Author's website: https://www.squidge.org/~pumpkin/cara/caraindex.html

Disclaimer: Owned by Alliance, who would probably come after me with a hatchet.

Author's Notes: Written for someone who does not wish to be identified who nevertheless begged, cajoled, made Big Mountie Eyes, pimped the het pairing, sent me subversive literature, and loaned me zines in exchange for this fic, and who also provided a stellar beta. :-)

Story Notes: Fraser/Vecchio/Vecchio pairing. Heterosexual sex and incest *are* explored in graphic detail in this fic. Please don't read the fic if this disturbs you.

The green 1971 Buick Riviera coughed, wheezed, and slowed, managing to crest one final hill before coasting down and coming to a stop on the verge of the road. "I knew driving you to Cousin Angelina's baby shower was a mistake!" Ray thumped the steering wheel in frustration and tried turning the key. Nothing.

"And letting you pick the route was worse!" Frannie snapped. "Stupid rustbucket!" She slapped the door of the car. "If you'd get a decent car instead of hanging on to these hunks of junk..."

Ray heard Fraser shift uncomfortably in the back seat. After all this time, he still hadn't gotten used to the arguments that were a daily feature of life within the Vecchio family.

"This is a classic," Ray explained carefully, trying and failing to keep a leash on his temper. "It is not a hunk of junk."

Frannie scoffed and Fraser stirred again. "It's cold," she complained. "Turn on the heater."

"If I do that I'll run the battery down."

"Well, the battery isn't exactly doing us any good the way it is, is it?!" She glared at him.

"Maybe not, but without the engine on, that heater's not gonna do much!"

"I'm quite warm," Fraser contributed from the back, sotto voce. "Perhaps you would care to take my jacket, Francesca." He squirmed out of his overcoat with efficient courtesy.

She accepted the pea coat and wrapped herself in it. "Thank you, Benton." Her voice oozed honey, in startling contrast with the earlier venom she'd shown Ray.

Ray gave her a dagger-glare. "If we could harness the hot air that comes outta your mouth--"

"MY mouth? Let me tell you something, you--"

"I believe I'll go check and see if there is any sign of civilization over the next hill. If you'd excuse me, Francesca?"

"Certainly, Benton." Frannie pulled the seat toward the dash and leaned forward to let him squeeze out. The door opened and shut, admitting a blast of cold air; it really was chilly outside, and it was nearly dark.

"Now you ran him off!" Francesca glowered accusation at Ray.

"I ran him off? You're shrieking at the top of your lungs, and I ran him off?"

Ray stared out the windshield, watching Fraser's red uniform recede into the murky gathering twilight as Francesca continued to shrill at him like a harpy. It wouldn't do any good to scout the countryside. If there was a store or a house within twenty miles, it sure wasn't visible from the road.

"When he gets back I want you to shut up and try to act like a human being for once," Ray snapped at his little sister. "We gotta be here till somebody comes along and stops so we can ask them to call for a tow. I don't want you makin' Benny miserable if we have to sit here all night."

"Well, if you'd stop acting like such a pig--"

"I'm not the one who started--"

Ray was startled out of his sharp retort by a spatter against the windshield. Rain and ice pelted down, and Fraser wasn't visible anywhere. He bit off his words and glared through the windshield, hoping for a sight of red. "Dammit, you've got his coat, and it's starting to sleet out there."

That shut her up, for all of two seconds. "He'll be OK. He's Mister Yukon, right?" She sounded uncertain under the bravado.

"It doesn't sleet much in the Yukon. They have dry snow. Sleet's more dangerous." Ray drummed his fingers on the wheel with agitation. "You get wet, and then you freeze."

"Well, he's bound to know that. He'll come back."

They sat there in silence waiting for Fraser to come back and watching the sleet worsen. It rattled against the Riv maliciously, but Ray was too worried for Benny to even think of what it was doing to the finish. The trees whipped in a sharp northwest wind, and Ray shuddered, thinking how fast that wind could leach the heat out of somebody. He tried the ignition again, and got the dull solenoid click that meant they weren't going anywhere.

"How long's he been gone?" She sounded scared.

"About fifteen minutes." Ray frowned. "Maybe he's found someplace to get undercover and wait till the sleet turns into snow, or till it stops."

