by Meg Ripley
The third time, I gained a small amount of conscious thought. I heard them talking, and slowly, the words came to me.
“No, she opened them a second ago.” Max.
“Can you hear me, River?” Carson.
Someone squeezed my hand. I couldn’t squeeze back, but I moved my fingers as much as possible.
“That’s it, honey,” Carson said. Then to Max, “She just moved her fingers.”
“Oh good.” Max’s voice was full of relief.
I tried to talk, but my mouth was too dry and my jaw ached. My whole head hurt, actually, and moving any part of it made my entire skull throb.
“It’s okay, sweetie,” Max assured me. “You’re safe, and Levi will never hurt you again.”
Never? There was only way that could’ve been possible… “I—Is…” I couldn’t get out any more than that.
“He’s dead,” Carson confirmed. “Max and I killed him. Together.”
Levi’s gone? And Max and Carson actually did something cooperatively? It was a dream come true. And then I thought maybe I was just dreaming and let my heavy eyes close again.
When I woke the final time, everything felt sharper—including the pain. I groaned before I even opened my eyes.
“Max!” Carson called out. “We’re here, River.”
I noticed that Carson had been holding one of my hands when Max took the other. I blinked several times as the room faded into view. Am I at home?
My words came out dry and scratchy—barely audible—but they heard me. “Everything hurts.”
“What time is it?” Max asked, sounding worried.
“Damn, we missed a dose. Can you grab it?”
Carson handed me a glass of water while Max dropped the tablet in my hand.
“It’s a pain reliever,” Carson explained. “You’ll feel much better.”
I took the pill, but couldn’t raise my hand to my lips.
“I got it,” Max said, placing the tablet on my tongue and Carson tipped the glass so I could drink. I swallowed hard and closed my eyes. The light hurt too badly.
“What happened?” I wheezed out.
They recounted their perspective of the story, starting at our meeting with Cooper. They’d found me in the nick of time and rescued me from Levi, and as they explained it, the words washed over me. It’s finally over. I could breathe again. I wouldn’t have to live in fear that he’d appear at any given moment.
Silent tears streamed down my face, and when I felt them dabbed from my cheeks, I smiled, opening my eyes to look at each of them. They were such a good sight to see. Thankfully, my eyes didn’t hurt as much as the pain medication continued to set in, and in a short time, I was feeling much better.
I was able to get up and use the bathroom, take a long hot shower, then get into some warm, comfortable clothing. Max and Carson had been getting a meal together for us, and it smelled heavenly as I followed the aroma to the dining room.
“As long as we don’t miss a dose like we did earlier today,” Carson said as he set the table, “you shouldn’t be in too much pain. Sorry about earlier.”
“I feel better now. That’s all that matters.”
The steak had been cooked to perfection, practically melting in my mouth, and I closed my eyes to savor the last flavorful bite. As much as I’d appreciated the meal, my body was calling out for my bed.
“Everything was delicious, but I think I need to go lie down for a while.”
Max was right there to help me up, then Carson pushed in my chair and took my plate to the sink.
“Will you both come with me?”
Without hesitation, they escorted me to my room and made sure I was comfortable before lying next to me, one on either side. They seemed to be getting along for the time being, and even if it was temporary, I’d enjoy the peace while it lasted.
I took a hand from each of them and brought them both close to my heart, the warmth filling me with comfort. “I don’t think I could possibly be happier.”
“It was scary for a while,” Carson admitted. “Before we got you to Todd and he checked you over, we didn’t know how bad it was.”
“Once we knew you were okay, we just took care of you the best we could,” Max added.
“And you did it together?” I asked.
Carson nodded. “We did.”
“We’ve learned a lot in the last few days,” Max said. “I think…”
Carson chuckled. “I know it’s hard to think it, let alone say it. But, I think we’ve found a way to get along.”
The rush of delight was so strong, it brought tears to my eyes. “Really?”
