Meredith's Pride [Galactic Nuptials 3] (Siren Publishing Ménage Amour ManLove) (7 page)

Etu’s long fingers explored Mer’s perfect cock. For a man of his size, he was impressively endowed. The smell of Mer’s arousal was enticing, and Etu could not withstand it long. He growled and opened his mouth over the leaking cock, the unique flavor filling his senses.

“That’s so hot,” Delsin whispered. “Watching his shaft, the skin all wet and shiny. So fucking hot.”

Mer’s hips jerked forward, his cock going deeper into Etu’s mouth. Etu wrapped his fingers around the shaft and pumped slowly at first and then more feverishly. Choking cries of pleasure filled the small room. Suddenly Etu pulled away. “Get on your hands and knees, Mer. I want to feel your body wrap around my cock.”

Mer got to his knees, braced both hands against the headboard and shoved back. With the head pressing against his hole, Etu’s cock pierced Mer’s body in one slow push. His groan was low and ragged. Pulling completely out, he parted his thighs more and impaled him in one swift, powerful forward thrust. Mer’s inner muscles clamped down on his shaft like a vise.

Etu swore, and his buttocks tightened as he ground his hips against his mate’s rump. His hips began to snap, pistoning fast and hard, fucking him at a brutal pace with strong, deep thrusts. Reaching around Mer’s hips, he wrapped his fingers around his shaft.

Mer jerked and arched up as he came a third time, shouting Etu’s name as his cock spilled over his fist. Etu thrust deeper into Mer’s hole and barely held back a roar as his orgasm tore through him and he spilled into his mate’s body.
Take him. Mate him now. Mine!
Etu ignored his lion and pulled from Mer’s limp body. He chuckled when he saw the little human was fast asleep. He looked up at Delsin. “What are we going to do?”

“We’re going to stick to the plan and find a mate that can give us cubs.”

“You’re a fool if you think your beast will sit still for that. It was all I could do to hold mine back from claiming him.”

“I know. It was the same for me. We’ve got to be strong. We’re not kids anymore, and we should be able to control our lions.”

“Let’s get him cleaned up and tucked under the covers. He’s exhausted.”

Delsin ran his hand over Mer’s head, brushing back his hair. “I wish things could be different.”

* * * *

Mer slowly woke, stretching his body under the light sheet. He cracked his eye open and sighed when he saw the empty place beside him.
It would’ve been nice to wake up in their arms.
Pulling the spare pillow over his face, he inhaled deeply, catching the faint scent of Delsin. The memory of their triad lovefest played out in his mind.
I don’t have to worry about them sending me away now. The wolves I’ve read about on Earth mate for life, and lions can’t be any different. Can they?

He rose up and glanced toward the door when he heard the babies crying. “Okay, Meredith, get your butt in gear. Your cubs need you.” Moving quickly, he rushed into the bathroom and took the fastest shower of his life. Within fifteen minutes he was dressed and walking down the hall.

When he walked into the front room, he stopped and laughed. Someone had taken broken tree limbs and constructed their own version of a huge playpen. Hakan and Knoton were squatting on the floor next to the wooden structure, trying to shush the baby’s crying. Mer gave a snort of laughter and then covered his mouth with his hand when both men glared at him.

“It’s not funny,” Hakan whined. “We’ve made sure their diapers are clean and offered them food, but nothing makes them happy.”

Mer smiled and walked over to the babies’ pen. As soon as they saw him, they settled down and stopped crying. Motioning for the men to move back, he picked up Taima, Jacy, and Nodin, setting them on the floor at his feet. The three of them kept up a litany of babble as they explored their new boundaries.

“What are you doing?” asked Knoton. “Please don’t tell me you expect me to hold any of them. I’ll happily teach them to hunt when they’re older, but for now they’re all yours.”

Mer shook his head and smirked as he threw the small toys from the pen onto the floor. A hyper Taima jumped from toy to toy, chattering nonsense, and climbing all over Jacy who didn’t seem to mind. Nodin screeched as only a toddler could when Taima grabbed a block from his hand. He was just the right amount of cute mixed with a little bit of impatience, making him an attention-seeking monster.