She stared at him with wide round eyes like she was trying to decide whether to believe that or not; her hand came out from inside Fraser's coat and she touched the navy blue fabric. She shook her head, looking sick and scared. "I just wanted to wear his coat, and feel his warmth inside it, smell him on the cloth. I didn't want him to leave without it."

"I know you didn't, Frannie." Ray swallowed. "He'll be back any second now. He can take care of himself." He squinted into the gathering gloom anxiously-- with the overcast, there'd be no moonlight or starlight to guide Fraser back. He reached down and pulled the headlamp switch back, the highbeams illuminating the narrow dilapidated roadway that stretched before them. Fuck the battery.

She nodded but didn't speak, eyes scanning around anxiously as the seconds stretched into minutes and Fraser failed to appear, even though the sleet ran down the windows in icy rivulets. The tension stretched tight, and then doubled. Frannie gnawed at her lip and Ray reached for the door handle, setting his jaw tight-- and Ray's door jerked open, startling a yelp out of Frannie and making Ray jump so high he banged his skull against the top of the car. Sleet pattered in against his leg and shoulder, and all the warmth gushed out of the car immediately.

Fraser leaned in, soaking wet and shivering. "Have to g-get out of the car. D-d-dead tree overhead. The w-wind c-c-c..." he had to pause, shaking too much to speak. "could bring it d-d-down..."

Fuck. Ray unclipped his seat belt, forgetting to rub his head. "Where the hell are we gonna go to, Benny?"

"F-f-f-found a cabin."

Ray paused for an agonized heartbeat-- not another Riv. Not another one. But if that tree fell on them....

"Are you all right, Benton?" Francesca reached across Ray to touch his sopping wet arm. "I'm sorry I took your coat. Take it back, okay?"

"No." Benny lifted his head, visibly struggling not to let his teeth chatter. "You'll n-n-need it to g-g-g-get..." he gave up.

"He thinks you got less body fat than he does. He thinks he's some kind of polar bear seal," Ray snapped, exasperated.

"Let's g-g-g--"

"Let's go," Ray finished for him, hardening his heart against thoughts of the tree falling on his beloved car. Judging by Fraser's condition, they were gonna have a bad enough time making it to shelter without adding an extra five minutes out in the sleet trying to push the Riv to safety-- and since they'd coasted into a narrow valley between two low hills, it would be just about impossible.

Fraser took the lead and Ray followed behind, keeping Frannie between them. Fraser's coat flapped around her thighs almost at her knees, shielding her from the lashing sleet. Ice crystals stung Ray's head and the rain soon penetrated his jacket, seeping in at the shoulders and trickling in around his neck. The wind whipped at them, making his vision blur, and he was glad for the red of Fraser's jacket and the last dregs of daylight, both of which made it easier to stay on their feet and keep going in the right direction.

Ray was soaked through and his teeth were chattering by the time they scrambled up a steep incline and found themselves in a meadow that hosted a dilapidated building. It wasn't so much a barn as it was a shed, he decided, but by Yukon standards it was probably a five-star outbuilding.

He had to help Fraser lift the bar to let them all in; Benny looked like he was in pretty bad shape. He was dripping wet and shivering uncontrollably.

"He's hyperthermic." Frannie's hair was wet, but she wasn't shaking the way Ray was-- apparently Fraser's jacket was more weatherproof than his own Armani suit coat.

"Hy-PO-thermic," Ray corrected her automatically.

"I know what he is! I took a class!" She glowered at him. "The books all say that what you do when somebody is hyperthermic, is you've got to get naked and share body heat with him." She started peeling out of Fraser's coat with alarming speed.

"Whoa!" Ray yelped. "Don't go getting any fancy ideas here."

"Well, you look at him!"

Ray did. Fraser was really shaking, flexing his hands, apparently not listening to them. Sheesh, she was right; his fingers didn't look like they wanted to work. There was ice in his hair; water dripped off the hem of his red tunic; his jodhpurs were so wet they creaked when he moved. Why the hell he had to wear that get-up to a baby shower I'll never know.

"I'll take care of him," Ray muttered, flushing, his own numb-fingered discomfort forgotten.

Francesca gave him the oddest stare, pausing with Fraser's coat in her hand. "You can help," she decreed at last. "There's straw over there. We'll put him down on it." She hurried over and spread out Fraser's coat, which was still dry inside. "Well, what are you waiting for, an act of God? A featherbed? Get moving!"

