Wishes

by J. C. Owens

  “Auri, come to me, my mate.” Kanar’s voice was low with anticipation, and it was all Auri could do to rise to his feet and approach the great bed. Bredan already lay on it, naked body resplendent. His skin was very pale, his blond hair long and splayed over the dark covers. Muscles rippled as he stretched, his brown eyes watching Auri intently.

  Auri flushed harder, his hands trembling as his fingers went to his kilt.

  “Let me,” Kanar whispered, his golden eyes alight. He came to stand before Auri and began to slowly, sensuously remove his clothing. Auri felt a moment’s gratitude that his mate’s body blocked him from Bredan’s sight.

  He could not even respond to Kanar’s touches, so terrified was he. His mate kissed him slowly, reverently, and he gradually lost sense of his surroundings, forgot about what was about to happen, forgot they had an audience.

  He jumped when warm fingers stroked down his back and would have flinched away, but Kanar’s powerful arms held him close and the kiss deepened until he could not think straight. He gradually came back to himself enough to realize a warm body pressed against him from the back, even as Kanar enveloped him from the front.

  He tensed, but the strange fingers touching him were gentle, not invasive, and they began to massage his muscles, finding where painful knots lurked. He found himself moaning into Kanar’s mouth, his body slowly easing into Bredan’s touch.

  The kiss gently ended, Kanar’s long, rough tongue giving a last swipe at Auri’s lips before retreating.

  “Come, little tiger,” he whispered, drawing him down to the bed, keeping eye contact with him all the while.

  Auri tried not to tense, not to react as another body followed him down. Focus on Kanar, he kept thinking. Pretend there is no one else here.

  The massage resumed, and it helped relax him enough to respond to Kanar’s touches. Auri let his hands roam over his mate’s body in return and relished this opportunity to openly view Kanar’s body. Golden fur with almost black stripes begged his touch and he stroked avidly, trying to distract his thoughts from the situation at hand.

  The fur was short and very soft, especially around the neck and face where the stripes were delicate and thin, and Auri learned to his delight that rubbing gently behind a furry ear sent his much larger mate into paroxysms of delight, golden eyes sliding shut and a rumbling purr almost shaking the bed.

  He filed this information for use in the future, even as his mate began to kiss one of Auri’s pleasure spots, his neck. Whenever his mate touched that area, all Auri could do was moan and bare his neck in a voluntary surrender Kanar whole-heartedly approved of. He would always growl then, lay his teeth against soft skin, displaying his dominance in a way that made Auri writhe with need.

  Auri had never guessed he had submissive tendencies, yet with Kanar, he seemed to feel safe enough to give in, to trust a little that he would not be hurt. His original dealings with Kanar had not left as much of a mark as he would have thought.

  Auri jerked a little as he felt fingers work at his nipple, but he could not tell who it was, only that it felt wonderful, jolts of pleasure rippling down to his groin as the sensitive nub was plucked and rolled, then encased in a warm mouth.

  He gasped, fingers clutching at Kanar’s arms, his hips beginning to writhe with a rising need. As the heat built he began to forget his former concerns; it did not seem to matter where the touches came from as long as they continued. They had to continue.

  Now both nipples were alternately suckled and his body bowed with intense sensations that made his toes curl and his breath spasm.

  Slick fingers grasped his shaft and he let out a strangled cry that echoed in the huge room as he began to thrust into the friction provided.

  Coolness slid along his cleft, and he tensed for the barest of moments before he was distracted by Kanar’s kissing him again. He gasped into his mate’s mouth as a lubed finger slowly penetrated him. He did not turn his head. He did not want to know who it was; he just held tighter to Kanar, almost

  desperately.

  “Shh, little tiger. It is all right.” His mate left his lips and whispered over his ear, bringing a shiver in its wake.

  He closed his eyes, thinking Bredan would mount him then, but to his surprise, Kanar gently turned him onto his hands and knees and positioned himself behind Auri, slowly pressing into the hot, tight channel of his mate.

