Letters to the Baumgarters Read online

  “I need a shower.” Being submerged in ice was my last experience with bathing, and the memory wasn’t a good one. I’d pretty much just slept in Mason’s bed since, tucked between the two of them, trying to recover from my fever.

  “We can do that,” Nico piped up, taking my other hand.

  I rolled my eyes. “I’m sure I can shower by myself.”

  “Actually, I’d like someone to supervise for a few days.” The sound of the doctor’s voice through the little lobby window startled me. He was handing a chart over to a nurse and had clearly overheard our conversation. He directed his words to Mason and Nico. “She may be unsteady on her feet for a while. Just keep an eye out.”

  Mason saluted. “Will do, Doc!”

  The doctor saluted him back and Nico laughed. We took a water-bus back to their place, although I protested.

  “I want my own bed, my own shower,” I complained. “And Cara Lucia—”

  “We’ve already told Cara Lucia all about it,” Mason assured me.

  “And I brought your books and I contacted your professors,” Nico added.

  I blinked at them. “Did you bring me underwear too?”

  “Actually…” Nico and Mason looked at each other. “We did.”

  “Then I guess you’ve thought of everything.” I grimaced, crossing my arms over my chest and watching the rain fall. I was glad we had the cover over us. It was really coming down. According to Nico, the weather had been beautiful while I was in the hospital, unseasonably warm, almost like summer, but spring had returned with a vengeance.

  Mason and Nico talked over my head—something about a football game, which really meant soccer. I was surprised Mason was interested, given his usual disdain for most sports, but from the gist of the conversation, they’d apparently watched an exciting game together while I was in surgery, and now Mason was hooked.

  “I’m going to have to go back to my flat eventually,” I argued as we got off the bus.

  It was only a few blocks to their place, but by the time we reached it, I was really starting to feel tired. Maybe I had overdone it a little bit on my first venture out.

  “You put her to bed,” Nico said to Mason as soon as we got up the stairs. “I’ll make her some lunch.”

  “But I need a shower!” I protested, nearly tripping over Jezebel, who wound herself around my feet and mewed plaintively.

  “Okay, shower first.” Mason nudged Jezebel out of the way but they all followed me to the bathroom. I stood in the doorway while Nico started the water and Mason got a towel out of the closet.

  “Thanks, you guys.” I waved them out. “I can handle it from here.”

  They exchanged looks, some sort of communication passing between them.

  “I don’t think so.” Mason shut the door, leaning against it and looking at me. It locked behind him.

  “Remember what the doctor said?” Nico reminded me.

  Mason had my shirt peeled off before I knew what was happening. Nico worked the button and zipper on my jeans, wedging them down my hips. I protested, but then my bra and panties were gone too, and they were putting me in the shower.

  “I really don’t need two babysitters.” I sighed, reaching for the soap. I could smell myself, rank and strong. How could they even stand to be in the same room with me?

  “Are you doing all right?” Nico called.

  I rolled my eyes, turning around and tilting my head back so the water could wet my hair. That’s when I nearly passed out. The whole bathtub moved, or at least I felt like it did, and I stumbled, my palms slipping on the slick tile, trying to hold onto something to keep from falling. I think I cried out, I’m not sure, but Mason was in the shower with me in an instant, still in jeans and a t-shirt, holding me up.

  “What happened?” I whispered, clinging to him.

  “You lost a lot of blood,” Nico reminded me. Not to be outdone, he’d stepped into the shower to rescue me too, still in his clothes as well.

  I looked between them and laughed. “This is ridiculous.”

  “You’re right.” Mason grinned, pulling off his t-shirt and tossing it outside the curtain. Nico followed suit, and before I knew it, they both had their jeans and boxers off too, and we were all standing there naked in the shower together.

  “You two are crazy.” I shook my head, still laughing, but I was overwhelmed with gratitude when they both grabbed a washcloth and some soap and started washing—not themselves, but me.

  “I still feel really weak,” I admitted. It was strange to have them touching me like this, together, but familiar too.

  “Let us do all the work.” Nico soaped my hair and Mason helped him rinse it, both men massaging my scalp, making me tingle.

