Happy Holidays, killabeez!
Title: Stolen Kisses
Author: Sugar Plum Awesome
Real Author Name: Rainewynd
Written for: killabeez
Characters/Pairings: Amanda/Joe/Cory.
Rating: NC-17
Summary: Amanda and Cory treat Joe to a very special weekend.
Stolen Kisses
“It’s a rainy, cold, December day, and my stumps have had enough,” Joe began, but Amanda cut him off with the simple press of a finger against his lips. He glared at her in response.
“Hear me out,” Amanda offered. “Your house is on a street that always floods in rain like this. The forecast tonight is for the rain to change to snow, which means everything will be icy come morning. Spend the weekend with me, in my hotel room, where it’s warm, food is a phone call away, and you don’t have to do anything but relax.”
Joe eyed her suspiciously. “In exchange for what?”
“Can’t a girl indulge her favorite bartender and blues guitarist? Especially since she missed his birthday?”
Joe sighed. Fifteen years of exposure to the whirlwind that was Amanda had taught him she gave generously to her friends - but she was still an unapologetic thief. “So long as you’re not using me as an alibi.”
Amanda blinked and pressed a hand to her bosom. “Joe!” she said, scandalized. “I wouldn’t.”
“Oh, like you don’t use all of your friends for alibis? You forget who you’re talking to, Miss Unrepentant.”
Amanda let out a breath and favored him with a tired look. “All I’m doing tonight, Mr. Dawson, is taking care of a friend, because I can. Next week may be another story, but that’s next week, and not anything to do with you. I swear. I just…” She sighed again and gave him a small, rueful smile. “Had to play the Game.”
Joe blinked. Amanda hadn’t lived for over a thousand years without playing it, but she generally stayed out of it, save for the year and a half she’d spent defending, then teaching, Nick Wolfe. The Game had quieted in the years since, as if it had reached some sort of natural crest. By mutual agreement, Nick and Amanda had parted ways amicably; Nick had promptly chosen to find himself a new life somewhere she wasn’t. “Someone you knew?”
Amanda shook her head. “I hate headhunters, especially ones that find me interesting. So, are you willing to abandon your soon-to-be-flooded-and-icy street?”
Joe pulled out his cell phone and checked the weather forecast. He’d meant to go grocery shopping, but had put it off in favor of hoping his body would warm up enough to stop aching, which meant he was running low and would either have to order a delivery from the nearby Safeway or be forced to go do it himself. He quickly saw Amanda hadn’t lied about the forecast; he’d be lucky if he didn’t lose power, from the way the wind forecast read.
“Fine, but this better not be blackmail for later,” he told Amanda. “And I’m not paying for anything.”
“Joe, you’re getting more suspicious and paranoid every year,” she admonished him. At his look, she sighed. “Yes, yes, you have reasons. Would you like me to help you pack?”
Joe studied her, seeing a genuine need to help, and spend some time with a friend rather than dwelling on the battle she’d won that day. Was his pride worth turning her down, considering his grand to-do list comprised of shop for groceries, and find something to fill the lonely spaces of the rest of the day? He’d cut back on his involvement with the bar to ‘owner’ and let his very competent manager run things. He’d retired from the Watchers. His best friend had moved to Paris…again, and Joe had decided another winter in a foreign country was something he didn’t want.
“Yeah, that would be great,” he finally conceded.
An hour later found them at the Seacouver Waterfront Hotel. While not one of the brand-name hotels, it was on par with the Four Seasons and had consistently been one of the top hotels in the city. Joe was quietly impressed; he’d rarely had the chance to stay in such a fancy hotel. Amanda had booked one of the suites. A small hallway connected the sitting area with the sleeping area, which had a king-sized bed. The bathroom was glass-paneled with electronically controlled privacy shades, giving the bather a clear view to the waterfront view visible through the screen door to the balcony. What made Joe drool, however, was the fill-from-the-ceiling bathtub that looked big enough to share with at least one other person, but with handrails so he could still swing himself out without assistance. It didn’t escape Joe’s notice that the bathroom was handicapped accessible in other ways as well. The rubber ducky on the side of the bathtub was a cute touch that made him grin.
“Wish I had this,” Joe admitted. “When I got my bathroom converted so I could use it, they took out the tub.”
“Well, consider this an early Christmas present then,” Amanda said easily as she took possession of his suitcase and set it on the dresser. “Plus, I have a private bath attendant to assist you.”
Joe eyed her warily, but before he could speak, a tall, dark brown-haired, broad-shouldered man with green eyes and a charmer’s smile walked in from the other room. “You rang, madam, sir?” he joked. He was dressed in faded jeans and an equally broken-in flannel shirt, but his feet were bare. He radiated a relaxed, easy-going manner, but the eager, almost-puppy-like way he presented himself was distinctive. Joe had always prided himself on his memory of immortals, especially ones who’d been associated with Duncan MacLeod. The mental dossier clicked. This was not how he’d expected to ever meet the infamous bank robber Cory Raines. Joe slanted a look at Amanda, not sure what to think.
“Cory, this is Joe Dawson, bartender extraordinaire and retired Watcher. Cory, he knows of your reputation.” Amanda performed the introductions. “Joe, this is Cory Raines, an old friend.”
“Pleased to meet you,” Joe said, shaking hands. Cory had a firm grip, no surprise for an immortal.
“If you’re wondering why me,” Cory began easily, “I’m one of the few she knows who can be your bath attendant, masseuse, and has experience handling people with missing limbs under both of those situations.”
“Dare I ask when?” Joe asked cautiously.
“Spent the last few years helping out at a VA hospital,” Cory said quietly. “Got too much heat for my last heist, needed to do some good without money.”
Joe took a deep breath and decided, what the hell, just because he was sixty-four didn’t mean he didn’t get to live a little. “In that case, I’ll trust you to handle me properly.”
Cory grinned, his green eyes lighting up. “Did you want to soak now? We can discuss what to order for dinner then too.”
“You two are going to spoil me,” Joe complained, “but yes. This weather is playing hell with my joints.” He bit his lip, hating he had to admit a weakness, even though it was a fact of his life. “I’m going to need my wheelchair once I’m out of that bath.”
“Arms bothering you as well?” Cory asked.
“Everything aches,” Joe admitted, seeing only compassion in Cory’s face. Some of the tension he’d harbored, expecting some kind of negative reaction, dissolved. “Figured I’d get groceries and then anesthetize everything when I got back home.”
“Well, we’re a little short of a pharmacy here, but if you need something stronger than wine,” Amanda began.
Joe shook his head. “Nah, wine’s good. I’ve never liked the way painkillers make me feel disconnected.”
“Wine it is then,” Amanda said briskly, and moved to the dresser, where two bottles of Columbia Crest wine sat waiting along with glasses and a cork puller.
