by R. E. Butler
Tuesday afternoon, Aaron stripped to his boxer briefs and flopped down on the bed, exhausted. He had worked two shifts on Monday, coming home long enough to get Henry from high school and meet the kids when they got off the bus. He left them with Dylan, Chase, and Hunter, who were home until their evening shifts at Kickers. He was disappointed when Sam had called him to say she was going to visit Grant at the farm for a few hours, but he also knew that he was heading back to work himself and she would just have been alone, anyway. Well, as alone as a person can be in a house full of people. The kids would have kept her company, and he trusted the males to watch over his family. But still … he was a little jealous that she was choosing to spend time with Grant alone.
He’d gotten home after midnight, woken up at five to go for his morning shift, and just now was getting home to rest. He normally worked until three, but John had come in early to relieve him, and Aaron had made sure that John, who did the schedule, knew that Aaron would no longer be working double shifts. There was a part of him that knew that part of the feeling came because just a week earlier, he could have lost Sam or his kids, and he wanted to be there for them all the time. But the larger part of him wanted to be with his family, now that it felt complete. Finding his mate in Sam had changed his definition of family to a degree. He had always considered that the pride was his family — and he did truly believe that — but within that larger family was his own smaller family who had at one time been only him and his kids. Now, he had a mate who was mated to his brother, and his brother’s two kids. His smaller family had morphed to include four more people, with two more kids calling him Dad and another male worrying about his mate. He smiled as he yawned. Life certainly had a strange way of working out.
Sleep captured him easily, and he groggily thought he should set his alarm so he would wake up before Sam got home from school, but he didn’t get further than thinking about it.
He was vaguely aware of the bed dipping slightly and his arms being moved on the bed, but his sleep addled mind couldn’t put any coherent thoughts together. Something cold covered one wrist, and he frowned slightly, trying to swim up from under the heavy sleep that still beckoned him back to dreamland. When his other wrist was covered with something cool and heavy and an audible click was heard, his eyes popped open immediately. He knew that sound. Handcuffs.
His eyes focused on Sam, who knelt next to him on the bed wearing a pink lace bra and panties, her hair loose around her shoulders.
He tilted his head back enough to see that she had handcuffed him to the bed, threading the chain connecting the cuffs between one of the thick wooden slats. He tested the cuffs, the chain rattling, and then dropped his head to look at his mate.
Her eyes were bright with desire, and the scent of her arousal spiked in the air. “You have no idea how sexy you look right now, Aaron,” she spoke with a husky voice and then bit her bottom lip.
“You look like you’ve got wicked things on your mind, baby,” he said, tugging once more. He couldn’t help it.
“That may be the understatement of the century,” she mused, pushing the covers down past his knees, swinging her leg over him, and straddling his waist. She leaned forward and ran her fingertips from his fingers, over his captured wrists, and down his arms. She swept her light touch over his collar bone and down his chest, tracing the muscles of his stomach that bunched and clenched in anticipation.
“Did I ever tell you what I nicknamed you in my mind the first time I met you?” She leaned forward again, her hair tickling his chest as she feathered kisses across his jaw to his ear.
The sweet scent of her swept over him, and he closed his eyes and breathed deeply, his cat purring loudly in his mind. “No.”
“Hot cop.” Her breath tickled his ear as she spoke, the tips of her lace-covered breasts rubbing against his chest.
He chuckled, but it came out sounding more like a happy growl. She thought he was hot? He liked that. A lot.
She sat up and tossed her hair back. She reached behind her and undid the clasp of her bra, slowly drawing the straps down her arms and then holding it close to her breasts for several moments in a teasing way before tossing it off the bed. Cupping her breasts, she thumbed the nipples, her eyes darkening as she licked her lips. He tensed, fighting the urge to demand she let him go so he could touch her. She wanted to play, and he wanted her to know that she could do whatever she wanted to him.
“You’re so beautiful,” he rasped, jealous of her hands. “Come closer.”
