Carson Evolved Ch. 11

"I love it," she interrupted firmly. "I don't need jewels if I have you. You're right; it's perfect for us." She kissed him soundly in thanks and said, "If we didn't have plans tonight, I'd be happy to show you just how grateful I am. But," she stood and said, "We do have plans, and you need to finish all of that breakfast so you have lots of energy later," before walking away.

"You're an evil woman," he called after her jokingly.

"You love me anyway," she called back, just as jokingly.

He shook his head as he began to eat. Things were definitely going to be different moving forward. That much was a certainty.

*****

After such a wonderful night with the newest member of the Pride, and a fantastic breakfast to start the day, Carson was in high spirits when he made his first appearance to the family. His wives and lovers were gathered as they often were, sharing childcare duties and chatting excitedly with their newest sister. It felt a little different than with some of the others since she'd already been living in the LD for a while.

Carson was a little surprised to find that he could feel Cara's sense of contentment this morning. The connection they'd forged was obviously something apart from that he shared with the other women in his life. He figured he'd learn more about it moving forward and spent the next few hours playing with his children. None were old enough to do much physical activity, but his children with Mila and Mara were at least mobile. They babbled happily through drooling grins as Carson imagined them telling him about the happenings of their days. He played along, punctuating the breaks in their 'dialogs' with encouraging phrases like, "Is that so?" and "Then what happened?"

He didn't think anything about his actions, but the maternal instincts of the Lionesses swelled with pride and satisfaction while watching how their Lion cared for his cubs. Surreptitious discussions had already begun amongst the women planning for the next round of pregnancies, but his behavior inspired a renewed urgency.

Carson wasn't privy to the conversations of the women and wasn't really paying attention. Then, he felt a new sensation. He looked around the room for its source until his eyes found Cara. She wasn't looking at Carson, and she didn't look happy. Following her eyes, he saw that she was staring at Quinn intently. Her look was a little short of a scowl, but through his connection, Carson knew that she was unhappy.

Everything okay? he thought to her after tuning to her frequency.

She looked back at him and shook her head firmly. No, it's not. I need to talk to you right now.

Carson sensed how serious she was and invited her to speak to him in the library, along with Helena.

When they arrived, Carson was sitting on one of the settees and indicated they should take seats nearby. "So what's going on, Cara?"

Cara looked uncharacteristically anxious and seemed reluctant to speak at first. Then she glanced at Helena as if seeking reassurance. Helena was just as in the dark as Carson, but she reached over and took Cara's hand. "Whatever it is, dear, it'll be okay."

Her words had an obvious calming effect on Cara, who smiled and took a deep breath before she began to speak. "I have some bad news. This is going to sound strange, and given the timing of things, I think you might be suspicious of my motives. I swear to you that I'm telling the truth."

Carson assured her that he trusted her judgement and wouldn't hold anything she said against her.

When he finished, Cara looked into his eyes and said, "Quinn is not yours, Carson."

Both Helena and Carson were shocked at her words and looked to each other in surprise. Carson looked back at Cara and asked, "What makes you think that? Did she say something?"

Shaking her head, Cara said, "This is the strange part. I just know." Helena asked her to explain, so she continued. "Sitting in that room with all those women, I just had a sense of a connection between each one of them and Carson. I don't know how to describe it. If you could feel a color, it would be something like that. Mara, Mila, and Sam are like blazing yellows and oranges, like a warm fire burning. And with Sam, there's something else. There's this faint vibration when I felt her color, like a quiet hum; I didn't feel it with any of the others. The other women are slightly less intense, with some red, white, or pink tinges, but no less warm."

She glanced at Helena. "Your color is more like a swirl. I can tell how much you love Carson, but I can also feel how much you love Thurston. They're different shades of the same colors, but with different feels."

Carson thought he understood what she was describing but didn't understand the source of her distress. Nevertheless, he had a bad feeling as he asked, "So, what makes you think Quinn feels differently?"

