Striped (3 page)

“Are you ready for me?” Mitchell asked, squeezing Jason’s cock.

He’d been ready for him since he’d picked Mitchell up at the air field. “Fuck me.”

Mitchell’s hands disappeared from Jason’s body for a moment, and Jason knew that Mitchell was applying lube to his long, thick cock, preparing it to slide into Jason’s body. Mitchell knelt between Jason’s legs, nudging them apart with his knees, and Jason complied, flexing his forearms and dropping to his elbows on the mattress.

Cold fingers slipped into the cleft of his ass again, depositing a cupped handful of lube there. Because of Mitchell’s size, both of them benefited from the extra help. When Mitchell leaned forward, his cock opened Jason easily, most of the head inside before Jason felt the slight burn and forced himself to relax. Slowly, rocking in and out a few centimeters before inching forward, Mitchell eased in, his fingers gripping Jason’s hips, denting the tight skin and hard muscle as he struggled to maintain his control. He pressed all the way in, almost too deep, then slowly withdrew. Jason took long, slow breaths, keeping himself receptive for the first few, gentle thrusts. This was the punishment before the reward, and he welcomed it.

“Let me know when it’s okay,” Mitchell said as he reached beneath them to grip Jason’s cock. Slowly, he stroked Jason, his hand coated with lube.

Blood surged to Jason’s cock, his pulse leaping under Mitchell’s firm grip. “It’s okay,” he moaned, needing to thrust his hips and speed Mitchell’s hand. “Fuck me.”

Mitchell obliged, sliding in and out of Jason’s ass slowly, carefully picking up speed when Jason pushed back. They’d been together so long, they knew each others’ sexual cues the same way they knew their own wants and desires. Jason had never experienced anything so incredible as being perfectly in tune with Mitchell. He threw back his head and groaned, cold shivers traveling in waves up and down his back. They strained together, Mitchell stroking him to a climax so strong that Jason’s toes cramped as they dug into Mitchell’s calves. Seconds later, Mitchell followed, his thighs trembling against the backs of Jason’s as he slumped over him.

Mitchell kissed the back of Jason’s neck, then again between his shoulder blades before pulling out and rolling onto his side of the bed. “I say…shower. Then, catch up on DVR.”

Rubbing his face in the pillow, Jason laughed. “Glad to see that you’ve got the transition from home and away down.”

Later, while Mitchell lay with his head on Jason’s lap as they watched television, Mitchell said casually, “What do you think of going out to Sean’s in the morning?”

“I think…” Jason started carefully. “I think it’s either going to be horribly awkward, or it’s going to be unbearably awkward.

“But we do need to talk to him.” Mitchell fell quiet for a few moments, and though his attention seemed focused on the television, Jason knew he was miles away. Then he said, with the same firm resolve he always displayed when he made up his mind and wouldn’t be swayed. “I do awkward well.”

Jason laughed. “You do everything well.”

Chapter Four

Sean’s cabin was the smallest in the development, one of the efficiency fishing cabins that Mitchell had planned to rent to vacationing shifters who couldn’t move to Gwinn Close full time. Sean was a young guy, and young guys rarely had enough money for the kind of houses in the sanctuary, so Mitchell had repurposed the cabin. He’d worried a little about renting to someone Sean’s age, and to a tiger, but the grounds were meticulous, and he’d even planted a neat little vegetable garden on the sunny side of the yard.

Probably alerted by the dust and crunch of tires on gravel, Sean came to the screen door. He stepped out, raising his forearm above his eyes to shield the glare of the late-morning sun. His shirtless torso rippled, muscles moving under tight, tanned skin without a blemish anywhere, but for the writhing black stripes that marked his back.

“Good lord,” Mitchell said under his breath.

“I know. I know.” Jason’s voice held a hopelessness that was almost comical. At least, Mitchell knew that they were both thinking exactly the same thing: though they were in pretty good shape, especially for guys in the forties, just looking at Sean’s taut, toned body made them feel incredibly old and unattractive.

