The Bears Shared Bride: A Paranormal Menage Romance (12 page)

Lavinia tucked a stray hair behind her ear, “Thanks. I’m still a little embarrassed. I mean, the man trails me six times a week, I don’t think I’ll ever get over not recognizing him. But I am proud that I was able to react the way I did on instinct.”

“I think it was all that time in the gym,” Parker said with a wink.

“I will admit that I think that was time well spent,” Thearon acknowledged.

“Actually, it was Thearon’s pep talk that put me in the right frame of mind. He’s always telling me that I’m my own best line of defense and to trust in my strength. When we left the restaurant and the crowd started pressing in, instead of hiding I decided to be proactive. Apparently, I still need a little training on threat analysis,” Lavinia said with a blush.

“That’s something we can work on. Ben actually would be a good candidate—that’s why he was in plain clothes today, he has a very good eye for spotting potential threats.”

Sitting down between the men, Lavinia accepted a kiss on her forehead from Parker. “I’d like that if you could set it up. For now though, I just want to be with my husbands. Can we leave Queen, Alpha, and Omega at the door for the evening?”

Parker looked like he was itching to pick up his phone to check, but Thearon gave him a look that said no quarter would be spared if he consulted technology.

Instead, Parker leaned down with a second kiss, “I think we can manage that, my Queen.” This time it was Lavinia who gave him the look. “I mean Lavinia, my love, I think we can just be husbands and wife this evening.”

“Good it’s been awhile since we were just husbands and wife.” Lavinia tried to snuggle deeper into the couch between the two men but the antique, while beautiful in its modern chevron pattern, was not the most comfortable. The men let Lavinia toss and turn for a moment before snarking a comment.

“What Lavinia, can’t quite get comfortable?” Thearon remarked with one eyebrow lifted.

“Surely, a thing of great beauty deserves a little pain for its existence,” Parker said shifting uncomfortably.

Lavinia looked between the two men and tried to decide if they were commiserating, or if they were throwing her design choices in her face. “You know, I was stuck in these rooms for a long time on bed rest, surely we can all agree that sectional was hideous.”

“It was not a great thing of beauty...but it never bit back. This thing has given me bruises.” Thearon looked at the woodwork of the couch with animosity.

“Fine, we can redecorate again ASAP. But for now can we move somewhere more comfortable? Someplace with room for two massive Werebears?”

Parker raised an eyebrow at Thearon, “Oh I can think of a piece of furniture made especially for two massive Werebears and their wife.”

Lavinia’s eyes went wide just as Thearon moved to pick her up in his arms. Standing up in one smooth motion, Lavinia barely felt the jostle from moving from uncomfortable couch to standing, cradled in Thearon’s arms. The man then had the audacity to check out her cleavage from his view from above.

“Sometimes getting all of the physical tasks are worth it,” he said with a wink.

Lavinia tried to smack him upside the head, but Parker caught her hand. “Now, now, it
is
a delicious view,” he said bringing his face down to the center of her breasts. The dress had been chosen for its ease and inconspicuous cut, but it did have a fairly low V that necessitated going braless. A fact that Parker must have noticed as soon as his mouth hit the sides of her flesh. “Hmm... Now that’s interesting,” he hummed into her breasts, the reverberations of the bass causing her nipples to peak in response.

With a lick, Parker came up to address Thearon, “Did you know she went braless for the event?”

“I’ve thought of little else all afternoon,” Thearon responded dryly, if honestly.

“Why was that not part of the report?”

“I wanted you to pay attention.”

“Oh, okay. Fair enough,” Parker admitted as he opened the door to Lavinia’s bedroom.

Parker didn’t even bother to turn on the lights. Lavinia shivered as she was placed in the center of the sea of emerald satin. Her eyes hadn’t yet adjusted to the darkness when a large hand reached out and freed one of her breasts from the cotton fabric. As the smooth hand moved up and down the curve of her skin from breastbone to nipple Lavinia knew it was Parker. He always liked to stroke smoothly and gently before reaching out for one final tweak of her nipple, an act that never failed to make her gasp.

