by Kira Stone
Baen yelped as he ran back to the fire where smoke roiled up out of the frying pan. “Uhm, I think they’re done.”
Gavin chuckled at the hopeful look on Baen’s face. “I think they’re charcoal.”
He walked over and dumped the contents in the fire. It would take a sand blaster to remove the charred remains of the processed meat from the bottom of the pan.
“I’m sorry,” Baen said quietly.
“No problem. I have more.”
“Errrr…” Airk’s cheeks turned a guilty shade of red. “Not exactly.”
“I brought four tins. What happened to them all?”
“We had some trouble opening them,” Baen explained earnestly.
Gavin kissed Baen’s lips. “I think I understand. It’s okay.”
“I’m sorry too,” Airk said, joining them.
“Making you breakfast seemed like such a good idea at the time. When I couldn’t get the first one opened, I asked Airk to help me -- you know how strong his arms are.”
Gavin followed Airk’s eyes to a mangled blob of metal that oozed gelatinous meat product from the corners. “Maybe a little too strong?”
Airk cleared his throat. “We’ll make it up to you.”
“Let’s forget about breakfast for a minute, and I’ll tell you what I found.”
They walked toward the line of rocks that separated the mainland from the ocean. Baen bobbed in the shallows and Airk found a nice place to perch in the sun. Gavin sat between them and began to explain. “After seeing how clean you ran your separate operations, I started looking for things that were missing from the contaminated area rather than harmful additives.”
“Missing? You think someone is stealing the eggs from us and killing our fishery in the process?” Baen asked him.
Airk frowned. “I really don’t think thieves are responsible for the problems in the fishery. Manx is in charge of security around here. We haven’t found a being yet that can get past him, and I know one of our own staff wouldn’t be foolish enough to try.”
“No, no. You misunderstand me,” Gavin replied. “Chemically missing. The area has become so sanitized that the stuff that should be there, needs to be there for healthy algae to grow, is absent. Basically, you’re starving the weed beds to death.”
“That’s impossible,” Baen said. “Our beds have the entire ocean to feed on.”
“Not in the breakwater,” Airk disagreed.
Gavin nodded. “That’s right. See, the beds closer to where the breakwater leads out to the ocean are still healthy because they get fed from the fresh water coming in. It’s the ones closer to shore that are dying. They aren’t getting enough to eat.”
Baen frowned a bit as he struggled to follow Gavin’s logic. “How could that happen? Nothing’s changed.”
Gavin gentled his voice to soften the blow. “Yes, it has. You and Airk broke up.”
A blast of air blew the hair back from Gavin’s face as Airk fluttered his wings in agitation. “Shit, maybe you are on drugs after all if you’re convinced our sex life is to blame for this.”
“Your aviary is totally self-sustaining,” Gavin pointed out. “You sterilize everything that comes in and out. Why?”
“I didn’t want to be accused of… well… what I was accused of. I knew I was on shaky ground by starting a bird sanctuary and rehabilitation center on Rookery Cove without authority from the Home Office, so I didn’t want to give anyone an excuse to shut me down.”
“I thought you did that so you didn’t have to bother with me,” Baen said, his cerulean eyes round with wonder. “I made sure none of my workers trespassed on your private property so you wouldn’t get me fired.”
Airk flew the short distance to Baen’s side, hovering just high enough to keep the gray-white tips of his mighty wings out of the ocean. “I’d never do that. I was so proud of you when you were chosen as manager of the Fishery Division. That’s part of the reason I built the aviary where I did. So we could spend more time together, working near each other.”
Baen climbed up on an underwater boulder so that he was closer to Airk’s height. “I thought you were spending so much time with your birds because you were getting tired of me.”
“You can be annoying at times, but I never wanted you to leave me. I just wanted to get the aviary up and running so we’d have more time together. But by the time I could turn the day to day operations over to someone else, you’d taken up with another lover.”
“Did not,” Baen said, bashful.