“I can’t promise it will be perfect,” Carson warned, “but we’re starting to notice our individual strengths and how we can use them together.”
Max nodded his agreement. “All week, I cleaned and Carson cooked.”
“And we noticed something really neat.” Carson beamed. “You tell her. You figured it out.”
A wide grin spread over Max’s face. “We can pick up on different…needs. Any time you seemed to be in pain, I knew it first. But Carson always knew when you were hungry. It seems like you’re feeling a lot better now; are you?”
“I am—and grateful for having you both here. This is everything I could ever want. I didn’t think it would be possible. But if it is…it’s a complete dream.”
Max rubbed my leg while Carson stroked my arm and brushed the hair back from my face. Every touch sent a shiver through me; I’d been wanting them both for so long, and now, there they were, my two mates. That tension that had been building all along was now almost unbearable. I thought if the wind blew just right, it might have been enough to send me over the edge—I was that hungry for them.
I closed my eyes and let out a soft moan. “I can’t tell you how incredible it feels to have you both touching me.”
That was the only cue they needed. Brushing my inner thighs with the tips of his fingers, Max moved his hand closer to my core while Carson cupped my breast through my shirt, gently rolling my nipple between his fingers. My back lifted off the bed involuntarily at the sensation, but the motion sent slight pain through me as well. I’d have to remember to move carefully, but I felt ready to burst at the slightest touch.
Advancing his hand further north, Max teased me over my clothing. While cursing the fabric that came between us, Carson seemed to read my mind, sliding his hand beneath my shirt to caress my bare breast.
I grabbed the hem of my shirt and attempted to pull it over my head, but my ribs hurt too much. As Carson carefully tugged it off for me, I told them both to do the same.
They glanced at each other, then each removed his shirt.
“My God,” I breathed. “I did die after all. This is pure heaven.”
Carson grinned and leaned over, pressing his soft lips to mine. Continuing his ministrations, Max moved his other hand up to fondle my breast as Carson teased the nipple of the other.
Max tugged on my sweatpants and I wiggled and kicked to help him get them off. Grazing my panties with his fingers, he drove me wild as he dipped below their trim to work me, plunging his thick fingers into my entrance.
My hand found its way to Carson’s solid chest, then down to his waist, and I tugged at his belt buckle. He knew what I craved and was more than happy to oblige, deftly unfastening his jeans and pushing them to the floor, along with his boxers. Hungrily reaching for him, my hand easily found his impressive length, already rock hard, and he moaned as I stroked him.
My panties came off next, and as Max pushed my legs apart, and I quivered with anticipation. Feeling his tongue on me, wet and warm, flicking over my clit, sending pulses of pleasure through me, had my hips bucking involuntarily, my eyes rolling back at the intense feeling of it all. Is sex going to be full of powerful shared fated mate emotions, too?
He slipped two fingers inside, pumping against my G-spot as his tongue eagerly flicked around my pleasure pearl, sending me to the brink in no time. The orgasm crashed
through my entire body, tensing with the sensation before relaxing, leaving me soaked in intense pleasure.
“Holy shit,” I sighed, trying to regain my breath.
Max’s mouth pulled into a devilish smile. “We’re just getting started, darling.”
I met Carson’s eyes, motioning with my finger for him to come closer, and readily guided his member into my mouth, cupping his tight balls with one hand while my other was tangled in Max’s hair.
As I slid my lips over Carson’s length, flicking my tongue over his tip, Max continued to glide his tongue over my clit and along my delicate folds. I looked first at Carson, holding his gaze and watching the pleasure play out in his features, then down to Max, who peered back up at me with a determined look, and let my eyes close briefly, my inner eagle aglow with the deep satisfaction of our union.
