The Cove

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Who's Who in this chapter?

BARRY: A brawny oversexed manual laborer who's in a three-way love with Beau and Kale; the deep feelings he feels and the tangled relationship he's into makes him unsecure and uneasy, feeling a sort of 'third wheel'.
BEAU: The refined and wealthy boss of the Cove. He recently found out, much to his own surprise, how deeply he loved Barry, and incredibly proposed to him, despite being already married to Kale.
KALE: A poised, sensible Hawaiian counselor; he tries his best to make the 'three-way couple' with Beau and Barry work, but it's not easy, especially because he and Beau are married to each other, but Barry is not.
WAHKAN: An ageless, wise Sioux who doesn't need any 'useless word' to understand a man's deepest thoughts.
LaCOUR and MARCO: The serious Creole Butler and the irrepressible Italian chef at Maison de la Motte.

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Synopsys

Beau proves that his proposal is far from being a joke. The three grooms joyfully celebrate in bed, but the tension between Beau and Barry is still high. At Maison de la Motte, hunky chef Marco eases LaCour's panic with a show-off of masculinity.

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Additional downloads (PDF)

~ Cast of Characters: the complete “Who’s Who” of the Cove!
~ Floor Plan of the Cove
~ Book 01: Chapters 01-10 (PDF with bookmarks)
~ Book 02: Chapters 11-20 (PDF with bookmarks)
~ Book 03: Chapters 21-30 (PDF with bookmarks)
~ Book 04: Chapters 31-39 (PDF with bookmarks)

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≈ CHAPTER 39 – THREE-WAY MARRIAGE ≈

 

~ Love and Law ~

The silence, in the dining room of the Cove, was so deep that one could hear a fly go by. Beau’s unexpected and incredible proposal was still echoing around: “Barry, will you marry me?”

Barry’s reaction shocked everyone even more, when the rude worker shouted, furious: “Fuck you, man! This is not funny! I guess you’re proud of poking fun at me in such a masterful way, no? Well done, such a nice speech just to make fool of me! Go fuck yourself, you and your tinfoil ring!”

He angrily threw his glass on the wall, shattering it in a thousand pieces, and then headed to the staircase, growling unrepeatable curses. At the end of the first flight of stairs, Barry fleetingly looked back, and saw Beau still on one bent knee: the deep pain he spotted in his eyes made his heart flutter and his anger waver.

He turned around and slowly came back downstairs, with an astonished expression: “You’re serious!”

Beau stood up, but didn’t close the velvet box containing the engagement band. “I can’t be more serious than this. I could never make a joke of such a subject, and… I could never be that cruel to you.”

Barry’s mind started running in circles, unable to get a grip on what was happening and what Beau was saying. The answer, for him, could be only one: “Fuck man, what you’re proposing is illegal in this state, you know? In all the fifty states, actually, and the rest of the Western world! Where’d you get such a crazy idea? A three-way marriage just can’t exist!”

“You’re right, the law doesn’t condone polygamy” – Beau replied, serious – “but what is a marriage? It’s a sincere vow to love and respect each other for the life, and no law can ever forbid me to make such a vow. And then there are several rights and obligations that come with the marriage: the right to inherit from your husband, the right to decide on his behalf if for whatever reason he can’t speak for himself, the right to visit him in hospital and in jail, the obligation to take care of him and share your life with him for better and worse. These are legal rights and obligations that can exist even outside of a lawful marriage: I’ve talked to my lawyer Sterling and Judge Garcìa, and it can be done. We’ll sign some papers, that will define our mutual rights and obligations; but the most important thing, the sincere vow to love you and respect you till death do us part… I don’t need no paper or officiant to make it. What about you?”

“I don’t need them either” – Barry replied, still a bit shocked, but thrilled by the infectious excitement he spotted in Beau’s eyes.

“OK, then!” – Beau exclaimed happily, falling again on his knee – “Where were we? Oh, right: Bartholomew Roland Watts, will you marry me?”

“Aren’t you forgetting something?” – boomed Kale’s voice before Barry could give his answer. All the eyes turned to him, and the silent question in those many eyes was the same: “Now what??”

Kale stood up and moved next to Beau and Barry, who looked at him anxiously. “I… I’m sorry, Kale…” – Beau murmured, contrite – “Maybe I should’ve talked with you about this…”

“Shhh…” – Kale shushed Beau, looking down at him with loving eyes – “Haven’t you talked enough for tonight? Anyway, I loved every single word you said. But still, this is supposed to be a crazy, unprecedented and never-heard-before three-way marriage, so let’s do things properly…”

Kale looked up at Barry, smiled at him and slowly bent a knee in front of him: “Barry… whatever is your full name… will you marry us?”

