Things That Go Bump In the Night 2004

by Ashleigh Raine

  “Ha ha, very funny,” Jill intoned. “You can put me down now, Arden.”

  “Okay.” With an impious grin, Arden pretended to toss her into the spa, making her shriek. Instead, he handed her off to Leo who lowered her onto his lap under the water. He was already erect, his cock nudging her thigh. The stamina of these men.

  “Oh…” she sighed as the hot water coaxed her into submission. “I was going to be mad at you two for teasing me, but now I don’t even have the energy to care.”

  “You don’t need energy,” Arden said. “We’ll take care of you.”

  Between lowered eyelids she watched Arden begin to climb into the spa. His erection looked almost painful. She shook her head and slid off Leo’s lap. “Stop right there.”

  Arden looked at her questioningly as he stood half-in, half-out of the water. He was truly a work of art, chiseled muscles, dark curls sprinkled over his chest, down his stomach, trailing to the masterpiece below. With the steam rising around him he looked like something out of a dream. But it wasn’t a dream—tonight, both of these men were hers.

  A drop of pre-ejaculate glistened at the tip of Arden’s cock. Just the thought of taking him orally made her pussy clench longingly and a shiver race down her spine. It surprised her just how sexually open she was with these men. It was a side of herself she’d never known existed.

  “I want to take care of you now,” she said, kneeling on a small shelf in front of Arden.

  He looked down at her, those gorgeous dark eyes of his so full of lustful adoration she could barely breathe. He didn’t say a word, just sat down on the edge, his feet dangling in the water, spreading his legs so she could settle between them.

  Keeping her balance by grasping the powerful muscles of Arden’s thighs, she wrapped her mouth around the head of his cock. Her tongue circled the tip, tasting his essence. Expecting to find it bitter, she was surprised that the salty taste didn’t bother her and in fact, she enjoyed it. She suckled him deeper into her mouth, wanting to taste all of him at once. His low rumble of approval urged her on, as did his hand weaving through her hair, encouraging her to continue. She could feel the tension in his body, the tremble of muscles tight and desperate for release as he fought the urge to thrust into her.

  She loved his texture, smooth velvet over hard steel. Using her tongue, she traced along the engorged veins of his shaft until she’d reached the base. Wanting to explore even further, she curled her fingers through his coarse, dark hair, then followed it lower to his sac, rolling the flesh over her palm. His breath hissed out between clenched teeth as she took his cock deep into her mouth again, while her hands caressed his balls. Arden’s musky smell—that enticing mix of male, desire, sex, power—surrounded her, and she felt the evidence of her arousal building inside like a dam waiting to burst.

  Desperation growing, her ass thrashed in and out of the water as she worked Arden harder, her body searching for a way to ease her ache. Fingers gripped her hips, stilling her frantic motions. Leo smoothed his hands over her rear, spreading her cheeks. She didn’t have any time to comprehend what was happening before something warm and wet soothed her tiny hole. Oh dear God, Leo was licking her there. And it felt good. So unbelievably good. How could something so immoral feel so fantastic? She couldn’t hold back her moan of absolute pleasure. It vibrated up Arden’s length, and he reacted instantly.

  Groaning, Arden stopped holding back, beginning to plunge in and out of her mouth with short, quick jabs. Leo continued to circle her anus with his tongue. Jill didn’t know what would happen next; her skin felt too tight for her body, her ears buzzing, body trembling. Not an orgasm, at least not like she was used to. This didn’t end; it just kept building, growing stronger and stronger.

  Arden’s whole body grew rigid and he shouted, his seed shooting into her mouth. It came so fast she almost choked, but she carefully swallowed, continuing to manipulate his flesh until he finished. Arden stroked her hair, finally lifting her face from his shaft. He dropped from the edge of the spa and into the water, gifting her with a tender kiss. “Thank you,” he murmured against her lips.

  Jill couldn’t answer, strung tight on the edge of something unexplainable. Replacing his tongue with his finger, Leo began a gentle massage, one finger pressing into her hole. Involuntarily she tightened up, offering resistance against the foreign invasion. He calmed her, making soothing noises while layering kisses along her spine. He kept up the light touches against her anus, while Arden joined his brother, his hand beginning a similar massage around her clit. It felt so good, those matching touches, she could barely breathe. If Leo and Arden weren’t holding her, she probably would have sunk beneath the water.

