Pursuit of Excellence [Spirit of Sage 4] (Siren Publishing Ménage Amour ManLove)

by Jools Louise

  Ethan let out a piercing cry, collapsed onto the bed, and whimpered when Lash struck with his fangs, leaning forward and claiming Ethan’s neck before either man had finished spurting. Ethan felt the second bond click into place, his sense of wellbeing increasing twofold. He felt as though he had been adrift for ages and was now finally anchored to his safe haven. He closed his eyes, sighed dreamily…and fell fast asleep.

  Chapter Three

  Slug let out a soft laugh at Rage and Charm’s chagrined expressions. Their beloved mate had taken him and Lash beautifully, his cries of pleasure a blessing to their ears. Now, after a long day at work, the stresses of his awful flashback, and their amorous attentions, Ethan’s stamina had failed and he was now fast asleep, his body sprawled in wanton, sated abandon, snoring softly.

  “He looks beautifully well fucked,” Rage said wistfully, stroking a lock of damp, tangled hair away from Ethan’s relaxed face.

  “He’ll look even better when he’s riding my dick,” Charm muttered with a wry grimace. The others laughed at their mate, teasing him softly for his remark.

  “Dude, you’ll get your chance,” Slug drawled smugly, brushing his knuckles against his chest as though dusting off a medal. “You just needed a master to show you what to do, that’s all.”

  A flurry of insults came back at him, which he ignored, feeling a surge of tenderness as he stared down at Ethan’s handsome face. The man had a long, slender body and had been working out at the gym owned by his dad, Cody, and Cody’s husband Thomas. Ethan’s body was cut in impeccable lines, and he sported a six pack that had the wolverines drooling. Gone was the impossibly thin skeleton that had so concerned them when they first saw Ethan again, a few months after they’d escaped the tunnel they’d all been left to die in. Sealed inside, a hundred feet below the town, they’d survived on meager rations, worms and rats, and rainwater that had leaked down into the bowels of their hellhole. They should have died there, but something had kept them going, some spark of anger or determination that they needed to survive, to get Ethan and the others out of their living tomb. Now, looking down at Ethan’s stunning physique, Slug felt as though his world was now whole, after so many years of striving for something he’d thought out of reach.

  He crawled off the bed and went to retrieve a washcloth, wiped his dick clean, and then brought a fresh cloth for his lovers. He smiled as he saw them snuggled together, with Charm cuddled against Ethan, Lash spooning in behind Charm, and Rage on Ethan’s other side, all looking sleepily satisfied. Charm and Rage, who had both been hard as nails, now sported limp cocks, their chests and fists covered in sticky cum.

  “We had to do something,” Rage drawled, smirking at Slug, catching the washcloth one-handed when Slug threw it at the bed. “We didn’t want to poke Ethan at an inopportune moment and frighten him in the night.”

  “You wouldn’t frighten me,” Ethan said drowsily, his eyes opening to slits. “I like having you around me like this.”

  Rage gave a low growl, turning Ethan to face him. He kissed Ethan gently, the caress soft and tender. “I’m glad,” Rage murmured against Ethan’s lips as their mate returned the kiss with interest. “I don’t want you to ever be afraid of us.”

  “I’m not,” Ethan admitted, cupping the back of Rage’s head. Rage had a Mohawk, right now tipped with fluorescent green and electric blue. The shower had flattened it, softening his bad boy image a little. “Make love to me,” Ethan begged his mate, draping his leg over Rage’s hip. “Claim me, all of you, tonight.”

  Rage growled for a second time, and Slug watched from the side of the bed as his lover guided his now-rigid cock to Ethan’s loosened hole, and sank inside. Rage’s pale gold eyes closed, his expression blissful with relief as his cock speared Ethan’s tight ass.

  “God, yes, that feels fantastic,” Ethan said approvingly, sighing in pleasure. “I’ve wanted this for so long.”

  Rage kissed him again and began to undulate his hips, stroking in and out of Ethan’s welcoming hole over and over, gently and lovingly. Slug moved onto the bed, crawling up behind Rage and kissing his neck and shoulders, kneading his lover’s ass firmly. This was their first time making love to Ethan, and he didn’t want to mar the experience for Rage, so he didn’t spear Rage’s ass with his cock, but merely massaged his sexy lover.

