by Rachel Clark
He eased a single finger past the tight ring of muscle, watching her closely, making certain she was ready before adding a second finger and then stretching her ass carefully. She moaned as he thrust his fingers a little deeper, scissoring them slowly as he worked another finger into her tight hole.
“Do it,” Luke whispered as he bit Declan’s ear impatiently. Keira nodded her agreement, so Declan rubbed more lube onto his cock and then pressed the thick head against her anus. She gasped as he forced her muscles open.
“Relax, Keira,” Declan said quietly as he finally managed to push the head of his cock into her back passage. She released the breath she’d been holding and managed to relax the muscles, pushing out, easing his way into her virgin passage.
“Oh, my,” she said, sounding not at all like herself. Luke chuckled as he pulled out of Declan’s ass once more, only to slam in again. The impact rippled through Keira’s body, and Declan felt her ass squeeze him as her excitement grew. Luke released one of her legs, his hand wrapping around Declan’s hips and settling on Keira’s mound. The moment he squeezed her clit, she exploded into orgasm.
Her ass pulsed around Declan’s cock, the incredible feeling tipping him over the edge. He cried out as his cum spurted like lava, his seed filling her passage even as Luke began to pound into him, plowing his ass. Luke groaned as he fucked him harder, but a moment later stilled as his own orgasm burst through him.
Exhausted, Declan struggled to hold his weight off Keira as Luke panted hard against his back. “No more leaving the house,” he said in a breathless, joking tone. “If this is what happens after being separated a few hours, being apart a whole day just might kill us.” Keira giggled happily, but it was a long while before any of them found the energy to move.
Chapter Eight
Declan let his mind wander as he checked the oil and fuel levels on the quad bike. When he’d been a kid his father had used horses to travel around the farm, but both he and Luke were more mechanically minded and preferred modern transport over mucking out stalls. And since they were both capable of keeping the mechanical beasts running smoothly, the money they spent on vet bills went to making sure the stock was healthy.
“There you are,” Keira said as she wandered into the barn. “Will you be much longer?”
“Almost finished.”
“Good. I was wondering if you could drive me into town this afternoon.” He glanced up and noticed her nervousness for the first time. In the last five months they’d settled into something of a routine, so a request to go into town on a Friday was a little unusual.
He raised an eyebrow, hoping for an explanation.
Again she looked nervous, but she took a deep breath and gave him the explanation he wanted. “My brother and his wife are passing through, and I told them it would be easier to meet them in town instead of…you know…trying to give them directions to the farm.” Considering that the turnoff to their farm was well sign-posted and straight off the main highway, the explanation didn’t quite wash.
“And?” he prompted.
“And I haven’t exactly explained to my very conservative, old-fashioned, judgmental brother that I’m living with two men from a different planet.” She began to pace the width of the barn as she ran a hand through her hair nervously. “I think he might actually take the alien explanation far better than the sleeping with two men part.” She stopped and turned pleading eyes to him. “Please can you just come with me into town and pretend that the two of us are madly in love?”
“We are madly in love, aren’t we?” he asked with a wide grin. He was finally beginning to understand why she was nervous, but his attempt at levity fell flat.
“Of course we’re in love,” she growled angrily. “It’s just that I kind of…maybe told him…we were…you know, engaged.” He smiled and couldn’t hide the warm feeling the idea gave him. Even though he was more comfortable every day with his alien status, there were just some human ideals that clung to his subconscious. “And you can’t tell him about Luke.”
“So Luke’s not coming? Have you told him?”
“Yes, I told him. He’s not happy,” she said, grimacing as if she was recalling the exact words Luke had given her on the matter.
Declan knew Luke well enough to know that Keira denying her relationship included both of them would bother him deeply.
It bothered him, too, but not enough to deny her the support she so obviously needed at this moment. “When do you want to leave?” Relief rippled over her features, and she stepped forward to press a quick kiss to his lips while trying not to get grease on her clothes.
“Richard said to meet them at the bar for dinner around six.”
“All right, honey, I’ll finish up here and be ready by half past four.”
She nodded and turned to leave the barn. He watched her go, but halfway back to the house she stopped and stomped her foot on the ground like a five-year-old doing a tantrum. Confused, he watched for a while longer as she seemed to argue with herself for a few moments before storming into the house and slamming the door behind her.
He glanced at the quad bike, wondering if the repairs could wait until tomorrow. Maybe Luke could help him find the reason for Keira’s unusual behavior.
* * * *
“Yeah, well I’m not happy about it either,” she growled angrily in her head.
“So tell him and get it over with.” She could feel Luke’s anger and his hurt, but she had no idea what to do to smooth things over. Her brother was a bully—always had been—and he’d take great glee from being able to mess up their idyllic lives.
“Do you have any idea how my brother will react? He’ll drag me from the restaurant, dump me in the car, and drive me to the nearest mental hospital.”
“You’re exaggerating,” Luke said dismissively. Great, having him in her head meant she couldn’t even overstate things just a little.
“Maybe I am, but he’ll make certain we are not happy. Hell, he’ll probably tell Declan he can’t marry me.”