Blinking her eyes, she started to see the shapes of her husbands take form on the bed around her in the dark. She identified Parker just in time to see him lean down and take the twerked nipple into his full lips and suck gently. Lavinia arched in response, her body starting its long slow burn. As Parker moved to free the second breast, another set of hands, this one calloused and hard moved the dress off of her shoulders completely, letting the black fabric puddle at her waist. Lavinia felt goosebumps form as her naked skin was exposed to the night air.

Parker teased her nipple with flicks of his tongue as the second set of hands moved up and down her back forcing Lavinia to lean even deeper into Parker’s mouth. An unspoken conversation must have happened over her half-naked body because Parker’s smooth hands lowered her to the bed as Thearon’s touch left her completely. Parker moved his mouth to the fast pulse at the base of her jawline. Sucking the steady beat until it quickened, the delicious sensation caused her breath to move in fast and her body to go lax.

As Parker began a steady descent with his lips toward her breasts again, Thearon’s hands returned. They slipped under her hips and freed the fabric of her dress from her body completely. Lavinia waited in anticipation as she heard it swoosh to the floor, softly in the background. Thearon’s hands returned to her body and Lavinia thought he was going to remove the thin black lace thong she’d worn to avoid panty lines with the dress.

Instead, he took a finger and traced the line of lace over her hipbones and across the flat of her lower abs. Lavinia felt her stomach jump in anticipation. When his finger dipped beneath the soft fabric, she felt her anticipation rise. Parker’s mouth had her warm and wet and she was more than ready for Thearon’s large finger to enter her. She could always count on Thearon to be swift and to the point.

But this time he simply teasing her as well. The rough skin of his hand traced along the lace and moved across the outer folds of her core, delving into the curls but not within the folds where she would find satisfaction. Again and again, Thearon explored the terrain of her body both over the top and beneath the lace of her thong until Lavinia was ready to snap with irritation and need.

Parker too seemed to be happy to make a meal of her neck and breasts, never moving his sweet mouth to her own. Neither man was giving her a position of power in their sexual games, instead choosing to feast on her body instead. The pleasure was overwhelming, but Lavinia was itching for more.

“Please, please Parker, kiss me,” Lavinia’s voice begged in a harsh whisper.

When the man leaned down for a chaste peck on the lips Lavinia wrapped her arms around his neck, pulling him down on the bed on top of her. Finally taking control, she dove deep with her tongue and ravished his mouth. She felt some of Parker’s control start to vanish as she ran her tongue over his teeth, battling for his full concentration.

Dizzy with the passion of the kiss, Lavinia barely heard Thearon move up on the bed to lie next to her and Parker. But she was definitely aware when Thearon wrapped both hands around her hips and forced her to straddle his body.

“Thearon!” Lavinia squealed in response as she threw her hands down to his shoulders for balance.

“I just wanted to kiss you too,” Thearon replied, before diving his hands between her legs and shifting down the bed, so instead of straddling his chest, Lavinia was straddling his face. Confused for a moment, Lavinia’s desire-drugged  mind lagged a beat behind. It wasn’t until Thearon’s tongue licked the lips of her sex that she fully understood his intent.

The man growled in response to the taste of her and when Thearon took a second more forceful lick, Lavinia felt her balance fail. With nothing but blank space around her body Lavinia flailed to stay upright. Parker saved the day by grasping her hands and wrapping them around his neck, drawing her in for a kiss.

Parker took it slow, gently nuzzling her lips and kissing them from corner to corner. As if it was a coordinated attack, both Parker and Thearon deepened their kisses, tongues entering her simultaneously from both ends of her body. Lavinia literally quaked with desire and would have fully dropped onto Thearon, if Parker hadn’t held her in place.

Thearon seemed to notice the change in her body and he renewed his efforts inserting two fingers into her folds. Lavinia’s hips rolled in response, grinding against his hand searching for release. With a grunt, Thearon removed his fingers and gripped her hips again. Suddenly Lavinia was ripped away from both Thearon and Parker’s mouths and again she found herself straddling Thearon’s hips.

“Let’s try something new,” Thearon said, holding her above his straining erection. Lavinia didn’t care what they tried so long as it involved impaling herself on him in the next few seconds.

“What did you have in mind?” Parker asked from the side of the bed.

“Lavinia,” Thearon said getting her attention, “How do you feel about taking Parker into your mouth as you ride me?”

