Loving Lachlyn (Ashland Pride Two) (10 page)

“I’m sure you’ll do fine.  Both of you.  See you when you’re done.”

They said goodbye to James, grabbed a few extra tools, and followed his suggestion and headed to the left, leaving the boarding house behind.  They walked in silence for several minutes, picking their way among the trees.  Jericho broke the silence by saying, “We’re looking for two trees that are about six inches wide.  They’ll be easier to fell.”

Alek nodded, and the two of them scanned the woods as they walked.  About the same time, they both found young oak trees.  Jericho felled his tree first.  He’d grown up splitting logs as a chore, so he had experience with using an axe.  He pulled the tree out of the way of Alek’s tree, so that he could fell his own, and went to work using a lopper to remove the limbs.  By the time that Jericho was bucking the trunk into small enough pieces to use for the ceremonial fire, Alek had felled his tree and was using the cutting tool to take off the limbs.

Jericho stopped and tugged off his shirt, wiping his brow.  “It’s hot as hell out here.”

Alek straightened from his tree and groaned, cracking his back.  “I have never done anything like this before.  This is damn hard work.”

“My father used to say that cutting firewood builds character, because it makes you appreciate the effort that went into preparing the wood that warms the house.”

Alek said, “I understand that, but I think I can appreciate a warm house just as well with a gas fireplace and fake logs.”

Jericho chuckled.  Alek had surprised him with his dedication and hard work.  Jericho had expected to help Alek, but he was determined to do it all himself and Jericho applauded that.

Using a wedge and a small sledgehammer, Jericho split the logs he’d made and stacked them nearby.  He sat down against a larger tree and watched Alek finish.  Alek made a pile of the limbs from both trees and stacked his wood next to Jericho’s.  Sitting down with a groan, he said, “Is there anything else we need to do?”

Jericho explained that after he got home from work, they’d return to the clearing and dig the small firepit and set up the tent.  Then they would have dinner at the house with Lachlyn before bringing her here for the night.

Alek rested his elbows on his knees and said, “I’m afraid I’m going to hurt Lachlyn with my claws.”

“You won’t.  Your beast will know what to do when the time is right, even if it’s not your normal mating marks.  The same way that you’ll know how to mark her neck with your fangs, you’ll know how to mark her arm and my chest.  It’s important to Lachlyn that you participate in this mating ceremony, too.”

He nodded.  “I don’t want to let her down.”

Jericho chuckled.  “You won’t.”

After resting for a while longer, they gathered the tools and headed back to the boarding house.  Lachlyn was playing catch in the backyard with the kids, and she greeted him and Alek warmly.  The night couldn’t come fast enough, and he settled quickly into bed with Lachlyn tucked safely between him and Alek.

Chapter 11

Lachlyn took extra time Saturday afternoon getting ready for the mating ceremony.  She wished that her parents were still alive so she could talk to her mom about the ceremony.  She was certain that her parents would approve of her mating Jericho and Alek.  They’d always liked Jericho, even in spite of his dad being an utter lunatic, and Alek was a sweetheart who they would definitely have liked.  They might have even moved up here to Ashland, too.

Sending up a silent, thankful prayer to her parents for protecting and loving her, she shifted her thoughts to the mating ceremony and continued to get ready.  She shaved her body carefully, and smoothed unscented lotion into her skin.  She didn’t want to use anything with perfume in it, because it would interfere with her mates’ ability to enjoy her natural scent.  She fixed her auburn hair back in a French braid and dressed in a simple, pale blue sundress.  Slipping on a pair of sandals, she grabbed a tote that she had filled with a change of clothes.  They weren’t taking any electronics, and she was looking forward to unplugging for the night and just enjoying their mating time.

Mating ceremonies were done privately, but the basics were taught to the males and females in the den when they were old enough to understand the significance of finding a mate and treating them right.  Males were given the responsibility of preparing everything, and Jericho and Alek had been working very hard for the last two days to get ready.

Just as she was about to open the door and go downstairs, someone knocked and Jericho and Alek walked in with two trays of food.

“I thought we were eating with the family?”  She put her bag down on the dresser.

“It’s a full house down there, and we wanted to eat and get going,” Jericho said, putting his tray on the bed and motioning for her to get on the bed.  She sat down in the middle of the bed, and Jericho and Alek climbed up.  Alek’s tray joined Jericho’s on the bed.

Alek cut a piece of pork loin and held the fork up in front of her lips.  She arched a brow at him and he smiled, shyly.  “Indulge us, love.”

Her heart warmed at the term of endearment.  She was definitely falling for Alek.  He was sweet and kind, and one of the most sincere men she’d ever known.  And handsome.  And sexy.  Very sexy.

