Chapter 16
Sixteen
Jack
Spending time with Bree, it’s easy to see what Bennett and Arthur like about her.
Though I’ve gotten to know her at a difficult time, she’s still resilient and independent.
But she’s also humble, considerate, and thoughtful, always worrying about others instead of herself.
Her personality is like all the parts I’m missing, the unfinished pieces of me where I didn’t develop enough.
It makes me aware of my own shortcomings, and fills me with a desire to be what she needs.
The only resentment I hold? That Arthur and Bennett got to have this, to build this, without me. That they thought I would disagree with them, maybe punish them for what they wanted, so they grew close with Bree and gave me no chance to be a part of it.
Now I’m left behind.
Not that it isn’t my own fault, too. I’ve spent too many years being bitter about Marilee, too many years denying Bennett the chance to have a woman in our herd when he had expressed wanting it.
I suppose we are all guilty, but now we have the opportunity to grow and redeem ourselves. If it were New Year’s, my resolution would be to get better, to become what I need to become to heal my family. And perhaps invite someone new into it.
I will need to learn more about her, and that’s what I plan to do next. Do-over dinner.
After getting home early from work, I head with Arthur to the store to shop for what I need.
“Risotto?” he asks, skeptical. “You think you can pull that off?”
“Sure, I’ve done it before.” It takes a lot of time and attention, but I know what to do.
We pick out all the ingredients together, and it’s good to spend time with Arthur where I don’t sense the resentment radiating off him. He’s been in a much better mood since we started spending time with Bree, and it’s good to see this side of him again.
It’s a strange thought, that Arthur would need her, too.
That he would fall for her and want her, too.
Bennett—I understand. He missed a woman’s touch, he’d said.
He wanted to go looking, but I shut him down.
So Bennett watching Bree’s cam all this time?
Not a surprise, but it hurts to know he felt he had to keep it secret from me.
Arthur, though. That the satyr who’s never touched a woman before our visit at DreamTogether would fall so hard for Bree… I think there’s something special about her.
Arthur and I start preparing the food the moment we get home. Bennett arrives when we’ve got things going, and he enters the house sniffing the air.
“Smells great,” he says as he trots into the kitchen. I haven’t seen him with this much energy in a while. He kisses Arthur’s cheek, then mine, and I like having this version of Bennett back, too.
Then Bree’s car pulls up as I start the risotto.
She knocks on the door and Bennett and Arthur both rush to answer it like eager puppies.
When she comes in, Arthur hugs her first, then Bennett.
I’m not sure what to do, so I wave from my spot at the stovetop.
Bree pauses next to me to sniff the cooking wine and shallots, and her hand lands on my shoulder.
“Wow. Looks great.”
My tail lifts at the praise.
“Anything I can do to help?” she asks.
“Sit down and have some soda water,” I say. “Or juice, or tea?”
“You seemed pretty confident about the soda water,” she says, sitting at the table. “Honestly, do you have something stiffer? If I’m going to not be pregnant, I might as well enjoy it.”
I can’t help a laugh at how blunt she is. “Sure. Arthur, do you want to open that white wine in the fridge?”
Saluting, Arthur grabs the wine, opens it, and pours each of us a glass while I stir the risotto.
Even though the rut is over, I can’t help noticing Bree’s scent wafting around our house. It reminds me of the breeding bench, which reminds me of being inside her, which makes me sport a chubby under my jeans as I turn more toward the stove while I stir.
“What did you do with your day, Bree?” I ask, eager to prove I can be personable.
She sips her wine, then grins down at it like it’s just what she needed. “I had a lot of admin to do. Using this opportunity to catch up on everything while I don’t feel very sexy.”
That must be a tough thing in her profession, to always be able to turn it “on” in the metaphorical and literal sense.
“How long have you been doing this kind of work?” I ask, sipping my own wine.
Bree’s green eyes rise to mine, and I find them entrancing. They are bright, full of sparkle, and I love how the apples of her cheeks are always a bit pink under her freckles.
“A few years. Three, maybe? I only quit my day job two years ago, though. Went full time.”
“You’re very entrepreneurial, to start your own business and survive on it.”
She cocks her head, then her soft lips pull back in a smile. “Thanks. It wasn’t my idea, really. My friend Tilly suggested it. I did it once for fun, and it turned out I liked it. I was good at it.”
She pauses like she didn’t intend to compliment herself.
“I haven’t watched, so I can’t say one way or the other.” I offer her a grin that I hope looks friendly. “But if you’re making a living, clearly you’re doing something right.”
Her laugh is so pure and sweet that my balls shiver.
“Thanks. I think I just figured out how to market myself. So much of it is marketing.”
So she has a number of skills, then. I’m not surprised to learn that.
“Jack,” says Bennett, rising from the table, “I think you need to stir?”
I got so caught up in my conversation with Bree that I forgot about stirring. Frantically, I try to push the risotto around, but the liquid’s dried up and now the rice is forming a crust along the bottom. I add more broth and try to save it as best I can.