Lavinia felt her desire jump from one to ten, her body going molten with the idea, “Oh gods yes, let’s try that.”

Thearon slowly lowered Lavinia onto him, his erection spreading her thighs and filling her to the brim. When she was full with him, Lavinia lifted up slowly and dropped back down again, allowing her body to adjust to the thickness of Thearon’s cock. As she began a slow rhythm of thrusts, Parker joined them on the bed, standing and holding on to one of the four wooden posts above his head. Turning her head slightly, Lavinia found that her mouth was perfectly in line with Parker’s erection, though she was a little confused as to how she was going to take him into her mouth and maintain her balance over Thearon.

“Hold my hand,” Parker said, removing one hand from the post and extending it to Lavinia.

Pausing in her grinding on Thearon, Lavinia held still to take Parker’s hand. Once she had one hand in Parker’s and her other hand gripping his ass, she slowly lowered her hot mouth onto the head of Parker’s cock. Parker groaned as her lips settled around him and she let her tongue sweep under the head, to trace the throbbing vein beneath his sensitive skin. Lifting her head again, she swiped her tongue around the base of his head and this time wet the top of his cock.

Lavinia felt secure enough to again lower herself onto Thearon. The ease of the burn in her thighs from holding still for so long, felt like a sweet release that went straight to her center. In tandem, she moved up Thearon with her pussy and down Parker with her mouth. Once she stopped trying to think about the different sensations and simply feel the pleasure from both acts, Lavinia drew close to the edge of her orgasm. Parker’s grip tightened as he felt her movements go erratic and Thearon let out a harsh breath as her body tightened its hold on his cock.

With a final moan, Lavinia felt her body split apart. She lost her grip on Parker and instead felt his release, warm and wet, on her breasts. Thearon must have paused to gauge the situation because he gripped her hips and thrusting deep once more, he came too. Parker let go of Lavinia’s hand and dropped to the bed next to Thearon. Lavinia allowed her body to melt over Parker’s while Thearon was still inside of her. The act of loving them both at the same time had felt so incredibly complete to her. She was so utterly stated that she didn’t even mind being manhandled into a snug position between her husbands’ bodies. With one final stretch, she allowed her body to fully relax and feed off their warmth. This was exactly where she was supposed to be.

THE FINAL
CHAPTER

Lavinia found herself staring in the mirror yet again. Something just wasn’t quite right. She stepped away and tilted her head this way and that, trying to pinpoint what was wrong.

“It’s the lashes,” Callia called out from behind the dressing screen.

Lavinia huffed, “You can’t even see what I’m doing. Besides, it’s not the lashes—they’re the same ones I’ve worn for all of my official outings.” Lavinia leaned in close and brushed one bedazzled fingernail across the black fringe.

“If you would just let me put the mink ones on instead, I think you’ll be very happy with the result. But first, could you zip this thing up?”

Lavinia leaned in closer and fluttered her eyes and finally admitted that perhaps the blackness of the lashes was a little harsh in the face of the soft grey-purple of the dress’s beading and antiqued look of the jeweled collar from Smythe Jewelers. Turning in a flair of skirts, Lavinia walked toward the dressing screen where Callia was finally starting to get ready.

The last few weeks had flown by in a series of preparations for the Summer Solstice Ball. Once Lavinia broke the seal on leaving the palace, it was time to get serious about planning the first Ball as Queen. The Ball was one of the biggest events of the year for Werebeast society.

Many of the Tribes’ religious ceremonies still rotated around the moons of the year rather than the modern Christian calendar, and the Summer Solstice was always a time of celebration and rebirth. The LeKing Tribe’s Ball was also the first time since the mid-winter Werewolf tea that many of the royal families would be gathered together.

Due to the multitude of security concerns—the personal worries of the LeKing Tribe were simply one of many—Thearon’s stress had been tangible in the final few weeks of preparation. There was nightly sex between the three of them and many times an afternoon quickie for release during which Thearon would storm into Lavinia’s office and send anyone present running. One time even the Alpha himself.

However, after several meetings, both private and with a smattering of other Werebeast Tribe leaders, even Lavinia felt comfortable in the security of the Ball. They were using facial recognition on everyone who entered the ballroom and each tribe was giving a rotating guard to help with the security of the perimeter. The guards had been training on the ground for the last week. Which meant all Lavinia had left to worry about was the state of her false lashes.