“Did too. I saw you.”
“No.” Baen shook his head so emphatically that he sprayed droplets over all three of them. “I set you up. I wanted to make you jealous.”
Airk’s fists clenched so tightly that his knuckles cracked. “It worked.”
“Yeah, too well. You called me a man slut.”
Gavin watched, his heart pounding with emotion, as the two drew closer together. Airk put his arms around the enthusiastic sprite and lifted him clear out of the water in a tight embrace. “Cause you are,” Airk said, his voice breaking. “I’d never want you to be any different.”
Smiling brighter than the sun, Baen cocked his head to the side and asked, “Does that mean I still get my spanking?”
“And then some.”
Their kiss was the kind of passionate encounter that every censor in Hollywood would label R. Airk bent Baen backward, over his arm, and plundered his mouth as if he were hot on the trail of buried treasure. Baen wound his arms around Airk’s neck in return. One leg hooked over Airk’s hip to hold their bodies together. There seemed to be no end in sight, and Gavin knew they needed this healing moment together.
This private moment.
One he had no place in.
He hadn’t gotten far when a huge, dark shadow loomed over him. “Where do you think you’re going?”
“Back to camp,” he said, as if it weren’t breaking his heart to leave them. “I thought you two needed some time alone.”
“We’re not done with you yet,” Baen replied, as Airk set him down.
Hope burst in his chest. It was almost painful. “Yeah?”
“Yeah,” Airk said, settling on a low-hanging branch beside them. “I mean, you still have to tell us how we’re going to fix this mess.”
Oh. That. Right. “That’s pretty simple. All you have to do is go back to getting dirty together.” Okay, maybe it wasn’t quite that simple. They’d have to seed the beds, feed them carefully. Too much or too little too quickly, and they’d just cause other problems. They had to listen to what the ecosystem was telling them and adjust their measures accordingly. It wouldn’t happen overnight, but Gavin had every confidence that Airk and Baen could accomplish the task.
“You can help us with that, right?” Baen said quickly.
Gavin shrugged. “Sure, I can outline a recovery and restoration plan. Tell you what to monitor for. I’m sure Airk, as Rookery Cove Aphrodisiacs’ environmental engineer, can handle the job.”
“After screwing up so badly? I wouldn’t trust me to monitor the rainfall.”
Confused by Airk’s sudden lack of self-confidence, Gavin scrambled for a response. “Okay, so you’re a little obsessive about cleanliness, but I think Baen can keep you from going overboard.”
“Are you kidding? Airk never listens to me. You’re the only one who can sell him a clue when it comes to doing his job.”
What were they trying to talk him into? He refused to get his hopes up again. “Now that you know where you went wrong last time, I seriously doubt either of you will repeat your mistakes.”
Baen inched closer, invading his personal space. “You’d be surprised the kind of trouble the two of us can get into without someone to referee. We need someone to watch us, keep us from rubbing each other the wrong way.”
Gavin retreated, one step at a time, until his back brushed against Airk’s legs. A pair of strong arms wrapped around his shoulders, hugging him tight. Baen took advantage of his immobility to pre
ss against him. Gavin felt wanted… desired… and very confused. “What are you saying?”
“That we feel it would be best if you stayed to closely monitor the situation.”
His heart thundered so loud in his chest that he became lightheaded. “You want me to work with you?”
“And play,” Baen added, gently grinding in so Gavin couldn’t possibly miss the thrust of his… errr… point.
Airk’s palms fanned out over Gavin’s chest to tweak his nipples. “Definitely play. That is, if you want.”
He wanted. Oh, yes, he wanted that very much indeed. “It would be my pleasure.”
“So then you’ll stay? Here, on Rookery Cove Island, with us?” Baen pressed.
Gavin blushed. “Yes, if management agrees.”
Airk launched himself into the air and put on an acrobatic display that would have impressed the Blue Angels. Baen whooped and hollered as if someone had set fire to his feet. Gavin watched their antics, his heart full of joy.