“Morning,” Sean called, dropping his arm and reaching for the t-shirt flung over the back of a patio chair.

No, no, don’t do that on our account, Mitchell thought, then was immediately struck with guilt. He wasn’t here to flirt. He was here to take care of a problem. “Good morning. Sorry to intrude like this, but there’s something we need to talk about—the sooner, the better.”

“Sounds serious.” Sean squinted against the sun and gave them a lopsided grin as he balled the shirt up and tossed it over his shoulder at the door.

“It has to do with whether or not you fit in here in Gwinn Close and whether you should stay in this community.”

Mitchell was grateful for Jason’s firm tone. There was no better way to put things, judging from the way Sean’s face fell.

He ran his fingers through his dark hair, the sun picking out copper strands in the black. “Oh man. This is about that lady?”

“Her name is Delilah,” Jason continued. “And her boyfriends aren’t real keen on you terrorizing her.”

“You make it sound like it’s been habitual. It was just that one time, I swear,” Sean said, his tone becoming more serious as he seemed to realize just how deep in the shit he was.

Mitchell folded his arms over his chest. “Maybe this once with Delilah, but there were complaints before that. I sent Jason to talk to you about it. Do you remember that?”

“Oh, that?” Sean’s grin returned. “I thought it was a flimsy pretext to try and pick me up.”

In the awkward silence—that Sean seemed to greatly enjoy—Jason cleared his throat. “I think I made it pretty clear that your behavior wasn’t going to be tolerated. And I’m kind of mad that you’re making me look like an asshole right now.”

Immediately, Sean’s smile faded. “Look, man, I’m sorry. That was rude. You did tell me to keep it out of the community, go look for fun somewhere safe. It’s just…it’s like an addiction, you know? I feel like I have to get out there and chase and pounce…you might not think you get it, but I think you do.”

Mitchell noticed that Sean looked to Jason for understanding. Mitchell searched his memory, to see if the subject of his animal form had ever come up in his conversations with Sean. Usually, it was something that came out right away, but Sean hadn’t been as interested in Mitchell’s background as most residents had been. It wasn’t out of self-centered interest that Sean hadn’t asked so many questions, but the opposite. The guy had been looking for someone to trust, and he’d wanted to believe in Gwinn Close, so much so that he hadn’t wanted to get too close to any ugly truths. Mitchell had been able to tell from the kid’s body language, and the words he’d used when they’d discussed the terms, the same way he could tell when a person had a whole lot of questions because they were testing to see if it was a scam.

“I think we should probably go inside and talk, if that’s okay with you?” Mitchell suggested.

Sean looked at Jason warily, then nodded. “Sure. Come on in.”

Mitchell and Jason had bickered through several debates before they’d decided to let Sean live in the fishing cabin. Jason had given many sermons about the uncleanliness of young, single men—“and you know I’m right, because we used to be them!”—all, Mitchell was relieved to see, had been completely unnecessary. The tiny cabin was spotless, the very limited counter space wiped clean and shining, the pine floors gleaming. Instead of curtains, Sean had put up white linen shades, giving the unfinished wooden beams and ceiling a modern touch. In the front of the cabin, huge windows displayed an excellent view of the sun-kissed lake, and Sean invited them into the living area with a gesture.

“Sorry, not a lot of seating. I don’t ‘entertain’.” He made quotes with his fingers and sat on the end of the full-size bed, made up in homey looking quilts. Probably hand-sewn for him when he was a kid, because as Jason had reminded Mitchell over and over again, “Young guys don’t have any money.”

Mitchell remained standing, while Jason sat cross-legged on the floor. “Did Jason tell you what kind of a shifter I was?”

“If he did, I don’t remember,” Sean admitted.

“Mitchell is a tiger,” Jason supplied for him. “Malaysian, same as you.”

“And you,” Sean reminded him.

Jason nodded “Mitchell is one of the most experienced shifters I’ve ever met. He’s so in tune with our primal energy, he understands us in a way that I have never found in any other person.”

“You’re lucky to have him, then,” Sean said politely. “What does this have to do with me?”

