by Ines Johnson
Jian reached up and took one of Khial's hands. The monk pulled Khial's hand around and rested it on the bud between Chanyn's thighs. She moaned deeper, back caving in.
"Circles. Slow, but firm," Jian instructed.
Khial did as he was told. Chanyn used her hands to push away from Jian's chest. Jian let her go. Ecstasy written on his face as he watched.
Chanyn's arms curled around Khial's neck. Her face against his cheek. "Khi," she whispered.
Khial pulled her back flush against his chest. Though he wanted to go faster, harder, he kept his thrusts steady, the circles slow and firm. And soon she was quaking. Her body jerked and convulsed around his.
"Khial," she shouted.
Khial saw stars as that warm wet heat he craved caved in on him. His balls seized, but couldn't release. He couldn't hold on to reality. Chanyn fell out of his arms, and into Jian's waiting embrace. Jian held her with one arm and reached the other out to Khial. He cupped Khial's face, his fingers extending to the back of his neck. Khial closed his eyes and welcomed the strong, steady embrace.
They stayed like that for Goddess knew how long. And then Khial felt warm fingers on his dick. He looked down to see Jian's fingers releasing the ring.
His eyes bored into Khial's. There were so many emotions there: desire, trust, awe, peace.
The convulsions of Chanyn's orgasm nearly shoved him out of her, but the tip of Khial's dick remained stubbornly inside her. Khial watched as Jian gathered the woman he loved into his arms and set his mouth to hers. Chanyn still trembled, but she relaxed into Jian's kisses. Khial watched them until he was distracted by the throbbing of his dick. He looked down at it. Chanyn writhed against it under Jian's ministrations. Khial caught Jian's eyes. Never breaking from Chanyn's lips, the monk nodded once at Khial.
Khial pushed himself back inside. Chanyn's entire being shook. Jian held her firm. Khial closed his eyes and tried to go slow.
"She can take it harder now," Jian said.
Khial opened his eyes to make sure it hadn't been his own desire speaking. It hadn't. Jian nodded at him in confirmation. Khial thrust upward a little harder. Chanyn gasped, but it was a gasp he'd come to know. The gasp that said she was pleased and near her own release. And so he did it again. Chanyn's body, which had just been wracked by a second climax only moments ago, tensed around him. He thrust again, and then again.
Jian continued kissing and petting her, whispering words of love. Words that Khial closed his eyes and allowed to penetrate his mind, his aching heart. Khial reached between them and put one hand on her breasts, the other on her hip and thrust even deeper. One of Chanyn's arms wrapped once more around his neck. A hand grasped his ass.
He knew that hand wasn't Chanyn's. It urged him on faster, harder. Trust me, that hand said. You won't hurt her, it assured him.
Khial trusted the hand and thrust harder and faster. He heard the sound of Jian's lips against her mouth as she gasped, moaned, and cried. He heard the sound of his body slapping against Chanyn's ass. The heat poured through every crevice of his body, loosening the spots that had gone cold and dark since Dain's passing. Khial opened.
"Mercy," Chanyn cried out and convulsed around him.
His balls could take no more and they burst forth, emptying into her. He thrust and thrust until everything in him released into her. He thrust one more time to make sure he'd left nothing behind. He was done. Undone. Remade.
As if choreographed, Khial collapsed to one side of Chanyn, Jian to the other. They lay there in a cocoon of peace. Warmth flooded his body, his being. Peace in his mind.
Like touching the Goddess.
He swore he felt Dain at his back whispering for him to fall asleep. That he had him, always.
Chanyn lay in the spoon of Jian's arms. Jian's head rested against Khial's forearm just above Chanyn's. Chanyn's head rested over Khial's heart.
Khial kept his eyes open and on the scene for as long as he could. He felt the instinct to protect those in his care. But for the first time in days, he felt safe and warm. He scooted closer to Chanyn. Somehow, his free hand found Jian's hip. Enclosed in the circle, Khial allowed himself to be lulled to sleep.
