by Mari Byrne
Setting her coffee cup on the hall table, she opened the front door and reached out to the wall where her paper rack hung and grabbed the thick issue. She was just about to go back inside when she spotted a man standing at the end of the hall.
He looked straight at her and doffed his tan Hamburg. This brought her attention to the fact he was also wearing a long tan trench coat. His pants had creases that would put June Cleaver to shame, and the shine on his shoes was probably bright enough to see her reflection.
She nodded her head to return the greeting and the man began to walk down the hall toward her. Suddenly a hand came down on her shoulder and she jumped, shaken.
Turning around, she found Kristain next to her with Mitch just behind him.
Kristain darted his head out the door looking left, then right, and stiffened visibly on seeing a man making his way toward Stephanie’s door. Putting himself in front of Stephanie, he pushed her backward toward Mitch.
“Hey!” Stephanie cried out.
Mitch tucked her into his body and wrapped his arms protectively around her. Covered both in front and back, it seemed the two men were trying to shelter her. From what, she hadn’t a clue.
Mitch spoke to his brother through their link. What is the danger, brother?
Kristain shook his head keeping it turned down the hallway. The man had bolted so quickly after seeing him it was all Kristain could do not to give chase.
Forgive me. Kristain sounded embarrassed. I lost my head for a moment when I saw yet another man inspecting what is mi…ours.
Mitch relaxed the hold he had on Stephanie a fraction and waited.
It didn’t take long.
Stephanie turned in his arms and thumped Mitch on his chest.
“What was that all about?” She looked at him with a mixture of wariness and suspicion. Turning, she gave Kristain a push, sending him farther out into the hallway.
“And just what is the matter with you?” She gave him the same look she had given his brother.
Kristain shrugged and gave her a look that translated into, ‘search me’.
Whirling, she stared into Mitch’s eyes and waited.
Mitch gave her a crooked grin and started to caress her arm. She looked down at his hand and back up to him.
“What? Not going to say anything, only try to soothe me?” She waited with barely held impatience.
“No. I would never treat you as if you had no brain.” He gave a slight nod of his head. “Kristain seems to have gotten a little green-eyed when he noticed the man in the hall.”
Stephanie stood frowning at Mitch. Jealous? Kristain had acted as if she were in mortal danger.
She continued to look at Mitch for a moment longer, and turned as Kristain began easing the door closed. As soon as it was shut and locked, he turned back to Stephanie and met her scrutiny head on. She wanted to ask. No, she needed to ask.
“Is that true?”
Kristain nodded sheepishly.
Stephanie blew out her breath, not realizing she’d been holding it and felt her bristling attitude dissolve. Shaking her head, and more than a tad baffled at the thought that this walking ad for Playgirl was jealous, she walked around Mitch into the living room and set the paper on the coffee table.
She remembered her cup of coffee and grimaced. Oh, leave it. You can get another one when you sort this out. Turning back to confront both men, she found they had come up right behind her.
Stifling a shriek, she closed her eyes.
“Sit.” She ordered, pointing to the couch next to them. When she opened her eyes, she found them lounging on the sofa as if they had been posing for a centerfold shot. All that the scene needed to complete the image was for them to be naked.
Swallowing the instant lust climbing up her throat and threatening to choke her, she took a deep breath.
“Listen. I am extremely flattered you would be jealous of another man, baffled, but flattered.” She took another breath, “but you don’t own me.”
There was a heavy silence.
“Did you hear me?” Again, she waited. Surely one of them would speak up and say she was absolutely correct any minute now.
Still, the silence grew, with the men turning to look at each other.
Very good, brother, Mitch said inside of Kristain’s mind, his every word dripping with sarcasm. You seemed to have forced our hand rather soon.
I want to say I am sorry Mitch, but the truth is, I am not.
Kristain’s reply was apologetic, but buried deep within his tone and words, Mitch heard the gladness. It has been almost three days, and it is unheard of not to tell your wife, he paused slightly, that she is your wife.
Stephanie watched the two of them sitting on the couch staring into each other’s eyes. If she didn’t know better, she would think they were communicating. And hadn’t she thought before that —
Mitch interrupted her train of thought by turning toward her and speaking.
“Stephanie,” he looked at her with an intense gaze. “Please,” he patted the couch where they were making room for her. “Come sit with us.”
Stephanie now eyed them with worry. She wanted to sit with them, but by Mitch’s tone of voice, what he had to say sounded—ominous.
“I’ll sit right here, thank you.” She said as she sat across from them in her love seat.
“What?” She asked warily.
How much do we tell her? Mitch asked Kristain as he tried to bring some order to what he would and wouldn’t tell her right now.
Tell her the truth. Kristain admonished. Out of all the information we have to impart to her, it will be the easiest thing for her to understand at the moment. Look, Mitch, eventually, she has to know everything. Kristain spoke to his brother and continued to keep eye contact with Stephanie as he went on. Just tell her she’s married to us now, and we are her husbands. The rest can wait. Mitch heard the implied for now.
Reaching across the coffee table, Mitch and Kristain both took one of her hands, and told her the truth.
