Howl Down the Moon, page 21
Shrugging, Luka looked away. “It’s just a way to pass time.”
“It’s art and…”
Luka glanced over to see what had captured Rand’s attention and realized he was staring at the wooden head at the far end of the table, the one he’d never finished.
Picking it up, Rand traced his fingers over the angry eyes and the frown lines in the forehead before looking back at Luka, who wished he could snatch it away and hide it.
“When did you do this?”
Fidgeting, Luka turned his attention to cleaning the wood shavings from the table until Rand knelt beside him and turned Luka’s chair until he was facing him again.
“Luka?” Rand murmured, reaching up to caress his cheek.
“After the pond. When I went home. Wanted to make a version of you I could keep, only all I could capture was how angry you’d been. Every time I picked it up to work on it, I remembered what happened, so I never finished it. I never meant for you to see it. I’m sorry.”
When Rand pressed their foreheads together and stared into Luka’s eyes, the intensity made him squirm, only Rand wouldn’t let him pull away. “You have no reason to apologize.”
“I don’t like remembering you that way,” Luka said softly. “I like you smiling better.”
“We could always put it somewhere you don’t have to see it,” Rand said.
“Like the fireplace,” Luka muttered.
“We can do that too.”
“I’d like that. I would rather carve one of you and Slade smiling and happy.”
“So why don’t you? While you’re at it, make sure you put yourself right there with us because you’re the one who makes us smile in the first place.”
Luka snuggled in the embrace Rand pulled him into. “I’ll think about it, but the two of you are who I’d rather look at, especially the way you looked after you kissed him. Never seen anything as beautiful and wild as the two of you staring at each other like that.”
“Really? Well, I know how we can fix that,” Rand said, brushing a kiss over Luka’s lips before standing and tugging Luka up to join him.
“How?”
“You’ll see,” Rand replied, scooping the head off the table on their way back to the main part of the house. In the living room, Rand paused beside the fireplace, where a crackling fire danced behind the grate. He passed the head to Luka, who didn’t think twice before tossing it in. He watched as the flames claimed it, Rand sliding his hand up and down his back until Luka looked over at him.
“If you burned the possum, I can make you a new one,” Luka asked softly. “I should never have thought it would be an acceptable payment anyway.”
He heard Rand gasp but didn’t want to turn and see the look on his face.
“Come with me.”
Rand’s voice was like steel, like a less rumbly variation of Slade’s, which made it impossible not to listen. Luka took the hand Rand offered and followed him back to the bedroom.
“Have a seat.”
Luka sat on the edge of the bed, and while it was tempting to stare at the floor, he shoved his nervousness aside to look at Rand while they talked. Only Rand didn’t say anything. Instead, he opened the top drawer of his dresser and reached inside, withdrawing a small, wooden box and holding it out to him. Luka took it hesitantly and opened it to reveal the possum carving pillowed on tissue paper.
“You kept it.”
“I did,” Rand replied, giving him a small smile when Luka glanced back up at him. “When I opened my hand the night you gave it to me, I was stunned at how beautiful and detailed it was. It was more than an acceptable payment. I put it in there to keep it safe until I could find the perfect place to display it, and now, I know exactly where I want it to go.”
Luka watched as Rand carefully removed it from the box and set it on top of his dresser, right in the middle where it couldn’t be missed.
“I want you to look at that each morning and know that I treasure it and you,” Rand said as he crossed the room to where a heavy mirror hung on the back of the door. He took it down and leaned it against the dresser by the bed, right in front of Luka, so he’d have no choice but to see his reflection in it. While Luka tried to figure out what was going on, Rand crawled up on the bed behind him and placed his hands on Luka’s shoulders.
“Look at yourself. To me, there is nothing more stunning than watching you while you sleep or when you are standing beside your drafting table while you are so engrossed in creating you don’t know I’m there. The way your hair drapes over your cheek, and you pause to brush a piece behind your ear, only to have it fall free a few minutes later. Watching you dance in the kitchen while you cook, or slide to your knees in front of me, your eyes sparkling when you beckon me over—that’s beautiful.”