“Sorry,” I say as I serve the food twenty minutes later. “I really wanted to give you something better than this.” I got rid of as much of the burned part as I could, but there’s still some in there.
But Bree shakes her head, graciously takes the plate and returns to the table.
We’re all quiet as we eat, but something feels… good about having her here. Strangely good, and maybe right, too.
Arthur
I love seeing Jack try so hard. He is clearly attracted to Bree—seeing as how he burned dinner—which is the most I could have asked for.
Now it’s just a matter of him falling for her the way I have, and then I can have everything I want.
I know it now, what I’m after. I need Jack to bring Bree into our herd. But I can’t ask that until he decides how he feels about her, and she decides how she feels about him. Not until they’ve formed a secure bond.
But I’m making it my mission to foster that.
After dinner, I take over cleaning up, though Bree insists on helping. We scrub the plates and load the dishwasher together. Then Jack proposes we all play a game, which isn’t very like him. Usually all he wants is to watch a movie together on the couch.
“Oh, a board game?” says Bree. “Those can be so divisive.”
We get out Monopoly, which makes her laugh, and each pick our pieces. It’s a ruthless game, with Bree buying up lots of property early and then holding onto it. She’s kind of a shark, if I’m being honest, and she gives Bennett a run for his money. He’s usually the king of Monopoly.
Jack curses as she steals a property out from under him, and now she has a monopoly.
“How could you let this happen?” I ask him, nearly throwing my piece.
He moans. “I don’t know! I’m sorry!”
Bree laughs maniacally as she advances across the board and collects another two hundred dollars. It’s not long after that the rest of us are merely tenants in her world, and I must admit this is the most fun I’ve had in ages.
After the game, Bree stands up and stretches. “I guess I should get going.”
My heart falls. I wanted her to stay with us tonight, to fill our big bed. I’m about to open my mouth and object when someone kicks me under the table. I glance up to find Jack shaking his head and mouthing the words, let her go.
Fine. He’s probably right, and I should wait for Bree to decide she wants to spend more time with us. But it sucks anyway to say, “Okay. I hope you sleep well tonight.”
She blinks at me, then grins. “I’m sure I will.” Then I open my arms to her for a hug, and she happily embraces me in return.
Once Bree’s gone, I sigh and sit back down at the table. Jack pats my shoulder, and I place a hand on top of his.
“She just went through a traumatic event,” he reminds me, scratching me behind the ear. “She needs more time.”
I know he’s right, of course, but I hate waiting. I know what I want, and it’s Bree beside us every night.
“You’ve still got us,” Jack says. I lean into his hand, and it feels good to have this kind of closeness between us again.
His arms loop around my neck and he kisses the top of my head between my horns.
I shiver as he travels downward, lipping at my ear, then at my jaw and throat.
I lean back in the chair so he can access all of me.
Soon, my shirt is gone and so are my jeans.
But Jack takes his time, his lips traveling over every inch of my fur, sucking on my nipples and playing with my cock.
When this started, I expected it would end with me bent over the table—but instead, I’m still in my chair while Jack kneels in front of me.
I’m only half-hard, somewhat uncertain about where we’re headed.
“Hmm,” my husband says, gently wrapping his hand around me. “We’d better do something about that.”
Bennett watches with curiosity from his own seat as Jack kisses down my belly, then starts to stroke me. I can’t help a gasp, and blood races down to my groin at the sight of him on his knees, his ears back. He smirks as he lowers his head and slips the head of my cock between his lips.
It’s divine, and I moan as he brings me in deep. I don’t know how long it’s been since Jack gave me a blowjob, but I forgot how good he is at them. It’s like his throat unlocks for me and he brings me in as far as he can until I’m fully encased to the root.
Then he sucks. He lifts his head and his cheeks hollow out as he slides his mouth off, then without even taking a breath, he shoves me back into it again.
Fuck, I’m already close, and his tongue teasing the underside of me is driving me wild. I fist a hand in his hair, and Jack manages to take me deeper. He sets a slow but thorough pace, sucking me all the way in before letting me go again.
Then he reaches down and massages my balls. That’s all it takes, really, to send me over the edge, bursting inside his mouth. He squeezes me as I come, and I jerk forward, the sensation almost overwhelming.
He milks me for everything I’m worth before swallowing it all and letting me go.
Then Bennett rises from the table, and he’s tenting his jeans. “I want to go to bed,” he says in a rough voice. “Right now.”
Jack’s knowing grin grows even wider as he stands up and strips his shirt off. Then his pants go, and Bennett does the same, before the two of them clash with hands and mouths. Bennett groans.
“You taste good, Arthur,” he says as he kisses Jack hard.
Not thirty minutes later, I find myself lounging on the bed, watching with interest while Jack fucks Bennett into the mattress. He’s clearly stirred up, too, after having Bree over. Which pleases me immensely.
Now I just have to be patient.