When Max felt me tighten around his fingers once more, he knew I was getting close and stood to pull off his pants, his thick erection standing proudly before him. I noticed he wasn’t quite as long as Carson, but he more than made up for that with his girth. I leaned back from Carson for a moment and bit my lip in anticipation as Max knelt in front of me, positioning himself at my opening, and slowly entered me. I cried out in pleasure, a wave rushing over me as he thrusted further with his hips. His width felt amazing, and even though he barely moved at times out of concern for me, I was so full of him that any movement at all felt incredibly intense. He fit me so tightly, and by the look in his eyes, I could tell he was having a hard time holding himself back.
As I had the thought, I tried to enter his mind and sense what he was feeling. I reached out to him mentally, like I did when I thought to my clan, and the pleasure I’d sensed from him was exponentially more—because it had fused with my own. He seemed to sense it too and pounded into me faster and harder, my walls flexing along his shaft, and we both let out strangled cries as we came in unison.
My head spun so fast, I had to close my eyes for a moment to reorient myself.
“What did you do?” Max asked, gasping for breath as he laid down beside me.
“I wanted to see how it felt for you, and when I did, it just sent me over the edge.”
“Damn.” Max ran his hand through his sweat-drenched hair. “When you did that, it was like you’d opened some kind of intense cosmic connection.” He shook his head and closed his eyes.
I looked to Carson and put my hand to his cheek; I didn’t want him to feel left out. “I can’t wait until you feel it, too.” A smile danced across my face and I locked my lips with his, engaging him in a passionate kiss.
“Do you need some time?” he murmured against my lips.
“Not a second.” It was then that I realized I hadn’t felt sore whatsoever. Maybe it was the pain medication; perhaps it was the endorphins. All I knew was the strong desire I felt to fulfill my fantasy with Carson; to complete the circle that fate had drawn for me.
I laid back and watched them change positions, and Carson moved into place over me, softly planting kisses along the column of my throat, then across my collarbone before lightly teasing my nipples with his teeth.
I motioned for Max to come closer and met his hungry lips with mine, enjoying the way he liked to gently nip at my tongue and be playful when we kissed. But when Carson slid deep inside me with one sudden thrust, I gasped, breaking the kiss.
He pulled back, teasing my entrance before plunging deep again. Seeming to know exactly where my most sensitive spots were hidden, he swiveled his hips as he slipped in deeper, taking note of where I reacted the most. When he slid in and passed right over one spot in particular, I drew in a quick breath.
He pulled back, but then returned to the area, pounding me harder and harder. My head spun, and before I knew what was happening, tiny stars burst in my vision as yet another orgasm rocked through my body. I could feel his cock throbbing inside me, and after several more thrusts, he hit his peak, moaning his release before he went still.
“Carson,” I breathed. “I’m so sorry.”
He withdrew slowly and looked at me with concerned eyes. “For what?”
“I didn’t get to reach out to your mind. It just hit me so fast. That one spot…”
He crawled up beside me on the bed and kissed my shoulder. “You liked that, huh?”
“You’ll have to remember that spot.”
I turned to Max and lingered my gaze as I smiled at him, then to Carson. “I don’t think I’m done,” I admitted. “Are you?”
“Not a chance.” Max slid into place beside me, already rock-hard.
“I only need a second,” Carson said, softly kissing the back of my neck.
My head was already swimming, and I carefully turned over to face Carson. “Good.”
He brought my leg over his and slid inside me slowly. I let out a long, low moan as he moved in and out, making the pleasure deliciously tortuous. He seemed methodical about it, I’d noticed; as if he had a plan he was following out.
Max, now behind me, was a strong presence in my soul. I could feel him sense my desire. Now that I’d felt his emotions once, the connection between us had strengthened even more. I reached back to feel him and my hand closed around his hard shaft. As I stroked him, the wave of euphoria that rolled off him crashed over me. It was as if our love had become a tangible thing that made us each stronger, and I knew I needed this same connection with Carson.
We’d become tangled in each other, and I felt wrapped in them wholly. We moved in sync, our three bodies undulating as if our movements had been choreographed.
As if we’d been made for this.