The answer was not long in coming, and was in pure Barry style: “Fuck yeah…!”

A thunderous ovation exploded in the room, and the three men were submerged by a tidal wave of hand-shakings, pats on the shoulders, kisses and hugs. With some difficulties, due to the chaos, Beau managed to take the engagement ring from the box and put it on Barry’s finger; and then he looked at Kale and took away his own wedding band: “I will wear it again when the three of us will be properly married”. Kale smiled and did the same.

“Well, there is a first time for everything, I guess…” – Barry then said, when the loud cheers trailed off, and Beau laughed: “Indeed! A three-way marriage doesn’t happen any day!”

“Yeah, but I was not talking about the marriage…” – Barry replied – “It’s the first time ever that I have two gorgeous men kneeling in front of me and I keep my pants on!”

“Barry!!” – Kale exclaimed, feigning a shocked reaction, but his exclamation was overcome by the thunderous laughter that exploded in the room.

 

~ Three-way celebrations ~

Barry averted his gaze from the gold band shining at his finger and looked at Kale with a fiercely determined chin: “Man, if you’re thinking to bullshit like no sex until the marriage, forget it! I’ve never bought anything sight unseen, and I want to test-drive your attitude to fulfil your marital duties!”

“You already know well my ‘attitude’, Barry!” – Kale laughed, while the muscular worker dragged him across the room to the staircase – “Beau! Don’t leave alone with this beast in heat! Help!!”

Laughing merrily, the three men went upstairs, to Barry’s room, and in a matter of seconds Barry was already naked, sporting a huge hard-on that would’ve scared many men… but certainly not Kale or Beau. Barry started ‘helping’ Beau undress, almost ripping his clothes away, and when he was naked, Barry roughly pushed him down to the bed: “I don’t know how you do your sneaky tricks, making people unknowingly fall for you, but you’re going to pay hard for it!”

Beau’s heart thumped so hard that almost jumped out of his chest: he knew well that he was up for a wild treatment, but that savage sexual outburst was exactly what made Barry so irresistible in Beau’s eyes.

For a moment Beau considered whether he had to take the lube from the nightstand, but he was not given a choice: with a low grunt, Barry forcefully raised one of Beau’s legs up and shoved his humongous tool straight into Beau’s ass.

“PUTAIN!!” – Beau screamed, unprepared to be split open so mercilessly – “Barry!  Merde!!”

“Yeah, I love to fuck the French out of you” – Barry replied with a fiery gaze, pounding hard Beau’s ass – “and tonight I’m going to open your ass so wide that it won’t ever tighten again!”

Despite the menacing threat, spoken only to enjoy the sudden fear on Beau’s face, Barry didn’t really want to hurt Beau, of course, and his hips slowed down to a gentle fuck, while his hands started caressing and scratching Beau’s torso, playing with his blonde body hair and his stiff nipples. Barry was a master at his art, and made Beau pass from the initial moment of pain and fear to a state of pure bliss.

“You’re so fucking gorgeous…” – Barry murmured while his rod drilled deep into Beau’s body with long confident thrusts – “You once asked me why I often come and give you a ‘punishment’ fuck… It’s because you’ve always been too handsome, too refined, too French for me, and yet I couldn’t help but feel attracted to you…”

“Have you ever heard me complain?” – Beau replied with rugged breath, his disheveled hair falling in locks on his face – “You’ve always been too forceful, too endowed, too rough for me, but I couldn’t help but fly around you like a moth to the light…”

Barry felt boosted by Beau’s words: though in a joking way, Barry had just confessed his deep sense of inferiority toward Beau, but realizing how much alluring he was in Beau’s eyes fueled his passion, and he started pumping his cock harder into Beau’s tight chute.

After a short while, he stopped, panting, and pulled out. “Turn around, stud!” – he barked to Beau – “I want to fuck you doggy-style!”

Beau didn’t even think for a moment not to comply, though he didn’t like that position, because he couldn’t look at his lover, and it was kind of demeaning for him, as if he was no more than a hole to fuck; but while assuming the position, he actually felt thrilled to be such a tease for Barry, and his excitement grew even more when Barry said in a stern voice: “Kale, come and help me spit-roasting this sexy stud!”

Barry, concentrated in fucking Beau, heard Kale move to the bed and kneel on the mattress, and he almost couldn’t believe to what was happening, when he felt Kale’s stiff cock, thoroughly lubed, sneak between his own buttocks, in search of his secluded portal.

