The Three

by Meghan O'Brien

  “I’m sure you’ve thought about this before. Just follow your instincts. Do what feels natural.”

  Anna bit her lip, afraid to voice her deepest desire. Rubbing the palm of her hand over Elin, she cupped her and gave her a gentle squeeze.

  As if sensing her fear, Elin said, “What’s wrong, baby? Tell me what you want.”

  “Will you—” Anna paused, then gathered her courage. “Will you show me how you touch yourself? So I know…so I can see how to do it?”

  Elin’s cheeks flushed light pink. “I could touch you first, Anna. Then you would see—”

  She shook her head. “No, I…I’d love to watch you touch yourself. I want to see how you make yourself feel good.”

  “All right,” Elin murmured. When Anna removed her hand, she groaned her disappointment. “You’re good at getting me nice and worked up, by the way.”

  Anna managed a nervous giggle. “Awesome.”

  Without hesitation or preamble, Elin slid her right hand down beneath the waistband of her panties. She closed her eyes as her fingers began moving beneath the material, stroking her center in practiced rhythm.

  Anna quickly decided that the situation, as it was, would never do. She hooked one finger in the leg of Elin’s panties and pulled the sodden cotton material aside, exposing swollen pink flesh and busy fingers.

  She watched Elin’s unashamed pleasuring for only a minute or two before she was overwhelmed with the need for more.

  “Elin…I need to touch you.” She pushed Elin’s hand away and dragged the panties down, leaving her bare and exposed.

  Dark brown curls between pale thighs, sparkling with evidence of Elin’s arousal. Slick pink flesh, so wet that Anna could only gape in mute shock. Pale skin flushed with desire; ragged breathing that signaled painful need.

  With a trembling hand, Anna slid her fingertips over the slippery folds. She closed her eyes and hissed in pleasure when she made contact with Elin’s wetness. Almost immediately, she opened her eyes again, unwilling to miss one instant of what was happening.

  “Yes.” Elin covered Anna’s hand with wet fingers and pressed her firmly into the slippery, swollen bundle of nerves that lay just beneath her touch. “Feel what you do to me?”

  Anna stared hard at her hand between Elin’s legs. “You’re so wet. I want…”

  “What do you want, baby?” Elin’s breasts rose and fell with her rapid breathing, her cheeks flushed with color.

  “I want to look at you.” Anna pulled her fingers away from the silky heat between Elin’s thighs, causing hooded hazel eyes to flash with unspoken need.

  “Go ahead, sweetheart.”

  Anna shifted down the sleeping bag until her face was level with the damp curls between Elin’s legs. The pale thighs parted in willing surrender, and Anna sucked in a reverent breath at the sight, then traced curious fingers over wet, swollen flesh.

  Elin gasped and her whole body jerked at the touch. Anna continued her caresses. She didn’t really know what she was doing, but if the rolling of Elin’s hips were any indication, she was doing it right. She slid her fingers up to the swollen nub where Elin had guided her before, tracing slow circles around it until she drew a breathy moan from Elin.

  “Like this?” she whispered.

  “Just like that. It feels so nice when you rub my clit like that.” Elin spread her legs farther apart and pushed her hips toward Anna’s hand. “God, Anna…you’re gonna make me come.”

  Anna whimpered and rested her face against Elin’s thigh. She’s so incredibly soft. Full of love, she redoubled her efforts and stroked Elin in a steady rhythm set by the undulation of the supple hips. She stared as she worked, disbelieving that she was causing the pleasure and wetness she could see and feel.

  “Anna, do you want to put your fingers inside of me?”

  Anna gasped and squeezed her thighs together when she felt a literal surge of wetness at the question.

  She slowed her hand to a gradual stop. “Yes.” Her head spun at the very thought. “But I—”

  “You won’t hurt me.” Elin moved Anna’s hand down until her trembling fingers were poised at her entrance.

  “Start with one, okay? I promise you won’t hurt me. I want it so bad.”

  Gathering her courage, Anna explored the tight opening with her index finger, then buried her face in Elin’s hip when the sensation grew overwhelming. She pressed forward, just barely going inside, and murmured in contentment as Elin threaded her fingers in her hair and pulled lightly.