  Auri’s fingers clenched into the soft covers, his head flung back, moans of pleasure/pain escaping him. A flush came over his cheekbones as he thought of Bredan seeing and hearing all this, but the brief flash of embarrassed insight faded rapidly, and then he could only feel as Kanar pulled him up to his knees and held him so he half sat in his mate’s lap, his back pressed into soft fur covering a hard, muscled chest. Kanar’s arms were wrapped around him, stroking up and down his stomach, a long, rough tongue lapping at his nape, then slowly teeth came down, holding him gently but firmly.

  He relaxed into the hold, then tensed suddenly as he felt other hands on his shaft. Before he could look down, his shaft was encased in sudden heat— beautifully tight heat.

  He cried out with the shockingly intense pleasure of it, his eyes rolling back in his head. It took several deep breaths before he could come back to himself enough to look down.

  He was balls-deep in Bredan.

  His eyes widened in shock, but he was not allowed time to consider this new development. Bredan pushed back even as Kanar thrust. Auri cried out, a keening wail wavering in his throat at the dual sensations. It was like nothing he had ever imagined.

  Bredan and Kanar timed their movements, taking and giving in tandem, their bodies moving in sync, pushing Auri to the edge of sanity. He could not even move on his own; he was paralyzed with sensation. He could only shiver and twitch as his cock was bathed in silky heat and his prostate was stroked over and over with the hard press of Kanar’s immense organ.

  Auri could hear himself make the faintest of whimpering pleas, over and over, and at any other time would have been mortified. But at this moment there was no thought, there was only the sense of flying close to the edge.

  Kanar thrust especially deep and twisted his hips as he did so…and Auri exploded. He could not even scream. His lips opened but no sound came out, his body frozen in an arch as he felt hot streams of his cum shoot deep within Bredan, even as the other man cried out, his channel spasming around Auri’s pulsing cock.

  Kanar held Auri’s hips tightly with the faintest hint of claws, thrusting hard and deep three more times, his powerful movements pushing Auri’s cock deeper into Bredan, making both men moan at the extra stimulation. Then Kanar himself came, and Auri could feel the thick ropes of cum penetrate far within him, a foreign warmth deep within his body.

  They stayed in this tableau for long moments as though frozen, then they collapsed in a heap on the great bed. Auri felt Kanar carefully withdraw from him, and very faintly he realized his cock was still deep in Bredan, but his mind could cope with no more and he fell into darkness; whether sleep or unconsciousness, he could not tell, only that it offered sweet respite.

  Chapter Seven

  When Auri slowly awoke the next morning, he thought the feeling of his shaft being buried in heat was part of his vivid memories of the night before or possibly a dream. As his gritty, sleep-dulled eyes gradually opened with some difficulty he began to come to the disturbing conclusion the sensation was not, in fact, a delusion, but reality with all its complications.

  He froze then, uncertain what to do, biting his lip as his cock leapt eagerly in the tight embrace, hardening. It, at least, had no compunction about what to do and no doubt thought his emotional trauma a vexing impediment to what it wanted.

  Good, old-fashioned sex. Nix the worries and the consequences. Give me what I want now and deal with the facts later.

  Cocks were remarkably simple in their view on life.

  Auri was beginning to wish his brain would shut up. Maybe his cock should be in charge.

 
He slowly realized his arms were wrapped around someone, and that someone was not furred.

  Shit.

  He swallowed hard, cursing under his breath as his cock began to throb in anticipation. Nix that; his cock should not be in charge. It was a brainless entity that was going to get him in all sorts of trouble.

  He felt the body he was snuggled up to shift slightly as though waking, and he tried to emulate sleep, wishing he could just disappear.

  The lean, beautiful body in his arms stirred, then a faint moan reached his ears and a hand came back to wrap around his thigh, pulling his leg forward as strong hips pushed back.

  His cock leapt to immediate full attention. Stupid cock.

  His mind was screaming in panic. Smart mind. This was definitely time for panic.

