2. Lyath

“Ido not think we should be trying to reseal the house on our own.” I lean against the door frame and admire Beren as he lifts one of the fallen beams from inside the living space.

I could be helping him, or I could continue to ogle my mate as his muscles tense and his pants hug his backside. He discarded his shirt a while ago since his movements were keeping him warm. That was when I moved to the doorway to watch him work in all his glory. He has yet to notice that I have been no help and have only been watching him, and I’m sure as soon as he notices, I will have to pay. Perhaps that is what I want, though.

Beren lifts the beam over one of his shoulders and turns to face me, his eyes narrowing when he sees the smile on my lips. “What are you doing?”

“Watching you.”

“This whole time?” he asks, pushing past me with the beam and throwing it outside with everything else we have decided we do not want in the house. We will light it on fire when we have finished clearing out the home. Or rather, when Beren finishes clearing out the home. “I have been working hard to fix our home, and you are just standing there?”

“I have been extremely busy,” I tell him. I want him to press further so I can tell him what I was so busy doing. Of course, I am not that lucky because as much as Beren wants to be in bed with me, he is better about getting work done before indulging in the best part of being alive.

“I want this home ready by the time the human after the next is to arrive,” Beren says as he pushes past me again and goes to grab more debris and trash from the house.

I roll my eyes at him and his constant desire to have a female join our home. His timeline gives us many days to prepare the house. I do not know why it is so important for him to get it done right this instant. What’s even more surprising is how badly he desires a female. I am happy to watch Erkoz and Xoth’s mate bathe. Beren wishes for us to have a female of our own, though. One we only have to share with one another instead of everyone else.

“Have you spoken with Ralleth about being allowed a female?” I ask.

Most brothers who already have male mates are not even being considered for wooing a female human. I do not know if Ralleth, our tribe’s leader, even knows our interest in having one. Beren probably hopes one will fall into our laps and the others will be okay with us having her.

“No.” Beren shoots me a look that tells me he does not want to be reminded that the chances of us getting a human female are very, very small. So small, in fact, they are null because we have not yet made it clear to anyone that we wish to have a female.

We cannot very well demand one the next time one comes. We most certainly cannot just ask for her if we feel a calling to her because the brothers who only want to bed females might be upset with us. Not that they would not also be happy for us, but there are plenty of brothers who have never felt a calling to someone. It would seem unfair to them if Beren and I had our souls call to another.

Beren and I have been together for almost five years now, and in that time, we have been much happier than many of our brothers because we have had one another. The others will think we are being cruel in taking one of the few females who come to bless us since we already have one another. It is not cruelty on purpose, but it will still be seen that way.

“Then it does not matter if the house is cleaned,” I say and lean back against the door frame to do my favorite activity; watching Beren lift heavy things. “We should wait for Toron to come back. He said he would help us.”

Beren looks at me as though I have lost my mind. “There is a good chance he never returns. His mate was kidnapped before they mated, and if the bloodlust takes him, he is going to die out there.”

“Negative, negative,” I chide him. “I think he will find his mate.”

“Oh, so it is just us that you do not think will get to have a female?”

“We already have a female willing to do plenty for us,” I say, not letting him goad me into anything. Well, maybe he could goad me into bed. I would allow that in a heartbeat. “In fact, I’m pretty sure Erkoz and Xoth’s mate is bathing now. It is around the right time.”

Beren continues working in the house even though his attention is most definitely grabbed when he hears Kendra is bathing right now. I tap my claws against the door frame, wondering how many more moments he can pretend we are not about to go. Surely not very many because it is much more enjoyable than cleaning out a house.

We watch her bathe and imagine what it would be like if we had a soft human to toy with. Then we go back to our room in the great hall and make love many times before falling asleep.

Beren’s sigh is soft, but I know I have won as soon as I hear it.

“Fine, but we are finishing the house tomorrow,” Beren snaps at me. He can be as angry as he wants right now because I know how much I enjoy him being angry in our bed. “The next human is coming in two days, which means we have thirty until a female we can have will be here. If by some miracle from the goddess she wants us, I want a home we can bring her to.”

“Yes, the goddess will bless us with a human female who wants the company of two males who find pleasure in one another.” I keep my eye roll to myself and my tone as serious as I can when I do not think it is serious at all.