She reached over and took his hand. "Quinn's color is like the darkest purple before night falls. It feels like dusk at the end of a summer day. I know it sounds crazy, but I swear that it's like she was in love with you but isn't anymore."

He sat back and pondered what she'd conveyed. There was no denying that he'd felt a disconnect with Quinn for some time. He'd thought her distant since they worked opposite schedules, but things hadn't improved after her schedule change. He looked at Helena and said, "What do you think? I once asked you about her, and you said you had some suspicions. Does this jibe with your thoughts?"

Helena looked at him sadly and nodded. "I think she's right. Quinn came into your life a little differently than any of the others. When she first arrived, I think she was happy. But I knew even then that some of it was simply joy at being able to help her family out from the situation with van Heuval. Once Harper came along, though, it was almost like she relaxed. She hasn't been as tight with the group since. A couple of times, I've come across her having a conversation over her communicator that she cut short when she realized I could hear. My guess is, she's started a relationship of some sort with another man."

Carson sat back in thought. As he considered his options, however, he realized that her words hadn't hit him as hard as he'd have expected. He was fond of Quinn, and he had love for her. She wasn't, however, someone that he looked forward to seeing each day. In fact, thinking about it, she was the only member of the Pride that he felt that way about. Helena was right, the relationship he had with Quinn had started as, essentially, a marriage of convenience. Neither had really made a huge effort to develop something deeper with the other. He couldn't articulate why at this point, and he did feel a little guilty at having not done so. But he also wasn't heartbroken at the prospect of her not being in his life moving forward.

Looking at Cara, he could see that she was watching him nervously, trying to glean his attitude towards her in light of her news. He smiled and said, "It's okay, Cara. I appreciate you bringing it to my attention. I certainly don't blame you. Is there anything else you wanted to say? Any other powers?"

He'd said it half-jokingly, but from the look on her face, Carson had shocked Cara. She was looking at him in stunned silence, clearly weighing how to phrase whatever it was she needed to say. Finally, she relaxed and smiled back at him. "Well, there is one more thing. Sam's ovulating today. If you take her to bed, you'll almost certainly plant another baby in her womb. Mara and Mila are close, but I think Elsa and Tilda are further out." She paused and looked at Helena. Placing a hand on Helena's knee, she gently said, "Your machinery is coasting down. I don't know how, but I know that you've got maybe a couple more years if you want to get pregnant again the old-fashioned way."

A tear leaked from Helena's eye, but she smiled and said, "I knew it was going to be soon. I've got my girls—all three of them," she added with a sly wink at Carson. "I don't see myself giving it another go." Then she turned to look at Carson more seriously.

"What are you going to do about Quinn?" she asked.

Shrugging, Carson just replied, "I'll encourage her to follow her heart. I got involved with her because her dad asked me to, initially. While I've grown fond of her since then, we're not any closer than we were then. It just hasn't happened." He frowned. "I feel like it should hurt, but I don't really feel that bad about it. As long as I get to see Harper as much as I want, I'll be okay with Quinn moving on."

The conversation he had with Quinn later that day went pretty much how he expected. She was sorry that things hadn't worked out between them, but as grateful as she was for what he'd done and for her daughter, she wanted a husband of her own. When Dr. Tharp had shown an interest, they'd embarked on a friendly relationship that had now grown into something more.

Carson assured her that he understood and that there were no hard feelings. They discussed how they'd share custody of their daughter moving forward, and he reassured her that there would always be an open door for her to come stay at the LD. Finally, the time came for her to begin preparing to leave the Pride. When she offered him his ring back, however, he gently curled her fingers over it.

"That's yours, sweetheart. Things may be different between us, but I still consider you part of my family. I hope if you wear that ring again in the future, you'll remember our time together fondly." Then he kissed her cheek gently and walked away.

Quinn had watched as he walked away, a lonely tear leaking down her cheek. Softly, she said, "You'll always have a place in my heart, Carson. You're still the best man I know." Then she turned towards her new beginning.

*****

Despite the unpleasantness of Quinn's departure from his day-to-day life, by the end of the day, Carson's life looked a little bit brighter. It probably had something to do with the determined efforts of the other women to help ease his discomfort. None went further than the newest member of his family, Cara.