“Stephanie.”
She looked from one to the other warily. “Yes?”
“Kristain was jealous, because—” Mitch broke off as Kristain jumped in.
“—we are your—”
“—husbands.”
They both said in unison.
Stephanie gaped at them, her mind a vast black void. Had they just said—no, she thought. It couldn’t have been what they—Married? Husband—?
No. Husbands!
She began to shake. It started in her belly and she made a strange sound. It came out as an eeep. The shaking grew until she pulled her hands away, tightened her arms around herself and doubled over.
Mitch and Kristain looked at each other in concern. Getting up together, they went around on either side of Stephanie to kneel at her feet. She shook so bad they both felt the love seat shaking under her.
Mitch reached out to put his arms around her, and Kristain did likewise from the other side.
She is overwhelmed brother, Kristain said seriously.
We will comfort her, then see to her needs. She will not feel so out of control once we… Mitch’s voice trailed off as Stephanie raised her head.
After a much needed deep breath, Stephanie came out of her crouch roaring with laughter. Tears streamed down her face as she tried to suck in air.
Both men sat back with expressions of relief, mixed with exasperation.
I somehow get the impression she isn’t taking us seriously. The sarcasm was deep in Mitch’s voice as he watched their wife laugh uproariously.
It took her a few moments to get herself under control; even then, she still felt stray chuckles struggling to escape.
Kristain opened his mouth to assure her they were indeed men and wife. Joined through the act of consummation. And even now, if they wished it, she could be carrying their children. The condoms had been for her sake, not theirs. It was easy enough to forgo them.
She didn’t give him a chance.
> Doing her best not to burst into even more laughter, Stephanie tried to grasp what they had just said.
“You…you—” Yes, deep breath, she said to herself. “You said…you were my—” She couldn’t help it, she laughed as she blurted it out, “…both of you…my…Oh God!…Husbands!”
Every time Stephanie looked at either of the brothers, a fresh spate of laughter would erupt from her causing her to howl anew.
It took a few moments, but when her laughter finally died down to a few chuckles, she looked back and forth between the two and shook her head. Neither looked amused. The closer she looked, the more she noticed neither one was laughing either. They had sat through her howling laughter and said nothing. They hadn’t joined in. Come to think of it, they hadn’t even tried to deny it.
“I realize you find this—” Kristain looked toward Mitch for help.
“Hilarious?” Mitch made it a question.
Kristain glared at Mitch.
Mitch’s eyebrow rose. “Really, dear brother. You must know to attempt that would be impossible.”
Kristain glared at him, then back to Stephanie.
“As I was saying. You seem to be under the impression we are joking.”
Stephanie watched the two men, eyes wide in wonder, while the two appeared to speak with each other without saying a word.
“Well, you must admit it is a rather comical statement.” She smiled gently at him. “I mean come on. How many women have you met who have more than one husband?” She shook her head and let a small chuckle escape. “I don’t think I know of a woman who would mind, but I sure know too many men who would be appalled at the idea.”
She looked at Mitch. “Do you two do this often?”
He gave her a questioning look.
“You know,” she gestured between him and Kristain. “Put on this…this…well, play this practical joke on other women?”
Mitch shook his head.
“No. You are the first woman we have ever chosen as our wife.” He looked at Kristain, then turned back to Stephanie and saw a questioning look in her eyes.
“What do you mean by ’chosen’, exactly?”
Kristain picked up the conversation. “In our world, it is custom to choose a wife.”
She squinted her eyes at Kristain. “Did you just say ‘in our world’?”
Kristain nodded. “Yes. In our world.”
“But…but…but—” Her mind whirled. What had she gotten into with these two? Her hand flew to her mouth to hold back her gasp. Pulling her hand away just as quickly, she blurted out.
“Are you two—”
She couldn’t bring herself to ask. She groaned as she put her head in her hands. It couldn’t be. She had—she brought her head up to really look at the two of them. They looked sane enough.
“Are we what?” Came from Mitch.
She turned to him to find a set look on his face.
“What?” Her mind was going in too many directions at one time.
“I asked, are we what?”
Stephanie played the question in her head hoping to bring back the obvious question she had been asking. Finally remembering, she blurted it out so she wouldn’t lose her nerve.
“Are either of you on psychiatric medication?”
Kristain tilted his head sideways and looked at her questioningly.
Mitch had no trouble deciphering what she meant. “She wants to know if we’re loony. Do we belong in an asylum?”
Kristain frowned, then sighed heavily. He shook his head and turned back to Stephanie. “Really, beloved. We are married.” He stroked a hand over her forearm.
She shook her head as he continued.
“Let me tell you the rest.” He took her hand in his.
Stephanie gave him a patronizing smile, as if to say, ‘Sure buddy, I’ll go along with it’ and sat back to listen.
“In our world, we choose our wife when we meet her for the first time.” He paused thinking a moment. “Well, there are a few exceptions to the rule.”
