Squirrelified (Enchanted Ink)

Chapter 4

C olby flung himself in front of the moving vehicle barreling closer, throwing out a hand in hopes it would stop in time. As the tires screeched to a halt, he heard a tidal wave of cursing from inside the car. He glanced to his side and watched Ash finally scamper out of the middle of the road and onto the side.

He’d tried to shoo the little guy, with no luck.

“You little asshole,” Colby growled at Ash. He waved to the car and its driver, who offered him a double middle-finger salute. “Sorry, there was a squirrel in the road!”

The guy rose from behind his open door, half in the car and half out. “You ran out in front of me for a fucking squirrel?”

“Well, he wasn’t moving, and you weren’t slowing down,” Colby muttered, eyeing Ash on the side of the road, taunting him, it seemed. Of course, he wasn’t actually taunting, but the fuck if it didn’t feel like it after running halfway across Salem trying to keep his bushy tail out of trouble.

“Fuck you and your squirrel. I hope you have a nice life together,” the driver said before sliding back in, slamming the door, and gunning the engine.

“I hope so, t—” Colby barely had time to get out of the way before he was hit himself. He leapt and collapsed on the sidewalk, closed his eyes, and prayed Luca was close. He’d tried to keep their mate apprised of their location, but it changed every five seconds.

He opened his eyes and looked to the left—and there was Ash.

Almost in arm’s reach.

If I catch him, I can stop this madness and take him home.

I’ve never caught a fucking squirrel before.

What the hell do I do?

Before he ended up overthinking it, he lunged for the squirrel. Ash attempted to get away, but he had his mate by the tail and quickly lifted the creature off the ground. He knew he might be harming Ash holding on like that, but the squirrel went haywire, trying to scratch and bite him—so much so, he almost let go. He was afraid to grab hold another way and equally afraid to release him, and potentially lose him forever.

“It’s almost over, babe. I’m taking you home.” Colby forced himself to stand, both legs aching from all the running he’d done. He scanned his surroundings and realized they weren’t far from Enchanted Ink. “You’re going to be okay.”

He walked down the street, squirrel first, getting a ton of odd looks from bystanders and those passing in their cars as he marched along, but of course he did. He looked like an idiot, carrying a little gray Tasmanian devil by the tail. After a couple of blocks, the squirrel slowed, likely as exhausted as he was. Carefully, he grabbed the squirrel by the body—and while it struggled—it seemed to be too tired to fight long.

When he saw Enchanted Ink in his sights, he almost cried with relief. Picking up his step, he pushed the last block, ignoring the burning in his calves and shins. A redhead slipped out of the front door of the tattoo studio and glared at him.

“Is that him?”

Colby eyed her, unsure who she was. “Him, who?” he asked as he walked past her and into the first floor of the tattoo studio.

Betty jumped from behind the desk, screaming with the power of ten fire alarms, backing away. The squirrel went crazy at her screams and bit him in the knuckle. He roared in pain yet refused to let go.

“Betty! I need help!”

Betty leaned up against the wall behind her, pale and wide-eyed, but at least she’d stopped screaming.

Ash continued to fight him, clawing the outside of his hand. Blood began to drip on the floor.

“Betty!”

Betty skirted around him and Ash as far as she could on her way to grab the phone.

“What in the hell is going on?”

Colby spun toward the familiar voice.

Ash stood just inside the shop. He wore a bemused smile as he stared at Colby and… some random gray squirrel. A random gray squirrel he’d chased miles up and down Salem streets and jumped in front of a car for.

A random gray squirrel biting him again.

“Are you fucking kidding me?” Colby roared. He raced toward the front door, used his back to open it, and crossed to the small green space on the other side of the street. He released the Tasmanian-devil of a squirrel and jumped back, but not before the fucker clawed him in the hand, drawing more blood.

When he turned back, Ash was behind him. “What… is going on?”

Colby eyed his bloody hands. “I got a call saying you were stuck in squirrel form and to be on the lookout for you.”

Ash pointed in the direction the squirrel had run into. “You sensed our connection… with that?”

