Trouble Comes in Threes (13 page)

Dolf’s growls surrounded us as he came.

Tal

“T
HAT
…
THAT
was…. Holy cow, that was the hottest thing I’ve ever seen,” Tal gasped as Kirk lowered Dolf’s legs to the bed. He licked his lips. Both Dolf and Kirk had come, but he hadn’t. Watching how Dolf had reacted to Kirk sucking his toes…. Tal squirmed. He hadn’t been sure he’d like it, but Dolf had gone crazy. Crazy in a way he’d never seen. Tal sure liked that.

Kirk eased his cock from Dolf’s ass. “Shit. You okay there, Dolf?”

Dolf’s sexy smile lit up his face. “Extremely okay.”

“Good.” Kirk eyed Tal. “Then let’s take care of Tal.” Kirk abruptly pushed Tal down on the bed, making Tal “eep” again as he fell back. “I fucking love that sound.” Kirk crawled up the bed to where Tal lay sprawled on his back.

Dolf rolled to his side, bending over Tal’s cock. Kirk, on the other side, grasped the base of Tal’s shaft and held it straight. “Little help, here?”

“My pleasure.”

Dolf and Kirk tongued Tal’s shaft, teasing the hardness they held while also taking time to kiss each other. Dolf leaned back and Kirk swooped down, sucking the head, bobbing up and down, easing Tal’s shaft farther back in his throat. Tal moaned when Dolf rolled his balls.

“Oh, oh, I can feel both of you tonguing me. I’m so…. Just a little… please!”

Kirk pulled off Tal’s shaft, then pressed his thumb against Tal’s hole.

“Ohhhh
goddess
!” Tal bucked, yelling as come spurted up his chest.

“There we go, sweetheart,” Dolf whispered. “Come for us.”

Dolf kissed Kirk, then moved around so he could kiss Tal.

“Wow.” Kirk flopped down on the bed. “I think I’ve found my new favorite word for sex with you guys.”

Tal giggled, running his finger through the come on his chest.

“Good word.” Dolf stretched. “I’m going to take a shower and clean up. Tal, want me to bring you a washcloth?”

“Yes, thanks.”

Dolf shoved off the bed and walked to the bathroom. He returned shortly and gave Tal the cloth. “Be back in a few.”

Tal rolled over to face Kirk. “So….”

Kirk shot Tal a look. “What?”

Tal stuffed a pillow under his head, getting comfortable. “How long have you had a thing for feet?”

Kirk shrugged.

“Oh, come on, I see you blushing.” Tal pursed his lips. “Um, why are you blushing?”

“Are you getting cold?” Kirk sat up, reaching for the bedspread.

“No, I turned the heat up, remember?” Tal rested his hand on Kirk’s. “Why are you avoiding the question?”

Kirk pulled the bedspread up over them but remained sitting. “Some of the guys thought it was weird. They made fun of me. Or worse, they laughed when I…. No one likes to be laughed at in bed.”

“Maybe they were just ticklish? Boy, I am.”

“It wasn’t that kind of laughter, trust me.”

“Then they were weird. Forget them. Kirk, I’ve been with Dolf for a long time, and I can tell you I’ve never seen him react as he did tonight. He
liked
it. He liked bottoming. Do you have any idea how unusual that was?”

“I’m not sure he liked bottoming as much as he was just caught off guard by what I did.”

“He yelled when he came. I think that says plenty.”

“He did, didn’t he? God, that was something.” Kirk paused, a frown forming. “Yeah, something. Look, I’m going to ask you a question, and I want the truth. I need it because… well, now I’m worried.”

Tal petted Kirk’s belly, playing with the little trail of hair leading down. “Worried? Hey, you can ask me anything.”

“Damn sure hope you mean that. So, here goes…. Is it going to be a problem how Dolf responded to me?”

Tal gave Kirk a funny look. “Good grief, why in the world would it? You gave him pleasure. Why would that…. Oh, Kirk. I see. You’re worried I’ll be jealous. Jealous because you were able to make him yell when he came. Why would I be? You made our mate feel good, so why would I be jealous? I’m not.” Tal laid his hand on Kirk’s thigh. “You don’t get it, but eventually you will. We’re
both
his mates.”

“But I’m the new guy.”

“Yes, you are. But what you don’t get is, in the end, he’ll love you as much as he loves me. It’s not like I’m like his first mate”—Tal made quotation marks around the word first—“and you’re his second.”

“But you
were
mated to him first.”

“But that doesn’t mean I hold more power than you. We are equal. We’ll operate together, the three of us, supporting and depending on one another. Kirk, I will love you just as much as Dolf will.”

“If you say so.”

Tal looked up, lips thinning in displeasure. “Okay, let’s try this. Do you like me or Dolf better?”

“Now, how the hell am I supposed to answer that? For one thing, I don’t
know
either of you, not really. I mean, we just met. You two are very different too. You’re sweet. He wants to be in charge. You’re easygoing. He’s more… defined in his actions.”

“Sounds like you know us better than you think.”

“Well… but, how could I… um….”

“Choose?”

“Well, yeah.”

“That’s what I’m trying to tell you. You don’t
have
to choose. There
is
no choosing. We each bring something to this relationship. This isn’t a competition. I’m not going to get more of his love because I was here first, or because I’m a shifter and you’re a human. Which, by the way, I’m just going to go ahead and throw out there now, in case your very active mind latches onto that next.”

Kirk laughed.

“What I’m trying to tell you is, there are needs you’ll meet for Dolf that I can’t. Needs I have that you will meet that Dolf can’t. And Dolf and I will both meet needs you have. It’s a balance, Kirk, remember? You are the balance.”

