"So back to the beach after we fill our bellies?" asked Aaron, as soon as their food was delivered.
"They were sitting outside at a little café on the patio that had about a dozen tables.
"I think I've had enough of the sun for one day," Cassie said, as she pulled down the brim of a big floppy hat to protect her face from the sun.
"It was actually pretty fun," Monica gave her opinion. "I never imagined I'd be comfortable in front of strangers naked, but I was. However, I think we should do other things for the rest of the afternoon. We can go back tomorrow in the morning, before it gets so scorchingly hot, just like we did today."
"Sounds like a good idea to me," Dave said.
"Yeah, me too," Aaron said. "We don't need to stay on the beach all day unless we want too."
All of them talked about what they wanted to do next, while they ate their lunch.
Finally, it was decided and so they paid their check as soon as their waiter appeared leaving behind a large tip before they walked out.
Cassie got behind the wheel this time, as they had agreed to take turns driving. It was teamwork at it's best, which was something that pleased Cassie very much. Other guys she had dated had always wanted to be the driver and arguing about it just created bad feelings like resentment.
Cassie drove them to their destination using the GPS that was installed in the car.
"Now the GPS that was a rather useful invention," Monica commented. "It really helps people to find out where they want to go, especially if they are not very familiar with the streets of whatever city they're in."
"Yes, it really is a very useful device," Aaron wholeheartedly agreed.
"Especially for people like us who travel a great deal," Dave said. "We move around a lot and it is much easier to find places ever since the GPS was invented."
"It's not perfect though," Cassie said.
"That's only because they don't update the maps that are in the system very fast when buildings and streets are added, mostly side streets and out-of-the-way places. All electronics have the flaws." Dave said. "Besides, it's still very useful and that's what matters."
The others agreed just as they arrived at their destination.
~~~Dave, Monica, Aaron, Cassie~~~
"Let's go in there," Monica said pointing at the small art shop across the street. It was over a week since they had arrived
"Oh! Great idea!" Cassie said enthusiastically. "I like touring art shops."
"It's okay by me," Aaron said.
"Me too," Dave said starting across the street.
All four of them entered the art gallery together and started browsing.
"Can I help you find anything?" asked the employee who came immediately over. She subtly looked Dave up and down and admired his handsome face and toned body. Cassie bristled until Dave put a calming hand on her arm.
"Not at this time thank you," Dave said politely, but also in a way that let the employee know that he didn't appreciate being looked up and down like a piece of meat, especially with Cassie standing right beside him.
The employee blushed and fled at the subtle warning in Dave's voice.
"Well, you certainly put her in her place," Cassie said now amused.
"I don't like being looked at like I am a piece of meat," Dave said. "Besides, it was rude, especially with you standing there. Considering we came in together she had to know that you were at least my girlfriend, if not my wife. I could very well report her to the manager for what she did If I took insult or you did because that might have cost them a potential sale."
"Yes, that's true," Cassie said before changing te subject. "They have some beautiful paintings here."
"Yes they do," Dave agreed, as he looked at the one Cassie was studying. This one showed the ocean at sunset with dolphins peeking out of the waves."
It was very tastefully done and quite good for an amateur.
"I really like this one," Cassie said.
"I can see why," Dave said. "I like it to for it's very well done. The scene is very enchanting and realistic."
"Hey guys, Monica insist you come see this painting she found," Aaron who was walking towards them said.
"Well, let's go see what Monica has found," Cassie said. "I'm seriously thinking about getting that painting, but let's see what Monica has found first."
What Monica had found was another beach scene, but this one set at sunrise, with vivid pinks and purples and blues that almost seemed to shimmer on the painted water. There was a school of fish just visible in the water instead of dolphins and colorful shells, of various shapes and sizes lay at the edge of the beach. The sand of the beach was white instead of yellow so it was some tropical location, maybe even somewhere right here at the French Riviera.
"This is lovely," Cassie said.
"I think so," Monica agreed.
