Overcoming His Pride Read online

  “We’ll get there,” Chen said. A teasing glint filled the shifter’s eyes.

  “I probably should tell you I’ve never had sex with a man before.” The words spilled out. Chen’s expert sucking had derailed Andrew’s usual filters.

  Marlen’s mouth dropped open. “Never?”

  Andrew shook his head. I’ve rarely been attracted to other men before and I was too shy to approach a man. Later when I had the freedom to date men, none of them were interested in a guy with a kid.”

  “We would’ve been,” Marlen said.

  Andrew snorted. “You would’ve been kids yourself.”

  “Does that still bother you?” Marlen asked.

  “I’m not going to lie and say it doesn’t, but I’m also not going to let it stop me. I’ve held back because of fear for too long. What did that get me? A lion shifter who didn’t want me, and a psychopath who did. Even if you guys don’t work out, I’m pretty sure you’ll be the best time I ever had.”

  Marlen pressed a soft kiss on his lips scrambling his thoughts. “Trust me, we’ll work out and be the best everything you ever had.”

  Andrew smiled. “Your competition isn’t that tough.”

  No more words were necessary. Chen went back to sucking on Andrew, and Marlen returned his attention to rubbing against Andrew’s skin. He had to concentrate on breathing and not shouting out his bliss. His entire body tingled with sensation.

  “I’m going to come.” He couldn’t hold out beneath the twin assaults of the beautiful men determined to worship him.

  Chen lifted his mouth, earning a groan from Andrew. “We can’t have that. I want you inside Marlen when you come.”

  Marlen nodded. “I’ve been looking forward to it.”

  Andrew didn’t care if it hurt his masculine image, the whimper couldn’t be stopped. “Please.”

  “Always, my love.” Marlen’s soft expression twisted his heart. He could easily fall for these men with their addictive touches and kind souls.

  “Check the side drawer,” Chen ordered.

  Marlen scrambled to obey. A moment later he waved a bottle with a victorious wave. “I found it. Lions take good care of their guests.”

  Chen kissed Andrew, his lips barely a whisper against Andrew’s skin. “Marlen’s going to ride you, then I’m going to fuck you into the mattress. Do you have any problem with that plan?”

  “No.” Andrew shook his head. “Sounds perfect.”

  “Since you’ve never had anal penetration before, it will be easier if we turn you on your stomach.”

  Andrew frowned. “What makes you think I’ve never had anything up my ass?”

  “You said you’ve never had sex with a guy.” Chen tightened his grip on Andrew’s arm as if trying to stop him from leaving.

  Andrew blushed. “I have a few toys.”

  “Oh.” Chen’s eyes lit with interest. “We’ll have to explore those later.”

  “Much later. I’m going to get fucked now and not with a rubber object,” Marlen announced.

  Andrew’s attention snapped to the other wren. Marlen must’ve prepped himself while he’d been distracted with Chen. With little fanfare, Marlen lined Andrew up and sank down on him without hesitation.

  “Oh.” The wren didn’t use a condom. Nothing blocked the full sensation of being dipped into Marlen’s hot heat. If he’d thought that Chen’s mouth was bliss he’d been mistaken, this was heaven.

  “He’s so tight,” Chen whispered in Andrew’s ear. “No matter how many times you fuck him, he still grips you like a fist. And the beauty with shifters is you can’t fuck him too hard.”

  Andrew snapped. Rolling over, he pinned Marlen beneath him. He caught the wren shifter’s surprised expression right before he began to fuck the man in earnest. He’d never had the freedom to let go and take what he wanted.

  The noises coming out of Marlen only encouraged him further. Marlen clung to Andrew and pumped his hips along with Andrew’s motions, luring him to slam harder. After dreaming of the two men for days, he didn’t have the capacity to resist for long. His orgasm swept over him like a king tide, drowning him in its wake.

  Chen reached a hand between them and pumped Marlen’s hard cock. “Come.”

  A birdlike screech emerged from Marlen’s throat. His release splashed between them, filling the air with the scent of his desire. Andrew gasped, trying to gather enough oxygen to process his thoughts. His other lover didn’t have the patience to wait.

  Chen eased Andrew out of and away from Marlen. “Let him up.”