Chapter Thirty
Jian leaned forward, closer to the two sleeping individuals beside him. His heart sighed at the sight of Chanyn's tranquil face. Over her shoulder, Lord Khial's body sank deeply into the mattress. Last night, the young man stressed over every touch with Chanyn, afraid he'd hurt her. Now his hand twined with hers, curled over her belly.
All day, Jian watched the man hide his growing feelings for Chanyn behind his sense of duty, insisting his every move was for her benefit and not the growing feelings he had for her. Lord Khial was intensely loyal and determined. Jian could not have asked for a better man to be paired with the woman he loved.
Jian slid his fingertips down Chanyn's cheek. She would be okay without him. And that time was approaching. Jian rose from the bed. His motions caused Chanyn to sigh and roll forward, but she continued to slumber peacefully.
Lord Khial opened his eyes. "Are you leaving?"
Jian paused, his gaze raking over Lord Khial's bare chest. "I wouldn't leave her without saying goodbye. I'm just going for a walk."
Lord Khial sat up slowly, also trying to avoid waking Chanyn. "Would you join me for first meal?"
Jian nodded.
The two men dressed quietly. Once or twice Jian caught the lord sneaking a look at his chest as he buttoned up the cloth shirt. Jian's eyes dipped once or twice, as Lord Khial fumbled at his pants. Lord Khial opened the door for Jian. They made their way down the stairs side by side. Occasionally a knuckle brushed a hand. At the bottom of the stairs, Jian motioned for Lord Khial to precede him. Jian couldn't help but notice the strong stride of the man in front of him.
In the dining room, Rianald set a feast before them. Jian reached for the berries, then pulled back. The sweets were an indulgence. But he remembered he was no longer a monk. So he heaped them onto his plate.
"How long can you stay with us?" Lord Khial asked.
Jian wanted to stay with Chanyn forever. But that wasn't possible, regardless of his new station. Chanyn was a bonded woman. "I'll stay as long as you need me, my lord."
Lord Khial brightened at this answer. "The temple can spare you for a while?"
Jian hesitated. They would find out, sooner or later. "I've been thro—" He choked on the word. He cleared his throat and shoved the truth into the light of day. "I've been thrown out of the temple."
"Thrown out?"
"Well, not thrown, but I am unable to return."
"Since when?"
"Since the night I came for you."
"Because of me?"
Jian wobbled his head yes and no. "Because of my feelings for Lady Chanyn."
"Because you love her?"
Jian gave a firm nod, then popped another cherry into his mouth.
"So, you're a free man?"
Jian hadn't thought of it that way. He'd thought only in the negative. He wasn't a monk. "Yes. It would appear that I am."
A free man. A third son. Discarded three times now.
"What will you do?"
Jian frowned, his brows furrowed. He would have to find some employment. The best situation would likely be as a manservant. Ideally, he would've loved to work for this house and keep an eye on Chanyn. But he would eventually wind up putting more than an eye on her. He respected Lord Khial too much to betray him in such away.
"I'd like you to stay," Lord Khial said.
"I can't. I can't be this close to her and not keep my hands off her."
"Then don't keep your hands off her."
Jian's mouth fell open.
"You could bond with us."
Jian chomped down on the berry in his mouth. The fruit, sweeter than he expected, caused him to wince. Lord Khial's words didn't make sense, so Jian spouted what he knew to be true.
"You can't mean that. It’s the orgasms talking. You should never make decis
ions so close after sex."
"Fine," Lord Khial said.
Jian's heart stalled at the quick withdrawal.
"Stay a few days, and then I'll ask you again."
Jian blinked. "You can't possibly want me."
Lord Khial didn't meet Jian's eyes. "Lady Chanyn wants you. And Dain wanted me to keep her happy."
It was the same logic Lord Khial'd given Jian about not hurting Chanyn. Lord Dain, and not himself, would be upset if Chanyn were hurt. Jian saw right through it, but he still couldn't quite make himself believe it.