Throughout the afternoon and early evening, when she wasn't shopping, Cara spent quite a bit of time trying to pry the name of the mystery woman from his lips. She initially offered him bribes, promised sexual favors and the like. When that didn't work, she began to murmur into his ear whenever she could all the nasty things she wanted to do to the woman. It was a long afternoon, but Carson managed to hold onto his secret. When pressed, he simply smiled at Cara and winked.

Finally, she grew exasperated. She whispered to him, "Will you just fucking tell me? The suspense is killing me! My pussy has been leaking for a couple of hours now, and I've gone through two pairs of panties. I swear I'm going to go off like fireworks at the first hint of a breeze when we get naked."

He leaned towards her and said, "I'm not telling, period. I promise you'll enjoy it, and I guarantee that it will be a night you'll remember for the rest of your life."

"Rrrr," she growled back at him in frustration. "I hate you; you know that?" Then she stalked away.

Carson teasingly called after her, "I love you, too!" Then he laughed to himself. This is going to be a lot of fun, he thought.

When he disappeared just before dinner, none of the women noted his absence. He delivered some items to the rooms for each of the women involved in his plan this evening, and then returned before anyone noticed. Smirking to himself throughout dinner, he could feel Cara's arousal through their link. It feels so natural, like we've always been connected, he mused.

Carson decided to have a little fun during dinner, so he began to send images to each of his lovers, depicting the two of them engaged in one of the particular woman's fantasies. Amidst the mental complaining about the unfairness of his timing, he noted that there were plenty of flushed faces and erect nipples in evidence. It was all a cover, though. Carson didn't want to give away the surprise by singling out the mystery woman, so he had to titillate all of them.

Cara and the mystery woman, however, each received a series of images showing them engaged in a threesome with Carson and an indistinct female. All was fun and games until he sent an image of Cara licking his creampie from the mystery partner's pussy. She threw down her fork and exclaimed, "Come on! Are you serious right now?" as she glared at him.

The other woman erupted in a mix of laughter, sympathetic comments, and a couple of similar pleas for mercy from Carson. He did his best to look innocent, but no one was buying it.

"Don't give us those puppy dog eyes, Big Daddy!" scolded Elsa. "You know what you're doing! It's not right. This is Cara's time with you; you can't be teasing us like this."

Tilda agreed with Elsa. "I'm fully recovered from the delivery now, and you know how long it's been since we could really play. You keep poking this mama bear and she's liable to attack, Carson."

"Okay, okay," laughed Carson. "My apologies, ladies. I was just having a little bit of fun, but I can see that you're not enjoying it as much as I am. I'll tell you what: To make up for it, spend a little time over the next couple of days coming up with a sexy fantasy that you want my help to set up. I don't even have to be involved. As long as it doesn't involve animals, children, or disfiguring, I'll do my best to fulfill it."

Mara looked at him skeptically. "That leaves a lot of possibilities out there. Are you sure that's all the restrictions?"

Carson guessed what she was implying and looked like he was about to throw up. "As much as it pains me, if there's another guy that you want to be with, I'll understand. I won't like it, and I ask that you take precautions against pregnancy and to keep us all safe. But I sleep with more women than I ever wanted or needed. I swear, if you all wanted me to, I'd limit things to just the women in this room, or even just those of you that I am married to. But I feel a little guilty and hypocritical about imposing that restriction on you all when I...do what I do."

"I told you once, and I'll say it again: There will never be another man inside me," declared Mila forcefully. "I have plenty of ideas that don't involve another cock, Carson."

Mara joined her. "Sweetheart, before all this, it was just you and me. I made my choice a long time ago, knowing what would happen. I don't want or need another guy, either."

"Is that how you all feel?" asked Carson with a barely disguised hopefulness in his voice.

There were mostly nodding heads, but Elsa looked a little uncomfortable. She looked at him with an unhappy look on her face. "Big Daddy, you're the only man that will father my children. But...I don't know...I've been in groups before. I kind of like it, being the center of attention for a couple of guys. Or more," she softly added.

