by Cara Adams
Galen sat down to more clapping and cheering. He’s a good guy, not a rogue panther. He didn’t help Jim escape from jail. He’s just what Leticia remembered him as being, a nice ordinary man, pushed out of the pack because of Leticia’s father’s overprotectiveness. I hope he finds true happiness.
While the pie was being served, Serena got out of her chair and deliberately moved around to speak to some of the women in the BDSM community who she didn’t know very well. She tried hard to memorize names and faces, and time and again her gaze was drawn to the collars so many of these women wore. One of the women had the most incredible corset piercing all down her back, with black ribbon threaded through the loops tied in a bow at the base of her spine. Several had collars that couldn’t ever be removed, they’d been sealed shut around the sub’s neck. Serena especially enjoyed talking to these women and learning more about the lifestyle she and they had chosen. Would she like a collar herself? Maybe not.
She was content to be a sub in the dungeon or the bedroom, but she wasn’t sure she was ready to hand all her life over to Pete to make the decisions. She certainly trusted him now, it wasn’t anything like that, but she wanted to be submissive in the bedroom. She rather thought she liked being able to make her own decisions in some things. Balance, that’s what it is. The freedom to give everything to Pete in the bedroom, the freedom to relax and just do whatever he wants me to do with him or with Josh, but the ability to make decisions in the outside world and at work. If I fail there, it’s on my own head. It’s my own fault. But I like both, freedom and responsibility. Both are empowering in totally opposite ways.
Josh and Pete came up to her and pointed out the window. Heavy snow was falling.
“Are you ready? Two more days and we’ll mate,” said Pete huskily.
Suddenly Serena’s underwear was damp. She wanted both these men right now. She didn’t want to wait another minute, let alone forty-eight hours.
* * * *
“Are you ready, Serena?” Pete knocked quietly on her bedroom door.
She opened the door to him, looking as stunning as always, even though she was dressed in a bright-yellow snowsuit, with her beautiful hair covered by a moss-green knit cap.
He glanced down at her feet and noticed she was wearing sturdy boots. “Well done. You’ve dressed perfectly.”
“Where are we going?”
“You’ll be safe. We’re not leaving Carnal Connections land.”
“That’s not what I asked. Where on Carnal Connections land?”
“That would spoil the surprise. Come on.”
She gave him a searching glance then shrugged and walked beside him along the hallway and down the stairs. Josh was waiting for them where Pete had told him to, just inside the door out to the parking lot.
Serena looked around. “Where’s the truck?”
Josh handed her a set of cross-country skis. “No truck,” said Pete.
“You do understand that being outside in the snow is not my favorite thing?” she asked. But he thought she sounded more intrigued than petulant.
“We won’t be skiing all night.”
“Good to know.”
Pete grinned. She was wonderful. She obviously was as curious as hell, but there was no way she was going to give in and ask him directly exactly what they were doing. It’d taken him all day to get this evening ready because he wanted it to be a surprise for Josh as well. He hoped they liked it, but if they didn’t, oh well, he’d done his best.
They snapped their skis on then Pete led the way, deliberately not going in the direction that would take them directly there. Today, each trip he’d made had been done circumspectly as well. He’d also been careful to brush away his prints in the area nearest to his destination. He knew Larry’s security team was ever alert, watching the fence line and other places, but he was damned if anyone was going to spoil his mating night. It had to be outdoors—well, at least part of it had to be—so since he had to prepare for that he’d figured he may as well do the entire ceremony outside. It was a hell of a lot of work for ten minutes. It was a hell of a lot of work for one night, too, but a whole night made the effort much more worthwhile.
He led them to the north end of the property, up to the ridge where there used to be a guard post before the security cameras had been installed, covering most of the land. It was quiet here in the snow. This area was wild and undeveloped land, only visited by shape-shifters in need of a long run. He paused on top of the ridge and they all looked in every direction. Pete pulled out a pair of binoculars he’d hung around his neck underneath his snowsuit. There was no sign of tracks anywhere. Good.
He circled east then south then finally approached the tail end of the ridge again. Hard against the end of the ridge, disguised to appear as part of it, was a snow house. He went to the side of the snow building and fumbled until he found the cords of a mottled white waterproof cloth. He undid this and exposed a doorway. “In you go,” he said.
Serena gave him a wide-eyed look but didn’t say anything, getting down on her hands and knees and crawling inside. Josh just shook his head and crawled in after her.
Pete got a broom from where he’d hidden it up a nearby tree and walked backward, erasing their tracks for about a hundred feet. Once inside the ice entry, he pushed the waterproof cloth to one side and stacked the huge blocks he’d made out of ice over the doorway, tied the waterproof cloth on the inside, then stacked their skis to the side, making sure each one poked a minute hole through the snow to the outside. It was unlikely to snow four feet over night, but if it did, he wanted to know instantly and be able to push the skis up and out into the fresh air so they had enough oxygen to breathe. Enough clean air would enter their ice cave through these tiny holes to give them the oxygen they’d need to breathe for now, and if they were snowed in, the skis were long enough to break through the snow on top of their ice cave to access the fresh air again.
