by CSM
Bear went back to their suite a half-hour later, after seeing Tilly to Princess Adora’s workshop. He was still shaking his head over what had happened there, but doing as he was told.
Robert was just eating a bit of toast, his day starting a lot later than Bear’s, owing to the work schedules they had been assigned. Isabelle was sitting with Robert in the conversation area near the side of the dragons’ wallow. Robert’s plate was on the low table as he sat on one of the overstuffed chairs, and Isabelle was seated on the couch, facing him. Bear flopped down on another chair at the side of the arrangement, between them.
“I thought you would be long gone by now,” Robert said around a mouthful of toast. “What’s amiss?”
“Tilly said her wing was strained and wanted to have Princess Adora check it, but when we got to Adora’s chamber, Growloranth showed up and all three of them told me to leave.” Bear literally scratched his head in confusion.
“I was wondering where he’d gone,” Robert said, finishing his toast.
“If I was a suspicious type of person, I might think they were plotting something,” Bear finally voiced his concerns. Something about Tilly’s supposed injury didn’t seem right. Tilly was usually the last one to complain about anything.
“Your instincts are correct,” Isabelle floored him by saying. Both Robert and he looked at her with surprise. “I asked Tilly to keep you here today, Bear.”
He liked it when she called him Bear. She had stuck to using Sir Bernard for a very long time, but he didn’t want any formality between them. In fact, he wanted nothing between them—as it had been that one glorious time when they had been together. But he and Robert had agreed. They wouldn’t pressure her. And they wouldn’t try to make love to her again unless they were all together.
Like now?
Bear started to consider the possibilities. Why did she want him to stay in the Lair today? Well. There was only one way to find out. He needed to ask her.
“Why?”
Robert beat him to the punch, but it was all right. They both needed to know what was on their potential mate’s mind.
“Because I can’t keep going like this,” Isabelle said in a rush. Bear’s heart almost stopped. Did she want to leave? “I need to know where we all stand and if we can make this work. I feel like you’ve been avoiding me the past few days. I know your duty comes first,” her voice filled with tears and Bear wanted to go to her, but she held up a hand, palm outward, as if trying to hold them back until she was done with whatever it was she wanted to say. “I understand. But the past few days, things have quieted down. Everyone says so. And you have still been avoiding me. I need to know if you still want me or if you want me to go and are being too polite to say it to my face.”
Bear was out of his chair and at her side within seconds. So was Robert, on her other side. Luckily, the couch was built for three.
“We want you here, Isabelle,” Robert whispered, holding one of her hands. Bear took her other hand, squeezing gently.
“We really do,” he added. “We don’t ever want you to leave. We want you to be our mate.”
Bear wasn’t an eloquent man, but he knew when he needed to say certain things. This seemed to be their time of reckoning—engineered by the woman they wanted to be part of their lives forever. He wouldn’t have thought she would ever be so bold, but he really liked it. He was so proud of her. She was finding her inner strength. That was something she would need if she was going to be their mate in truth.
“Why?” She echoed Robert’s earlier question and Bear was a bit confused.
Didn’t she already know that they were destined to be together? Didn’t she feel the same pull whenever they were near to each other? Didn’t she know they loved her more than life itself?
A frisson of doubt crept over him. If she didn’t feel those things, did it mean she wasn’t their mate? Could they have fooled themselves so completely into believing she would feel the same things they did? Did she not care for them at all? Did she not love them—at least a little?
Bear’s heart sank. He knew he had to lay it all on the line, but suddenly he was truly unsure of the entire situation. He could lay his feelings bare and be rejected.
But he had to do it. He had to try. He took a deep breath and plunged in, knowing this time, Robert would be even more reticent than he was to take that final step.
Bear reached out and stroked her hair, drawing her attention to him, holding her gaze with his own. She was so beautiful to him.
“Why do we want you to be our mate?” he repeated the crux of her question, gently. “I can speak only for my own feelings, though I’m pretty sure Robert feels the same. I want you to stay because…I love you. I will love you for the rest of my days, whether you decide to share your life with us or not. You are the only woman in the world for me, and if you leave, my heart will shatter, never to be healed.”
Tears welled in her eyes and he used his thumb to wipe away one that fell down her cheek. He tried to smile at her, even as his future hung in the balance.
Robert’s hands settled on her shoulders and Bear let go of her face, knowing they could never be complete until both knights had committed to their mate. She turned to Robert and Bear silently encouraged his friend to seal the deal. Robert was the eloquent one. If he couldn’t convince her to stay, then no one could.
Robert opened his mouth and then seemed to freeze.
“Tell her, you fool!” Bear sent urgently to his fighting partner’s mind.
Robert started as if he’d been poked. “I love you too,” he blurted out.
Bear wanted to shake his head and groan. His supposedly silver-tongued partner didn’t seem to have much to say. Idiot.
“I’ll love you forever, sweetheart,” Robert added, whispering as emotion filled his gaze.
And then Bear understood. Robert was so overcome with the intensity of his feelings, it scrambled his brain. That was the only excuse Bear could give him in this situation. Bear, on the other hand, was pushed by emotion to say things he normally kept inside. Love gave him courage, whereas it seemed to steal all of Robert’s usual polish.
