Wolf Tales 12 (7 page)

Laughing, Stefan followed him out of the caverns. “I so do not envy your life when that girl hits puberty.”

Neither did he. “Not funny, Stef. Not funny at all.”

But at least he knew Lily was alive. Alive and safe. She’d gone to see Eve, and there was no way Eve would let anything or anyone harm his daughter. He thought again about going after her now, but something held him back. Lily had shown, time and again, that she was not a typical child. If she had crossed over to the astral, there had to be a reason. A very good one to make her take such a risk without first telling her mother or father.

Lily had saved him on more than one occasion. He had to respect the fact she was intelligent beyond measure and much more talented than the average child.

More than most adults. He chuckled at that thought. She’d already demonstrated she was a lot smarter than her father.

A dark shroud slowly peeled away from his heart and mind. Lily would be fine. He had to trust her instincts as well as his own. Then he had to find her and bring her home.

And ground that kid until she was ninety. At least.

Chapter 5

Anton felt unaccountably lighthearted as they left the cellar and climbed the stairs to the kitchen. After a night of unrelenting fear, of imagining the worst, finding that little flashlight lying in the sand, seeing her footsteps disappearing into the solid wall of stone were the most reassurance he’d had since first learning that Lily was missing.

If she was with the Goddess, he had to believe she was fine. Eve would watch over her, and while she might not take the initiative to let Anton know she had his daughter, Lily would be safe.

Eve, after all, existed in a totally different element of time. What could feel like seconds for her could be hours here, and vice versa.

Which meant they’d better find Lily quickly, before she grew up on the astral plane. Of course, if that were to happen, he’d avoid puberty altogether. . . .

He chuckled softly, following Stefan toward one of the empty guest rooms.

Stefan paused in front of the doorway. “What’s so funny?”

“Thinking about the time anomaly, the way time runs at a different rate on the astral. If we could figure out how to work this right, maybe we could get Lily when she’s all grown-up. You know, avoid those teen years altogether?”

“You’re a sick man, Anton Cheval.” Stefan chuckled. “But if you figure it out, I want the details. Amber and Ariel won’t be little forever.”

“None of them will.” The thought left him uncomfortably rattled as he followed Stefan into the bathroom. The adults kept getting younger while the children grew up and out of their childhood. Such a strange thing to consider, how their Chanku bodies developed and aged—or didn’t. Fascinating, and allowing his thoughts to meander achieved an extra bonus—at least he was no longer as worried about Lily.

She was with Eve and she was safe. He had to believe that. He couldn’t accept anything else. Couldn’t allow himself to consider an alternative. He reached for Keisha, caught her sleepy thoughts, and told her what they’d discovered.

You’re going after her?

As soon as Stefan and I talk to Alex. I’m unable to read the carvings, and we want to know what Lily told him. Go back to sleep. With any luck, I’ll have her home by the time you awaken.

Be careful, my love. Just bring our baby home.

There was no question of showering alone. Stefan sensed Anton’s need this morning—a need so powerful it frightened him. Did he have what Anton required? For a man always in control, one often able to control the very elements around him, having no control over events right now had to be tearing him apart.

His calm acceptance of Lily’s disappearance made Stefan nervous. The man should be frantic with worry—begging Eve for help, dragging Alex out of bed and demanding the information he needed. Instead, he was carefully, almost methodically removing his clothing, folding his pants neatly, and doing the same with his shirt. Waiting patiently on Stefan and then following him into the big bathroom with the spray heads at each end of the huge shower.

Calm. Controlled. Too controlled. This was wrong. Wrong and potentially dangerous if that control were to slip at the wrong time, in the wrong place. He glanced to his right and caught their reflection in the big mirror—two tall, lean men who still, even after all these years, looked enough alike to be brothers.

Yet could any two men be more different? Anton’s intensity was almost a third entity in the room. Stefan wished he could see auras—he wondered what shades of color were spiking forth from Anton right now.

Their eyes met in the mirror, a brief connection Anton quickly ended. What was he really thinking right now? What was he honestly feeling? His thoughts were blocked, his emotions hidden behind a mask of unconcern and the reality of exhaustion.

