by Z. Allora
Corey backpedaled away from the ocean lapping the sand.
Keith and he ran up behind Corey. On Keith’s single nod they split up, went on either side of Corey, and lifted him by the elbows, carrying him into the water.
Corey kicked his feet and laughed. “What are you two doing?”
They stopped in knee-deep water, which meant when Corey dropped his legs he’d be up to his thighs.
Jackson leaned into Corey’s face. “Kissing you.”
“Well, okay, then.” Corey closed his eyes and tilted his face.
Brushing his lips against the man he’d loved for two decades; his breath was still taken away. He deepened the kiss, then pulled back.
Once they set Corey down, Jackson guided Keith’s mouth to Corey.
Corey’s smile was endearing. He peeked up at Keith with a very inviting look.
“Corey?” Keith asked as if he were afraid to accept the invitation without verbal consent.
“Yes, Keith. Please—”
Keith’s mouth stole the rest of whatever Corey was going to say.
Their lips glided against each other’s, sweet and sexy until Corey took Keith’s lower lip in his mouth and bit. He brushed his tongue over the swollen lip and then turned to Jackson, pulling him into a kiss.
“Mmmm, damn,” he muttered when Corey ended the kiss. His legs slid down Jackson’s.
“Kiss him, Jackson.” Corey’s eyes sparkled with excited anticipation.
And he did. He tried to convey with his mouth all that his head and heart believed: they would make this work.
The next morning, Jackson rolled over to the left. No Corey. He reached to the right. No Keith.
The sun smiled through the blackout curtain gap. Damn. He’d forgotten to clip them together.
After stumbling to the bathroom, he found a note from Corey.
Going to the farmers’ market with K. We left you a muffin, and the magic coffee machine will give you a cappuccino if you press the right button.
The we made Jackson stupidly happy. His mates were together… it was just a matter of time before it was real.
He dealt with life, then took his muffin and cappuccino to the balcony overlooking the beach. Sitting, he alternated between scrolling through his news apps and watching the waves roll in.
An hour later, Keith and Corey strolled into the condo with cloth bags filled with food.
Corey gave Jackson a kiss and got right to work in the kitchen, organizing the produce, bakery items, and homemade pasta. “I got this. Why don’t you guys go sit on the balcony?”
“Don’t have to tell me twice to leave the kitchen.” Jackson chuckled, readily returning to his seat overlooking the waves.
Keith leaned toward the daytime perch, and Ruffles jumped onto his shoulder. He followed Jackson.
Jackson grinned at them. “It still surprises me that Ruffles doesn’t try to fly away.”
“Why would he? He wants to be with me.” Keith scratched Ruffles in just the right spot that had the bird yawning.
As if on cue, Corey began singing to his playlist. They both looked into the condo and then smiled at each other.
Jackson was curious. “So why did you take him to the farmers’ market?”
Keith shrugged. “He asked to go, said he was in a cooking mood.”
“He what?” Jackson restrained the need to do a tacky punch-the-sky move.
“What?” Keith scrunched his face as his long hair waved in the breeze.
Jackson wanted to kiss him but instead tucked some hair behind Keith’s ear. Not only was he beautiful, but this was great news. “He only did that—”
Corey appeared and handed Keith a water. He set another cappuccino in front of Jackson and kissed him hard on the mouth.
“Mmmm.” Jackson always enjoyed Corey’s mouth.
“Quiet, or I’ll use my dick to silence you,” Corey growled softly.
Jackson chuckled and patted Corey’s ass. “Promises, promises.”
“Later… and that is not only a promise but my oath to you.” Corey disappeared back into the condo.
Keith sipped his water and studied the horizon.
The blues of the water changed to a darker grayish green with the sun higher in the sky. “Tell me, will it bother you that I’m so much older than both of you?”
Jackson scoffed. “You’re not. We’re all basically the same age. Corey’s the oldest.”
“Chronologically, but you two look so much younger physically.” Keith sighed.
“Usually appearance of age disappears with the exchange.” But even if it didn’t, what did it matter?