  “Oh, sorry, I didn’t mean to crush you.”

  Marlen smirked. “You weren’t crushing me. Chen just wants me moved so he can fuck you proper.”

  “Are there improper ways to fuck me?” Andrew teased. “I might prefer those.”

  He didn’t know where he found the guts to taunt the intense shifter, but he couldn’t resist.

  “I’m sure we’ll explore all those too. Eventually.” Chen smirked.

  Marlen slid out from beneath Andrew. “I’m going to grab a washcloth. Don’t do anything before I return.”

  Andrew smiled at Chen. “What do you think constitutes anything?”

  “I’m sure kissing is allowed,” Chen responded.

  Andrew grabbed Chen and pulled him into the spot Marlen had just vacated. “I’m sure it must be.”

  The wren shifter’s slow, drugging kisses were addictive. Unlike a narcotic, Andrew had no wish to break this new addiction. He would happily die bound to the two shifters. He’d been a fool to resist them for this long.

  Chen grinned up to him, affection glowing in his eyes and making him more beautiful than ever before.

  Andrew refused to call it love. Their relationship was too new for him to label it with such a big title.

  “We will make you amazing mates,” Chen vowed.

  The sincerity on the shifter’s face had Andrew blinking back tears. “I don’t know what I did to deserve you two, but I’d do it a thousand times more if it meant I got to keep you.”

  “Oh, wow.” Marlen had returned without Andrew noticing.

  He’d been focused on Chen.

  “I really need to be in you right now. Marlen, can you prepare him?”

  “Sure.”

  “Ready, love?” Marlen stroked a hand down Andrew’s back.

  “Yeah. You guys don’t bite or anything?” He’d always heard of shifters biting each other to bond.

  “No, wrens don’t do that. When we come inside you it will spread our scent and permanently mingle with your own. Other shifters will know you’ve been marked,” Marlen explained.

  Andrew looked over his shoulder at the wren. “But you didn’t come inside me.”

  “I’ll do it later,” Marlen promised. “I don’t top very often and I wanted to feel you inside me first.”

  “Okay.” Andrew didn’t want either of his mates to feel unwelcome.

  A lubed finger brushed his hole. Andrew stopped thinking. Tension tightened his shoulders. He could do this. A moving finger felt completely different than the rubber dildo he’d used before. He hadn’t lied about using toys, but it had been few and far between. He didn’t have an enormous collection. He wished he’d got up the nerve to use that butt plug he’d bought. It still sat in its sealed container in his drawer.

  “You’re tight. You’re going to strangle his cock. I can’t wait to watch.” Marlen settled at the top of the bed, sitting up against the headboard.

  “Does he do that often?” Jealousy speared through Andrew.

  “What?” Chen slipped of the bed to walk to the end. “Scoot up, I’m going to take you from behind.”

  “Watch you have sex with other men,” Andrew said through gritted teeth.

  Chen rubbed a soothing hand over Andrew’s back. “No, babe, I told you we never found a third. He just likes to watch porn.”

  “And now I get a live show.”

  Marlen’s tone of satisfaction soothed Andrew’s previously undisc
overed jealous streak.

  Where Marlen’s touch had been almost tentative, Chen’s fingers pushed and stretched, prepping Andrew with impatient efficiency.

  “I’m ready,” Andrew said through gritted teeth.

  “I’m just making sure. If you hate your first time, you’ll never let me near your ass again.”

  “Now, Chen!” If he got any more ready, he’d explode from anticipation.

  Chen sighed. “We don’t have to do this.”

  “Yes we do. I want you inside me.” He might be wondering about how their relationship would go, but he had no questions about wanting the wren shifters.

  The head of Chen’s cock might as well have been the size of a boulder when he tried to push it inside.

  “Fuck,” Andrew said, his eyes stinging from the pain.

  “Shh, relax.” Marlen slid down. Always eager to make everything better for Andrew.

  Soft kisses across his face distracted him long enough for Chen to push deeper into Andrew’s body.

  “Yes, oh, you feel like heaven.”

  Chen’s tone of wonder boosted Andrew’s ego.

