The Strength of the Pack

by Tymber Dalton

  He tipped her chin up. “And my past partners didn’t have whopping big secrets they were terrified to admit that made me want to wait to make sure I didn’t do irreparable harm to our trust bond, either.”

  She nodded.

  “I’m not perfect but I’m doing the best I can. I’ve had girlfriends in the past who played with others but had a relationship with me. You’re the first person I’ve ever felt this strongly about, this deeply for, who I wanted to love and own for the rest of my life.”

  He rolled her onto her back, kissing her, pushing her thighs apart with his knees as he sat up and held up the condom wrapper. “We need to go to the store tomorrow,” he said with a smile as he ripped it open and rolled it on.

  He braced himself with one arm on the mattress by her head, his gaze holding hers as he stared down at her. With his other hand, he held his cock, teasing her by swiping it up and down her folds, brushing it over her clit.

  “Tell me what you want, sweetheart,” he softly said.

  “I want you to claim me, Sir,” she whispered.

  She arched her back, angling her hips as he slowly pressed forward, savoring it, taking his time. Between the butt plug stuffing her and his cock deliciously stretching her, she was already close to coming from how great it felt. Only once his cock was completely sheathed in her pussy did he let out a soft breath.

  “Hold still, baby,” he softly said. “Let me savor this.” He shifted position, pinning her hands over her head before he slowly started thrusting.

  It was…heaven. That was the best description. All the toys in the world could never compare to the real thing. He was skilled with his tongue and his hands and the Hitachi, but the emotional connection of having his cock finally embedded inside her completed her in a way she hadn’t expected.

  She stared up into his eyes, his hair a curtain on either side of his face, enveloping them in a cocoon as he slowly moved. He seemed to be studying her face, waiting on…something. She didn’t even care if she didn’t come this way. A lot of times—well, in the past—she didn’t and needed help getting over.

  Then his body and his cock hit her clit and something inside her perfectly, making her gasp.

  He smiled. “Right…there.” He did it again…and again.

  She didn’t know if it was the addition of the butt plug, or he was just that good, but he watched her, building her up, driving her closer to the edge. “Come for me, baby,” he whispered. “Come for me just like this. Be my good girl.”

  She was so…fucking…close. Rocking her hips in time with him helped add friction, and before she realized it she was climbing, tipping, falling, crying out as her body squeezed his cock and the butt plug and her orgasm carried her away with it.

  “Good…girl,” he said through gritted teeth, not changing his pattern until he was sure she’d finished. Then he started fucking her, really fucking her, hard, driving her up the bed with the force of his strokes until he buried his cock deep within her with a groan. He rested his forehead against hers, breathing heavily, eyes closed.

  After a moment he finally opened his eyes again and kissed her, hard. Reaching down, he held the condom in place before pulling out, barely fumbling before he got it out.

  “Love you, baby,” he whispered.

  She smiled. “Love you, too, Sir.”

  * * * *

  But if she thought he was done with her, she was in for a surprise. When Nate returned to bed, he made her spread her legs. He held up the Hitachi. “Oh, you don’t get to go to sleep until I’m sure you’re satisfied.”

  “But we don’t have any more condoms.”

  “I know. As late as it is, I’m good until morning. You, however…” He grinned. “I want to hear some begging to stop coming before we go to sleep.”

  And beg she did as he used the Hitachi on her and made her come for the better part of twenty minutes before she finally called yellow.

  He shut off the Hitachi and kissed her. “Much better,” he said. “Now go take that out, clean up, and let’s get to sleep.”

  “Yes, Sir.” He smiled as he watched her gorgeous ass all the way into his bathroom.

  Yes, he’d had girlfriends and relationships before. But nothing like this. The others, he knew they had expiration dates. Either they’d want more and he didn’t, or they would simply move on when they realized he wasn’t the heavy sadist or strict protocol-driven partner they needed.