Ray moved over to Benny, wincing and avoiding the sight of his little sister yanking her blouse over her head and then spreading it out, along with some coarse dusty sacks, to augment Benny's coat on the dirty straw.

"Fraser, you've got hypothermia."

Benny blinked owlishly. "Y-y-y-yes, Ray." He looked a little sheepish.

"We're gonna take care of you." Ray reached for Benny's collar and began peeling him out of the uniform. He kept catching glimpses of Francesca out of the corner of his eye as she wriggled out of the rest of her clothes and added them to the makeshift bed. He swallowed hard and focused on Benny.

"Nanook of the North got hypothermia... what are you gonna bribe me with to keep me from telling the guys at the Consulate, huh? Whatever it is, you're gonna have to double it to keep me from telling the wolf." He paused. "Jesus, Francesca, leave the panties on!"

"An emergency is no place for false modesty!" Frannie tossed the underwear away and Ray flinched, turning the color of Fraser's tunic.

He stared at Fraser woodenly, his hands working on the buttons. "Benny, if you even think of skin, I'm gonna call you out."

"Out, Ray?" Fraser looked vague and uncomprehending, even though he was the one who'd taught Ray that idiom himself. Great. Benny had slid into the stage of hypothermia where your mind quit working just right.

Frannie was prowling around now in the near-darkness, naked, impatiently waiting for Ray to finish undressing Benny. Ray reluctantly realized he needed to hurry, for Fraser's sake. He skimmed the dress tunic off and attacked the jodhpurs.

"I think this is a lantern," Francesca sounded excited; there was a clatter. "And a box of matches."

Good God. That was all they needed-- light. She fumbled and with a hissing scratch, she ignited a match. "It's heavy, it's full of oil. It ought to help things warm up in here."

Stellar good sense. Yeah, sure. He wished she'd never found it, keeping his flaming face averted. Benny hadn't even seemed to notice her, at least not yet. Thank heavens for small favors.

Frannie hung the light from a hook near the center of the shed; shadows rocked and danced crazily until it steadied. Ray heard the soft patter of her feet on the cold earth floor as she approached. "Hurry up. He's gonna freeze and die while you fiddle around, and so am I." She batted at his hands, reaching for Fraser's pants.

"Stop it," Ray snapped curtly, unfastening the pants himself. His head felt odd, almost dizzy, and he wondered if he'd gotten too cold himself. He unclipped Benny's suspenders and pushed his trousers down. Francesca sighed with annoyance, going for the hem of Fraser's henley and trying to tug it over his head. She made it most of the way on her own, but Benny was tall, and his efforts to help were hindering more than assisting her as he pointed his arms more or less straight up toward the ceiling.

"God, Ray, you're making a mess of things. You forgot his boots!"

Yeah, he had. Ray swore softly, trying not to look up-- her hips were just at his eyelevel, and she had a subtle feminine scent to her that he didn't usually associate with sisters. Worse, Benny was now almost naked too, pale skin and damp boxer shorts, jodhpurs tangled around his heavy leather boots.

"Stop handling him and get those shirts off him," Ray grumbled. "Benny, the next time you pull a boneheaded stunt like this, I'm gonna let you freeze."

"Come on, Benton." Francesca crooned. "Put your arms down where I can reach. That's it."

Francesca's bare feet were intrusive in his vision, too close to the messy puddle of boots and pants, and when Ray sneaked a glance she was fondling Benny, and with more than hands, too. She had her body pressed up against his side and was only tugging with one hand. The other one was somewhere on his back.

"An emergency is no place for molesting my partner, either!" Ray half-parroted her earlier words, angry enough now that he didn't care how much bare skin he was looking at. Frannie just glared at him and dropped down to her knees to help him fumble with a bootlace. True to form, Benny's feet didn't even stink. Ray made a note to ask how the hell he managed that.

Finally they got him undressed and Ray laid their clothes over a dusty ceiling beam to dry while Frannie took Fraser's arms and started steering him toward the makeshift bed. Ray struggled to skin out of his own clothes and hung them up, angry that he couldn't beat her there. "I get the front," he warned her, and she gave him an irate glare, reaching for the waistband of Benny's boxers.