“I’ll get the bath started,” Cory said with a nod. “Get comfortable; this will take a bit to fill. I’ll also add some salts; that will help. Once you’re soaked enough, we’ll get you that massage.”
Any other day, Joe might’ve found it odd or awkward to be naked in a bathtub while Cory and Amanda kept the flow of conversation going, but he was too sore and tired to let those feelings be more than a passing thought. The glass of red wine Amanda poured him helped, too. Tonight was starting to take on a fantastical edge; if he never lived this again, then he wanted to be able to say he took full advantage of the moment. Dinner was decided; Joe heard Amanda request delivery to be an hour from the time she placed the order.
After about twenty minutes, Cory and Amanda came into the bathroom.
“Any objection to getting your body scrubbed?” Amanda asked. “Cory thought if he supported you, we could both get you clean, and then you won’t have to undo that lovely soak.”
Pride and prudishness almost made Joe refuse, but he bit back the instinctive reaction. How many people had been offered this luxury by these two? Not many, he’d wager. “You trying to seduce me?” he half-joked.
“And if we were serious?” Cory asked levelly.
Joe inhaled sharply, the puzzle pieces suddenly falling into place. He had no doubt that Cory and Amanda were involved again, and they’d had an open relationship for centuries. “Then I’ll tell you I’ve never done anything with a guy, and I’ve never been with two people at once. Most people look at the legs and think I’m broken.”
“Hardly,” Cory said dryly. “Not if half the stories Amanda’s told me are to believed.”
Joe grinned at that. “Depends on what she’s told you.”
Cory smiled. “What matters to me is the thread of friendship and loyalty those stories tell,” he said easily. “Relax, Joe, I’m not in the habit of attacking virgins, nor do I ever want to be. Okay if we start with getting you clean and go from there?”
Joe let out the breath he hadn’t realized he’d been holding. “Yeah.”
Cory discarded his clothing with a brisk efficiency, revealing a trim, muscular body. Joe had never really looked at another man naked, but something about Cory made his mouth go dry. Reflexively, he swallowed, and tried to look at anything else. His eyes landed on Amanda, who was also undressing, and making sure that their pile of clothing didn’t impede their exit from the tub. Amanda was familiar and utterly gorgeous, and he counted himself a lucky man to have her attention.
“No one’s gonna shoot me for being with you guys tonight?”
Amanda leaned over and kissed him gently. “No one’s going to kiss and tell, unless you are?”
“Not keeping anyone’s Chronicle,” Joe said. “I leave that business to my daughter…and she got out earlier this year; said she wanted to do something else with her life.”
“Then we’re safe,” Cory assured him. “As far as I’m concerned, I’m just helping a friend. Speaking of, I’m going to get in behind you; we’ll get you clean first, then I’ll help you up.”
“I’m beginning to think your definitions get stretched often,” Joe noted as Cory eased into the tub behind him.
Cory chuckled. “So people have told me. Language changes over the centuries; why should I live with narrow definitions if I choose not to? Amanda, the soap and a washcloth please?”
“What’s the hardest part of language for you?” Joe wondered.
“The grammar,” Cory admitted, taking the bar of soap and washcloth Amanda handed him and dipping into the water before getting the washcloth lathered up and applying it to Joe’s back. “I’m probably going to have to break down and take classes again.”
“I thought I knew what it was now,” Amanda said as she unhooked the showerhead from its hook and set it within Joe’s reach. “Turns out there’s a whole world of Internetspeak I was unaware of.”
“You and me both,” Joe said wryly. “If Amy wasn’t insistent that I learn, I’d still be fumbling around with how to use Skype.” He purred as Cory scrubbed and somehow managed to scratch that persistent itch in the middle of his back Joe could never reach.
“Arms out,” Amanda requested, and Joe compiled readily. Together, she and Cory got Joe squeaky clean all over, all the while keeping the conversation going. The air grew heavy with expectation as Joe let himself be pampered this way. It didn’t escape Joe’s notice that they managed to get themselves clean as well, somehow managing to keep him from getting chilled in the process. Amanda stepped out first, dried herself off, put on thigh-high satin robe, and then Cory lifted Joe out of the tub; Amanda dried him off briskly before assisting him into one of the hotel’s thick robes. Joe’s eyes widened as Cory transferred his weight to Amanda’s waiting arms.
“Guys, I can -”
“Nonsense, you aren’t that heavy, Joe,” Amanda said as Cory rinsed himself off, then dried off. “Besides. I can hold you for a few minutes; Cory’s better at hauling.”
“You’re going to make me feel like a piece of meat,” Joe warned.
Amanda looked hurt at that statement. “I would never -” she protested, but Cory cut her off with a look.
“Do you really want to use a wheelchair for the distance between here and the bed?” Cory asked reasonably as he put on a robe. “Especially now that you’re nice and clean? This isn’t saying you couldn’t make your own way over there.”
Joe conceded the point. He was feeling a little too loose and relaxed to expend the energy required to move himself, sans prosthetics, on arm strength and bullheaded determination. “Just as long as you know I’m capable.”
“As if that was in doubt,” Amanda scoffed.
“So very capable, Joe,” Cory agreed, and kissed him before Joe could object.
Joe’s eyes widened at the stolen kiss, but then Amanda transferred him back to Cory, and Cory easily carried him over to the bed just as the door buzzer sounded.
“Perfect timing,” Amanda said, pleased, and went to answer it.
She had the room service waiter roll the cart into the bedroom and set up the table within Joe’s reach. The smell of food made Joe’s mouth water, and he was pleased to see they’d all ordered the special of the evening: aged sirloin steak served with mixed winter vegetables and mashed potatoes. Cory pulled up chairs to the table.
“Joe, did you want to move?” Amanda asked.
He shook his head. “Nah, I’m braced good here. If I move,” he eyed the distance between the tabletop and the chair, “I’ll be lower and it won’t be as comfortable.” He shot Amanda a grateful smile for asking, and then she and Cory sat down.
“Amanda tells me you’ve stepped back from running the bar,” Cory began as they started eating.
“Yeah,” Joe said as he cut into his steak. “Getting a little too old to be pulling sixty-hour weeks.”
“Have you given much thought to what you’ll do next?” Cory wondered.
“Not really,” Joe admitted, and felt a pang of sadness. “Used to think I’d spend some time traveling, but once I mentioned that to Mac, he got it in his head that my next birthday present would be a trip.”
“Not a fan of grand gestures?” Cory asked, interested.
Joe shrugged restlessly. “I’d be fonder of them if they weren’t partially motivated by the fear I won’t be around to enjoy them in the future. Far as I’m concerned, I was supposed to die at nineteen, but God had other plans for me. I may be mortal, but I ain’t dead yet and I’ve no plans to be for another thirty years.”