Colby winced, suddenly realizing he’d subconsciously sensed Ash the second he’d walked in the door of the shop. Would he have sensed the same in animal form? He didn’t know. “It’s not like I have a lot of experience with you as a squirrel. I wasn’t sure, but…” Colby shook his head, pissed he hadn’t realized his mistake. “I’m an idiot.”

Ash moved closer, smiling softly. “You’re not. You’re right. You haven’t spent much time around me when I’ve shifted.”

Colby glared over and noticed the squirrel still close. Still watching with those beady little eyes. “That asshole ran out in front of the truck I was driving and then just sat there staring at me like he knew me or something.” Colby glanced at the wounds on his hands, shaking his head. “I’ve spent the last three hours running for miles—in this heat—protecting him. I am an idiot.”

Ash drew him closer, lifting Colby’s cut hands carefully out of the way. “No. You thought he was me, and you were protecting me.” Ash grinned. “Thank you.”

“Don’t patronize me.”

“I’m not,” Ash murmured, eyeing the damage to Colby’s hands. “You went well out of your way to protect me— even if it wasn’t me —because you love me. While I know you’re frustrated right now, what you did warms my heart.” He lifted his gaze. “While it wasn’t me, the love you showed was all you, and I love you for it.”

“I love you, too.” Colby sighed, glancing at his hands. “Am I gonna need a rabies shot now?”

Ash barked with laughter. “I think that protection spell Eli tattooed on you should prevent that, and even if it doesn’t, we have a pretty powerful healer as our mate. Luca will get you fixed right up.”

“I better call him. He’s been chasing me, chasing that squirrel. He and Daniel.”

“I called Luca just before I saw you. He said you weren’t answering your phone, and he was worried. I was heading out to help look for you when I saw you inside the shop. I’ll call him again. Keep your hands up until he gets here.” Ash reached for his phone, but the truck came to a screeching halt right beside them before he got out more than a couple of digits hit.

Luca leapt from the truck and grabbed them both into a hug. “Oh, thank heavens.”

Colby hissed, Luca having hit one of his wounded hands.

Luca drew back and eyed the wounds. He gathered magic in his palms and covered Colby’s with them—and the pain immediately subsided. When he removed his hands, the wounds were gone.

“That squirrel get you?” Luca asked.

“You mean the squirrel that wasn’t Ash?” Colby asked, rolling his eyes.

“I’ve been calling you for a solid twenty minutes,” Luca said. “Trying to tell you Ash was okay.”

Colby reached for his cell. When he lifted it, the thing was a brick. “Battery must’ve died.” He glanced past Luca’s side and saw Daniel in the front seat of the truck, belting out a song. “I see my brother is unbothered by all this.”

“As soon as he heard Ash was okay, he was fine,” Luca said. “He’s got Taylor Swift blaring in there.”

“Oh, god,” Colby grumbled. “Again? I used to like her music until he did.”

“Could be worse,” Ash said.

“Oh? How?”

“K-pop?” Luca asked, grinning.

“What’s wrong with my K-pop?” Colby asked, punching Luca in the arm. He fought a smile, knowing any pop music really wasn’t Luca’s thing—though, he had caught the witch singing along with Daniel a time or two. “I’m recording you the next time you go full Swiftie.”

“I have no idea what you’re talking about,” Luca muttered.

“Oh, it’s on now,” Colby said. “But not until after a long, long, long cool shower and vegetating on the sofa for the rest of the night. I am… exhausted.”

“I bet,” Luca said, taking another peek at his hands.

Colby eyed the truck. “Do I even want to know what shape my pottery wheel is in? I slammed on the brakes and heard all kinds of noises. You coming screeching in probably didn’t help matters.”

Luca shrugged. “I can fix it. I don’t even know why you bought it. We could’ve used magic to duplicate the one still working.”

“Magic comes with a cost. Remember?” Colby asked. “You’ve used up your magic before, and I hated seeing you like that. Unless it’s an emergency, or someone’s paying you gold, you don’t use magic.”