  She almost did fall when Leo’s finger slipped past the barrier and entered her tight hole. Whimpering, she rocked back and forth, wanting more, wanting less, needing an explanation for all the contradicting waves of pain and pleasure that felt too good to ignore. Leo pressed his finger deeper, then retreated, a cautious in and out. The more he moved, the better it felt as her body adjusted to the intrusion.

  Arden reached out of the tub, handing a bottle to Leo. Warm oil trickled down her crack, and Leo rubbed the oil over and into her sensitive flesh. He retreated completely and for a moment she felt bereft and empty. Then something larger nudged against her opening. Even though she’d known this was coming, his girth scared her. How could she take him that way?

  He must have covered his cock with the same oil, because he was slick against her anus. Slowly, cautiously, he pressed forward, gently invading her. She gasped as her muscles fought against his presence, while the rest of her welcomed it. Forcing herself to relax, Leo pushed deeper with small, digging thrusts. Her arms trembled, body shuddering as he seated himself all the way in.

  Once there he didn’t move, giving her time to adjust. It burned and ached, being stretched so tight. She shifted, trying to acclimate herself. The longer he was there, the more intense her desire grew. Her skin was hot, sensitive, needy.

  “Leo…Arden…please…” Jill didn’t recognize the husky, ragged voice as her own, didn’t even know what she was begging for, only knowing that if they didn’t do something her body was going to explode or implode or burst into flames—whatever happened, with all the pressure building inside, she figured she was going to take out half of Talisman Bay with her.

  Arden sank two fingers into her pussy and began thrusting in and out, Leo matching the motions. Desperately she reached out, her hand circling Arden’s shaft. He was still semi-hard, even after his orgasm. “Now…Arden, I want you now. Both of you…”

  He kissed her again, this time delving into her mouth. His hands cradled her cheeks, holding her still so he could sink deeper and deeper inside of her. While he kissed her, their sexes found each other beneath the water and she lowered herself onto his cock, her pussy stretching to accommodate him. The two brothers moved in unison, taking her, breaking her down. It was an assault on her heart, a discovery that she craved forever with these men. Tears ran down her cheeks as she kissed Arden back, wishing she could kiss Leo too, wishing there was some way she could explain to them that she somehow, inexplicably had fallen in love with them both.

  Reaching up and behind her, she wrapped one arm around Leo, the other around Arden. She was a conduit; every movement made felt by all three of them.

  Leo kissed her neck, nibbling and loving her skin. She broke from Arden’s kiss, turning her head to kiss Leo. He worshiped her just as possessively, claiming her mouth with as much ardor as he claimed her ass. Arden’s teeth scraped down her exposed neck, suckling the skin where it met her shoulders.

  Everything became a blur of feeling, motion, friction. The orgasm surged from deep inside her, shimmering outward like a great blast of light, ricocheting through her and into Leo and Arden. As though merging into one, they came together, hot liquid pulsing fire. She was trembling, soaring, flying, bound to the men she loved.

  * * * * *

  They lay in euphoric sile
nce, the only sound the gentle lap of water stirred up by their desperate lovemaking. Arden’s heart returned to its normal steady rhythm, but the rest of him felt different…content…complete. He caressed Jill’s shoulder, never wanting to be separated from her, but the water’s flow created an easy disengagement. She sweetly sighed, lowering her head to his shoulder. One of her hands tangled with Leo’s, keeping the three of them connected.

  Leo’s voice slammed into Arden’s head, shattering the blissful afterglow. Do you feel different? Is the change happening?

  Arden forced his thoughts away from how Jill made him feel and focused inward. Muscles rhythmically tightened and released, contracting of their own accord, making concentration difficult. It felt similar to the moments just before he shifted form. Had Jill broken the curse? He met Leo’s intent gaze. I feel different…better…more alive.

  We need to tell her, Leo warned, his eyes fierce. A muscle ticked in his jaw, and his teeth clenched. Whatever was happening to them, Leo was feeling it, too. We’re in too deep now. She needs to know.