Stefan looked away, his emotions in turmoil as he turned on both sprayers and stepped into the tile enclosure. The water was hot, coming out with enough force to sting, but he stood beneath the spray and washed the hours of sweat and worry off his tired body. Neither he nor Anton had slept, and the day ahead would probably be a long one.

If they managed to get through the morning.

He opened his eyes and felt Anton watching him, but when Stef tried to link, the barrier protecting his friend’s mind was still impenetrable. This time, when he turned and gazed at the man, the look in Anton’s eyes was one of desperation, as if he feared losing the control that was so terribly important to him.

Is that what you need, my friend? To have that iron control taken from you by one who loves you?
The thought was silent, private and not shared, but somehow, Stefan knew he was right. Without hesitation, Stef went to his knees in front of Anton, cupped his heavy sac in his palm, and took his flaccid penis in his mouth.

“No. Stef . . . please. . . .”

Anton crying?
Stef ignored the broken plea and sucked him deep. He felt the heat and pulse of blood as Anton’s cock surged to life, wrapped one arm across his firm buttocks, and held him close, sucking and licking, taking him quickly to the peak without any finesse at all.

The tile was hard beneath his knees, hot water beating against his back and shoulders, but he focused all his senses on pulling Anton out of his dark pit and dragging him over the top. Somehow, he sensed he would have to force the man to feel, to acknowledge his fears for Lily.

He had to break that iron control. Stef rolled Anton’s balls between his fingers, concentrating on the hard orbs sliding within the soft pouch. With his other hand, he gently stroked and then penetrated Anton’s taut sphincter.

It took Stef only a couple of minutes to take him to the edge. First one finger, then two, pumping in and out in time with the movement of lips over smooth skin, with the slow slide of tongue and teeth over Anton’s now fully erect cock. Sucking and tonguing the thick veins along the surface while cupping his balls, rolling and massaging the hard balls inside his scrotal sac, sliding his fingers deep inside his tight channel.

Anton groaned, his body stiffened, and Stef tasted the bittersweet ejaculate as his dearest friend finally gave in to the overwhelming stimulation.

There was no sense of pleasure for either man. This was something Stefan needed to do for Anton. It was something Anton merely needed.

But as Stef rose, Anton shuttered his expression, turned away without looking at him, and leaned against the shower wall. Resting his forehead on his folded arms, he said,
I need more, Stef. Please.

Are you sure?

Anton merely nodded. His shoulders were bowed, his body submissive as he leaned forward with the water sluicing off his back and buttocks. Stef was hard. He’d planned to jerk off to ease the pressure, not ask Anton to help him. He’d certainly not planned to take him like this. Not now, but there was no doubt in his mind this was what Anton wanted.

Instead of asking why, he merely used soap to ease the way without any preliminaries at all. He’d do this the way he sensed Anton wanted him—hard and fast, the same way he’d sucked him off. Stef rubbed the bar of soap across Anton’s taut sphincter and then took his cock in his hand. He brushed the broad head through the soap and then pressed forward.

Anton adjusted his stance. Stefan filled him, fascinated as always by the way the thick head of his cock reformed and stretched Anton’s tightly puckered ass as he entered. Slowly at first, he breached the taut ring of muscle, slipping the broad head through, easing his entire length inside until he was buried balls deep. His pubic hair brushed Anton’s buttocks. He felt the slight tickle when his balls brushed against Anton’s.

Stef held still for a moment, giving Anton time to adjust to this sensual invasion. He was big and hard, and they’d not done this for quite some time, not with Stef topping Anton. Usually, when they were together, Anton took the dominant role.

It was only right—he would always be the dominant male in Stef’s life. Even now, Stef knew that he merely did as Anton wished. His status within the pack wasn’t something Stefan ever questioned. He didn’t doubt his inner resolve, his alpha qualities, or his position as Anton’s second. He would always be there for the man he loved, no matter what Anton asked of him.

It was what it was, accepted and honored.