"I think I like this one better than the one I just found that's similar except it has dolphins in the water and it's set at sunset," Cassie said.
"Well, I think I'll go look at that other painting if you want to show me and we can decide which one we want," Monica said.
"Why not just get both of them," Aaron suggested.
"Because I have the perfect spot to hang one of them," Monica said. "I don't think we have room for two at our current house, not unless we take something down and store it away. Which we can do mind you if we do end up buying both of them."
"I think I know where you thinking about," Cassie said. "I'll show you that other painting now."
Monica follow Cassie across the galley where Cassie had seen the other painting.
"So what do you think?" Cassie asked once they have reached their destination.
"I like this one as well," Monica said after studying it. "But I still think I like the other one better."
"I would get both of them if we had spots for them just as Aaron suggested," Cassie said.
"Me to," Monica agreed "as they're both lovely."
"Well, let's go buy the other one, as we both agree we like that one more," Cassie said. "Afterwards, I'm ready for some lunch."
"That sounds like a good suggestion," Monica said. "I'm starting to get hungry to."
Monica and Cassie went and told their two guys what painting they had decided on and then Aaron went to get the employee so that she could take it down from the wall.
The painting turned out to be about $5000, which was a lot of money for most people, but not anywhere near what you could pay for a painting if the artist was famous enough.
"This is one of my favorites," that employees said. "It's by an up-and-coming artist, that's going to be very famous one of these days."
"Well, all of us love it," Aaron told the employee with a smile.
Aaron made arrangements for shipping and it would be several weeks before it arrived at their home.
"So what about some lunch?" Monica suggested.
"Okay by me," Dave answered.
Everybody agreed that it was time for lunch and so they left the store with all the gorgeous art without a backwards glance, leaving behind a female employee who sighed as she watched two of the most handsome men she had ever seen walk out the door. Of course, it was just her luck that neither one of them was unattached, but then, most handsome men with money weren't unattached for long.
~~~Dave, Monica, Aaron, Cassie~~~
"Home again," Monica said, as they drove up their own driveway.
"Yes, home again, though that vacation was fun," Cassie said feeling utterly relaxed.
The four of them had indulged in quite a lot of sex on their vacation, which was one reason that the ladies were so relaxed.
"I'm glad both you ladies enjoyed yourself," Aaron said his tone amused.
"We weren't entirely sure if that was going to be a case when we first decided to go," Dave added.
"That was my fault, I know," Monica said, "But I enjoyed all those men admiring my body and lusting after me, knowing of course, that they couldn't have me, because it was obvious that I was with Aaron. I even enjoyed some of the jealous looks that some women shot me when they saw the fine specimen of the man I was with. I won't say I wasn't embarrassed to have all those people looking at me at first, but I got used to it quicker than I expected."
"Well, good, that means we can go someplace like that again in the future," Cassie said beyond pleased. "I also enjoyed those jealous looks from other women and also the lustful and admiring ones from men. Men who know how to admire beautiful women without being a dick about it."
"Or someone where you feel like they're undressing you with their eyes," Monica shuddered.
"Now those kind of guys aren't just dicks they're creeps and more than likely predators of some sort," Cassie said.
"Well, we might as well take our luggage inside," Aaron said.
"We sure did buy a lot of souvenirs," Monica said changing the subject.
"Including that painting that both you and Cassie fell in love with," Dave said in obvious amusement.
"So we both like art stores," Cassie shrugged. "We like to look at least, even if we don't often buy anything."
"I think it's nice to look at all the nice paintings to see a person's creativity. Humans have created some really nice things when it comes to art," Monica said
"Yes, they can be very creative," Dave said.
"That painting might've been several thousand dollars, but it's not like none of us can afford it," Monica said.
"True and Aaron and I are not really worried about the money," Dave said. "That you two like it so much and so do Aaron and I, I would consider it money well spent."
"I have the perfect place to hang it," Monica said.
"You're thinking about in the living room," Cassie said. "In that spot above the couch."