Mer ignored his outburst and bent to pick up Yuma. With tears in his eyes, Yuma’s small hands twisted in Mer’s hair, pulling just this side of painful. “Okay, little man. It’s all right. You’re okay.” He crooned to the small boy as he carefully extracted his hair from the tiny fingers. His glance went to Hakan. “Will you get me a couple of blankets from the bedroom?”

“Sure.” Hakan scrambled to do as he asked. It took less than a minute for him to come running back with a couple of blankets and a stack of towels. “Here you go.”

“Spread the blue one on the floor next to the playpen.” He watched as Hakan carefully laid the blanket out. When he was done, he lowered Yuma down and placed his on his tummy. The chubby baby cooed, giggled, and kicked his arms and legs. “Another month and we won’t be able to keep up with him.”

Mer turned his attention to the last baby in the pen. Keme was curled in a ball, her breathing even and deep. She looked adorable, her brown curls framing her cherubic face. Her eyelashes rested on apple-round cheeks. Carefully, he lifted her into his arms, patting her bottom and hugging her tight. She twisted, rooting at Mer’s shoulder, making small grunts. “She’s gonna be demanding a bottle soon.”

Knoton jumped to his feet. “I’ll heat it if you’ll feed her.”

Mer snickered and looked down at his cubs. Jacy was giggling as she tried to push her toy up under the couch. Nodin was trying to get his big toe in his mouth, and Taima was lifting his arms demanding to be picked up. Sighing, Mer dropped to the floor and made himself comfortable with his back against the couch. With one hand he pulled Yuma’s blanket closer so he could reach the baby.

Immediately the cubs began to climb all over him, laughing and chattering constantly.

“How do you do that?” asked Hakan. “We’ve been trying to get them to stop crying for over an hour.”

Mer shook his head. “It’s the playpen, guys. They don’t like being confined.” He rocked Keme back and forth as she sucked on his index finger. “They just wanted freedom and a little attention.”

“It makes sense.” Knoton bent and turned Yuma around when he started to crawl off the blanket. “Our lions don’t like cages, so it stands to reason they wouldn’t like to be confined. I’m sorry if we made it worse.” He moved to sit next to Hakan on the couch.

“Don’t worry about it. Kids are resilient. They bounce back fast to their little happy selves.”

“We could…” Hakan frowned, glanced at Knoton, and then both men stood and stared toward the door.

“What is it?” Mer cuddled Keme closer to his chest. He jumped when the door flew open and Delsin and Etu walked in.

Delsin ran his fingers through his hair. “Hakan, Knoton, in the office. We need to have a meeting.”

“No.” Etu put his hand on Delsin’s chest when he turned to walk away. “Mer’s life is on the line, same as ours, and he deserves to know the truth.”

Struggling to his feet, Mer faced his mates. “Okay, you’re scaring me. What’s going on?”

Mer bit his lip hard enough to leave a coppery taste in his mouth. He watched as Delsin and Etu looked at each other.

Delsin sighed and motioned for everyone to take a seat. “We’ve received a communiqué from Arrida.”

“What about?” asked Hakan.

“Their planetary sensors tracked another ship following Hakan into their space when he brought Mer from Earth. They tracked them for a while and then lost the signal right before they circled behind one of the other moons orbiting their planet. They can’t pick them up at all now, so they’re either cloaked or they’ve landed on the other moon. They’ve made no attempt to contact Arridia, so they have to be up to no good.”

Knoton stood and paced across the floor, carefully stepping over the crawling toddlers. “It has to be the Mkata.”

Mer tilted his head, bouncing Keme on his shoulder. “Why do you say that?”

“The Mkata is the name of the pride that declared war on the Chaarta. They tried to wipe out our entire line, and I’ll bet they’re after the cubs.” Etu spent several minutes explaining the history of bad blood between the leaders of the two prides. “Honaw is the alpha of the Mkata, and he’s insane. Preyta’s refusal pushed him over the edge, and he’s determined to kill everyone associated with Chaarta.”

Mer cupped the back of Keme’s silky head. “What about the babies? Will he kill them, too?”