“’Fuck you doin’??” – Barry growled nervously: of all the men, Kale was the last he could expect to fuck him. Him! The ‘toppest’ guy of the Cove!

Kale wasn’t scared nor discouraged by Barry’s tone, not in the least. He threw and arm around Barry’s belly, to have a better grip, and started pushing his hips forward, making his stiff cock inexorably plunge into Barry’s hairy hole. “If this is a three-way marriage” – Kale said softly – “we have the same rights and obligations…”

“Fuck…!” – Barry grumbled, and Kale, with a swift move, shoved the rest of his cock all the way into Barry’s ass: “Yeah, that’s exactly what I’m going to do, stud…”

The love train set in motion, and Beau had to steady himself on the headboard, to withstand the combined thrusts of the two men. Despite the initial nervous reaction, Barry quickly realized that Kale was doing his best to give him the greatest pleasure possible: in a way, though fucking Barry in the ass, Kale was servicing him, was worshipping his manly body, pressing his inner buttons in the most sensual way. What Kale was pursuing was not his own pleasure, but Barry’s, and the message was even more obvious when Kale’s fingers started brushing on Barry’s hairy chest, playing with his meaty nipples and exploring the creases of his muscular abs. 

There was a burning desire, in those fingers, that left to Barry no doubts that he still was the ‘toppest’ man of the Cove. And when Barry felt Kale’s lips tenderly kiss the nape of his neck, he couldn’t restrain a whine of pleasure and murmured: “I love you Kale… You’re just wonderful…”

 

~ The ‘normal’ order ~

Kale smiled tenderly and slowed down, to then pull off: “This three-way fuck is extremely exciting and pleasurable, but it’s time to restore the normal order of things, don’t you think so?”

He lay down on the mattress, on his back, with his head hanging out from one side, and held his own legs up and apart, offering his entire body to his lovers in the most enticing way. Both Beau and Barry hastily moved on the bed, to get to Kale’s splayed ass, and their rivalry made Kale smile wide: “Barry, it’s only fair that Beau, too, gets his share of tender flesh… Come on, don’t make that face… I grant you that the other end won’t be less pleasurable for you…”

With these words, Kale reclined his head off the bed, straightening his throat, and his position was so vulnerable that Barry, pointing his thick meat to the wide-open mouth, faltered for a moment: “Are you sure, man? This isn’t an easy cock to take…”

“Try me, stud…” – Kale replied seductively, and grabbed with his hands Barry’s thighs, pulling him to gulp down his cock. While Beau was easing his manhood in and out of Kale’s warm canal, Barry with great caution pushed his beer-can thick cock into Kale’s mouth, inch by inch, until he felt the wide helmet press against Kale’s throat muscles; he checked his lover to be sure he was fine, and then gently pushed the stiff rod all the way in.

“Ooohhh…” – Barry moaned, won by the pleasure radiating from his cock and from the exciting sight of Kale’s throat bulging out to accommodate the huge intruder. He pulled out and then pushed again in, looking with marveled eyes the overstretched throat bulging out again: he could almost see his own cock moving back and forth into Kale’s throat!

Kale was keeping his hands on Barry’s thighs, in case he needed to breath or started chocking, but he went on gracefully taking the big cock down his throat like a pro: even Charlie would’ve been proud of him!

Barry, sure that Kale was fine, started pumping his cock in and out with long thrusts, mesmerized by the sight of Kale’s throat expanding and tightening around his cock. And the worker’s excitement grew even more when Kale took one of Barry’s hands and placed it on his throat, to add more pressure and give a greater pleasure to the engorged cock shifting back and forth.

“Aww… fuck!” – Barry exclaimed, feeling under his very hand his own cock rhythmically stretch Kale’s throat – “Fuck, this is insane… Shit, it’s too hot to bear… Awww… yeah! FUCK YEAH!!!”

With one last mighty push, Barry mindlessly shoved his entire cock into Kale’s mouth and pressed hard his hand on his throat, while pouring a river of man cream into his lover’s mouth. Suddenly Kale realized he could hardly breathe, and started squirming; he could just push Barry away, but he suddenly felt so completely owned by that manly stud that his cock throbbed hard and exploded in a massive ejaculation, shooting long ropes of thick juice up in the air. Kale’s frantic anal contractions ignited a fire into Beau’s loins, throwing him into the abyss; Beau’s loud moans of pleasure coupled with Barry’s, and for long moments the room resonated of rugged sighs, howls and grunts, while the three men emptied their balls to the last drop.