  Then they turned their attention to my body, Nico’s big hands moving down over my back and shoulders. I giggled when he made me lift my arms so he could scrub under them from behind.

  “It’s a hard job, but somebody’s got to do it.” Mason grinned, giving up the washcloth and using his hands to soap my breasts and belly. “Sorry, buddy,” he said to Nico, looking at him over my shoulder. “I got all the fun parts.” Mason’s hand moved down between my legs, soaping me there, too. I gasped.

  “Not all of them.” Nico was close behind me and I felt his hand slip down the crack of my ass.

  “You’re bad,” I whispered, biting my lip when Nico’s soapy fingers probed gently at my asshole, Mason still cupping my mound. “Oh god.”

  “Let us take care of everything,” Mason murmured, his fingers slippery against my pussy. I buried my face in his shoulder, my arms around his neck, the warm water falling all around us, creating a cloud of steam. I felt even weaker in the shower than I had on our outing and I let them both hold me up, pressed between their flesh.

  “It feels so good,” I murmured against Mason’s neck, arching, feeling Nico’s hand probing my pussy too from behind, Mason’s from the front, both of them seeking my heat.

  “Sweet bella.” Nico kissed my wet head and I felt his cock against my ass, incredibly hard. Mason was hard too, rising up toward my navel. How could I have expected anything less? And still, it surprised me to be sandwiched between them like this, their kisses gentle on my shoulders, my cheeks, both of them saying my name.

  “I love you, Mason,” I whispered, pressing myself more fully into the circle of his arms. I glanced over my shoulder as Nico wrapped his arms around my waist, nibbling my shoulder. “I love you, Nico.”

  God help me. I did. I loved them both.

  “I’m feeling dizzy,” I said, my breath coming far too fast. They both rinsed me off and helped me out of the shower, drying me first and wrapping me up in a towel, and then themselves. They led me back to Mason’s room, to the bed. He’d changed the sheets from when I was so sick, so they were clean and fresh.

  “There you are.” Nico tucked me in, a towel still wrapped around his waist. Mason was pulling on a pair of boxers.

  “Don’t go.” I grabbed his hand, pulling him toward me.

  “I have to make lunch,” Nico said, but he slid under the covers beside me anyway, taking me into his arms.

  “Mason,” I called, reaching for him too. He pulled the covers aside and spooned me from behind. I smiled, pressed between them. “I like this.”

  That was an understatement. When we’d first been like this, I was sick, practically delirious. Now, although I was still a little weak, I was far more aware of the feel of their bodies against mine, the long press of Nico’s thigh, the grip Mason had on my hip. Neither of them could seem to keep their hands off me, roaming over my bare skin under the sheet, exploring hills and valleys.

  I arched back against Mason, wiggling my behind into the saddle of his hips, feeling the hard length of his cock tenting his boxers. He made a small noise in his throat, his fingers digging into my hip.

  “I got you both all excited,” I whispered, watching Nico’s eyes darken when I reached under his towel. He was hard too, pulsing in my hand.

  �
��You did,” Nico agreed, biting his lip, eyes half-closing in pleasure as I began to stroke him.

  “Can you blame us?” Mason kissed my shoulder, my neck, his cock wedging itself further against the crack of my behind.

  “You really should rest, bella. You’re still not well.” Nico moaned when I thumbed the head of his cock, rubbing at the frenulum, so sensitive.

  I stuck my tongue out at him. “The doctor said I could.”

  “He did?” I heard the hopeful tone in Mason’s voice and chuckled, rolling onto my back and reaching for his cock too.

  “You should still take it easy,” Nico warned, but his cock was swelling in my fist.

  “This is easy,” I murmured, drawing them both closer by tugging on their cocks. Nico had lost his towel and Mason’s boxers were pulled down, the elastic caught under his balls. I pushed the covers away so I could see, working each cock in my fist, stroking them into the crook of my thighs.

  “Oh god.” Mason groaned, cupping my breast, the one closest to him. Nico did one better, lowering his head to suck my nipple between his lips, making me whimper and squirm between them.

  “You’ve got such beautiful breasts,” Nico whispered. My flesh filled their hands, both of them thrusting against me.