Cara grinned at her. "Underneath that innocent looking exterior is a sex kitten, isn't there, you naughty girl?"

Elsa's fair skin made her embarrassment quite apparent as her face turned red. She nodded and said, "I liked to party a lot before I met Carson, before I came to live with you guys. I've...experimented, a little."

"You don't have anything to be embarrassed about, Elsa. I agree, it's quite pleasurable being the center of attention." You could have heard a pin drop as all eyes swung to focus on Helena. She looked around with a smirk. "What? I tried some things when I was younger. It was before I met Thurston."

Thurston grinned at her wolfishly and said, "You and I need to have a conversation, dear. I might be open to some 'experimentation' myself."

"Ugh," groaned Mara and Mila in stereo. "TMI, Mom and Dad, TMI," said Mara, which was met with laughter.

Carson waited until things quieted down again and said, "Let's just agree that I'll entertain any ideas you have. I guess I can't swear that I'll be able to follow through on some things, since I don't know what you'll come up with. But you've all given me so much, and you continue to do more every day. This is a 'thank you' and an 'I love you' to you all."

As if he needed any proof that they were developing some sort of hive mind living in close quarters with one another, his declaration was met with simultaneous voices saying, "Awww! We love you too, Carson!" in candy-sweet sing-song tones.

Carson rolled his eyes and shook his head in defeat. In mock protest he mumbled, "You try to do something nice for some people..."

As dinner was winding down, he sent instructions to Cara and their guest for this evening. He did not tell the mystery woman what to expect, only letting her know what to wear and where to go. Cara knew that there would be another woman there, but she still didn't know who and he could sense her frustration and excitement.

By eight o'clock, he'd retired to his bedroom and lit the myriad candles in the sconces around the room. There was something about the soft, warm light that added to the lovemaking experience, in Carson's mind. This evening, the candles emitted a spiced plum scent that reminded him of a holiday gathering.

The first knock came a few minutes after eight. He opened the door to find Cara, as expected. She was wearing the emerald green camisole set he'd laid out for her. Her eyes were covered with a matching green satin, padded ribbon mask. Looking her over, he could see that she was trembling with excitement, and he could smell her arousal already. Carson waved his hand around her face and was pleased to find that she didn't react. In her hands, Cara held a shallow box with a few easily recognizable toys in it. Looking them over, he couldn't help but wonder how many of them they'd utilize tonight.

He placed his hand at the small of her back and gently prodded her forward. "This way," he softly said. When she reached the bed, he stopped her and instructed her to set the box down before kneeling. As she did, the second knock on the door came. Perfect timing.

Opening the door gave him a sense of deja vous. Sam and her aunt looked so much alike that seeing her wearing the cardinal red version of Cara's outfit was almost like watching a replay of the earlier entry. As instructed, Sam was standing with her hands at her back, grasping elbows. This caused her magnificent breasts to jut out even further, stretching the thin straps of the camisole to their limits. "You look amazing," he murmured, and he sniffed as he dragged his lips along the side of her neck; he knew how sensitive she was there, and how much she enjoyed it. His efforts were rewarded as her nipples hardened and goose bumps broke out along her arms. Just like Cara, Sam was nearly vibrating with excitement, and her aroma was thick in his nostrils. They even smell similar, he mused.

As before, Carson guided the masked woman towards his bed. At his gentle pressure, Sam knelt, unbeknownst to her, next to her aunt.

Looking at the two women before him, Carson once again thanked his lucky stars to be blessed to have them in his life. Either one would be enough for any man; having them both and the twins was an embarrassment of riches.

"Tonight is going to be a special night. This is going to be a night of exploration for you and me. You are blindfolded for now because I want you to focus on your other senses. The scent of your lover's body, the taste of your lover's skin, and the touch of your lover's hands upon you—all of it without your primary sense of vision." To this point, everything he'd said could be construed as one man, one woman. Then Carson sprang his surprise.