“You see what you’ve done to him?” Bear whispered, leaning close to Isabelle’s ear. “I’ve never seen Robert at a loss for words. You did that to him. Loving you has wiped away all the pretense, and left him speechless. And it seems to have given me the freedom, for once, to say what’s in my heart.” Bear turned her head with one finger under her chin and kissed her deeply.
When they broke apart, he saw the happy tears in her eyes and his heart rejoiced. “I love you with all my heart.”
“I love you too. Both of you,” she said, lifting his spirits and giving him confirmation that his love life was not about to end in a bright ball of flames.
“Then I think we have an accord,” Bear dared to say. “Do you agree to be our mate?” He had to have the words, just as she had needed to hear them speak of their love plainly. So there could be no chance of confusion.
Isabelle’s smile lit his world. “I do.”
Happiness filled him as the realization hit. They were going to be a family. She loved them.
“Then I suppose we’d better start planning a mating ceremony,” Bear said, thinking more about the wedding consummation than the actual ceremony.
“But we don’t have to wait until then, right?” Isabelle said with a shy little smile that made him want to purr.
“No, milady,” he agreed, moving closer to her on the couch and untying the closure at her neck that kept her blouse together. “As long as we all want the same thing, nothing is forbidden to us. You do want us, don’t you?” Bear asked playfully as he noted the way her breathing hitched as he cupped her generous breasts in his hands.
“I do,” she repeated her earlier agreement. “Sweet heaven, I do.”
Her voice trailed off as he lowered his head and licked his way down over her throat to her breasts, playing there for a good long time. When he looked up sometime
later, Robert had turned her head and claimed her mouth. The sight of his fighting partner kissing their mate was incredibly exciting.
Bear had known for a long time that he would end up sharing a mate with Robert—if they managed to find one—but they had never before shared a woman between them. That was something they had agreed to preserve for their mate alone. Bear was glad now that they had waited. Most knights didn’t, but they had both wanted to keep something special for when they found their mate.
It was special all right. Bear had never felt the level of excitement that was riding him now. And the dragons weren’t even involved yet. Bear could only guess at the frenzy their mating flight would induce in their human counterparts. All in all, it was a good thing that the three of them get a little practice in before the dragons reunited. Bonding with their mate now might mean the difference between having her join wholeheartedly in the mating flight frenzy—or being scared out of her wits by their possible aggression.
Neither Bear nor Robert knew how they were going to react when the backwash of lust from their dragon partners hit them. He hoped they would be able to keep their heads, but stories abounded in the Lair of near-mindless coupling inspired by dragons among the mated trios. With Isabelle so new to passion, Bear feared frightening her with the intensity that was said to develop to an inhuman height when the dragons became involved.
Better to start off slow. Well, as slow as they could manage. It felt like the three of them were about to reach heights of passion Bear had never quite realized existed. Just the fact that they were all together. Mates. He couldn’t get over it, and that one thought added a new dimension to their time together that could never be replicated by any of the encounters he’d had up to this point.
Robert moved to the far corner of the couch, pulling Isabelle downward to lie with her back to his front, serving her up for Bear on a platter, as it were.
“You take the front this time,” Robert sent to him privately. Bear could feel the tension in the words—the shaky control in his tone.
Bear rid Isabelle of the rest of her clothing, kissing his way down her body. Robert helped by serving up her breasts in his hands, holding them while Bear sucked at first one peak, then the other. When Bear moved lower, Robert continued to pluck at her distended nipples, making her writhe and moan in a most satisfying way.
Moving lower, Bear spread her legs and zeroed in on his target, smiling against her clit when she gasped as he licked her, then moved even closer. Nibbling on her most sensitive places, he was careful with her, but still strove to push her just a little bit higher with each movement.
When he stuck his tongue into her channel, her hips rose as she cried out, coming against his mouth. Oh, yeah. That’s just what he wanted. He wanted to drive her out of her mind—into new realms of desire and lust—before they all joined in their first adventure as a trio.
He rode her through the small orgasm, gentling her with his hands on her hips. Then it was Bear’s turn to move back to his corner of the couch, taking Isabelle with him.
She smiled at him when he pulled her over his body.
“Do I get to have my way with you now?” she asked playfully. Her eyes sparkled in a way that made him want to see that same expression on her face over and over again. He’d make it a goal.
“You can have your way with me any time you want, my heart,” he replied, nearly groaning when her soft hands started to undress him.
He felt movement at the other end of the couch that told him Robert was getting ready for the next part of this encounter. They hadn’t exactly planned this, so they were improvising. Still, one item in particular would make this all go a lot easier, and Robert was smart enough to go fetch it before they moved any farther along this path.
Meanwhile, Bear had to try to keep it together long enough for the triple joining they were working toward. With Isabelle’s hands roaming all over his body as she undressed him, he wasn’t entirely sure he’d be able to hold back.
“Better get a move on, Robert,” Bear sent to Robert, who was making noise in his bedroom. It sounded like he was tossing things around, probably looking for what they needed.