Ruffles picked up strands of Keith’s hair and seemed to be grooming him or looking for nits.
“Wait, you mean I’ll look young again?” Keith ran his fingertips over the wrinkles at the corners of his eyes.
“For some reason, everyone’s body resets to around twenty-three. The process takes about twenty-four hours, but yeah. That’s when biozombies stop aging.” Before Keith could ask, Jackson explained, “The doc has no clue why.”
As Keith traced the flowers on the water bottle, seeming contemplative, Jackson added, “It’s a lot to take in.”
“Well, who knows if we’ll ever have to deal with it?”
Fear akin to panic whipped through Jackson. “I truly hope we have to deal with it, and the sooner the better. You’re still on board with officially becoming our mate, right?”
Had spending time with them changed Keith’s mind?
“Of course.”
Jackson leaned in and pressed his lips to Keith’s.
Hope exploded in his heart. They would make this work.
When Jackson would have turned the kiss into something sexy, Keith took over the exchange. He directed their lips to slow, allowing affection to confirm Jackson’s belief. Tenderness filled Jackson’s heart to bursting. There was no question this was so much more than he’d ever felt in high school. He appreciated Keith not only for the man he was but for the person he helped Jackson become. Keith gave him confidence and someone to share the responsibility of safekeeping Corey’s heart.
Ruffles squawked, “Key-Key. Sexy Man. Pretty boy.”
The magic of the moment was stolen when Keith pulled back with a frown. “But I don’t know if Corey will ever forgive me.”
Jackson needed to clue him in on Corey. “Corey is coming around. The way you interact with Ruffles… and the whole HOH stuff went a long way in proving to him you can handle all of him.”
“Yeah?” Keith tilted his head to take a peek into the condo.
Jackson nodded. “And he’s cooking for you.”
“Huh?”
“Corey doesn’t cook. Last time he cooked for me was when we found out we were mates.” Did Corey even know what he was doing? And why?
Jackson turned Corey away from the kitchen and pointed him toward the sofa. “Let me and Keith clean up. You cooked an amazing dinner.”
Corey took his hand and squeezed, reinforcing their connection and all-out love. “Hey, thank you… for everything.”
He didn’t need to detail the everything for Jackson to get his meaning, but for the record Jackson said, “You know I’d never push you. You have all the time you need.”
Ruffles flew off his perch and landed on Keith’s head. He used his talons and beak to find a primo spot for a bird supervisor.
Nodding, Corey smiled at him, then pointed at Keith, who was scrubbing a pot. “Now, that’s sexy. A man cleaning with a bird on his head.”
“I couldn’t agree more.” Jackson stared at Keith for a moment too, then drew him into a very sweet kiss. When Corey would have taken it places, Jackson stepped away. “Go.”
Shrugging, Corey kicked back on the sofa. “I’ll supervise from here.”
Keith had gotten almost the entire kitchen squared away. Ruffles seemed to be assessing Jackson as a landing zone.
“You work quick,” Jackson told him and held out his arm for Ruffles.
Winking,
Keith smirked. “That’s what he said.”
“No, I didn’t,” Corey shouted from the sofa.
Ruffles landed on Jackson in two flaps, nuzzled Jackson’s cheek, did a turn around, and flew to Keith.
“True. I was a bit slow for you.”
Jackson was compelled to add, “Everyone’s slow compared to Corey.”
“Hey, I’m decisive… usually.”
Keith’s laughter barked out, and he brought three cans of Sprite over to the coffee table. Jackson grabbed a bag of honey wheat pretzels and fancy dill dip Corey had picked up at the farmers’ market.
Ruffles licked Keith’s ear before he cried out, “Key-Key. Night. Night.”
Everyone said their good-night to their Bird Master. When Ruffles was tucked in, they all sat in the living room.
Corey nabbed a few twists, and around crunching, asked, “Do you know what time it is?”
Looking at his phone, Keith said, “Um, 8:30.”
Corey’s giggle clued Jackson in that Keith’s response was definitely the wrong answer, but everything was going to be right in the world pretty damned soon.
