by Lynn Lorenz
Chapter Fifteen
Of course, I had no way to prove he was Ansel’s son. Still, it gave me comfort that somehow, by the grace of the gods, Joss had come to me to care for.
The next day, I took him into Marden and bought him some new clothes and boots. Whether right or wrong, I thought of him as mine, and he would have the benefit of all I could give him.
Joss hung back as I picked out his new breeches and shirts, but when we got to the bootmaker’s he rushed forward to a pair he’d spotted. Tall and black, they looked very much like mine. The maker took his measurements and told me they’d be finished in a few days. Joss was disappointed he wouldn’t get them right away, but I bought him a pair of low shoes, and he left the shop happy.
I found the barber’s stall and sat Joss down on the stool.
“A shave?” The man laughed. Joss frowned.
“Not yet. But he needs his hair cut,” I replied.
I leaned against the wall and watched as the barber combed and trimmed Joss’s thick hair. Now, at least, it was even all the way around.
He looked a proper boy and I had to keep back a laugh to see him walking proudly down the road back to the keep, his hand clasped in mine. He held my hand now everywhere we went. It seemed, just as I’d adopted him, he’d adopted me. I don’t know which of us needed it more, he or I, but I know that he filled a place in my heart and life that had been empty. I hoped I had done the same for him.
In the evening, after dinner, I decided to teach him to write and read. He was eager and learned quickly. Logan spotted us and sat down.
“Reading and writing?” He looked at me, his eyebrow raised.
“Aye. Why not?” I rankled at the thought that Logan might think the boy not worth the trouble.
“I agree. Everyone should know how to read and write, not just the nobility.”
Our eyes met, and I could see that we would finish this discussion later tonight. He gave me a quick press of his leg under the table and left us.
Joss gave me a proud smile, then we bent our heads and got back to our work.
•●•
That night, Logan let me into his room and greeted me naked. It was a pleasant surprise, and I wasted no time in letting my hands touch and my tongue taste his skin. We kissed as we moved to the bed, he pulling my clothes off, despite my hands roving over his body.
Once at his bed, we fell onto it, touching, kissing, and licking. I rolled over onto him and kissed him.
“I noticed Joss’s new clothes.” Logan smiled.
“He’s my boy, and I’ll dress him as I see fit,” I growled, and rolled off.
“I meant nothing, Drake.” He smiled and I softened. “In truth, I’m glad you’ve taken to him so well and him to you.”
I laughed. “Were you the one who sent him to me that first day?”
“Aye. He needed someone. It seems you needed him also.”
“Thank you.” I kissed him. “I needed him more than you know.”
“Tomas is my life. I understand what a son means to a man.”
“I want Joss to be mine. My son.” I wanted Logan to understand. “I love the boy.”
“I can see it. I believe the feeling is returned.” He sat back, his brow furrowed. “I have an idea that may solve several problems.”
“Problems?”
“Aye. Our problem of sleeping together. I don’t want to wake without you, Drake. I want you in my bed, to take when I want.” He grinned at me and his hand stroked my cock.
“I want that too, but even if you are duke, being found together would not be a good thing.” I shook my head. “It’s too dangerous.”
“That is why solving the second problem will solve ours.”
“Second?”
“Tomas. He’s frightened to sleep alone. I’d just moved him out of my room before you arrived, and more nights than not, he’s come to my room crying and scared.”
“Joss, too, fears to sleep alone. He’s slept for years amongst the servants in the kitchen.” I nodded.
“What if we moved the boys in together? They could share a room and not be alone.”
“That’s a good idea. They’ve become fast friends of late, but how does that solve our problem?” I leaned over to kiss him, then pulled back.
“They move into the room across the hall and you move into Tomas’s room.”
I laughed at the simplicity of the plan. “So, we merely shift rooms, and we share a common door, to come and go as we please.”
“Do you think anyone will guess?”
