Husbandry

by Allie Ritch

  “Mmm.” Replete, he no longer looked at me with hunger, but with a tenderness that was equally compelling. “You are the most amazing woman.”

  I curled my toes beneath the covers. “Says the man who made me come three times tonight. You make me feel amazing.”

  “You deserve it.” He slipped his hand from beneath the covers to play with my hair. “You also deserve to live your life the way you want it. Here. With us.”

  The first prickle of warning crept up my neck, though I wasn’t sure where this was leading.

  “I don’t know about that, but I plan on keeping you just the same.”

  His lips remained curved, and he appeared fascinated by the sight of my hair being sifted through his fingers. A companionable silence descended, reducing the whole world to just the two of us in bed. I sighed and sank deeper into the mattress.

  “Your mother called today,” he informed me.

  Okay, this was not the pillow talk I’d expected. I was too physically relaxed to tense for more than a second, though I braced myself.

  “How do you know? You were at work all day.” He shouldn’t have been home to receive her call. “Did Chuck pick up?”

  My mom knew I was married, of course. I’d had to tell her that much. Not letting her plan a big ceremony and reception had upset her enough, but she was positively outraged she hadn’t even been invited to my wedding. I’d pointed out that she and my father lived on the other side of the country. It would have been difficult to wait for them to make travel arrangements. Yeah, my mother didn’t much like that explanation.

  Since then, the honeymoon, the purchase of the new house, and the subsequent renovations had given me the excuses I needed to keep her away. I had to get settled in, didn’t I? Most newlyweds didn’t rush to have houseguests, but I knew I couldn’t keep her away forever.

  The truth was Mom had no idea I had three husbands, though she’d talked to each one on the phone at one time or another. She thought they were all Chuck, whose moods and attitude happened to be mercurial. Most of the time she really did talk to Chuck since he was the one who was home.

  “Nobody picked up, love. I was at work, and Chuck must have been busy. Your mother left a message for you.” Chad tapped my nose with his fingertip. “Some of us actually check our messages.”

  Yeah, yeah. So I was bad about that.

  “She and your dad sound really nice,” Chad continued. “I can’t wait to meet them in person.”

  Ah. Now we got to the real issue. Chad had been pestering me for over a month to introduce him and my other husbands to my family.

  I tried to keep my tone light. “You know, most guys aren’t anxious to meet their in-laws.”

  “I’m not most guys.” Which was the understatement of the century. “I admit I’ve felt insulted that you’ve been keeping me and Charles a secret from your relatives. Now I’m just proud of you.”

  “Proud?”

  He laughed, and it was a sound of pure joy. “Your mother mentioned it in her message. She got the wedding photos you sent her.”

  Frigid cold flashed through my veins, replacing the languid warmth I’d enjoyed in the wake of his lovemaking. “What exactly did she say?”

  Chad’s expression turned concerned, and he dropped his hand to my bare shoulder to offer a reassuring squeeze. “She said she hadn’t opened the download to see the pictures yet, but she was going to right after she hung up. Please don’t look so scared. I know you’re worried about how she’ll react to the three of us, but it will be okay. Although it will be a shock at first, I’m sure she and the rest of your family will come around. That’s why you should invite your parents for a visit. They’ll find it easier to accept this marriage arrangement if they get to know us.”

  I stayed silent. At the moment, I was teetering on the edge of a cliff.

  “This is a good thing,” he insisted. “We can move forward, and the three of us aren’t a dark secret anymore. I won’t have to pretend to be Chuck the next time your mom calls.”

  “Um…yeah. About that.” I could feel the ground dropping away beneath me. “My parents won’t realize I have three husbands from the photos.”

  He blinked for a moment, obviously caught by surprise. “What do you mean? Didn’t you send them the group shot where we’re all holding up our rings?”

  “Not that group shot, no.”

  “So they might assume you married a man who is a triplet. I hadn’t thought of that.” He continued to stroke his thumb over my skin. “That could be a bit confusing, but you were always going to have to discuss this with them, darling. You can tackle the misunderstanding if it comes up.”