Cory glanced at Amanda. “You’ve been hiding this wonderful man from me for the last decade.”
Amanda looked hurt. “You were elsewhere and busy!”
Joe laughed and toasted Cory with his wine glass. “So we meet now, Cory. Or would you prefer I called you Corwin?”
“Oh, that’s awfully tempting, but,” Cory shook his head, “Cory’s easier on everyone. Corwin, especially the way you say it, makes me think I’m in trouble.” He grinned easily, and turned the conversation back to Joe. “So if you’re tired of traveling -”
“Of long, complex, meticulously planned trips,” Joe corrected. “The ones that have been carefully sanitized for a guy like me so everything’s accessible. Makes me feel like I’m halfway dead and need accommodating.”
“Careful, Joe, you’re giving Cory ideas,” Amanda murmured.
“And what if I was?” Joe shot back. “If it was with you two, I’d take that trip. Mac forgets what it was like for me when I was nineteen and new to not having legs - the ADA law was a pipe dream.”
“Ah,” Amanda said, her eyes widening in understanding. “So as long as we meet the minimum of what you’re willing to put up with, you don’t want the bells and whistles?”
“They’re nice, don’t get me wrong, but I still have the workarounds they taught me in the seventies. They still work.” Joe ate more of his meal.
“What would you want in terms of accessibility, if you had the money and power to make it happen?” Cory asked.
Joe shook his head. “Don’t get me started,” he warned. “I’m feeling too good now to get that wound up.”
“Fair enough,” Cory said, and changed the subject to holiday traditions.
Over the course of the ensuing conversation, Joe became aware that he was being flirted with, not only by Amanda but Cory as well. He was honest with himself as he debated how to react; he was lonely, and it had been a very long time since he’d had anyone in his bed. To have their combined attention and experience, even for a night, sounded fraught with potential landmines for the future - but Joe was tired of living like every step he made with an immortal was the wrong one.
They’d finished dinner; Cory had relocated the cart to outside their room. Now he was working on the promised massage, making concentrating on anything difficult. “Before you turn me into a complete puddle of relaxation, can I say something?” Joe asked.
“Go ahead.”
“If I said yes to everything you wanted to give me tonight, would you still respect me the same as if I’d said no?”
“Absolutely,” Cory said swiftly. “But I’ll also counter with: tonight’s about relaxing, Joe. You’re too knotted up, and I want you to sleep well. Tomorrow’s soon enough for pleasure. It’s only Friday night, and neither Amanda nor I are going to turn into pumpkins come midnight.”
Startled, Joe looked over his shoulder at them. “I thought -“ he began, then stopped, realizing whatever he’d thought was wrong. He took a deep breath and let it out before speaking. “I’m not wrong in thinking you’re flirting with me? Both of you?”
“Yes, but we want you relaxed first,” Amanda chided him. “Enjoy the moment, Joe.”
With that reassurance, Joe let himself just feel. “Then don’t stop what you’re doing, Cory. Amanda, are you putting lotion on my stumps?”
“Too cold?”
“Damn, whatever that stuff is, it feels damn good.”
“Has horse chestnut and wild mint in it,” Amanda told him. “Old remedy I remembered Mac telling me worked quite well. I decided to do some hunting and see if someone’s produced it commercially. Love this century for that.”
“Had stuff like that, oh, a while back,” Joe said, halfway to purring at the way Cory was unlocking his muscles and Amanda’s tender but firm rubbing of the lotion into his skin. “They stopped making it, though, couldn’t find it anymore.”
“If it helps, I’ll be your supplier,” Amanda said lightly.
“Wait, so that means you planned this!” Joe realized.
Amanda laughed and kissed him. “So I did. Going to hold it against me?”
“Not when you’re making me feel this good, no,” Joe said, and heard Cory chuckle.
That was the last thing Joe remembered of their conversation that night. Relaxed from the massage, the wine, the good meal, and the company, he slid into sleep.
*****
Joe woke to the smell of rich, dark coffee and the feel of Amanda against him.
“Don’t you know that the early bird only gets the worm if they’re awake to try?” she complained huskily, but Joe got the impression she was complaining more for form’s sake than anything else.
“Ah, but you can take the boy off the farm, but you can’t take the farm out of the boy,” Cory drawled. “Plus, I bring coffee.”
Amanda made a scoffing noise.
“Only two mugs,” Cory went on, unfazed. “One for me and one for Joe.”
Amanda promptly sat up and stole a sip out of each mug, handing one back to Cory.
Laughing, Joe sat up more and took the mug Amanda handed him. “I’d call you a thief, but that’s like saying the sun rises in the east, isn’t it?”
Amanda offered him a guileless smile. “You’re one of the few people who doesn’t see it as a problem of my personality,” she pointed out.
Joe chuckled. “Because it’s only a problem when it causes trouble for me and mine,” he replied, and sipped at the coffee. “You’ve fought too hard to be you for me to say otherwise.”
The bed shifted slightly as Cory sat down on Joe’s other side. “I begin to see why the Watchers thought you to be a threat, Joe,” Cory remarked. “You understand us.”
“Too curious for my own good you mean,” Joe replied.
Cory shook his head. “Nah, that would be me and the time I wanted to see how far a flaming arrow would go if I used Chinese firecrackers. Turns out I should never, ever come up with ideas for arrows when I’m drunk. Burned down the hotel I was staying in.”
Joe smothered a laugh. “So who dared you?”
“The girl who sold me the firecrackers,” Cory admitted.
Amanda smiled, looking as though she’d heard this story before. “Did you want to get out of bed, Joe? We put your wheelchair and legs on Cory’s side of the bed; which would you rather have?”
“Chair first,” Joe said. “Legs take longer and I need to pee, but Cory, if you could help me out? This bed’s softer than mine at home and I’m dead center in it.”
“Not a problem.”
Later, Joe would pinpoint that moment as the moment he chose to dive into the deep end. By the time he exited the bathroom, he knew what he wanted to do with the day. He wanted Cory’s and Amanda’s hands on him again; he wanted the kisses to go with it, and if they’d thought they’d been seduced, well. He hadn’t seduced them. A wicked smile played upon his lips as he wheeled himself back into the sleeping area and put himself squarely between them.
Cory looked up from his perusal of the room service menu and considered Joe. A slow smile spread across his lips. “Amanda, you really, really should’ve introduced us sooner,” he drawled.
Amanda glanced at Joe, then at Cory. “No, I shouldn’t have,” she decided promptly. “Joe, what are you planning?”
“What you wouldn’t do with me last night,” Joe offered. “Unless that offer’s no longer on the table, now that you’ve heard me snore and seen all my scars.”