  Bredan began to slowly fuck himself on Auri’s cock and Auri just lay there, in shock, letting him. He made the mistake of looking down, of actually seeing his own cock, red and engorged, appearing and disappearing into Bredan’s stretched opening, and he could not help himself.

  He thrust.

  He would be damned for this, no doubt, but at the moment his body ruled. Cock wins. Brain defeated.

  Auri rolled on top, pinning Bredan beneath him, and began to thrust into the willing body, reveling in the moans and little cries of pleasure that escaped the other man’s lips. Bredan was no quiet partner; he thrust and writhed and pushed against Auri, all the while talking dirty.

  “Fuck me. Damn it, Auri. Faster, faster. Use that cock. Take it deeper, make me feel it, make me walk with a limp, and know it was you when you watch me.”

  Sweat rolled down Auri’s face and back; he could feel it dripping down his sides and onto Bredan. Gods, but this felt amazing, made him feel like a man again, when for so long he had felt like he had no control, as if his very masculinity was being threatened. But this…

  He realized now he loved both things equally— being taken by his mate, submitting, the freedom it gave him, and this as well, feeling the strength as his cock delved deep into another. He felt gratitude and wonder that Bredan would offer this, rather than insisting on taking Auri. Surely he had had that right as first mate.

  He gasped and moaned as his balls tightened, his thighs quivering to the point of pain, then a final, deepest thrust and he felt Bredan come, the spasms milking him, making him come, eyes squeezing shut with the force of it. He collapsed on Bredan, then rolled to the side, not wanting to crush him. He felt his sensitive cock slide from the slick heat and some part of him mourned. He felt tears rise, and he was not certain why, but when Bredan turned and offered his arms, he found himself safely enclosed in them, his head buried against a well-muscled chest.

  He vaguely realized he was crying, tears pouring down his cheeks unchecked, but for the life of him, he could not understand why.

  Bredan said nothing, did not try to speak. He just held Auri close and rocked him, offering wordless comfort. Auri wished he might stay there forever, safe and warm and never having to cope with the world outside.

  At last the emotional storm passed, and Auri lay spent, limp and drained of thought.

  Only then did Bredan lean back and carefully wipe the tears away with gentle fingers. He searched Auri’s expression and smiled softly, shaking his head a little. “You are a mess, Tiger.” At hearing that partial use of Kanar’s nickname for him, Auri could not help but give a watery smile. Certainly there were worse tags than that.

  He put out a shaking hand to touch Bredan’s cheek, wondering how he could have missed how beautiful those gray eyes could be, how caring and full of warmth.

  “Thank you,” Auri whispered, unable to voice more but meaning so much more.

  Bredan’s lips quirked, his eyes smiling deeply. “You are more than welcome, Tiger. Remember I am here for you, in all ways.”

  * * * Having gained so much ground, Auri, being Auri, then had to retreat for a while, think things through.

  Kanar and Bredan did not push him.

  It amazed Auri that they seemed to understand him so well when he himself often did not. They seemed to be waiting for him to set the tone of this new relationship, letting him chose his own path.

  He did not really know what to do. That sense of closeness he now felt toward Kanar and Bredan was foreign and terrifying. It was closer than he had ever been with anyone, even Neel, even his friends from the Hagan Fell. This was different, more intimate, revealing more of who he truly was within. His mind wanted to shut down, retreat, rather than expose himself further.

  Kanar and Bredan gave him no excuse to do so. They gave him space; therefore there was nothing to fight against.

  It was most vexing.

  Auri needed something to fight against, to prove to himself this was wrong, but without that proof he had no idea how to react.

  With nothing else to occupy his mind, he took to running every day, needing the exercise to bring his body and mind back to some semblance of control.

  The days were slowly warming, the snow retreating and melting. It made for interesting footing sometimes, especially when the weather would cool again and the water froze into ice.

  On this particular day, he was taking it easy, careful of the slick ice concealed under a faint sprinkling of nighttime snow. He reveled in the fact his breathing was easy, showing how far he had come in conditioning himself.

