Porpoiseful Intent [Placida Pod 2] (Siren Publishing Everlasting Classic ManLove) (3 page)

Everyone was smiling at him. “What?”

Emery squeezed his shoulder. “Sorry. Didn’t mean to exclude you from the conversation.”

He offered up a smile he hoped looked genuine. “It’s okay. I know I’m the newbie.” Truth was, he felt overwhelmed. Not that he’d trade Emery for anything, but settling down with a hunky dolphin shifter wasn’t something he’d ever contemplated before it actually happened.

After dinner he insisted on helping Louise with the dishes and that Olivia join the other men in the living room. Louise gave him a kind smile.

“It’s really okay, Sean. Joseph fully accepts you into the family.”

“I know. It’s me, not you guys. I’m still coming to grips with the whole ‘my boyfriend’s a part-time dolphin’ thing.”

“I think Joseph envies you two. I know I do.”

“Why?”

Her smiled turned wistful, if not downright sad. “Like I told you, you boys have a mate-bond and we don’t.”

“But you got married.”

“Yes. It was an arranged marriage. If we hadn’t, there could have been a brutal battle between our pods.”

“Why?”

She returned her attention to the plate she was rinsing in the sink. Her voice dropped. “Because my uncle was a vicious asshole. He killed Joseph’s parents.”

Sean thought he couldn’t possibly have heard her right. “He did
what
?”

“He was a megalomaniacal shithead, to be quite blunt. He knew damn well he couldn’t take over the pod from my father. I have four older brothers, all of them Alphas. They would have easily beaten him had he tried to oust my father.”

She let out a sad sigh. “Unfortunately, he took Joseph’s parents by surprise during one of their full moon swims. He didn’t get away, however. He was captured by Joseph and others from the pod. At first, they rightfully thought it was an organized attack. When my parents convinced them that it wasn’t, that they weren’t involved and didn’t know anything about it, they offered to do anything to keep the peace. Including allowing my uncle to be killed.”

Sean felt ill. “So they did? Kill him, I mean?”

“Yes. But they also wanted equal vengeance, so to speak.”

“They wanted to kill someone innocent?”

That’s when she sadly smiled. “Not quite. They were not barbaric, but two lives were lost. The pod Alpha, no less. They wanted a pledge to ensure future peace. I volunteered to marry Joseph.”

Sean didn’t quite know how to feel about his father-in-law now. “But you didn’t love him.”

“No, I didn’t. Not at the time. But I found him very handsome. I was physically attracted to him. I still am. He treated me kindly. We did quickly come to love each other. He’s never held what my uncle did over my head.”

“Why would you volunteer to marry someone you didn’t even know?”

She stared out the window for a moment, apparently composing her thoughts. “I fell in love with a boy in college the year before. A human boy. Unfortunately, he wasn’t in love with me. I didn’t realize it at the time. He used me for sex. I was young and naïve and away from home for the first time. I learned a harsh lesson.”

“He broke your heart?”

She nodded before shrugging and looking at Sean. “As I’ve said, Joseph and I do love each other. He always hated that the first man I gave my heart to, a human, broke it. Joseph is a good man to the core of his soul. He loves his family and his pod fiercely. He takes his responsibilities
very
seriously. That was more than part of the reason he objected at first to you and Emery being together. And after seeing how my uncle nearly destroyed not only the Placida pod, but potentially his own home pod, had fighting broken out between them, he was desperate to do everything in his power to keep his Alpha line strong.”

They fell into a comfortable silence as they finished cleaning up the kitchen. Conflicted, Sean did understand more of the whys behind Joseph’s initial refusal to accept him. It also explained how Joseph could so easy switch his stance after Sean nearly died at Erik’s hands.

“Emery never told me any of that.”

“That’s because he doesn’t know.”

Sean blinked. “What?”

“None of the children know.”

“Why haven’t you guys told Emery all of this?”