Luca tugged him close. “I’m in a triad now, baby. I’ve got all the power.”

“Well, I’m glad one of us does because I’m spent,” Colby said. He eyed the pottery wheel peeking out of the back of the truck. “Mind helping me? I need to get that thing upstairs before I can take that shower.”

“How about you go on up,” Ash said. “Luca and I can manage getting Daniel and the pottery wheel up without you.” He grinned. “I think you’ve done enough tonight.”

“I could kiss you both,” Colby murmured. He grinned. “And I think I will.” He leaned up on his tiptoes and stole two heated kisses. “I’d say there was more where that came from when you came up, but after the last few hours, I don’t know if that’s true or not.”

Ash swatted his ass as he passed and he grinned, sensing he might be persuaded after that shower, after all.

Colby paused to peek in at Daniel and motioned for him to turn down the Taylor. “Ash and Luca are going to take the pottery wheel upstairs. Can you help guide them?”

“I’m on the job!” Daniel said, offering a thumb’s up.

“Thanks,” Colby said. “I’m going to take a shower because I feel nasty.”

“Did you catch the squirrel?”

“Unfortunately, I did.”

Daniel laughed, his smile wide.

Colby shook his head, trying not to laugh himself—but he succumbed to it. What else was there to do? Envisioning what he looked like, carrying that damned rat with a fluffy tail down the street, had tears coming from the corners of his eyes.

“I thought you were going to take a shower?” Luca asked.

“I am, I am,” Colby said, his stomach hurting from laughter. He shook his head, still chuckling to himself, and crossed the street, entering the lobby for the apartments.

It took way too long for the elevator to arrive. Too long for it to rise again. He cursed the length of the hallway (that wasn’t all that long). And then cursed again when he exited the tree trunk on the other side of their front door. Why couldn’t they have a simple, basic apartment? No, they had to have a whole neighborhood as an apartment. But as he spied their house—an exact copy of his and Daniel’s childhood home lost to a fire demons created and lovingly recreated by the coven to give his brother a sense of safety and familiarity—a wave of pure love came flooding over him.

They were all lucky to have one another. It’s the whole reason he’d been willing to pick up some random squirrel he thought was his mate and make a total ass of himself all over town trying to protect it. He loved Ash and Luca and refused to lose his mates and what they shared.

He’d fought them at the beginning, not understanding their world or his place in it. He’d been cursed and terrified, but thank heavens he’d finally surrendered to the spark he felt for them and gave in. As more time passed, he realized what they had was a one-of-a-kind magic he’d never imagined possible. All he’d experienced in his life before them was loss and to be given their love?

It was awe-inspiring.

Colby dabbed tears from his eyes before walking toward the front door of his family’s home—a symbol of love, past and present.

A short time later, he turned on the shower and stripped out of his sweaty clothes. Slipping under the spray, he washed every inch of himself from the top of his head to his feet, the lukewarm water refreshing. He was nearly done when a caress on his hip nearly brought a scream. Turning, he found a grinning Luca entering the shower.

“We broke out in a sweat getting that thing into your pottery shed,” Luca said, shimmying under the water and allowing it to roll down his muscled body. “I didn’t want to waste water.”

Colby had been tired—until he saw Luca’s hungry smile.

And the hard, angry-looking shaft jutting his way.

“Room for three?” Ash asked, his head appearing on the side of the glass partition.

“You know damned well there is,” Colby murmured, grinning. They’d shared a shower before. More than once. He turned to face Ash and offered a hand. “Come on.”

Ash slid between the glass panels and cupped Colby’s cheek. “I didn’t think I could love you more than I already did—but seeing you with that squirrel?—”

“I’m never going to live this down, am I? Chasing that squirrel all over town. Running out in front of that car. Carrying that bas?—”

“You ran in front of a moving car?” Ash asked, wide-eyed.

“The squirrel was just standing there, not moving, and the car was speeding. I wasn’t going to let you get mowed down.” Colby shook his head. “But it wasn’t you.”