She opened her mouth and ate the bite of food, and they spent the next several minutes in silence while Alek and Jericho took turns feeding her apple glazed pork loin and mashed sweet potatoes.  When she was full, they ate the leftovers quickly, and she followed them down the stairs as they carried the trays into the kitchen.

The kids all rushed over to the door and hugged them goodbye, except for Henry who waved from the table.  He was a little too old to act as enthusiastically as the younger ones.  She’d quickly become fond of all the kids, who were full of energy and curiosity, always game to play outside or read a book or offer her a rematch in the video games that she couldn’t play well.

“We’ll see you tomorrow morning,” Alek promised, chucking Ben under the chin and ruffling the hair of the other boys.

They walked to the edge of the woods, and Jericho looked down at her.  “Are you ready to become our mate forever, Lachlyn?  You know that once we go through this ceremony, nothing short of death can undo it.  Once bears mate, they mate forever.”

“I know,” she reached for both of their hands.  “I want to be both of yours forever.”

They both smiled at her, squeezing her hands, and together they walked through the woods.  The sun was still high in the sky, but in a few hours it would set and the world would be dark around them.  Excitement filled her as they continued deeper into the woods, until finally they came into a clearing where a large dark green tent was set up, with a firepit laden with wood in front of it.

Jericho moved to the tent and pulled out a black fur blanket that reminded her of bear fur.  He laid the blanket between the firepit and the tent, removed his shoes and shirt, and stepped onto the blanket.  She and Alek moved to the other edge of the blanket, and Alek removed his shoes and shirt and stepped onto the blanket, leaving space between himself and Jericho for her.

They both held their hands out to her and Alek said, “Lachlyn, do you come to our mating with love and honor in your heart?”

“Yes,” she said, slipping off her sandals before taking their hands and joining them on the blanket.

They knelt in front of the firepit, and Jericho lifted a lighter from the ground.  They both picked up sticks that had been placed at the edge of the firepit.  He held the flame of the lighter under both of their sticks until they were burning, and then they pushed the sticks into the pile of logs where kindling caught fire quickly.  The logs that they had cut from trees they felled by hand began to burn, and for several quiet moments, they all simply stared into the growing flames.

They stood and positioned her so that she was between both of them, facing Alek.

Jericho’s hands settled on her hips, and he kissed her neck.  “Do you promise to love Alek and me as your mates and protectors for the rest of your life?”

“Yes,” she said and pressed her hands on top of Jericho’s, shivers racing up her spine.

Alek cupped her face in his warm hands and kissed her mouth once.  “Lachlyn, I promise to love and honor you as my mate, to protect you and our future children from harm, for as long as the spirits allow me to be here on this earth.  Will you have me as your mate?”

“I will, Alek.”

He purred in happiness and kissed her.

Jericho’s hands turned her, and he asked her the same question, his dark eyes burning with passion.

“I will, Jericho,” she promised, and when he kissed her with a growl rumbling in his chest, she felt the same growl bubbling in her own body.  It spilled from her mouth as their lips met.

Jericho chuckled and kissed her nose.  “Your bear must really be anxious to be so vocal.”

“I’m anxious to be mated to my men.”

Clearing his throat, he said, “Alek, I swear as the mate of your mate, that I will honor and respect our bond as brothers as long as there is breath left in my lungs.”

Alek repeated the sentiment, and Lachlyn felt tears burn in her eyes.  Jericho loved her enough to share her with Alek, and Alek, although he might not truly love her yet, was willing to share her forever and treat Jericho like a brother.  It was sweet and amazing, and she wished she could find words to express just how much it meant to her, but words failed her.

Jericho and Alek clasped hands on either side of her and then lifted their heads to the sky.  Jericho’s bear bellowed and Alek’s cat roared, and her heart swelled with the commitment of their animals to her.  Not only were Jericho and Alek
the men
committing to their mating, but their beasts were as well.

The roaring ceased, and the woods seemed almost reverently silent.  Lachlyn looked up at Jericho, and he tugged on the sides of her dress, his lips sliding into a smooth, if not devilish, smile.  Alek’s hands joined Jericho’s as they lifted the dress over her head and tossed it aside.  Although the night was warm, she shivered.

She reached for Jericho’s pants and undid them.  Alek’s hands trembled as he held her hips and kissed her neck.  She worked Jericho’s pants down his hips and then slipped down to her knees to push them down.  He stepped from his pants and she tossed them into the tent.  His cock rose from his body, the broad head glistening with arousal, and she leaned forward and licked the crown.

Turning on her knees, she helped Alek from his pants and kissed the head of his cock, smiling when he groaned.  Alek dropped to his knees and cupped her face.  His lips brushed hers, and his warm breath skated over her heated cheek.  “You’re so beautiful, Lachlyn.”

She opened her mouth to say something equally sweet to him, but his tongue slipped past her parted lips as his hands dropped to cup her breasts.  His thumbs rubbed over her nipples until they tightened.  She moved restlessly on her knees, her pussy clenching in need as desire swept through her.

