Rabbit Season, Page 5

  "You're family," James said. "Nothing to be sorry about except possibly forcing me to listen to people scream about my son's sex life." He rubbed at his temples. "Which reminds me: I need to find replacements while Sidney and I are unable to work."

  Sidney sighed. "I wish that meant I was going to be getting extended paid time off."

  "Ha!" Troy and James chorused.

  Sidney flipped them off.

  "I have plenty of work for you to do right here in the house," Troy said. "You can start tomorrow."

  "That sounds suspiciously like spreadsheets are going to be involved," Sidney groused. "Anything but spreadsheets, please." He sulked over his beer when they all just laughed.

  Standing, Troy said, "I'm going to go finish up dinner and make some more calls. You three make sure a couple of guest rooms are ready. Your mom gets her usual, of course; put Skylar and Brady next to her."

  Brook saluted. "Sir, yes, sir."

  "I should probably get groceries delivered, too, now I'm thinking about it," Troy added. "All right, I'm off." He leaned down and gave James a quick kiss, then pulled out his phone as he left, talking a mile a minute as he faded off.

  James stood and drained his beer. "Got my own calls to make so you three get to work on those guest rooms."

  They nodded and left, Sidney gathering up the empty bottles and stopping in Troy's office to throw them away before he led the way down the hall to the guest rooms.

  He stopped at the larger of the two hall closets to get out sheets and blankets, piling it all in the twins' arms before continuing on. The second floor was more or less a gigantic, squared off ring with the staircase in the middle and the rooms all around it along a wide hallway. The office was at the back, Troy's office a short ways down the hall from it, and two of the guest rooms were right next to it. Sidney's room was right across the way, tucked in the corner, and two other guest bedrooms took up the rest of that wall. The master bedroom took up the wall opposite the office.

  The third floor had even more rooms, smaller than those on the second floor. They weren't used much except during the holidays.

  The twins' room was right next to Troy's office. The one Nancy favored was two down from Sidney's room. It was one of the prettiest rooms in the house, with a huge window seat that overlooked the south yard, a wardrobe that had to be a couple of centuries old, and a huge, old poster bed that matched it. The bed was so heavy Sidney was pretty sure a tsunami couldn't budge it. On the rare occasion his mother visited from her flock, she stayed in this room.

  Someone had stripped the bed at some point but hadn't bothered to make it. That meant James had been the last to clean up in there; he always forgot to remake the bed. Well, worked in his favor since he'd been planning to remake it anyway. Taking a set of sheets from Brook, Sidney set to work. Colby helped him while Brook found a broom and rag and got to dusting and sweeping.

  When Nancy's room was ready, they moved next door to the room right next to Sidney's, the one they called the green room because there wasn't a single thing in the room that wasn't some shade of green except for the bedframe and the hardwood floor.

  He was in the middle of dusting the enormous old dresser in one corner, debating whether or not he could skip vacuuming the rug, when he realized the twins' chatter had died off. Turning, he saw them at the bed. Brook was sitting on the edge of it, Colby standing between his legs hugging him tightly, Brooks arms around his waist.

  Should he… yeah, he should probably leave them alone. They'd been together in pretty much every way for their entire lives. Sidney was barely out of being a dumb kid and one afternoon of fooling around did not mean he'd earned a place…

  Bah. Fuck it. He couldn't bear to see them hurt like that while he just stood around gawking. They hadn't seemed offended by his presence earlier. Dropping the dust rag he still held, Sidney crossed the room and reached out to touch them, hugging them the way he had back when their mom had first called. Same as before, they seemed to take it as indication to hold him tighter.

  How they all wound up on the bed, Sidney wasn't sure, but he was more than happy to be squished between them if it made them feel better. He was more than happy to be squished for any reason—or no reason at all.

  "This is not how we wanted to finally do this," Colby said. "It's crap to make a move when there's so much damn drama and danger involved."

  "Dude, my dads met because they'd both been arrested for a stupid bar fight. Dad's parents dated after my grandpa was an ass and my grandma told him off and broke his nose. Don't even get me started on my pop's side of the family. We are positively tame by comparison."