Mitch picked up the conversation. “Sometimes it takes the first encounter to make up a pair’s mind. There have been a few who have even waited until the fifth encounter to seal the marriage.” He had also begun to stroke her hand. “But those rarely work. They are filled with so much lust the pair end up burning the trio out before they can form any kind of bond.”
Stephanie finally realized they were both serious. She tried to take back her hands, but they both held her firmly.
“There are a lucky few,” Mitch stared into her eyes as if he was trying to impart pertinent information to her, “a very, lucky, few, who connect and bond,” his eyes grew heated, “instantly.”
He all but purred the words. She looked from him to Kristain, who seemed to have been infected with the same heat. They both came up off the floor in a fluid motion and began to stroke more than just her arms.
She shook her head. This couldn’t be happening. All she had wanted was a new experience. Instead, she seemed to have gotten not only the best sex of her life with two of the most gorgeous men she would ever meet to worship her body, but marriage—with TWO husbands?
It was so much to take in she let it go for the moment and gave in to the heat in their eyes and let them distract her for a few wonderful moments. But as much as she tried, she couldn’t seem to get their words out of her head.
She disengaged Mitch’s mouth from her breast with more reluctance than she wanted to admit, and brought her hand up to gently push Kristain away from her mouth.
Breathing heavily while her senses clamored for more, more, more, she took a last deep breath and tried to calm her galloping heart.
“You two…aren’t…kidding…are you?” She searched both their faces for some sign they weren’t serious.
“Suzanne Somers isn’t going to jump out at any moment and say ‘You’re on Candid Camera’, is she?” She asked in an unsure voice.
Both men shook their heads.
“No?”
She was beginning to sound as if being married to these, to-die-for, god-like…well, virile males, would be a BAD thing. Really, Stephanie. You could just go along with it and humor them. What was it going to hurt? It wasn’t as if they were here claiming their husbandly rights, or—
No, she thought as she blushed, husbandly rights be damned, they’d already had her, and she was rather hoping they would do it again—in excess!
And soon!
The more they began talking about what their marriage would entail, the more she was beginning to take to the notion of two husbands. They would provide for her, lavish her with love and security. It would be their duty to ensure her happiness, to ensure her continued good health, and guarantee continued satisfaction in their marriage bed.
She grinned broadly at that. Imagine a marriage where it was a man's duty to guarantee the woman orgasmed! Wait until she told Jan! Her sister would definitely pitch a fit then.
The morning continued in a surreal daze, and she was surprised just how seriously the two men took their marriage. They’d been looking for almost twenty years, for a wife who would accept them both.
Stephanie knew they seriously believed what they were telling her, but she was skeptical still. She also wondered if she would have any say in the matter. She finally interrupted their lists of benefits to being married to two men when lunchtime rolled around.
“Look, guys. My head is spinning with the amount of information you’ve given me to take in. Why don’t we stop for lunch?” She looked to both men for their agreement.
“Whatever you wish.” Mitch lifted himself off the floor with an easy grace and strolled toward the kitchen.
Kristain got up with him and followed.
Stephanie let her head fall to her chest. It had been hours since she had gone to the door for the paper. She had left her coffee—somewhere, and hadn’t gotten anything else.
First things first, she thought.
Her mind might be full of husbands, but her br
ain was telling her she would deal with it better after a pot or two of coffee. She thought for a moment then decided to add brunch.
* * * * *
“Well. That took off the edge.” Stephanie said as she nibbled on the last of the Chicken Kiev she had made. “Now, if I can get out of this chair, there are a few questions I have, and a few things you gentlemen need to hear.”
Looking at the two of them, she almost hated to burst their happy bubbles. But what was a woman to do with two husbands?
Hearing the thought run through her head, the wicked side of her laughed. Okay, so she knew what to do with two husbands. But she had been talking about the practical aspects of it. She calmly began outlining her arguments to Mitch and Kristain.
“First, let me apologize for earlier. I was laughing at you when you were serious. But you both must look at it from my point of view. I met you two days ago, and I don’t know anything about your background.” She paused as the two men nodded.
“I know there are many women who would be ecstatic at this arrangement. In fact, they’d step over, around, and on me to have the two of you at their beck and call, even without marriage. And speaking of marriage, you do know in California, heck, in most of the United Stated, polygamy is illegal?”
They shook their heads.
“Well, it is.” Stephanie stated.
Mitch smiled gently and took her hand, “No, my lovely. We do indeed know about the laws. It’s just they do not apply to us.” He said gently as he brought her hand to his lips.
Stephanie stared at the top of Mitch’s head, then darted a look toward Kristain.
“It is true, Kasha. In our world, we do not have this law.” He took her other hand and also brought it to his mouth for a kiss.
“In our world, a woman may choose as many husbands as she wishes. As long as all the parties agree and are happy, who is to say this is wrong?”
Stephanie immediately asked. “But what of the men? Do they get to choose as many women as they like?”
“It is entirely up to the people involved.” Mitch, while still holding her hand, stroked her shoulder, and went on.
“So long as all involved consent, there is no problem.” He turned his head to the side bringing her hand against his face to rub it across his cheek like a cat.