When finally Barry pulled out of Kale’s mouth, the Hawaiian gasped hard, in need of air; “Are you OK, buddy?” – Barry said, worried, looking at Kale’s teary eyes and his face, reddened by the exertion and the lack of air. Beau, at the sight of Kale’s distressed expression, felt suddenly angry toward Barry: “Motherf…”

“NO!” – Kale said aloud, raising on his knees to face Beau – “No, my love, there’s nothing to blame Barry for. I’m a grown man, and I know how far I can bring myself during sex. I’m perfectly fine. And even if I wasn’t, it’s not up to you to defend me. It’s important, Beau! If we want this marriage to work, we all must be careful: sometimes a single word is one too many…”

“Are… are you really fine, Kale?” – Beau asked tenderly, caressing Kale’s face and wiping his tears. “I’m perfectly fine, husband” – Kale replied and kissed him. Then he turned around and smiled at Barry: “As said, I’m perfectly fine… soon-to-be husband!” – and gave to Barry, too, a long tender kiss.

Now heartened, Barry recoiled and flashed to Kale a randy grin: “Fuck, man, that act is something else! But don’t think to be even with me, stud! Next time, your ass is grass!”

Beau laughed and winked at Barry: “And yours, too!”

“Yeah, it’ll be my gift to you for our golden wedding anniversary!” – Barry replied, and they all laughed merrily, rolling on the bed in a mess of limbs and mouths.

 

~ Hurry up! ~

The next day, at Maison de la Motte, the butler LaCour had just got out of bed when he received a phone call from Beau. By the time Beau finished talking, LaCour was almost panicking, but not a trace of his inner turmoil transpired from his voice when he replied: “Of course Sir. Count on me, Sir.”

LaCour shut his phone in such an anxious state that he went out to the corridor without even wearing his uniform, but barely covered by his short silk robe. He ran downstairs and crashed into the kitchen, where chef Marco was starting to prepare breakfast.

“Marco!!” – he said aloud, with a tone tinged with desperation – “I’m not sure what’s going on, but Mr. Rice-Duncan said… he’s getting married! Again!!”

“Uh! Are you surprised?” – Marco replied, with a lustful sigh – “Have you looked at him? He’s such a stallion… One man is not enough for him…”

“He can have an entire harem, if he wants, but in the meantime we have to set up another wedding party! Here at Maison de la Motte! In two days!! Merde! We’ll never make it… There are so many things to do, and there’s no time, there’s not enough time, Marco!!”

The Italian chef looked at the anxious butler, nervously holding close his thin silk robe without much success, and flashed a randy smile. “Yeah, we’ve waited way too long…” – he growled, looking straight at LaCour – “I should’ve done this long ago!”

He roughly pushed LaCour to the adjoining washroom, a small room almost completely filled by a large dishwasher and a tall shelf full of cleaning supplies. He grabbed the butler by his waist and effortlessly raised him up, making him sit on the dishwasher; then, with a rough tug, ripped open LaCour’s robe, revealing his gorgeous tanned body.

“Wh… What… Marco, you don’t…” – LaCour faintly murmured, taken aback by the chef’s sudden and daring move; looking at Marco’s dark eyes, LaCour had no doubt what his intentions were, and his cock jolted to a semi-hard state. Truth to be told, the Italian stallion had always been a tease for LaCour, but he felt uncomfortable with his blatant approach to sex and his questionable sexual puns. “Marco, didn’t you hear me??” – he said with urgency – “There’s no time!”

“Oh, if you want just a quickie, OK…” – Marco replied, opening the fly of his pants without even unbuttoning them, and taking out his already stiff cock. Feverishly fumbling with his own tool as he was, Marco didn’t notice the hurt expression suddenly veiling LaCour’s beautiful green eyes.

LaCour’s mind was running in circles, he felt like he had completely lost control of the situation, but one thing he was sure of: “Marco, no… Please, not this way… You make me feel like a cheap slut…” – he said under his breath, slightly reclining on the dishwasher – “Take away your pants, open your blouse, let me see your body, your gorgeous hairy body… Let me see that you desire this as much as I do, and then… command me in all things…”

Marco was hit by the unexpected plea coming from the usually confident, almost arrogant butler, and quickly complied, unbuttoning his blouse and dropping his pants; he stood still for a moment, in a manly pose, enjoying the now lustful glare burning into LaCour’s eyes, and then, without further ado, he raised the butler’s legs and pressed his engorged cock on his wrinkled exposed hole.

When Marco pushed his thick member, wetted with just some spit, into his hole, LaCour uttered a chocked scream: tense as he was, he’d tried to relax his ass muscles, but it wasn’t enough to accommodate Marco’s substantial girth. Sure enough, Marco could’ve have paused for a moment, could’ve been more caring to LaCour, but he went on impaling the tanned butler, keeping him on the verge of his pain threshold, but without pushing him too far. LaCour almost held his breath while the long, thick tool invaded his insides, and let out a loud sigh when he finally felt Marco’s curly pubes tickling his ass cheeks.