  Charm reached for Ethan’s cock, which was by now at full mast, stroking him firmly. As Rage thrust steadily, Ethan turned his head to kiss Charm and Rage kissed a wet trail along Ethan’s throat, mouthing his Adam’s apple, before arching Ethan backward and finding a taut nipple to chew on.

  “This is so…” Rage groaned, moving a little faster now. He lifted Ethan’s leg higher, and knelt upright, plowing down into Ethan’s ass from the new angle, which had both lovers whimpering with pleasure.

  “Oooh,” Ethan whined when Rage began to fuck harder still, slamming into Ethan over and over, losing control.

  Slug lay back on the bed, fisting his cock lazily as he watched the show, seeing Lash doing the same, his eyes heavy-lidded with desire. Within seconds Rage gave a low-pitched whimper, then grunted before his back arched, his head lolling back as he came. Ethan cried out, his cock spurting in a small trickle over Charm’s fingers, which Charm used to lube his own cock.

  Rage lashed out, sinking his fangs deep into Ethan’s raised thigh, claiming Ethan finally, still spurting inside their mate. Finally, he finished and eased carefully from Ethan’s clenching chute, falling back onto Slug, who cuddled and kissed his exhausted mate. Charm pulled Ethan back against him, lifted Ethan’s leg, and draped it over his hip, entering Ethan from behind while he continued to pump his cock. Ethan cried out when Charm then guided Ethan onto his hands and knees, still attached.

  “Fuck, that feels so fucking good,” Charm grunted, gripping Ethan’s hips, setting up a hard, driving rhythm.

  Ethan bowed his head, gripping the sheets in his fingers, bucking back against Charm with each stroke. He bounced with each thrust and braced himself against the forceful lunges.

  “I can’t hold on,” Charm groaned before coming hard, his body convulsing in ecstasy as he roared out his triumph at claiming their mate. He lunged forward, biting into Ethan’s slender neck, finishing the ritual and bonding the lovers together.

  Slug felt the connection strengthen even more and knew that the finale would mean Ethan claiming all of the wolverines. But for now, they were joined, their wolverines’ dominant side satisfied at the claiming marks placed on and in Ethan’s sexy body. Slug grinned a little when his mates both collapsed, exhausted and panting hard on the bed, still joined.

  “Thank you,” Ethan mumbled, his eyes closed. “I’m so glad we’re mated finally. Thank you for making it so special.”

  Slug’s smile turned fondly as he watched Ethan fall asleep with Charm draped over his back, also tumbling into slumber. Lying down, Slug snuggled up to his mates, grinning at Lash over their backs, his belly sticky with the orgasm that had just erupted from his cock.

  Closing his eyes, finally he slept.

  * * * *

  Ethan’s nose twitched at the enticing smells drifting across his olfactory membranes. Bacon. Eggs. Hash browns. Hot buttered toast. He picked each food type out, eyes still closed, and drooled as each delicious aroma hit his senses.

  “Wakey, wakey,” Lash said teasingly, pressing a kiss to Ethan’s quivering nose. “Alfie’s cooking up a storm, so get your lazy butt moving, honey butt.”

  Honey butt? Ethan opened one eye blearily, giving Lash a droll stare.

  Lash grinned back unrepentantly. “Come on, or Mason and Jay will eat all the hash browns.”

  Ethan frowned, opened his other eye, and sat up quickly. His stomach chose that moment to rumble, which had Lash chuckling. “I can always go to the café,” Ethan grumbled, rubbing his eyes with his fists.

  Lash crawled up onto the bed and kissed him, his mouth tasting fresh and minty and all too tempting. Ethan’s libido kicked in, his cat snarled excitedly, and
Ethan did something he’d never done before. He took control of his mate. Flipping Lash onto his back, he ripped at the sexy wolverine’s clothing, shredding the garments with his sharp feline claws, baring Lash’s body to his avid gaze. Lash moaned, his cock at full mast, his expression filled with lust.

  “Fuck me, baby,” Lash begged, lifting his legs.

  Ethan snarled, his cat urging him to accept the invitation. Naked, Ethan crawled between Lash’s thighs, his cock hard as a nail and beginning to ooze pre-cum. Lash reached beneath a pillow, producing a tube of lube, and offered it to Ethan.

  “I need to be inside you,” Ethan whispered desperately, squirting thick lube onto his fingers and smearing it liberally onto his cock and then anointing Lash’s twitching hole. “I don’t want to hurt you,” he said.