Alek lifted his mouth from their drugging kiss, her brain spinning from lack of oxygen, and turned her slowly around until he was behind her and she was facing Jericho’s hard cock.

She grasped Jericho’s cock with one hand and licked around the plump head.  He groaned loudly, and she smiled, thrilled that she could make him happy.  Alek leaned close behind her and kissed her shoulder, both of his hands slipping around her waist and delving between her thighs.  He tugged lightly, and she moved her knees further apart.  Her stomach clenched in anticipation as Alek’s fingers played along the heated flesh of her inner thighs, teasing and massaging but not touching her where she wanted him to.

“Don’t forget about your mate, love,” Alek whispered in her ear, nipping the lobe and inching his fingers closer to her throbbing sex.

She opened her eyes, not even aware that she’d closed them, and cast them up to Jericho, who stood rigid, hands closed into tight fists at his sides.  She’d completely lost focus on Jericho when Alek had been touching her.

“Sorry,” she whispered, kissing his cock and tightening her grip on the shaft.

He smiled and then groaned when she opened her mouth wide and took him into her mouth, moving down the shaft until he hit the back of her throat.  As she drew back, his eyes closed slowly and she moved again, taking him as far into her mouth as she could, rubbing her tongue along the sensitive underside and using her hand to stimulate his whole, long length.

Alek kissed across her back, and his hands moved closer to her pussy, his fingertips finally grazing across her bare sex, already wet and throbbing with the strength of her desire.  He nipped at her neck and slid two fingers inside her pussy, circling her clit with his thumb, and spreading her open with his other fingers.

She groaned as his fingers moved in and out of her, unconsciously moving to the same rhythm on Jericho’s cock.  Jericho’s hands touched her head, slowing her down, and she peeked up at him to see his face flushed with a sheen of sweat, his brows drawn.

Alek wiggled his thumb on her clit faster, his fingers driving into her quickly, until her legs began to tremble and her stomach clenched.  Liquid heat filled her, and she moaned loudly around Jericho’s cock.  He pushed her off his cock as her orgasm struck, and she cried out as pleasure spiraled through her.

Alek lifted her up, her legs parting until she was straddling him as he knelt behind her.  Alek guided his cock into her pussy, the position allowing him to fill her deeply.  She sighed, her pussy clutching his cock, and felt fingers tapping her cheek, Jericho gently reminding her that they were not done yet.

It was their turn now.  She pushed her mouth onto Jericho’s cock, rubbing her tongue on the sensitive place where the shaft and head met.  She lifted herself up and down Alek’s cock, loving the way that his cock hit all the right places inside her, drawing out her orgasm with every stroke.  Jericho dropped his head back, his hips moving to meet her mouth, as Alek gripped her hips tightly and moved her up and down his cock.  Jericho’s cock thickened, and he shouted her name when he came, his come spurting into her mouth.  Alek came seconds later, dropping his head to her neck and breathing her name like a prayer.

She released Jericho’s cock, and he dropped to his knees.  Her body hummed on the edge of orgasm, and with Alek’s cock slowly softening inside her, Jericho strummed her clit with his fingers until she came with a shriek of pleasure, her body jerking against Alek’s.

She was dimly aware of two growls just before thick fangs bit into either side of her neck.  Jericho’s fingers continued to move, drawing out her pleasure as they marked her.  She felt claws cut into her upper arms as they marked her in the way of their were-bear ancestors.  Her hands tingled, her fingers aching suddenly.  She had the desire to use claws that she knew she didn’t have.

Alek shifted her so she was leaning on his right side.  Jericho raked his claws over Alek’s heart, and Alek did the same to him.  Jericho lifted her off Alek’s lap and carried her into the tent.  He put her down on a large air mattress covered with a sheet and knelt next to her as Alek joined them.

“Those are happy tears, right?” Alek asked, his face carved with concern as he brushed a tear she hadn’t realized she’d cried off her cheek.

Her hands were in her lap and she lifted them, inspecting the tips.  “My hands.”  She rubbed her hands together, willing the mild ache away.

“What about your hands, Sunshine?”

She looked at her mates who were both worried about her and shook off the strange sadness that had settled over her.  “I don’t know.  My hands hurt, and I felt like I could use my claws to mark you both, but then it was over.”

Jericho’s brows rose, and he picked up one of her hands and looked at it, testing her joints.  “Has that ever happened before?”

“No.”

Alek brushed another tear from her cheek.  “You’ve growled a few times, too.  What do you think it means?”  He looked at Jericho.

Jericho let out a slow breath and then kissed her fingertips.  “I have no clue.  Lachlyn is the first non-shifting bear I’ve ever known.  Maybe because she’s finally found both of her mates, her bear is becoming more prominent.”