Star-Crossed Mates (12 page)

At the same time, the old jealousies still lingered at the forefront of Clay’s mind. Thankfully, Wolfram granted them a reprieve. He practically ordered Clay to abandon the Den and take his mates on a journey, as long as they wanted, and return when they’d settled things out.

Truth be told, Clay was thankful for it. Even if the bond now existed between the three of them, the shadow of Klaus’s death couldn’t disappear so easily. They still had so much to deal with, and time away from their families would do them good. His own emotions were in turmoil. He understood jealousy no longer held any importance, but he needed the certainty of a strong connection. The friendship between Klaus and Wolfram would always exist, so Clay had to learn how to deal with it.

He did feel bad for leaving his siblings and parents just after he’d returned, but it couldn’t be helped. So after saying their good-byes, they boarded a helicopter that would lead them to their destination.

Ross suggested Burma then changed his mind, explaining it occurred to him before Klaus’s resurrection. As such, they were going to the Bahamas instead. Apparently, Klaus invested in a little private island there.

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Klaus piloted them there, choosing the absolute discretion of not having another person involved. Throughout the trip, the noise drowned out any possible conversation, so Clay contented himself to watch the sight below him. He’d always loved the ocean. It reminded him of Klaus in a strange way, with that silent, inexorable strength and the potential to unleash such power. Holding Ross by his side helped pass the time, and soon they reached their refuge.

From up above, Klaus’s island looked amazing. A wide lagoon divided it in two, the narrow ridge that made the connection between the two parts of the island probably overwhelmed in times of high tide. White beaches shone in the sunlight, as if calling them out to relaxation. Lush vegetation covered most of the remaining terrain, with the west side peaking in high cliffs. Just beneath the outermost cliff, a house stood, protected from the storms by the rocky terrain.

Klaus landed the aircraft on a helipad built next to the villa. As they descended from the chopper, he asked, “Well, what do you think so far?”

“It’s amazing,” Ross replied. “I love it.”

Clay smiled. “I’ll hold my judgment until we get a tour.”

“Your wish is my command,” Klaus answered.

They weren’t very tired so after leaving their bags in the house and grabbing a quick bite, they left to explore, with Klaus leading the way. The forest began very close to the house, and soon, they found themselves surrounded in a labyrinth of greenery. Animals of all types chirped and screeched around them and insects buzzed, causing a strangely exciting mayhem.

Klaus told them all about the island and its history, its fauna and flora. He sounded like a tourist guide, and Clay wondered how many times Klaus had gone exploring by himself. There didn’t seem to be many personal impressions in his explanations.

“So what do you think about it?” he asked his mate.

Klaus shrugged. “I like it here, but, truth be told, it was an impulse buy. I never got the chance to truly make it a home or scan the area.”

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Ross gaped. “Are you sure you can find your way back?”

Klaus arched a brow at him. “I’m not that new at it. I’d have never taken you on a tour if I didn’t know the island.”

Ross’s face flushed, and he mumbled an, “I’m sorry,” to which Klaus just laughed. “Come on,” he said. “We can reach the beach in no time if we keep a steady pace.”

Indeed, Klaus unerringly led them to the beach Ross saw from the helicopter. The close-up view was even more breathtaking. Clay took off his sneakers and started to walk in the direction of the sea. The sand felt warm under his toes, almost like a sensual caress. Clay imagined making love to his mates in the middle of all of this and congratulated himself for packing the lube.

Klaus and Ross joined him and they set a blanket on the white sand. “I never saw you as a private island sort of person,” Clay commented when they at last sat down.

Klaus took a deep breath of the sea air. “I suppose I’m not or I wasn’t. Never truly had the time to be private.” He gave Clay an unreadable look. “I bought this place shortly after meeting you. I told myself,
Klaus, one day, you’ll be able to let go and come here with
Clay
. Or so I hoped, at least.” He grinned at both Clay and Ross. “It seems my expectations were exceeded.”

Another time, Clay might have been irritated at Klaus’s presumptuousness. Now, however, he began to understand he’d never actually been taken for granted. Klaus had hoped, and clung to that hope for ten years, just like Clay did. They were more alike than he’d ever imagined.