  The pit of my stomach churned. I was filled with a sickening sensation that could only be described as dread. I knew the instant his eyes narrowed that the emotion must have splashed across my face too. If it had been Chuck with me, he never would have noticed, and Charles wouldn’t have instigated this conversation to begin with. But Chad caught every nuance of my expression.

  “What aren’t you telling me?”

  “Maybe we should talk about this later.”

  The easy lover was replaced by a man with steely determination. “Let’s talk about it now. You did send your mother our wedding photos. You just said you gave her one of the group shots. One with the three of us in it.”

  “Yes, I did pick one of the original group shots.” I twisted the satin sheets between my fingers.

  “Fila.” His warning tone let me know he was out of patience.

  Although I saw the car wreck coming, I couldn’t stop it. I had to come clean. “I may have cropped it so that there was only one husband in the picture with me. The rest were of my dress and everything.”

  Shock, pain, and finally fury darted across his features, and his voice grew ominously soft. “Which one? Whom did you crop out?”

  “Well—”

  He jerked out of bed and stood glowering down at me. “Let me guess: Chuck. You kept Chuck and cut out me and Charles, didn’t you?”

  “Only because he was the easiest to keep in!” I sat up and clutched the sheet to my chest.

  “Oh, I’m sorry. Are your other husbands too difficult for you?” Chad clenched his fists as he shouted at me. “You’re ashamed of me and Charles. You vowed your love to all three of us, but you only have room in your life for one man. I guess I’m not that man.”

  “It’s not like that.” Tears burned at the back of my eyes. I’d never seen him so angry, and I was well aware of the hurt behind his rage. “I want all of you.”

  Chad yanked his pants back on and headed for the door. “Not enough. You say the words, but your actions are loud and clear. Well, maybe I’ll make things easy for you and crop myself out of this marriage.”

  “You don’t mean that!”

  A sob escaped me, muffled by the slam of the bedroom door behind him. The lingering aroma of sandalwood and sex mocked me as I slumped forward and bawled against the empty mattress.

  Chapter Four

  Buried in my sorrow, I didn’t hear the door open again. I roused to the feel of a large, warm hand on my back and lifted my head to find Chuck had joined me.

  “Don’t cry.” He gave me an awkward pat, looking more helpless than I’d ever seen him.

  My eyes felt puffy, and I returned a sniffle. “You heard?”

  “I heard shouting. It sounded like a meaner fight than the boxing match I was watching.”

  That made me snort, though I wasn’t feeling very funny. After a deep breath for courage, I told him about my argument with Chad and what I’d done with our wedding photos. I knew the fact that Chuck was the one I’d kept in the picture wouldn’t help my cause much. He valued loyalty above all things.

  His frown of disappointment had fresh tears tracking down my cheeks. I didn’t think my heart could grow any sorer.

  “I’m so sorry.” Another sob tore from me. “I really screwed up.”

  He kept his hand on my back and drew me closer with a resig
ned sigh. “Yeah, you did. But we’ll fix it.”

  “It’s not that easy,” I protested.

  “Sure it is.” Chuck clasped my shoulders and drew me back to look him in the eye. “I fix things all the time.”

  He surprised a watery smile out of me. It was such a typical male response from my handy husband. If you had a problem, you solved it. End of story. He didn’t seem to think relationships were any trickier than carpentry.

  “Anything broken can be repaired with enough time and effort,” he insisted.

  “You didn’t see the look on Chad’s face.” My passionate, sensitive husband thought I didn’t want him.

  Chuck shrugged. “That was just Chad being Chad. He’s always melodramatic. Give him some time. And while you’re waiting for him to come around, you know what you have to do.”

  “Tell my parents the truth.” I muttered the words, knowing full well I’d been behaving like a coward.

  He chucked me under the chin. “Preferably before our golden wedding anniversary.”

  I sniffed. Although guilt still gnawed at me, I felt much better. I gave him a hug and held on tight.

