Hyacinth, Scarlet - Fire of the Four Seasons (Siren Publishing Ménage Amour ManLove) (3 page)

Alexei rushed to do as
Ly
etah told him. With trembling hands, he picked a bouquet of the love
ly
blossoms, caressing the soft petals. When he finished, he wrapped them in a soft cloth and placed them in the saddlebag.

This all seemed so surreal. Who were these men?
Did
he real
ly
run into the seasons themselves? No, it couldn’t be. Witchcraft, then? Either
that
or this
was
some sort of weird dream. Perhaps Alexei
had
fallen into the snow and
now
hallucinated beautiful men.

Zimah’s voice pushed aside his fears. “Now, our reward,” he said.

Alexei nodded. His heart thundered as he approached Zimah and pressed his mouth to Zimah’s in a chaste kiss. He’d on
ly
ever tried this with women, but he found Zimah’s lips to be even softer than any maiden’s. But Zimah
was
unlike anyone Alexei
had
ever touched before, and the man soon proceeded to prove it to Alexei. His tongue demanded entrance, and Alexei glad
ly
complied, moaning as he
did
so. Their kiss
reminded Alexei of
a winter storm, not cold, but wicked, harsh, and unforgiving. Zimah took what he wanted, and his skin, strange
ly
cold to the touch, seemed to warm under Alexei’s touch. Alexei felt odd, as if the fire he’d always felt within him urged him onwards, to melt away the ice inside Zimah.

All too soon, they broke apart, with both of them panting hard. The other three men gave them heated looks. Visnah approached and took Alexei in his arms. “My turn.”

Visnah’s kiss
turned out to be
gentle where Zimah’s
had
been rough and ravishing. He coaxed Alexei to relax, licking at the seams of Alexei’s lips with excruciating patience. Visnah smelled like the fresh flowers he’d summoned, and a sense of tamed desire filled Alexei. He wanted to lose himself in Visnah’s scent and taste forever, to enjoy the reviving energy
that
seemed to course through his veins when they touched.

When the need to breathe forced them to separate, Alexei stumbled away from the two men, his head whirling with arousal and confusion. Ohsyn caught him before he fell. “Careful now. We wouldn’t want you to fall.”

Alexei stared at the man blank
ly
. “Do you want a kiss, too?” he blurted out.

His face flamed when Ohsyn grinned at him. “It wouldn’t hurt, but
Ly
etah and I
did
n’t help you, so we can’t ask
that
.”

Ly
etah chuckled huski
ly
. “But since you’re offering, we won’t say no.”

Before Alexei could protest, Ohsyn and
Ly
etah kissed his cheeks. They should have been friend
ly
pecks and nothing more, but with
Ly
etah groping Alexei’s ass, they became something entire
ly
different, a promise for more.

Final
ly
, the four men urged Alexei off. “Go on,” Ohsyn said. “Go home. Your fami
ly
must be worried by now.”

Alexei nodded. “Thank you for your help,” he said.

He retrieved the flowers from the saddlebag and held them careful
ly
while he mounted the horse. He
did
n’t want to squash the gentle buds, and he needed to keep them away from the chill wind as well.

“Don’t worry,” Visnah said. “They’ll keep until you get home.”

Alexei waved at the four men and rode away. He forced himself to keep looking forward, but with each passing second, his heart became heavier. He found he
did
n’t want to leave the grove. He wanted to stay here, know these men, talk to them, and find out how they knew Alexei, and why they’d helped him. Perhaps there would even be more kisses.

Alexei turned around and threw a gaze in the direction of the grove. He saw the large four stones, silent, and no sign of the four men.

Alexei would have thought it
had
all been a dream if not for the bouquet of violets he still clutched against his chest. Even so, he remained rooted on the spot, staring at the grove in hopes
that
he’d see the men reemerge. They never
did
, and when night began to fall, Alexei
had
no choice but to leave.

He
did
n’t even know how he managed to make the trip back. It
must’ve been
the horse’s instinct
that
kept him from losing his way. When at last he reached their home, he’d begun to doubt his own sanity. He kept an almost punishing grip on the flowers, expecting them to disappear into thin air any moment now.

The front door of their house burst open, and his father rushed out. “Come inside, Alexei. Hurry. I
was
just about to go looking for you.”

Igor pulled Alexei into the warmth of their home. Almost instant
ly
, Alexei felt better, the fire in the hearth calling out to him. Sometimes, he thought he could hear the fire speaking to him, whispering words of comfort and praise.
“Welcome home, Alexei,”
it said this time. Once, the cheerful greeting would have been enough. Now, Alexei would have preferred an explanation.

He took off his heavy jacket, careful
ly
handling the violets as he
did
so. “Where’s Eva?” he asked his father.

Igor’s expression darkened. “In her room with your mother.”

He seemed to want to say something else, but then, Eva burst in, bouncing toward him. “Well?
Did
you find them?”

“I
did
,” Alexei answered. He gripped the violets in his hand, caressing the buds gent
ly
.

“Oh, they’re so beautiful,” Eva said. “Come, give them to me.”

Alexei took in his twin’s demanding expression. He realized he
did
n’t want to give her the flowers. Sure, she’d been the one to demand them in the first place, but Alexei
had
witnessed the magical act through which they’d been created. He
did
n’t want to let them go. He wanted to keep the tiny piece of the dream he’d experienced for himself.

But his mother came into the room, and Alexei knew he would not be allowed to keep the flowers. It would look odd anyway. Men were not supposed to get clingy over a bunch of violets. Then again, men
did
n’t kiss other men either.

Eva’s voice snapped him out of his trance. “Why are your lips swollen?” she asked, peering at him.