“None of our children ever had a reason to know all the details before. I don’t know if Emery told you this or not, but we tend to not discuss private matters amongst each other. It’s considered socially unacceptable among our kind. We don’t air our dirty laundry. We’ve always had an inherent mistrust of outsiders because of our need to protect our secret. You put it all together, and it doesn’t lead our kind to many Jerry Springer moments, if you get my drift.”

“No, I still don’t get why all the secrecy amongst yourselves and this bullshit propriety nonsense. I saw dolphins getting it on with each other at that first full moon swim. That’s okay, but talking about it isn’t?”

She shrugged. “That’s normal behavior. Everyone knows it happens. It’s natural. We don’t go around selling tickets to it or talking about it. Does that make sense?”

“No, I still don’t get it.”

She seemed to collect her thoughts. “Have you ever been to a nudist colony, Sean?”

“No.”

“If you go to one, you don’t stare at others. You don’t make lewd comments. You don’t stand there talking about how great it is to be parading around naked. People just…are. That’s sort of the way dolphins are. Not the best analogy, I know, but it’s the only one I can think of.”

“So if you don’t go talking about it, why are we talking about it now, may I ask?”

“Because after Olivia and Brad go to bed, I want the four of us to sit down and talk about it. You and Emery, and me and Joseph. It’s time Emery knows the full story. I wanted you to know beforehand, so you can be there to support Emery instead of being shocked by it.” She dried her hands and laid one on his shoulder as she stared into his eyes. “You are a very strong man, whether or not you realize it. I’m glad my son has such a solid rock in his life.”

* * * *

Their talk with Emery’s parents wrapped up a little before midnight. Emery put up no resistance when Sean took the keys from him before they left the Nadels’ house. Not just because Emery had let his dad pour him two large bourbons, straight, and downed them with little hesitation, either. Emotionally, he felt obliterated. As if everything he had thought he’d known about his family was now in question.

He buckled his seat belt as Sean slid behind the wheel. “Are you okay?” Sean asked.

Emery shook his head.

Sean patted him on the thigh before starting the Mustang and shifting it into reverse to back out of his parents’ driveway.

He didn’t speak on the way home. He felt beyond grateful that Sean didn’t push him, verbally or mentally, to say what was on his mind. He didn’t
know
what was on his mind.

Yes, he’d heard rumors over the years, speculation here and there, but he’d never pursued the gossip about his parents. It was beneath him, for starters. As son of the pod’s Alpha, he understood people would want to talk smack about them from time to time simply to rile him, true or not. He had his own life to live, too busy to worry about bullshit from the past or chasing down rumors.

He’d also been raised to mind his own business.

When Sean turned into their driveway less than an hour later and shut the car off, Emery sat there, listening to the tick of the cooling engine. He finally turned to Sean. “Mom told you all that before, didn’t she? You didn’t act like you were shocked by any of it.”

“In the kitchen after dinner. I mean, I know she told us both after the accident that they didn’t have…whatever it is you and I have. A mate-bond like we have. But she told me about her uncle, what he did, and why their marriage was arranged, yes.”

Emery stared at his hands for a moment in the darkened car. Finally, he quietly said, “I wouldn’t blame you if you wanted to leave all this crazy mess behind you.”

The quickness and strength of Sean grabbing and squeezing his hand startled him. “Fuck that, dude. I love you, and you’re stuck with me. So her uncle was a douchebag. Big deal. Your parents love each other
now
. Isn’t that what matters? And considering your dad was a lot nicer to her than someone else might have been given the circumstances, I’d say that things turned out all right.”

Sean gripped Emery’s chin with his other hand and made him look him in the eye. “I. Love. You. We have the freaky mental thing going that’s cool as shit. We have a lot in common.” He smiled. “And your cock rolls my eyes back in my head. You aren’t getting rid of me. I’ve never loved anyone the way I love you. You’re part of my heart and soul. So quit thinking that stupid shit about me leaving right now.”

Emery hugged him and held on, feeling the depth of the emotions swirling around him and threatening to drag him under like a whirlpool. “I love you so much. How’d I get so lucky?”

“Let’s go inside and I’ll show you one of the reasons,” Sean said with a playful grin.