Ash gathered his face in both hands, eyes wide. His wild gaze lifted to Luca’s for a couple of seconds before he looked back down. “You stepped in front of a speeding car… to save me?”

“It wasn’t you.”

“You didn’t know that,” Ash said before leaning down and capturing Colby’s lips.

Colby pressed onto his toes, savoring Ash’s kiss.

After they broke apart, Ash rested his forehead on Colby’s. “Don’t you ever risk your life like that again. Are we clear?”

“I’ll protect my mates in whatever manner I see fit,” Colby muttered, only half grumpily. His heart was too full to feel real irritation at Ash’s tone.

Ash rose to his full height and glared down. He looked fierce and angry, but he lost it a few seconds later, a smile breaking his stern expression. “I can’t believe you stepped in front of a speeding car. Never again.”

“Not for that squirrel, at least,” Colby quipped, grinning.

“Not for me, either. I’m a shifter, so I’d be hurt a lot less than you would’ve.” Ash shook his head. “I can’t imagine a world without you, so… promise me you won’t do something like that again.”

“I will admit, I wasn’t thinking about shifter strength when I jumped out in the road. I panicked. All I could see was a flat squirrel with tire marks down his back.” Colby shivered. “And I wasn’t going to let that happen to you.”

Ash stroked his cheek. “I’m just glad you didn’t end up with more than cuts on your hands. I’d never be able to live with myself if you’d been hurt.”

“I’m fine,” Colby said. He rose on his toes again and pressed his lips to Ash’s. “Perfectly fine.” He kissed his mate again. “Never better.”

Ash growled before tugging him closer. He turned his head and slanted his lips over Colby’s. The kiss was feral. Animal.

Sublime.

Colby melted into Ash’s arms, hunger mounting. When Luca reached around him and stroked his cock, he gasped into Ash’s mouth, trembling from the intimate caress. One kiss broke and Luca swept in to steal his own, turning Colby’s chin to face him.

Their need was potent, sending shivers over his skin. As tired as he’d been, his need was greater. Perhaps he had been an idiot, but he’d been an idiot in love.

Luca and Ash seemed to sense something had shifted in him, even if he hadn’t voiced it. His mates went on the offensive, massaging, kissing, nibbling, and licking every inch of his exhausted body. Tired or not, he was more than ready for their not-so-gentle exploration. Sometimes they forgot their inhuman strength, not so much to hurt him but push him to the edge. He liked the edge, he’d found. It somehow made the pleasure they also wrought all the sweeter.

Water sluiced between them, their slick skin sliding against the other as they taunted and teased, burning as one. Luca lifted him under the knees. Colby leaned back against his witch, having been in the same position several times before. He knew their might was strong and relaxed against it, knowing they’d keep him safe. Ash reached for the bottle of lube they’d started keeping in the shower for their watery escapades and coated Colby’s hole.

Luca nibbled at his shoulder and up to his ear all while Ash worked his asshole, stretching it to accommodate their bodies. When he was ready, Ash coated Luca’s cock with another palmful of lube before helping to join them as one.

Colby arched his back and moaned as Luca’s thick cock impaled him from behind. The sweet stretch took his breath away. He gasped, smiling as he drew deep pants into his lungs. Ash watched him closely, seemingly delighting in seeing Colby’s pleasure.

“I need,” Colby murmured to force Ash into motion.

When Ash did as expected, he smiled, knowing what came next. He wouldn’t be happy until he got it, either.

Ash held Colby’s stare as he took another pump from the lube bottle and coated his own cock. “What do you want, baby?”

“You know what I want,” Colby said, his head lolling on Luca’s shoulder.

“Tell me,” Ash whispered. “So I know for sure.”

“I want your cock,” Colby said, reaching down and sliding two fingers inside along Luca’s cock. He worked his hole, caressing himself and Luca’s shaft—earning him a hiss of delight against his ear. “Here. Both of you. Inside me.”

Ash’s chest rose and fell in quick succession, yet he did not move—except to stroke his long shaft from base to tip.