“I can’t find the jar,” Robert sent back, his tone tinged with annoyance and a hint of panic.
“Get the oil in the bathing chamber. That’ll work. Even cooking oil in the kitchen would work, for heavens sake.”
“Right.”
Bear could hear Robert’s footsteps padding around the perimeter of the suite and then he was back, the couch dipping at the other end as Robert rejoined them. Isabelle was on her hands and knees, licking her way over Bear’s bare chest in a shy, but determined way. He loved the feel of her hands on him and her mouth was driving him wild.
She squeaked and lifted her head when Robert touched her from behind. Bear couldn’t see exactly what Robert was doing back there, but he had a good idea of what Robert was about. He was kneeling on the couch behind Isabelle, his hands at her hips, most likely spreading her cheeks and rubbing oil into her, to ease his way.
Isabelle nearly jumped out of her skin when she felt Robert’s fingers slide between her cheeks from behind. They were slick with something. Some kind of oil, she guessed, and she knew what that meant now.
A little shiver of anticipation went through her at the memory of what she had experienced with Robert, when he’d taken her there. It had been unlike anything she could have expected, but she enjoyed it immensely. She had spent some time talking to Silla about intimate things and was prepared as best as she could be, for what her two knights might ask of her. Deep down, it was all a matter of trust. And she trusted Bear and Robert not to hurt her, or push her beyond what she could give them.
They loved her. That’s what mattered most.
She pushed back into Robert’s hand as he sought and gained entrance. It felt good. Almost better than she remembered. He didn’t rush her, but he did increase the tempo and pressure, adding more fingers until she was rocking against his hand, seeking another release.
All it took was Bear’s hands on her breasts to set her off again. She moaned and closed her eyes, enjoying the sensations that spiraled through her body.
The climax went through her and the men let her have it. Only when it began to dissipate did Robert change tactics. He removed his hand and a moment later, replaced his fingers with something more solid—more enticing. She felt his hard cock slide up into her, bit by bit, taking it slow, but demanding entrance she did not want to deny.
When he was fully seated inside her, he paused. She took a moment to bask in the sensation. Oh, that felt good. Full. Stretched. Exciting.
And then Bear pushed lightly, but firmly against her shoulders, raising her up so that Robert’s chest was against her back, his rod firmly ensconced within her while he held her hips. Bear took a moment to gather some of the throw pillows, placing them in front of her—even going so far as to lift her knees and put a few under her, so she was a little higher. Perfect height, it turned out, for their possession.
Interesting. And inventive. She liked what they were doing and looked forward to see what might come next. She hoped it involved Bear’s cock, but she was willing to wait and see which of the many variations Silla had told her about, they might choose.
After he seemed content with her placement, Bear rose to his knees in front of her. His hands went to her waist, caressing as he looked deep into her eyes.
“Are you all right?” he asked, melting her heart with his obvious concern.
“It’s good,” she replied, barely able to catch her breath. She wanted to scream for him to go faster. To get on with it. But she couldn’t. This was a voyage of discovery and she had to be patient.
“I’m going to take you now, joining the three of us as one,” Bear warned in a soft tone. “I want you to tell me right away if it’s too much.”
“I want it,” she gasped as he moved closer, lifting her thigh to wrap around his hips. “I want you. Both of you.”
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nbsp; And then he was there, at her entrance, stretched impossibly tight. But the pillows under her knees allowed her to move around a bit, making room for him. He pressed upward, joining their bodies and she felt the double possession Silla had told her about for the first time. It was…odd. Odd and incredibly exciting. Naughty in the best possible way.
“All right, baby?” Robert whispered in her ear from behind, the warmth of his moist breath in the shell of her ear making her shiver. Sensory overload was too mild a description of what she was feeling.
“Fine,” she gasped, unable to speak more than a single syllable. She felt way more than just fine, though. She felt possessed. Taken. Liberated. Loved.
Both men made some adjustments to their position, moving her limbs and placing their hands at points to support her body. They took care for her comfort in a way that made her heart ache with love for them both.
And then they began to move. Bright stars in heaven! She hadn’t known her body could produce such sensations. The quivers of desire started in her belly and shimmied up and down her spine.
She couldn’t move much, but it didn’t matter. Her men took care of her in the most delightful sort of way. They moved slow at first, watching her every move before increasing the pace little by little.
They took their time and made sure she was with them. She had never experienced such feelings of love, possession and abject desire before. She was new to lovemaking, but even she could sense this was something incredibly special. Just for them. Together.
She began to tremble and two pairs of arms were immediately there, supporting her. She wanted to cry at the beauty of the moment when she shattered, her shout of release echoing around the domed chamber.
But the men didn’t come. They kept at her, moving incrementally faster, building her desire once again, driving her higher than she thought she could go. The climaxes built on each other as her whole body shook.
She was moaning when the pace picked up to a true frenzy. Her body was going far beyond what she’d ever dreamed was possible. The climax hit and just…stayed. Multiple orgasms wracked her body with almost indescribable pleasure. Only dimly did she hear the groans of her men, but she felt the warmth of their come when they finally reached their own peaks of pleasure within her.