“This calls for a celebration,” Baen announced after they’d all gotten the initial rush out of their systems.
“I’ll go raid the staff freebies and see what I can find to play with. Gavin hasn’t had much exposure to our stock. It’ll be fun to test some of our products on a human.” The wicked gleam in Airk’s eye promised Gavin he’d make his every carnal fantasy come true.
“I don’t need toys,” Gavin told them bluntly. “I just need the two of you.”
Baen melted against him. “Really?”
“Honest.”
“That’s how I feel too.”
“Then I say you both ought to get what you want,” Airk said huskily. “Do you mind being in the middle again?”
“No, not at all.” In fact, there was no place else he’d rather be. By being in the middle, he got the best of both worlds.
“I’m pitching,” Baen called out.
“That leaves me to catch.” Airk wiggled around until he could lock his feet under another branch. He then fell backward, hanging upside-down like a vampire. “Come here, Gavin.”
Gavin found that Airk’s cock had ended up right at mouth height. Airk’s head was in much the same position to his own body. And aerial 69. “What about Baen?”
“You couldn’t drive me away with Poseidon’s own trident. I’ll jump in when I’m ready.”
Thus assured that both of his lovers were content with the arrangements, Gavin lowered his face to Airk’s balls and inhaled deeply. He loved that intimate scent. No longer reminiscent of Okibi, Airk’s natural odor came through. All male, totally sexy.
He ran his hands over Airk’s thighs as he watched his cock lengthen. Just that mild touch set off a low sexual buzz. It increased ten-fold as Airk sucked his erection into his mouth.
The brush of tongue to ultra-sensitive skin sent tremors of pure lust through his body. Gavin adjusted his stance, giving Airk more room to play, then he zeroed in on Airk’s balls, licking the sweet skin.
A pair of damp hands fell on Gavin’s shoulders, fingers digging in and kneading out the tension buried there. “Seeing the two of you like this… it’s incredible. Airk and I were pretty good together, but you’re the piece we didn’t know we were missing. Until now.”
For a brief moment, Gavin turned his head to kiss Baen on the lips. A sweet kiss that spoke of love and future promises rather than lust. Then Airk increased his suction, and thought became impossible. He thrust into Airk’s mouth, groaning with each stroke of his firm lips. He tried to return the favor, alternately licking and sucking at every inch of available skin on Airk’s cock.
“His legs will tire quickly in this position,” Baen said. “Put your hands on his knees to help hold him in place.”
When Gavin complied, Baen ran his hands over Gavin’s back. “Are you ready for me? Let’s see…”
Though Baen had asked the question, it was Airk’s hands that exposed his hole. With one cheek in each hand, the winged man separated them, giving Baen a perfect view of what he was about to get into.
Gavin gasped as he felt the first tentative push. Baen’s cock was cold!
Steadily, Baen filled him. Gavin felt stretched to his absolute limit. Only Baen’s natural secretion of purified water enabled him to withstand so much cock.
Airk shifted his grip, wrapping his arms around Gavin’s waist and pulling him in close. Gavin had never deep-throated so far. He hummed out the massive amounts of pleasure surging through his system as Baen fucked him and Airk sucked him. It created a tempest of sexual heat Gavin knew he wouldn’t be able to withstand for long.
“You feel… so good,” Baen said, thrusting fast and deep.
“Taste good too,” Airk added. His face was bright red, but he didn’t seem adversely affected by his upside-down position.
The tingles of impending orgasm were so intense he thought his legs might give out. One rapid breath later, climax slammed into him with hurricane force. He didn’t even have time to call out a warning. One second he was poised on the edge, the next he was hurtling over into the deep abyss of release. Airk greedily gobbled down every drop.
“Oh, fuck. Oh, man. So incredible,” Baen babbled. Gavin clenched his ass to tighten his internal grip as the water sprite shot cold jets of fluid into his anal canal.