Mitchell considered his approach. “When Jason and I first got together, he had some problems with control, the same ones you’re having now. He would become irrationally, violently opposed to anything that could possibly be construed as a rule. If I asked him to not call me after ten, he’d call at ten-thirty. If I told him I thought we should spend more time together, he pulled away. But I stuck with him, because I had gone through the same thing. It’s difficult being a shifter, and a tiger shifter, especially.”

“I think it’s because we’re supposed to be solitary animals, in our animal forms,” Jason broke in. “But as men, we don’t want to be solitary. We want to seek out the company of other people, but our shifted form only sees them as intruders on our solitude.”

“I don’t know much about tigers,” Sean admitted sheepishly, “but I know what you mean.”

“I learned at a very young age that I wanted to be around people. I want the approval of the ‘pack’ to use canine terminology. So, I had to discipline myself, and break the hold my tiger had over me.” Mitchell glanced at Jason, who returned his gaze supportively. “Together, we managed to subdue that particular tiger instinct in Jason, as well.”

Sean had leaned slightly forward, his hands braced on his sides, elbows akimbo. His eyes widened as he looked from Mitchell to Jason. “How?”

With an embarrassed laugh, Jason scrubbed a hand over his jaw. “Okay, maybe this time I am trying to pick you up.”

Quickly, Mitchell explained, “Through sexual dominance and submission games. I thought if he could learn to give up that desire to be dominant and solitary in the bedroom, he would have the confidence to do it in other areas of his life.”

Sean raised an eyebrow. “Is that so?”

Mitchell spread his hands helplessly.

“Wow. That is the most insanely complicated lie to try and get me into bed that I’ve ever heard.” Sean laughed. “You could have just said, ‘hey, man, wanna three way?’ and I would have been down.”

Jason laughed, too. “No, I realize how insane it sounds, but hear me out. It really did work. I wouldn’t use our natures as shifters to get laid. That’s not ethical. It’s downright skeezy.”

Now Sean wasn’t laughing. He looked downright uncomfortable. “Look, I’m down with…most stuff. Sexually. I came onto you pretty hardcore when you first approached me, remember, Mitch?”

Jason raised his eyebrows at that.

The younger man went on, seemingly unaware of the relationship trap he’d laid for Mitchell, the one that would spring the second he and Jason were in the car. Sean shook his head. “I don’t know you guys well enough to let you tie me up. And I sure as hell don’t need any pack mentality hive mind thing going on. I’m a loner.”

“Lone tigers are fine. If they’re just tigers,” Jason explained. “You’re not just a tiger. You’re not just a human. You’re a shifter. That’s something completely different from your animal. I had a hard time trusting at first, too. Give it some time, let us know. The offer is there.”

“But if I don’t comply, you’ll kick me out,” Sean shot back, his tone surprisingly wounded for a person who wanted to be a loner.

“You’re kicked out if you don’t start following the rules,” Mitchell amended for him. The last thing he needed was some rumor floating around that he propositioned young guys and threw them out on their asses if they didn’t give it up. “I want you to be very clear on that. Accept our offer or don’t, that has no bearing on whether or not you stay here. But if I get any more complaints, I’m going to have to send you packing.”

“I’ll remember.” Sean got to his feet and stuck his hand out, shaking theirs in turns. “Well, I have some work I need to get to, so…”

“We won’t take up any more of your time,” Jason said apologetically.

When they were safely inside the car, he backed down the drive, his attention focused on keeping the truck in the twin ruts. “Well, that went well.”

Mitchell shook his head, gaze concentrated on what he could see of Sean’s tattooed back as the man walked away from the house, toward the water. He hadn’t expected Sean to jump for the opportunity. It had actually gone better than Mitchell had expected. “Give him two days. We’ll hear from him again.”

In the meantime, Mitchell just hoped Sean would control his impulses.

Chapter Five

Two nights. It had been two long, hot, sleepless nights since Mitchell and Jason had shown up at Sean’s house unannounced and invited him into a threesome. Not just a threesome, but a kinky, BDSM kind of threesome.