“Pshaw,” Amanda said, and leaned in to kiss him slowly and gently. It was a devastatingly tender kiss, and it made Joe long for more.
It should’ve been difficult, awkward even, but somehow it wasn’t. Maybe it was the way Cory stole kisses from Amanda before Joe stole one from him, payback for the one Cory took the day before; Joe laughed at Cory’s shocked expression.
“What? You’ve had your hands all over me already. You think I’m going to object to you kissing me and touching me more?” Joe dared. It felt right, in a way he’d never felt right about letting it happen before, and he’d always considered himself mostly straight.
“Well, when you put it that way,” Cory said, and kissed him properly until Joe nearly forgot this was the first time another man had kissed him that way. He arched into the touch, only to be brought sharply back to Earth as he realized he wasn’t quite stable in the wheelchair.
“Get me on the bed,” Joe growled. “Want to be between you again like I was.”
“Perhaps with less clothes and more touching?” Amanda suggested.
“Yes,” Joe said, feeling arousal course through him at the thought. It no longer mattered he’d never been in a situation like this; the way he was feeling, he felt alive and wanted and desirable.
Amanda and Cory helped him onto the bed, then shed the robes they’d been wearing. As soon as Amanda joined him on the bed, Joe began kissing her and learning what made her shudder with pleasure. Cory was a warm, steadying warmth at Joe’s back, whispering encouragement and pointers. Joe laughed at some of the more outrageous suggestions, but willingly took the better ones. It was more sensual and arousing than Joe had expected.
“Come on, Amanda,” Cory said as Joe worked his hands on her clit, “tell us what you want.”
“So many choices,” Amanda groaned.
“Want my mouth?” Joe offered.
Amanda made a helpless-sounding noise.
“That’s a yes,” Cory clarified. “Be easier if Amanda’s on her back or if you’re on yours and she’s on top?”
“On top,” Joe said gratefully, and looked over his shoulder to press a quick kiss on Cory’s lips.
That got him a grin. Amanda took advantage of the new position to take Joe’s cock in her mouth.
“Nuh uh,” Joe said. “You do that and I’m no good for an hour. Want to be inside you when I come.”
“Amanda babe, here, suck me off,” Cory offered, shifting so Amanda had access.
Joe closed his eyes briefly before applying himself to the task of making Amanda lose control and come hard from his tongue and lips. She held out, clearly trying to maintain some control, but then he slipped his fingers into her cunt as he licked her clit and started imitating a fuck. She shuddered, moaning around a very full mouth, and came hard. Joe wasn’t sure where his control was coming from, except that he wanted to be inside her, and he wanted to make this last.
Licking his mouth as she lifted off and shifted so that her weight wasn’t on him, Joe could see Amanda was steadily working on Cory. Cory wasn’t a screamer, Joe noted, but a talker, telling Amanda just how good she was doing, how close she was making him, then finally, warning her just before he came with a sharp moan. For a moment, Joe regretted refusing her offer to do the same to him, but he’d always come harder from penetration than oral sex. It was arousing, too, to watch two people having sex; this was more intimate than porn, especially since he could feel the love between Cory and Amanda, hear it in Cory’s every word and see it on Amanda’s face.
Sooner than Joe had expected, Amanda shifted again, easily taking his cock inside her pussy as she kissed his neck, clearly guessing he probably wouldn’t want to taste her mouth. Joe shuddered at the intimate contact as his hands found her hips, aligning them as he lifted his pelvis to thrust up. She was warm and wet around him, and she looked at him as though he was the most important man in the room, even though Cory was egging her on with his words and his kisses.
Amanda whimpered and spread her legs wider. He kept his thrusts rhythmic, enjoying the way she clenched around his cock and shuddered through one orgasm, then another. It was readily apparent she loved penetration just as much as he did. Cory stoked her breasts and occasionally pinched her nipples, which made her arch into his touch. Just when he thought he couldn’t come, feeling like maybe he was past the point of coming, he heard Cory ask, “Want a little more stimulation, Joe?”
Joe shot him a look, but he was willing to try anything tonight, wanting to give back a little bit of the love he’d felt when Cory had tended to him earlier. “Sure.”
Cory quirked a grin and kissed him before moving to a better position and reaching down to stroke Joe’s balls. Cory’s hands were different from a woman’s, different and firmer, and the pressure on his perineum was more certain. Joe’s world narrowed down to needing to come, needing to take Amanda with him. A random bit of immortal trivia scattered through Joe’s brain, and he gently bit the juncture of her neck and shoulder. Amanda shuddered and moaned, triggering Joe’s orgasm as she came.
Joe’s arms came automatically around Amanda as she collapsed to the bed. With a slow inhale, she recovered a heartbeat later and smiled at him.
Cory leaned in and kissed Joe, slower this time, and when he came up for air, offered the excuse, “Since Amanda can’t kiss you without brushing her teeth first.”
Joe laughed. “Uh huh, and you didn’t want a kiss for yourself.”
Cory feigned innocence.
Amanda tactfully said, “Be right back, unless you want Cory to carry you into the tub and we’ll get clean together.”
“Sounds like a plan to me,” Joe said, unashamed. He didn’t want to ponder why it felt so easy with Cory; such analysis seemed too deep for a moment like this. Tomorrow or next week, when Cory and Amanda were gone, maybe he’d let himself think and regret and freak out; tonight, Joe wanted to be selfish, wanted to feel something other than lonely and unwanted. For their part, Amanda and Cory seemed to sense his mood, and made sure he was the center of their world, even when they were just lying in bed holding each other.
The rest of the weekend passed in a haze of sex, food, wine, and cuddling. Joe discovered the two immortals’ secret: they were touch-starved. They in turn expanded his sexual horizons and made him addicted to the way they accepted his physical challenges while never making him feel like he was missing something. By checkout time, Joe knew he’d been well on his way to a ‘woe is me’ pity party before they’d showed up, and was grateful that they’d shaken him out of that state of mind. He fully expected that they wouldn’t stick around to make sure he had everything he needed, but they surprised him again.
“Something we should know?” Cory asked lightly.
Joe smiled widely. “Oh, just wondering what will happen if we discover that my house is still iced over.”
Cory grinned. “Well, only way to find out is to take you home.”
“Should I start running in the other direction now?” Joe teased. A part of him was greatly amused to discover, at the age of sixty-four, that he liked men, or at least, liked Cory; another part was just as grateful that it had been with someone who’d known what to do.
“Nah, we’ll just pretend that happened, won’t we, Amanda?” Cory drawled, and Joe shivered at the promise he heard in that tone.
“Of course,” Amanda said swiftly. “Now, where’s that valet?”
It was going to be a very long, interesting afternoon - and he was looking forward to it.