"Whoa, hold it right there." Ray intervened, his shirt half-off. "They stay on."

"They're wet, Ray!" Frannie stared at him like he was an idiot.

"They stay on," he gritted.

Her eyes narrowed. "So you're gonna let him freeze to death because you're afraid to see him naked."

Ray stared at her, wide-eyed. "I'm what?! Oh, no. You stop changing the subject." He shook his finger in her face. "I know what you're up to and you're not getting a free show just because you ran him out of the car into the rain and he's not up to par right now. You aren't taking advantage of him!" He realized he was shaking with fury, teeth bared at her, and she was shrinking into herself, looking small.

"The course said not to leave any wet clothes on." She wrapped her arms around herself defensively, and Ray realized she was covered with gooseflesh. "When he's okay again he'll tell you!"

If she was getting cold, then Benny had to be getting colder. Ray swore softly to himself. "Okay, okay, but I do it." He quickly skinned out of his shirt and pants, kicking away his shoes and dragging off his wet socks. Frannie stepped up behind Benny and leaned her small body against him, her arms slipping around his waist.

Benny's skin was cold and he was shuddering constantly now. Ray cursed and reached for the damp white cotton undershorts and dragged them down, then stood and stepped out of his own briefs.

There. They were all stark fucking naked and Christ only knew how they were gonna look each other in the eye come morning.

"Frannie, if you confess this to Father Behan, I'm gonna kill you," Ray muttered, and helped her get Fraser horizontal on the makeshift bedding with a little gentle coaxing and a lot of physical support.

"You want me to spend a year in Purgatory over this?" Her heart wasn't in the jibe; she was focused on Fraser, settling in behind him and snuggling up as close as she could to his cold body. "He's really chilly. Come on."

Ray lay down too, glad of the smooth soft scarlet lining inside Benny's pea coat, spread out beneath them. He awkwardly drew Fraser close, nestling against him, trying not to touch anything important-- and also trying not to touch Frannie, who was wrapped around the Mountie like a second skin. She was enjoying this too goddamned much.

Truth be told, Ray was too. It was nice to be out of his clammy wet clothes, pressing up against skin. Fraser was cold, but not as cold as the wet clothes had been. Ray took a deep breath, swallowed, and snuggled closer, feeling his body press against Benny's all the way down.

"We ought to chafe his skin or something, and encourage his circulation." Frannie demonstrated.

"Chafing his skin, huh?" Those looked more like caresses to Ray. Still, he had to admit that the way Frannie was wriggling and stroking against Fraser was definitely calculated to warm him up.

Timidly Ray let his own hand travel up Benny's lax arm, then pulled Benny's arm over so that it lay around his ribs. That was better. He could feel just a little more heat than elsewhere from the tender skin inside Benny's armpit, and Benny's muscles flexed, holding Ray closer.

Ray slipped his ankle through Fraser's and flinched, startled to find Frannie's feet there. "Sorry."

"It's all right, Ray. We gotta warm his legs up too." Frannie moved her hand down and rubbed up Fraser's thigh, angling forward.

"Keep your hands away from there!" Ray snapped. "His nuts aren't gonna freeze and fall off before his toes do. And his aren't the only ones in that region, if you know what I mean!"

She laughed, sounding a little brittle. "Don't tell me. You're gonna take care of keeping those warm."

"If one of us has to," Ray answered shortly. This conversation was sure doing wonders for the heat in his face, if nowhere else. "And you can just stop the goddamned insinuations."

Benny made a low noise in his throat and stirred uncomfortably.

Ray winced. "Now look, you're gonna upset him again, and that's why we're here in the first place."

"We're *here,*" Frannie snapped, "because of that rustbucket you insist on driving. And if he hadn't got out of the car, we might still be sitting there when that tree fell on us and crushed us all dead!"

Fraser mumbled again, a distressed sound, and it was enough to make Frannie subside, rubbing her hands along his ribs and arms briskly. Ray kept quiet too and tried to rub where Frannie wasn't touching. He thought he could already feel some life coming back into Fraser's skin: a flush of warmth, a better pulse.

They lay like that for some time, holding Benny between them and stroking him, until Ray was sure that Benny was getting warmer. He was also starting to suspect that his own back and ass were sprouting icicles, and Frannie's must be too-- or maybe not. The way she was squirming against Benny, she might actually be working up a sweat.