 

~ ‘Beg me’ ~

Marco put LaCour’s legs over his shoulders, gaining an unobstructed access to his deepest depths, and explored them with confident, powerful thrusts, making LaCour bounce on the dishwasher and rejoicing his occasional whines of discomfort and squeals of pleasure. The Creole butler had been such a tease for Marco since they met, but the chef was a bit intimidated by LaCour’s British aplomb, his French class and his Creole beauty. That’s why, at first, he had been a bit forceful and uncaring: he wanted to humiliate him and bring him down from his pedestal. But now, looking at the handsome man out of his formal uniform, with his hair disheveled and a feverish glare in his gaze, Marco slowed down, and started maneuvering his man tool in a masterful way: his only desire, now, was to pleasure LaCour, make him squirm and gasp for the sexual high… and make a show of his sexual prowess, all the while.

“Ti piace il mio cazzo, eh? You like my cock, don’t you?” – Marco growled with a great confidence and a sly grin, easing his stiff rod in and out of LaCour’s chute with long strokes – “I know you can’t get enough of it… This slab of Italian meat is second to none… Tell me you want to be split open by my cock…!”

“Nnngghh…! Marco, please…” – LaCour whined, embarrassed by Marco’s dirty talking, but lost into the sweet sensations that his cock was giving him.

“Say it! Say that you love to feel your hole drilled and stretched by my big Italian cock!” – Marco insisted, basking in the subtle pleasure of forcing LaCour to surrender to the physical pleasure despite the discomfort caused by his foul language.

LaCour tried hard to keep some dignity, but the expert inner massage he was subjected to was incredible. At each thrust of the fiery rod he felt the pressure in his groin raise, until he couldn’t hold himself anymore: “Sacrebleu…! This is insane… Aaahh… Fuck me, Marco! Stretch me, fill me, open me wide, but make me cum…”

Marco’s cock sped up, crashing into LaCour’s depths over and over, making the butler delirious: “Oui! Oui!! Don’t stop! Don’t stop!! I’m about to cum… Awww, fuck, YES!!! YES!!”

One split second before LaCour could reach the climax, Marco shoved his thick member all the way inside the tender canal and wickedly stopped, piercing the butler with a lustful glance. “No! No!! Don’t stop!! I’m almost there!!” – LaCour screamed, on the verge of exploding but unable to do it; instinctively, he moved his hand to grab his own cock and throw himself over the edge, but Marco slapped his hand away: “No, mister! Not until I’ve flooded your ass with my manly juice…”

“Then do it, Marco!” – LaCour almost screamed for the sexual tension – “Cum into my ass! Breed me! Fill me with your seed!”

“Beg me.”

“I beg you!! Cum, Marco! Cum inside me!! And then let me cum, please!”

Marco flashed a sly grin and didn’t move: not a single muscle in his entire body twitched or spasmed, except his eyes, that for a moment half-closed. Suddenly LaCour felt Marco’s cock, firmly planted deep inside him, pulse obscenely and pump gallons of man cream inside him.

The blatant display of total control Marco was giving, cumming almost on demand, without even moving, sent LaCour through the roof, and his cock become a fire hose at open throttle and started shooting long plumes of thick man milk that landed almost everywhere around them. Marco’s hand quickly curled around LaCour’s spurting cock and started stroking it in earnest, causing the already intense pleasure to become almost unbearable: “PUTAINNNN!!!!” – the butler screamed, bucking wildly, while the strong involuntary contractions of his ass muscles milked Marco’s cock of the last few drops of semen.

When the intense orgasm trailed off, LaCour felt like fainting, but Marco held him in his strong arms, and for a couple minutes no one talked.

Then, Marco flashed a knowing smile and asked: “Is the tension gone?”

“Did… Did you do that for me? To help me overcome my anxiety?”

“Well… Not only that, I have to be honest” – the chef replied, smiling – “You’re so sexy, LaCour, I’ve been longing to do that for a long time. And the time, at last, has come. But talking about time, there’s plenty, don’t worry, we can do it! You’re a war machine, when it comes to your job, and I’m sure you will set up a wonderful wedding party.”

