I traced the outline of Leon’s wound with gentle fingers, feeling the raised seam of flesh that had transformed from angry red to pale pink. The healing was remarkable, the skin knit together without infection, the scar tissue forming smooth and clean.
"It looks so much better now," I murmured, my thumb brushing over the faded line. "The salve worked. Your arm is healing nicely."
"So is it all good now?" Leon asked, his voice hopeful, almost desperate. He lifted his arm, rotating his shoulder, demonstrating the full range of motion he had regained. "I can move it just fine. It does not even hurt when I raise my hand up. See?"
I watched him, my heart aching at the eagerness in his eyes, the need he was trying so hard to disguise as simple physical recovery. "I see that," I said carefully. "It is closed up, yes. But that does not mean the inside is fully healed. The muscles, the tendons, they still need time to strengthen. To truly be whole."
"Oh." His face fell, the light dying in his eyes, his hand dropping to his lap. He looked so disheartened, so disappointed, that I felt the weight of his frustration as if it were my own.
And then I understood. This was not about his arm. Not really. This was about the promise I had made him, the words I had spoken in the darkness when I thought he might die. When you feel better, let us truly become bonded mates. He was healed enough. He was ready. And he was waiting, patiently, painfully, for me to honor my word.
Is my Leon sexually frustrated? I wondered, watching the way his jaw tightened, the way his hands clenched in the furs. Is he sad that he has to wait longer, that I keep finding reasons to delay what we both know is coming?
I smiled, a slow, secret thing that started in my heart and spread to my lips. "Tonight," I said, my voice dropping to a husky whisper. "Let us go to the stream together. Just you and me."
His eyes snapped up to mine, wide and dark and shining with hope. "What about Ravin?"
"He will be busy tonight," I said, reaching out to cup his cheek, feeling the warmth of his skin, the slight tremor in his jaw. "You do not worry about him. It will be just us. Under the stars. In the water. Alone."
"Okay," he breathed, the word barely audible, his smile blooming like the first flower of spring.
After I finished rubbing the salve into his shoulder, wrapping it carefully to let the medicine absorb, I left him to his anticipation and went to find Ravin. My first mate. My golden lion. The man whose understanding I needed more than air.
I found him by the eastern stream, his hands weaving reeds into a basket, his concentration absolute. He did not hear me approach, so intent was he on his task. I circled my arms around him from behind, laying my cheek against his back, breathing in his scent of sun and male and home. I pressed a kiss to his shoulder, then to his neck, then to his cheek when he turned his head.
"I am taking Leon to the streams tonight," I said, the words coming out in a rush before I could lose my courage.
"Oh?" He continued weaving, his fingers nimble, his voice casual. "Great. Should I come?"
I hesitated, my heart hammering against his back. How do I say this? How do I tell the man who I became mates first with that I want to sleep with his brother, to claim him fully, to give him what I have given only to Ravin so far? The words felt foreign, wrong, even though I knew they were right.
"His arm is healing," I said, stalling, searching for the right phrasing. "I was thinking about... the promise. The one I made him."
God, this is harder than I thought. I cannot just say, Hey, stay here, I am going to go have sex with your brother. There has to be a better way. A way that honors what Ravin and I share, that shows him he is not being replaced, forgotten, cast aside.
Ravin stopped weaving. He set the basket down and turned toward me, his golden eyes finding mine, searching, reading. I stood before him, looking down at him not by much, though he was tall, so tall, his presence filling my vision.
"Krys," he said slowly, his voice gentle, "are you telling me that tonight you want to work on that promise with Leon? That you want to... complete your bond?"
I swallowed hard, my throat tight. "Yes," I whispered, the word barely audible. "I... yes."
He was silent for a moment that stretched into eternity. Then he smiled, a radiant, genuine, beautiful smile that lit up his whole face. "Krys," he said, his voice warm as honey, "thank you for telling me. And do not look like you are hurting me. It is our way of life. I am not upset in the slightest. I am pleased. Very pleased. That you told me first."
Relief flooded through me, so intense my knees weakened. "Of course you are my first mate, Ravin. Of course I would tell you first. I would never... I could never..."
"I know," he said, standing, pulling me into his arms. "I know, my heart. And that is why I am not afraid. Because you honor me, even as you honor him."
He held me for a moment, his chin resting on my head, his heart beating steady against my ear. Then he pulled back, his eyes bright with plans. "I will tell the others not to go to the stream tonight. I will lay the candles, give you some lights, make it beautiful for you both."
"You do not have to do all that," I protested, though warmth spread through my chest at his thoughtfulness.
