Matteo Bestia walked into his home and inhaled the delicious scent of warm bread. Dani had been baking again. He followed his nose to the kitchen and found her with his brothers, cutting slices from a crusty loaf.
“Just in time.” She smiled at him and cut another slice, adding butter and jam before handing it to him on a small plate.
He set the plate on the counter and pulled her close with an arm around her waist, bending his head to capture her lips with his. The taste of her was incomparably sweet, even after more than a year. It always would be.
The kiss deepened as he savored her, her fingers diving into his hair, her tongue tangling with his in the delicious dance that so often led to other embraces. It didn’t matter to him that his brothers were there, watching. After their first night together with her – no, not even a night, after the very first time they’d all made love with her – they’d abandoned their inhibitions and objections.
The Bestia triplets were three very different men, united in their love for a single woman. The magic of how she’d brought them together, closer than ever, Matteo would never take for granted.
When he released her, her eyes were dreamy, her face flushed, her lips swollen. His cock jerked, and the craving for her that could never be satisfied for long urged him to forget the bread and carry her off to their bedroom.
Instead, he picked up his slice and took a bite. It was one of her love languages, her baking, and they’d end up in bed before the day was out anyway, as they normally did. She was always as hungry for them as they were for her.
He continued to watch her as he ate, smiling. After a few moments, Dani tilted her head inquisitively. “What are you thinking?”
“I was just remembering the first time I saw you.”
She blushed, faintly, and his cock jerked again. He adored the fact that after all this time, and everything they’d done together, she could still be shy about the way he and his brothers responded to her.
“You’ve never told us,” Giovanni said from where he lounged against the counter. “It must have been at the university?”
“Yes. The first day of the semester, I was watching the new students come in, and there she was.”
He advanced slowly toward her. The tinge of color on her cheeks deepened, but she held his gaze as he approached. Beautiful, bashful and bold, their woman.
“I wanted to send all the other students away and lock you in with me. Make love to you right there on the classroom floor. But I knew, even with that first glance, that you deserved more than my lust.”
“I would have been pretty happy with your lust,” she admitted. “You were so far out of my league that I never would have expected more.”
“Daniela.” She’d shared with them, a little, about all the men who’d disappointed her before she met the Bestias. Sometimes, Matteo wanted to track all those men down and punch them in the face, one by one. “I wish you would value yourself as much as we do.”
To his shock, her eyes filled with tears. “Dani? What is it?”
She shook her head. “It’s fine. I’m sorry.”
He drew her close, his brothers joining in so that she was surrounded by them, their arms, their strength, their love. “What is it, dolcezza?” Giovanni said. “Have we done something? Nonna Sofia hasn’t bothered you, has she?”
Dani let out a half-laugh, half-sob. “No. Everything’s fine. I’m just emotional.”
Matteo exchanged a glance with his brothers. “Do you miss your parents?” he ventured. The elder Fentons just been with them for a visit, leaving a few days ago.
She laid a hand on his cheek, smiling at him fondly. “You all take such good care of me. I’m fine, really. I just … well, I wasn’t going to tell you until later.”
“Tell us what?” Fiero demanded.
Dani looked around at all of them and took a deep, trembling breath. “I’m pregnant.”
“Pregnant?” Matteo felt as if the floor were tilting out from under him. “We’re having a baby?”
The next moment, the kitchen was filled with raucous shouts. On his brother’s faces, he saw the same stunned joy that filled him. They all hugged her again, kissing her in turn, too overcome to speak.
“What are you doing baking?” Fiero demanded at last. “You should be resting.”
She sent him a look. “I’m a little tired, but I’m fine. I rested earlier.”
He scowled in mock ferocity. “We’ll be taking care of you from now on. We’ll be getting you anything you need.”
Dani laughed. “You already do that.”
Matteo tilted her chin up and kissed the tip of her nose. “We love to indulge you because you are you, and because you are ours. But now you are giving us a child, which calls for new heights of pampering. You must allow us this, Daniela.”