Just as all of them accepted and honored the changes in their lives. Parenthood had been the biggest. It had enriched them, yet it had also stolen so many freedoms they’d once taken for granted. For creatures ruled by an unforgiving libido, by the need to shift and run as wolves, the new restraints of parenthood had been a major adjustment.

Their lives were now filled with give and take, with compromise and sharing of child care amongst themselves in order to give each bonded pair the time they needed on their own, and yet Stefan knew none of them would change the way their lives were now. Parenthood was a two-edged sword—it made them stronger, better people, but it also made them vulnerable.

Love worked that way. Strengthened them, even as it came with its own baggage, its own set of rules. Yet Stef freely admitted that in spite of the fears for his children’s future, his worries over their day-to-day lives, his life was richer, fuller because of their love.

Even in times like this, when fear overrode the joy, when everything seemed to be spinning out of control.

Well . . . not entirely. After a few seconds, Anton nodded that he could go on. Even taking Stef up his ass, the man was still the über alpha, still in charge.

Thank the Goddess, some things never changed.

Smiling to himself, Stefan planted his hands on the wall above Anton’s shoulders, braced beneath the shower’s spray, and began to move. His hips rocked forward with each hard thrust. He held nothing back. Not this time.

He heard Anton’s soft grunts as he plowed into him, penetrating deep, using all the strength in his back and hips, in the practiced buck and sway of one man dominating another. Their bodies slapped together in an ever-increasing rhythm. Stefan picked up speed, going deep, and deeper still.

He opened his thoughts, not sure if Anton would join him, but the link was there, strong and solid, bursting with energy.

Deeper. Harder, Stef. More. I need more. Deeper!

I should have known. You’re giving orders even when you bottom.

Anton’s harsh bark of laughter turned into a long, low groan as Stefan grabbed his hips and pulled him back against his groin. He grabbed Anton’s erection, amazed by its hard strength so quickly after coming. The mere sensation of wrapping his fingers around that familiar length, the feeling of heat and life in his palm, was all it took.

A hot coil of energy burned from the small of his back, through his bowels and belly. His balls tightened and his cock jerked. Stef groaned and slammed forward, burying himself deeper still, filling Anton with the hot pulsing waves of his ejaculate.

At the same time, Anton’s knees buckled. All that held him upright were Stef’s tight grip around his cock and his hand planted firmly against Anton’s belly. Slowly, both of them sank to their knees on the floor of the shower. Others in the house must be up and showering now, because the water was turning cold, but Stef didn’t have the energy to move.

He doubted Anton could, either. He leaned against Anton’s back and rubbed his chin across his shoulder. “I didn’t hurt you, did I? I didn’t mean to go so deep.”

Without warning, Anton cursed. He tried to stand, but Stef’s weight and the full length of his cock still planted deeply inside held him down.

Laughing, he glared ferociously over his shoulder at Stef. “Get off me, you oaf.”

Confused, Stef pulled free and turned to rinse off under the cooling water. “What’s so funny?”

“Deeper. They were deeper in front.” Anton washed himself as if he were totally oblivious to the fact the water was growing unbearably cold. “She stood on her toes.”

Shivering from the aftermath of orgasm, from the hard sting of water barely above freezing, Stefan shut off the tap. “You lost me. What are you talking about?” He grabbed a towel for himself and threw one to Anton.

“I still want to talk to Alex, but I knew there was something I wasn’t seeing, and it’s been driving me nuts. Lily’s footprints. Right there in front of the wall, I showed you the set of prints where she stood with her feet together. Perfect little prints, and then you can see where she stepped forward and disappeared into the wall. Remember?”

“I saw them. So?”

“The prints that were parallel, the ones where her feet were together, had deeper impressions in front. Her toes had pressed almost an inch deeper into the sand than her heels. She stood on her toes to reach something. Do you recall what’s on the wall at that point?”

Stef thought about the drawings, the writing, the . . . “Handprints. There were handprints. They were different because they were chiseled into the rock and then the impression had been painted, as well. Up high. . . .”