The End
Author: Sugar Plum Awesome
Real Author Name: Rainewynd
Written for: killabeez
Characters/Pairings: Amanda/Joe/Cory.
Rating: NC-17
Summary: Amanda and Cory treat Joe to a very special weekend.
Stolen Kisses
“It’s a rainy, cold, December day, and my stumps have had enough,” Joe began, but Amanda cut him off with the simple press of a finger against his lips. He glared at her in response.
“Hear me out,” Amanda offered. “Your house is on a street that always floods in rain like this. The forecast tonight is for the rain to change to snow, which means everything will be icy come morning. Spend the weekend with me, in my hotel room, where it’s warm, food is a phone call away, and you don’t have to do anything but relax.”
Joe eyed her suspiciously. “In exchange for what?”
“Can’t a girl indulge her favorite bartender and blues guitarist? Especially since she missed his birthday?”
Joe sighed. Fifteen years of exposure to the whirlwind that was Amanda had taught him she gave generously to her friends - but she was still an unapologetic thief. “So long as you’re not using me as an alibi.”
Amanda blinked and pressed a hand to her bosom. “Joe!” she said, scandalized. “I wouldn’t.”
“Oh, like you don’t use all of your friends for alibis? You forget who you’re talking to, Miss Unrepentant.”
Amanda let out a breath and favored him with a tired look. “All I’m doing tonight, Mr. Dawson, is taking care of a friend, because I can. Next week may be another story, but that’s next week, and not anything to do with you. I swear. I just…” She sighed again and gave him a small, rueful smile. “Had to play the Game.”
Joe blinked. Amanda hadn’t lived for over a thousand years without playing it, but she generally stayed out of it, save for the year and a half she’d spent defending, then teaching, Nick Wolfe. The Game had quieted in the years since, as if it had reached some sort of natural crest. By mutual agreement, Nick and Amanda had parted ways amicably; Nick had promptly chosen to find himself a new life somewhere she wasn’t. “Someone you knew?”
Amanda shook her head. “I hate headhunters, especially ones that find me interesting. So, are you willing to abandon your soon-to-be-flooded-and-icy street?”
Joe pulled out his cell phone and checked the weather forecast. He’d meant to go grocery shopping, but had put it off in favor of hoping his body would warm up enough to stop aching, which meant he was running low and would either have to order a delivery from the nearby Safeway or be forced to go do it himself. He quickly saw Amanda hadn’t lied about the forecast; he’d be lucky if he didn’t lose power, from the way the wind forecast read.
“Fine, but this better not be blackmail for later,” he told Amanda. “And I’m not paying for anything.”
“Joe, you’re getting more suspicious and paranoid every year,” she admonished him. At his look, she sighed. “Yes, yes, you have reasons. Would you like me to help you pack?”
Joe studied her, seeing a genuine need to help, and spend some time with a friend rather than dwelling on the battle she’d won that day. Was his pride worth turning her down, considering his grand to-do list comprised of shop for groceries, and find something to fill the lonely spaces of the rest of the day? He’d cut back on his involvement with the bar to ‘owner’ and let his very competent manager run things. He’d retired from the Watchers. His best friend had moved to Paris…again, and Joe had decided another winter in a foreign country was something he didn’t want.
“Yeah, that would be great,” he finally conceded.
An hour later found them at the Seacouver Waterfront Hotel. While not one of the brand-name hotels, it was on par with the Four Seasons and had consistently been one of the top hotels in the city. Joe was quietly impressed; he’d rarely had the chance to stay in such a fancy hotel. Amanda had booked one of the suites. A small hallway connected the sitting area with the sleeping area, which had a king-sized bed. The bathroom was glass-paneled with electronically controlled privacy shades, giving the bather a clear view to the waterfront view visible through the screen door to the balcony. What made Joe drool, however, was the fill-from-the-ceiling bathtub that looked big enough to share with at least one other person, but with handrails so he could still swing himself out without assistance. It didn’t escape Joe’s notice that the bathroom was handicapped accessible in other ways as well. The rubber ducky on the side of the bathtub was a cute touch that made him grin.
“Wish I had this,” Joe admitted. “When I got my bathroom converted so I could use it, they took out the tub.”
“Well, consider this an early Christmas present then,” Amanda said easily as she took possession of his suitcase and set it on the dresser. “Plus, I have a private bath attendant to assist you.”
Joe eyed her warily, but before he could speak, a tall, dark brown-haired, broad-shouldered man with green eyes and a charmer’s smile walked in from the other room. “You rang, madam, sir?” he joked. He was dressed in faded jeans and an equally broken-in flannel shirt, but his feet were bare. He radiated a relaxed, easy-going manner, but the eager, almost-puppy-like way he presented himself was distinctive. Joe had always prided himself on his memory of immortals, especially ones who’d been associated with Duncan MacLeod. The mental dossier clicked. This was not how he’d expected to ever meet the infamous bank robber Cory Raines. Joe slanted a look at Amanda, not sure what to think.
“Cory, this is Joe Dawson, bartender extraordinaire and retired Watcher. Cory, he knows of your reputation.” Amanda performed the introductions. “Joe, this is Cory Raines, an old friend.”
“Pleased to meet you,” Joe said, shaking hands. Cory had a firm grip, no surprise for an immortal.
“If you’re wondering why me,” Cory began easily, “I’m one of the few she knows who can be your bath attendant, masseuse, and has experience handling people with missing limbs under both of those situations.”
“Dare I ask when?” Joe asked cautiously.
“Spent the last few years helping out at a VA hospital,” Cory said quietly. “Got too much heat for my last heist, needed to do some good without money.”
Joe took a deep breath and decided, what the hell, just because he was sixty-four didn’t mean he didn’t get to live a little. “In that case, I’ll trust you to handle me properly.”
Cory grinned, his green eyes lighting up. “Did you want to soak now? We can discuss what to order for dinner then too.”
“You two are going to spoil me,” Joe complained, “but yes. This weather is playing hell with my joints.” He bit his lip, hating he had to admit a weakness, even though it was a fact of his life. “I’m going to need my wheelchair once I’m out of that bath.”
“Arms bothering you as well?” Cory asked.
“Everything aches,” Joe admitted, seeing only compassion in Cory’s face. Some of the tension he’d harbored, expecting some kind of negative reaction, dissolved. “Figured I’d get groceries and then anesthetize everything when I got back home.”
“Well, we’re a little short of a pharmacy here, but if you need something stronger than wine,” Amanda began.
Joe shook his head. “Nah, wine’s good. I’ve never liked the way painkillers make me feel disconnected.”
“Wine it is then,” Amanda said briskly, and moved to the dresser, where two bottles of Columbia Crest wine sat waiting along with glasses and a cork puller.