  “I like it rough,” Lash said, parting his butt cheeks.

  Ethan groaned and shoved a finger gently inside Lash’s tight chute. “I’ve wanted you for so long,” he said, adding a second finger as he prepared Lash for lift-off.

  Lash spread his legs wider, panting now, his torso slick with sweat. Lash’s warrior’s tail whipped from side to side as he moved his head restlessly, eyes closed fully, his mouth open as he gasped out his pleasure at Ethan’s intimate attentions.

  “Rough, you said?” Ethan said, removing his fingers after only a few seconds of preparation. Lash nodded helplessly, then screamed out in carnal bliss when Ethan shoved his engorged cock deep inside Lash’s hole, driving in hard, and feeling the slick inner walls shivering around him, protesting at the intrusion.

  “Oh, yes,” Lash moaned, choking out a plea for more. Ethan complied eagerly, beginning to thrust his hips back and forth. He set a hard, driving tempo, snarling viciously at being able to fuck his mate. He wanted to dominate his lover, wanted to prove to his sexy wolverine that he was in control, now. He wanted to leave his mark so that Lash would always know when Ethan was fucking him.

  “Oh, shit,” Slug growled from the door. Ethan ignored his audience, his back arching as he slammed into Lash over and over. Lash was thrashing about, his claws ripping at the sheets, his cock bouncing with each hard thrust. Ethan grabbed Lash’s cock, fisting it firmly, which had Lash moaning louder. Ethan felt a sense of pride he’d rarely felt before, watching his lover, a dominant male, undone by his lovemaking.

  “I want some of that,” Rage announced, crowding Slug out of the way as he stood watching the show. “Ethan’s a fucking demon as a top.”

  Slug chuckled, grabbing Rage in hot, hard lip lock. “I think Ethan’s showing us who’s the boss.”

  “Stud, he can boss me anytime, just so long as I get fucked through the mattress,” Rage retorted, nipping Slug’s lower lip.

  Ethan sent them a hard, lust-filled stare. “Is that a promise?” he asked, arching a brow, before returning his attention to skewering Lash’s tight ass.

  Within seconds, Ethan’s cock expanded before jettisoning hot seed inside his lover’s hole. Lash came at the same time, roaring out his release loudly. While they were still in the throes of orgasm, Ethan’s fangs descended and he lunged forward. Biting into Lash’s chest, he claimed his mate finally. The effect was electric. The first bond, forged last night, had been a gentle click. This bond, commanded by his jaguar, was as intense as a Taser to the heart, and almost as painful.

  Ethan screamed out as the bond took hold and felt himself come even harder, his release going on and on as he spurted a second time. Lash, undone, convulsed beneath Ethan, his legs wrapping tightly around the bigger shifter’s slim waist, grinding against him, leaving a sticky mess all over their abs and chest.

  “Fuck me,” Charm growled from beside his mates. “I get next dibs,” he said, earning himself a noogie from both Slug and Rage.

  “You may have to wait a while,” Ethan groaned, collapsing on top of Lash, breathing heavily. He eased his fangs from Lash’s chest and licked the wound to close it before burying his face against Lash’s sweaty neck as his lover stroked his back.

  “Baby, after watching you claim Lash like that, I’ll be right here,” Charm retorted, looking dazed.

  The others chuckled and Ethan sent him a wicked grin. “I need to shower,” he said, pulling off Lash with a low moan. Lash’s ass oozed thick cream, his body a little scratched up, and he had the look of someone utterly sated. He didn’t even flinch when Ethan clambered off, merely sighed, replete.

  “Let me help,” Charm suggested helpfully, but Ethan waved him off.

  “No,” he replied, smiling. “If we both go in there, I’ll never get breakfast.” He sent them all a wink and ambled into the bathroom, leaving them all staring after him.

  “The dude just found a set of steel balls,” Slug said in awe.

  “And a titanium cock,” Lash added dreamily, stretching languidly. “All I did was offer him breakfast and he went all primal on my ass.” He gestured to his shredded clothing. “I may need to get a new wardrobe if he keeps it up.”

  “Dude,” Slug drawled, grinning. “If his party trick is tearing our clothes right off our rock hard bodies, I’ll buy us all new clothes. The guy’s a pistol.”