  “Please…” Elin shifted and arched her back to draw Anna’s finger deeper inside. “Please, baby.”

  With a low groan of excitement, Anna pushed her whole finger inside. She squinted her eyes closed as she was enveloped by tight, wet heat. A shockwave of pleasure coursed through her body when Elin cried out and tugged on her hair.

  “Oh, fuck,” Elin groaned.

  Anna grew wide-eyed at the rough language, something she had never heard from Elin before. A pulse of pleasure-pain between her own legs wrenched a surprised whimper from her mouth.

  Elin grasped her wrist with a frantic hand, encouraging her to withdraw and then press inside once again.

  “Fuck, baby…God, you feel so good. Just…like that.”

  Anna picked up Elin’s motion, thrusting slowly. Elin began to writhe around on the blankets, eyes closed, a constant stream of mewling pleasure falling from her lips. “Your thumb.” She bucked her hips, meeting Anna’s thrusts with growing urgency. “On my clit.”

  Anna nodded, but first pulled her finger out of Elin, which drew a soft cry of alarm. “Don’t worry, I’m not leaving you.” She returned to Elin’s opening with two fingers, pushing deep inside. “You are so beautiful,”

  she said in a voice made low with desire. “I want to feel your release.”

  Elin planted her feet on the sleeping bag and arched her back even farther into the air. Anna stayed with her, thrusting and rubbing as her lover twisted and turned in ecstasy. When Elin cried out as she orgasmed, Anna felt it right between her legs, and joined her with a throaty moan of pleasure. She collapsed onto Elin’s chest and panted hard against impossibly soft breasts. Eyes closed, she smiled at the throbbing and pulsing that continued around her fingers and the trembling of Elin’s hands on her bare back.

  They lay in the sweet silence of that moment, Anna still buried deep between Elin’s legs. She couldn’t speak. I’m happy. If I died right now, I’d be happy.

  Eventually, Elin gripped Anna’s wrist and helped her withdraw, bringing her hand to her mouth. Anna’s face grew hot with a mixture of shock and arousal as she watched Elin’s silky tongue lick her own juices from the wet fingers, and she was certain that she was right on the verge of her first orgasm.

  “What are you doing?” she gasped.

  “Tasting myself.” Elin released Anna’s fingers with a mischievous smile and shifted to lie closer. She leaned forward and captured Anna’s lips in a slow kiss. Her mouth tasted sweet, and the new flavor made Anna’s heart pound with hunger.

  After some time, Elin pulled away and they both gasped for air. “Lie back, sweetheart.” Elin pushed on Anna’s shoulder until she lay on the sleeping bag.

  Now the center of attention, Anna stared up at Elin and took deep, calming breaths. Her nipples hardened, pebbling under Elin’s heated stare.

  “Are you nervous, baby?”

  It didn’t even occur to Anna to deny it. “Yes.”

  “Don’t be.” Elin crawled on top of Anna’s body, settling her weight between Anna’s spread legs. Anna still wore her pale yellow panties, and they were soaked. “I’m going to make you feel so good.”

  Elin bent her head to take Anna’s nipple into her mouth, before running her tongue from one breast to the other, peppering brown skin with wet kisses. “How do you feel?”

  “Like…I’m going to explode.” With a whimper, Anna thrust her hips into Elin’s naked abdomen. The feeling of her swollen clit rubbing against the cotton of
her panties left her gritting her teeth in desperation.

  “My poor girl.” Elin kissed the corner of Anna’s mouth, then began a new trail of kisses over her throat, between her breasts, down the center of her belly. She took the waistband of Anna’s panties between her teeth and gave it a gentle tug. Mouth full, she mumbled, “May I take these off?”

  Anna giggled. “Please.”

  Elin tugged the panties down with an excited growl. When Anna was bare, Elin laid the palms of her hands on her warm inner thighs and looked up at her with a loving smile. “May I see you?”

  Anna cleared her throat, nervous. “Okay.”

  “I won’t hurt you. I’m not even going to go inside of you, okay?”

  Anna relaxed. Of course she won’t hurt me. She allowed Elin to press her thighs apart with gentle hands.

  The hazel gaze dropped and took in her center, and Anna felt herself growing wetter.