Biting her bottom lip, she planted her hands on either side of his arms and lowered down until her breasts were close enough to his mouth that he could feel the heat of her flushed skin and hear her heart beating wildly. He lifted his head enough to close his lips around one tight nipple and sucked gently, tugging the tender peak and flicking the tip with his tongue. Her hands slid under his arms, and her fingers raked through his hair. She curled over him with a soft moan as he sucked and licked one nipple before licking a path between her breasts and tending to the other. Her cheek came down against the side of his head and she moaned, “I love your mouth, Aaron.” He rewarded her sweet compliment by increasing the pressure of his mouth against her flesh.
She eased away from him as she scooted down, tilting his face with one hand to kiss him, sliding her tongue into his mouth. She kissed him hard, possessed him fully, and he thought the world could have ended and he wouldn’t have cared because his mate was loving him.
With a final lick across his bottom lip, she looked at him with hooded eyes before she kissed and licked down his chest, her lips and teeth nipping and marking. She traced the ridge of his erection through the cloth of his boxer briefs before hooking her fingers in the waistband and drawing them down his legs. Straddling his calves, she grasped the hard shaft with one hand and licked across the swollen head, making a soft, growling noise as she swallowed the drop of pre-come.
His eyes closed, and his mouth fell open as she sank her mouth down on his cock, taking as much as she could. She lifted and lowered her head as her hand worked in tandem, the fingers of her other hand exploring his balls. Her fingers slipped behind his balls as she sucked his cock, and she lightly rubbed the soft flesh just behind them. Groaning, he gritted his teeth and tried not to thrust his hips up.
“Sam, baby, please,” he ground out, clenching his hands into fists and struggling not to come in her mouth.
His cock slipped from her mouth with an audible sound, and she lapped at it lightly, playfully, before moving off him and slipping her panties off.
She gripped his cock with one hand as she straddled his body again, lifting high enough to position her pussy over him. Pausing, she met his eyes.
“You’re mine, Aaron?” She teased her opening with his cock, and he let out a groan at how wet she was.
“Only yours, Sam.”
She hummed in her throat as she rubbed his cock against her clit several times and then pressed it to her pussy and began to lower herself down on him. She held his gaze as he filled her, and he almost lost it, because the sweet heaven of her body was just too good.
She moved slowly at first, lifting and lowering her body on him as he fought the climax that was pushing at him. He wanted her to come first, but his hands were tied — literally — and he couldn’t do it himself.
“Touch yourself, baby, make yourself come,” he urged.
“How would you do it?” she asked, spreading the lips of her pussy with one hand and holding her finger against her swollen clit. “Like this?” She rubbed in a slow circle, holding his gaze.
“Faster,” he growled.
She rubbed her clit faster, her hips increasing the pace as he joined in, thrusting up as her pussy clenched his cock rhythmically.
“Oh,” she moaned, “so good.” Her head fell back.
“Faster, Sam. Make your body sing for me. Come. Come for me.”
“Yes, yes,” she hissed between clenched teeth as her finger moved faster and faster, her hips
grinding down into his while pleasure hazed his vision. All he could see was Sam, his glorious golden angel, as she rode him hard and touched herself, her body flushing with passion and her panting cries of pleasure filling the room.
He felt her body clench and release his cock, and he groaned, struggling to stop from falling over the edge. His whole body tensed as pleasure spiraled through him when she tossed her head back and screamed his name. He roared his release as she melted down onto him, panting heavily and trembling. Jerking as his cock emptied into her, he shuddered under the power of his climax.
She shifted slightly, leaning away from him, and he felt her hands on his cuffs as she used the key to release him. She smiled briefly and closed her eyes with a happy hum, snuggling against him.
His wrists were ringed with red where he’d jerked on the cuffs, surprised he hadn’t broken the slat when he came. Wrapping his arms around her, he kissed the top of her head.
“I love you so much, my beautiful, sweet mate. You can hold me prisoner anytime.”
“I love you, too, Aaron.”