  “Yes, I am,” Ethan yelled from the other room, sounding cocky as hell.

  “We may just have started something,” Rage said, eyeing the bathroom doorway, wide-eyed. “He was always such a timid little thing.”

  Slug snorted and cuffed Rage upside the head. “Sweetie, Ethan’s never been timid. He always gave as good as he got, even when we were being mean.” He shook his head. “Our beloved is going to need all the attitude he can get to handle us four. We’re not exactly pussies, are we?”

  Lash yawned widely, and got off the bed, sauntering to the bathroom. “No, baby, we’re wolverines. And if it takes a big bad pussycat like Ethan to put us in our place, I’m all for it.” He grinned at his lovers wickedly. “I particularly liked my place when Ethan was fucking me a new asshole.” He winked and went to join Ethan under the shower.

  “I wouldn’t mind a new asshole,” Rage sighed wistfully.

  “Me either,” Charm chuckled, hugging both his mates. “Now let’s go get breakfast before those other pussycats eat it all.”

  Chapter Four

  Rage grinned at his mate, Ethan, whose confidence had grown overnight in direct correlation to his being claimed by four wolverines and then claiming Lash earlier. Ethan was in fine form this morning.

  “There’s just no way those little skinny things are proper pancakes,” Alfie said as he, Mason, Jay, the four wolverines, and Ethan sat around the large kitchen table munching on breakfast. “Pancakes need to be made with buttermilk, and thick. Those crepes are just too delicate to eat. Barely a mouthful.” He wrinkled his nose, pouting at Ethan. They were both engaged in a spirited debate about the merits and demerits of styles of pancakes.

  Ethan snorted, curling his lip at the small leopard shifter who was clad in a fuchsia blouse, three-quarter length skinny jeans with rips in strategic places, and sparkly sandals. “Buttermilk pancakes are too stodgy,” he said, waving a fork containing a portion of the offending item. “Crepes melt in the mouth, if prepared properly. Probably you’ve been around the ranch for too long. It’s melted your ability to appreciate fine cuisine.”

  Alfie gasped aloud and got to his feet, hands on his hips as he glared at Ethan. “Are you telling me I don’t know how to cook?” he asked with a dangerous glint in his eye.

  Ethan rolled his eyes, shoved the forkful of food into his mouth, and chewed for a moment. “I’m saying that you’re all fired up about buttermilk pancakes without ever having tasted crepes,” he replied as though he was talking to a toddler, his words slow and spaced out.

  Alfie stamped his foot and crossed his arms over his chest, his lower lip quivering in temper. Then a calculating gleam replaced the irritation, which had Rage holding his breath as he watched the show. He had a feeling he knew what was coming.

  “I think a contest is in order,” Alfie said casually and sat back down again
, helping himself to a large, American-style pancake and placing it on his plate. He sent a pointed look at Ethan as he smeared maple syrup all over it and then began to eat it hungrily.

  “A contest?” Ethan asked warily, narrowing his eyes at the syrup dripping from Alfie’s chin as the young man shoveled two more forkfuls of pancake into his mouth in rapid succession.

  Alfie finished his mouthful of food and smirked evilly. “Yes, a contest.” He sat back and stared directly at Ethan, still with that scary smile on his lips. “If you win, I’ll admit that crepes are better than pancakes. If I win, you concede that I’m a fabulous cook and you have to make me pancakes for a month.”

  Ethan laughed aloud at the outrageous wager, arching one brow cautiously. “That doesn’t seem like a very fair kind of a bet,” he replied. “How about, when I win, I take you to the brand new waffle and pancake café when it’s open, up on Main Street, and I’ll show you how to make proper pancakes. Then you have to cook them for me for a month, whenever I ask for them.”

  He grabbed his mug of coffee and saluted Alfie with a large grin on his face.

  Alfie leaned across the table, his own mug in his hand, and sealed the deal by clinking his cup against Ethan’s. “Deal,” he said, grinning widely, a smug look on his face.

  Ethan stared at the young shifter, then eyed Alfie’s mates warily. Both men looked at him pityingly. “What did I just agree to?” he asked carefully.

  “I think you just got played, baby,” Slug retorted, laughing softly. “Alfie’s looking for people to compete in the Shifter Games. I think you may just have been volunteered.”

  “Really?” Ethan asked, eyes wide. “What event?”