  I know. Arden kissed the top of Jill’s head. Her breathing had deepened, her warm exhales caressing his neck. She was asleep, or close to it, oblivious to the damning situation brewing around her. God, more than anything, he didn’t want to disrupt what might be their last peaceful moments together.

  But Leo broke the silence. “Jill, you’re amazing. We knew you were the one.”

  She let out a muffled sigh, rubbing her face against Arden’s neck.

  Giving Leo a quelling look, Arden stroked down her spine, hoping his touches could gentle the blow their confession would impart. “I’ve never felt like this before.” He paused to take a breath, to gather his thoughts, to find a way of easing into the heart of the matter. “We’ve never felt like this before.”

  “And that’s exactly why we need to tell you something,” Leo finished.

  Lifting her head from Arden’s shoulder, Jill blinked away grogginess. She stretched languorously and gave them a sheepish grin. “I’m sorry. I guess my lack of sleep over the past few nights is finally getting to me. What did you need to tell me?”

  So sweet, so beautiful, so innocent. He didn’t want what he loved about her to become fractured when the truth surfaced. “Something we should have told you before things went this far…”

  “We’ve got a secret we’ve been keeping for eighteen years,” Leo offered, softening his words by stroking her arm from shoulder to wrist.

  Arden took a deep breath, shouldering the burden of revealing their first lie. “We’re not brothers.”

  “You aren’t brothers?” She scrutinized Leo, then Arden, her eyes growing wide. “Are you…are you lovers?”

  “No. We’re not lovers…we’re not brothers. It’s confusing.” Leo gripped her hand and met her worried gaze. “We’re cursed.”

  “C-cursed?” Jill repeated. Although she didn’t move, Arden could see the subtle change in her demeanor, the beginning of an emotional retreat. His heart rate accelerated, a rocky cadence of fear thudding angrily through every vein.

  Back off, he demanded. We’re scaring her.

  We’re out of time, Leo argued. Would you rather she has no warning if we change? To Jill, he asked, “Do you believe in magic?”

  “Magic?” She paused, teasing her bottom lip between her front teeth. “Like hocus-pocus, saw-a-lady-in-half magic?” Her gaze darted between the two of them, uneasiness weighing down her smile.

  “I wish it was that simple.” Arden took her hand, finding it unnaturally cold. Her body’s reaction to fear, he guessed. Grasping her fingers between his palms, he gently massaged each digit. He needed more time to ease her into the truth, but the muscle contractions were growing in strength, a ticking time bomb waiting to explode. “When we were eighteen, we were rather open in our love interests.”

  “We dated multiple women,” Leo revealed.

  “But that’s normal,” Jill laughed, although confusion still tempered her expression. “What’s not normal is two men dating the same woman at the same time. Like this…us…” Her voice trailed off. “But that’s not what you’re trying to tell me, is it?”

  Arden’s guilt hit him with hammer-like ferocity. They were making a mess of this. “Two of the women we dated were witches—powerful witches—and when they discovered our tendencies, they cursed us. Telling us if we wanted to be with multiple women, then we should be two.”

  Glancing from man to man, Jill shook her head. “What is that supposed to mean? You should be two? You are two!”

  “We weren’t then.” Leo ran a hand over his damp hair. “We were born one man. Now we’re two halves of that same man.”

  “A man you might be meeting in a moment or two here,” Arden finished.

  “What? There’s three of you?” Jill’s eyes widened. She jerked her hand from his grasp, crossing her arms protectively over her exposed breasts. “Ummm, I’d really rather not meet him like this.”

  “No. It’s not like that.” Arden paused, unsure of how to continue. “I just don’t want to scare you.”

  “Well, you are,” she whispered. “You are scaring me. Nothing you’re saying makes any sense.”

  Leo stepped between Arden and Jill. “We don’t want to scare you, Jill, but we’re running out of time and there’s more we have to tell you. Even before we were cursed and split into two, there was a duality to our nature. We’re shape-shifters.”