Beren very much wants a human, and I very much want my mate to be happy. I could be satisfied with just Beren so long as I can continue to look at Kendra, but if a human were to want him, I would hope she would want me, too.

“I know you mock me, but what if she did?”

“Then I would have to learn to share my mate’s attention.” I clap him on the back, a smile splitting both of our lips.

Beren is a grumpy male who always thinks he must care for me and everyone else. When he lets himself relax, he is at his most handsome. Right now, this is one of those times that I hope never to forget because his smile is carefree, and his laugh brings me much joy.

“I am a needy male, you know this. Think of how exhausted you would be if you had a female to sate as well as me.”

Beren’s eyes close, and the smile stays on his lips. Yes, he would very much love to see if he could keep up with two mates who need him often. I would make fun of him more, but the bathing pool comes into focus, and we take up our spot against a wall.

Beren adds more wood to the fire before joining me in bed. He pulls the blankets over me first, making sure I am fully covered and warm, before sliding in next to me and wrapping his fingers in mine. My brain is still catching up with everything that has happened since I am still coming down from the high of Beren using my body to bring us both pleasure.

He is much better at taking care of us when we finish than I am. Maybe it is because he has always been the one to take control that I find myself able to let everything else consume me in the moment.

We used to share this room with two other mated brothers, but when females started coming to the tribe, they left the great hall to find a home in one of the empty houses in the tribe. They have no interest in wooing a female like Beren and I want, but they did think it was best to free up more beds in the great hall for the females who will be coming. Now that Beren and I are leaving, our room can be used as a second human female room.

“How are you feeling?” Beren asks as he rolls onto his side to face me. My eyes are closed, but I crack them open and then roll onto my side as well so our faces are close to one another.

“I feel wonderful,” I can still feel where my mate pressed himself inside me, where he gripped me, and where his teeth bruised my shoulder.

Beren’s eyes lower to the bruises starting to darken my shoulder, and he smiles to himself. He has never pierced my scales to mark me as his, but he does enjoy pressing them against me until I am bearing his mark in the form of dark bruises. The ones on my other shoulder are almost faded, and I know this is why he added new ones tonight.

“Good, good.” Beren nods a few times, his horns softly tapping against mine as he does.

I know my mate. I know he has many more things on his mind than just my feelings. Well, they all probably have to do with my feelings because he thinks so often of me. Right now, he is worried about my feelings in some way, and if I had to guess, it would be his desire for a human female. It is like he cannot help himself and his compulsion to try to do everything in his power to attain one for us. I fear that he worries I will not be excited to have a human female as much as him, and that is what keeps him from talking with me about her.

“I will speak with Ralleth and his mate tomorrow,” I tell Beren. His eyes widen in worry, but I silence his argument that he has yet to voice by speaking. “We both want a female. We should ask before we find one that we cannot keep ourselves away from. It will only be made more awkward if we want a female, and no one knows except for us.”

“I do not want to force someone else into our bond,” Beren says, his eyes lowering.

Does he think I think him less of a mate because he wishes to add someone else to our relationship?

“You pretend like you are the only one to wish for a human female to make love to.”

Beren’s eyes flash red as he snaps them up to mine. He has one of my horns in his hand, pinning me to the mattress with his body on top of mine before I can even register that he does not like what I said. He hisses in my face, his cock rubbing against my pocket until I am hardening for him. I open my legs, giving his body space to lie between them. I am not too sure I could take my mate again tonight, and the cleanup would be annoying, but if he needs me, I am always more than willing.

“I make love to you.” He grabs one of my thighs and pulls it up the length of his body, tilting my hips and giving him easier access to my backside. He reaches over to the nightstand, grabbing the skin of oil we have to help lubricate him when we make love. It seems he will have to clean me yet again since he is now possessive and angry.

“No one else touches you,” Beren growls as he pours oil onto his cock, watching my face as he fists himself and coats his length. “You are mine.”

My eyes are hooded when I feel him begin to sink into my already sore ass. I will be walking funny tomorrow, but that means I will not have to help him clean the house like he so badly wants to do. I make a terrible decision as I let my claws drag down his back. One that will no doubt have Beren punishing me in the way he makes love to me. It is worth it, though. I enjoy it when my mate is rough and when he feels a need to put and keep me in my place.