“Marco, you’re the best” – LaCour said with a friendly smile – “Thank you, I really lost it when Mr. Rice-Duncan called me, but you put me back on tracks. But what about you? Can you make it? It’s a five course meal…”

“Well, there isn’t much time” – Marco replied, seriously – “I’m afraid the guests will have to settle with some boiled rice and fried eggs. If there’s time I will make some pudding for dessert, but I can’t grant it…”

“Merde, Marco! It’s a tragedy!! We can’t serve fried eggs and pudding at a wedding lunch!!!”

“Hahaha!!! I got you, LaCour!” – Marco laughed out loud – “Leave it to me. The guests will be delighted, granted. Had I to give up to my beauty sleep, I will make it!”

LaCour flashed a comforted smile and winked to the hunky chef: “Not even the longest beauty sleep can possibly add to your charm… So, no need to waste your time sleeping! Let’s get to work!”

 

~ Mine is better than yours ~

“Poor LaCour…” – Beau giggled ending his phone call to Maison de la Motte – “He tried his best to keep a firm tone, but I heard a streak of anxiety in his voice. After all, two days is quite a short notice to set up a wedding party… But anyway, it’s between us, right? We’re all friends, more than friends, here at the Cove, and I’m sure that if the party won’t be flawless, no one would notice, don’t you think so?”

Beau looked at Kale and Barry, still sprawled naked on the bed, after the wild night of sex they’d just spent. Kale shrugged his shoulders: he was all for simple ceremonies, and he actually would’ve liked his own marriage with Beau to be less formal. And sure enough, Kale thought, even Barry would agree on having a simple ceremony between friends, rather than a sumptuous and formal wedding party.

But Barry’s cold reply surprised Kale. “Something simple, right… Makeshift, even… After all the ‘real’ wedding has already taken place, no?”

“Well, no, I didn’t mean that…” – Beau replied, taken aback – “I just thought that you don’t like formal situations, and LaCour has already a hard job to do in just a couple days. But if you like, we can postpone the marriage and give to LaCour more time to set up a marriage even better than the… first one.”

Barry’s expression softened, but his initial coldness was replaced by a restrained uneasiness: “No, Beau, I’m sorry, I should’ve not said that. I should learn when to keep my mouth shut. After all, it’s your house, your staff and… well… your money you’re putting in this wedding, and I really shouldn’t stick my beak in it.”

Kale realized that there was a bit of tension in the air and tried to dispel the tense vibes: “Barry…” – he said seductively – “If you feel the need to stick your beak… or any other body part somewhere, I can grant you a warm and tender place…” 

“Any body part?” – the rugged worker lustfully replied, taking the bait – “Even this fist?”

“Ah! It wouldn’t be the first time! [1]” – Kale joked – “If you’re in for something wild, I won’t be the one to whimper out, stud…”

Barry seriously considered Kale’s offer, feeling his cock tingle, but then he shook his head and got off the bed: “It’s very temping, but I have to go.”

“Barry… wait…” – Beau said before the worker disappeared into the bathroom – “I want you to know… I want you to be absolutely sure that while law doesn’t allow us to get legally married, to me it doesn’t make any difference. Please believe me, buddy. There is not a ‘real’ marriage and a ‘fake’ one. They’re both as real as can be, for me.”

Barry turned around and flashed to Beau a friendly glance: “I know, Beau. Problem is, I still have to convince myself… But hey, there will be a marriage in a couple days, no?” – Barry then added, suddenly all business – “I have a million things to do!”

“You have?” – Kale said, giggling, and his mocking tone didn’t go unnoticed to Barry, who playfully retorted: “Fuck you, man! I still haven’t married you, and if you go on like this, it may never happen!”

And with that, Barry scampered to the bathroom, laughing, and threw himself under the shower. Kale got off the bed, put on his underwear and took Beau by hand: “Let’s get dressed and have some breakfast. But Beau… be careful. I know how incredibly generous you are, and I love you for that, but sometimes it may seem you are flaunting your wealth, and Barry may feel bad about that, you know how proud he is.”

“I’m sorry, I didn’t realize that what I was saying might have been misunderstood at such extent” – Beau replied, definitely not with a contrite tone – “I’m doing my best, here, and anyway I am rich, I can’t pretend not to be!”

“Ok, ok” – Kale murmured with a conciliatory tone, but feeling sorry for the tense undercurrent that still he felt between Beau and Barry – “Now, please, get dressed and meet me in the dining room: I will wait for you, so to have breakfast together, ok?”

Beau softened and flashed a tender smile: “Croissants and café? Like in Juan-les-Pins?”

“More likely pancakes and orange juice” – Kale said with a loving smile – “but if you’re with me, husband, they will be even better than croissants and café.”

They exchanged a sweet kiss on the lips and went to their rooms to shower and get dressed.