“Please…” Colby plead.

Ash stepped forward, aligning the tip of his shaft to Colby’s no-longer-so-tight hole. “Anything for you, mate.”

He drove his cock up, sliding along Luca’s length, until they were both as deep as they could go. Colby had become such a whore for their cocks in their months together. A greedy little whore. Before them, the thought of two men sharing his body like that hadn’t entered his mind. Since, it was all he craved.

“Does that feel good, baby?” Ash asked, his lips inches from Colby’s.

“Yeah,” Colby murmured. “It feels so good.”

“What else do you want?” Ash asked.

“Breed me,” Colby replied. “Fill me…”

Ash grinned, the sight a bit harsh, but Colby had grown accustomed to it. His shifter was a hard man and a hard lover, and he’d learned he enjoyed that hardness. Luca was even harder, the both of them demanding.

He’d gone from hesitant and unsure to begging for what he wanted.

Or demanding, depending on his mood.

All of it in the safety of their arms, knowing they would always bring him pleasure, adoring his body in the process.

“You need our cum, baby?” Luca asked against his ear.

“Yeah,” Colby whispered. “All of it.”

His mates moved in concert, their motions practiced after long hours of loving his body over and over again. They knew the right angles, the right pressure, the right… everything. They’d learned how to make him scream and beg and plead for release—and he loved every second of it. In that time, he’d studied them, seeing how much they got off on his surrender.

How they loved to dominate.

Yet, he knew all along, he was always in control. They’d stop at his command.

Both his big, strong men held him in their arms, feeding him their cocks, rushing toward their shared pleasure. When they came, one after the other, Colby clutched them close, their names screaming from his lips as he came. Gasping for air when it was over, they remained locked together a moment, their still-hard cocks buried deep inside him.

It was in those moments when he loved them most, caught in the aftermath of their affections, their bodies expended. They still only worried about him and his needs. Slowly, they withdrew and cleaned the spent seed from his body before shutting off the water. Luca carried him out and Ash toweled him off before he was carried to the bed and lowered into the center of it.

Once they’d dried themselves, they slid in on either side, cradling him in their strong arms. Nowhere did he feel safer. Nearing sleep, he forced himself to rouse. “Daniel needs dinner.”

“Daniel is spending the night with Gideon, Esau, and Joaquin,” Ash murmured.

Colby sighed with relief. He wasn’t sure he could get out of that bed anytime soon, nor did he want to. Not when he had his men wrapped around him.

“Does our mate require sustenance?” Luca asked, grinning.

“Yeah, but after a nap, hmm?” Colby asked, smiling. “And maybe another round of the good stuff?”

“Your wish is our command,” Ash replied, cuddling close. “We’d better rest so we’ve got juice for another.”

“You always have the juice for another,” Colby whispered, sleep clawing at him and dragging him under.

“For you, of course we do,” Luca said, kissing his forehead.

Two hours and another fucking later, Colby sat on Ash’s chest in only a pair of rainbow-colored briefs, munching on a slice of pizza. Ash had on gray sweats as he laid on his back on the sectional, while Luca sat naked under Ash’s legs, eating, as well. On screen was a rerun of Interview with the Vampire , which he’d not wanted to watch when it had come out, but he’d succumbed to their pleading—and ended up being the biggest fan out of the three of them. He was doing a full re-watch before season three premiered.

“Are you seriously going to tell me that you think Louis loves Armand more than he loves Lestat?” Colby asked Luca. He tossed his crust at Luca, who caught it and snagged a bite. “Their relationship is so boring. They’re like a pair of old married folks who barely co-exist together.”

“It’s no less of a love. It’s simply different,” Luca charged.

“I don’t know that I agree. If there was a fire, it seems to have burnt out,” Colby said.

“Are you really saying you’d rather have the chaos of Lestat and Louis?” Luca asked. “Do you not look forward to being old, boring men together? I sure do.”

“Something tells me we will never be boring,” Colby told Luca. “Particularly you.”

“With you two in the house, I suspect that’s impossible,” Ash muttered.

