Trouble Comes in Threes (6 page)

“Okay, brrr.” Opening the tuna prompted many excited cries. Man, they were vocal. I laughed, which surprised me.

I put the plates on the floor, to the joy of both cats. “Thanks, guys. It’s been a while since I had a reason to laugh. Now, if I could find a guy willing to put up with my bad luck….” I didn’t see that happening.

I warmed the soup up on the one working stove eye, watching the cats eat. The black one was the more dominant of the two. Hell, if I wasn’t careful, the black one could end up bossing the white cat
and
me around. Which was amusing, since I wasn’t exactly a small guy.

After I finished eating, I felt better. Both cats had settled in the big window in the living area. While they bird-watched, I started a fire with the wood I’d brought in last night. I heated the house with the fireplace; it was damn sure cheaper than bumping up the thermostat. Once I had the fire going, I closed the screen. Didn’t want to burn the house down while taking a shower.

I made my way to the bathroom, took a long shower, then dried off. Wrapped in the towel, I stepped from the bedroom. Throwing the towel on the bed, I hunted up clean underwear, jeans, a black sweatshirt, and a thick pair of socks out of the clean clothes I’d dumped in an old recliner.

Snowball bounced across the room and dive-bombed my pile of clean clothes.

“Hey, hey! Come on, cat! Those are clean.” I hurried across the room to where Snowball was rolling around on my fresh laundry. “Off! Get off. Jesus, there’s going to be hair everywhere.”

Damn cat was having a field day. I lifted him off my clothes and held him, his purring suddenly filling the room. Well, someone was certainly happy. And wow, I kept forgetting they both weighed a ton. Maybe not a ton, but he had to be close to thirty pounds. Big, big cat. I petted him, then carried him out of the bedroom—away from the clean clothes.

Tiger followed me, and we made our way to the living area. For the next several hours, I did chores around the house, watched a little TV, and played with the cats. I happened to glance outside, then cussed long and loud. Fucking hell, it was sleeting. As much as I hated snow, ice was much worse. I needed to bring more wood in before it got wet.

“Okay, guys, wood run.” Both cats cleared out. I put on my boots and heavy coat, determined to do this as fast as possible. Taking a deep breath, I stepped outside.

“Shit, this didn’t just start.”

No, there was a film of ice everywhere. Already the ice was thick enough I could see it on the trees and shrubs. Hurrying to the woodpile, my foot slipped. Cussing a blue streak, I slowed down. The last thing I need was to fall. I hauled several loads of wood inside, moving carefully. I left the door cracked so I didn’t have to deal with opening it every time. One more trip should do it.

A cold breeze rushed through the room, and both cats shot off deeper into the house, away from the door. I didn’t blame them. I’d get as far away from that door as I could too. I walked back outside, and immediately my foot slipped. Shit. I’d better pay attention. The sooner I got the damn wood inside, the better. Which reminded me, I needed to call my wood guy, Sam, and have him deliver me another cord or two. I didn’t know where the money was going to come from, but I had to have that wood. Rumor was he’d opened a new restaurant not long ago. I wished I could afford to eat there. I’d heard it was good.

Of course, if it weren’t so horribly cold…. I glared at the ice forming on the trees. As far out as I lived, it would take the electric company forever to get electricity back out here. While I loved living out in the middle of nowhere, it did have its disadvantages.

“Fucking cold,” I complained, stepping on up on the porch. Just a few more steps and I’d be inside. “Damn fucking cold. Hate this… aw, shit!”

One moment I was hauling wood… the next I was flat on my back, wood raining down. Something heavy hit me on the side of the head. Pain screamed through me. My vision narrowed to a point and something wet dripped down my face. My fingers touched the dampness. Shit. I stared at my fingers. That was blood. I tried to lift my head and agony exploded. My pain-filled cry followed me into the darkness.

Kirk

A
SWEET
scent teased my senses. I sniffed, trying to place that aroma. It reminded me of a burning candle I’d smelled at some little gift shop I’d been in long ago…. Cinnamon. And, oh God, it smelled really, really good. The blood in my body headed south, my cock going hard immediately. I kicked the sheet off and grasped my cock, stroking quickly. I couldn’t remember the last time I was this horny. My balls pulled up tight.