  Eva, however, he saw himself spending the rest of his life with her, the men…

  Their children.

  And that was all he wanted.

  As she snuggled in his arms, he felt her energy revived, restored, and at peace in a way it hadn’t ever felt before.

  They would be okay. He knew it. His dreams even spoke of it, his mind conjuring up a wedding and collaring, happy domestic scenes from the future.

  Until he woke up, that was, squinting with one eye shut and the morning light piercing through his skull.

  “Ugh,” he muttered, easing his head back onto his pillow.

  Dammit. Figured he’d end up with a headache after the events of the day before. The negative energy had to snap back and rebound on him somehow.

  “Are you okay, Sir?” she asked.

  “Headache,” he muttered. He’d had a couple of these in their time together, but this was winding up to be a doozy. “I don’t think I’m going to be up for playing this morning. I’m sorry.”

  “It’s okay. Can I get you anything?”

  “Yes, a couple of ibuprofen, some ice-cold coffee with sugar, and a cold wet washcloth for my forehead. And the bottle of peppermint oil from the bathroom.”

  She jumped from bed to get them as he lay there. He even tried a pressure point on his hand, the webbing between the thumb and forefinger, but that did little more than take the edge off of it.

  No, this was an all-day affair. He could tell. And the only way to get through it was to get through it.

  She soon returned with everything and after swallowing the pills with the coffee, he laid back, the wet cloth on his forehead making the peppermint oil he’d spread there feel icy and soothing. “Let’s watch TV, baby,” he said. “Go make yourself something to eat and bring it back here and we’ll snuggle.”

  “I’m sorry you don’t feel good.”

  He sighed. “Me, too. I’d planned for more fun for us today.”

  In fact, by later that afternoon, he still wasn’t feeling well. “Can you call Leo or Jesse and ask them to come pick you up when you’re ready to leave? I don’t think I can drive.”

  “Sure.” She’d spent the morning in bed with him, holding his hand and just enjoying being there with him.

  Even if they couldn’t play or have sex, her time with him over the next couple of weeks would be highly curtailed and she’d take every second she could get. She had taken his car and made a Mountain Dew run for him earlier in hopes that it would help the headache, but all it did was make him puke it back up less than an hour later.

  When he was dozing, she went out to the living room and called Leo.

  “Hey, you all right?” he asked.

  She loved that he cut right to the chase. “Yeah, I’m fine, but Nate’s got a sick headache.”

  “Oh, man. I’m sorry.”

  “Can you come pick me up later?”

  “Sure. When?”

  It was already after four. “Anytime.”

  “Okay. Give me about an hour. Jesse and Laurel are out grocery shopping. When they get back I’ll come get you.”

  “Thanks.”

  Nate was awake again when Leo arrived, and he walked back to see him.

  “Hey, buddy. Sorry you’re feeling crappy.”

  “I’ve gotten these all my life. I’m sad to say this isn’t an unusual experience.”

  Leo turned to her. “Can I talk to him alone for a minute?”

  She suspected about what. “Sure. I’ll wait out there.”

  “Thanks.”

  * * * *
<
br />   Nate wasn’t too out of it to know what Leo wanted to talk about. Once the door was closed, he didn’t hesitate.

  “Sorry this isn’t the best time, but what happened yesterday?”

  Nate gave him the quick version of the encounter with Eva’s father, including that she had finally confessed the full truth of what her father had done to her.

  Leo looked like he wanted to drive to Tampa and punch the fucker. “Goddammit,” he muttered. “Fucking bastard.” He shook his head. “I tried to get her to press charges when she told me. I looked into it. Some of what he did, they still could have prosecuted him for it at that point. She wouldn’t.”

  “I know.”

  Leo took his hand and squeezed. “Thank you. Thank you for loving her, and thank you for protecting her.”

  “She told me about the baby.”

  Leo froze. “Yeah?”

  “It’s all right. I’m okay with it. As long as you and Jesse are all right with me marrying her and we’re all living together.”