“No, it’s naked Twister time!” Corey pulled out the game box from behind the sofa cushion.
“Let’s get this party started.” Jackson began stripping.
“Um, for the sake of my modesty, can we leave on our underwear?” Keith asked.
Jackson crushed his disappointment but left his jersey boxer briefs on. It was probably better to keep things a bit off-limits for Corey.
“You’re going to be sorry, but sure.” Corey wiggled down to his adorable rainbow-pride-striped jock. The rainbow straps lifted his ass, making it even more pronounced. He leaned his mostly naked body into Jackson.
The skin against skin felt great, but to have their third within touching distance might kill Jackson.
Keith unbuttoned his shirt as if in slow motion. He seemed oblivious that he was the center of attention. “How do we play?”
Corey gave a dirty laugh while laying down the plastic Twister sheet. “Wouldn’t you like me to show you?”
Keith’s mouth dropped open, but his eyes seemed to flash with heat. “Yes, actually.”
Fuck! Jackson needed to sit down. “I’ll spin first. You just do what I say.”
“Isn’t that your deal, Keith?” Corey’s words held a hopeful dare.
“Only if you want.” Keith’s stare didn’t falter.
Hell yes! Jackson went hard as Corey melted into a puddle of need.
To assist him, Jackson spun the spinner. “Right foot green.”
Keith and Corey stepped on the edge of the mat, standing on the corners facing each other.
“Right hand blue.”
Both men bent over. Corey twitched his perfect little ass, and Keith reached to a blue spot one step closer to Corey. His calf muscles flexed.
“This is an awesome game… at least from where I’m sitting.” Jackson couldn’t help himself. “Left hand red.”
With Keith’s height, he easily reached, while Corey strained a bit to reach the circle right next to Keith’s.
“Left foot blue.” Both men secured themselves, sighing, probably happy to have their foot down.
Jackson spun again. “Right hand yellow.”
Corey stole the easiest yellow circle from Keith.
“Nice,” Keith commented as he placed his hand on a circle even closer to Corey.
Over the next two moves, Corey became twisted around and precariously balanced in a backbend.
At Keith’s unasked question, Jackson said, “Corey practices yoga.”
Corey glanced at Keith, then at Jackson, then back to Keith. “See, I told you Twister is the best.”
Chuckling, Keith said, “That’s ’cause you’re probably going to win.”
“I’m bendy.” Corey tried to shrug and almost tumbled onto Keith.
“Prove it,” Keith dared.
Oh, Lordy, Lordy, Keith did not know what he provoked Corey to unleash.
“Left foot green.” Jackson waited for the real show to begin.
Corey stepped back to the same green circle Keith took, forcing Corey to take one between his thighs.
In several moves, Corey breathed hard as he lay over Keith, chest to chest, barely able to reach the circles.
Grinning, Keith shifted his body against Corey’s.
Corey’s eyes widened and his body followed Keith’s as if they were stuck together at certain parts.
To hell with this. Jackson stopped spinning and simply called out circles that would bring them closer. He had a front row seat to the most erotic show he could imagine. Corey had tried but failed to remain stoic and didn’t bother to hide the fact he was trying to rub off on Keith.
Keith’s arms trembled with the strain of holding the awkward position as Corey slid across his body to reach for the next circle.
“You two look amazing.” Jackson gasped as he wished his phone was closer so he could take a picture, but he certainly wasn’t moving to get it.
Wobbling turned into falling, and Corey landed right on top of Keith.
In a quick move, Keith rolled over, but instead of getting up, he loomed over Corey.
Corey moaned and thrust himself upward to get more contact with Keith’s body. He rutted his jock, which barely held his erection, against Keith’s jersey briefs.
Keith must have taken pity on him because he pressed down on him.
“Apologize to me.” Corey’s voice was all harsh and raspy.
The moment hung between them, and Jackson held his breath.
They were suspended in some grand way that could make everything better or shatter it all.
Hell, even Jackson could feel his heart pounding, but this was more than lust. This could be the start… no, the restart of something.