  Marlen kissed him. Andrew appreciated the difference between the shifters. Even with his eyes closed, he’d be able to tell his men apart. Marlen didn’t seem to have an alpha bone in his body. Marlen was all sweet words and soft touches. Chen had a harder edge. Not any less loving, but more commanding.

  A kiss between his shoulder blades relaxed him further. “I’m almost all the way inside,” Chen said. “Easy, babe.”

  “Okay.” Andrew concentrated on relaxing. After several minutes, he opened enough for Chen to enter him completely. “I’m so full.”

  He needed a bigger dildo if he wanted to emulate his lover. He should’ve paid more attention to Chen’s size before he’d agreed to let him top.

  “Feels amazing, doesn’t it?” Marlen asked.

  Andrew almost disagreed. The pain in his ass had more discomfort than bliss.

  “Give me a minute. Let me find it.” Chen moved inside Andrew and hit the perfect spot.

  Electricity sizzled up his spine. “Right there.” Andrew clutched at Marlen.

  Chen pulled out with excruciating slowness then shoved back in, pegging the same spot.

  He couldn’t stop the shout bursting from his lips.

  “I think you found it.” Marlen grinned at Chen over Andrew’s shoulder.

  Andrew would’ve made a sarcastic comment, but he forgot how to breathe. His entire world narrowed to the small point between his two mates.

  He knew he’d turned a corner. Never again would he be able to live without these two men in his life.

  Marlen reached beneath him and took Andrew’s cock in his hand. “I see we’ve woken back up.”

  “I don’t know how.” He’d lost the ability to recover that quickly over ten years ago.

  “Mates. When you meet your soul mate, even your body knows.” Marlen’s confident tone told Andrew his lover truly believed his words.

  “Focus on me,” Chen demanded.

  “It’s kind of hard to forget you when you have that log up my ass,” Andrew grumbled.

  He winked at Marlen.

  Marlen grinned and rewarded him with a kiss.

  Andrew clenched his body around Chen, pulling a strangled scream from the shifter.

  “Oh, yeah. Do that again.”

  “Bossy.” Andrew repeated the action.

  Chen smacked Andrew’s ass. “Absolutely.”

  “You slap me again, boy, and I’ll turn you over my knee.”

  “Oh, fuck.” Chen spurted inside him.

  “You too.” Marlen pumped Andrew’s erection. It only took a few slides of the wren shifter’s hand before Andrew’s orgasm surged over him and he came on the sheets.

  “That hasn’t happened in a while.”

  Chen slid out of Andrew’s ass. “What hasn’t?”

  “Double orgasm.”

  “You have mates now,” Marlen said. “You might not be a shifter, but your body will respond to us. Double orgasms will be the norm for you.”

  Chen grabbed the washcloth Marlen had brought and wiped Andrew down. “Sometimes even triple.”

  Andrew snuggled up to Marlen, avoiding the wet spot. “I’m too old for that.”

  “Not any longer.” Marlen wrapped an arm around Andrew, pulling him close.

  “What do you mean?” Andrew didn’t really care about the answer. Chen had climbed onto the bed behind him and he was once again in his new favourite spot, sandwiched between his two mates.

  Chen kissed his shoulder. “He means once you’ve fully bonded with us, your life will be extended along with ours.”

  “Really?” Andrew met Chen’s glance over his shoulder.

  “We don’t publicise that often.”

  “But I had thought I’d bonded to James’ mother. That didn’t stop me from ageing.”

  “You never bonded with that bitch,” Marlen snapped.

  “She claimed I was her mate.”

  “She just used you. I don’t know why, but she never mated with you properly,” Chen insisted.

  “I wonder why?” It wasn’t the first time that idea had filtered into his head.

  “Maybe you should ask her,” Chen said.

  “Maybe I should. She still thinks she can convince James to go with her.”

  Marlen snorted. “That’s because she hasn’t met his mate. She’d better vacate town before Lou returns.”

  “Yeah. I warned her that James would want his mate. She was quite upset to hear he was gay. It ruined her great baby-making plan.” A niggle of unease settled in Andrew’s stomach. “I don’t think she’ll just give up though. She’s not the type. I should go check on James.” The urge to get a visual inspection of his son rode him hard.