"Of course I do," he said, his hand cupping my cheek. "It is for the two people I love most in this world. How could I not make it perfect for you both?"
I kissed him then, pouring all my gratitude, all my love, all my awe at his generosity into the press of my lips against his. He kissed me back, soft and sweet, his tongue tracing my lower lip before he pulled away.
"Just promise me one thing," he said, his eyes serious despite his smile.
"Anything," I breathed.
"Do not forget that you have me too. That I am here. That I am yours, just as you are mine."
I laughed, the sound bubbling up from my soul, bright and genuine. "Of course," I said, my hands finding his chest, his waist, lower. "How could I forget you? When you are this good to me." My fingers traced the hard ridge of him through his wrap, loving the feel of his length, the way he gasped at my touch. "Not to mention this beautiful part of you here too."
"Krys," he groaned, his hips bucking into my hand. "Do not start something you cannot finish. Leon can have you tonight. But I am claiming you for me tomorrow. Thoroughly. Completely. Until you cannot walk."
"Yes," I whispered, squeezing him, feeling him harden further in my grip. "And I welcome it. I want it. I want you both, Ravin. Now and always."
He growled, low and possessive, his mouth claiming mine in a kiss that promised everything I had ever dreamed of. Two men. One heart. A love big enough to hold them both.
And tonight, under the stars, with Ravin’s blessing warming my soul, I would finally, fully, become Leon’s too.
---
The night air was perfect, warm and scented with jasmine and wild herbs. I gathered my bath products with trembling hands, the bar of soap I had rendered from fat and lye, the shampoo I had experimented with from soapwort roots. The liquid did not foam like the chemical-laden bottles from my old world, but when I rubbed it between my palms, it turned slick and faintly bubbly, smelling green and bitter but clean. The conditioner was simpler, aloe gel scraped from thick leaves and mixed with water, soothing and softening.
Fuck all those people who used to laugh at my hobbies, I thought, bitterness and gratitude warring in my chest. The ones who mocked my DIY videos, my obsession with natural products, my endless crafting. Shit, at least I can survive in this world with the knowledge of making my own necessities. I was bitter about it though; the irony not lost on me. It was not like anyone from my old life would hear me. To them, I was dead. Fallen three stories from my apartment after confronting my cheating ungrateful ass ex-boyfriend, my body broken on the pavement while he walked away free, I hope he doesn’t I hope he’s haunted by my death. Fucken bastard.
I grabbed two linen cloths to dry ourselves with, the fabric soft and absorbent, my own creation. I put everything in the woven basket Ravin had made for us, his love evident in every careful stitch.
The path to the stream was lit with candlelight, dozens of tapers glowing in the darkness, leading the way like stars fallen to earth. Ravin had really outdone himself. Fireflies danced between the flames, their bioluminescence adding to the magic, turning the ordinary forest path into something enchanted, something sacred.
"Wow," I breathed, my heart hammering. "It is breathtaking today."
"It is definitely different," Leon murmured, his hand finding mine, his fingers trembling slightly.
"Alright," I said, turning to him, my voice steadier than I felt. "Go into the water. I will follow you in shortly. I just need to prepare some things."
"Oh, okay."
I do not think he caught on just yet. He was probably thinking I was doing what I did the last time we were at the stream. Cleaning his wounds. Helping him wash. Purely platonic, clinical, necessary. Tonight was anything but platonic in my mind. Tonight was the night I would give myself to him completely, the night I would honor my promise, the night I would bind us together in flesh as we were already bound in spirit.
I waited until his back was turned, until he waded into the water, and then I stripped. Everything came off, my linen shift, my makeshift panties, my inhibitions, my fears. I knew Ravin had ensured no one would enter the stream area today. We could enjoy each other to our hearts’ content, our privacy absolute, our safety guaranteed.
I exhaled deeply, naked now, vulnerable and powerful all at once. I grabbed the basket and walked to meet him in the water, my feet silent on the mossy bank.
Leon was standing in the shallows, his back to me, his shoulders broad and tense. When he heard me approach, he turned, and then he gasped. The sound was sharp, involuntary, like he had been struck. His eyes roamed my naked flesh slowly, inch by inch, from my face down my throat, my breasts, my waist, the curve of my hips, and between my thighs. His gaze was physical, a touch without hands, and I felt it everywhere.
"Well," I asked, my voice small, shy, nothing like the confident woman I pretended to be. "Is it to your liking?"
"Krys," he breathed, his voice rough, his eyes wide and dark with wonder. "You are perfect. You are the most beautiful thing I have ever seen."