On impulse, Alexei covered his mouth with his hand. The action mere
ly
made Eva arch a brow and Elga frown. Alexei
did
his best to cover his suspicious demeanor with a nonchalant shrug. “Must be because of the cold.”

Elga
did
n’t look very convinced, but obvious
ly
, she couldn’t find another explanation. “Give the violets to Eva,” she said without preamble.

Helpless, Alexei handed the flowers to his sister. Eva squeezed them to her chest, making Alexei wince when the action hurt the violets. Elga, however, just kissed Eva’s cheek. “Beautiful flowers, darling. Now run along. You should go place them in water.”

With one graceful twirl, Eva took off in a cloud of perfume. Elga final
ly
directed her gaze toward Alexei. “Well, it seems you managed to find them in the end. Where there’s a will, there’s a way.”

Alexei bit his lip, bare
ly
managing to keep himself from crying out at the injustice. At least she could show some concern, given
that
he’d have frozen to death in the wild if not for the four men he’d run into. “Where
did
you get them?” Igor asked. “It’s not the season for such beautiful flowers.”

“Mama said there’s a grove at the edge of the forest where they grow in spite of the weather. I wandered around until I found it.”

Igor looked thoughtful. “Well, you shouldn’t have gone. It’s dangerous to go out in this freezing cold. And there might be beasts out there.”

For a few seconds, something shifted inside Elga’s eyes, like an unreadable emotion. But then, it vanished as soon as it appeared. “I’m sure Alexei can handle it,” she said, shrugging.

“Thank you for trusting me, Mama,” Alexei answered, keeping his voice level and respectful. At this point, he couldn’t do much else. And besides, as much as the situation frustrated him, he remembered meeting the four mysterious men, and he
did
n’t feel so abandoned anymore.

“Go on to your room and change,” Igor said. “Your mother will have dinner ready soon, and then you can sleep for a while. You’ve
had
a very busy day.”

Alexei took his father’s advice, forgoing the call of the fire for the benefit of solitude. As he went past Eva’s room, he heard her hum a low song, her crystalline voice reminding him of the sound of bells. Shaking himself, he entered his own chamber, locked the door, and took off his wet clothing.

He
was
supposed to get ready for dinner, but he
had
some time until his parents called him. Naked, he plopped on the bed and covered himself with the blankets. It
felt
chil
ly
inside the bedroom, but the heavy quilts provided him with a warm cocoon. He’d have to start a new fire in the hearth, but he
did
n’t have the energy now. Instead, he reached down to cup himself, leisure
ly
moving his hand up and down his cock. A part of him would have preferred to imagine a beautiful woman while doing so, but instead, the four men he’d just met appeared. Alexei remembered Zimah’s hot kiss and Visnah’s gentleness, the promise in
Ly
etah and Ohsyn’s touches. He wanted more. He imagined Zimah’s kiss go on and on, never stopping. Visnah took position behind Alexei and began to caress his sides, reaching between him and Visnah to tweak his nipples. And then, when he broke away from the two,
Ly
etah and Ohsyn came forth.
Ly
etah knelt in front of Alexei, taking Alexei’s prick in his hot mouth. All the while, Ohsyn reached between Alexei’s ass cheeks, prodding at the hidden hole. One finger penetrated Alexei’s forbidden passage. Alexei’s eyes greedi
ly
took in the sinful sight of the four men in front of him. Zimah and Visnah lay together, their hands moving on each other’s cocks as they watched
Ly
etah and Ohsyn work Alexei.
Ly
etah continued to bob his head up and down Alexei’s shaft. And then Ohsyn’s finger hit something deep inside him
that
made the flame inside Alexei spark into infinite life. He cried out as he found his peak, his orgasm sweeping through him stronger and brighter than anything he’d ever experienced.

Alexei tried to cling to his men, but they melted, and when the haze of the orgasm dissipated, they disappeared entire
ly
. As he recovered, Alexei realized they’d never been there. His own fingers
had
massaged his shaft and penetrated his ass.

Alexei felt himself flush in shamed pleasure. He needed to clean up quick
ly
and find a way to get rid of the evidence on the covers. It would be embarrassing if his mother found them. Hasti
ly
, Alexei rushed to his task. In a distant thought, he wished this
had
n’t been a dream, but reality.

Chapter Two

The violets
did
n’t last long in Eva’s room. The following day, Alexei saw her throw away the wilted, dried up flowers, and he sighed. He’d have liked to keep them. In his heart, he’d known his sister’s whims would destroy the beauty of the violets.

No one made any comment on this, however, not even Eva herself. Elga laughed gai
ly
as Eva went outside to play in the snow. For Alexei’s part, he
had
work to do. He always
did
. He helped their mother with their animals who needed even more care because of the winter, then went out to get more firewood. He
did
n’t mind. It kept his mind busy and away from other, more dangerous and sinful things.

At lunch, Elga cooked a hot meal, but as delicious as his mother’s dishes always were, Alexei
did
n’t taste much of it. He ate without paying attention, his thoughts unerring
ly
wandering to the meeting the day before.

Yet again, Eva’s voice snapped him out of his reverie. “
Did
you hear what I said, Alexei?”

Alexei blinked in confusion. “I’m sorry, no.”

Eva sighed in something akin to exasperation. “I said the stew tastes excellent,” she replied.

Alexei nodded, uncertain why Eva would have addressed this comment to him. “It does, indeed. Like always.”

He meant it as a compliment for his mother, but Elga ignored him. Eva continued to speak, offering him a light grin. “And it would work great with a delicious dessert. I’m thinking strawberries would match the taste perfect
ly
. Don’t you agree, Mama?”

Elga smiled at her. “Of course, dear. You always grasp the essence of each meal. I’m flattered. Alexei, you should go to the market and get us some strawberries.”