“Corey, I’m sorry I hurt you. I want to spend the rest of my life making it up to you.” Keith kissed both his cheeks.
Nodding, Corey said, “I accept your apology.”
“Oh God.” Keith crumbled, ducking his head onto Corey’s neck.
“I’m sorry too for being such a stubborn fool.” Corey’s words blended together and went to whispering.
Jackson could hear the soft muttering that took place between them, but he couldn’t catch all the words, and then it ended in a delectable lip-smacking kiss.
Corey’s mouth seemed to cling to Keith’s before he pushed Keith up, and Keith helped him off the floor.
Shoving Keith toward Jackson, Corey asked, “Jackson, can you do me a favor?”
“Um, yeah. Sure. What?” He was confused, but he’d catch up.
“Blow him.” Corey made the sexual request like “pass me the remote” or “it’s raining outside.”
Jackson dropped to his knees and glanced at Corey. He read all the want and affection trying to burst to the surface, so he asked, “Help me?”
Corey never could resist a request from him. Stepping closer to Keith, Corey purred, “May I?”
Keith made a strangled noise that sounded like he swallowed his tongue. “Yes.”
Playfully, Corey fished around in Keith’s boxers, seeming to get off on making Keith moan and bite his lip.
Jackson was getting impatient. He wanted Keith, and he needed Corey to participate. Truth be told, he missed Corey during his bouts of oral sex with Keith.
Finally, Corey pulled out Keith’s long erection and held it out for Jackson.
He and Corey had done this before a million times with a ton of random guys, but this was their mate, their third. That Corey had just accepted the sincere apology told Jackson it was simply a matter of time.
Corey painted Jackson’s lips with the tip of Keith’s glossed dick. Sticky precome coated his mouth, making him swipe his tongue out. Usually this activity lacked urgency for Jackson, but with his mates, he needed to taste him.
Jackson held his mouth open.
“Here you go.” Corey pushed Keith’s dick inside Jackson’s mouth.
Keith groaned and claimed Corey’s mouth, and the sparks from their kiss set Jackson on fire.
Corey combed his fingers through Jackson’s short hair, murmuring encouragement. Everything blazed out of control.
Keith tweaked Corey’s nipples, causing him to yip and then beg, “Again.” Corey’s cock peeked out of the top of his jock.
God, they were beautiful together. Corey was petite, pretty, and defiant while Keith was built, beautiful, and in complete control. These were his two favorite people in the world and they were his. Jackson’s head tripped at his incredible luck.
Keith teased Corey through the fabric, causing more moaning that filtered through their kiss, which appeared endless.
Corey started guiding Jackson’s head, and that was it.
Keith pulled back from the kiss to cry out, “Jax, Corey… yes.” He came to a shaking orgasm.
As he filled Jackson’s mouth, Jackson let himself be swept away on his mate’s conclusion and joined him in pleasure. He throbbed and came in his underwear as his mate’s taste sparked off joy in his mouth. On and on it went.
Time ceased to matter until Corey moaned, needing him. Jackson tried to reach for Corey’s cock, but he was dragged off his knees.
Corey reached into Jackson’s underwear and collected his come. He brought his fingertips to his lips and licked. He shivered and gave a long, “Mmmm.”
God, Corey was the sexiest thing on the planet when he wanted to be.
“Now kiss me,” Corey commanded him.
The demand went right through him. If Jackson hadn’t just come, he would have lost it in a major way. Wait! Clarity snapped him back from orgasmland. “But if—”
“I know.” Corey was clear on the ramifications.
Keith’s sharp intake of breath meant he too understood the significance of the request. “Are you sure, Corey?”
“Jesus, you two are enough to kill a guy’s penile volcanic eruption,” Corey grumbled as he palmed his cock.
“We need better sex dialogue.” Keith batted Corey’s hand away and replaced it with his large palm.
Jackson dipped his head and touched his lips to Corey’s with tender care. A soft moan escaped between them. Corey’s lips parted and were pliant underneath his. Jackson took the invitation and slid his tongue along Corey’s lower lip and then nipped the pouty lips.