"Exactly," Monica said pleased, that Cassie knew her well enough to know where she wanted to put that painting they had just bought.
"I just happened to notice that there was a blank spot above the couch where nothing was hung," Cassie shrugged.
Dave checked the door to find it still secure so he used his key to unlock it. He walked to the alarm panel and unset it before the others entered the foyer.
"It doesn't look like anything's been disturbed while we were gone," Aaron said, as he started to walk out of the foyer rolling a suitcase in front of him.
"So far," Dave said cautiously. "We're going to scan the whole house for bugs before I'll consider that we're safe."
"I agree with Dave it's really not all that hard to get past an alarm system, not if you know what you're doing," Cassie said. "Yes, the alarm top-of-the-line and yes, we would've been notified if it had gone off..."
"But better safe, then to be careless and get taken by surprise," Monica said.
"Absolutely," Dave said agreeing with Monica. "Us out of everyone can't ever forget to be cautious, to be on our guards."
"Especially when we've been gone for a couple of weeks," Aaron said, as he came back into the foyer without the rolly. "It doesn't look like anything's been disturbed at least not any of the rooms I entered. Still, I'll feel better if we scan for bugs."
"Let's take the suitcases to our bedroom and then I'll get the equipment to scan the house out of storage," Dave said.
The others obeyed Dave and took their suitcases upstairs and put them on the bed but didn't unpack. No, first there was something much more important to do and that was to make sure that they had had no visitors while they were gone.
~~~Dave, Monica, Aaron, Cassie~~~
Nearly two years later
"I'm pregnant!" Cassie announced.
"You are?" both Dave and Aaron asked excitedly.
"I am," Cassie said.
"We'll have to tell Monica right away," Aaron said.
"She knows, as she was the one that told me I have to be pregnant because she knows the symptoms," Cassie explained. "I've been eating a great deal more than I normally do for instance. I usually watch what I eat very strictly, as you well know."
"That's true, you do," Dave said thoughtfully.
"Except when we first got together," Aaron said.
"Yes, well, once I was aware of the affect you had on me I started to watch what I ate. I know I have many decades to try many different foods and eat my favorites hundreds of thousands of times. Now, I can't seem to resist eating till I'm stuffed, really more than stuffed and yet a few hours later I'm starving again. That's not like me at all."
"No it's not," Aaron said. "You usually watch what you eat as you said."
"I'm surprised we haven't noticed or at least realized the reason for it," Dave mused.
"Well, you weren't expecting it for one thing," Cassie said.
"But we did talk about getting you pregnant within the a year or so," Aaron said. "We've been mated for nearly 2 years now, so really you being pregnant shouldn't be such a surprise."
"Especially since you stopped taking your birth control pills, right after we got back from our vacation," Dave said.
"I'm actually rather surprised that the birth control pills work in the first place, considering our biology is different from a humans, even if it's not obvious."
"Well, they've always worked on Monica," Aaron shrugged. "Though really they weren't invented all that long ago."
"Sometime around the 1930s if I'm remembering right," Cassie said.
"I think that's right," Dave said.
"So how did you prevent pregnancy when you didn't want children back before birth control was around," Cassie asked.
"What could we do really?" Aaron said with a shrug.
"There was nothing we could do, except stop having sex or at least stop spurting our seed into her," Dave explained. "We had to find other ways to satisfy each other."
"We got to be quite inventive," Aaron mused smiling softly.
"So that's why you're so good at satisfying my needs," Cassie said.
"We've had hundreds of years of experience at satisfying a woman's needs, even if that's only Monica and now you," Dave said with a rather smug grin.
"So I guess I better find me a doctor," Cassie said finally.
"No need as we know someone who is just like us and also happens to be a doctor," Dave said.
"He'll be happy to see you. He's delivered every single one of Monica's children."
"So he's been around at least as long as Monica has," Cassie said.
"He's actually older then the two of us," Aaron said. "Neither one of us knows by how much though."
