Cat's Choice (24 page)

“Looks like you started without me!” and she climbed onto the bed to join in on the fun.

***

Caterina woke up in bed and looked over at Tripp. She turned her head again and looked at the clock; it was seven . He’d be waking up soon. She had a few moments of quiet to think about all the changes she’d gone through lately. A big one was sleeping beside her. He had stuck to his promise and never said anything to sway her towards Orfeo. He held her every night now, and though they hadn’t mated, every morning he would bring her to orgasm before showering and going out to fix them breakfast. He said she was his very own amusement park, and he loved riding the roller coaster. She didn’t quite get the analogy until he explained it. Then she’d told him that she was the one riding the roller coaster.

She didn’t know how to tell him that she was ready for the next step. He still hadn’t tried to remove her clothes. And that was another thing that bothered her. After she’d come upstairs from that first dinner party and changed for bed, she found out that Tripp hadn’t been the only one healed. She was still trying to process it the next morning, so she didn’t say anything. Now it had been so long that she wasn’t sure how to bring it up.

Tripp rolled over and gave her a smile as his hands began to wander.
Time to go for a ride !

***

Sofia and Attilio were lying in bed; as usual, they went to sleep around four in the morning and then slept until noon. Normally, this allowed them to spend the afternoons in the Castillo’s interior rooms taking care of business and having interactions with the human populace of their village. They could stay in touch with their people and what was going on while at the same time preserve the secret of their clan. Nearly all the inhabitants of the older , walled part of Certaldo was inhabited by the clan, human servants and Castillo-related workers who knew of them. During the days, a great many tourists visited, especially in the warm summer months.

Around eight thirty in the morning, the sounds of the Pack house beginning their day drifted down to them, and they awoke. Attilio turned to smile at Sofia. “You are just as beautiful now as you were the day I married you,” he said as he reached for her. “Come to me; let me take you to the stars once again.” Sofia let out a delightfully girlish giggle as she went into his arms.

***

Isabella lay back in her lover’s arms. They had been putting off the turning because Isabella wanted to spend time with Caterina .

“How does your plan proceed, bellissima?” Abaven whispered in her ear as he continued to caress her. He’d just finished making love to her, and he wanted to start all over again. His passion built daily and would continue to do so until the night of their turning; having mated with her, his body now craved to turn her, and the feelings would increase until he could no longer hold back.

“She knows what I’m doing and lets me anyway. I’ve sung Orfeo’s praises to the sky for nearly ten days. I think by the night of celebration; we’ll bring her around, and she will be over her fears,” she told him as she reached over to thumb his nipple. She turned her head to look up into his eyes. Her gentle giant, she loved him so much. “Again?”

***

Argus stood at the stove in his kitchen cooking breakfast for his mates. He and Trinity had been spending time over the last few afternoons working with Orfeo to set up a union of European Vampire clans that were willing to follow the laws and edicts of the New Council. So he felt Jacob and Skye deserved the special treatment.

Vampires were fiercely independent, and it remained to be seen exactly what the association between the Vampire s, and the New Council would be.

This afternoon they would once again try to hash out an agreement. He made a mental note to ask Trace to come in on their meeting. They could use his mediation skills.

Just then Jacob and Skye came in with sleepy smiles. They each took a turn giving him a good morning kiss. “Are you going to be busy this afternoon again?” asked Skye.

“Yes, I’m afraid so, sweetie. Did you need me for something?” responded Argus.

“I’ll always need you,” she said and swiped a piece of bacon. “I just thought it would be nice to have a picnic in the backyard. How about instead of another big dinner at the Pack house, we h ave a Texas style barbeque here? We can invite Orfeo and his parents, Trinity and her mates, Bama and her mates and also Tripp and Caterina . That will give you an informal setting for your discussions. That wine Attilio brought was really nice; it’s just that for a barbeque, you need beer. And we just received several cases from Saint Arnold’s Brewery in Houston. And I just thought that you might make more progress in an informal environment.”

Argus pulled her into his arms for a deep kiss and a quick grope. “Jacob, our mate is brilliant. Would you help her pull it all together?”

“I know she’s brilliant. She’s sexy, too .” Jacob added. He was about to make a suggestion for a lunchtime interlude when he noticed their two small ones standing in the doorway, each tugging a small blanket. “Look who’s gotten out of their cribs again!” And he and Skye went to get them changed, while Argus went back to finishing breakfast. He had a big grin on his face.
Life was good , he thought.

***

Bama and her mates slept in. Her babies were due any day now so they’d had to get creative in the bedroom . As soon as they were born, and her body recovered, she was ready to take it to another level. They had been discussing it for some time, and she was ready and dreamed about being bound tightly without the cuffs and leashes. She stepped naked from the bathroom into her closet and put on an opaque white-tie sarong skirt with flaps in the back and front , the maternity version . When she stood still or walked slowly it was perfectly demure, and the flaps gave easy access to her mates at all times. She never wore panties around the house anymore. And as per Trace ‘s request, unless they were expecting guests, she only wore her special bras on top. They gave her the support she needed while presenting he r nipples for their gaze and attentions.