“So what? You don’t need your brother’s permission to marry.”
“No, but he can make certain we’re as miserable as he is.”
“Fine. Do it your way. Take Declan and pretend to be human.”
“I am human,” she practically screeched telepathically. And just like that the argument was over. They weren’t a typical Sesturian triad, and without the enzyme they never would be. She’d already gleaned the information that the mating enzyme would’ve doubled her lifespan even though Luke had tried to somehow hide it from her. She felt his sadness and wanted to cry for a future they’d never share.
She’d grow old and gray, and Luke and Declan would still look the same age in fifty years.
“I love you,” Luke whispered telepathically.
“I know.”
* * * *
Dinner wasn’t as bad as Declan had been expecting, or as good as he’d hoped, but at least they’d gotten through it. Keira hadn’t been exaggerating about her brother’s ability to upset the applecart. In the span of a single meal he’d managed to belittle every one of Keira’s accomplishments from her third grade ballet recital to her “failure” to keep a man happy in every single relationship she’d ever had. Her brother had taken every opportunity to embarrass Keira and then some.
By dessert Declan was wishing that Luke had come with them.
Somebody needed to put this asshole in his place, and judging by the anger Declan felt, Luke would’ve laid the man out by the time the main meal had been delivered to their table.
Hell, Declan had almost done it himself.
But no matter how awful the guy was, he was still Keira’s family, and in Declan’s way of thinking family stuck together through thick and thin. At least, that’s what he wanted for his family.
“Are you okay?” Keira asked in a quiet voice.
He glanced away from the road to catch a glimpse of her face.
“I’m fine, honey.”
“But y
ou’re very glad that it’s over.” He let out a half laugh, unable to hide the relief he felt that they were heading home. “Yes, I’m very glad it’s over. How often do you think he’ll drop by like that?”
“Not often,” she said with a soft sigh. “Fortunately, his job takes him all over the country, so he’s usually too busy to be dealing with me.” She was quiet for a few moments before adding, “He’s right, you know.”
He tried to hide the burst of anger that small statement sent through his heart. “Right, how?”
“Right about me never achieving anything. I was a good student. I just never knew what I wanted to do, so I did nothing.” And finally a little tidbit of information her brother had provided fell into place. Keira was an amazing cook, and the house had never looked so good since she’d taken over the domestic chores. In the months they’d been together she’d repaired, repainted, and redecorated the farmhouse with a joyfulness they’d been happy to indulge.
“You wanted to be a housewife and mother?”
“Yep. How’s that for lack of ambition?” He glanced at her again, wishing that they weren’t having this discussion while driving. They were only a few minutes away from the farm, but once he got there he intended to disabuse her of that notion. Wife and mother were two of the hardest and most important jobs Declan could think of, and in this modern world, the most undervalued.
“Honey, I love that you take care of me and Luke. Maybe we don’t say it often enough, but coming home to you is the best part of the day.” He hesitated, wanting to reassure her even though he needed to speak to Luke about it first. “And maybe it’s time we talked about starting our family. I’d love to see you pregnant with our babies.” The heart-wrenching sob was so unexpected that he glanced at her once more, which meant he didn’t see the horse run onto the road until it was too late. He braked, trying to avoid hitting the animal, but the truck fishtailed across the road and Declan struggled to regain control.
Fortunately, they were the only vehicle on the dark highway, so they ended up in a ditch facing the wrong way, but were thankfully unhurt. Quickly making certain that they were safe where the truck had come to rest, Declan pulled off his seatbelt, undid Keira’s, and dragged her into his arms. She was shaking so hard that her teeth rattled.
“I’m sorry, honey. Are you okay?” She nodded, but burrowed into his embrace and held on tight. She was still crying, and he wasn’t sure if it was from the shock of their near accident or from the conversation beforehand, but he held her close and whispered words of comfort.
A few minutes later, a quad bike came roaring up the road and skidded to a halt beside them. Practically unable to believe his eyes, Declan stared blankly at Luke as he grabbed open the passenger door and slid into the cabin. He gathered them both in his arms and held on tight.
“How?” It was the only word to get past Declan’s tightening throat. They hadn’t even gotten around to checking if they had cell phone reception, let alone actually calling Luke for help.
“It doesn’t matter,” Luke said in a voice tight with stress. “What matters is that you’re both okay.”
“Of course we’re okay,” he said, surprising even himself by how irritated he felt. “I’ve been driving these roads most of my life. It wasn’t the first animal I’ve had to avoid.” He pulled out of Luke’s embrace, but continued to stroke Keira’s back as he again asked the one question he wanted an answer to. “How did you know we were here?”
The guilty look on his lover’s face was perplexing, but it was the seemingly silent communication between Keira and Luke that confused him the most. Luke reached for him, but Declan backed away, pressing his spine against the driver’s side door. Something was wrong here. He was missing something important, but for the life of him he couldn’t imagine what.
“Declan,” Keira said in a pleading note. “I’m sorry I distracted you. I just…it’s just…” She took a deep breath and seemed to force out the words despite the tears that wanted to fall. “The three of us can’t have children.”
