttle and slow down gently.
Dera turned the engine on and cautiously moved the handlebars one way and then the other. Esther had told her the steering was heavy because the bikes didn’t have power steering, but the handlebars moved easily enough, she thought, so very slowly she drove out of the barn and down the main road. She stayed on the edge of the road, leaving plenty of space for another vehicle to pass her, and maintained a very slow speed. The bikes only went about fifteen miles an hour, but likely her speed was closer to five.
But it suited her. She was gaining confidence with the vehicle, steering more smoothly at the corners and starting to really enjoy her outing.
Dera remembered how Gowan and Maitho had explained the layout of the village and wandered up and down the roads for a while before going down to the river and following alongside it. When the track ran out, she was confident enough to keep riding her quad bike over the dirt and grass, enjoying the wind in her hair, the sun on her face, and the fresh, clean air surrounding her. This was so much better than being in a big city. The sun seemed brighter and the air was definitely cleaner. Even the grass and trees seemed greener than in the parks around where she’d lived before.
She bumped her way up a hill. It wasn’t Lookout Hill, she knew that. She hadn’t gone far enough. There were still fields with crops out to her right. Directly ahead of her, on the far side of the field, was a narrow one-lane road. Dera didn’t know if it was inside the farm or formed the boundary of it, but there was a blue pickup truck partway along the road just stopped there. She wondered if she should ask the people if they needed help, but it wasn’t as if she was a Cooper, and she didn’t even know her way around very well. Besides, all the farm pickups were white and this one was blue.
She squinted but it was much too far away for her to be able to read the license plate or recognize the two people in the truck. She thought they were men but even in that she might be wrong. Shrugging her shoulders, Dera turned around and carefully made her way down the hill and back to the heart of the farm. She’d had an excellent ride, was now confident about driving the quad bike, and was feeling quite pleased with her skills. Besides she wanted to check her emails again. Perhaps someone had offered her a job interview. And she would remember to tell someone about the truck just in case they had a flat tire or something.
* * * *
Roderick Cooper looked up from the pile of papers on his desk. No matter how much time he spent sorting out issues and getting things planned, there always seemed to be another million things needing his attention. Yet he did delegate. He wasn’t a control freak and trusted his key leaders to manage their own sections of the werewolf concerns without interfering. Perhaps it was time to get a couple more secretaries or Pas, though, to deal with everyday details and leave him free to concentrate on major concerns.