Husbandry (12 page)

“I thought it was love, honor, and cherish.”

Obviously I wasn’t doing a good enough job if he could come
up with a retort. I rectified that by grabbing his cock again and giving it a
slow, firm pump. He kicked back his head and groaned.

“That’s more like it.” I kept stroking him. “Just sit still,
honey, and let me take care of my poor, wounded husband. I’ll handle
everything.”

Right now, I enjoyed handling his dick in particular. The
hardwood core was covered in soft, velvet skin, and the whole cap now glistened
with precum. His pubic curls were as dark as the ebony locks on his head, a
stark contrast to the untanned skin below his navel. I could see his balls were
drawn up tight.

Since Chuck didn’t like a lot of foreplay, I had to be
careful not to tease him past his threshold. I wanted to push him, but not so
far that he seized control. When I saw his knuckles whiten where he clutched the
back of the couch, I knew I’d reached his limit.

Though I stopped stroking, I maintained my hold on his cock
as I climbed over him to straddle his lap. I positioned his moist crown at my
opening. Lubricated by our combined excitement, the head popped in and shot
deep the moment I let gravity carry me down. I had to push up for a reprieve
before three hard thrusts finally got me all the way seated. Chuck felt huge in
this position. My sheath strained at the seams.

“Please.” The plea came from my husband’s lips.

I hadn’t realized I’d closed my eyes. When I opened them, I
noticed his hands were still where I’d placed them. The feeling of power that
swept over me in that moment was heady. It heightened the sensations in my
already sensitive body.

He was so bruised I didn’t dare lay my hands on him.
Instead, I braced myself on the back of the sofa, caging his head between my
arms. My first upward stroke was a delicious, friction-filled glide. Shivers
raced up and down my back and tingled in my scalp. His shaft felt endless. Then
I was sinking down, engulfing that solid length and claiming it for my own
again. The pressure mounted until I thought I’d burst with it.

“Faster.” Chuck sounded strangled.

Although I wasn’t sure my body could sustain more sensation,
I did as he said. I worked my pussy up and down, quickening my pace until I
felt as if I were bouncing on a trampoline. The impending orgasm hammered into
me as hard as his invading cock. My husband was tense beneath me. He lunged
upward with his hips in counterpoint. I knew he was probably hurting himself,
but his endorphins must have blocked the pain.

Then there was no more thought. A series of tremors started
deep in my womb and blasted outward, causing my channel to lock down on his hard
length and begin milking him. Beneath me, Chuck turned rigid as his cock kicked
and spit. We shared the climax, moaning and gasping until the last contraction
faded.

I collapsed against him and felt his arms come around me.
Once his breathing slowed, he shifted his hands and treated me to soothing
strokes up and down my back and hair. Each caress grew slower and spaced
further apart until I knew he was starting to doze. Moving gingerly, I pushed
up to let his sated cock slip free and got to my feet. I gathered our clothing
and walked upstairs on wobbly legs.

In my closet, I changed into old clothes that already had a
few stains on them. Then I returned to the ground floor and went in search of a
paintbrush. Chuck had everything set up, so it was easy to pick up where he’d
left off. Maybe it was just the postcoital lethargy, but I felt peaceful as I
finished painting. There was something rewarding about manual labor. You could
see your progress right away.

The cleanup was the unpleasant part. It took me longer to
wash out the brushes, rollers, and pan than the painting itself, and it was
messier too. I got it done, though, which meant my husband would have to take
it easy for the rest of the night.

Afterward, I had enough time to change back into clean clothes
and grab fresh shorts and a T-shirt for Chuck before he woke up. He roused from
his nap when I came into the room.

“See. I said you needed to rest.” I couldn’t help but feel
smug.

He accepted the clean clothes I offered him, though he had
to detour to the guest bath to clean himself first.

When he came back out, he sat on the sofa with an
exaggerated sigh. “You wear me out.”

“Is that a complaint?”

He shook his head. “A compliment.”

“Thank you. The painting is done, by the way, as is the
cleanup. We can watch a movie now, if you still want to.”