Benny's shivering lessened in intensity gradually, and then stopped. He lay quite still between them, not responding to Francesca's persistent ministrations or opening his eyes to look into Ray's face. Ray figured it was embarrassment-- for a Mountie from the Yukon to get caught with his pants down (so to speak) and wind up naked and hypothermic between his best friend and said best friend's little sister... it had to be quite a blow to the arctic ego.

"You feelin' better, Benny?" he asked softly.

Fraser nodded, not opening his eyes, but his arms tightened around Ray again. "Yes, I am, but I suspect Francesca is not." He stirred, almost reluctantly, continuing in professorial sentences that were a sure sign of discomfort. "The sleet has ceased to rattle on the roof, but there is still the sound of wind. A high is moving in, and the temperature is dropping. As a result, your sister is shivering."

"Oh." Ray blinked. That probably meant Fraser thought she should be in the middle. So much for protecting-- well, he wasn't sure who he was protecting from whom, when you got right down to it. "Maybe we should take turns in the middle then." He was pretty damn cold himself.

"That sounds like a reasonable solution." Benny still looked worried. "I wish we had blankets or some other form of insulation, but in the absence of such luxuries, emergency measures will have to suffice." He released his hold on Ray, drawing back.

Francesca didn't need any more invitation than that, scrambling over Benny rapidly and slithering in between them. Ray swallowed hard. On her back, which lay against his chest, her skin was cold and rough with gooseflesh. It made sense for her to put her warmest side against Benny, since he'd been the one who got chilled in the first place, but Ray didn't like it.

He bristled. He especially didn't like the way she was wriggling against Benny, pretending she couldn't get comfortable. He didn't like it at all-- for more reasons than one. He knew her goal was to get Benny hot and bothered, but the curve of her hips was pressing into the crook of Ray's body, and....

Ray swallowed hard, his face burning. His fucking sister, for the love of Christ. Like it hadn't been bad enough lying next to Benny! At least Fraser'd been still. He could deal with still. But Frannie....

"Stop it, Frannie!" Ray directed her sharply. "I don't care how much you squirm, this isn't going to turn into a posturepedic!"

"There's straw poking my side." Frannie ignored him, writhing suggestively against Benny. Yeah. She'd listen to Ray just about as much as the moon might.

"Benny...." Fraser would listen and obey. Count on Benny. "Ignore her, okay? For my sake?" Ray bit his tongue and muffled a yelp as Frannie squirmed again.

"That's exceedingly difficult, Ray." Fraser sounded earnest and a little strained. Ray frowned, wondering where Frannie's lowermost arm and hand were. "Given the circumstances it may be necessary to abandon certain social behaviors...." Fraser let his sentence trail away uncomfortably.

Ray stiffened-- an unfortunate choice of words-- and hunted for his voice. "I hope you're not suggesting that I sit here and ignore it while you molest my sister."

"Well, Ray, it's an accepted method of engaging the autonomic nervous system to increase cardiovasc--" Fraser gulped, and paused Ray could almost feel Frannie purring. She was warming up nicely, all right. Her hips were soft and velvety against Ray's dick, and he felt it pulse, filling.

"Besides," Benny sounded a little desperate. "If it is a question of who is... that is to say, it wouldn't be gentlemanly to..." again with that pause, and Ray snatched at Frannie's uppermost arm, but it wasn't the culprit, lying wrapped lazily around Benny's waist. Frannie ignored them both, pursuing her chosen course of action.

"Benny, you better not have a hard-on for my sister!" Ray threatened weakly.

"Ray..." Benny sounded purely miserable. "It's an automatic physiological response to stimulus..."

"Yeah, mister pot-calling-the-kettle-black!" Frannie snapped, and pushed her hips back into the cradle of Ray's body to illustrate her point.

His mouth clicked shut.

Mortification overwhelmed him-- he hadn't felt this metallic shock of stunning shame since the time Ma caught him peeking at Frannie and Maria in the bathroom when he was thirteen. It was normal-- it was! A guy got curious when he was that age, he needed to know what the girls were hiding, and if he didn't have anybody else to investigate....

"Francesca." Benny moved gently, and Frannie stopped squirming. "You're making Ray uncomfortable."