They lay down, relaxing in the sun and with the sound of the waves tickling their hearing. “You know, I imagined building a family here,” Klaus said at last. “Kids and everything.”

“Kids?” Ross repeated. “How would that work?”

For the first time, Clay realized Ross didn’t know much about spirit wolf societal structures. “Ah, well, in our world, same-sex couples aren’t unusual, so we adopt a lot. There are children who, for
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one reason or another, are orphaned by a young age. Often, one parent dies in hunting expeditions, causing his or her mate to follow. Those children go to loving families.”

“Oh,” Ross said. “But isn’t that uncomfortable? I mean, can’t you just use artificial insemination?”

Klaus shook his head. “It’s a no-no for us. Spirit wolf females cling to their children a lot. Even the coldest bitches out there—like my mother for example—would refuse to give you their pup in the first years of their life, if only for show. It’s frowned upon to give up a child. After the childhood years pass, it’s almost pointless. The pup would never get attached to you. The orphan ones do get adopted no matter the age, but that’s different. There’s no competition for parental affection.”

Klaus’s mentioning of his parents confirmed Clay’s original opinion of them. Thankfully, Ross managed to focus their conversation on the matter at hand. “Wow,” Ross said. “I guess I still have a lot to learn.”

Clay smiled at his mate. “There’s plenty of time for it. And who knows? Maybe we will adopt, once we’re ready.”

Klaus nodded. Clay could almost hear his mate’s thoughts. The other man wanted to know more about them. He’d already opened up so much, yet Clay and Ross still kept their secrets.

“I’d like that,” Ross unexpectedly said. “I was an orphan child, too. I used to pass from foster parent to foster parent, until I finally got adopted. I couldn’t control my telepathy back then, so everyone would cast me away, but the last family decided to use me instead.

That’s how Joseph found me.”

Ross’s voice trembled as he spoke, and Klaus intervened, “You don’t have to talk about it if you don’t want to.”

“Oh, but I want to,” Ross answered. “We can’t let the past linger between us. It would just push us apart eventually. Here goes.”

Ross told them of his parents, of meeting Joseph and being kidnapped by him, of the things the feral had forced him to do.

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Silence stretched between them as Ross finished his tale. Clay almost resented the fact Joseph was already dead. He wanted to kill the man all over again, to make him pay for Ross’s suffering.

“If one day we do adopt, that child will never suffer like you did,”

he said, doing his best to sound soothing.

Ross offered him a gentle smile. “I know. I’m counting on that.”

When his mates didn’t say anything else, Clay decided it was time for him to confess his own past. “I don’t have any sad story. My parents are great. They love me.”

“I can hear the ‘but’ even if you haven’t said it,” Klaus answered softly.

Clay considered ignoring the gentle prod, but decided against it.

“It just seems like they’ll always see me as just a kid, unable to make decisions for himself. They never trust me. I’m just a secondary existence in the shadow of my brothers.” Clay shook himself. “Now I’m just feeling sorry for myself. We shouldn’t be wasting such a beautiful afternoon with such talk.”

“It’s not time wasted,” Klaus replied. “We’re getting to know each other, and our pasts are a part of us. But you’re right. We should take things slow. Enough talk for now.”

Even if Klaus’s words granted them a reprieve from the serious conversation, Clay’s heart remained in turmoil. He didn’t have any doubts about being with his mates, but everything was happening so fast. After living for ten years with the suspicion he’d never get a mate, he’d found Ross, seen Klaus die then come to life, and at last completed their bond in a very short expanse of time.

Klaus rolled over him, the other man’s body a pleasant weight on Clay. “Stop thinking so much,” Klaus whispered. “We have all the time in the world, remember?”

Clay nodded, Klaus’s scent already beginning to dissipate the doubts in his mind. His mate’s talented hands slowly got rid of Clay’s clothes. As Klaus pressed butterfly-light kisses over every inch of skin he exposed, Clay tried to remove the material shielding Klaus
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from him. His hands trembled, though, and his efforts failed.

Thankfully, Ross was there to help.