He walked toward me, his hands outstretched, and I slowly walked into his arms. The feeling of our skin sliding together, chest to chest, hip to hip, was electric. It felt perfect. It felt right. Like puzzle pieces clicking into place, like coming home.
"It is time we do good on that promise," I said, my voice barely above a whisper, my cheek resting against his thundering heart. "Don’t you think?"
His answer was his lips capturing mine. They were soft, just as I remembered from our first kiss, but hungrier now, more certain. I stuck my tongue into his mouth, exploring, and he gasped in surprise, his whole body jerking against mine. His hips were already moving, seeking, his hard length pressing against my stomach, desperate for entrance.
But I grabbed his shoulders, stopping him, and he looked at me as if he were in physical pain.
"No," I said gently, firmly. "We have all night. Let us not rush this."
"I do not understand," he panted, his brow furrowed, his body trembling with restraint. "My basic instinct is telling me to thrust, to claim, to mate. Am I not doing it right?"
"You are," I assured him, my hands stroking down his chest, his ribs, his hip bones. "But there are other ways to pleasure each other before we get to the main point. Ways to learn each other. To make it last." I looked into his eyes, dark and confused and desperate. "Do you not trust me?"
"I do," he said quickly, urgently. "I trust you with everything. With my life."
"Then let me," I whispered, my hand finding his cock, thick and hot and curved in a way I had never seen before. I stroked his length, slow and firm, and his eyes closed, his head falling back, a groan tearing from his throat.
I sank into the shallow water, kneeling before him, the cool liquid barely reaching my stomach. I looked up at him once, saw him watching me with wide, shocked eyes, and then I stuck out my tongue to taste him. He was thinner than Ravin, yes, but still substantial, still enough to make my jaw ache. And that curve, that wicked upward curve I had never seen on any man in my old world, made me wonder how it would feel inside me, hitting places straight cocks could not reach.
"Krys," he gasped, his hands hovering over my head, afraid to touch, afraid not to. "Krys, what are you—"
I took him into my mouth, silencing his question. He was hot, velvet over steel, pulsing with his heartbeat. I sucked harder, hollowing my cheeks, using my tongue to trace the vein underneath, to explore that fascinating curve.
"Krys," he moaned, his hips bucking involuntarily. "Krys, something is coming. I’m going to—"
I did not stop. I doubled my efforts, my hand working the base of him, my mouth working the rest, and I felt him tense, his whole body going rigid, his cock swelling even larger between my lips. Then he was coming, loads and loads of his hot seed shooting into the back of my mouth, salty and thick and endless. I swallowed, taking everything he gave me, milking him until he was spent, until his knees buckled and he had to grip my shoulders to stay standing.
I stood up slowly, wiping my mouth with the back of my hand, my body aching with arousal, my core throbbing with need. "So," I asked, my voice husky, "how was your first blowjob?"
"That felt amazing," he breathed, his eyes dazed, his chest heaving. "Your mouth was so hot and wet, like nothing I could have imagined. Can I do that to you too? Will it feel good just like it did for me? But we do not have the same parts. How would I—"
I laughed softly, the sound echoing off the water. Like brothers, they both wanted to pleasure me, to learn me, to make me scream. "Yes," I said, taking his hand. "Would you like to learn how to please me?"
"Yes," he said eagerly, his eyes clearing, focusing on me with intense concentration.
I led him to a flat rock at the water’s edge and sat, spreading my legs for him. The night air was cool against my heated flesh, the candlelight flickering gold and shadow across my skin. Leon followed, going to his knees in the water before me, his eyes fixed on the juncture of my thighs with an expression of reverent awe.
"This is my pussy," I said, my fingers tracing my own folds, showing him. "This is where your cock will enter. And this part," I pointed to my swollen clit, "this is where you will lick me. It will make me feel good. You could use your hands too, as long as you rub there gently, of course. I will come, just like you did."
"I understand," he said, and then, as eager as Ravin had been, he dove in.
His tongue found me quickly, wet and firm and shockingly skilled for a novice. He licked me vigorously, enthusiastically, and I threw my head back, my hands gripping the rock behind me, my hips bucking toward his mouth. "More gentle," I moaned, guiding him with my hand in his hair. "Slower. Like this."
He adjusted, his tongue softening, circling my clit with maddening precision. His finger found my entrance, exploring, pushing in slowly, one long finger curling inside me. "Wow," he breathed against my flesh. "You are so tight. So hot. Like wet silk."
"Yes," I gasped, my legs trembling. "Like that. Just like that."