  “You look delicious.” Elin shifted so that she was on her belly between Anna’s legs, her face close to where Anna throbbed with need. “Do you want me to taste you, baby?”

  Anna managed a dazed nod, barely hearing the question. At that moment, Elin could do anything to her.

  She felt beside herself with wanting, confused and aroused and straining for something she didn’t quite understand. Elin bent forward to drop a gentle kiss on her damp curls, and Anna gasped at the feeling of her lips in such an intimate place. She moaned out loud when Elin dragged her tongue up the length of her sex. Her thighs trembled, and her face flushed hot in reaction.

  When Elin covered her swollen folds with her whole mouth, Anna’s legs shook beyond her control. She felt a building pressure deep in her belly and she knew—she just knew—that this was the unmistakable pleasure Elin had told her about. She rolled her hips desperately and cried out, all shyness gone; only nonsense words and noises remained, pouring forth as if to ease the growing ache low in her belly. She threaded her fingers in Elin’s hair and held her face close, grinding against her lover’s mouth, drawing out her pleasure until she yelled out as her entire body shuddered in overwhelming release.

  When the rush of sensation finally ebbed, Anna collapsed back with a weak moan and loosened her grip on Elin’s hair. Bright eyes gazed down at her, and Elin’s lips were swollen red, shining with juices. At the look of pure love in Elin’s eyes, Anna began to cry. Ashamed, she immediately tried to roll onto her side, but Elin crawled up and pulled her into a strong embrace.

  “I’m sorry.” Anna swiped her hand across her cheek. “I don’t know…it was just so amazing. I don’t know why I’m—”

  “It’s okay. It’s just your body’s reaction to the intensity of what you experienced. It’s perfectly natural.” Elin gave her a slow kiss. “I love you, Anna,” she whispered, kissing her sweat-dampened hair. “Thank you for sharing that with me.”

  “I love you, too.” Anna grinned, then rumbled out quiet laughter.

  Elin gave her an indulgent smile. “See? The other end of the emotional spectrum.”

  Anna laughed harder, still crying. “You’re right.” She burrowed deeper into Elin’s warm embrace. “This was a perfect lazy morning.”

  Chapter Six

  Kael was sitting on the ground, butt planted in the dirt at the base of a tree. Her knees were bent, big feet set apart on the ground. Her dark blue jeans were worn slightly in the knees, and her leather boots were scuffed. She wore a dark green T-shirt that was tighter on her torso than most of her other clothing, barely hinting at the small breasts concealed beneath. She was thrumming with edgy, tense energy. Several dead rabbits lay to one side of her. Anna smiled, almost hearing Elin’s mutters. Occasionally Kael produced a couple of pheasants after a hunt, but rabbit stew was their staple food.

  Kael’s deep voice broke the stillness of the evening. “You gonna come over here and talk to me or just hide back there in the trees all night?”

  “I was coming,” Anna said, then blushed hard at the double entendre. Well, not since Elin woke me up this morning while you were out running. “I mean, I wasn’t hiding.”

  “Then move closer so I don’t have to shout, okay?”

  Anna flushed at Kael’s gentle tone. While their relationship was still nowhere near as close as what she had with Elin, she and Kael were slowly building a mutual trust. Loving Elin gave them a common purpose, and so far, their growing friendship was based on a mutual adoration of their lover. But even that was starting to change. Anna could see genuine interest in Kael’s eyes, and she herself felt a timid attraction that grew stronger every day.

  “Sit down.” Kael patted the ground at her side. “I was just catching dinner.”

  “You don’t mind the company?”

  “Of course not. We don’t spend much time together, do we?”

  “Alone? No, not much.” Tugging nervously on her earlobe, Anna risked the question that gnawed at her every time Kael made an excuse to go off somewhere rather than stay with her. “Why is that?”

  Kael gave a sheepish grin. “I guess it just feels like you’re Elin’s…friend, and I’m not the easiest person to be around. I know I can be a pain in the ass.”

  Anna chewed on her lip as she contemplated how to respond. Well, Kael is kind of a pain in the ass sometimes. Then again, I’d say he has good reason to be worried about all the bad things that can happen to us. After all, he lived through so many of them.

  “Being a pain in the ass…is part of your charm,” she chanced to say after a few moments.