“No, not if we do it around the boys, but will Tomas give up his easy access to you?”
“Perhaps not. I’ll speak with him tomorrow about it.”
“Let me know and then I’ll speak with Joss.”
“It’s settled then. Once we move the boys together, you can shift your room.”
“Agreed. Now, for tonight, I must return to my room, you understand.”
“I understand, but I don’t like it.”
He pulled me to him, and we made slow love for hours that night, until, exhausted, I dressed, left him in his bed, and returned to my room.
Joss lay asleep on the pallet. He’d be happy to have a bed of his own and to share his room, but I worried that Tomas wouldn’t like the arrangements.
•●•
Tomas took the idea of staying with Joss well. He was excited about sharing his room and having a playmate at the ready. Logan made him swear to keep silent about it until I spoke with Joss.
I approached Joss that afternoon, when the sword lesson ended and Tomas left for a rest.
“Joss, walk with me.” I held out my hand, and he took it. We walked toward the barracks where I would be needed in a short time. “Duke Logan and I were thinking you could help us out with a problem. Tomas is young and wakes in the night, afraid of the dark and being alone. Would you like to share a room with him?”
He looked up at me and frowned. My heart sank.
“As his servant?”
“No, as his friend. You would still be my page.” I shook my head. He smiled, then frowned again in thought.
“Would I still have my pallet?”
Did he want it or not, I wondered. I took a chance. “No, you’d have a proper bed, just like Tomas.”
His eyes grew wide. “A real bed? Like yours?”
“Well, not as big, but aye, a real bed.”
“Would you be there, too?” He looked concerned.
“No, I would have a new room, next to the duke. It’s just across the hall from where you and Tomas would sleep.”
He thought for a moment as we walked. “Can Brute stay with me?”
Clearly, he’d become attached to more than just me. His feelings for the big dog had grown from fear to companionship to love. The two of them were to be found everywhere, and them with me.
“Of course. Do you think Tomas will like having Brute sleep in the room?”
“Aye. Tomas likes Brute.” He nodded.
It was settled. We would all shift rooms. I wondered if Logan and I had taken advantage of our boys for our own ends. Then, I thought, if Logan had married, would his new wife have kept Tomas in that room, or moved him out? What if she’d had a new baby?
But, I wasn’t married to Logan. I was merely his lover. It wasn’t the first time I’d wondered what my place in his life and in his family would be. But with Joss, I’d created my own little family.
Were Logan and I creating a new family? Two fathers and two sons? I loved Logan and he loved me, and we both loved our boys. My own mother hadn’t loved me enough to stand by me, and yet we were called “family.” It didn’t make sense to me.
A family should be bound together by love, not just blood, I thought.
That was certainly true of our odd little family.
•●•
The move was accomplished with little notice. The beds were moved, including what things Tomas had, and they were settled. My bed was shifted into the adjoining roo
m, along with my desk and chair, trunk and table.
So, Logan and I had access to each other, Joss and Tomas had each other, and Brute had his two boys to look after, when the great dog wasn’t asleep.
We spent the first week in the new arrangements. At night, Logan and I would go in together and say good night to our boys, tuck them in, and put out the light. We left the door to the hall opened, in case they needed to come to us. Neither Tomas nor Joss woke during the night. There had been no tears and no fears.
Logan and I spent the nights together, making love and holding each other until the morn.
•●•
Preparations were underway to build the first station at a low crossing of the river where several raiding parties had come across. I’d be going with Peter and the men I’d selected to staff the station, find local men, and stand guard over the work until it was defendable.
As for the relay stations, they went easier than any of us had expected. Isaac, the master of horses, traveled the road himself and found three local farmers more than willing to host the horses, feed and tend them, for a steady fee, saving Marden the cost of building the stables and enclosures.
After his return, Isaac had sent three of his grooms leading three horses for each station. They would stay until the local lads were trained to their satisfaction. Now, our messenger relay stations were in place, opening a faster line of communications between the far counties and the castle at Marden.