“I just don’t want to come between…. Okay, ow, stop pinching me.”

“Did you not hear a word I just said? You can’t come between us. You are
part
of us.”

“You’re asking me to go on blind faith, Tal. To just take your word. To trust something I can’t see or touch.”

“Isn’t that life, though? You opened your shop. No one gave you a guarantee that it would be successful. But you took a chance. Take a chance and trust us. Now that we’re mated, you do get a guarantee. That, of course, doesn’t mean you won’t have to work at this relationship. We might be ideal for one another, but that doesn’t mean someone sprinkled fairy dust on us either.”

“Do I even want to know what fairy dust is?”

“Probably not. What I’m saying is, we have faults. Mating doesn’t blind us to those faults. We get upset with one another. It’s not a perfect relationship. The thing is, we work it out because we love each other.”

“I guess… guess I’ll just have to see.”

“You will. You will see.” Tal nipped Kirk’s leg. “Come on, lie down.”

“You know….” Kirk glanced at the clock next to the bed. “It’s just midmorning. It’s too early to go back to bed.”

“So what do you want to do today?”

Kirk looked around the room. “Well, how do you feel about packing?”

D
OLF
WAS
in the kitchen, cleaning up the remains from lunch. Tal and Kirk were supposed to be packing. Kirk had dressed, but Tal and Dolf were still in their borrowed clothes. The night pants, at least, had drawstrings. Tal wandered through the den, watching as Kirk sorted through some stuff he wanted to keep. Tal shook his head at the small pile in the middle of the room.

“Hey, Kirk, are you taking those end tables and coffee table? They’re cool.”

“Don’t you guys already have those things?”

Oh, this just wasn’t going to do. “What’s that got to do with anything?”

“Well, I don’t need mine if you already have—”

Tal narrowed his eyes at Kirk. “If you want the tables and stuff, then bring them. You can use them in your private space. We might get your tables home and like them better than what’s in the room already.”

“But—”

Tal rested his hands on his hips. “No! No buts here, Kirk. Either take stuff with you, or I’ll start picking things to bring.” Tal grabbed a lamp, warming up to his threat. “I like this, so I think it should go. And, and—”

“The base is broken.”

“Hush! You had your chance.” Tal picked up a pillow off the couch, holding it as if it cost millions of dollars. “I like this too, and—”

“Did you notice one of the seams is busted? There’s duct tape on it.”

“I’m ignoring you.” Tal sniffed. Then he hustled across the room. “And, ohhhh, look at this! A coaster!”

Kirk rolled his eyes. “And I have no idea where the rest are. But I get it, Tal. I’ll take things that are worth taking with me.”

“You’d better, or I’m heading to the bathroom next.”

Kirk shuddered. “God help us.”

“Better do as he says.” Dolf walked into the den. He rubbed Kirk’s back. “Besides, if we need more room, it’s not like we don’t know a carpenter. I can vouch that he’s pretty good too. In and out of bed.”

Tal laughed.

Dolf winked at Tal. “Just curious, do you have any boxes for the little stuff?”

Kirk thought for a moment, rubbing whiskers that desperately needed shaving. “Hmm, I might have a few, but not nearly enough.”

“The snow’s melting. We’ll make a trip to town and see if we can find some boxes. Maybe run by the store and stock up for a few days while we finish getting you ready.”

Kirk sighed. “I… I can’t afford to get a lot.”

“That’s why I’m buying the groceries.”

“Uh, Dolf, you need money for that. I thought you said you came here as cats.”

“We did. I had a small pouch around my neck that held money inside. I buried it in the backyard once we arrived.”

“Seriously?”

“Of course. Where else was I going to put money?” Dolf asked.

“Just… just how much money are we talking?”

“Several hundred dollars.”

“Fuck,” Kirk gulped. “You mean to tell me there’s several hundred dollars out there buried in the dirt? I can’t…. Good grief, that’s just nuts. Do you keep money in a mattress too? Several
hundred
dollars in my yard. Maybe if I say it enough times, I’ll stop freaking out. Or grab a shovel.”

“No need to freak out. But I do hope you’ll let me help with
groceries. There’re three grown men eating here now, not just one. Besides, we’re shifters. We have an enhanced metabolism and eat more.”

“It’s just… I want to pay my part of the—wait a minute. You have higher metabolisms than me? You eat more? Shit, have the two of you been getting enough here?”

“We’re fine, but we are used to eating more than three times a day.”

“Fuck. I had no idea. You should have told me. I want to pay my part, but I damn sure won’t let my pride do anything to hurt you guys, so buy what you need.”

“Why don’t you add what you can, but I’ll pay the majority of it. You can contribute as soon as we get you set up and you’re earning a paycheck. Just keep in mind—you’re not paying rent, Kirk. You’re our partner, not a tenant. I fully intend to put your name on everything. Or do I need to take you back to the bedroom and remind you of that?”

Tal moaned.

Kirk moaned too.

Dolf nodded his head. “Tonight. First, we have things to do.”

Kirk

A
S
IT
turned out, one of the first things we did… was end up taking care of me. Again. Dolf and Tal didn’t tell me there were physical side effects to being changed. But, to be fair, maybe they missed Mating 101.

One minute I was fine, and then the next, I would have sworn someone was holding a blowtorch on me. I was burning up, shaking, my blood boiling, and sweat dripping off me. The heat came out of nowhere and set my ass on fire. Odd thing was, I didn’t feel sick. I wasn’t going to throw up, and I wasn’t dizzy. There was no funky stuff like bleeding from the eyes or talking in another language. Outside of being incredibly hot, I was okay.