Wow, this was going to be the shortest jack-off session in the history of all jack-off sessions.

The sound of a strangled gasp made me open my eyes. There sat the sexiest guy I’d ever seen. Big blue eyes, long, white-blond hair, and a masculine face that belonged in magazines captured my attention. He just sat there, staring at me. Actually, he was staring at me stroking my dick.

Ahhh, I got it now. I was dreaming. I totally planned to take advantage of this because, outside of a dream, a guy who looked like that? No way he’d waste a glance in my direction. So, fuck it. Cutie over there was going to star in my wet dreams by sucking my cock.

I even told him so. “Suck it.” I shook my dick as I informed him of what I required—just in case there was any question. Oh, how cute. He made this little “eep” sound. I waggled my cock at him again. “Come on,” I whispered. “You know you want it.”

Was he hard of hearing or something? This was my dream, and Cutie needed to get with the program because I wasn’t going to be left hanging. I opened my mouth to enlighten him of this… and whoa. He pounced on me. He took me down to the root, and my eyes rolled back in my head.

“Please, please, please…,” I pleaded as I fell into the void.

All there was… was heat. Wetness. And fucking suction that would make Hoover proud. Jesus. The way Cutie moved his tongue while he tried to suck my brains out through my cock was impressive. Didn’t think I’d ever felt anything quite like it before, and I opened my legs to give him room to work.

“Please,” I whimpered again. If I didn’t come soon, I just might die.

I opened my mouth to beg or something, and suddenly… bam! I came. No warning whatsoever. The world exploded and lights flashed behind my lids. I came until my lungs seized. I jerked as a needle-sharp pain started at my groin and spread through me, but then it faded as another tide of pleasure rolled through me.

I came
again
, and everything just faded out. I drifted for a while, enjoying the moment. Then I heard voices.

“You did
what
?”

O-o-okay, who was that talking?

“He wanted it. He pleaded for me…. I-I couldn’t help myself. He told me to suck him… and I did. You didn’t hear him. And that scent of his! But I think he thought he was dreaming.”

“He probably did, considering he just got whacked in the head with a log.”

“He was jacking off in front of me. He told me to suck him, and I reacted to his tone. It was almost as commanding as yours. Almost.”

“That doesn’t excuse the fact—”

“That scent, Dolfoon. You
know
what that does to us. He’s ours. I… oh, dear.”

Dolfoon?

“Tal, what did you do?”

Tal?

“I started the process.”

What process?

“Well now, that changes everything.”

Changes what?

“I’m sorry. Oh, I’ve really messed this up. I knew I shouldn’t have blown him. I shouldn’t have
touched
him until he knew what was going on.”

“No, you shouldn’t have, but I have an idea he’s going to be more upset about you starting the mating process than a blowjob.”

What the hell is a mating process?

“What are we going to do?”

Do? Do about what?

“You know what you have to do.”

Well, that sounds ominous.

“Oh goddess, we have to tell him, and soon, now. Think he’ll believe us?”

Goddess? Who the fuck says goddess? And believe what?

“Oh, he’ll believe us. It’s hard to deny the proof when it’s shifting right in front of you. As for the rest of it, we’ll deal with that too.”

Shifting? Shifting! What the fuck is this?
My eyes snapped open. The cutie from my dream was sitting in front of me, and he… oh shit. He was real.

“Who the fuck are you? How did you get in my house?” I whispered as I struggled into a sitting position.
Wait, sitting position? Wasn’t I just outside?
“How the hell did
I
get in my house?”

“I-I-I….”

“What do you want?”

“I-I-I….”

“And what the fuck is a Dolfoon?”

“Not what, but whom. I am Dolfoon, but call me Dolf, please.”