“I’ll get the bath started,” Cory said with a nod. “Get comfortable; this will take a bit to fill. I’ll also add some salts; that will help. Once you’re soaked enough, we’ll get you that massage.”
Any other day, Joe might’ve found it odd or awkward to be naked in a bathtub while Cory and Amanda kept the flow of conversation going, but he was too sore and tired to let those feelings be more than a passing thought. The glass of red wine Amanda poured him helped, too. Tonight was starting to take on a fantastical edge; if he never lived this again, then he wanted to be able to say he took full advantage of the moment. Dinner was decided; Joe heard Amanda request delivery to be an hour from the time she placed the order.
After about twenty minutes, Cory and Amanda came into the bathroom.
“Any objection to getting your body scrubbed?” Amanda asked. “Cory thought if he supported you, we could both get you clean, and then you won’t have to undo that lovely soak.”
Pride and prudishness almost made Joe refuse, but he bit back the instinctive reaction. How many people had been offered this luxury by these two? Not many, he’d wager. “You trying to seduce me?” he half-joked.
“And if we were serious?” Cory asked levelly.
Joe inhaled sharply, the puzzle pieces suddenly falling into place. He had no doubt that Cory and Amanda were involved again, and they’d had an open relationship for centuries. “Then I’ll tell you I’ve never done anything with a guy, and I’ve never been with two people at once. Most people look at the legs and think I’m broken.”
“Hardly,” Cory said dryly. “Not if half the stories Amanda’s told me are to believed.”
Joe grinned at that. “Depends on what she’s told you.”
Cory smiled. “What matters to me is the thread of friendship and loyalty those stories tell,” he said easily. “Relax, Joe, I’m not in the habit of attacking virgins, nor do I ever want to be. Okay if we start with getting you clean and go from there?”
Joe let out the breath he hadn’t realized he’d been holding. “Yeah.”
Cory discarded his clothing with a brisk efficiency, revealing a trim, muscular body. Joe had never really looked at another man naked, but something about Cory made his mouth go dry. Reflexively, he swallowed, and tried to look at anything else. His eyes landed on Amanda, who was also undressing, and making sure that their pile of clothing didn’t impede their exit from the tub. Amanda was familiar and utterly gorgeous, and he counted himself a lucky man to have her attention.
“No one’s gonna shoot me for being with you guys tonight?”
Amanda leaned over and kissed him gently. “No one’s going to kiss and tell, unless you are?”
“Not keeping anyone’s Chronicle,” Joe said. “I leave that business to my daughter…and she got out earlier this year; said she wanted to do something else with her life.”
“Then we’re safe,” Cory assured him. “As far as I’m concerned, I’m just helping a friend. Speaking of, I’m going to get in behind you; we’ll get you clean first, then I’ll help you up.”
“I’m beginning to think your definitions get stretched often,” Joe noted as Cory eased into the tub behind him.
Cory chuckled. “So people have told me. Language changes over the centuries; why should I live with narrow definitions if I choose not to? Amanda, the soap and a washcloth please?”
“What’s the hardest part of language for you?” Joe wondered.
“The grammar,” Cory admitted, taking the bar of soap and washcloth Amanda handed him and dipping into the water before getting the washcloth lathered up and applying it to Joe’s back. “I’m probably going to have to break down and take classes again.”
“I thought I knew what it was now,” Amanda said as she unhooked the showerhead from its hook and set it within Joe’s reach. “Turns out there’s a whole world of Internetspeak I was unaware of.”
“You and me both,” Joe said wryly. “If Amy wasn’t insistent that I learn, I’d still be fumbling around with how to use Skype.” He purred as Cory scrubbed and somehow managed to scratch that persistent itch in the middle of his back Joe could never reach.
“Arms out,” Amanda requested, and Joe compiled readily. Together, she and Cory got Joe squeaky clean all over, all the while keeping the conversation going. The air grew heavy with expectation as Joe let himself be pampered this way. It didn’t escape Joe’s notice that they managed to get themselves clean as well, somehow managing to keep him from getting chilled in the process. Amanda stepped out first, dried herself off, put on thigh-high satin robe, and then Cory lifted Joe out of the tub; Amanda dried him off briskly before assisting him into one of the hotel’s thick robes. Joe’s eyes widened as Cory transferred his weight to Amanda’s waiting arms.
“Guys, I can -”
“Nonsense, you aren’t that heavy, Joe,” Amanda said as Cory rinsed himself off, then dried off. “Besides. I can hold you for a few minutes; Cory’s better at hauling.”
“You’re going to make me feel like a piece of meat,” Joe warned.
Amanda looked hurt at that statement. “I would never -” she protested, but Cory cut her off with a look.
“Do you really want to use a wheelchair for the distance between here and the bed?” Cory asked reasonably as he put on a robe. “Especially now that you’re nice and clean? This isn’t saying you couldn’t make your own way over there.”
Joe conceded the point. He was feeling a little too loose and relaxed to expend the energy required to move himself, sans prosthetics, on arm strength and bullheaded determination. “Just as long as you know I’m capable.”
“As if that was in doubt,” Amanda scoffed.
“So very capable, Joe,” Cory agreed, and kissed him before Joe could object.
Joe’s eyes widened at the stolen kiss, but then Amanda transferred him back to Cory, and Cory easily carried him over to the bed just as the door buzzer sounded.
“Perfect timing,” Amanda said, pleased, and went to answer it.
She had the room service waiter roll the cart into the bedroom and set up the table within Joe’s reach. The smell of food made Joe’s mouth water, and he was pleased to see they’d all ordered the special of the evening: aged sirloin steak served with mixed winter vegetables and mashed potatoes. Cory pulled up chairs to the table.
“Joe, did you want to move?” Amanda asked.
He shook his head. “Nah, I’m braced good here. If I move,” he eyed the distance between the tabletop and the chair, “I’ll be lower and it won’t be as comfortable.” He shot Amanda a grateful smile for asking, and then she and Cory sat down.
“Amanda tells me you’ve stepped back from running the bar,” Cory began as they started eating.
“Yeah,” Joe said as he cut into his steak. “Getting a little too old to be pulling sixty-hour weeks.”
“Have you given much thought to what you’ll do next?” Cory wondered.
“Not really,” Joe admitted, and felt a pang of sadness. “Used to think I’d spend some time traveling, but once I mentioned that to Mac, he got it in his head that my next birthday present would be a trip.”
“Not a fan of grand gestures?” Cory asked, interested.
Joe shrugged restlessly. “I’d be fonder of them if they weren’t partially motivated by the fear I won’t be around to enjoy them in the future. Far as I’m concerned, I was supposed to die at nineteen, but God had other plans for me. I may be mortal, but I ain’t dead yet and I’ve no plans to be for another thirty years.”