  “Come on.” He returned my squeeze before he let go. “There’s nothing you can do tonight. You might as well get some sleep.”

  He was so practical, but that was what I needed at the moment. I watched as he stripped off his clothes. When he got down to his boxers, he walked over to blow out the remaining candles and crawled beneath the covers to spoon behind me. Little green sparks flickered in the dark.

  “Stupid silk sheets.” His grumble vibrated through my backbone. “They’re always producing static shocks.”

  “They’re satin,” I corrected him.

  My tears had dried, and I snuggled back against him.

  “Whatever. They’re slippery too. Last time, I almost slid right off the bed.” He tightened his arm around me as if to keep himself from falling. “I should build a safety net.”

  He was probably serious. If only marriage came with a safety net and maybe a few harnesses for good measure. I was quickly learning that relationships could be slippery too.

  * * * *

  Cocooned in my husband’s arms, I slept through a dreamless night, for which I was very thankful. I awoke to sensual pleasure.

  A man’s fingers were stroking in and out of my vagina while a callused thumb shimmied over my clit. I moaned in surprise and pressed back against Chuck’s hard body as my pussy gushed all over his hand. Unable to stop myself, I jerked my hips in time to his thrusting fingers. Then I froze when I realized we weren’t alone.

  Lying next to me on the other side of the bed was Charles, his goateed face unmistakable. On our wedding night, my three husbands had taken turns making love to me before we’d collapsed in the same bed. Since then, they had sex with me in private, although all three usually slept with me—real sleep, as in rest—in our enormous bed. Only on occasion would one or two of them bunk in a guest room, such as if Chad wanted to stay up to read or Chuck got engrossed in something on TV.

  I hadn’t heard Charles sneak in here last night. Now he was stretched out on his stomach with his left cheek pressed deeply into his pillow. His torso was bare down to where the sheet rode his waist. At first his eyes were closed, but even as I watched, he cracked one open and gave me a wink.

  I didn’t have time to say anything before Chuck rolled me over and lowered himself between my legs. Thanks to his administrations, I was more than ready for him, but that didn’t stop my startled yelp of pleasure when he pushed his cock into me in a single, sturdy lunge. His blissful groan echoed the sound. He plunged his shaft in and out in the lazy rhythm of good morning loving.

  Slow or fast, tender or rough—Chuck’s lovemaking was always easy. He didn’t play games or mess with my head, and he didn’t complicate matters. The few words he spoke between grunts were as earthy and straightforward as he was.

  “That’s good. So good.”

  I couldn’t agree more. Every nerve his shaft brushed came to full, wakeful life, and my nipples pinched into tight buds where they grazed his chest. He shuttled his morning hard-on in and out of me more quickly.

  Clutching his churning buttocks, I lifted my hips into each stroke and fought to match his pace. With a quick shift of his arm, he caught my right leg and lifted it so he could penetrate me more deeply. He used his other hand to brace himself against the headboard and buried his face above my left shoulder. He moaned into the pillow and pounded into me.

  My channel began to shimmer with preorgasmic pulses. Each hard lunge of his cock only intensified them and promised more. I pressed my head back and rolled it to the side.

  The moment I did, I came face-to-face with Charles again. Although he hadn’t moved, he wasn’t pretending to sleep. His eyes were wide open, watching everything his spitting image and I were doing an arm’s length away. He wore a lecherous grin that left me in no doubt that he enjoyed what he saw.

  In that moment, I had a flash of insight. I was sure Charles would have joined us—would have helped Chuck take me—if he hadn’t worried we’d stop. And judging by his smile, he didn’t think I’d be the one to call a halt.

  He was behaving for Chuck. With his face buried and his impending orgasm tightening his muscles, my other, more modest husband didn’t notice we had an audience. Only I realized it, and the secret knowledge set off orgasmic tremors of seismic proportions.

  “Ahhh!” I kicked my head back and keened.