  “Doesn’t she?” Mason joined him in sucking my tits, their tongues making hot, wet trails. “Oh fuck, Dani, you jerk me off so good.”

  Nico moaned against my breast, his hand finding its way down between my legs. I was still a little moist from the shower, but I was more wet from having their hard cocks in my hands, knowing how much they both wanted me. His finger moved down my slit, opening me, finding my hole.

  “Is that a good idea?” Mason frowned, watching Nico’s fingers move in and out of me.

  I moaned, rocking up against his hand. “I’d say it’s a very good idea.”

  “Are you sure?” Mason reached down, parting me with his fingers, giving Nico more room to fuck me with his.

  “Rub my clit,” I whispered to Mason, shifting my hips up. He strummed it gently, making me shiver, his cock getting bigger in my hand. They were both breathing hard, playing with my pussy and letting me stroke them, all of us finding an easy rhythm.

  “Who’s gonna come first?” I teased, thumbing the head of Mason’s cock and squeezing Nico’s tight in my fist. They both groaned against my breasts.

  “You are,” Mason panted, making fast circles over my throbbing clit. Nico redoubled his efforts too, plunging his fingers into my pussy.

  “Nuh-uh.” I gasped, jerking them faster, pointing them toward my pussy where their hands were busy trying to get me off. And they were going to succeed, sooner rather than later. Nico’s fingers squelched in my pussy, fucking me hard, and Mason was incredibly skilled, knowing just where to touch me, pushing me closer and closer to climax.

  “Oh god.” I groaned, thrashing on the bed. Their tongues made hot circles against my nipples and they glistened like dark jewels in the lamp light. “Oh yes! Yes!”

  I bucked my hips up, sure that Mason had been right—I was going to come first. His cock was stiff, Nico’s too, both of them like steel thrusting in my hands.

  “That’s it, baby,” Mason urged, looking at my face, my eyes half-closed with pleasure. “Come for me.”

  “Come for me,” Nico insisted on my other side, and I could have sworn there were a thousand fingers working between my legs, sending white-hot sparks through my limbs.

  Mason met Nico’s eyes and grinned, moving his fingers down to join Nico’s, his thumb staying on my clit. They were both fucking me now, their fingers stretching me wide.

  “Come for us,” Mason panted, thrusting hard into my fist, aiming toward my aching pussy. “Come on, baby, come for us!”

  “Yes, bella,” Nico urged. “Come for us. Come all over our hands.”

  I glanced between them and groaned, unable to hold out any longer. My pussy was on fire, the wet sound of them finger-fucking me filling the room.

  “I’m gonna come,” I whispered, glancing down to see them working my pussy over, their cocks like arrows pointing the way. “Oh yes! Yes! Make me come!”

  “Oh fuck!” Mason groaned and shoved his hips against me, his cock spewing cum all over my pussy, their fingers plunging hard and fast. “Oh my fucking god!”

  Nico moaned on the other side of me, his dick swelling in my hand and then bursting, showering my pussy with cum, shooting it so far it left ropy strings all over Mason’s cock and balls. I cried out, shuddering with astonished delight, my pussy clamping down on their fingers, a delicious flutter that spread outward from my pelvis in pulsing waves.

  “What a mess,” I gasped, laughing, looking down between my legs.

  “I have just the thing.” Nico, still out of breath, wiped his hand and cock off with the towel he’d brought to bed, handing it to me. I cleaned myself up too.

  “Were you a boy scout?” Mason asked, taking the towel and rubbing his crotch clean.

  Nico cocked his head. “What’s a boy scout?”

  I laughed, snuggling up to him.“Boy scouts must not be big in Italy.”

  “What’s a boy scout?” Nico asked again, looking over my head at Mason as he spooned me from behind.

  “Never mind.” Mason smiled, kissing the top of my head. “Let’s just get our girl down for a nap.”

  I raised an eyebrow at him. “I’m not a baby.”

  “You’re my baby.” He kissed me softly and pulled the covers up over all of us.

  I closed my eyes and drifted, safe and warm in their arms.