Cory glanced at Amanda. “You’ve been hiding this wonderful man from me for the last decade.”
Amanda looked hurt. “You were elsewhere and busy!”
Joe laughed and toasted Cory with his wine glass. “So we meet now, Cory. Or would you prefer I called you Corwin?”
“Oh, that’s awfully tempting, but,” Cory shook his head, “Cory’s easier on everyone. Corwin, especially the way you say it, makes me think I’m in trouble.” He grinned easily, and turned the conversation back to Joe. “So if you’re tired of traveling -”
“Of long, complex, meticulously planned trips,” Joe corrected. “The ones that have been carefully sanitized for a guy like me so everything’s accessible. Makes me feel like I’m halfway dead and need accommodating.”
“Careful, Joe, you’re giving Cory ideas,” Amanda murmured.
“And what if I was?” Joe shot back. “If it was with you two, I’d take that trip. Mac forgets what it was like for me when I was nineteen and new to not having legs - the ADA law was a pipe dream.”
“Ah,” Amanda said, her eyes widening in understanding. “So as long as we meet the minimum of what you’re willing to put up with, you don’t want the bells and whistles?”
“They’re nice, don’t get me wrong, but I still have the workarounds they taught me in the seventies. They still work.” Joe ate more of his meal.
“What would you want in terms of accessibility, if you had the money and power to make it happen?” Cory asked.
Joe shook his head. “Don’t get me started,” he warned. “I’m feeling too good now to get that wound up.”
“Fair enough,” Cory said, and changed the subject to holiday traditions.
Over the course of the ensuing conversation, Joe became aware that he was being flirted with, not only by Amanda but Cory as well. He was honest with himself as he debated how to react; he was lonely, and it had been a very long time since he’d had anyone in his bed. To have their combined attention and experience, even for a night, sounded fraught with potential landmines for the future - but Joe was tired of living like every step he made with an immortal was the wrong one.
They’d finished dinner; Cory had relocated the cart to outside their room. Now he was working on the promised massage, making concentrating on anything difficult. “Before you turn me into a complete puddle of relaxation, can I say something?” Joe asked.
“Go ahead.”
“If I said yes to everything you wanted to give me tonight, would you still respect me the same as if I’d said no?”
“Absolutely,” Cory said swiftly. “But I’ll also counter with: tonight’s about relaxing, Joe. You’re too knotted up, and I want you to sleep well. Tomorrow’s soon enough for pleasure. It’s only Friday night, and neither Amanda nor I are going to turn into pumpkins come midnight.”
Startled, Joe looked over his shoulder at them. “I thought -“ he began, then stopped, realizing whatever he’d thought was wrong. He took a deep breath and let it out before speaking. “I’m not wrong in thinking you’re flirting with me? Both of you?”
“Yes, but we want you relaxed first,” Amanda chided him. “Enjoy the moment, Joe.”
With that reassurance, Joe let himself just feel. “Then don’t stop what you’re doing, Cory. Amanda, are you putting lotion on my stumps?”
“Too cold?”
“Damn, whatever that stuff is, it feels damn good.”
“Has horse chestnut and wild mint in it,” Amanda told him. “Old remedy I remembered Mac telling me worked quite well. I decided to do some hunting and see if someone’s produced it commercially. Love this century for that.”
“Had stuff like that, oh, a while back,” Joe said, halfway to purring at the way Cory was unlocking his muscles and Amanda’s tender but firm rubbing of the lotion into his skin. “They stopped making it, though, couldn’t find it anymore.”
“If it helps, I’ll be your supplier,” Amanda said lightly.
“Wait, so that means you planned this!” Joe realized.
Amanda laughed and kissed him. “So I did. Going to hold it against me?”
“Not when you’re making me feel this good, no,” Joe said, and heard Cory chuckle.
That was the last thing Joe remembered of their conversation that night. Relaxed from the massage, the wine, the good meal, and the company, he slid into sleep.
*****
Joe woke to the smell of rich, dark coffee and the feel of Amanda against him.
“Don’t you know that the early bird only gets the worm if they’re awake to try?” she complained huskily, but Joe got the impression she was complaining more for form’s sake than anything else.
“Ah, but you can take the boy off the farm, but you can’t take the farm out of the boy,” Cory drawled. “Plus, I bring coffee.”
Amanda made a scoffing noise.
“Only two mugs,” Cory went on, unfazed. “One for me and one for Joe.”
Amanda promptly sat up and stole a sip out of each mug, handing one back to Cory.
Laughing, Joe sat up more and took the mug Amanda handed him. “I’d call you a thief, but that’s like saying the sun rises in the east, isn’t it?”
Amanda offered him a guileless smile. “You’re one of the few people who doesn’t see it as a problem of my personality,” she pointed out.
Joe chuckled. “Because it’s only a problem when it causes trouble for me and mine,” he replied, and sipped at the coffee. “You’ve fought too hard to be you for me to say otherwise.”
The bed shifted slightly as Cory sat down on Joe’s other side. “I begin to see why the Watchers thought you to be a threat, Joe,” Cory remarked. “You understand us.”
“Too curious for my own good you mean,” Joe replied.
Cory shook his head. “Nah, that would be me and the time I wanted to see how far a flaming arrow would go if I used Chinese firecrackers. Turns out I should never, ever come up with ideas for arrows when I’m drunk. Burned down the hotel I was staying in.”
Joe smothered a laugh. “So who dared you?”
“The girl who sold me the firecrackers,” Cory admitted.
Amanda smiled, looking as though she’d heard this story before. “Did you want to get out of bed, Joe? We put your wheelchair and legs on Cory’s side of the bed; which would you rather have?”
“Chair first,” Joe said. “Legs take longer and I need to pee, but Cory, if you could help me out? This bed’s softer than mine at home and I’m dead center in it.”
“Not a problem.”
Later, Joe would pinpoint that moment as the moment he chose to dive into the deep end. By the time he exited the bathroom, he knew what he wanted to do with the day. He wanted Cory’s and Amanda’s hands on him again; he wanted the kisses to go with it, and if they’d thought they’d been seduced, well. He hadn’t seduced them. A wicked smile played upon his lips as he wheeled himself back into the sleeping area and put himself squarely between them.
Cory looked up from his perusal of the room service menu and considered Joe. A slow smile spread across his lips. “Amanda, you really, really should’ve introduced us sooner,” he drawled.
Amanda glanced at Joe, then at Cory. “No, I shouldn’t have,” she decided promptly. “Joe, what are you planning?”
“What you wouldn’t do with me last night,” Joe offered. “Unless that offer’s no longer on the table, now that you’ve heard me snore and seen all my scars.”