  The five guards kept pace easily of course, their breath hovering in the brisk morning air. Auri shivered a little, picking up the pace. Times like this he almost wished for Felinian fur; the jacket he was wearing seemed unable to completely hold out the damp chill.

  At last he slowed to a walk, partially to vary his speed, and partially to admire the frost that had decorated the massive trees nearby. He put up a wondering hand, laughing a little as he was

  immediately sprayed with a light, white frosting of ice crystals.

  One of the guards chuckled and reached out to brush it off his back as Auri dusted his front. Auri looked up to thank him, still smiling, but the smile faded into confusion as the guard suddenly jerked, his expression freezing into a pained rictus. Auri put out a hand, concerned, then watched in disbelief as the Felin fell to his knees, then forward, blood covering his back.

  All hell broke loose.

  Suddenly there were strange Felin all around them, weapons firing, shouts and screams.

  Auri ducked away from a hand reaching for him, his hands itching for a weapon. He grabbed up a dead tree branch for want of anything else at hand and used it to good effect on any who were unwary. Several times a stranger tried to grasp him, and each time he managed to elude them, soon realizing they would not fire and risk hurting him.

  Fear and anger rose within him, making him ruthless in his strikes.

  This was because of him. They wanted him.

  It was the ice that made his defense fail. He slipped for a brief moment and that was all it took. As swift as thought, a Felin circling him lunged past his makeshift weapon and had him by the hair.

  Auri roared with fury and twisted in the grip, sinking his teeth deeply into the heavily muscled arm, shaking his head savagely. For a moment he was free again, but before he could move, an arm encircled his throat and he was pulled up against his captor, hands clawing uselessly on the tightening arm as his vision began to dim.

  He struggled ever more desperately. Even as his strength failed and as darkness descended, his last thought was of Kanar.

  * * * He woke to movement, head pounding with pain. His throat hurt when he swallowed, but when he tried to touch the bruised flesh, he dimly realized his hands were bound behind him. It took several more seconds before his dazed mind could make sense of his position.

  He was being carried over someone’s shoulder, and the pounding gait made him want to be sick as it jarred his head and stomach. Some part of his mind told him to struggle, but his body remained limp, unable to respond to his inner urgings.

  A sudden explosion of voices and laughter made him flinch, and the
Felin who held him put up a huge hand to fondle his ass, saying something to his companions.

  Auri’s limited understanding of the language enabled him to vaguely translate the words into something crude, but he was far more concerned with not throwing up as his captor suddenly grasped him with both powerful hands and set him on his feet.

  The sudden change of position left Auri reeling, and if the Felin had not held him against his body, Auri was sure he would have been on the ground, most probably puking his guts out.

  By the time his vision cleared and he could breathe normally again, he found himself ringed in by huge Felinians, all focused on him. He fought the surge of fear this brought and lifted his chin in silent defiance, glaring at them. The one who held him chuckled, a deep rumbling in his chest, then spun him around.

  Auri blanched, but he did not waver, determined to hold his own no matter where this might lead.

  The Felin who held him was massive, easily as big as Kanar, and covered in scarring from head to foot. One mark ran through his left eye and down over his cheek, pulling one side of his lips up into a permanent sneer. He might only have a single eye left, but that eye was cold and hard, with a casual cruelty in it.

  Auri managed to suppress a shudder as that gaze roamed over him with a look of pleased possession. He had the feeling the respect shown to humans under Kanar’s rule meant nothing to these rebels.

  The Felin put out one of his huge hands and took Auri’s chin, claws extended so they lay over his prisoner’s face, pricking lightly. He turned Auri’s face gently from side to side, examining him closely.

  “So this is the little human we have heard so much about.” His voice was low and rough and although he was speaking Auri’s language, it was so accented as to be difficult to understand.

  Auri did not fight the touch, nor answer. He wanted to save his strength for when it really mattered. He had no doubt what was to come.

  A growl sounded from behind him and suddenly he was pulled close to his captor and pushed to the ground, long fingers sinking into his hair and holding him there.