Late in the afternoon, I soaked in a tub after a particularly rough training session. I’d sent Joss off to play with Tomas. My muscles ached, and I had received more bruises than I’d had in a while. The crisp fall weather made it almost too cool to bathe, but the water was more than warm enough for me.
I had my eyes closed and my head back when I heard the soft clearing of a throat. My eyes opened and I looked up at Peter. I’d been too relaxed, and he’d come up on me without my knowing. Good for him. Bad for me. I’d been careless and would have to be more aware.
“Did you need something?” I asked, sounding gruff, but in truth, I felt more than a little embarrassed.
Peter stood there, staring at my body. Most of it was submerged but still clearly visible. I recognized the hungry look in his eyes. He wet his lips and seemed at a loss for words.
“Does my body please you?” I whispered, and chuckled.
His breathing deepened, but he shook his head. “I’m married.”
“I know. To the most beautiful woman in the world, if I remember right.”
“I love her.” He frowned; yet still he stood and stared at me.
I gave my cock a slow caress, bringing it hard with a touch. Peter sucked in his breath, his eyes locked on my hand. I continued to stroke as he watched. His own cock had stirred beneath his laces; its length grew, until he couldn’t deny his arousal.
“Come to my room tonight, Peter. At midnight. We’ll discuss the stations.” I spoke in a normal tone. “You’re dismissed.” I waved at him with my free hand, lay back against the tub, and closed my eyes.
This time, I listened to his tread on the stones as Peter moved off, learning the cadence of his walk. Tonight would be interesting. Logan would be amused.
Peter. I never thought he would have found me of any interest. Logan, perhaps. He was a handsome man; who wouldn’t want him? But me? I shook my head, climbed out of the tub, and dried off.
After dressing, I headed up to Logan’s room to speak with him. It seemed we had much to discuss.
I rapped on his door and he opened it.
“Can I speak with you, Logan?”
“Of course. Come in.”
I stepped inside, strode to the chair, and sat. Logan stood with his arms folded, his eyebrow cocked upward, and waited for me to speak.
“I saw Peter today.”
“You see Peter every day, Drake.”
“Aye, but today, I was soaking in a tub and he was watching.” My eyebrow matched his.
“Indeed.” Logan sat on the bed. “He wants you?” He frowned, and then looked away. “Do you want him?”
From the pain in his eyes, I knew Logan had been hurt.
“I love you, Logan. No one can change that.”
His eyes met mine and he let out his breath. “I love you also, but you didn’t answer my question. Do you want him?”
“Do we want him?” I smiled. Logan’s soft gasp and his eyes widening told me much.
“Oh, we.” He smiled. “Aye, I think we want him, don’t you?”
“I asked him to come to my room tonight at midnight.”
“And you think I should be there also?”
“I think Peter might enjoy the attentions of two men, my duke.” I stood and pulled Logan into my arms. “Think of it.”
Logan closed his eyes and gave a soft groan. “Gods, it makes me hard just thinking about it.”
I kissed him, my tongue parting his lips and tasting him. “Remember, you are mine, no other’s. He can’t have you.”
“Can I have him?” He grinned.
“If he’ll have you.” I shrugged. Peter would most likely prefer Logan.
“Will you fuck him?” Logan leaned against me, his rod hard and his breath heavy.
“If he’ll have me.”
“I’m sure between the two of us, we could convince him, don’t you?”
“We may have to show him how it’s done.”
“Will it be safe? What if he changes his mind?” Logan frowned.
“We’ll be careful and take it slow.”
“It will be hard to wait until midnight.” He looked into my eyes, his hunger burning.
“Why wait?” I dropped to my knees as he untied his strings.
I took him in my mouth until he spilled, crying out my name.