It was the only time Ray had ever heard Benny say a directly discouraging word to her.

"Not you?" She sounded a little shy, a little hopeful.

"Yes, you're making me uncomfortable as well." Benny reached and stroked her cheek, softening his words.

Ray swallowed and lay still, resisting the urge to move violently-- away from the two of them, possibly with Frannie in tow, or in between them to shove Frannie away from Benny's sturdy, bare body. Frannie lay quite still, and he could feel her heart beating nervously inside her narrow ribcage.

"It's still a long time till morning, and the temperature is dropping. We have to reach an understanding now." Benny sounded dogged, uncomfortable but determined. "Whatever is done here tonight will be done in the interests of survival." He tilted Frannie's chin up, making her meet his eyes. "No emotional commitments or obligations are involved. Do you understand, Francesca?" He held her there, searching her eyes, and Ray felt her heartbeat speed.

She nodded. "Yes, Benton." A subdued tone, for once, a little fragile.

"Good." Benny hesitated, eyes flicking toward Ray's face. He seemed about to speak, but when Ray gave him no encouragement, Benny returned his gaze to Francesca.

"If you're thinking what I think you're thinking, I'm on the pill," she blurted. "So that's not a problem either. And don't worry. If you want to say tonight never happened, it never happened." Ray heard steely resolve in her voice. She'd take Benny at any price and any way she could get him, he knew that, and if the price was having him once, then pretending it never happened... well, she'd have memories to add to her dreams, wouldn't she?

Ray's throat felt dry and oddly painful. He was cold too, growing colder by the minute. His stomach turned to ice as Fraser nodded thoughtfully at Francesca and then simply bent his head till his mouth touched hers. Aw, fuck.

Francesca made a little delighted sound low in her throat and surged forward, wrapping her free arm around Benny's neck. Cold air knifed in between them, but Ray was slow to follow in spite of its bitter bite. He didn't trust his voice. His own sister, and his best friend... right now, right *here,* in front of him....

Anger and a sense of betrayal spun inside him, not sure of its own focus or source, freewheeling rage and hurt gnawing at him harder than the cold air. But then Francesca whimpered again, not so happy this time, and he instinctively moved close behind her, protecting her from the chill.

His little sister. Fraser. Kissing. Well, it could be worse. He seized on the thought. If it had to be somebody, Fraser was better than anybody else, especially her fucking ex-husband. Fraser might break her heart, but she knew where she stood with him-- he hadn't left her any illusions, and he'd do it as gently as anybody could.

Fraser would never hurt a soul if he had a choice. Not if they didn't deserve it, not if he knew he was hurting them, and he couldn't possibly know how much he was hurting Ray right now, or in how many different ways... yeah, Fraser was a prince all right. He'd break your heart with delicate kid gloves and apologies, but when he was through you were still shattered and alone, and so very cold.

Ray shivered, pressing up against Frannie's back even though every motion of her slim body went through him on a knife-blade of pleasure and loss.

Frannie undulated gently against Fraser, and against Ray as well, making low purring moans. Ray closed his eyes, but that didn't help. Benny moaned too, very softly, and the sound sent flame washing over Ray's nerves, firming him even more against Frannie's soft, tantalizing backside.

He was going to hell. No two ways about it. It looked like that line in the Bible about God not lading men with temptations too grievous to bear was all a bunch of shit. He stared up into the dusty rafters, watching a cobweb sway in the breeze. Frannie. Benny. He bit his lip, anger and lust warring with misery inside him.

Frannie's body rocked away from his and he was alone, cold air washing along his body. He opened his eyes involuntarily, in time to see her press Benny over on his back. Fraser's arms came up and his hands rested on her waist; his cock was hard and it lay along his belly, beautiful and ready. It was hooded with a loose rosy sheath of skin. He'd always thought it might be, when he let himself think about things like that.

Ray stifled a moan as Francesca deftly lifted herself off Fraser's thighs, moving up. Benny's hand went to his shaft, lifting it and steadying it for her. Her thighs eclipsed it, and Ray glanced up, staring helplessly at her expression as she sank down, taking it deep inside her body.

He'd never seen a look like that on Frannie's face before-- pure, sublime ecstasy, her features soft with pleasure, her lips parted. Her face was as beautiful as he'd ever seen it, transfigured by happiness, and for a moment he felt intense shame at grudging her this, the one thing she'd wanted more than anything.