I damn near jumped off the bed, he startled me so badly. Bye-bye stiffy. All this blood rushing from one point to another was making me dizzy. I stared at the guy. Damn, he was hot. Tall, too. Really tall, along with fucking full, lush lips, jet-back hair and… damn.
More with the crazy blue eyes.
Heaven help me, now I smelled apple pie along with the cinnamon.

While the other guy was sweet and cute, this one projected strength and control. Power just oozed from his pores, filled the room, and demanded obedience. A demand I found myself tempted to… obey. Which made my head want to explode. I didn’t take orders well.

“Well, nice to meet you. Now, why the fuck are you in my house?”
I think I’ve fallen down the rabbit hole.

“As I said, I am Dolf, and that is Talise. I call him Tal. We saw that you fell and were hurt. You hit your head, and there was blood. Between the two of us, we got you inside, undressed, and into bed. I cleaned the wound as best I could. Also, you’re undressed because your clothes were wet.”

“Uh-huh. My drive is a half-mile from the road, and the wood I was hauling is in the backyard. I remember going outside to get some more. So, you want to explain how you just
happened
to see me knocked out in the backyard from the street, while it’s getting dark, to boot?” I wasn’t buying it.

“I never said we were at the road.”

“Right. So where the fuck were you, then?”

“In your house. I’m the black cat, and he’s the white cat.”

Forget the rabbit hole. Welcome to
The Twilight Zone
.
“You’re the cats I’ve been taking care of?”

“Yes.”

Ooookay. They were the cats, he said. Right. Oh my God, here I was, trapped in this room with a couple of madmen—sexy madmen, but madmen. While I was naked. With a head wound. And, shit… naked.

“Right. Look, man, just go, okay? My wallet is in the master bath, sitting on the counter. You can’t miss it. There isn’t much, but please, just take it and go. I won’t say a word to anyone. I promise. I just don’t want any trouble.”

Tal spluttered. “You think—”

“Of course he does, and in this day and age, it’s a logical conclusion, even if it’s wrong. There’s no reason to be afraid of us, Kirk. Neither one of us would ever hurt you. We can’t.” Dolf turned to Tal. “Show him.”

Tal bit his lip. “It’s going to upset him.”

“I know, but I don’t see an easier way. Upset is better than thinking we plan to rob him or… hurt him.”

Tal stood and started stripping. “Kirk? Please don’t be afraid of us, okay? Remember, we won’t hurt you.”

I gulped. Why was the dude stripping? The view was damn nice, and I was getting hard again, but…. “Ah, look, you don’t have to…. Wait a minute. Are those my clothes? Those are
my
clothes you’re wearing, aren’t they? What the fuck?” Why was I even remotely worried about him wearing my clothes? Just how hard
had
I rattled my brain? And why was I trying to get hard?

Tal cocked his head. “They are your clothes, yes. We came here as cats, remember? So we had no way to bring our clothes with us. Clothes don’t just magically appear when we shift. We had to borrow yours, of course.”

“Of course.” Like I should have known that. “Wait, did you just say they don’t magically…. That you…. Ah, dude, why are you kneeling on the floor?” We just went from
The Twilight Zone
to Kink City.

Tal grinned at me. “I like being close to the ground when I shift. It’s easier.”

“Right. Close to the—”

My mouth dropped open as the cute, blond-haired guy groaned loudly. Sounds filled the room. Oh God, my stomach cramped, and I was pretty sure I was going to be sick. That… that sound. Jesus. I’d heard something similar when I broke my arm as a kid. This sounded amazingly like that. Truly cringe-worthy. My shoulders hunched and my toes curled. Bye-bye erection. That sound was worse than nails down a chalkboard, but that was nothing compared to what I was seeing in front of me.

“Oh. My. Fucking. God.”

The guy’s body twisted in ways that weren’t… appropriate. That word screeched in my mind.
None
of this was fucking appropriate. My stomach roiled at a particularly sickening crunch. Ugh. One of my eyelids twitched. Limbs didn’t
do
that, unless there was massive trauma involved, and I really didn’t want to
see
massive trauma, thank you very much. And speaking of limbs not bending that way…. Ugh. Okay, that was just nasty.