With that, they escorted her into the next room, seating her in their most comfortable chair, with her feet up. Fiero brought her the rest of her slice of bread, Giovanni heated water for a cup of tea, and Matteo slipped off her shoes and massaged her feet.
“You know I’m not going to argue with foot massages,” Dani told him with a grin.
“It is my pleasure.” He held her gaze. “I love you, Daniela.”
“I love you, Matteo.”
Her eyes shone with moisture again, but this time it didn’t alarm him. Or not as much, anyway. “You must tell us your cravings,” he announced. “I understand ice cream is a common one.”
“Bring on the gelato! But no pickles,” Dani said. She made a face. “I hate pickles.”
Their soft laughter rippled through the room.
***
Fiero woke early. He and his brothers were sprawled with Dani in their oversized bed, the way they always slept. Raising his head, he looked over at her, still slumbering on her side, Giovanni’s arm around her waist, his hand over her stomach.
“When is the baby due?” Giovanni had asked last night.
“Not for months yet. So don’t worry; I’ll be able to do all my normal activities.”
The men exchanged glances before Fiero asked, cautiously, “All of them?”
“Yes,” Dani said firmly. “The baby’s tiny at this stage. You can’t hurt her.”
“Her?” Matteo repeated.
Dani had smiled and shrugged. “Just a hunch. It could be a boy, or, seeing as you three are the fathers, more than one baby.”
Fiero hoped it was just one. Their mother had had a remarkably easy time birthing three boys, but why take chances?
Despite her assurances, they hadn’t made love last night, all of the men adjusting to the idea of the new life growing inside her. Now, in the first rays of dawn, Fiero had the urge to crawl over to her, shove his brother’s arm away, and fuck Dani like a rutting animal.
Scowling at himself, he tried to decipher the feelings behind the impulse. Dani was his muse, the inspiration for all his best work. She was always present, one way or another, even in the sculptures that seemed the most purely abstract in shape.
Did he fear losing that? Was some primitive part of him trying to lay claim to what she meant to him, baby or no baby?
But of course, Dani was much more than an influence on his art. She was friend, companion, lover, a wife in all but the legal sense. More, she was the lodestar who brought him and his brothers together.
His mind flashed back to the first time he’d seen her. At work in the US on his coming exhibition, he’d been frustrated with a particular piece, sworn at it, then turned to find a woman in his studio. She’d captivated him from the start, a curvy, unwitting temptress with her shy sensuality.
He’d wanted to seduce her, court her, ravish and idolize her, all at once. And, except for the idolizing – which was incompatible with loving a real human person as they were, faults and all – he’d done a pretty good job of fulfilling those desires ever since.
His awareness tingled, and he looked over to see Dani awake and watching him, smiling, her face serene. Need roared to life inside him, a firestorm he had no hope of resisting. Her expression changed as she registered the look in his eyes, and she held out a hand to him without a word.
Fiero made his way to her as she slipped away from Gio’s grasp, reaching under her flimsy nightie to test her readiness. She was wet, slippery, as if she’d been dreaming about them all night.
There was no finesse, no elaborate foreplay. He shoved the silky fabric up out of the way, positioned himself between her spread thighs, and slid slowly inside.
Only when he was buried in her balls deep did he stop, eyes closed, his forehead pressed to hers, his hands laced with hers. He stayed that way for long moments, even as he sensed his brothers stirring on either side of him.
When he finally looked at her, she cradled his face in her hand, and he saw in her eyes infinite love. She understood, somehow, even better than he did, what was wrong (and nothing, really, was wrong … but still).
He loved her with slow, deep strokes, drawing things out. Normally, if they were all together, they all participated, but this time his brothers watched, letting him take what he needed.
Only when she glided up and over into a long, trembling climax did his thrusts grow rougher, more urgent, until, a few moments later, he buried himself in her a final time and let go, and almost wept with the beauty of it.
Face hidden in her neck, stunned by his own emotion, Fiero gave himself a moment before he lifted his head and kissed her softly. “All right, bella?”
“Very all right.”
“I love you.”
“I know. I love you.” Dani’s smile was tender, but then she added, “And I need you. All of you. I will never forgive you if you force me to have a celibate pregnancy.”