He worked me with his mouth and his hand, learning my rhythm, my sounds, the way I gasped when he hit just the right spot. I was so close, hovering on the edge, and when he sucked my clit gently, his finger pumping in and out, I exploded. I came with a cry that echoed through the forest, my whole body seizing, my hips jerking, my hands gripping his shoulders for support. He stayed with me, his tongue still working, his finger still moving, riding out my pleasure until I became too sensitive, until I was pushing against his shoulder, begging him to stop.
"Oh, Leon," I breathed, my chest heaving, my vision blurred. "That is enough. You can thrust inside me now."
Leon looked up at me, his face glistening with my arousal, his eyes dark and wild. He positioned himself between my legs, his cock hard again, throbbing against my entrance. He slowly pushed inside, and I gasped, my head falling back, my nails digging into his arms. That curve, that wicked curve, hit a new place entirely, pressing against my front wall with delicious pressure. The difference was immense. Ravin made me feel full, stretched, completely possessed. Leon’s curved cock made me feel full too, but in a different way, the pressure concentrated, rubbing against spots that made my toes curl.
I threw my head back as he found his rhythm, slow and deep and devastating.
Then he lifted me, just as effortlessly as Ravin had, his arms banding around my waist, pulling me up and onto his lap, impaled on his cock. The new angle sent him deeper, hitting places I did not know existed, and his head dropped to my neck, his teeth grazing my pulse as he pumped in and out of me, the water splashing around us.
I guessed beast men were way stronger than actual men from my world. They would not be able to pick me up, fucking me in the air like these two brothers. Hyunwoo certainly could not. The man looked like he was out of breath carrying me for just a minute, let alone supporting my full weight while thrusting up into me with such power.
I moaned and whimpered as Leon fucked me, the deep and slow thrusts my favorite, the way I could feel every ridge of him, every vein, every pulse of his heartbeat inside me. He was learning me, learning what made me gasp, what made me clench around him, what made me beg for more.
He growled, a sound of pure animal possession, and his thrusts became erratic, desperate. "Krys," he groaned. "I am coming. I cannot stop it. You feel too good. Like you were made for me."
"Come," I urged, my own pleasure building again, spiraling tight and hot in my belly. "Come inside me, Leon. Fill me. Claim me."
He roared, his whole body arching, his cock swelling and pulsing as he released deep inside me, hot and thick and endless. The feeling of him coming, the knowledge that he was marking me, claiming me, sent me over the edge. I moaned, my pleasure gripping me like a fist, my core clenching around him, milking him, coming on his cock in waves that made my vision white out.
"Can we do that again?" he asked, his voice breathless, his cock still hard inside me, still twitching.
I laughed, delirious, exhausted, aroused beyond belief. "Yes," I smiled, kissing his jaw, his throat, anywhere I could reach. "We have all night, my love. We can do it as many times as you want."
Leon took me at my word. He took me in different positions, bent over a rock in doggy style, his curved cock hitting my g-spot with every thrust until I was screaming his name. Then deeper in the water, my back against the bank, my legs wrapped around his waist as he thrust into me from above, the stars wheeling overhead. Then, after we washed ourselves, freshly clean and smelling of soap and sex, he took me against a tree, my back against the rough bark, his mouth on my breast, his cock driving into me with a desperation that spoke of months of waiting, months of wanting, finally fulfilled.
"I think that is enough," I whimpered finally, my body limp, my muscles trembling, thoroughly used and satisfied. "I am tired, Leon. I cannot take anymore."
"I just cannot get enough of you," he murmured, kissing me softly, his hands gentle now, reverent. "You are perfect. You are everything."
"Let us go back," I said, my head lolling against his shoulder. "We have been out for hours now. Ravin will be waiting."
After putting on our clothes he lifted me in his arms, bridal style, my body pressed against his chest, his heart hammering against my ear. "Yes, let us go."
I kissed his collarbone, his throat, his jaw, my arms around his neck. "It is official now," I said, my voice thick with emotion, with love, with belonging. "You are my mate in every sense, just like Ravin is. I am yours, Leon. Completely. Forever."
He stopped walking, his arms tightening around me, his face buried in my hair. "Thank you for having me, Krys," he whispered, his voice breaking. "I will never forget this. As long as I live, I will never forget tonight, what you gave me, what you are to me."
I kissed him, slow and deep and full of promise. "You better not," I smiled against his lips, and then I laid my head on his chest, listening to his heartbeat, feeling his warmth, his strength, his love.
He carried us back through the candlelit path, past the sleeping flowers, toward our den where Ravin was waiting, where our family was complete, where my heart had finally found its home with my two mates.