If he was annoyed I’d completed his job behind his back, he
didn’t show it. He was always the most agreeable after a round of good
lovemaking.

I sat beside him and twirled my finger in his hair. His
curls really had grown quite long.

“Maybe we should save the movie for later,” I suggested.
“You’re overdue for a haircut.”

He ran his hand over his head as if he’d only just noticed.
“Yeah, I am pretty shaggy. I don’t want you to mistake me for Chad.” He grinned
to show he was joking.

“Come on then. Now is as good a time as any, especially with
my parents coming tomorrow. I want you all to look your best.” I got up,
intending to get the scissors and razor.

Chuck didn’t move. “Your parents are coming for a visit?
Tomorrow?”

“Didn’t Charles tell you?”

With everything that had happened the day before, I guessed
I hadn’t told him and Chad. I’d just assumed Charles would have shared the
news. Then again, when would he have had time?

When Chuck didn’t say anything, I hastened to fill the
silence. “I’m sorry. I would have told you sooner, but I only found out
yesterday right before I met you at the hospital.”

He waved that aside. “It’s fine. I was just surprised. I
thought your folks didn’t know about Charles and Chad.”

“They do now. I told my mom.”

“Oh.” Chuck took a moment to process that. “Well, good. Now
I won’t have to watch what I say to her on the phone. When will they be here?”

“Tomorrow evening. She didn’t say exactly what time, but she
knows I work. Charles already promised me he’d be home on time.”

“I’m glad I…
we
got
the painting done. The house is looking good.”

I knew I had a bemused expression on my face. “You, my
husband—one of my
three
husbands—are
about to meet your in-laws for the first time, and your main concern is the
house?”

“The house is important. I don’t want your dad to think I
can’t look after the place or take care of you.”

“Unbelievable. You’re not nervous?”

“Should I be?” Afterglow or not, he looked far too calm.
“I’m sure we’ll all get along fine, and it will be nice to finally meet them.”

Since I wasn’t looking to borrow trouble, I kept my mouth
shut.

* * * *

I had finished giving Chuck his haircut and was still
sweeping up when I heard the front door open and close. Based on the timing, I knew
exactly who it was. Unlike Charles, Chad clocked out at the dot of closing time
and arrived soon after that unless he made a stop at the library or picked up a
bottle of wine on the way home. I was especially glad for his punctuality
tonight. It was high time we cleared the air between us.

I found him downstairs pouring himself a glass of wine in
the kitchen. One dark curl of hair hung forward and touched the outer corner of
his eyebrow—a rogue he tucked back into place with an elegant sweep of his hand.
He must have felt me watching him because he looked up then, and our gazes
collided. I walked the rest of the way into the room.

“How’s Chuck?” he asked.

“He’s fine.” I shifted my weight from foot to foot. “He’s
still bruised and pretty sore, but he’ll be okay. I even caught him painting
the inside of the house when I got home.”

A brief smile flitted across his face. It faded far too
soon, and he broke eye contact to stare at the glass in his hand.

I couldn’t take the strain anymore. “Chad, I’m sorry for
what I did.”

“I know you are.” He blew out a loud breath. “The thing is,
Fila, this isn’t something you can fix with just an apology.”

“No, it isn’t, but you deserve to hear one anyway.” Now that
I’d started, I was determined to get this out. “I am so sorry. I should never
have lied to everyone about this marriage or desecrated our wedding photo like
that. What I did was disrespectful and hurtful not only to you, but to all of
us. I let my insecurities get in the way.

“I love you, Chad. I love you and Charles and Chuck equally.
Each of you brings something special to this relationship. Would things be
easier if there were only one of you? Honestly? Yeah, they probably would. But
easier isn’t the same as better. You, Charles, and Chuck enrich my life and make
up the greatest parts of it.

“I wouldn’t trade a single one of you for anything. That’s
why I finally stopped being a coward and told my family, my coworker, and the
neighbor about my marriage to you three. From now on, I’m not going to hide our
relationship from anyone. I hope you’ll accept that as a sign I’m trying to be
a better wife to you, and maybe you can forgive me.”

As I finished, I took a shaky breath—what felt like the
first one I’d drawn during the whole speech.