  "I wouldn't put arrest records out of play quite yet," Brook muttered. "If I find the sons of bitches who keep trying to hurt us they'll set my bail at two million dollars, bare minimum."

  Sidney smiled. "I would really prefer handcuffs remain in the realm of things I'll never discuss with my dads." He laughed when both twins choked. "But do what ya gotta do."

  "Handcuffs, huh?" Colby's teeth scraped along the back of Sidney's neck, eliciting a shiver. "Naughty little duckling."

  "Says the twins," Sidney retorted.

  Brook grinned, kissed him. "At least we're honest narcissists." His hand loosened where it had been clinging to Sidney's hip, pushed up under his t-shirt to slide along his skin.

  Colby pushed a leg between Sidney's thighs, skated his fingers along Sidney's leg while he continued to lick and suck and kiss the back of his neck. There was a ragged edge to their movements, and it wasn't hard to read that they were using him as a distraction more than anything. If that was what they needed, Sidney could provide. "If you mess this bed up you have to change the sheets."

  "Ugh, god," Brook said, going still. "I'm not having sex where Skylar and Brady will know."

  Colby lifted his head enough to give his brother a look, but then slowly pulled away and sat up. "You are squeamish in the dumbest ways."

  "Do you really want to fuck and then look at Skylar in the morning and know that he knows?"

  "I don't care," Colby replied. "Or are you forgetting that time I sucked you off in the boss's office?"

  Brook groaned and hid his flushed face in his hands. His voice was muffled when he replied, "No. I keep trying but there is no forgetting that."

  Colby's mouth curved in a hot, wicked little grin that got an A++ and extra credit from Sidney's cock. "That sounds even better than the time I caught you in the boathouse." That made the grin even hotter; Sidney might have whimpered.

  He definitely whimpered when Colby kissed him, wet and filthy, not stopping until Sidney's mouth felt bruised. Colby then climbed out of the bed and pushed Brook so he was half-sitting on it. Opening his jeans, Colby pulled Brook's cock out and sank to his knees before swallowing Brook's cock with a familiarity that was almost as hot as the action itself.

  Sidney crawled over to them, torn between staring at the way Colby worked Brook's cock, mouth stretched, face flushed, eyes staring at Brook all the while, fingers flexing where they rested heavy on Brook's thighs… or staring at Brook's flushed face, the way he kept licking his lips, the hitching breaths and stuttered groans that occasionally sounded like Colby's name.

  He leaned in and kissed Brook, holding his head steady with one hand, the other dropping to tangle with Brook's in Colby's hair. Pulling back, licking the taste of Brook from his lips, Sidney said, "Oh, my god, you guys are too hot, I'm going to die."

  Brook laughed against his mouth, then kissed him again, over eager and sloppy, not stopping until his climax shuddered through him, shout muffled by Sidney's mouth. Sidney stroked and petted him until he calmed—then yelped as he was abruptly shoved onto his back in the middle of the bed, jeans and boxers hastily pulled and shoved out of the way before Brook's mouth dropped over his cock.

  Oh, god. He really wasn't ever going to to be able to think again. "E-evil—" His head slammed against the bedding, hips moving, pushing his cock deeper into Brook's wet, hot, extremely talented m
outh.

  It got even better when Colby kissed him, fingers pushing up under his t-shirt to take nails across his stomach, tease his nipples. "D-does this mean I d-do you next?" Sidney managed. The noise that earned him combined with Brook's talented tongue was all he needed to come.

  When his limbs could function again he rolled to his knees and took his turn. Blowjobs weren't something he'd done a whole lot of, but the way Colby thrust carefully into his mouth, the way those sharp eyes went hot and hazy as he watched Sidney work his cock, he was probably doing an okay job.

  Knowing how the twins looked as they came was definitely one of his new favorite pieces of knowledge—his new favorite secret, maybe, 'cause he had no plans to share the knowledge. Colby's hands tightened not-quite painfully in his hair as he spilled down Sidney's throat, letting out a soft, quiet noise that had all the impact of a shout.

  "Let's get out of here before we do something worse," Brook said.

  Colby rolled his eyes as he tucked himself away, then reached out to help Sidney straighten his clothes. "You two are so easily flustered."