They cuddled in silence for a long time, until Sam’s stomach rumbled, and he glanced at the clock. It was after five, and he was surprised that no one had come knocking on the door to tell them it was ready. He was glad, of course, because it would have pissed him off if they’d been interrupted.
“Come on, love, let’s put some food in your belly.” He rolled her gently onto her back and slipped off the bed.
“That was my new favorite way to wake you up.” She sat up when he handed her the bra and panties she’d tossed on the floor. “You didn’t mind, did you? I know you were tired from working so much. But Lisa came to get the kids to take them over to her house to help make apple pies, and I thought it was the perfect time for us to have some alone time.”
He tugged a pair of jeans on and stood in front of her. Cupping her face, he kissed her forehead and then both eyes, her perky nose, both cheeks, her chin and finally, her lips. “I would take making love to you over sleep any day, baby.”
“Good. And the cuffs?”
“I’ll get you your own pair to keep in the drawer.” He smiled at her feisty grin and helped her stand. She dressed in a pair of lounge pants and a long sleeved thermal top, stepping into her bunny slippers as he pulled a sweatshirt on and unlocked the bedroom door.
They walked arm in arm downstairs and into the kitchen, and found Dylan, Hunter, and Chase talking to Alek and Grant. Six pizza boxes were on the kitchen table and Grant stood and pulled a chair out for Sam, kissing her before she sat down.
Grant smiled at him and then pulled a pizza box towards them as Aaron grabbed sodas from the refrigerator. When Aaron joined them, he saw the pizza inside the remaining box was for him and Sam alone — her half with extra cheese, mushrooms, and black olives, and his half with sausage and pepperoni. He mouthed thank you to his brother, who nodded.
He and Sam joined in the current conversation, which was about mountain lions and finding mates. Apparently the night before, a young woman had flirted with the three cousins and then asked if they’d each kiss her so she could see which one was the best kisser.
Sam stopped chewing the mouthful of pizza and stared in shock at the young men. She swallowed quickly and put the slice down. “So she could pick one of you?”
Hunter nodded, his face shadowing darkly.
“What a fucking tease,” Sam growled fiercely.
Every man looked at her in surprise, not only because of her choice of words but because of the vehemence behind them. She looked around the table. “Girls like that aren’t worth a second glance. You guys are the sweetest, kindest men I’ve ever known.” She looked at Grant first and then Aaron. “Not just you two, but all of you. I’ve never known any men who care so much for the people they love. That little bitch would be lucky for you to even look her way, let alone be blessed enough to have all three of you in her life.”
She leaned back in her chair slightly and cocked her head to the side, looking at the four single males across the table from her. “You shouldn’t settle. Somewhere out there is the woman who’s meant to be your mate. I’m as certain of that as I am that I was meant to belong to Grant and Aaron.”
Chase looked at his cousins and then at Sam. “Do you really think a woman would want to have three mates?”
Aaron caught the hint of teasing in her smile when she looked at Chase and said, “I think a girl with three mates would be really, really lucky. Especially three sweethearts like you.”
Grant snarled playfully, and Sam shrieked in laughter as he hauled her onto his lap and kissed her. “You only get two, woman.” Grant growled, nipping at her neck as she went limp in his arms with a happy sigh.
Aaron picked up her bunny-slippered feet and caressed her ankles after he placed them on his lap. Sam smiled at Aaron. “Two’s plenty for me. But I’m positive there’s a woman out there who would adore having three males worship her. You just have to be patient.”
Grant kissed her ear and whispered, “We’ll worship you later.”
“I can be patient,” Dylan said, puffing up his chest and squaring his shoulders.
“You have no patience at all,” Hunter said. “I’m the patient one.”
“That’s a bald-faced lie,” Chase declared. “I’m the most patient of all of us. I have to put up with you two.”
Aaron laughed as the three continued to argue their abilities at being patient. He stood and picked up their plates after Sam said she was done eating. Or, rather, she waved her hand at him because Grant was kissing her. Aaron met his nephew Alek at the kitchen sink.
“I’ll do the dishes, Uncle Aaron,” Alek said, sounding low.