“Pshaw,” Amanda said, and leaned in to kiss him slowly and gently. It was a devastatingly tender kiss, and it made Joe long for more.
It should’ve been difficult, awkward even, but somehow it wasn’t. Maybe it was the way Cory stole kisses from Amanda before Joe stole one from him, payback for the one Cory took the day before; Joe laughed at Cory’s shocked expression.
“What? You’ve had your hands all over me already. You think I’m going to object to you kissing me and touching me more?” Joe dared. It felt right, in a way he’d never felt right about letting it happen before, and he’d always considered himself mostly straight.
“Well, when you put it that way,” Cory said, and kissed him properly until Joe nearly forgot this was the first time another man had kissed him that way. He arched into the touch, only to be brought sharply back to Earth as he realized he wasn’t quite stable in the wheelchair.
“Get me on the bed,” Joe growled. “Want to be between you again like I was.”
“Perhaps with less clothes and more touching?” Amanda suggested.
“Yes,” Joe said, feeling arousal course through him at the thought. It no longer mattered he’d never been in a situation like this; the way he was feeling, he felt alive and wanted and desirable.
Amanda and Cory helped him onto the bed, then shed the robes they’d been wearing. As soon as Amanda joined him on the bed, Joe began kissing her and learning what made her shudder with pleasure. Cory was a warm, steadying warmth at Joe’s back, whispering encouragement and pointers. Joe laughed at some of the more outrageous suggestions, but willingly took the better ones. It was more sensual and arousing than Joe had expected.
“Come on, Amanda,” Cory said as Joe worked his hands on her clit, “tell us what you want.”
“So many choices,” Amanda groaned.
“Want my mouth?” Joe offered.
Amanda made a helpless-sounding noise.
“That’s a yes,” Cory clarified. “Be easier if Amanda’s on her back or if you’re on yours and she’s on top?”
“On top,” Joe said gratefully, and looked over his shoulder to press a quick kiss on Cory’s lips.
That got him a grin. Amanda took advantage of the new position to take Joe’s cock in her mouth.
“Nuh uh,” Joe said. “You do that and I’m no good for an hour. Want to be inside you when I come.”
“Amanda babe, here, suck me off,” Cory offered, shifting so Amanda had access.
Joe closed his eyes briefly before applying himself to the task of making Amanda lose control and come hard from his tongue and lips. She held out, clearly trying to maintain some control, but then he slipped his fingers into her cunt as he licked her clit and started imitating a fuck. She shuddered, moaning around a very full mouth, and came hard. Joe wasn’t sure where his control was coming from, except that he wanted to be inside her, and he wanted to make this last.
Licking his mouth as she lifted off and shifted so that her weight wasn’t on him, Joe could see Amanda was steadily working on Cory. Cory wasn’t a screamer, Joe noted, but a talker, telling Amanda just how good she was doing, how close she was making him, then finally, warning her just before he came with a sharp moan. For a moment, Joe regretted refusing her offer to do the same to him, but he’d always come harder from penetration than oral sex. It was arousing, too, to watch two people having sex; this was more intimate than porn, especially since he could feel the love between Cory and Amanda, hear it in Cory’s every word and see it on Amanda’s face.
Sooner than Joe had expected, Amanda shifted again, easily taking his cock inside her pussy as she kissed his neck, clearly guessing he probably wouldn’t want to taste her mouth. Joe shuddered at the intimate contact as his hands found her hips, aligning them as he lifted his pelvis to thrust up. She was warm and wet around him, and she looked at him as though he was the most important man in the room, even though Cory was egging her on with his words and his kisses.
Amanda whimpered and spread her legs wider. He kept his thrusts rhythmic, enjoying the way she clenched around his cock and shuddered through one orgasm, then another. It was readily apparent she loved penetration just as much as he did. Cory stoked her breasts and occasionally pinched her nipples, which made her arch into his touch. Just when he thought he couldn’t come, feeling like maybe he was past the point of coming, he heard Cory ask, “Want a little more stimulation, Joe?”
Joe shot him a look, but he was willing to try anything tonight, wanting to give back a little bit of the love he’d felt when Cory had tended to him earlier. “Sure.”
Cory quirked a grin and kissed him before moving to a better position and reaching down to stroke Joe’s balls. Cory’s hands were different from a woman’s, different and firmer, and the pressure on his perineum was more certain. Joe’s world narrowed down to needing to come, needing to take Amanda with him. A random bit of immortal trivia scattered through Joe’s brain, and he gently bit the juncture of her neck and shoulder. Amanda shuddered and moaned, triggering Joe’s orgasm as she came.
Joe’s arms came automatically around Amanda as she collapsed to the bed. With a slow inhale, she recovered a heartbeat later and smiled at him.
Cory leaned in and kissed Joe, slower this time, and when he came up for air, offered the excuse, “Since Amanda can’t kiss you without brushing her teeth first.”
Joe laughed. “Uh huh, and you didn’t want a kiss for yourself.”
Cory feigned innocence.
Amanda tactfully said, “Be right back, unless you want Cory to carry you into the tub and we’ll get clean together.”
“Sounds like a plan to me,” Joe said, unashamed. He didn’t want to ponder why it felt so easy with Cory; such analysis seemed too deep for a moment like this. Tomorrow or next week, when Cory and Amanda were gone, maybe he’d let himself think and regret and freak out; tonight, Joe wanted to be selfish, wanted to feel something other than lonely and unwanted. For their part, Amanda and Cory seemed to sense his mood, and made sure he was the center of their world, even when they were just lying in bed holding each other.
The rest of the weekend passed in a haze of sex, food, wine, and cuddling. Joe discovered the two immortals’ secret: they were touch-starved. They in turn expanded his sexual horizons and made him addicted to the way they accepted his physical challenges while never making him feel like he was missing something. By checkout time, Joe knew he’d been well on his way to a ‘woe is me’ pity party before they’d showed up, and was grateful that they’d shaken him out of that state of mind. He fully expected that they wouldn’t stick around to make sure he had everything he needed, but they surprised him again.
“Something we should know?” Cory asked lightly.
Joe smiled widely. “Oh, just wondering what will happen if we discover that my house is still iced over.”
Cory grinned. “Well, only way to find out is to take you home.”
“Should I start running in the other direction now?” Joe teased. A part of him was greatly amused to discover, at the age of sixty-four, that he liked men, or at least, liked Cory; another part was just as grateful that it had been with someone who’d known what to do.
“Nah, we’ll just pretend that happened, won’t we, Amanda?” Cory drawled, and Joe shivered at the promise he heard in that tone.
“Of course,” Amanda said swiftly. “Now, where’s that valet?”
It was going to be a very long, interesting afternoon - and he was looking forward to it.
The End