They’d been married now for nearly a year, and she felt like she was still on her honeymoon. As she stepped into the kitchen, she saw the time was nine, they had overslept. Now she wanted to make them a special breakfast. She turned and saw the wrapped packages on the counter. She opened the first one; it was a beautiful book with colored illustrations on Shibari , the art of Japanese rope binding. The other was a beginner’s book for sexual bondage. She heard a sound from behind her and saw her men standing in the doorway.

“I have the best mates in the world! Thank you so much! How did you know?” she asked walking towards them .

Trace walked over and stood on her left front side, h e leaned forward to give her a kiss. “You are our treasure,” he said as he let his free hand wander over her rounded belly as her skirt was tied underneath the babies. “You give us w hat we need; of course, we want you to have everything you need too.”

“We love the way you respond to us, the tighter we bind you, the higher your level of arousal. Do you think we haven’t noticed?” s aid Sh ane as he came up on her right side, and reaching up to run his thumb over her nipple. Her breasts had grown; her areolas darkened and were sensitive from her pregnancy.

Just then the phone rang, and Trace reached over to pick it up from the side table. “Hello?” he said. As he listened, he gave Bama a smile. “Let me check , ” he pulled the receiver away, “Barbeque dinner at Argus’s tonight? Jacob says Skye suggested an informal atmosphere for hammering out the agreement between the New Council and the European Vampire Clans.”

“I think that is a wonderful plan. The Parliament has always had a cordial association with the Clans. I can drop my mother’s name into the conversation,” said Bama.

“Who needs your mother, though of course, she’s wonderful, we have you. You’re our secret weapon , Bama.” He gave her a quick kiss and then picked up the phone again. “We’re in…Great….See you then…Okay, bye now.”

“Trace, I think Bama needs to come back to bed. You’r e due any day now, and you need to let us take care of you,” said Shane.

“I just wanted to make you breakfast because you’ve been so great putting up with all my hormonal mood swings , ” answered Bama.

“You are carrying our babies; we’re here to serve you. Now if you won’t go back to bed, come sit in the armchair with your feet up. We’ll come and have breakfast with you there , “ s aid Trace.

“Okay, I’m so ready for these babies to come into the world. And I want banana pancakes for breakfast , ” s aid Bama.

***

Trinity hung up the phone in her study and then wandered out to find her mates. They were never too far away . Cloe had very little to go on with this pregnancy. With the only known dragon as one of the fathers, it seemed the birth schedule had been altered. She was already several months past her original five-month due date. She was having regular ultrasounds, and Cloe said the babies were fine. It just looked like they needed to bake a little longer.

She was a wolf; she expected a five-month pregnancy . The almost eleven months she’d suffered through so far had her growling at her men , Lagon especially . The good side of the situation was they pampered her endlessly. Seeing Shea with her newborns made her long to hold her own.

Very soon after she left her study where she worked at home, she came across first Lagon and then Blaze. “It’s almost nine thirty, so I thought you might like some apple slices with your multivitamin. Maybe you’d like a glass of milk? Or a banana?” asked Lagon.

“Thanks, hon, I’d like apple slices with peanut butter and bananas on them with a glass of milk and a glass of orange juice , please.”

“That was Jacob on the phone. We’re having dinner at their house tonight, Texas barbeque, yum!” she said.

“Are you sure your feeling up to that?” asked Blaze as he picked up her feet. She needed to keep them elevated, or they would swell up. He began massaging the joints.

“We’re kind of stuck in the negotiations. Skye thought it might help if we were in an informal atmosphere. I’m the Pack builder, and this is more Argus’s area. However, my presence adds another female into the mix. All the old-world charm comes out, and it keeps tempers down. No one wants to upset the very pregnant lady. I’ll take a nap after the meeting this afternoon. I’ll be fine for dinner. Ooh , that feels so good , ” s he said when Blaze pushed in on her instep.

“Here’s your snack. Don’t forget your vitamin,” s aid Lagon.

***

Orfeo lay in his bed alone and stared at the ceiling, ten o’clock , two more hours . Each day around noon, Tripp would come and bring him breakfast. They would fool around a little, and then he would shower and get up. It was getting harder and harder to be patient. Each day his control slipped a little . He longed to be with both his mates.

The only thing that saved his sanity was the dreams. Each time he closed his eyes; he dreamed of being with his mates. And like the dream in Italy, Caterina pulled back and seemed fragile. Only now, in the dreams, she was changing; coming out of her shell and starting to participate more. At first, she had been scared, then she acted as if she was making the motions, suffering through the mating like a necessary dentist’s appointment, now, more and more she was relishing in it. The dreams gave him hope.