Then he crawled farther inside to the little room he’d dug for them out of the ridge. It was sandy dirt, but with the snow he thought it was unlikely to cave in. He’d buttressed it here and there with some solid logs of wood. It had been easy to dig as the ridge here at the end had formed unevenly, and the soil he dug out made a false wall he’d covered with snow. They should be plenty warm enough for a night with their Arctic-rated sleeping mats and sleeping bags and the snow and dirt to insulate them. The question was, would Serena like it?
“I feel like we’re in a James Bond movie or something, and this is our secret hideout,” Serena said, her eyes sparkling in the dim light of the single gas lamp.
“Very clever. We’re outdoors, connected to the land as required by panther law, yet unlikely to get our balls frozen off,” added Josh.
“That was the general idea. I’m glad you like it.”
“It’s such a lot of work. No wonder you needed three days,” said Serena.
He let them chatter and release their pent-up stress and excitement then waited for the sexual tension to build. Finally they were silent and he said, “Tonight we mate together, the three of us. There is no undoing the mating. Mating is for life. Tonight we’ll fuck and bite each other. At dawn tomorrow we’ll run and fuck as panthers and cougar. Only then will the mating be complete.”
He looked hard at Serena, who nodded contently, then at Josh, who bowed his head.
Pete turned and pulled out a big plastic bag. “To put our clothes in. Just in case our bodies make some of the snow melt.”
“Good idea,” said Serena.
It took a while to unlace boots and remove snowsuits and thermal underwear, but the little cave wasn’t too cold. While they were fucking they’d be warm enough, and he’d make sure he stayed awake long enough to tuck everyone inside the zipped-together thermal sleeping bags once they were ready to sleep.
Pete rummaged in his backpack and pulled out two blindfolds, two pairs of handcuffs, and his favorite whip. “When one sense is taken away the others grow stronger to compensate,” he s
aid, blindfolding Josh then Serena. “Lie on your fronts.”
Once they were lying together on the sleeping mat, he handcuffed them, putting their hands above their heads. “I don’t want you touching each other unless I give you permission.”
“Spoilsport,” said Josh.
Pete cracked his whip down on Josh’s thighs.
“From now on you address me as Sir. Serena, do you remember the traffic light system I told you to follow?”
“Yes, Sir.”
“Good. When I ask you the color, be sure you answer honestly.”
“Yes, Sir.”
He spun the whip above his head, cracking air and building tension in the hearts and minds of his subs. He could see Serena making little shivery movements and even Josh’s body twitched from time to time. Of course, facedown and with blindfolds on, they didn’t know if he was whipping the other person. All they knew was that it wasn’t them getting hit.
Then he slashed the whip across Josh’s shoulders and his ass, then Serena’s ass. Two neat red lines appeared. Good. He’d done that just right. This time he only cracked the whip in the air once before whipping Josh’s ass hard and Serena’s more lightly. Over the next few minutes he laid neat red parallel lines over both asses with some extra ones on Josh’s shoulder.
“Color, Serena.”
“Green, Sir.”
“Color, Josh.”
“Green, Sir.”
He’d expected Serena to say “orange.” He hoped she wasn’t overestimating herself. She needed to be fully fit to run in the morning. He planned to have them up on the ridge at dawn to see the sunrise before they completed their mating run. He couldn’t risk her being too stiff and sore to run properly.
This time he slashed the whip across her shoulders and she hissed. All right, that was enough for her. No matter what color she said. He whipped Josh’s thighs once each and then left him. That would be enough for him, too. The point of the whipping was to arouse, to raise the expectation of what would happen next, to heighten the effect of the fucking. He, as the Dom, had decided this was enough for his purposes. No more.
“Roll over onto your backs now,” he ordered.
While they did that he put his whip away and pulled out a ball gag. Normally he liked to hear Serena scream out her pleasure, but sounds carried at night, especially in the snow. The whip and the murmur of their speech would be muffled by the layers of dirt and snow above them. A woman screaming may not be muffled enough. It might carry and arouse the wrong kind of interest in them. The kind of interest he’d been at pains to avoid. Hence, the ball gag.
He pushed it into her mouth and tied it over her head then took the blindfold off. “I’m sorry, but we’re outdoors and I don’t want anyone to hear you scream your release,” he explained. Serena nodded. Her mouth was working around the ball. She evidently wasn’t used to it, but she’d adjust. Besides, it wasn’t going to be a regular thing. Just tonight.
He removed Josh’s blindfold and watched Josh blink and accustom his eyes to the dim light again. Josh was his best friend, a man he trusted through and through. They’d shared so much over the years. He was looking forward to being permanently bound to his lifelong friend.
Pete mused on the thought that while he’d never been drawn to the idea of sex with a man, he did enjoy the deep friendship that was possible between two men. He loved and adored Serena. He wanted her ardently and passionately. But sometimes he didn’t understand her or why she did things. It was wonderful to have a man with whom he could discuss the woman they both loved. Someone who thought as he did and could help him treasure her as she deserved.
“Serena, blink if you’re ready and willing to be fucked, to be mated with me and with Josh.”
Serena blinked twice.
“Josh, do you accept this mating with me and with Serena?”