  "Yeah, yeah," Brook said. "We can't all be the silent, evil type unaffected by the ways of mere mortals." He helped them both off the bed, dropping brief kisses on their mouths.

  Sidney went back to dusting and sweeping while the twins remade the bed. Once they were done and everything was put away, he led the way downstairs, following the smell of dinner.

  His dads were standing by the sink, talking quietly, touching each other in small, reassuring ways. James noticed them first, smiling as he dropped his hand slowly from Troy's hip. "There you are. Was beginning to think we'd have to come find you, and I was not looking forward to that."

  "Your comedic abilities continue to be a miserable failure," Sidney replied. He went to the stove and grabbed one of the pasta bowls set next to it, loading it with spaghetti and plenty of sauce, dropped three pieces of garlic bread on top, and went over to the breakfast nook. "When do you leave?"

  James leaned against the counter and folded his arms across his chest. He was dressed in dark jeans, heavy boots, a dark blue t-shirt, and his favorite beat-up leather jacket that had been a gift from Troy way back when they'd first started dating. He also had a gun in a shoulder holster, but they were all pretending otherwise. It had been a long time since his dads had dragged out the weapons. Sidney fucking hated it.

  The twins joined Sidney at the table, each with enough food to feed six, as threatened. Troy nibbled on a piece of garlic bread, alternating it with sips of beer, as he stood next to James at the sink.

  "Do you think anything will happen?" Sidney finally asked.

  James shook his head. "No. If they don't realize they're already pushing their luck, they're idiots. Rabbits are extremely close knit shifters." He looked at the twins, mouth quirking briefly. "They're also friends with us and a wolf pack, which are also extremely close shifters. No way are the attackers going to risk all of that coming after them. They had one shot and they failed. Now it's just a matter of time before we find them."

  "Hopefully," Troy added and took a bite of bread.

  "Optimism, sweetheart," James drawled.

  Troy snorted. "That's your job. I live with a bunch of people who can turn into ducks and rabbits and wolves and shit." He smiled, and god, they were doing the romance novel eyes at each other. "My job is to believe shit will get crazier."

  Laughing softly, James chucked his chin and dropped a brief kiss on his mouth. "Well, you've never been wrong." He crossed the room and ruffled Sidney's hair, nodded to the twins, then left with a promise to be back in six hours, give or take.

  The door closed behind him, and Troy sighed, then finished his bread and beer. "Clean up the kitchen when you're done massacring the spaghetti, troublemakers. I'll be in my office if you need me. Do not leave the house, even to go on the balcony, etcetera etcetera."

  "Sure thing, Pop." Sidney smiled as Troy combed through the hair that James had ruffled, rolling his eyes once he was out of sight. "I think I'll always be stuck at twelve." He took a bite of spaghetti. "Not that I'll be much better someday." The twins grinned at him. Sidney narrowed his eyes. "What?"

  "Just trying to picture Daddy Sidney," Brook replied. "It's very very cute. You'd probably be a soft touch. Colby would have to do all the disciplining."

  "Probably," Sidney managed, face going hot, lungs refusing to work suddenly because that image was permanently stuck in his brain now; there was no shaking it loose. "We're gonna run out of ways to say dad. Some of my teachers who weren't part of the flock were so confused at first—before there was a conference, and they realized I was talking about two different people."

  Colby just smiled, soft and sweet. "We'll figure something out. Eventually."

  Sidney nodded, not quite able to make any more words work. He wolfed down the last few bites of his dinner, then carried the dishes to the sink and started cleaning up. "I can do this if you losers want to go play video games or something."

  "I'm not going to refuse that offer," Brook said. "We'll make the rec room all cozy. Prepare to get your ass kicked."

  "Whatever. I've got some blue shells with your name on them."

  Brook grinned, crowded him up against the sink, and made Sidney forget what they were talking about. When Colby replaced him, Sidney decided brains were overrated and shoved his hands into Colby's back pockets.

  He whined when Colby drew away and they both stayed away. "Why are we stopping?"

  "I'm pretty sure you'll kill me if Uncle Troy comes back in here—"

  "Oh, god, go away," Sidney said and turned around to start washing dishes.