"It doesn't really matter. All we need to know is that he's a good man and an excellent doctor. He's been our friend for a very long time," Dave said.
"Well if you trust him then I will too," Cassie said. "So where do I need to go to see him?"
"He has his own private practice," Dave explained. "I'll give him a call and request an appointment for sometime in the next few days. I'd prefer tomorrow, but he's a very busy man. He has a large patient load."
"On purpose," Aaron added.
"Why?" Cassie asked curiously.
"Because he has never met his mate," Aaron explained soberly. "None of us are sure if he never had one or she just hasn't been born yet."
"Or maybe they missed each other as the world is a big place," Dave added. "If that's the case she is probably still alive unless she was killed off by a member of the Order. If she has been born then the two of them just haven't run into each other."
"That is so sad," Cassie said. "He basically works a lot to distract himself from the fact that he's never met his mate, nor had children."
"That's it," Dave said.
"So what's his name?" Cassie asked.
"Dr. Donald Mallard," Aaron said. "He goes by Ducky though."
"We're not sure how he got that nickname, but still, that's what most people call him," Dave said.
"That's a rather odd nickname," Cassie mused, then ordered, "You go make that call, Dave and see if you can get an appointment tomorrow. I know you said it isn't likely but try. I'm really anxious to know if Monica is right or not."
"You shouldn't doubt her because as you said she knows the symptoms of pregnancy for our kind," Aaron chided her gently.
"Yeah, we've had plenty of children with Monica over the years," Dave said smiling, as he thought about his and Aaron's numerous brood.
"It's not that I doubt so much, I'm just anxious to have it confirmed," Cassie confided.
"This will be your first child ever, so I would say you have a right to be anxious," Aaron said.
"So do we, as while we've had numerous children we've never had any with you," Dave said. "I think it calls for a special treat once we have it confirmed."
"I won't object if you want to spoil me," Cassie said with a smile.
"Good, because you couldn't stop us," Aaron snorted in amusement.
"No you couldn't," Dave agreed immediately, but seriously. "You completed our family when you agreed to join us and having a child with you is even more special. Neither one of us even cares whose it is, because if the baby turns out to be mine this time then Aaron will have a chance to have one by you next time."
"You know that's a really good idea, as that way, you get equal opportunities to have children," Cassie said approvingly.
"It's always the way we've done things," Aaron said simply.
"It helps keep the peace and helps prevent resentment or jealousy," Dave added.
"I wish most men could cooperate like you two do, as it sure would mean less fighting among men and probably fewer wars," Cassie said.
"When you have more then one mate this is the way our kind does things. Now if Monica or you only had one mate whether that was me or Aaron there would be no need for this system," Dave explained.
"I like how you cooperate, as it cuts down on any arguments. I can to easily imagine what would've happened if I had ever been married to one of those bozos I told you about. I'm sure we would've argued nearly all the time as we both tried to assert our authority over each other. I can just imagine us getting so loud that the neighbors called the police," Cassie said.
"I can imagine that scenario all too easily," Aaron admitted. "A marriage like that almost never works because you don't care enough about each other to even consider conceding to the other. Both people want what they want but neither wants to give in either because they both have a lot of pride and cooperating with other people isn't part of their natures or they're arrogant and to stubborn to give in to their spouse, and put their wants on the back burner to that of their partners."
"Which just goes to show that those kind of people don't really love each other," Cassie said. "If you really love someone you're willing to concede to your partners wishes at least sometimes while the other partner does the same."
"That kind of thing happens all too often," Dave said before going to make his phone call.
"I'm really happy you're pregnant," Aaron told Cassie putting a gentle hand on his mate's still flat stomach.
"So am I," Cassie assured him giving him a gentle kiss on the lips. "I've been wanting children and we've been together long enough now that those old fuddy-duddies won't dare comment, particularly Gibbons."
"Yeah, I can understand why you dislike him so much," Aaron said softly. "He's the type of man that doesn't give a damn about woman and sees them as objects."