The room’s strange mood dissolved in laughter. “We hear and obey,” Giovanni said with a grin. “But first, breakfast.”
It was while they were downstairs in the kitchen that the idea came to Fiero. “Be right back,” he said – a phrase he’d picked up while he was in the US – and went out to his studio.
He was no painter, but a crude sketch would preserve the creative spark until he could do a study. A woman, heavily pregnant, her arms encircling her abdomen, her head bowed. A madonna in repose, sacred and profane, miraculous and mundane. His own private goddess.
It would be beautiful, he knew already. Powerful. Clients would clamor for more, but this piece would be one of a kind.
Like Daniela.
***
A week later, Giovanni woke in the night with the sense of something amiss, and realized that Dani was not in bed. Moving quietly so as not to disturb his brothers, he rose, pulled on a robe, and went downstairs.
He found her on the terrace, looking out at the sea. “Couldn’t sleep?” he said, wrapping his arms around her waist.
“It’s too early for the baby to be bothering me. I usually sleep like a tranquilized log.” She laughed softly. “Not tonight, for some reason.”
They stood in silence, punctuated only by the distant sound of the waves below, until Giovanni dropped a kiss on her shoulder. It could have signaled anything – love, comfort, contentment – but in response, Dani took one of his hands and lifted it to cup her breast.
Since her declaration the week before, the brothers had taken her to bed several times, but it was different now; they all felt it. The connections among them were deeper, as the inescapable fragility of life and the undeniable force of love wove themselves together into delicate, multicolored threads with tensile strength.
He flicked his thumb over her nipple, drawing a moan, and kissed up her neck to her ear. “How do you want it?” he murmured, nibbling her earlobe, plucking at her stiffened peak until she quivered in his arms.
“Right here. Take me, Gio.”
Dani’s voice was deep, throaty, going straight to his cock, but he didn’t let himself lose control. “Have we been too careful with you this week, love?”
Her soft laugh held a rueful note. “Maybe a little.”
His other hand glided under the hem of her gown, and finding her flesh slick and swollen, he coated his fingertips to draw the wetness up over her clit. “It’s hard for us to fuck you like a porn star when we need to cherish you.”
“Why can’t you do both?” she demanded, and then, gasping, “Yes – like that.”
His thumb pressed her clit while he worked two fingers inside her, his other hand shifting to her neglected breast. “We can, sweetness. We will. But the balance has shifted a bit, hm? Be patient with us. Another few weeks, and we’ll have you back in bondage gear.”
Dani giggled, as they’d never played that way, then moaned again. “Now, Gio. Please.”
“All right, dolcezza mia.” Giovanni waited while she spread her legs and braced herself with her hands on the railing; then he opened his robe, lifted her nightie, lined himself up with her entrance, and sank inside.
She was perfect, hot and wet and tight, her pussy clenching around his cock. He couldn’t deny the need to protect her, an instinct he knew his brothers shared. He wanted to make love to her slowly, tenderly, with exquisite patience … but he didn’t think she’d let him.
Sure enough, it was only a few moments before she said, “Gio.” It was a warning and an entreaty, both.
“Tell me what you need, dolcezza.”
“You already know.” She pressed back against him, impatient.
“Fuck you like a porn star?”
“Yes. Please.”
“All right.” He wasn’t sure he could. The change her news had wrought in his emotions … it was difficult to explain.
Life was precious; Dani was irreplaceable. He wanted to guard her from the whole world, keep her hidden at home until the baby was born.
But that wasn’t how it worked. She was strong, he knew that, like his mamma and his nonna. It was one of the things he loved about her.
He needed to trust in her strength, the way she trusted him and his brothers.
“Gio,” she whispered. He’d gone still, holding himself deep inside her.
“I love you, Daniela.”
“I love you, Giovanni Bestia.”
Her use of his full name freed something in him. He began to move, slowly at first, then more strongly, watching her reactions.
With every thrust, she arched back against him, silently begging for more. Trust. He gave her more, until he was fucking her with hard, steady strokes.
