Two Wolves and a Cook [Werewolf Castle 4] (Siren Publishing Ménage Everlasting) Read online

  Evan clambered off the bench, and Ion unlocked the bars of the cage. “Come out now,” he ordered Anastasia. When she was out, he nodded to Evan. “In you get.”

  Evan crawled into the cage and Ion locked the bars down, then said to Anastasia, “Lie on your front. You can pillow your head on your hands.”

  When she was in place, he thwacked the paddle on her ass, just once, then walked over to the bench against the far wall. This time he deliberately stood so that if she tried to watch him, she would be able to see him opening various drawers, then removing some toys. He took out three butt plugs in a range of sizes, a couple of dildos, and a selection of cock rings. He laid them in a row along the bench, then marched back to Anastasia, and paddled her ass once more.

  Next, he walked to the wall and collected a flogger, which he used gently over her shoulders and thighs. Finally, he replaced the whip, paddle, and flogger, but left the other toys out. He wanted Evan to see them as well.

  “Climb off the bench and stand in the middle of the room, feet shoulder-width apart, hands behind your back, eyes straight ahead.”

  She did as he said and he unlocked the bars of the cage. “Join Anastasia,” he said, knowing he didn’t need to repeat the instructions for Evan.

  “You can see some toys on the bench. They are things I plan to use on you both in future, along with canes, whips, floggers, and paddles, of course. I don’t want you to answer now. We’re meeting again on Tuesday of next week. What I want you to do is think about if this is the way you’d like to move forward. Our next meeting will be a time of talking and being together in a casual way, growing as friends. If there’s any chance of us all becoming a triad we have to become friends as well as sexual partners and dungeon buddies. All three facets need to be fulfilled. Get dressed now and think about everything until we meet next week.”

  Silently, they obeyed him. It was the best he could do. Hopefully he’d given them a little taste of discipline, anticipation, and pleasure. Also, he thought likely they would think about everything over the week, which should build pleasure as well as anticipation. His next task would be to find a movie they’d all enjoy and a restaurant where the food would be different from what Evan and Anastasia were used to cooking and eating. He could see this was going to be a challenge. Feeding two chefs could be a recipe for disaster. Oh well, if they hated the meal at least it’d be a talking point, he supposed. Yeah and kill any chance of a relationship together stone dead.

  Chapter Three

  In some ways the week had flown past, yet in others it seemed an eternity since she’d had such a very tiny taste of the dungeon with Evan and Ion. She couldn’t stop thinking about the possibilities and potential of the relationship.

  On the one hand, there was a definite opportunity for the relationship to go very bad. She worked all day every day seven days a week with Evan and she’d been attracted to him for years.

  Ion she’d known a much shorter time. She knew very little about him, except that he’d handled her introduction to BDSM brilliantly, showing her so many possibilities and creating in her an increased desire to learn more about it and him. But it wasn’t going to be easy if they were to be three equal partners in the relationship. If she was subordinate to Evan in the kitchen, her workspace, and to Ion in the dungeon, their play space, when would she be free to be herself? It’d taken her pretty much her entire life to gain her freedom from her brothers, and they’d adored her as the only girl even if she wasn’t a hoped-for wolf. There was no way she’d hand over her freedom of spirit to anyone, ever. So there needed to be a sphere where she was in control of her own decisions.

  But this was all getting way ahead of herself as yet. It wasn’t even decided if they would be good friends, far less partners. They hadn’t had their first real date yet. Maybe their personalities would be completely incompatible and nothing would happen. After all, Evan and Ion had to get on with each other as well. This wasn’t all about her. All three of them had to form a bond with each of the others.

  Just because she’d appreciated the way Ion had introduced her to the dungeon, and just because she found them both very handsome and was more than ready to move up the action a step didn’t mean either of them, let alone both of them, felt the same way. She sighed. Well hell, maybe tonight would give her some clues.

  They were going to the large town an hour away, which had a proper cinema complex with a dozen or more theaters in it. She’d be very interested to know what movie the men had chosen. Or maybe Ion had chosen it himself without telling Evan. Then they’d be having a meal together, and she was looking forward to that as well. She loved trying new foods, new recipes, getting new ideas about table settings and presentation. Besides, how could she not enjoy spending the evening with two such deliciously handsome men?

  Anastasia had spent ages trying to decide what to wear. Finally she’d asked Damask, Tatiana, and Kady their opinions. Typically, they’d all chosen different things, which was totally unhelpful. As had been Kady’s closing remark. “Close your eyes, put your hand in your suitcase, shuffle things around, and wear whatever comes out.”

  Yeah, right. At least that had made her laugh.

  So she was wearing a pair of silky, pale-blue pants with a white lacy top, colors that she loved to wear but were completely unsuited to work in a kitchen where sauces, gravies, and many other liquids that stained fabrics were all too common a part of her day. Hopefully she’d manage not to spill anything on herself over dinner.