  * * * *

  When I woke up, I was alone, and the bed felt empty, cold, even with Jezebel curled up at my feet. I could hear them talking, the television on. I put on one of Mason’s button down shirts, buttoning it as I opened the bedroom door. They were talking in the living room. How long had I slept?

  “Hey, there she is.” Mason smiled as I came into the room, patting the sofa. Nico was on the other side of it and there was a football game on the television. “How’d you sleep?”

  “I feel like I’ve been sleeping for days.” I slipped in between them on the couch.

  “You have.” Nico smiled. “Now that you’re awake, I’ll get dinner started.”

  I raised my eyebrows. “I missed lunch?”

  “Afraid so,” Mason replied. “Some amazing pasta thing. There’s leftovers in the fridge though. If I don’t stop eating this many carbs, I’m gonna gain fifty pounds.”

  “You get used to it.” I laughed. “And you’ll get addicted to Nico’s cooking.”

  “Speaking of cooking, I’ve got to run to the market.” Nico stood, leaning over to kiss the top of my head. He glanced at Mason. “Take care of her while I’m gone.”

  “Always.” Mason’s arm went around my shoulder, pulling me closer.

  “What are you making us?” I snuggled up to Mason, watching Nico put on his jacket and shoes.

  “It’s a surprise.” He smiled. “Be right back.”

  “Do I have any real clothes?” I asked Mason, feeling his hand moving in my hair, stroking gently. “I can’t go around wearing your shirts all day.”

  “I don’t see why not.” His hand moved over my shoulder, massaging. “You’re quite fetching in them.”

  I stuck out my tongue at him. “Fetch me some clothes.”

  They’d raided my flat, bringing jeans and t-shirts and sweaters. Panties and bras too. Mason had cleared out one of his drawers for me, and just seeing our clothes together in the same dresser again made my heart almost stop. That, more than anything else, gave me pause. Were we really doing this again?

  I felt much better in my own clothes, joining Mason in the kitchen where he was cutting up an orange and boiling water for tea.

  “Vitamin C,” he said, putting the orange in front of me with a napkin. “Nico says it will help you heal.”

  “He’s a pretty amazing guy, isn’t he?” I mused, biting into the sweet, fleshy part of the orange.

  “I
guess he kinda is.” Mason sat at the table with me. “But you picked him, so I guess I shouldn’t expect anything less.”

  I smiled, watching him get up and pour water, dunking in a tea bag, thinking about this morning. Had it really happened, or was I dreaming?

  “You really scared us, you know.” Mason set the tea in front of me along with some sugar and milk. “I was afraid we might actually lose you.”

  We? I thought it, but didn’t say it.

  “I’m glad we didn’t.” He didn’t meet my gaze but I thought I saw a tell-tale shine in his eyes. “I couldn’t lose you too. Not after losing her.”

  “You did lose me once.” I stirred my tea, thoughtful.

  “Not like that.” He blinked fast. “Not forever.”

  “Yeah.” I sighed.

  “With you, at least I knew I had a chance.” His hand found mine under the table, squeezing. “With Isabella, there was no going back. She was just…gone.”

  Now I was the one blinking back tears. “I wish she wasn’t.”

  “Me too.”

  “But we could have another baby.”

  He looked at me, surprised. “We could?”

  “The doctor said we could,” I reminded him.

  “You know I’d like that.” Mason smiled. “But what about you?”

  I smiled back. “I think I’d like that too.”

  I thought for sure I saw tears in his eyes now, and he stood, heading toward the living room. “Drink your tea. Want to come watch football with me?”

  “Soccer, you mean?” I asked, joining him on the sofa.

  He scoffed. “It’s called football here in Italy.”

  “You’ll be assimilated yet,” I said with a laugh.

  “Well on my way, apparently.”

  We snuggled on the couch until Nico came in, arms loaded with groceries. I got up to help, but both men refused to let me. They tucked a blanket around my legs on the sofa and forced me to drink more tea while they worked in the kitchen. Mason acted as sous chef and I listened with great amusement as he followed all of Nico’s orders.

  “It is ready yet?” I called, taking a break from reading. “I’m starving!”

  “Pazienza!” Nico snapped. “Patience, patience!”