"I'm a third. A discard. All the scandal—"
Lord Khial laughed. This time he did meet Jian's eyes. "This house is full of scandal." Lord Khial looked around, as though it were his first time in the room. "It’s also the happiest home in the city. I think you'd do well as a part of it."
Lord Khial held Jian's glance. The glance was unmistakable. Jian had had love affairs with men before. He knew the look of a man who desired him. The other night, as Lord Khial thrust into Chanyn, Jian imagined the man driving into him. With Chanyn in his arms and Lord Khial moving above him, Jian had nearly climaxed.
Lord Khial must have read Jian's thoughts. His blue eyes widened, his nostrils flared. But he looked away, shame tinting the edges of his eyes. Lord Khial wanted that scene too, but Jian knew it would be some time before he might actually consider acting on it. The loss of Lord Dain still hung heavily in this house and in Lord Khial's heart.
"I am not what happens to me. I choose who I become." Lord Khial's clear blue eyes met Jian's. "You taught me that."
Before Jian could respond, the manservant, Rianald approached.
"Brother Jian, there is a Brother Gerry here to see you. He would not come inside. So, I escorted him to the gardens."
What was Elder Gerry doing here? Was there some emergency at the temple? Or... Jian hesitated to think it. Had he come to offer Jian his robes back? To welcome him back home?
Jian looked to Lord Khial who watched him, clearly wondering the same.
"Would you excuse me a moment, my lord?"
Lord Khial nodded. Jian rose, but then hesitated, his body wedged between two different worlds. Slowly, he turned and headed out the door to the gardens.
Elder Gerry stood admiring the lush blooms, a serene smile on his face. The old man turned at Jian's approach.
"And so, we meet in a garden instead of a field." Elder Gerry said by way of greeting.
It took Jian a moment to understand the reference. The last time they spoke, the older man talked of an ancient koan where individuals would meet in a field passed wrongs and rights. Koans didn't have concrete meanings. You were supposed to sit and think on them at length, potentially for a lifetime.
Jian had no patience for riddles, at the moment. "What brings you here, Elder Gerry?"
Elder Gerry must've heard the impatience in Jian's voice, because he got down to the point. "I come seeking your help, my friend."
Not son. Not brother.
"Whatever I can do, you know I will."
"Your success continues to bear us fruits."
"My success?"
"With Lady Chanyn. Word spread that she conceived a girl child on the first try and then conceived again shortly after her loss. Families of a few young girls are requesting our services as their young daughters approach marriageable age in the next few years."
"What are you asking me? To rejoin the temple?"
"No. I am not asking you to don the robes once more. Your heart is fully entrenched outside of the temple." He looked back to the house. "But, we need to recruit and train new brothers."
New brothers. It was what Jian had been hoping for, for years. Fresh recruits to replenish the ranks. But their reputation had been so dismal, their finances so negligible that not even street thirds saw them as a viable career opportunity.
"The brothers and I discussed it. We'd like you to work for the temple as a teacher. To train the next generation."
"A teacher? Not a brother?"
"A teacher has access to the temple, but outside of the temple, the temple does not have access to the teacher. The teacher would be free to love whom they chose. It seemed the best way through, to me."
Glancing back at the house, Jian saw Lord Khial watching them from the window. Lady Chanyn walked up behind him, her hand on her belly. She reached up to her husband and spoke. In answer, Lord Khial pointed out the window. Chanyn's face brightened when she saw Jian. She leaned in to her husband and smiled at her lover.
Jian looked back at the man who'd veritably raised him. The man who’d rescued him after being discarded. He opened his mouth and gave Elder Gerry the only answer he could.
Chapter Thirty-One
Chanyn stood at the shelf and watched as the two figures ran their hands over her wardrobe. Her heart pounded rapid fire, like the percussion of a woodpecker's beak. She glanced up at what opportunity brought to her door.
"Are you ready?"
Khial framed the entrance to her bedroom where Tem and Brent fussed over the final touches to Chanyn’s dress. He was splendid in a beige suit. His brown skin like the fertile earth, his blue eyes a clear sky. A small smile played on his lips. It quivered like the smallest string on his violin.