"It's not the only reason I hate him," Cassie said. "It's because he has a lot of power and I'm nearly positive that he issued some kind of threat to the other men involved in trying to force their sons on me, even if that happened years ago. Blackmail will always be popular as there are some secrets you just don't want revealed whether embarrassing or illegal. One of the reasons I hate him is he abuses the power he has just to get his way. He's very wealthy and yet he's also very greedy and wants the Silverthorne wealth so he can add it to his already very deep family coffers. At the very least he considers women unintelligent despite evidence to the contrary. I think Gibbons believes that Rena and I will waste all the wealth that the Silverthornes have spent centuries building."
"I would say that's likely, though we'll probably never know his real motives," Aaron said. "I would stop worrying about him, as there's nothing he can do to get your money not in this century anyway. He's not related to you so he can't have you or Rena declared incompetent so he can get your fortune. Even if you were to die in an accident or by deliberate murder he still wouldn't have a right to that money."
"He'll likely be dead soon as he's already in his 80s, though he looks at least ten years older," Cassie said. "I've heard rumors that he's not in the best of health and it couldn't happen to a nicer guy."
Aaron smirked at Cassie's sarcastic tone. Cassie really, really didn't like the old guy, which he couldn't blame her for at all not after all he and Dave had been told about this Paul Gibbon.
"You're right, that there is nothing he can do. Luckily, I don't run into him all that often," Cassie said. "When he finally dies, I won't even be sorry, much less grief stricken. I definitely will not be attending his funeral. I see no point in going and having to act like I respected the old fart when really, I hate him not just dislike him."
"And that's only if you get an invitation to attend," Aaron said with a smirk
"True," Cassie admitted. "I don't even plan on sending a flower arrangement. But enough of that there are much happier things to think about."
"So how do you think Gibbons will react when he learns you're pregnant and possibly bearing a boy, who to his mind would be the next heir to the Silverthorne wealth?" Aaron asked.
"He has to have it in the back of his mind that Dave and I are eventually going to have children since he believes we're married, even if that was overseas. If he thinks about it at all he's not going to be happy that I'm actually pregnant and that it might be a boy, since he doesn't see girls as capable of maintaining the wealth of our family. It will likely worry him, possibly frustrate him. It might even make him very angry. Gibbons doesn't like not getting what he wants. Of course, he'll be dead long before our son or daughter is grown and capable of taking over the running of the family, but he does have a son, so perhaps he was hoping he could get the Silverthorne wealth to give to his son."
"Why would the son need it since the father is wealthy in his own right. Surely he set up a trust fund for the son or any other children."
"I don't know, but maybe he'd rather throw it in the ocean then have a woman with so much wealth," Cassie shrugged not really caring one way or the other.
"That doesn't really make sense you know, as there are plenty of wealthy women, who inherited their fortunes from one or both of their parents," Aaron said.
"Maybe they don't have any daughters of marriageable age, either too young or to old," Cassie shrugged to show she really didn't care. "Or maybe they aren't part of our set. Who knows how Gibbons thinks? I, for one, am glad I can't read his mind as it's likely a nasty, dark place."
Aaron could only agree with Cassie's opinion of the man, even though he had never met him. From all he had heard about Paul Gibbons he wouldn't want too, as the man's ideas about woman were like from the dark ages and since Aaron had been alive then he knew how a lot of men treated women back then, especially men of wealth. Women had had very few rights back when he and Dave were born.
"Why don't we join the others downstairs," Cassie said finally.
"Sounds like good idea to me," Cassie said, as Aaron pulled her against his naked chest.
Cassie purred in happiness before she pulled away and Aaron pulled on a shirt.
"This has been good for us," Aaron commented once he had gotten the shirt over his head and his arms through the sleeves.
"Yeah, it has, so we'll have to do this again sometime just talk to each other. The others won't mind," Cassie agreed.
"No, they won't," Aaron said as the two of them headed downstairs to join the others.
~~~Dave, Monica, Aaron, Cassie~~~