  Leo chuckled. “I guess we’re going to need a bigger house.”

  “Well, and there’s more. I’ve collared her.” He told him.

  Leo pressed his lips tightly together for a moment, his eyes looking too bright. “Wow,” he softly said. “Thank you. I…I wasn’t expecting that.”

  “Well, it only makes sense. I know you two love her, and that’s no threat to me and what I have with her. It relieves me to know I have two people I can rely on to be there for her.”

  Leo blinked back tears, finally wiping the back of his free hand across his eyes. “You are part of our pack,” he said. “You have been. Thank you for loving Laurel, too. That means a lot to me. And…honestly? I didn’t expect you to handle the baby news this well.”

  “Leo, as I’ve already told her, I’ve raised a child.” He smiled. “I’m going to enjoy watching someone else having to go through the terrible teens with a daughter the way I did. I am a sadist, you know.”

  Leo laughed. “Yeah.” He fell silent for a moment. “You think two Masters can get along in a house together?”

  “We won’t know until we try, will we? As long as we’re patient with each other and work as quickly as we can toward moving someplace that has more than two bathrooms, yes, I think we’ll be fine. Think of it this way—we’ve just made date nights for each other a lot easier to manage.”

  “True.” He stood. “Well, I guess I’ll take our girl home, then.”

  “Drive safe.”

  “You know I will. Precious cargo.”

  He left the door open and Eva came back to say good-bye.

  Nate pulled her in for a kiss. “Be my good girl, all right? We’ll work everything out once we get through the next couple of weeks. I can’t even think about moving until after my class is over.”

  “Yes, Sir.”

  She headed for the bedroom door. “Oh, and sweetheart?”

  “Yes, Sir?”

  He managed a smile. “I’ll be getting reports from Leo on whether or not you’re behaving yourself and doing what you’re told. Just remember that.”

  “Dammit,” she playfully muttered. “Yes, Sir.”

  After he heard them leave, he closed his eyes and turned off the TV. Maybe he could get to sleep and pop the damn headache.

  But at least he could rest easy knowing this was temporary. The remainder of his life was now settled.

  Since he’d already survived the worst day of his life, everything else from here on out was easy.

  Chapter Twenty

  Nate’s firm response didn’t waver or change in the three weeks leading up to Eva’s first appointment. Despite having very little time together, between him being gone for his course and then an extra-heavy load of clients the week upon his return, leading to long, exhausting days for him, he always made time to talk on the phone with Eva at least once a day.

  And, every time, he reassured her he hadn’t changed his mind.

  That he loved and supported her, and that he still wanted her to be his wife. That they’d have their wedding once her first round of appointments was set up after the initial appointment.

  Eva did her best to beat back years of self-doubt during this time. The ingrained mental voices that constantly whispered in her ear and tried to tell her she wasn’t good enough, that Nate would leave her, too, that this was too good to last.

  That she was too old to have a baby. That there’d be a problem and she’d let Jesse down by not being able to get pregnant.

  She always responded to those mental voices by repeating her new mantra.

  If it’s meant to be, it’ll happen.

  Eva’s stomach felt a little iffy Tuesday morning before their scheduled appointment. The five of them had gone out to dinner the night before at a new Vietnamese restaurant Laurel had been bugging them to try because she’d seen it on their route to school. Nate had early clients Tuesday morning, so he and Eva didn’t spend Monday night together. But they’d be getting together tomorrow night, spending the whole night together.

  Maybe that was for the better anyway. Eva felt nervous as hell about today. As long as everything checked out okay, they would schedule the next series of appointments. And Jesse would have to give a…sample.

  Leo would render the assist there, if necessary.

  Ironically, as much as Eva had fantasized early on about wishing Leo and Jesse were bi, now the thought of sleeping with Jesse brought a massive squick factor into the mix. She loved Jesse, but not romantically. Like a brother.