“So I cannot put my cock in the human female we mate?” I ask.

Beren growls low and threatening as he pushes himself completely inside of me. He was being slow, and now? Now, he is making sure I know I have asked a terribly foolish question.

“You are mine to put my cock in,” Beren snaps. His tongue flicks across my lips as he thrusts into me harder, making my cock twitch against my abdomen with each brutal intrusion. “She will be mine to put my cock in. You are my mate. She will be my mate.”

“Greedy,” I groan and reach for my cock to fist it.

“Yes, I am a greedy male. I want you, and I want another, and I want to only share you with each other when I allow it.”

“Two mates to play with like toys.” I would be laughing at him and his ridiculous possessiveness if not for how hard he is thrusting and the grip I have on myself.

Beren’s eyes track down my body, noticing how I am pleasuring myself. He shoos me away, taking my cock in his hand and pumping me in rhythm with his thrusts. I do not mind not having to do any work at all. Instead, I get to continue to goad my mate.

“You will let me lick your mate’s pussy?”

He hisses and narrows his eyes on me, giving my cock a tight squeeze enough to have pain heightening my pleasure.

“Maybe you will allow her to put my cock in her mouth.”

Beren’s eyes close, and his movements become more erratic. I know exactly the perfect thing to say to him to have him spilling himself inside of me.

“Maybe you make love to her, and I enjoy her mouth. Imagine such a soft female pleasuring both of us, finding her release on you while her cries of passion are muffled on me.”

“Lyath,” Beren growls my name right as his cock twitches inside of me. I would be smiling if not for the pleasure that erupts in my body and has me spilling my seed on my abdomen and in Beren’s hand.

For a moment, the only sounds in the room are the crackling of the fire, our labored breathing, and the beating of my heart as it tries to settle. When our pleasure has faded, Beren is the first to move.

“Stay put. I will clean you,” Beren says as he pushes away from me. He tosses the blanket to the end of the bed, leaving me completely bare on the bed. For how much Beren takes into account my feelings, protecting me, and keeping me safe, he does not take much consideration into how it feels to be left a mess like this. Not that he leaves me like this for long before he is wiping my seed off me and handing me a skin of water to drink.

“Lyath,” Beren says my name like a prayer, and it causes a wave of worry to crash into me. Beren is normally very sure of himself, very sure of everything he wishes for us to be and do. He places one of his hands on my chest, where my beating is strong, in an attempt to comfort and calm me. Of course it works, Beren is everything a male could ever need to feel safe and comforted. “If we were to take a female, I would want to be her mate.”

“Yes.” I nod, not understanding why he thinks this would be an issue. “You are a greedy male. We just went over this.”

Beren shoots me a narrowed gaze, his claws dragging against my scales in a warning that has all my worries fading. My mate is fine. He is worrying about nothing important. If there is a female willing to be shared between two males who enjoy each other, she will also be fine with being only Beren’s mate. She will grow accustomed to his territorial ways, his possessiveness, but also his adoration and care. I do not care that the female will not be my mate because she will make Beren the happiest of males, which in turn will make me even happier than him.

“Lyath,” Beren says it like he is exasperated with me, but I am beginning to become exasperated with him.

“Beren.” I roll my eyes as I say his name. He shoots me another look, but I just push at his chest until he is lying on his back. I crawl over him, lying between his legs and lying my head on his chest. He wraps his arms around my back, holding me close to him. “You worry too much.”

“Only about you,” he concedes.

“Worry more about convincing the others we should get a female.”

Beren hisses at the idea but doesn’t counter with anything. No, he holds me tightly as our breathing softens and our bodies relax.

“I’ll speak with Ralleth after the next female comes,” Beren says after long moments of silence. I’m not surprised he wants to be the one to ask. “There is no need to stress him out more than he already is.”

“Very well,” I mumble, “So long as you continue to make love to me, I could not care less about who else you invite into our bed.”

“You are too good to me,” Beren sighs. I shake my head against his chest, not having the energy to argue with him right now over how he is most definitely too good for me.