Delsin shrugged. “He’d probably kill all of them except Taima and Keme.”

“Why would he keep them alive?” Mer blinked back tears.

“Because they’re Preyta’s cubs. For some sick reason he wants to raise them as his own. I guess as a final dishonor to Chayton.”

Mer stiffened, his hands tightening until the baby let out a squeal. “How could anybody look at those beautiful babies and kill them?”

Etu blew out a breath. “They will look at those babies and see full-grown lions coming for revenge. It will be very easy for them to slay them.”

“That’s enough speculation.” Delsin stood and motioned toward the door. “We’re upping security and taking turns at watch.”

“Don’t you have some type of surveillance equipment that can tell you if they’re near?” asked Mer.

“This moon has a problem with electronic surveillance because of a dense gravity so we’ll have to be even more diligent. There are several hiding places on Khera that we can utilize if they manage to land their craft. I’m going to take Mer and show him where they are. Hakan, I want them stocked with supplies right away. If we have to use them, we could be there a while.”

“I’ll get right on it, Delsin.”

Delsin cleared his throat. “I sent a message to Zintssar on Kilara letting him know what’s happening and asking for his help. If we’re lucky, he’ll get in touch with his father and have him send troops.”

“I don’t understand.” Mer laid a sleeping Keme on the couch. “If I remember correctly, Zintssar’s father is the ruler of Arridia. We’re circling Arridia now. Why can’t we just ask his father to help us out?”

Etu snorted. “It’s all politics, Mer. We don’t have the authority to ask Arridia for help because we’re not a Federation nation member since our pride was wiped out. When he killed Chayton, Honaw became the leader of Linnaeus. He’s the only one that could officially ask for assistance from Arridia.”

“And I thought Earth’s politics were fucked up.”

“Knoton, watch the cubs for a bit. I want to take Mer and show him the closest cave that’s appropriate for hiding. He needs to be able to flee there with the cubs if anything happens.” He held his hand out to Mer. “Will you come with me?”

Without hesitation, Mer took his hand. Together, they left the house and headed down a path through the woods. He listened to the soughing wind, the trees groaning with the breaking of their limbs. The area that Delsin traveled was dense, the hanging moss tickling his hair as they move through the foliage. There were patches of long grass with wildflowers where falling leaves twirled languorously, drifting to the ground.

“Look to the left when we round the next bend, Mer. I think you’ll like it.”

Mer kept his eyes open and grinned when they came to a small stream, the smell of algae and water slime thick in the air. Stopping, he bent and touched the water, the cool liquid slipping over his fingers. He picked up a small twig and scratched in the mud, unearthing a wormlike creature. Sighing, he grabbed a smooth stone and skimmed it over the dark water.

“What is it?”

Mer glanced at Delsin. His brows were raised, his eyes wide. “I was remembering my grandfather’s farm. He had a pond just like this one.” He laughed and swatted at a flying insect. “Well, not quite like this one. Grandfather’s farm didn’t have plants and algae like this. It was in Nebraska. He’s the one who taught me how to skim stones on the water.”

“I’m sorry we can’t stay here longer. There’s not much time, and I need to show you the caves so you’ll know where to go if there’s trouble. I’m sorry I have to interrupt your memories.”

Mer walked over and put his hand on Delsin’s arm. “It’s okay. The memories aren’t all that good. It wasn’t a very happy time in my life.” He moved a little closer. “I’d rather make new memories with you.” On impulse, he rose up on his tiptoes and touched his lips to Delsin’s. At first the large man stiffened. Then, he seemed to purr right before his mouth opened, and his tongue thrust deep. He pulled Mer completely off the ground, kissing him passionately.

Groaning, Delsin set Mer on his feet. “We’ll have to save this for later, little man. We need to get the safety issues settled first.”

Mer snickered. “Okay, but I’m holding you to that.” He waved his hand toward the trail. “Lead on, oh great alpha.”

Delsin chuckled. “Smart-ass.” He walked for another fifteen minutes and then stopped. “Look around carefully, Mer. Do you see anything special?”

Mer studied the bushes, turning all around but couldn’t see anything special. “Nope. Just looks like more of the same to me.”