Luka shivered when Rand ran his hands beneath his shirt, following with kisses up his spine and slowly pushing his shirt up until Luka simply removed it to get it out of the way. Rand slid his hand over Luka’s abs, skimming with fingertips, making him giggle when he found tickle spots.
“I could listen to you do that all day.”
“You will if you don’t stop tickling me,” Luka gasped, wiggling as the tickling got a bit much.
Rand stopped tickling but didn’t move his hand off Luka’s abs. “All that time out in the woods has left you sleek, trim, and I love watching your muscles flex when you move.”
Snorting, Luka tried to look over his shoulder at him. “Slade is the one with all the muscles.”
“That’s a different type of build,” Rand said. “And in case you haven’t noticed, running with him, hunting with him, and not going to bed hungry is beginning to show. You’re filling out, and it looks amazing on you.”
“How did you know I’d go to bed sometimes without having anything to eat?” Luka asked as Rand leaned over his shoulder and kissed him.
“Because you were too small, and that night in the clinic, my wolf wanted to keep you, protect and care for you. Adult wolves are never that small unless they are sick or not eating enough.”
“I think I was both,” Luka blurted.
“Okay, tell me why,” Rand encouraged, still caressing gently, still kissing occasionally, still holding Luka’s gaze, along with the mirror that reflected the image of them whenever Luka tried to turn away.
“Because sometimes I would be really happy and even excited about something. Then I’d have this thought, like I shouldn’t be, or I was doing something wrong, and everything would change and get confusing. My wolf was getting harder to feel and hear, and there were days when I didn’t want to move and couldn’t be bothered to do anything. The night with the lanterns I was sad and confused. I didn’t feel well, but I really wanted to see them again. I wanted to make a wish on one. I was gonna tell you and ask you if you could help.”
“And we both know what I did,” Rand said. “I’ve noticed your moods changing like that, but it’s good to know you have too. Is it better since being here, or about the same?”
Frowning, Luka had to think about that, which was easy when he genuinely felt only concern and a desire to help emanating from Rand. “A little better, but it’s still happening more than I want it to.”
“I imagine so.”
“Can you help?”
When Rand shook his head, Luka was confused, but clearly, his mate saw and understood that because he leaned in, rubbing noses with him. “I can listen, and I can try to make you feel better, but if you want real help, we need to ask Doc Washington because a doctor should never treat their mates.”
“Oh.”
“If you’d like, I can email Doc and ask him to set aside some time to talk to you over videoconferencing.”
“What’s that?”
“Just a computer app that allows you to talk to someone like they are in the room with you,” Rand explained.
“I, um, don’t think it would hurt to try.”
“No, it wouldn’t hurt at all,” Rand replied. “I’ll set it up for you.”
“Thank you.”
Rand kissed him, then tipped his head to the side so he could kiss his neck and throat, his body pressed against Luka’s side, the image of them in the mirror far different from the way he pictured himself. The way he slid his hand over the back of Rand’s neck and into his hair wasn’t clumsy or awkward, nor was the way they looked, sprawled on the bed together, when Luka rolled them over and stretched out on top of Rand.
“Guess I picked a good time to come see what you guys wanted for dinner,” Slade commented from the doorway, watching them with a heated look.
“You on the bed, naked between us,” Luka blurted. Slade’s mouth dropped open, Rand’s eyes had gone wide, while Luka felt his cheeks pink up a little. “Well, you asked.”
“That I did,” Slade said, shaking his head even as he pushed away from the doorframe, stripping his shirt off on the way to the bed.
Beneath him, Rand bucked up a little, wrapping one leg over his. “I love when you say the first thing that comes to mind,” Rand murmured.
“Really,” Slade said, leaving a trail of pants, boxers, and socks in his wake. “You being impulsive is fuckin’ hot, though you are both wearing too much. If I’m going to be naked, then I want you guys naked too.”