Khial offered his arm. Chanyn put her hand in the crook, tucked safe and secure. They crossed the threshold together and headed towards the stairs.
"Are you sure about this?" she asked.
"You don't...?" Khial tensed the muscles of his bicep, trapping her fingers.
"No, no. I do."
Khial relaxed his arm. "Good." But then he frowned. "I just realized I never asked you if this is what you wanted to do. I just assumed. Dain and I knew each other for so long, we just always assumed what the other wanted. And in the times we were wrong..." He smiled that secret smile when he thought of the good times with Dain. "The times we were wrong, we spent convincing each other of the rightness of our positions."
He shared that secret smile with her. He'd begun doing that more often. Sharing stories of Dain along with small smiles.
"My assumption is right, though?" he said. "You do want to bond with Jian. You love him." It wasn't a question. Khial stated the facts.
"I do." Chanyn tucked her free arm around his bicep, lacing her fingers. She leaned her head against his arm. She loved Khial, too. Not in the same heady, romantic way she loved Jian. Not in the same steady, companionable way she loved Dain. When Chanyn looked at Khial, she saw herself, a lonely person reaching out. Chanyn grasped Khial's arm tighter, squeezing herself into his side. Trying to let him know that she was there, that she would always be there for him, holding his hand and his heart.
"I want that for you," Khial put his hand over hers. "For you to have the man you love, in your life." Absentmindedly, he rubbed her fingers, particularly her ring finger which carried the gem of himself and Dain. A fourth gem joined the three. Jian's; a green malachite, which symbolized healing. "I trust him, and I respect him. Jian is loyal."
At the bottom of the staircase stood the man in question. Jian waited for them, dressed in the same beige ceremonial clothes as Khial. His gold sash tied around his waist. Though he no longer wore his robes, he kept his sash. It represented the knowledge he'd earned from his time at the temple. That would never be taken from him. It was that knowledge the monks now sought from him. In a month, Jian would begin training a new class of Pleasure Hounds.
Chanyn watched as Jian took in Khial, the same heat mirrored in the eyes of both males. Then Jian's eyes fell to Chanyn. His face lit with delight. Chanyn felt her entire body warm. The warmth traveled from her heart to her stomach. She knew it was too soon but she was sure she felt a kick in her gut.
Khial squeezed her hand and led them both down the stairs to Jian. The room below was filled with the people who cared about them. The manservants, Rianald, Tem, and Brent stood off to the side. Merlyn, and her intended bond mate stood together. And throughout the room stood the monks of Jian's t
emple, all come to celebrate their brother.
A month ago, Chanyn had been alone, wishing for family and love. She had Khial's hand in one. With the other hand she took Jian's. In her belly, growing stronger every day, was the love she shared with Dain. Chanyn had yearned all her life for her one true love. In the end, she had found three.
Hand in hand, the three of them walked forward to say the vows that would link them together for the rest of their lives.
Actually, wait!
There’s more.
Chanyn loves Jian and Chanyn loves Khial.
But will Jian and Khial ever come to have feelings
for one another?
* * *
Find out the answer in a series of short vignettes,
The Pleasure Hound Unleashed
found at the end of the boxset!
Carnal Rites
For LPJ
This journey would not have begun if not for you.
Chapter One
"Oh, rats!"
Merlyn withdrew her finger. The tiny dots of blood welled from her thumb, bright red against her brown skin. She looked down at the rodent who bared its teeth.
"My apologies, Darwin 16," she said. "I am aware that you are a mouse, but biting is the type of behavior that I attribute to rats. So the insult will stand."
Merlyn reached into the side table and withdrew a plaster. Before placing the pink bandage on her finger, she marveled at the veins in her wrist where she spied her blood, the vibrant color of green, beneath her skin. At the puncture wounds where it hit oxygen, the blood pooled red. The inner workings of the body never ceased to amaze her. From the time she could sit up and peer into a microscope, Merlyn had been on a mission to understand as much of those internal processes as she could.