  “Gee, thanks,” Kael said in a droll voice. “That makes me feel better. I guess.”

  Anna wrapped an arm awkwardly around her shoulders. “I mean that in the nicest way possible.”

  “Is this how you won Elin over?”

  Anna’s face grew hot at the teasing question. She was still anxious about talking about her love for Elin with Elin’s other lover. “Nah, I think that was a fluke. There’s nothing I could have done to win Elin over unless she already had it in her mind to take me as I am.”

  “I know exactly what you mean.” A subtle twitch of Kael’s lips signaled her gentle humor. “So…was I right?”

  Anna bit her lower lip, uncertain how to interpret the question. “About what?”

  Kael smiled. It was unforced, genuine, and one of the most thrilling things Anna had ever seen. “That it can feel good?”

  “Oh.” Anna’s face flooded with heat. “Yeah, you were right.”

  “Are you okay?”

  “I’m very okay.” Anna hesitated a moment, then asked, “Are…are you okay?”

  “Yeah.” She drew her dark eyebrows together in concern. “Didn’t Elin tell you? You didn’t have to worry about me?”

  “She did, but I just wanted to make sure.”

  “Anna…I’m happy for you. I’m happy for Elin. In a world this hard, how could I ever be upset about love?”

  “You’re a remarkable person,” Anna commented. “Someone like Elin…not everyone would be willing to share that with someone else.”

  Kael touched her arm, drawing her gaze upwards. “Well, first of all…you’re not just anyone else. Elin loves you. Besides, it’s not for me to share Elin. I don’t own her.”

  “But you love her.”

  “Yes, and so I want her to be happy. You make her happy.” Cheeks flushed, Kael toyed with the knife she was cleaning. “And Anna, I think you deserve love, very much. I want you to be happy, too.”

  Anna’s throat felt tight at the sentiment, and she cleared it before hastily changing the subject. “How did you learn to hunt like this?”

  “I had a lot of time to practice when I was on my own.”

  “After you escaped from the Eve Institute?” Anna hoped it was okay to bring that up.

  Kael nodded. “Yeah. I was alone for a long time. And I spent all my time learning how to fight, how to hunt.

  I’d choose something I wanted to master, and I would practice and practice until I had it.”

  “How long were y
ou alone before you met Elin?”

  “Six years.”

  “That’s a lot of practice.”

  “It was a very dark time. A very long time.”

  Anna did some quick mental math. “So you’re thirty years old?”

  Kael lowered her voice. “Hasn’t anyone ever told you not to ask a lady her age?”

  “Lady?” Anna giggled.

  Kael gave her a cocky grin and ran her hand over her buzzed hair, flexing muscular arms. “You’re right. On both counts. How old are you?”

  “Twenty-five.”

  “So you were five when it happened. Do you remember anything?”

  Anna closed her eyes. Mama’s dark hair. Dad’s mustache tickling my face. Marina, the most amazing big sister a five-year-old tagalong ever had. She smiled sadly. “A little bit.”

  “Elin was lucky. Only two years old—it’s one reason she’s so untouched by things. She doesn’t have to remember everyone dying.”

  Anna shuddered at some vague flashes of memory. Mama sick. Soldiers breaking into their home. People dying in the streets. Elin really is so lucky. When Kael didn’t say anything more, Anna steeled her nerve.

  There was so much she wanted to know about her companion, but she wasn’t yet certain what she could ask. “Do you—”

  Kael lifted a thick eyebrow when Anna’s words trailed off. “Just lay it on me, Anna. And sit back. Get comfortable.”

  With a shy nod, Anna scooted backwards until her bottom touched the tree, so close to Kael that their bodies touched from shoulder to hip. “Is this okay?”

  Kael exhaled and folded her arms across her stomach. “Yeah.” Her voice was uncharacteristically soft. “It’s very okay. Now ask me.”

  “Do you…enjoy living as a man?”

  Chuckling, Kael said, “I wondered when this might come up.”

  “Yeah, well, you’re so good at it. I mean, I really never even imagined up until you showed me. I had no idea.”

  “Thanks.” Kael beamed. “Don’t get me wrong. I don’t want to actually be a man. I just enjoy being masculine.”

  “Is it because…because of what happened to you?”