  “Yes. That’s it.” Chuck choked out the words and strained as he took me in a last frenzy of thrusts before drawing up tight.

  His cock felt like it burst deep inside me, anointing me with hot seed. Each wet pulse made my vagina and womb contract again so that we were coming in perfect sync. He ground against my clit until the last spurt jetted out of his cock.

  This time he rolled with me as he collapsed, so I ended up in his arms with my back to Charles. Chuck gave me a kiss and a satisfied grin. His eyes were already closing.

  I wasn’t sure how long I would have loitered in his arms if my alarm clock hadn’t blared right then. Chuck grumbled at the noise, and I had to reach across his body to hit the button to silence it. I always left myself plenty of time for a shower before breakfast. This morning I definitely needed one.

  Charles was still looking at me when I turned around. The impossible man refused to get up, forcing me to crawl over him to get out of bed. He released a low chuckle when I swatted his backside.

  A minute later I stood beneath the warm spray, once more treated to the torrential rain from the special showerhead. I took the time to lather my hair and felt the suds caress the full length of my body when I rinsed. My eyes had just cleared when two arms wrapped around me from behind. I was pulled against a slippery body sporting a hard cock.

  “There’s just something about seeing a sexy woman all dripping wet.” Charles caught my earlobe between his teeth before he licked a water droplet from it. He ground his erection against my backside. “You have me at full attention.”

  “Not unusual for you at this hour.” I tried to sound casual, though the water stung my pebbled nipples. “You never seem too tired, even though I know you must not have gotten home until after midnight.”

  “I told you I’d be late. As for being tired, the day I don’t get hard for you is the day you’d better check my pulse. You have this effect on me.”

  He kept me in the circle of his arms as I spun around to face him. The tip of his cock landed above my belly button, and my breasts wound up plumped against the muscled wall of his chest. I looked up at his face, which was now framed by his short, dripping curls.

  “You seemed to like watching me with Charles. Were you thinking of joining us?” I asked the question boldly, though I was a bit nervous about the answer.

  His grin was nothing short of devilish. “Oh, Fila. You’d be shocked if you knew all the things I’d like to do to you.”

  “Keeping secrets?” I swallowed so hard I audibl
y gulped. Fear and curiosity mingled with arousal.

  “Only until you’re ready.”

  I drew a breath to speak, but he silenced me with a kiss.

  “No.” He must have read my mind. “You’re not ready yet. I’ll let you know when you are.”

  My jaw dropped. “Why, you arrogant—”

  “Careful there. You’d best watch what you say. Why don’t we put that mouth of yours to good use before we’re both late for work, hmm?”

  He was already pressing down on my shoulders with a forceful push. I either had to go to my knees or risk slipping on the wet tile. Choosing the former, I wound up with my face right where he wanted it, in front of his erection.

  I glanced up his wet body. “You think I’ll give you head now? After talking to me like that?”

  “I know you will. Not only that, but you’ll give me the best blowjob you possibly can.”

  His confidence caused fresh cream to spill from my pussy. His conceit should have been appalling. Instead, it nearly had steam rising off my skin. I was glad for the cascade of water washing over me since it disguised the intimate moisture now sluicing down my inner thighs.

  “Just how do you figure that?”

  Charles cupped my head and drew me closer to his plump dick. “Two reasons. One, your pride is healthy and includes a competitive streak. You’ll do your best because you’ll want to see if you can undo me, make me lose control.”

  I licked my lips. “And the second reason?”

  His eyes deepened to the darker emerald that made me crazy. “You’ll want to see what I do to you as a reward.”

  Suddenly weak, I braced my hands against his thighs to keep my balance. He was right. His words and attitude chafed, yet he took me to a place I could never reach on my own.

  I broke his stare and lowered my eyes to the plump head of his cock. His pubic hair tickled my hand as I grasped the root of his shaft to angle it toward me. Given the time constraints, I didn’t bother with a lot of teasing or buildup. Instead, I dived right in, sucking the crown past my lips and fluttering my tongue behind his glans.