In my mind, I reached out to Carson to sense his pleasure, and a flood of intensity rushed through me—except that time, I’d felt it from Max, too. Enraptured by the exquisite passion of it all, I cried out loudly, my walls pulsing, my extremities alight, as I came harder than I ever had before—in unison, with them both.
I couldn’t move. I felt spent, but in the best way possible. Like I’d given my all and had been deeply satisfied in the process. “That was insane.”
“Mind-bending,” Carson added.
Max smiled. “Beautiful.”
They both snuggled in, one on either side of me, and pulled the covers up over us. We cuddled for a long time before I drifted off to sleep, the most content and safe I’d ever felt in my life.
23
River
Months had passed since our first night together as shared fated mates—and since then, our bond had grown stronger every day. The schedule that Carson had suggested so long ago had never come to pass. Coming together to save me from Levi had brought Max and Carson—and therefore, all three of us—closer together. They’d stopped fighting. Mostly. They still bickered over baseball and football, but I’d take it.
Just thinking about that first night brought a smile to my face. How magical it had been; how much I’d surrendered myself to every second, thinking it was too good to be true and that it would never happen again. But I’d been blissfully wrong. It had happened again the following night, and then, the next. Since then, I’d also slept with Carson and Max separately, and they hadn’t even blinked over it. That’s when I knew they were really giving this a shot.
It did take some time for me to heal from Levi, both physically and emotionally. But the guys were a huge help in that department, always showering me with love and affection while giving me all the space and freedom I’d needed. There was certainly a benefit to having the two of them paying attention to me all the time; I never lacked for encouragement or compliments.
The three of us had been hanging out so much, we were practically living together. When I’d had the thought that it would be so much easier if we actually did, I knew something had shifted in my human consciousness as well. My fear of commitment had been fading; finally, my mind and eagle were beginning to act harmoniously, and I’d never felt more at peace.
The hardest part had been trying to get others to understand our relationship. The bear clan
was easy—they all sensed what Max and Carson felt and understood it. They’d been the ones who convinced us we were shared fated mates, after all.
None of our parents had been thrilled, though, and only about half our collective siblings had been supportive. I got it. I knew what we looked like from the outside. A floozy with two men? A non-traditional relationship? A polygamous tragedy? Whatever you wanted to call us, our connection was so strong and undeniable that even the biggest resistors had wavered once they’d spent time with us.
My family came around first, probably because they saw I was treated like royalty. Max’s family had asked several times if he was gay, and Carson’s—or at least his mom and grandmother—were concerned it would mean no grandchildren, so we had to assure both that kids were in our future and the guys didn’t cross swords, as they say.
We’d been through a lot together, which made that particular day even sweeter: when we would be joined together in a commitment ceremony.
There was no way to have a legal wedding with two grooms, and I refused to give that title to one of them and not the other, as many poly relationships did. We wouldn’t be legally married, but it didn’t matter. Our love was what mattered.
“Ready?” my maid of honor, Kylie, asked. She held a bunch of flowers and looked beautiful in her soft yellow dress.
“I am.” I drew in a long breath and blew it out.
The music that was our cue started. We had Max’s niece scattering fallen yellow cottonwood leaves. Then Carson’s niece, who was older, started the bridesmaid procession as the junior bridesmaid. Besides Kylie, I had Renee, a friend from my eagle clan, and Vanessa, Quinton’s wife, who I’d gotten close to recently. She and I had a lot to talk about since Quinton also experienced PTSD.
I watched my friends walk down the aisle and stood alone at the back with a full view of everything in front of me. We’d gone for a fall theme since watching the leaves change color was one of my favorite sights. I loved flying high in the fall and seeing the rainbows down below me. All the decorations and flowers were done up in shades of yellows, oranges, reds, and golds. My tattoo fit perfectly, so I’d decided to go with a sleeveless dress to show it off. I’d added some glitter for effect for the day.