 

~ One Ring to bind them all~

Later in the day, in the afternoon, Barry came back from work earlier than usual. He entered the living room with an excited spring in his steps and said hi to Wahkan, sitting in an armchair next to the window. “Have you seen Beau and Kale?” – Barry asked, and Wahkan giggled: “No, but it’s almost five o’clock, and Beau wouldn’t miss the five o’clock tea for the world! They’ll come down in moments, you’ll see.”

Barry sat down on another chair and waited: he was impatient to show to Kale the surprise he bought for him. While waiting, he heard Gerry and Rowan come upstairs from their basement room; after a few moments, they entered the living room, chatting under their breath, and the intimate secrecy of their chat exuded a great complicity and a sweet tenderness that made Barry smile.

They crossed the room, under Barry’s gaze, and went to the butler’s room, apparently to have some privacy, but they didn’t close the door. From afar, Barry watched Rowan asking something to Gerry, with a more serious expression, as if he needed some advice, or wanted to share with his man a doubt or a sad feeling. Barry smiled with affection when he saw Gerry throw his arms around Rowan’s shoulders and hold him tight, comforting him and dispelling whatever was troubling him. 

But Barry’s affectionate smile slowly morphed into a disconsolate grin. Despite his initial turbulent relationship with Rowan, Barry always had a soft spot for him; and while he couldn’t be happier for Rowan, looking at him basking into Gerry’s protective embrace, he felt a grip on his heart.

“You have so much love to give…” – Wahkan said with a friendly tone, piercing Barry with his insightful eyes that could read into anyone’s heart – “…but Rowan can’t fill the void in your soul.”

“Fuck, no…” – Barry murmured, without averting his gaze from the tender embrace going on in the butler’s room, and then leapt on the chair: “Wait! How do you know that I… No, forget it. I’ll never get used to… this thing you do!”

“Hey, look who’s here! My favorite husband-to-be!” – came Kale’s jovial voice from the stairs, and Beau added: “Just in time for a nice cup of tea!”

“Thanks, buddy, but a cup of tea is not really… my cup of tea!” – Barry replied, and his words caused a general chuckling – “But I have something to show you! It’s supposed to be a surprise, but you know me, I’m no good at restraining myself!”

“Definitely!” – Kale laughed – “But I wouldn’t want you any other way… What is this top secret surprise that you can’t help but reveal?”

Barry flashed an almost shy smile and took a small box from his pocket: “I… I bought the wedding bands for us!”. He opened the box and there were three beautiful wedding bands, made of some dark white metal with a bluish hue that shone in the afternoon light in a charming way: “It’s brushed titanium, it’s the sturdiest metal around, nothing can break it. It’s a ring… for the life. Well, even beyond life, actually, but I have no such kinky fetish! Oh, and look, I’ve had our names engraved on the inner surfaces!”

Kale looked at the rings with marveled eyes, not only because they were beautiful, but also because he could never guess that Barry would’ve been so sweet to buy a wedding ring for him. “I’m touched, Barry…” – Kale said with a loving tone – “Your ring is beautiful, I can’t wait for you to put it on my finger…”

“Kale already has a wedding band!” – Beau suddenly said, defiantly – “and sure enough it’s not less beautiful than yours. You shouldn’t have wasted your money. Besides, I already ordered a ring for you, identical to ours, isn’t it much better?”

Barry felt hurt by Beau’s words, and reacted rising to the challenge as usual: “Damn, can’t I even provide the rings? You’re paying for everything, food, beverage, service and even the house! You’re not the only one who’s getting married here!”

“Barry! Beau! Please, don’t argue…” – Kale tried to say, but Beau ignored him: “Should I feel ashamed to be rich? Or to wish the best for Kale?”

“I too wish the best for Kale!!” – Barry shouted – “What are you implying, that I’m not… enough for him?”

“Please…” – Kale whined again, and when he realized that neither Beau nor Barry was paying him the least attention, he stepped back, forcing himself not to cry. «This crazy idea of the three-way marriage has been a mistake since the beginning!» – he thought ruefully – «It can’t work… It just can’t work!»

Wahkan, who so far had watched them from afar, rose solemnly from his armchair and walked closer to the quarreling men. Both Barry and Beau, feeling Wahkan’s piercing eyes over them, suddenly deflated and looked at the wise man, in silence.

“The hammer and the anvil fight for supremacy without realizing that neither of them can ever win…” – the ageless Sioux said with a hurting glare in his eyes – “…and who pays the price is the is tender iron, cruelly crushed between them.”