Chad looked at me now, although he stayed silent for several
grueling seconds. His lips assumed a rueful slant. “That was a pretty good
apology.”

“I meant every word.”

“That’s what made it so good.” He set down his wineglass and
walked closer. “And actions are even better than words. You really told
everybody at work?”

“Well, I told Liz. I’m sure she passed it on to everyone
else. She says she’s jealous of me because I have three great guys. I can’t say
I blame her.”

Chad stopped and studied me. “You say that now, but what
about the next time you meet someone new or, worse, run into someone who
disapproves?”

“I’ll be proud to introduce my husbands to any new
acquaintance. As for disapproval, I may run into that sooner rather than later,
but I’ll deal with it.
We’ll
deal
with it.”

He was so slow to take my hand it felt like forever before
he touched me. Cool metal caressed the skin of my finger as he played with my
wedding ring. “You do realize I want to meet your parents for the same reason
Chuck is so anxious for children, don’t you?”

“What do you mean?” I went absolutely still, uncertain where
he was going with this.

Chad kept his gaze downcast and kept fiddling with the ring.
“We want a family, love. The three of us don’t have parents, or aunts and
uncles, or even cousins. Our genealogy—the hodgepodge of donor DNA used to
create us—is locked away in Genetic Harmony’s records. We didn’t even have
childhoods. Your relatives and the children we may one day create are the only
family we’ll ever know.”

“I wish you’d told me sooner.” My heart ached, and his image
grew blurry as my eyes teared up. How could I have been so oblivious? “Please
forgive me, Chad. Please. You have no idea how much I need you.”

He rested his forehead against mine. “No more secrets? You
mean it?”

I nodded and felt him jerk back before I could accidentally
head-butt his nose.

“Then I forgive you.”

The underlying tension that had stretched between us since
the night of the fight finally lifted, replaced by a giddy wave of relief.

“I don’t like being mad at you,” he confessed. “I love you
too much.”

“And I love you.” I wiped my eyes so I could see him clearly
again and drew back my shoulders. “There’s one more thing we need to straighten
out, though.”

He waited.

Despite all the distractions, I’d had enough time to think
about this, and there was still an issue that bothered me. “We’re going to have
arguments and hurt each other’s feelings from time to time. That happens when
people live together and have so much emotion invested. If I say or do
something wrong, then I want you to tell me, and I’ll try to make it right. If
we can’t agree, then we’ll compromise. But don’t ever threaten to leave like
that again. You’re either committed to this marriage, or you’re not. I need you
to talk to me and try to work things out when we have a problem, not threaten
to cut and run at the first sign of trouble. Okay?”

I was close enough to see him flush. Now he was the one who
looked guilty.

“You’re right.” The words sounded thick in his throat. “I
didn’t mean it. I was mad, and I wanted to strike back at you, but that’s no
excuse. Please forgive me.”

He didn’t even have to ask.

“Of course.” I took his face in my hands. “So are we okay
now?”

Ah. There was that stunning smile—not a faint, halfhearted
one, but the kind that lit up the jade green of his eyes. He shifted his hands
to clasp my hips and drew me tight to his body.

“Yes, we are. We’re more than okay.” He added a kiss for
emphasis.

The touch of our lips echoed everything we’d said. First,
there was the salty tang of regret, followed by the sweetness of
reconciliation. Then he pressed closer, and I felt his promise, a renewal of
our wedding vows in every shared breath we took. Finally, the twin flames of
love and passion ignited and twined through my blood.

I wrapped my arms around him, dug my fingers into the back
of his shirt, and held on so there was no way he could slip away from me.
Chad’s work attire was more casual than Charles’s. There was no jacket or tie
in my way, just dark slacks and a buttoned-up shirt he wore with the sleeves rolled
to his elbows. I had to loosen my hold to get at those pesky buttons.

He broke the kiss to reach for the hem of the T-shirt I’d
thrown on. “
Senza di te la mia vita non
ha senso
.” Without you, my life makes no sense. “I’m empty without you.
You’re my breath, my heartbeat.
Sei tutto
per me
.” You’re my everything.