As if Airk could sense that it was his turn, the blood vessel on the underside of his cock pulsed in preparation for his own release. Gavin was ready for the burst of cum when it came. Salty and smooth, it hit the back of his throat and he swallowed continuously until Airk had nothing left to give.
Weak and shaky, the three disengaged and fell to the grass in a well-satisfied heap. Airk ended up in the middle for once, and gathered Baen and Gavin against his chest. They locked hands over his still rapidly beating heart.
“I don’t have the words,” Airk said quietly. “Not the way Baen does. But I want you to know, Gavin, that I’m very glad you came to Rookery Cove, and I hope you’ll stay with us for a long, long time.”
“Yeah, me too.” Gavin yawned. He quickly tried to cover it but Airk had caught him.
“You didn’t get much sleep last night if you got up early to run those tests. Maybe you should take a nap.”
“First he needs breakfast,” Baen insisted, “then he can rest.”
As he listened to Airk and Baen bicker over what to cook to replace their badly burned attempt at breakfast -- no eggs, no fish, no live bait for fish or fowl -- an old saying came to mind. A bird and a fish can fall in love, but where will they build a home?
“In the breakwater,” he murmured, “with me.”
Inter-Office Communication III
To: John Stubbs, Operations Manager, RC Aphrodisiacs Home Office
From: Gavin McNye, Wetlands Specialist
Date: August 17, 2006, 06:10 AM
Subject: Re: Habitat Contamination
I’ve discovered the root of the problem. It seems that instead of contamination, your staff has done an entirely too efficient job of keeping their operations clean. There isn’t enough algae to feed the fishery habitat. When the bottom of the food chain suffers, it affects the entire chain. I believe the breakwater habitat is salvageable, but it will require close monitoring to reintroduce the nutrients -- a few things your company currently considers contaminants -- into the water supply. My recommendation would be to hire a wetlands specialist to oversee the project. I can make myself available if you’d like to keep me on.
PS -- Our lab claims they never received the blood sample I sent them. My own analysis on a second sample proved to be inconclusive. Therefore, I will give RC Aphrodisiacs the benefit of the doubt that I have not been drugged.
* * *
To: Gavin McNye, Wetlands Specialist
From: John Stubbs, Operations Manager, RC Aphrodisiacs Home Office
Date: August 17, 2006, 07:01 AM
Subject: Re: Habitat Contamination
Thanks for your quick detective work. The restoration job is yours, if you want it. Same hourly
rate you’re currently earning as a contractor, but with a special benefits package only available on RC Island. I’ll have the Personnel Office ship you an employee packet as soon as you accept the offer.
* * *
To: Manx, Chief Security Officer
From: John Stubbs, Operations Manager, RC Aphrodisiacs Home Office
Date: August 17, 2006, 09:06 AM
Subject: Gavin McNye
Gavin McNye is now officially one of us. Headquarters made an exception to the ban on humans, given Baen and Airk’s letters of recommendation. It’s worth his salary, just to have him around to keep the peace in the breakwater. However, it has been advised that you continue to covertly administer the anti-anxiety serum as his human brain may need help adjusting to the more unusual aspects of the supernatural, super-sexual life on Rookery Cove.
Kira Stone
Kira Stone lives in a warm, many-chambered cave tucked away in the Scottish Highlands. A small band of ever-changing heroes keeps her company. As they relax in front of a roaring fire, devils dance and angels sing her bawdy songs. Faerie folk often stop in for a cup of mulled wine and to listen to her spin a yarn or two. And when daylight turns to dusk, they somehow find a way to keep the cold, uncaring world at bay for another night… Okay, maybe not. When Kira isn’t living in a fantasy world, she’s writing about one from her ordinary house in Ohio with a husband and a few feline companions (who don’t sing nearly as well as the angels do). Is it any wonder she prefers the cave? You can check out Kira’s website at http://www.kirastonebooks.com.