“Thanks, Alek. Is something the matter?” He turned around and leaned against the counter, watching as Grant scooted his chair back and stood with Sam in his arms, carrying her into the family room.
Dylan, Hunter, and Chase brought over their plates and slid them into the soapy water.
“I don’t have anyone,” Alek said, not looking up from the sink.
“Have anyone for what?” Chase asked, opening a soda and kicking the fridge door closed.
Alek’s face lifted, and Aaron sucked in a quick breath at the pain visible in his nephew’s blue eyes. “It’s just me. I don’t have another brother or a cousin my age. Hell, Henry is the next closest in age to me, and he’s twelve years younger than me! I don’t have anyone to share a mate with. What if I never find a mate because I’m alone? What if mountain lions are meant to only have multiple mates?”
“There was a time when you didn’t think that mountain lions should have mates,” Aaron reminded Alek gently. Alek had been against Ethan and Eryx marrying Callie and moving away. Aaron had never really understood why.
Alek put the clean plate in the drainer and picked a dirty plate out from the suds. “Two years of watching my brothers and Uncle Rhett in love with amazing women has taught me a lot. Callie loves Ethan and Eryx so much, and she loves all of us, too. Even me, when I’ve been such a prick about everything. I wonder if Uncle Rhett was an anomaly, that it only worked for him to find Lisa on his own because he left the pride behind by himself?”
The next clean plate landed in the drainer, and Aaron picked up the towel and started to dry. The three men stood nearby, concern on their faces. It appeared that no one really knew what to say to Alek, but Aaron couldn’t leave his nephew feeling so distraught. He just didn’t know what to say to alleviate his heartache.
“Maybe your mate is out there with another mate, just waiting for you to complete their trio?” Dylan said finally.
Chase nodded. “Yeah. Or maybe you’ll meet her, and then the two of you will find the other male, and it’ll just, I don’t know, click for all three of you. That would be cool. That’s how it happened with Sam, right?”
Aaron smiled. “Kind of. It wasn’t until we were all three together that we knew we were truly meant to be together, all of us. We thought that Ethan and Eryx s
haring Callie was because they were twins, but maybe mountain lions were really meant to share a bride between two or three.” Aaron looked into the family room, where Grant and Sam were talking quietly, their hands clasped on the back of the couch.
“Honestly, I can’t imagine being with Sam without Grant. It would feel like something was missing from our relationship. We balance each other well, and although it’s a bit difficult at times, we’re learning how to share her.”
Hunter said, “She’s special.”
Nodding, Aaron squeezed Alek’s shoulder. “She is. But so are Callie and Lisa, perfect for their mates in their own way. You’re young, Alek. Just because you’re alone now doesn’t mean you will be alone forever. I don’t believe any of us are destined to be alone.”
Alek blinked tears away and smiled lopsidedly. “Thanks, Uncle Aaron.”
“Anytime, Alek. You can always talk to me.”
Aaron left the young men in the kitchen to finish the dishes and joined his brother and his mate on the couch. Grant turned on the TV, and Sam snuggled between them, radiating contentment.
Lisa and Rhett returned the kids at seven, and Sam and Lisa served fresh apple pie to everyone.
Lisa said, “So have you guys set a date yet?”
Sam shook her head, taking a long drink of a tall glass of milk.
Aaron frowned, looking over her head at Grant who also frowned. They hadn’t thought any further than asking her to marry them.
“The sooner the better,” Aaron declared.
“I agree,” Grant said.
Sam chuckled. “That’s kind of vague.”
Aaron kissed her cheek. “I’d like to be married to you right now, sweetheart, because I already think of you as my wife. The wedding is just a ceremony that makes official what I feel in my heart.”
Lisa let out a soft gasp. “That’s the most romantic thing I’ve ever heard.”
“Thanks a lot,” Rhett groused, sulking into his pie.
Lisa laughed and hugged her husband, whispering something in his ear that made him grin. Whatever it was, he wasn’t pouting anymore.