Rounding the corner of the screen, Callia looked at Lavinia in the mirror, “Took you long enough.”

“These heels were not made for rushing,” Lavinia said lifting the edge of her skirt to flash the steel-heeled spike. It looked delicate and sparkly but in reality it really was made of steel and Lavinia had been training with the shoes as if they were a weapon for the last month. It had led to more than a few sexy scenes with Parker in the gym.

Lavinia zipped Callia up in the emerald green dress that did, in fact, look far better on the handmaiden than it had on Lavinia. “You look stunning. How did you get ready in twenty minutes when it took a team of people and four hours to get me to a point where I still need a lash change?”

Callia smoothed a stray hair back into the cherry red topknot at the crown of her head, “So you do admit that I was right about the lashes? I’d like someone to note that I made this suggestion hours ago.”

“Everyone else is gone. They all left to get ready too,” Lavinia said moving around the dressing screen again.

Callia followed, pausing at the edge of the screen to slip on a pair of gold glitter pumps. Clad in the four-inch heels, she clicked her way over to the makeup table. Fluttering fingers over a plethora of lash options, she picked up the amber colored mink lashes between two gold painted fingernails.

“All right, come on over—I won’t mess anything up if you stay really still.”

“I’m always still,” Lavinia muttered.

“Vinny, you haven’t been still since you left the palace over a month ago. You’ve been on the run like no other. I think you barely sleep.”

Lavinia felt Callia apply a new layer of lash glue, “I’ll be happy when tonight goes off without a hitch. It’s my first time hosting as Queen and I want to make a good impression.”

Callia pressed the lashes into place and counted softly as the glue dried. When she lifted her fingers Lavinia let her eyes flutter open.

“Perfect,” Callia declared looking at the amber fringe around Lavinia’s chocolate colored eyes.

“Perfect,” Lavinia agreed and with no further changes to be made they both headed off to the Ball.

***

The first half of the Summer Solstice Ball went swimmingly. The ballroom at the palace had been utterly transformed into a fairy world. White drapery faded to dark green at the edges of the space and live flowers and topiaries had been brought in to simulate gardens. In the center of the space, there was a dance floor where everything was precisely arranged into an English garden. From there, the decor spiraled outward becoming more and wilder until one  reached conversion areas of small potted trees and bushes.

The guests too seemed to transform as the night spiraled onward moving from graciously ordered to sublimely free, as the wine started to flow and the dinner tables were removed. Werebeasts mixed and mingled and more than a few couples sneaked off to the darker regions of the ballroom for moments of private discourse—both verbal and physical.

Lavinia was the belle of the ball, and for most of the night, she stayed the course and remained a proper Queen, reigning over her guests with a warm and conversational air. Not one guest in attendance was aware of the level of scrutiny she held over the crowd. For their parts, Thearon and Parker never left her side for the first two hours of the event. But after the doors were sealed and no incident occurred, they too took a tour of the room and left Lavinia to hold court in the middle.

When both men were gone for fifteen whole minutes, Lavinia started to worry. It’s not that their absence was greatly missed, it was just that after months of their smothering attention, it was odd to be left alone for such a long period of time. When a full half an hour passed, Lavinia excused herself to find them. No guard trailed her, they maintained a perimeter and the doors were sealed so for the first time since the assassination attempt Lavinia had relative freedom.

Winding her way into the farther reaches of the ballroom, Lavinia was chilled as she didn’t see her husbands. After an entire circuit of the room, she started to panic. Now Lavinia dipped into the private garden areas, not caring what trysts she interrupted or how many naked Werebeast asses she accidentally saw. Her eyes were only trained to see the bodies of her husbands.

Lavinia came up short when she encountered a particularly robust tree that appeared to be misplaced. Odd for a tree that probably weighed a few hundred pounds, those types of things didn’t just grow legs and move themselves. Walking quietly around the large trunk she encountered yet another tree—a spruce—that was supposed to be on the east side of the ballroom. She remembered because she thought to bring a Christmas tree into a Summer Solstice Ball was a little excessive and potentially off-theme. Lavinia remembered she had been outvoted and here the thing stood in all its pine glory.