Chapter Sixteen
My cock was down Logan’s throat, his hands held my hips, his fingers pressing into the hard muscles of my ass, as his tongue drove me to my finish. Logan sat on the bed, his shirt off, his laces loosened, as I kneeled in front of him, supporting myself against the wall. Gods, I loved the way his tongue felt, warm and soft, yet strong and so wonderfully wet, bathing my rod to let it slip in and out of his mouth.
I braced myself as my back arched into him, and dropped one hand to his head, to twine my fingers in his long hair. The feel of it was like the finest silk to my touch, and I held him as I made my final thrust.
“Oh Gods, Logan!” I spilled, pumping into his mouth as he swallowed.
At last, my cock slipped from his mouth with a soft pop, and I fell back. “My duke, you drain me.”
“I love the way you taste, Drake.” He smacked his lips, a satisfied look on his face.
He stretched out next to me and we kissed. I could taste the mixture of the salty remnants of my cream mixed with the sweet taste of his mouth. I deepened the kiss and pulled on his lip with my teeth.
My kiss left his mouth, to travel down his neck to his shoulder.
“You’re mine, Logan.” I took his shoulder into my mouth and bit him, sucking hard, and placed a lover’s mark on his skin.
“Gods, I’m yours,” he moaned. “I love you.” His hand ran through my hair in a gentle pull as he rolled me over. Stretching out on top of me, he laved my scar.
He knew how that made me hard, the bastard.
“Oh no, I’ll not have enough for our guest tonight.” I pulled away from him, laughing and shaking my head.
He grinned at me. “You always have enough for me, my love.”
“For you, aye.” I pulled him to me, unable to resist him. We kissed, then lay in a doze until there was a knock at the door.
I sat up, pulled on my breeches, but left the strings undone. Logan stood, went to the chair, and fell into it, one leg hooked over the arm, the other stretched off to the side. I gazed at him before I opened the door, and felt my cock jerk. He aroused me just sitting there, his long hair falling over his bare chest, and the hard points of his pink nipples tempting me.
I opened the d
oor. Peter stood in the hall. His eyes darted back to the stairs and then to me.
“Come in, Peter.” I let him in.
He entered the room and froze. “What’s he doing here?” He jerked his head at Logan.
“Whatever you’ll let me,” Logan answered, as a slow, hungry grin spread over his face. I wanted to take my duke right then, right there, Peter be damned.
Peter looked at me, but I’d moved up behind him. I put my hands on his shoulders, and used my thumbs to rub his tight muscles. He gasped softly, but didn’t pull away. I reached down and pulled his shirt out of his breeches and over his head. His arms rose without hesitation, and I could feel the deepening of his breathing.
Logan sat in the chair, watching us, his green eyes darkening as they did when he became aroused. I could see the beginnings of his cock stand as it pushed against his breeches.
My hands slid from Peter’s neck to his shoulder, then down his arms, to mesh with his fingers, then brought it to my lips and placed his first finger in my mouth. Then, I moved on to each of his fingers, sucking them in turn. Peter moaned softly.
I dropped his hand and stroked his shoulder, then lowered my lips to his skin. My kisses traveled up the delicious muscles of his shoulders, along the ropes of his neck, to end at his ear. When I took his ear between my teeth and tugged gently, he gasped and began to rub his cock.
“Let me do that for you, Peter,” I whispered. My right hand reached around to find his length and rub it, while my other hand discovered his nipple, already a small hard point.
“Gods’ tears!” His head fell to the side as my tongue laved his neck and jaw. I could taste his sweat, and smell his male musk. I wondered if he’d given himself a quick release by hand before he’d come, or perhaps he’d found release elsewhere.
“Did you fuck your wife before you came to me?”
A short intake of breath gave him away. “Aye.”
“I’ll just wager you rode her hard.” I put my tongue in his ear and he moaned.
“She rode astride me till I spilled,” he groaned.
Logan stood and came toward us. My hands petted and teased Peter’s body as my lips and tongue moved over his skin. Logan stopped a short distance from him.