  The twins laughed and slipped away, and Sidney was able to get his brain back online and hurry through getting the kitchen back in order. Grabbing a soda when he was finished, he headed downstairs to the basement that had been turned into a ginormous den.

  He stopped short at the bottom of the stairs, glad they were carpeted and so had muffled his stomping. In the middle of a pile of blankets, pillows, and beanie chairs, the twins had passed out cold. Sidney padded across the room and retrieved his ereader from where he'd left it a couple of days ago. He sat down on the couch… then glanced again at the twins and changed his mind. They were so cute cuddled together, how could he not sit closer? Moving to the blanket pile, he grabbed a few pillows and arranged them suitably, then settled down next to Brook.

  Pulling a blanket up to ward off the perpetual chill of the room, he turned on the reader and picked up with the fantasy book he was in the middle of. He had a sneaking suspicion the author was a shifter from some of the details included, but he hadn't bothered to find out for sure yet.

  He jerked awake later to someone calling his name and gently kicking his feet, sat up and sent his ereader tumbling into the blankets he'd shoved off at some point … because he'd acquired a twin blanket. How had he wound up in the middle? When had he fallen asleep?

  "Are you awake?" Troy asked.

  "Mrgh." Sidney rubbed his eyes, yawned. "Maybe. What time is it? What's going on?"

  "Nancy and the others are here. Wake up your octopus-rabbits and come on."

  Sidney nodded and started shaking the twins as Troy left. "Wake up, miscreants."

  Colby woke up first, immediately sharp and alert. "What time is it?"

  "Your mom is here," Sidney replied. "No idea of the time."

  "Mom!" Brook jerked up and stumbled to his feet, more asleep than awake as he headed for the stairs. Sidney huffed a soft laugh and stood, helped Colby to his feet, and together they followed after Brook.

  Upstairs, Sidney could hear voices coming from the kitchen. The twins bolted to her, crying, "Mom!" again before they threw themselves at her and all three held on tight.

  Sidney turned his attention to the other two people in the room, standing by the breakfast nook with James. One was a little on the big side, handsome in a rough-edged kind of way, like he had no time for a city polish. The man beside him was about the sa
me size, but thinner, quiet and super-still. He had dirty blond hair and pale blue eyes behind glasses with dark blue frames. Sidney vaguely remembered him from the picture in the article. "Hi. How was the flight?"

  "Not bad," the wolf said with a shrug. Brady, that was his name. "I'm sick of airplanes, but it wasn't bad so far as that goes." He held out a hand. "Brady Collins. You must be Sidney."

  "Guilty as charged," Sidney replied, shaking his hand and then Skylar's. "I remember the article about you and your puppies."

  Skylar's face lit up in a way that screamed proud parent. "Yes, Hansel and Gretel are officially my children. It will be extremely difficult for anyone to take them away from me now."

  Brady took hold of Skylar's hand, squeezed it, and gave him a look that reminded Sidney of his dads. "As if they could have anyway. I will be happy when the fuss dies down, but it's worth it just for the difference it will make to the whole shifter community."

  "Especially the Lost Shifters," Sidney replied. "That's what Brook and Colby were super-excited about."

  Skylar nodded. "They're very good at their job."

  Unable not to look at them after saying their names, Sidney half-turned and glanced at the twins where they were only just pulling back and calming down. There was no mistaking Nancy was their mother. They'd gotten their hair, eyes, freckles, and nose all from her. Not her height, though; she towered over them by a good three inches. Sidney crossed the room, stopping a couple of steps away. "I'm glad you're okay, Aunt Nancy."

  She smiled, beckoned him close, and gave him just as tight a hug as she'd given Brook and Colby. "Hey, sweetie. I'm glad all of you are safe, too. Thanks for keeping their chins up today." Her mouth twitched.

  "Don't make the joke," Brook said. "You're our mother, you can't make jokes like that."

  "I don't think you two get to decide what jokes I make," Nancy replied with a grin. "Sidney, did you meet Skylar and Brady?" He nodded. "Good, good. I do not know how I would have avoided going mad on the trip here without them. Now, who do I have to flirt with to get a beer around here?"