  It seemed strange to be standing in the inner castle courtyard in the middle of the day, with tourists everywhere. Even though Tuesday was her day to finish early, she never left quite this early. And here came Evan and Ion. She couldn’t ever recall Evan talking time off work during tourist hours. On the occasions when he had to leave the kitchen he was always in a great hurry to return, and the thought of him choosing to leave, for fun, was almost incomprehensible. Yet here he was, looking handsome in black pants and solid burgundy shirt. Ion looked smart, too, in navy jeans, and a dark blue button-down shirt.

  She watched them approach her, walking side by side. They were much of a height with, Ion being only a fraction taller, and had quite similar builds, although Evan’s shoulders and thighs looked broader, likely because of him carrying heavy crates of food all the time. But they were both extremely attractive men, Evan with brown hair and eyes, and Ion so blond with blue eyes like the sky in summer.

  She joined them and they swiped their ID cards to leave through the exit turnstiles, then she waited for Ion to guide them to his car. All staff cars were parked at the far side of the outer courtyard, against the castle wall, leaving the center for the tour busses and the nearest parking spaces for tourists and other guests. Also in this outer courtyard were half a dozen old wooden buildings tucked into the shelter of the outer castle wall and open so tourists could look inside and see medieval-style animal shelters, storerooms, and a peasant’s one-room hovel.

  Ion settled them in his car, then said, “I think we should use this private time to talk about the kinds of things we won’t be free to mention in the restaurant. We can save more general getting-to-know-you questions for while we eat. So, Anastasia do you have any questions for either of us?”

  “Not right now. Maybe I will on the way home, though. Perhaps if someone else goes first I might think of something.”

  She certainly hadn’t expected him to say anything like that. She’d been expecting more to talk about her childhood or something like that. Although really, having grown up in a mixed wolf-human family, her childhood had not been so very different from any other wolf’s.

  There was silence for a few miles, then Evan said, “I just wanted to say that I’m committed to making our friendship, our relationship, work. I’d spent quite a bit of time thinking about who I wanted to get to know better, with a mating as the natural conclusion to a friendship, and I’d chosen both of you. When Ion came to me with exactly the same names I saw that as a sign from the gods
that we are meant to be together. I’m not stupid. I know that successful partnerships don’t just magically happen. The people involved in them have to be prepared to cooperate and share and all those sorts of things. But I just wanted you both to know it’s not happenstance that we’re together now. It’s an active choice on my part as well as on each of your parts.”

  Anastasia smiled at him, then sat silently and thought. Shape-shifter matings were for life. There was no divorce in the shape-shifter world, although occasionally one partner ran away and became a lone wolf somewhere else. Since almost half of all human marriages failed, and since werewolves and humans were very similar indeed, that meant for a mating to succeed, all the people involved in it had to take the connection seriously. Her own father and all three brothers were wild, assertive, dominating, and possessive. But they were also loving, caring, and generous. There was always a lot of shouting in her family home, but also boundless love.

  So before she made any irrevocable decisions she needed to be absolutely, one hundred percent certain it was right for all three of them. The men she chose needed to be every bit as loving, caring, and generous as the men in her family, but preferably a whole lot less wild and definitely quieter. She’d see how tonight went before saying anything more.

  * * * *

  Ion had agonized over the movie choices. The huge cinema complex had four shows starting at about the time that suited them. One was a chick flick which he thought Anastasia might like, one was a science fantasy action movie he knew he’d like, and he thought Evan might like, and one was a horror movie which he wasn’t so sure about. But finally he settled on the fourth choice.

  It was a documentary filmed secretly in North Korea, showing huge, spectacular buildings, yet the streets empty of people even in the middle of the day. There were scenes filmed in impoverished farming communities of people crawling along the ground picking up single grains of rice and eating them, and there were other scenes of hundreds of children in magnificent costumes performing synchronized dances in almost empty stadiums with a handful of uniformed party dignitaries watching them. A land of contrasts indeed, and something that would offer them much food for thought and discussion about life in the world today.

  Once they were seated in the restaurant he’d chosen—yet another decision that he’d agonized over—he said to Anastasia, “What did you think of the movie?”

  “Oh I believe in the butterfly effect and chaos theory. I think that whatever is happening in one country will inevitably affect us here sooner or later. What I don’t know though, is how to convince some political leaders that they need to change their pattern and start looking out for their people a little better.”

  He wasn’t surprised. He’d suspected she had a kind heart and would care about other people.

  “I think what hit home to me is that in North Korea, and in many third world countries, people are still living as they were in the castle in the time we depict. A time when the poor died every winter if the crops hadn’t been good the previous summer. But this is so unnecessary today with refrigeration and container transportation. In medieval days no matter how carefully a chef guarded the food supplies there were still rats to get in and eat them and the risk of food spoiling. Today it’s militias and the black market siphoning food from the poor to those in power,” said Evan.