  “This isn’t funny.” Jill jolted to her feet and grabbed a towel from the shelf nearby. Climbing from the spa, she wrapped the fabric around herself tightly and rushed inside the house.

  Arden chased after her, ignoring the towels. “No. Jill, please listen. The curse had a time limit. We were eighteen when we were split, so we had eighteen years as separate halves to find someone to make us whole again. And now our time is up.”

  “So what next?” Jill plucked her jeans from the floor and stepped into them, struggling to pull them up over her damp skin. “Please tell me there’s a punch line coming.”

  “It’s no joke,” Leo replied from behind Arden. He crossed the room and stood naked in front of Jill. “Without your love, we’re dead.”

  “So let me get this straight.” Jill dragged her turtleneck down over her wet hair. “You two are cursed shape-shifters who have spent years screwing the same women in the hopes one of them would be gullible enough to fall in love with both of you, thereby solving all your problems. Did I miss anything?” Her words were laced with sarcasm, hurt and betrayal.

  Frustration and fear surged through Arden. She didn’t believe them. His muscles contracted to the point of pain and he swallowed a groan. Everything was spiraling out of control and he was helpless to stop it.

  “I’m sorry I have to do this, Jill, but you need to understand.” In a blur of flesh and fur, Leo shifted to his lion form.

  Jill’s shocked gasp echoed in the sudden quiet. Arden cursed his other, impulsive half and stepped in front of the animal, blocking Jill’s view.

  But it was too late. Jill stared past Arden. “Oh God. A lion…a lion. Leo’s a lion.” She backed away in fright, grasping her shoes and socks like a lifeline. “Leo the lion…Arden the eagle.” She spoke the words softly as tears began to fall. Her liquid gaze accusatorily locked on Arden, like a dagger stabbing into his heart. “You’re an eagle.”

  “Yes,” he replied simply.

  “I want to see it,” she demanded, shivers racking her tiny frame.

  “Jill—”

  “Do it.” Her voice was eerily calm…distant.

  The normal pain of shifting was dull in comparison to the pain of facing the withdrawal of the woman he loved. Arms became wings, hair became feathers as the shift to eagle worked toward completion. Before the urge to fly free took over, he returned to human again, rippling from one form to another with practiced ease. He held an arm out to her, but she backed away, turning toward the stairs. His last hope died with her retreat.

  One foot on the top s
tep, she paused, her voice so quiet he had to strain to hear her. “You got what you wanted. I did love you both.” She pounded down the stairs.

  Leo returned to human form and started after Jill. Arden grabbed him, pulling him back. “We lost her.” Arden felt a blow as the front door slammed shut. “Just let her go.”

  “No!” Leo roared, eyes flashing angrily as he tried to disengage Arden’s grasp. Muscles rippled violently beneath flesh. “I love her.”

  “Nice of you to finally make the goddamn admission, but it’s too late. No matter how much we love her, we can’t make her stay.”

  Leo’s fingers dug into Arden’s hand, urging it to unshackle. “We can convince her. I won’t let her leave us. I’d rather die than live without her.”

  “So you’re going to force her to stay?” Arden shook his head. “You shouldn’t have shifted.”

  Leo swiped at Arden and growled. “If you had just told her the truth the other night at dinner—”

  “She would’ve run away then. Can you blame her?” Arden released him and turned toward the open sliding glass door. He could fly away, leave the racking, burning pain behind. His vision blurred as another round of rapid muscle contractions surged through him. He gritted his teeth, refusing to fall to his knees. Maybe the curse hadn’t been broken and death waited just around the corner. He couldn’t summon the energy to care.

  “If you fly away, we are dead.” Leo’s words echoed both in Arden’s mind and in the room around him.

  Arden gripped his head as the world blurred around him again. “Yeah, well you said it yourself.” He began his shift. “Without her…”

  An explosion of pain knocked him off his feet as a million bursts of bright, furious light blasted from every cell of his body, ripping him apart.

  Chapter Eight

  A cold fist squeezed Jill’s heart, draining all happiness from its depths. Fear kept her moving forward and into her car, when she would’ve rather sunk to her knees and let the tears run dry. But then everything she’d lost when her reality catapulted into fantasy would crash through her mind, furthering her torment.