Chapter 42

The cold water in the tub, while soothing to my sore and swollen genitals, had gotten more than a little uncomfortable. Using the toes of my right foot I hooked the chain and yanked the plug, letting about three inches of the icy water drain out before reseating the stopper. With my left foot I turned the hot water faucet on and refilled the tub, getting the temperature more tolerable. Cranking the handle closed I slid down, putting my chest and shoulders beneath the water. Sighing contentedly I laid there for several minutes before I heard rustling noises near the door.

I turned my head slowly to one side and saw Lilly and Izzy standing side by side in the open doorway. Back lit by the sunlight from the bedroom their skin gleamed like bronze, dark hair hung uncombed and wild around their shoulders and each breath caused tiny tremors that shifted their breasts ever so delightfully.

I couldn't help but smile and admire the graceful, sweeping lines of their arms, hips and legs; the gentle swell of bellies, the shadows that caressed the juncture of hip and thigh. So sweet, so enticing, so absolutely sexy.

"Gloriously perfect." I whispered to myself.

"Ike?" Izzy called to me.

The way her lips moved when she said my name, the movement of her chin and throat, the way her head tilted just a little bit; I was mesmerized. I couldn't take my eyes off her.

"Ike... we have a problem." my sister's voice was insistent and worried. I blinked hard a couple of times and shook my head; pushing with my legs I shoved and sat upright in the tub, splashing some water over the edge.

"Problem? What kind of problem?"

"It's Peggy." Lilly said. "She's crying her eyes out."

"The poor thing is convinced that you're mad at her and that you're going to make her leave." Izzy added.

"What? Why would she think that?"

The girls came over and perched on the edge of the tub.

"How much do you know about her childhood?" Izzy asked me, running one hand over my hair.

"Only what I got from Colonel DeBerg. Foster homes, running away... like that."

Lilly nodded her head sadly. "Peggy's abandonment issues go pretty deep. She thinks that because of what happened this morning you're going to abandon her and her heart is breaking. She can't stop crying and she won't listen to either of us. You have to do something."

I took a deep breath and nodded. Putting my hands on edges of the tub I lifted myself, got my feet beneath me and stood up. Lilly gasped when she saw my abused penis.

"Are you alright? It looks pretty painful." She said, extending a finger and giving my mottled member a little poke.

I winced just a bit. "Soaking in cold water helped some. Of course, the two of you walking in here looking so damn sexy and giving me ideas is probably not the best thing for it, but I'd rather suffer."

Lilly slapped me on my wet behind and Izzy smirked.

"Dry off and go talk to Peggy. She needs some massive reassurance right now."

"Okay, okay. Why don't you two give me about twenty minutes and then come back in. You can get along without me for twenty minutes, right?"

Lilly giggled and her breasts jiggled invitingly. "Get a move on, Casanova. We'll manage on our own, somehow."

Izzy handed me a towel from off the rack and I quickly dried off, taking extra care with my lower extremities. Tossing the towel on the hamper I headed out the door, closing it partially behind me.

On the bed, completely covered by the bed sheets and blankets, was a small little balled-up figure. Her cries and sobs were muffled by the mountain of linen above her and her tiny little body was shaking like a leaf in a wind storm.

I walked over and sat down at the foot of the bed. "Peggy? Squirt?"

If anything, her crying increased in both volume and level of misery.

Damn... this wasn't going to be easy.

I looked around helplessly for a bit, feeling very young, confused and unprepared. What to do, what to do?

And then I had a very clever and brilliant idea. Well, it seemed pretty damn clever and brilliant to me.

I reached out and pulled the blankets and sheets loose from the foot of the mattress, lifting them up, making a pup-tent entrance at the corner. Slowly and carefully I dove underneath and shimmied my way beneath them, crawling blindly towards the weeping figure ahead of me.

I was half-way under, my ass and legs still sticking out, when my hands touched Peggy's feet.

When I put my hands on her feet she jerked and lashed out with one foot, hitting me squarely on the top of my head with a dull 'thunk'. I scrambled to capture both of her ankles before she could do any real damage then slid my hand up over her calves to her knees and held her legs still as I burrowed farther up under the sheets.

