“Five,” Anax declared. “That’s my record.”

“Really!” marveled Schuler.

“What are you going on about?” asked Patience as she took a seat at the dining table.

“Five! I’ve made you climax five times in one extended session.”

Patience immediately turned beet red.

“Hm, the most I got was three,” said Schuler.

“You are merely human. You cannot match my stamina.”

“Can we discuss something else?” Patience whined, burying her face into her arms.

“What about when we have at her together?” asked the man. “Have you counted that?”

“Together, I believe our record is four,” Anax replied atop his head.

Patience groaned.

“Considering our individual counts, we can sure raise that number,” mused Schuler.  He shot his wife a wink.

“You two are trying to kill me,” Patience grumbled.

Chortling, her husband began to ladle out helpings of catfish stew. Patience lifted her head away from the table. It was always nice when Schuler took over cooking duties. He was quite skilled at it as well. When it came to fish, he was a master at deboning them, something that eluded Patience despite her old hobby.

“What say you, Pet? Shall we try to break our combined record after lunch?” rumbled Anax as Schuler slid a full bowl to Patience.

“We’ll see how full I feel after this meal,” she huffed.

“A needed activity to work off the food!” Anax rasped.

Schuler snorted. “It’s my day off! I’d sure like to enjoy it.” He took a seat opposite Patience and centered his bowl before him. Patience shoveled a chunk of fish into her mouth, soup dribbling down her chin. A tendril extended from the foggy cowl around Schuler’s neck to wipe it away.

Patience smirked over her spoon. “Isn’t my company enough?”

Her husband raised an eyebrow and formed a crooked smile. “I can’t get enough of your company. So I’d like to have the most of you, closest to you.”

The heat in Patience’s face would not diminish. There was no refusing those wondrous blue eyes of his. She coughed. “We’ll see.”

Schuler chuckled, knowing he had won.

Patience abashedly continued to sup. What was once a rivalry between the two had now transformed into one of a friendly variety. She hardly missed the jealous outbursts from Anax, or the stilted detachment offered by Schuler. Though, Schuler was more unnerved by her trysts with the hunter Valon. How odd it was to find herself pulled between these men. She gratefully accepted the ultimate outcomes. 

To distract her eager partners, she informed Schuler of the delivery now sitting in their bedroom. While Schuler was delighted by the surprise, Anax had already bore witness to its acquisition. His eye trained intensely upon Patience, and she could feel the heat of his stare. Anax was still a beast after all. And baiting him with prurient propositions led to a tense meal.

Patience did her best to finish her bowl, although it was difficult to dismiss the billowing vapor clutching her husband’s shoulders. Anax was hungry to begin their post-prandial activity. To quell the creature’s covetousness over her, feeding his greed with another possession was their solution. In a way, she was sorry to drag Schuler into her affairs with this creature. But it had appeased all three parties.

The dirty dishes were abandoned in the sink as Schuler whisked Patience away to the bedroom. Clothes slipped off bodies, landing in heaps on the floor. Trembling among the dust motes caught in the afternoon light, the outline of Anax’s bulky form waited to coalesce into solid matter. At the center was Schuler’s tight frame illuminated by the window. His muscles were not carved as deep, but they pulled his skin snuggly.

Patience dipped her fingers through the mist oscillating in the air and touched upon her husband’s chest. She trailed her hand down his ribs and abdomen, sending the fog wafting in a shimmer. Both Anax and Schuler remained in place. They basked in Patience’s admiration and simply appreciated her with their tandem gaze.

Honey loam eyes met with moon and ocean. Patience stepped closer, letting her palm slide below her husband’s navel. Her lips bowed playfully as her lashes fluttered. Though concealed behind the skull, Schuler jerked his head slightly to hide his blushing cheeks. She then withdrew her touch, asking the pair to reclaim it and take her.

[Next Episode will be Mature!]