Leaning into the soft needles, Lavinia held her breath and listened. There was silence and then a low grunt of pain that Lavinia knew was Parker’s. She had caused that same grunt many a time during their sparring practice. Lavinia moved back to the break between the spruce and the tree next to it. Due to their varying shapes, Lavinia was given a small peephole with which to look through.

The scene revealed was bloody and brutal. Parker and Thearon were surrounded by Werebeasts wearing gardener’s clothing. The white and green checked shirts of the uniform were splattered with blood. Before Lavinia could freak out, she noted that there were a few prone bodies on the floor and that some of the Werebeasts in question were nursing bloody lips and noses. While Parker and Thearon had fought hard, Lavinia could tell their strength was failing. She watched as Parker moved suddenly—faster than Lavinia would have guessed he could, given his bloodied hand—and took another Werebeast down with a low kick to the man’s knees. As he fell Thearon punched him and gave a backward kick to another Werebeast who was using the distraction to advance. Thearon negated the threat, but Parker dropped to his knees as one of the two standing Werebears administered a punch directly to his chest.

Lavinia watched as the air left his body in a whoosh, and he collapsed on the floor desperately trying to maintain consciousness.

“See George, I told you a surprise attack was necessary. With all their pride, the Alpha and Omega never saw themselves as potential targets. Come now, let's finish this and hang them from the trees like the animals they are.”

“Winston had the rope, Octavius. It’s still beneath his body,” George said.

“Well then go and get it, you fool. His dead body isn’t worth anything to us anymore.”

Lavinia watched as Thearon tried to take advantage of George’s movement by sweeping the man off his feet. While he succeeded in putting George on his ass, George retaliated by pulling Thearon into a headlock, cutting off his air until Thearon passed out. Watching her husband’s eyes flutter shut was the final straw for Lavinia.

On tip-toe, she moved around the large potted plants, the soles of her shoes silent on the moss covered flooring. Before she turned the corner she tested the slit of her skirt with one bend of her leg. Reaching down she used one finger to cut through the stitching, ripping the design element up to her hip. Taking another glance into the private area allowed her to assess where George and Octavius were in the space. Closing her eyes and asking the gods for help, she ran into the private space with a battle cry that had surely alerted the surrounding guards to her location.

However, there was no time to wait for backup. Lavinia rounded the corner and kicked at George’s head with a sickening thud. The man went down without a sound. Regaining her balance, she narrowed her eyes at the only man left standing, Octavius, before allowing her gaze to take in the positions of Parker and Thearon. She could see that her husbands were far more injured than they had appeared with blood rapidly pooling around Thearon’s prone form.

“So Queen Lavinia, we meet again,” Octavius greeted, his formal tone utterly unexpected in the middle of a war zone.

Lavinia straightened to her full, Queenly height, “I don’t believe we’ve ever been formally introduced.”

“Ahh, you are right. Though I believe we have both spent many a private hour intimately dismantling the other. After that battle cry, Lavinia, you’ve thrown a bit of a monkey wrench into my plans. I’m going to have to kill you with less fanfare than I would have liked.”

“Oh, you’re killing no one tonight,” Lavinia said settling into a battle stance and waiting for Octavius to make the first move.

Keeping her eyes on his, Lavinia forced herself to read his body language—to see the shift in his gaze that would tell her which direction he was heading. For a long moment, it was rock steady on her own and Lavinia worried that she had given him the upper hand by waiting for his attack, then there it was: a flick to her left.

As Octavius moved toward her in a full-body rush, Lavinia instinctively knew this was her only chance. She dropped down to one side, putting all of her weight into her hip and freed her other leg, and it’s spike stiletto into the air. Octavius had too much momentum to stop and he impaled himself on the six-inch spike with a grunt just as the first round of guards came into the wooded space.

The man started to wilt over Lavinia and the unit moved forward to catch the dying man before he fell in a sickening heap over Lavinia’s body. Next, guards rushed forward to help her but she rerouted them.

“No! I’m fine, my husbands are injured. We need medical assistance now!”

In a sudden rush, the lights of the ballroom came up and emergency units were rushed in. Lavinia crawled over as medic units assessed her husbands and moved to staunch bleeding. She barely heard what they were saying as the two men were rushed away.