I couldn't see her clearly; the lighting was rather dim under there, but there was enough to link, and I did.

The poor little woman was drowning in guilt, fear, remorse and terror. I started draining the emotions away as quickly as I could, and her body relaxed, her struggles stopped and the sobbing slowed considerably.

Moving up I slid my hands up her thighs, rolling her over onto her back, I put each of her legs over my shoulders and crawled up between her legs. She tensed up, but I ignored the sudden stab of fear that ran from her down the link to me and rested my head on her belly. Putting my hands on her hips, I held her still and kissed the soft skin just below her belly-button then put my cheek on that spot and just lay there.

I continued to drain off her fear, guilt and terror until they were just faint tickles within her, stroking her hips and thighs with my fingers and began sending her comfort, understanding and love.

Peggy's thighs tightened slightly around my neck and her hands came down to brush thru my hair.

I lifted my head somewhat and kissed her belly again, just a light little brush with my lips.

"Hey there half-pint."

"I'm so sorry... please don't make me leave!" she whimpered.

"Peggy, why in the world would I make you leave? I love you. I need you and I want you with me for ever. We all do."

"How can you say that after what I did?"

"What did you do that was so horrible?"

"I made you do something. I treated you like an object, didn't even think about what you wanted."

"Ahhh... I see. I think I see, anyway. You think what you did was the same as rape, right?"

Peggy started shaking again, and I could feel the guilt rising up full force once more. I smothered it with a stronger surge of love and compassion.

"Yeah... I guess that is what I think." she admitted tearfully.

I kissed her belly again then stuck my tongue in her navel and wiggled it around for a couple of seconds.

"Sweetie, you couldn't rape me if you wanted to." I told her. "Did you hear me say I didn't want to have sex? Personally, I can't imagine not wanting to have sex with you... or Lilly or Izzy. Do you really think that even the three of you combined could make me do anything I didn't want to?"

There was silence for five long heartbeats. "No, I don't guess we could."

I slid one hand up her thigh, under her bottom and gave one cheek a gentle squeeze.

"Honey, what you did was let me know how you three were feeling, that's all. It might not have been too well thought out, in hindsight, but it wasn't wrong. If you're horny, I want to know. I want you to be happy... and please believe me when I say that sex with you makes me very happy. I love hearing your moans and sighs; it thrills me no end feeling your warmth around me and against me, the smell and taste of your skin, the touch of your lips, and the sparkle in your eyes when you cum. Just being near you turns me on. The way you enjoy the smallest things, how excited you get when you see the horses, or when you talk about them, the way you are with Izzy and Lilly, the way you light up a room just by walking in, or when you bounce up and down like a little kid. You are a vibrant, exciting, sexy woman and I'd be a damn fool twenty times over to let you get away."

Peggy shuddered, her legs wrapped around my neck and pulled me closer, her hands pressed my head harder against her belly.

"I love you so much... I was so afraid..." she cried softly.

"Peggy, you and me and Lilly and Izzy are family. We take care of each other and support each other and love each other, no matter what. You won't... can't lose us. And we won't and can't lose you. You never have to be afraid of that, not ever. When I said 'I thee wed', I wasn't kidding."

Her legs squeezed my neck tighter. "So you forgive me?"

"There's nothing to forgive. You made a little mistake... we all do from time to time. But if you ever feel like doing something like that again, think about the possible consequences. If you had locked those feelings in me I might have injured one of you girls and if that happened I'd never be able to live with myself. But you didn't and we'll teach you how to control your talent so that won't happen."

I gave her butt another squeeze and licked her belly. "Besides... it was a lot of fun. I used to worry that I wouldn't be able to keep up with the three of you sexually, keep you all satisfied I mean. Now I know that won't be a problem. So you actually did us all a big favor."

"Thank you Ike."

"Thank you Peggy, my sweet little love."

I put my cheek back down against her belly and we lay quietly together, her hands stroking my hair, my hands tracing her thighs and flanks.

A little later I felt the mattress shift to the left and right sides as Lilly and Izzy climbed back into the bed with us. They moved in close to Peggy and I could hear whispers and kisses as they shifted around getting comfortable.