“Yes, yes, fuck yes, don’t stop.” There was the telltale note in her voice that signaled she was getting close, and now the need to bring her pleasure warred with his caution. He sped up until he was pounding her, but even now he watched, ready to wrench himself away from her at the first sign of distress.
Not until she came, and kept coming, her cries swallowed up by the distant surf, did he let go, surging into her until his balls drew up and lightning shot down his spine and he poured himself out, her pussy milking him for every drop.
When he was drained, he bent over her, nuzzling her neck. “All right, sweetness?”
“Perfect. Thank you.”
A slight sound drew his attention and he turned his head to see Matteo standing in the doorway, watching them. “How long have you been there?”
“Long enough.” He was in the shadows, and Giovanni couldn’t see him clearly, but he knew how much wood he’d be sporting if he’d just watched one of his brothers with Dani.
“Matteo.” Dani leaned back against his chest and held out a hand, and Matteo came and took it. “I’m not even a little bit tired.”
Matteo chuckled, then raised his eyebrows at his brother. “How about you?” They’d mostly been with Dani one on one this past week, another change in their routine.
“Did you bring the lube?” Giovanni asked, testing the waters.
“There’s always lube somewhere nearby,” Dani said, and that settled it.
A few minutes later, seated on a lounge chair inside, Giovanni held Dani’s hips while she positioned her fluted entrance over his cock and let gravity carry her gradually down. When her ass met his balls, they lay back as Matteo approached.
He teased her clit with the tip of his cock until she was panting, then parted her slippery flesh and eased inside her. “Oh, god, yes,” Dani groaned as his cock filled her pussy an inch at a time. “You feel so good.”
The brothers’ movements synchronized effortlessly as they stroked slowly in and out of her, Giovanni working her clit, Matteo feasting on her breasts. When Dani gasped and tightened around them as an endless string of orgasms began, they didn’t stop. They’d all lost track of time when the brothers finally came, simultaneously, pumping her full of their hot seed.
Dani wrapped her arms around Matteo and held him close, showing no desire to disengage, so the three of them stayed where they were for long minutes, the brothers murmuring to her, stroking her skin, kissing her mouth and her neck.
“Now I’ll be able to sleep,” she said at last, and they made their way upstairs to their bedroom.
“Welcome back,” Fiero said wryly.
Dani grinned. “Scratch that. I’m not quite ready yet.”
It was much later before they all slept again.
***
“Now,” said the midwife.
“Push, Dani. Push!” Matteo urged.
“I AM PUSHING!”
Dani’s pregnancy had been flawless, problem-free, and they’d all attended the birthing classes together, so the men were ready for the realities of childbirth.
Or so they thought, until it was time for their baby to be born.
Outwardly, they were doing everything they’d been taught, coaching her through it. Inwardly … Matteo was pretty sure they all wished they could puke, or maybe cry. He was in awe of his woman, and terrified for her, wishing he could take all her pain into his own body.
“Again,” ordered the midwife.
Dani’s yell as she complied bordered on a scream. The brothers had been trading off, two of them at a time surrendering their hands to be squeezed until it felt like she’d crush the bones. Right now, it was Fiero and Giovanni, and both of them had sweat beaded on their foreheads.
“Almost there,” the midwife encouraged. “One more push.”
With a roar, Dani pushed … and Matteo caught the small form that emerged. “A little girl,” he said, his voice cracking. “We have a little girl.”
Dani whimpered. “She’s not through,” said the midwife. “There’s another one coming.”
***
“Two girls,” Fiero said some time later. “Beautiful, like their mamma.”
The babies had been fed, and now they slept, and so did their exhausted mother. The brothers stood together, watching them. “I’m not sure we can ask her to go through that again,” Giovanni said quietly.
“Two is plenty,” Fiero said. “But it’ll be her choice, yeah?”
“Always,” Matteo agreed.
A few moments later, Giovanni said, “They’re going to have us wrapped around their little fingers.”
His brothers laughed softly in agreement.
The babies and their mother slept on, safe and loved.
©Stephanie Brother 2021