They fell into bed a few minutes later, Sean taking the lead and pinning Emery on his back underneath him. He laced his fingers through Emery’s hands and held them over Emery’s head. “I’m going to make you forget about everything except how good we are together,” Sean whispered.

He started at Emery’s left earlobe, nibbling and nipping and kissing his way down his jaw, under his chin, up to his other ear.

Emery closed his eyes and softly moaned. His fingers tightened around Sean’s. Just being near his mate could drive all other thoughts and worries out of his mind, much less making love to him. Before Sean he wasn’t a monk, but he would have classified himself closer to the saint than the manslut end of the scale.

Now, he couldn’t even remember what any of his other lovers felt like. All he could think about, all he could feel, was Sean’s touch. The scent of the man filled his lungs, the taste of him haunted his every waking moment.

His mate.

Sean rose up on his arms a little and looked into Emery’s eyes. Emery felt he could lose himself in Sean’s sweet, mocha-brown gaze.

Slowly, teasingly, Sean lowered his mouth to Emery’s, drawing back every time he felt Emery try to lift his head to make contact sooner. When Sean’s lips closed on his, Emery’s mouth parted, inviting him in, wanting him.

Needing him.

The tip of Sean’s tongue traced his lips, pressing further in and flicking against his teeth, playing keep-away with Emery’s tongue when he tried to make contact.

Sean lifted his head. A sweet smile curled his lips. “I’m going to fuck you so good, baby,” he whispered. “Going to sling these gorgeous legs of yours over my shoulders and bury my cock all the way deep inside your ass. You want that?”

“Yeah,” Emery breathlessly whispered. Between their bodies, his cock throbbed nearly painfully at Sean’s words.

Sean felt it, too. He gently wiggled his hips and created sweetly torturous friction against Emery’s erection. “You like that?”

“Uh-huh!”

Sean released his hands and sat up. He reached over to the bedside table and grabbed a towel and bottle of lube. He grabbed Emery’s legs behind the knees and hiked his legs up to his chest before sliding the towel under him.

“I don’t feel like changing the sheets tonight,” Sean joked. Then he squirted lube down Emery’s ass and slowly began working it into his rim with one finger.

Emery closed his eyes and moaned.

“You like that, too, don’t you?”

“Fuck, you know I do.” Emery’s eyes popped open at the almost stinging slap against his thigh.

Sean wore a playful smile. “I’m driving tonight. Don’t get pushy or I won’t let you come for a while.”

The words made Emery’s cock throb even more. Tonight he was more than willing to let Sean take the lead. It meant he could completely let go and let Sean fuck every last thought out of his brain.

Including the truth about his parents’ marriage.

Especially
the truth about his parents’ marriage.

Emery’s eyes closed again and he let out a moan as Sean went back to thoroughly lubing him up, using first one, then two fingers to loosen his ass. He struggled not to rock against his hand even as Sean teased him by brushing a finger against his gland.

Finally, the hand disappeared. He heard Sean squirting more lube and knew it was going on his cock. Then Sean pressed the thick head of his member against Emery’s hole, slowly breaching and giving him time to adjust before sinking his entire length in him.

Sean lifted Emery’s legs to his shoulders and leaned forward, pressing him into the mattress. Emery had no problem seeing why Sean enjoyed the reverse of this position so much. When Sean grabbed his hands again and pinned them over his head, he felt safely cocooned in his lover’s arms.

He stared down at him. “How’s that?”

Emery nodded, beyond coherent speech. When Sean slowly started fucking him, never breaking eye contact with him, he squeezed Sean’s hands and held on for the ride, now struggling not to come from how fantastic it felt.

Sean picked up the pace, fucking him harder, faster, until he was pounding his cock into Emery’s ass. With Sean’s cock bottoming out inside him with every stroke, Emery couldn’t hold back any longer. His back arched as he felt his balls draw up tight. Then the explosion hit him, feeling like it would rip him apart from the inside out as his cock jerked, shooting his juices all over his belly.