Someone lifted up the covers and light poured in.

"Awww... that's so sweet." Lilly gushed. "Izzy, you've gotta see this."

There was more rustling of bed sheets and Izzy poked her head under.

My sister laughed loudly. "Alright Peggy! You caught a big one."

"Yeah... I think I'll keep him. He feels pretty good laying there."

Lilly chuckled. "Right where he can do the most good and the least damage."

All three of them giggled at that, so I took a deep breath, lifted and turned my head, planted my lips just below Peggy's belly-button and blew a prolonged raspberry.

The little woman with her legs around my neck squealed and started wiggling around like an eel, drumming her heels on my back as she burst into hysterical gales of laughter.

I ran out of breath eventually, so I put my head back down on her stomach and rested while Peggy calmed down and gasped for air. It was good to hear her laugh and feel the happiness well up inside her.

Another successful rescue for Ike Blacktower, Knight Errant and damsel un-distresser.

We lay there at peace and enjoying the closeness for a few minutes, before Peggy broke the silence.

"Ike... does it ever bother you that the three of us are so much older than you?"

"Nope. Not even a little." I replied. "I've had a thing for old broads ever since I was thirteen."

"Old broads? What old broads?" Izzy demanded.

I grinned and flicked my tongue out to tickle Peggy's belly.

"You three geezers of course. See the great thing about mature women is they're slower and can't run as fast; much easier to catch and sooooo grateful to have a young stud like me show an interest in their wrinkled old bodies. Yup... give me old women every time."

The words had barely left my lips when I was attacked on both sides by tickling fingers and raised voices.

"I'll show you old." Izzy threatened, her fingers dancing over my left side.

"Wrinkled?" Lilly yelled happily, working her delicate fingers under my right armpit.

"Young stud?" Peggy laughed, tightening her grip around my neck and sticking a wet finger into my ear.

The three of them went to work cheerfully tormenting my prone body. No one had ever tickled me before, and as it turned out I'm not very ticklish, so they got frustrated when I didn't respond the way they expected. Peggy's wet finger wiggling in my ear did get a rise out of me though and I was retaliating with wet raspberries over her belly-button when one of the other two girls smacked me on the ass.

"No fair!" Izzy groused. "Why aren't you ticklish?"

"Yeah... there's got to be some way to make you pay." Lilly agreed.

I blew one last blast on Peggy's belly and lifted my head up. "Well, how 'bout I take you three old timers out for dinner and dancing tomorrow evening? With three senior discounts it shouldn't be too expensive."

It got very quiet. Peggy had been giggling and wiggling, but she suddenly stopped, her legs went slack and slipped down over my shoulders. I couldn't hear any sounds from the two girls behind me.

Freed from Peggy's leg lock I rolled over and rested my head on one arm, looking back at Izzy and Lilly. They'd settled down on their heels and were watching me with damp eyes and stunned looks.

Turning my head back I saw the same expression on Peggy.

"What? Don't you guys want to go?" I asked, puzzled by their lack of response.

"You mean, like a date?" Lilly said at last.

I smiled widely. "Yeah. Exactly like a date. I want to take my wives out on a date."

"I haven't been on a date since... I don't think I've ever been on a date." Peggy said very softly.

"Not since I married Lewis." Lilly murmured wistfully.

"My first year of college." Izzy added sadly.

I sat up and crossed my legs. "Then don't you think it's about time? We'll all get dressed up and go someplace nice for dinner and then you girls can teach me how to dance. And we need a family portrait too, to put in the living room. And I'm going to want a smaller one to put on my desk at work. We can stop off on the way out and have our picture taken."

Peggy got up and crawled over next to me and sat down. "I don't have any clothes nice enough for a date or a portrait."

Lilly's shoulders drooped. "All my good clothes are back at Ft.Meade."

Izzy cocked her head at me.

"I guess we'll just have to go shopping first. Hell, we'll just make a day of it. Shopping, portrait, dinner and dancing. Who knows... if we can find a drive-in theater we can finish off the evening with a high school make-out party."