“Meaning?” Luca asked, his head swiveling toward Ash.

“You two fight like Lestat and Louis,” Ash said. “Not violently or—hell, maybe that’s a bad analogy. You two have that same fire underneath, that’s all I meant. You’re not monsters, so it hasn’t turned like it did with them.”

Colby lowered his new piece of pizza and paused the show. He looked down at Ash. “Luca and I have that fire? That sounds like you’re implying that there’s no fire between you and me. Or you and Luca?”

Ash shrugged. “Yeah, there’s love and lust, but I’m more like Armand, I think. A protector. I want everything to go smoothly and run efficiently.” He eyed Colby. “Do I bore you?”

“Of course you don’t!” Colby replied.

Luca waved to the paused screen. “We see moments where the fire between Armand and Louis threatens to escape but they’re able to hold back. They’re different people.” Luca paused a moment. “I guess that makes me Lestat here?”

Ash grinned at Luca.

“So, I’m the psychopath?” Luca asked.

Ash lifted his thumb and forefinger, with barely space between. “Maybe just a touch of psycho.”

Colby eyed them both, landing on Luca. “Maybe a tiny little touch, Mr. Hothead.”

Luca manufactured an offended look, hand between his pecs. “Deux knives in mon chest, mon ami?”

“Maybe we need to keep Lestat Junior away from Gideon’s Parisian apartment. If he keeps going over there, he’s just going to end up sounding more and more like Lestat,” Ash said, grinning. “We don’t need him adopting other habits.”

“Maybe I should find another love over there,” Luca said, playacting the scorned lover. “One who appreciates my psychopathy.”

“Hey, you just admitted to it there, bud.” Colby said, smiling.

“Oh, I’m fucking nuts, and we all know it,” Luca said, grinning madly. He took a massive bite from his pizza and near swallowed it whole.

Colby sprung off Ash’s chest and straddled Luca’s lap. “Not full-on nuts. Just a teeny, tiny bit. Enough to keep things interesting around here.”

“Meaning I am boring,” Ash said, sighing loudly.

“You’re not,” Colby bellowed. He looked between them, his heart full. “Yes, Luca is wild and hard to tame, and I love that about him?” he said, pausing to press his lips to Luca’s. As soon as he broke the kiss, he turned to crawl over Ash’s body—until he was face-to-face with his shifter. “And you are the protector. Solid and safe and always in control. But that’s what I love about you.” Colby leaned down and pressed his lips to Ash’s. He rose back up on his arms and settled on Ash’s chest again so he could see them both. “That’s what makes this work. Together, Luca’s crazy and your strength—they balance out. You make me feel loved and safe to be who I am.”

Ash tucked a few stray strands behind Colby’s ear. “And what is it that you are?”

“Blessed to be loved by you both,” Colby whispered. “Finally open and free to accept that love, unconditionally.” He smiled. “I fought you both at first, terrified because what it felt was so foreign and so big—too big—and I was afraid I’d be swallowed by it. Instead, you helped me find the real me and made me feel…” He smiled, struggling with emotion. “I feel reborn in your arms. Fully alive and living in every, single moment instead of merely existing. I’m now a dumbass idiot willing to grab a squirrel and walk through town, indifferent to how I looked to others, because the only people who matter live here in our home filled with love. I love our life so much that I would do anything to hold on to it.”

Ash sat up, carrying Colby upward as if he weighed nothing. Both Ash and Luca wrapped their arms around him, and he closed his eyes, knowing he was the most adored thing to them—and hopefully they knew they were the most adored thing in his heart, too.

They traded kisses with him, one after the other, until they settled gently into their embrace, unmoving in the mass of limbs and love.

“While I would love a round three, I don’t know if I have the stamina,” Colby whispered, pausing to kiss them both. “Can we just sit here and cuddle?”

“Sounds like perfection,” Ash replied, grinning.

Luca grabbed the remote and restarted the episode before offering Colby another slice from the pizza box. He snagged one and snuggled against his mates, a smile on his face that knew no bounds.