He raised Barry’s hand and pressed his own open palm on Barry’s: “You’re as strong as the strongest hammer. And you, Beau” – he added, placing his other hand on Beau’s chest – “you’re as solid as the most solid anvil. You two can fight until your last sparkle of life, but no one can ever win, until you understand that you are equals. If you really, intimately understand and accept that, you both will win. And your prize will be the most marvelous you can ever get.”

Wahkan smiled at Kale, and the men followed his gaze; their heart shrank looking at Kale’s teary eyes. Kale reciprocated Wahkan’s intense gaze and flashed an uncertain smile: “It’s you the one I should marry, Wahkan. Your word touched me so deep I can’t put it in words…”

Beau lowered his eyes to the floor, realizing once again how self-centered and stupidly proud he was. He pressed his hand on Wahkan’s, still placed on his chest, and said: “I feel so ashamed. I’m sorry, Kale, I wish I could be a better man…”

“Just saying so, you are a better man” – Kale softly replied, and Wahkan silently nodded at him, appreciating once more Kale’s wisdom and forgiveness.

 

~ Equals~

Beau flashed a faint smile at Kale’s words, and turned to Wahkan: “As always, your wisdom humbles me: what started as a… manly competition between me and Barry has become something I’m not proud of. But why did you say we have to understand we are equals? I already think that Barry and I are equals…”

“Yeah, me too!” – Barry added, a bit pissed off. “Oh, you do?” – was Wahkan’s doubtful question – “See if these words are familiar to you: ‘you’ve always been too handsome, too refined, too French for me’…”

Barry remembered to have spoken those very words while furiously fucking Beau, immediately after his marriage proposal, and lowered his eyes. “And you, Beau” – Wahkan went on – “didn’t you say to Barry, in a moment of great intimacy, ‘you’ve always been too forceful, too endowed, too rough for me’? These are not words that a man says to someone he feels equal to himself…”

Beau raised his eyes to look at Barry, and the sincere contrition he put in his glance made Barry smile warmly: “It’s OK, man. I’m just a manual laborer, after all. I’m used to such comments, I really don’t care…”

“But you should, Barry” – Wahkan added – “Because, you see, while Beau sometimes may have thought of you not to be on par with him… you thought the same. You sometimes feel inferior to Beau.”

Barry’s sudden silence gave to everyone the proof that Wahkan was right, and Kale’s heart went out to Barry, realizing for the first time how hard Barry had to fight against his insecurities since he joined the Cove, living with men who in most cases were more refined, cultured, educated and rich than him.

“Think about this, Barry…” – Kale said with a comforting tone – “When you or Beau enter a crowded room, your entrance never goes unnoticed: people stop talking and watch you, inwardly sighing and feeling thrilled. The only difference is that looking at Beau they stop talking out of respect and sigh for his classy European demeanor; while in your case people stop talking because you’re a magnetic presence, you command attention, and they sigh out of desire for you. You and Beau can’t be more different, and yet you both are on top in everyone’s eyes.”

“Top? Yeah…” – Barry said with a renewed pride in his smile – “I’m definitely a top. The ‘toppest’ guy of the Cove, as your Laniakea once said to me!”

“Well” – Kale laughed, relieved – “it’s not the kind of ‘top’ I was talking about, but in a way you nailed it!”

“As for the rings” – Beau said – “here’s what we’ll do: we’ll bring all our rings back to the jewelry shop and will choose three rings that we all like, do you agree?”

Both Barry and Kale nodded and smiled, grateful to Beau for having suggested a nice solution to this last unsolved problem.

Kale moved closer to Wahkan and gave him a light kiss on his cheek, making the usually solemn man smile like a kid: “Wahkan… You’re always as sharp as a Japanese knife, thank you for helping these two hard-headed studs settle their quarrel.” 

“Yes, thank you, my wise friend” – Beau added, giving to Wahkan a warm, respectful glance – “I can’t deny your words sometimes hurt, but when I need a strong hand to bring me back on the right path, you’re always there for me.”

 

All the eyes turned to Barry, waiting for a word of thanks for Wahkan. Barry exchanged with the Sioux an intense glance that lasted many long seconds; then Barry inhaled deeply and growled: “I wonder why so far I never fucked you…”

“Because I never let you” – Wahkan replied with a friendly smile, still keeping eye contact with him. 

Beau and Kale were puzzled, not much by Barry’s exclamation (he was Barry, after all: the man who first fucks and then says hi!), but rather by Wahkan’s serene reply. They were puzzled because they couldn’t see as clearly as Wahkan did, the deep respect, the sincere friendship and the humble thankfulness that Barry had put in his words; but Wahkan didn’t need any useless word to know what was deep in Barry’s heart.  

 

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