“I’m sorry,” she said it with a grimace. “I didn’t mean to be a bitch. I’ve just always wanted something I can’t seem to find. The one time I tried the traditional romance thing, it fell apart really badly. Since then I’ve just wanted to find someone who was up for random fun. I latched onto you a bit more than I should have, and when you got married I felt jealous.”
Alburet sat down across from her, “I’m sorry, too, Karen. I probably should have been more up front with you about stuff. I’d like to tell you why I got married. I mean, besides the really obvious. You’re amazing and I love having you as a friend.” Alburet grinned wryly and rolled his eyes, “Stacia keeps hitting me with the harem bat, and has broadly hinted that you’re her first choice. While I never see that happening, I don’t think she’s going to give up on the idea.”
Karen looked him in the eyes, “Is it just your father’s words that are stopping you? Nothing else?”
He could see her pain and longing and considered his feelings for a moment. “Yes.”
“If you change your mind,” Karen said, getting up and going to the stove just as the kettle began to whistle, “I would be happy to be the third here. Maybe even a permanent third and not just a guest appearance.”
Alburet frowned as he took that in. He accepted the cup she offered him while he turned her comment over in his mind. “Okay. If I ever decide to do as Stacia wants, you’ll be the first to know.”
“Okay,” Karen tucked her legs under her as she sipped her coffee. “Another question, how do you feel about Stacia’s double and me having a little fun?”
Alburet choked on his coffee, coughing roughly as the image had popped into his head, along with memories of the three of them. Karen sprang over to his side and thumped his back for him, until he regained his breathing.
“Warn a guy next time,” he croaked.
“Sorry, didn’t think it would cause you to breathe coffee.”
“Her Copy is still her. I think it would be adultery,” Alburet told her.
“Damn, struck out on all counts then,” Karen said as she took her seat again. “Up for some cards?”
They played cards for an hour before Stacia came out to the living room. “Fluff be sleepin’. Ya can go to bed when ya be ready, Karen.”
Karen nodded, stretching as she got to her feet. Alburet looked away, missing the knowing look traded between Karen and Stacia. “I’m off to bed then, night ya’ll.” She got a hug and kiss on the cheek from Stacia before she left,
“Let’s go off to bed ourselves, Asthore,” Stacia said, pulling him to his feet.
“No dreams tonight, please,” Alburet asked her as they went to their room.
Chapter Twenty-One
Alburet woke slowly. He had been dreaming, but not one of the nightmares or memories. It was much more adolescent in tone than that, revolving around a really big bed and a whole lot of women. He yawned and stretched as he opened his eyes. The sound of the door to the bathing room opening caught his attention, and he looked over to see Karen in the doorway wearing nothing but a smirk and a few water droplets. The water droplets were making their way down her body, and Alburet had to struggle for a moment to keep his eyes from following them.
“Oh, I see you’re up. And also awake,” Karen said, licking her lips, her eyes focused intently and not on his face.
Alburet glanced down and realized he had a problem that most men contended with in the mornings. “Why are you bathing right now?” He almost threw back the covers before remembering he’d taken to sleeping naked here in Alpha World.
“I had to wash Fluff’s back,” Karen grinned as she stepped further into the bedroom, not at all ashamed of her nudity. If anything, she flaunted it. “If I’d known you were going to wake up, I would have delayed her for another five minutes.”
“Wait, Fluff is…” Alburet began to say, cutting off as the bathroom door opened again.
Fluff was wrapped in a towel that covered her torso, though only barely. It did an excellent job of inspiring Alburet to wonder what was under it. “You’ll wake him…” Fluff was saying softly as she stepped into the room. She froze when her eyes met Alburet’s, both of them shocked. Alburet’s mind was torn between looking away or keep looking at the soft fur that he could see. He was pulling his eyes away when his eyes tracked to hers, which had found his earlier issue. Her mouth opened slightly and her face went deep red.
Alburet jerked upright, his waist still covered and he grabbed Stacia’s pillow to cover his lap. He wanted to say something, but was at a loss. Karen was not, though, “See, Fluff, I told you that you have a sexy body. Alburet agrees with me, without even having to say a word.”
“Ya all be up then, breakfast be ready in a few minutes,” Stacia told them with a smile from the other doorway.
“Some of us are more ‘up’ than others,” Karen snorted.
Stacia looked over at Alburet and shook her head, “Ya only be embarrassin’ ya self and Fluff like tha’. It be only natural for him to react to ya fresh from the shower. Fluff, does seein’ him like that make ya uncomfortable?”
Fluff glanced at Stacia then away, her head barely shaking from side to side. Karen wrapped an arm around Fluff’s shoulders, leaning in to whisper in her ear. Fluff’s face, which had been slowly returning to her normal coloring, went right back to being bright red. Stacia walked over to Alburet with a friendly smile in place that made him a little wary of her intentions.
“Fluffball,” Stacia said as she took a seat next to Alburet. “Did me husband lookin’ at ya cause ya distress?” Fluff still wouldn’t look at Alburet but her head shook slightly side to side again. “Did ya like the way he looked at ya?” Alburet started to object but Stacia placed a finger over his lips, “Hush.” Fluff’s head nodded almost imperceptibly. “Tha’ be all then for now, Fluff. We will talk later, now ya should go get ready.”
Fluff bolted from the room, dropping the towel in her haste. Alburet had an unobstructed view of her backside and tail as she fled the room. When he finally pulled his eyes away, Karen was watching him with a pained look, then she left as well. He finally turned to Stacia, who met his eyes calmly.
“Asthore,” Stacia said softly, “why do ya fight what ya clearly want? Ya old standards be nay those of this world. I understand wantin’ to hold to the teachin’s of ya Da’, but mayhap it be time to follow ya heart instead. Fluff will nay be ready for anythin’ for some time yet, but Karen, it pains her. She cares for us both, and feels rejected by us because of ya backin’ away from her sudden as ya did.”
Alburet covered his face with his hands, rubbing it to try clearing his mind. “It just feels like it would cut one of the few strands I have left to him. I don’t want to lose that, Kitten.”
She gently moved his hands from his face, “Iffin ya be with me, ya will never lose touch with ya Da’.” She leaned in to kiss him gently before continuing, “Close ya eyes for me.”
He took a deep breath, doing as she asked, “What are you going to do?”
“This,” she whispered as he felt his mind spin.
~*~*~
Seamus sat on the porch with his father, sipping lemonade while they admired the summer night sky. “You been doing okay, old man?”
“Better than you, son,” William chuckled. “But you seem to have gotten over what that woman did to you.”
“It was bad. Guess she wasn’t the one for me.”
“You’ll find your love one day, a woman who makes your pulse race and your knees weak. If you’re lucky enough, she’ll agree to marry you, and then you’ll know what real happiness means. That was the way it was for me. Just make sure that you follow your heart, son, no matter what anyone tells you, always follow your heart. God made us all imperfect, but I firmly believe that our hearts are the key to doing his will.”