  “Let’s take a shower and we’ll go with you,” Chen said.

  His concern must’ve transmitted to the wrens because they didn’t fuss. Instead they rushed him to the bathroom to clean up and didn’t even take time to fondle him along the way.

  Chapter Four

  Chen herded his mates out of the bathroom and went about fetching their clothes. He’d watched over Marlen for years, now he had a second mate to keep an eye on. With Andrew’s mating, James had also fallen into Chen’s guardianship. He had to keep the family together. If anything happened to his son, Andrew would be devastated.

  They had just finished pulling on their clothing when someone knocked on the door.

  “Andrew!” Talan shouted from the other side.

  Chen rushed to open the door and yanked it open.

  “James is missing. I smelt two strange female lions in my territory. I followed it to James’ scent, then they disappeared. One smelt a bit like James. I have a bad feeling about this.”

  “Me too. James’ mother came to visit. She wanted him for a breeder. I told her he was gay, but apparently that wasn’t enough of a deterrent. We have to get him back.” Andrew had paled at Talan’s news.

  “Do you know where her pride is?” Talan asked.

  “No.” Andrew slid a shaking hand through his hair. “She didn’t say. The only way they could’ve taken James is if they knocked him out. He wouldn’t have left without telling me. They can’t have taken him far.”

  Chen held Andrew tight. Close enough he could feel the rapid pounding of his mate’s heart.

  “Maybe she holed up nearby,” Marlen said.

  “I’ll put out the word for everyone to keep an eye out,” Talan assured them. “I’ll also call around. Someone knows where she is.”

  “Thank you,” Andrew said.

  Marlen wished he could do more, anything at all to ease Andrew’s pain.

  “James is one of us. He might have come to shifting late, but he’s a member of my pride.” Talan left after reassuring Andrew he’d find James if it were the last thing he did.

  “She’s not going to hurt him. Not if she needs him to breed,” Chen tried to reassure Andrew. His mate was second
s from breaking apart.

  “My worry is what she’s going to do to get him to mate. It’s not like he’s going to get an erection for a woman. He isn’t bisexual.”

  “Maybe they’ll give him pretty boy pictures and let him jackoff,” Marlen soothed. The other wren shifter cuddled Andrew from the other side.

  “You know artificial insemination doesn’t work for female lions,” Andrew said.

  Chen tilted his head. “No, I didn’t know that. It works for avian breeds.”

  Andrew frowned. “I’m going after my son.”

  Before Marlen could stop him, Andrew slid out of their embrace then headed for the door.

  “Oh no you don’t.” Chen rushed to catch up, Marlen at his side. He grabbed Andrew’s arm. “You aren’t going anywhere without us.”

  “I don’t want you two hurt,” Andrew protested.

  “We’re tougher than we look.”

  Marlen nodded his agreement. “And you’re human.”

  “What does that have to do with anything?”

  Andrew looked genuinely curious, as if his human fragility had nothing to do with whether he could handle himself or not.

  “Where’s my mate?” Lou’s booming voice echoed through the pride house. Lions scattered down the hall.

  Andrew raced towards the sound. The wrens chased after him. Chen grabbed Andrew’s arm when he went to approach the bear shifter.

  “Where’s James?” Lou asked. “No one can tell me.”

  “He’s been kidnapped by his mother.” The despair in Andrew’s voice had Chen tightening his grip.

  He refused to let his mate throw himself on the other shifter’s mercy. It wasn’t his fault that James had been taken.

  Lou frowned. “I’m tired of people stealing my mate. You have horrible taste in women.”

  “I know,” Andrew agreed.

  “You won’t have to worry about that anymore,” Chen said.

  Marlen was on Andrew’s other side.

  Lou nodded. “Good. Are you sure there aren’t any more psycho women in your past?”

  Andrew shook his head. “No. She was the last one. I had hoped she was dead.”

  Chen rubbed Andrew’s back. He couldn’t help the compulsion to soothe his beloved. Andrew would scoff at their quick love, but he didn’t understand the shifter compulsion to bond with their mates. Andrew could still walk away and feel none of the repercussions of leaving them. He wished they knew more humans who had bonded with shifters. They didn’t have anyone to ask for advice.