“Think we should oblige him?” Rand asked.
“Is that the same as kissing every inch of him, or do you mean I finally get to blow him?” Luka asked, licking his lips. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Slade start to sit, only to miss the bed and end up on the floor, staring up at him. Rand grinned, then snickered when he glanced over to see what Slade had done.
“It, um—” Rand began, only to have Slade cut him off.
“Is exactly what it means,” Slade yelped, scrambling up off the floor.
“Which one?” Luka asked.
“Definitely a mix of both,” Slade replied, successful in his second attempt to join them on the bed. Luka slid from overtop of Rand, rolled on his back, kicked his pants off, and crawled across the bed to Slade. The glimpse he caught of himself doing it and the burning look of desire in both of his mates’ eyes bolstered his confidence.
He could hear Rand moving on his other side, stripping his clothes off too, but right now, his attention was on Slade and finally getting to taste the way he’d planned to a week ago before other things got in the way. Starting at Slade’s shoulder, Luka kissed down his chest, letting instinct and the images from the videos he’d watched guide what he did with his fingertips, lips, and tongue. The first rough gasp he wrung from Slade made his wolf preen, and from there, he moved around his mate, adding a few nips here and there until he’d maneuvered Slade into a supine position between him and Rand.
“There’s plenty here for the both of us,” Luka encouraged, loving the smoldering look Rand gave him before lowering his head and kissing up Slade’s opposite leg. Every now and again, they’d look up, smile at each other, and lean in for a kiss. Slade, propped up on his elbows, watched them, his breaths growing deeper and heavier the longer they took to work their way up his thighs.
Luka had been naked with Slade before, but water, steam, and bubbles had always obstructed his view; now, as they licked their way to the junction of Slade’s thighs, Luka felt him tense, just a little, and glanced up to see him watching intently.
“Do you want us to stop?” Luka asked.
“Hell, no,” Slade rumbled. He barely got the words out of his mouth when Luka lowered his head, licking Slade’s cock before wrapping his lips around it. Unlike Rand’s, it didn’t grow and nearly choke him or make his cheeks ache when he sucked. He could suck Slade’s from root to tip with ease, just like some of the guys in the video. Judging from Slade’s gasps and groans, he was enjoying it too.
Rand had slid up a little, kissing Slade’s side, stroking his abs, drawing his hand down to caress Luka’s cheek or run his hand between Slade’s thigh and Luka’s cheek, caressing. His touches seemed hesitant at first, growing bolder as he mirrored Luka, who wondered if he’d like to try mirroring something else.
Wanna taste? Luka asked in Rand’s mind. Just wrap your lips around him and suck until his toes curl.
You make it sound so easy, Rand thought back. Luka could feel his hesitation, but it was mixed with desire.
Because it is, Luka thought back, licking his way off Slade, who growled at the loss of contact, only to gasp when Rand took Luka’s place.
Once Rand got the hang of it, they began to switch off, Luka favoring a slow, drawn-out approach, while Rand bobbed his head up and down until he had Slade raising his hips, trying to urge him a little faster. Of course, that was when they switched again, Slade whining when they did. Rand got him to come the next time they switched, but Luka licked it off Rand’s face and Slade’s cock when Rand drew back after the first spurt.
While Slade lay sprawled on his back, panting, Rand pounced on Luka, rolling him on his back and wasting no time sucking Luka’s cock. Pleasure and heat surged through his belly, and moaning, he stroked Rand’s hair and back, whining for more.
“You should tease him the same way he teased me,” Slade growled in broken gasps.
“No,” Luka whined, moaning again because everything felt so sensitive, the sensations coming in waves, building, and then Luka felt Rand gasp, the vibration only heightening things more. When Rand did it a second time, Luka moaned and glanced down to see why there was a sudden shift in Rand’s action, especially with the sounds Rand was making. He wasn’t sucking, so much as panting and moaning around Luka’s cock, because Slade was lying beside him and, from the way he was moving his hand, was clearly pleasuring Rand, which in turn was making everything for Luka feel better. Tensing, he came, groaning, eyes squeezed shut, dimly aware of the choked shout Rand made when he came too.