Soon, they were all naked on the blanket, Clay still writhing under Klaus. Klaus pressed his lips to Clay’s, and Clay wrapped his arms around his mate’s neck to bring them even closer. He needed more of Klaus’s taste, much more, always more.

They feasted on each other with greed, never getting enough, only parting due to their need to breathe. For a few moments, they stared into each other’s eyes, until, at last, Klaus grinned wickedly. Clay noticed Ross tossing their mate the lube.

“Roll over, love,” Klaus said.

Clay obeyed, exposing his naked ass to his mate. He unwillingly trembled, very aware of how wanton he must look in this position.

“Stand still, love,” Klaus murmured. “We don’t want the sand to get any place nasty,”

The teasing tone did wonders to calm Clay down. He didn’t even know why he felt so nervous. Well, he did have a suspicion about it.

All the times they’d made love, they’d been under pressure from everyone else. For crying out loud, even when they’d mated, the crowd of gawking spirit wolves interrupted their afterglow. But they were, finally, alone, here on this island where no one could disturb them. Whatever happened between them today would be special.

A slick finger invaded Clay’s backside, and his coherence began to vanish. He bit his lip and pushed back against the digit, eager for more. He’d missed this so much. Klaus always knew how to touch him, how to make him experience the most incredible orgasms.

Klaus added another finger, using plenty of lube to stretch Clay’s hole. He thrust the digits in and out of Clay’s body, crooking them just so. In the process, he relentlessly rubbed Clay’s special spot, making shocks of pleasure shoot through him.

Clay surrendered to his mate’s ministrations. He did not know what Klaus planned, but he trusted the other man. It came like
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something of a shock, but Clay accepted it openly. Love meant trust, affection, and passion, and Clay experienced it all.

Klaus’s strong husky voice rang out in his ears. “Come here, Ross,” the other man said.

Clay felt his other mate move on the blanket, until both Ross and Klaus waited behind him. Clay’s cock throbbed in anticipation of what would follow. His hole ached to be full of cock and his body demanded to be possessed.

“Clay loves to be fucked,” Klaus whispered to Ross. “What say we give him the ride of his life?”

Klaus removed his fingers and pressed his dick to Clay’s opening.

Slowly, he pushed inside, filling Clay to the brink. “Feel good, love?”

Through some miracle, Clay managed to speak. “Y–Yes.

Amazing.”

“We’ll make you feel even better.”

Klaus pulled out of him and in the next moment, another cock entered Clay. He gasped, realizing it was Ross. Ross and he had never tried this before, but it felt amazing, just as good as it did with Klaus, but different somehow. Ross’s dick rubbed the inner walls of his passage in a faster, more erratic motion. When Ross pulled out, Klaus thrust in so quickly that Clay was never without a cock inside him.

Clay had never felt like this in his entire life. Over and over, they fucked him, relentless, never even giving a moment to breathe. Every nerve sizzled with sexual energy, the symphony of his mates’ motions so amazing it almost hurt. Through their connection, his pleasure tripled. It seemed as if his cock slid against that of both his mates.

Fucking, being fucked, all the delicious friction and sensations made Clay’s body sing.

With Ross and Klaus claiming him with such perfection, Clay couldn’t hold on for very long. He tried to hold his orgasm back, but he was close, so very close. He didn’t even have to touch himself. It would have been impossible anyway, since he couldn’t even hold
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himself upright. His arms felt like jelly, and he relied on strength of Klaus’s support to hold him up.

Just when he thought it couldn’t get any better, Klaus sank his fangs into his neck. Clay’s vision dimmed, the sensations too extreme for him to withstand. When his climax came, it swallowed him whole, sweeping over him like a tidal wave that crashed through every limit of consciousness and desire. His mates followed him and exploded as well, their hot cum filling his passage.

For a little while, Clay floated into pleasant oblivion, the bliss of the afterglow, unable to escape. As the cloud of pleasure began to dissipate, he found himself lying on the blanket, cuddled next to his mate. A warm breeze caressed his naked skin and the sun shone brightly on the cloudless sky.

In that moment, there was only one thought passing through Clay’s mind. Surrounded by nature and the pure essence of sex, he told himself, “This is perfection.”