Concern for Keira had him pulling her out of Luke’s arms and into his own. Fuck. After being belittled by her big brother all night, the feeling of failure that admission must bring her would be devastating. He wanted to ask for details, but already hope was unfurling in his mind. Sesturian medicine was far more advanced than human—or so he’d been led to believe by Luke—so maybe something that was a huge problem by human standards was easily fixed by Sesturian medicine.
“It’s okay, honey. We’ll get you the best alien medical care on the planet or maybe we could even head back to Sesturia for a visit.” He felt her stiffen in his arms, and he didn’t try to stop her when she pulled away.
“Declan, there’s something we need to tell you.”
Chapter Nine
Keira wandered around the house listlessly. It had been three weeks since they’d explained to Declan about the mating link. Three weeks since he’d climbed onto the quad bike and disappeared from their lives.
She pulled out a chair from the kitchen table and dropped heavily onto the wooden seat, sadness making it difficult to do even the most simple of chores.
“I’m almost finished, baby. I’ll be home soon.” She dropped her face into her hands. Not only was Luke doing double the work around the farm at the moment, but he was also worrying about her and missing Declan with every heartbeat. Luke and Declan had been together for years before she’d come along, yet in one cruel twist of fate, Declan had become the odd one out. Of all the things Declan could’ve coped with, being different to his mates was not one of them.
So he’d left.
And because they didn’t share a mating link they had no idea where he was or when he’d come back—or even if he would come back.
So every day they waited and hoped, and every day so far they’d been disappointed. She glanced around the kitchen, wondering if it was too early to start making dinner. She wasn’t the least bit hungry, but at least it would force her to move.
The back door being opened was so unexpected that she nearly leapt out of her skin when she saw Declan standing there. He looked awful. His skin was pale and sallow. His eyes looked dulled, lackluster, and he was shivering like he was very cold.
Something about him made her hesitate. She wanted to run into his arms and make him promise he’d never leave again, but something felt off, something felt wrong. Keira could hear Luke’s jumbled thoughts and emotions as he dropped everything and ran full pelt toward the house.
“Declan?” she asked quietly, approaching him like one might approach an injured animal.
“I tried to stay away,” he mumbled almost to himself. “But I can’t.” He ran a hand down his unshaven face, his eyes watery and his jaw clenched tightly. He grabbed her then, pulled her against him, his rock-hard cock pressing into her belly as he kissed her passionately.
As always, she melted into his arms.
His hands roamed over her body, his need for her seeming to overwhelm all thought. He lifted her onto the table, dragged her shirt over her head, and dropped his mouth to her breast. She gasped as he sucked hard, the immediately intense sensation nearly painful. His hands were fumbling with the fastenings of her jeans, but then he pulled back, stood frozen a moment, the pain in his eyes obvious. He took a deep breath, dropped his head, and started moving away.
Wanting to understand what was happening, Keira reached for Declan just as Luke ran in the back door.
“Declan?” Luke sounded breathless, his emotions spiking wildly as Declan finally lifted his head to look at Keira.
“I…I’m sorry,” Declan said, backing away as if he’d done something wrong. But as he tried to flee the kitchen, Luke caught him in his arms and pressed Declan’s head to his throat.
“It’s okay, babe,” he said in a soothing voice. “It’s just the mating enzyme. Bite me. It’ll take the frantic edge off it.” Understanding dawned in Keira a moment before Declan opened his mouth over Luke’s throat and bit him. Luke
stiffened, groaning as he rubbed his suddenly hard cock against Declan’s, and pulled the man tighter into his embrace. They held each other, Luke’s eyes glazing with passion as Declan’s lips worked over his throat.
Finally, Declan carefully pulled his mouth away from Luke, the fangs that had grown once the enzyme began producing slowly retracting back into his gums. Both men looked exhausted, but happy.
Very happy.
* * * *
Somehow they made it over to a chair, and Luke pulled Declan onto his lap.
Luke could barely contain his joy as the mating link between him and Declan finally began to build in his mind. He could feel the wonder in Declan’s thoughts, could sense a cacophony of conflicting emotions, but above all he could feel the love Declan felt for both him and Keira.
Relief flooded him as he held his man close and every dream he’d ever had for the three of them finally became a possibility.
“The enzyme?” Declan asked aloud.
“Yes,” he said with a smile to Keira. Luke knew Keira could feel his side of the emotional torrent so she understood what was happening. It was Declan who was finally beginning to realize what this meant. Three weeks ago the conversation had been such an emotional and highly charged argument that they hadn’t gotten around to explaining the enzyme’s role in Sesturian procreation before Declan had taken off.
But now he was back, and the enzyme was producing in him, and they held all of their dreams within reach. “Come on, babe. Let’s get you cleaned up so that we can show our Taydelaan what a true Sesturian mating is all about.”
* * * *
Keira wasn’t quite sure what to do. She was still sitting on the table, her jeans undone, her breasts still naked. She could feel the mating bond growing between her men as they stepped into the bathroom together and felt a deep satisfaction slide through her. As much as she wanted to share that bond with them both, she was content for the moment to let them discover each other first.