“Yes, Sir.”
Pete removed Josh’s handcuffs and said, “You may have her ass tonight.”
Josh kneeled between Serena’s legs and pulled her ass up to his mouth. He licked her butt cheeks and bit on them lightly then nibbled around her rosette. Pete handed Josh the lube, then settled himself up by her breasts. He sucked and licked around one nipple then pulled the entire areola into his mouth. Over and over he teased her nipple.
Serena was breathing heavily now, her chest raising and lowering quickly. From time to time Pete glanced at Josh and knew he was now ready to enter her.
“Sit down and have her sit on your lap, facing away from you.”
Josh and Serena were soon in position, then Pete inched up to them until his legs were spread wide apart and he was able to push his cock into her cunt. When they were ready he gripped Josh’s shoulders, holding them together, and finally unlocked Serena’s handcuffs.
He nodded to Josh. “Begin.”
Her cunt was hot and wet. He’d slid between her swollen tissues and was now held in her depths so tightly he could hardly move. He loved her ass, but he loved her cunt, too. In fact he loved having his cock in her mouth as well. Serena was built to give him pleasure. They were a perfect match. Everything about her was designed to bring him to his knees, to make him worship and adore her even more.
He pressed his mouth to her forehead, kissing her sweetly, wanting her to know how special she was. Then he remembered all the trouble before and verbalized his feelings. “I love and adore you, Serena. You mean everything to me. And I cherish your friendship, Josh,” he added, not wanting this friend to feel neglected. Every word he’d said was true. They were three here, not two.
She convulsed into an orgasm then, and he finally understood just how important his words were to her. He held still while her cunt gripped his dick and massaged him and as soon as her orgasm began to slow, he started slamming into her as deep and hard as he could, wanting to hit her cervix again, as he had last time. He pinched her nipples then grabbed her hair, pulling her head back, opening her throat to him, ready to bite her when he came.
Josh was keeping pace with him, driving into her ass in time with his thrusts into her cunt. He couldn’t get that extra inch of angle he needed to hit her cervix, but she was rising into another orgasm anyway, her body starting to shake. He forced his hand between them and dug a fingernail into her clit. Even through the ball gag he heard her moan as she came. He wrapped his hand harder in her hair, pulling her head way back, and slid his fangs into her neck, puncturing her skin and drinking her blood. As soon as he’d tasted her he licked the puncture wound. Josh’s mouth was on her other shoulder then Josh looked up and nodded. He and Josh bit each other.
Pete whipped the ball gag off Serena and she immediately lowered her head, biting his shoulder hard. He twisted her around and she bit Josh then sank limply into his arms. “Water,” she whispered.
Pete shook the last of his seed onto the bare ground of the cave and pulled three bottles of water from his backpack. As soon as he returned to the sleeping pad Josh wiggled away, shaking his cock onto the soil to leave some of his essence there, too.
Serena drank several gulps of water then kissed Josh and him. “I love you both, too,” she said.
“Good to know,” Josh replied, but Serena’s eyes were already closed.
Together the two men slid her into the conjoined thermal sleeping bags, then Josh clambered in after her. Pete checked that there was still a tiny flow of air coming in around the entry and through the holes made by the ski poles, then he turned off the gas light and joined them in bed.
He estimated there were seven hours until dawn, and he wanted them in animal form on the ridge to watch the sunrise then complete their mating, so almost seven hours to sleep, which was ample.
* * * *
“We just went to sleep,” groaned Serena. Her eyes were glued shut, she needed a shower, and she hated to think what her hair looked like.
“Don’t be such a girl,” teased Josh.
“Easy for you to say,” she retorted.
Pete pushed her, naked, from the little cave bef
ore carefully closing the opening and brushing away their footprints. She watched him hide his broom in a tree once she’d transformed into her cougar. It was too pukably cold to be outside as a naked human. She couldn’t even imagine how very chilled he must be.
Then he changed, too, and led the way in a curving line to the west, then to the north as they ran up the ridge about a mile from where their little cave was hidden.
He sat on the highest point of the ridge facing east and nudged her to sit beside him. Josh rested on her other side, lying flat, his head on his paws.
Slowly the sky lightened, almost imperceptibly at first, just a few streaks of navy blue and gray among the black. Then faster and faster it turned gray and whitish, until the sun peeped over the horizon, a burst of gold, swiftly rising in the sky and sending it orange and pink and purple.
Wow! That’s so beautiful!
Yeah. It is, isn’t it?
Pete? You’re talking in my head?
Well, you’re both talking in mine.
Josh? You, too? We can all bloody mind read now?
I don’t see what’s so astonishing about that. If Leticia and Oliver and William—who’s only human—can do it, why not us, too? asked Pete.
I think Ramona and Gaynor can do it to some extent, too, but not like Leticia can, said Serena.
We’ll talk later. See what our parameters are. If we can do it from a distance and so on. But now we have a mating to complete. Follow me.
Serena raced after Pete as he almost flew across the ground, running south at top speed. She stretched her body out, loving the freedom of the chase, letting her paws find their own resting place without any input from her mind, loving the cold wind zipping through her fur as she sped after Pete as fast as she could.