  Sleeping with Jesse to do the deed the “natural” way—if he could even handle doing that with her—would have felt…weird. Awkward.

  Besides, her heart belonged to Nate. It wouldn’t just feel like cheating, it would be cheating, and she would not do that.

  So the choice between impersonal medical assistance and a potential lifetime of uncomfortable morning greetings became a no-brainer.

  Laurel would get the little brother or sister that Eva always wished she’d been able to give her. Leo’s legitimate fears over any contact with Eva’s father were finally put to rest.

  She and Leo could finally have a second child. Technically not together biologically, but they’d be co-parenting.

  Leo and Jesse had also agreed that yes, Nate would be a co-parent as well, and were both excited to get started helping plan their wedding. What really touched the men, though, was how Nate had collared her, still leaving her under their protection. It meant all the more reason for them to live together, and something about that settled her heart and soul more than she wished it would. They’d start planning on how to integrate the two households next week, easing Laurel into it so it didn’t disrupt her too much.

  Best of all, Jesse’s dream of becoming a biological father could finally come true.

  Hopefully. She was almost thirty-nine. If they were going to do this, it needed to be now for a slew of biological reasons.

  She was sitting at the kitchen table and sipping a cup of mint tea when the men walked into the kitchen. They’d already taken Laurel to school, giving Eva the house to herself for a short while.

  Leo frowned. “Are you okay?”

  “Yeah. I think we can cross another cultural food dish off my palate. It didn’t settle well with me last night.”

  “Bummer,” Jesse said. “I thought you liked it.”

  “I did, but this morning it doesn’t seem to be liking me.”

  Leo leaned against the counter. “Can I say something?”

  She smiled at him. “Yes, if I change my mind at any point in this process—up until I’m pregnant, obviously—I will say so. But I’m in. Really. I want this, I want this for both of you, and I’m ready for it.”

  Leo looked unconvinced.

  She pushed her chair back and walked over to him, wrapping her arms around him.

  Yes, staring up into his blue eyes still conjured love inside her, but that had slowly been transforming from in love to…love.

  “Look
, my big, scary secrets are out. He knows everything about me and he still loves me and wasn’t scared off by my past. I’m finally ready to move on. I lived too much of my life in self-constructed prisons. Let’s do this.”

  She turned, holding a hand out to Jesse. He joined them for a group hug. “And as you both keep reminding me, the pack always comes first. We always come first. And I want this.”

  “What about Nate?” Jesse asked. “Are you sure he’ll be okay with this?”

  “He says he is, and I have to trust that. You’ve both talked to him yourselves. Either he is, or he isn’t. But if I’m going to spend my life with him, I have to trust him that he’s telling us the truth about how he feels.”

  Jesse nodded. “I love you for this. You know that, right?”

  She kissed his cheek. “I know. And I love you for all of this. You saved my life. Literally. Not many people can ever pay that back.”

  “This isn’t just about that, is it? Because if it is—”

  “It isn’t,” Leo quietly said, staring down at her. She returned her gaze to his and nodded.

  “She always wanted another baby,” he quietly said. “But after she told me what her dad did, I was the one who said no. I wouldn’t risk it. Especially when she wouldn’t press charges against the fucker.”

  “If I tried to press charges, I know what would have happened. Even if there wasn’t some statute of limitations, he still wouldn’t have been prosecuted. He would have talked his way out of it, my sisters and my mother would have supported him and said I was nuts, and I would have ended up hating him and myself even more.”

  Leo palmed her cheek. “Our children have absolutely no contact with your father. Understand? Not even supervised contact. If you want me and Jesse to talk to your mom and sisters, we will. I don’t give a shit what they think of me or Jesse. You’re an adult and if you still have contact with your mom and sisters, fine, but don’t ever let me find out your father got to see our children.”

  She nodded. “Yes, Sir. We’re in complete agreement. Nate already laid down the law there. I’m not allowed to have any contact with my father, period.”