  Just then the server came to their table, and Ion sat back and watched as both Evan and Anastasia asked about various ingredients in the dishes, then entered into a long discussion about their choices. He enjoyed food. He liked trying new things. He even knew how to cook, although he seldom bothered to do so, with meals so readily available at the castle kitchen. The upside of mating two cooks would be endless delicious meals. The downside would be listening to them dissect every ingredient. Well, he could cope with that. He might even want to try cooking some of these things himself.

  Just then Anastasia looked up at him. “What are you choosing, Ion?”

  “I always choose a rice dish when I eat out, as it’s not something we eat much in the castle.”

  “Rice is a bit of a problem. It wasn’t widely eaten in Europe in the Middle Ages, yet it was definitely known. Alexander the Great’s soldiers brought it back from Asia to Greece, for example, and it was found in Roman army camps in Germany. But it wasn’t available generally, so I don’t use it,” said Evan.

  Once again, Ion sat back and let Evan and Anastasia discuss food. It was a good way for him to learn more about them. Sure, it was likely their favorite topic to talk about, but the depths of their knowledge was astounding and the way their conversation ranged all over the world and throughout history, in just a few sentences, was amazing. They were both very intelligent, fascinating people with a passion for their subject.

  During the meal he asked each of them general questions about their pasts, and they all laughed and joked happily. Finally, with the serving of their coffee, he said, “Evan, tell me, where do you want your life to be in five years’ time?”

  Evan’s brow creased and his brown eyes darkened. “Mate—married, definitely. Still in the castle kitchens, but with more new ideas and services. Roman, Brody, and Leonie have spoken about starting a sort of bed and breakfast program in the west tower. It’ll take a year or more to do the rebuilding necessary to make apartments in the tower, but I think as chef I could have real input into pleasing the guests with banquets at night and then breakfast in the morning.”

  “Anastasia?”

  “I agree with all of that. I think there’s so much potential for growth and development right there in the castle, there’s no need to leave to learn new skills and advance as a person. I definitely don’t want to still be living in the priests’ house though. I’d love a little more space.”

  Ion laughed. “I suppose as the spoiled rotten only girl in your family you had your own bedroom at home?”

  “I did and it was way bigger than my current cubbyhole.”

  He couldn’t help the grin stretching across his face. She really was a delight to spend time with, as well as offering thought-provoking comments on serious matters. Evan was a deep thinker as well, and he’d really enjoyed talking to them both. Now, the question was did they want to go to bed together? Would they like to play a little in the dungeon? Or was it all too soon? Plus, he needed to keep watch on the time, remembering always that they started work at an insanely early hour of the day.

  He caught the eye of the server and asked for the check. It was time to move the program along and see what would happen next.

  Ion deliberately waited until they were only abut fifteen minutes away from the castle before asking, “Anastasia, what do you want to do now? Dungeon, bedroom, or straight home?”

  There was the tiniest of gasps before she answered in a steady voice, “I don’t want to go straight home. The dungeon and the bedroom sound fine by me.”

  “Evan? What about you?”

  “I agree with Anastasia. Either or both of the dungeon and the bedroom get my vote.” Evan’s voice was husky and Ion guessed he was trying to smother his emotional response to the question.

  Ion was glad he’d reserved the dungeon for tonight. He hadn’t been sure they’d want it, but it had seemed to him better to book it and not need it, than not to book it then wish he had. Because of time constraints he could only do a short scene with them, but it would function as the foreplay for the sex, getting them very aroused.

  “Evan, you’ve obviously had experience in the BDSM scene. Were you in a Dom/sub relationship recently?”

  * * * *

  Evan supposed he should have expected Ion to ask him a question like this. It was likely an important part of bonding with a new sub. But it wasn’t a straightforward yes-or-no answer.

  “I guess the short answer is no. Not recently as in last week or last month. I dabbled in the BDSM scene in Italy, mainly going to clubs and watching, then eventually sharing in some of the scenes. But when I was in Paris I always went to the same BDSM club an
d used the same Domme, so in a way we were in a relationship. Of course she never knew I was a wolf, and it wasn’t like we ever dated out of the dungeon. But there was a connection between us stronger than just the casual Domme/sub relationship we had. Although I feel sure she was fucking other men as well as me. But for a long time after I came back to the castle I missed her. She understood me, I think.”

  “We all need to be understood,” said Anastasia softly.

  Evan smiled at her. She was a wonderful woman, Anastasia, with a loving heart. He hoped he understood her and he definitely wanted to learn more about her in the future. Maybe even tonight. This time together as a threesome had been good. They’d talked and laughed and been made to think and reflect. He’d never imagined the movie they’d see would be a documentary. He’d assumed it would be a romance of some sort, so Anastasia would enjoy it. Ion had surprised him with that decision, but he should have guessed Ion was too smart to make such an obvious choice.

  “Anastasia, did you ever manage to escape your brothers’ surveillance long enough to have a serious boyfriend?” asked Ion.

  Evan knew she hadn’t dated anyone in the castle regularly, but he was keen to hear her answer. He didn’t really know much about her life outside the castle.