In the aftermath, they lay limp and sweaty, sprawled in a way that left them brushing against one another in places where limbs weren’t draped over slowly cooling bodies. Luka didn’t even want to open his eyes to see who’d moved up beside him and rested their head against his side.
“We’re going to need a shower and clean sheets,” Slade rumbled, sounding far less wrecked than Luka felt.
“And more touching,” Luka murmured. “At least once we can move again.”
“More, huh?” Slade asked, his lips caressing Luka’s ear, breath on his skin raising goose bumps. “What did you see in those videos that you want to try next, and what damn channel are they on?”
“My phone,” Luka sighed, turning enough that he could lazily kiss Slade. “The search engine feature you showed me.”
Rand snickered, huffing a little in an effort to move. From the feel of the bed shifting only a fraction, he didn’t get far. “At least he’s putting it to good use.”
“True, which is what’s got me curious about what he wants to try next.”
“I’d have to get my phone to show you,” Luka murmured, “which I left back on the table with my woodworking, and I have no desire to move to get right now.”
“Or you could describe it for us, and I’m sure we can figure it out,” Slade prompted. Where before, Luka might have felt self-conscious and a little shy, now he was more interested in finding out if they could do what the threesome in the video had done.
“One was on their knees, in-between their partners, with one in front of them, who they were giving a blow job to, and the other behind them, fucking them. Then they switched, and one rode the other, but like, with their back to his front so they were facing the other partner, who leaned them back over the top of the other two and slid into their partner beside the first one,” Luka replied.
“Wait, beside as in…” Rand stammered, trying and failing to picture how they could manage something like that without one of them—Luka—getting hurt.
“As in double penetration, which you are nowhere close to being ready for yet,” Slade remarked, running his fingertips up and down Luka’s side in a slow caress. “That takes time to build up to, or someone ends up hurt.”
“Oh,” Luka murmured. Now his cheeks felt like they were heating up, making him wish he hadn’t said anything.
“Now, that first part, with one on their knees between the other two, we could certainly do, or I can ride one of you while the other one takes me from behind,” Slade offered.
“Umm, didn’t you just say that took time to build up to, or someone would get hurt?” Rand asked. He’d propped himself up enough that he could look between Luka and Slade.
“I said Luka couldn’t do it now, but I have one distinct advantage over him.”
“You’ve done it before,” Rand pointed out.
“That, and with me, you wouldn’t be penetrating the same hole, but two different ones,” Slade laid out.
“Oh,” Luka said, perking up. “I saw lots of videos for that too.”
“Oh, really?” Slade growled. “Well, in that case, let’s see what you learned.”
Chapter Twenty-One
RAND ACHED, IN the best possible way, as he got settled in the chair in front of the little-used desk Slade urged him to make use of. Slade had even cleaned it off for him before he and Luka went out on a hunt. The last several days had been spent watching and exploring those videos Luka had found, resulting in vigorous rounds of sucking and fucking, to use Slade’s words. Personally, Rand’s favorite thing so far had been when Slade had slowly, gently prepped him last night, while Luka lay on his back, beneath Slade, lapping at the slick opening Rand had been inside of more than once already.
The only thing that had surprised Rand was when Slade had told him to get on his knees before urging Luka out from beneath him, and guided him into Rand, Slade’s hands on both mates, guiding, teasing, the whole time Luka was inside him. The sensation of being stretched and filled had left Rand begging by the end. The two had brought him off together, Slade’s hand stroking his cock, Luka fucking him, growing a little rough near the end when he’d hauled Rand up against him to straddle his lap, his back to Luka’s front, Luka thrusting up into him right before he sank his teeth into his shoulder the way Rand and Slade had done to him.