The one thing he wanted more than anything.

"Ohhhhhh...." Her chin tilted back, her lashes closing. Ray swallowed hard, looking at the hardened tips of her creamy breasts-- rose with just the palest hint of olive. Her skin was pebbled with chill, but she was lost in the sensation of Benny inside her as she settled all the way down, taking his whole length. Rage sputtered across Ray's vision in a red jet-- my sister!-- but was gone swiftly, buried in the wonder of seeing this side of her. She was nearly always sharp-edged and defensive around him; he'd never seen her so vulnerable and open as she was now.

Ray swallowed hard and jerked his eyes away-- toward Benny. He lay on his back, buried inside Francesca's body, his lips slightly parted and just the tip of his tongue showing, caught between his teeth. His eyes were open, focused on Frannie's face, and his hands rested on her hips now, steadying her.

Frannie arched her back and rose on her knees, dropping back onto Benny with a soft gasp that made Ray's balls ache sharply. Benny's hips moved up to meet her as Ray watched, and he swallowed to try to wet his dry mouth at the sight of Benny's powerful body caught in the motion of sex.

His hand moved; he caught it halfway extended, hesitating for just a fraction of a moment, not sure which of them he'd meant to touch-- undecided, torn between Francesca's slim thigh or Benny's flat chest.

The balance teetered, and he pulled his hand back sharply. Couldn't touch either of them. This was his sister, for Christ's sake, and if Ray had ever hoped Benny's general disinterest in women might be a good sign, tonight was enough to answer that particular question for good.

Ray shivered, tucking his misbehaving arm across his belly. If Frannie and Fraser were planning to keep from freezing to death by fucking, then what about him, huh?

"Ray...." Benny's voice sounded deep and languorous, a little breathless, rich with pleasure. He flinched, glancing at Benny, whose head had moved, rolling to the side to regard him. "Come on, Ray. Behind Francesca."

Ray blinked at the invitation, glancing nervously at his sister. She looked at him with a little uncertainty, but with that sweet softness still in her gaze. Benny's hands smoothed down her shoulders to her elbows, and she smiled. Ray felt it like a punch to the gut.

A fresh gust of wind rattled the shed, sending drafts dancing over Ray's body, and it decided him. Hesitant, he raised himself, not meeting either Fraser's eyes or Francesca's, and knelt carefully behind her, then eased forward until his body lay flush against her back, his longer legs folded outside hers.

That was warmer, at least, even though he didn't know where to put his hands, and eventually had to settle for wrapping his arms around her waist.

Frannie sighed and Benny smiled, visible to Ray over his sister's shoulder. "That's better," Benny murmured, and then Ray felt his thighs flex as he pressed up into Frannie, and he felt Frannie's belly tighten as she rode the thrust easily. Her head tilted back, coming to rest on Ray's shoulder, her cheek warm against his neck, and he tried to go still but he couldn't with Benny's legs flexing under him and her warm body rocking in front of him.

Frannie moaned, her body vibrating against him, and he swallowed, battling the need to touch warm flesh, trying to ignore her nipples on the periphery of his vision as he gazed down at Benny's chest.

Benny slid his hands from Francesca's hips up along her ribs and over Ray's forearms. He took a small breast in each palm, his thumbs caressing her nipples. She keened, arching-- and apparently squeezing, to judge from the way Benny's face went slack with pleasure.

Ray could have lost himself in that expression, his mouth tingling with the need to kiss Benny, and he nuzzled mindlessly into Frannie's neck instead, realizing too late what he was doing.

"Mmm." She purred, and he froze with horror again-- then felt Benny's hands covering his, pulling them up onto Frannie's breasts. Her nipples poked into his palms, small circles of tantalizing hardness, and Ray waited tensely for her to scream at him to get his hands off or try to jerk away, but she didn't.

Yeah, she'd probably fuck Dief if Benny asked her to. The thought was morose and nasty, so Ray hid his shame in her neck. She smelled like apples, the scent enmeshed in her soft hair.

Benny's hand trailed down, and Ray watched, mesmerized, as his fingers vanished, slipping between himself and Frannie's body. She moaned long and low, shuddering, and started to rock. Fraser thrust up, and she shifted into the new pattern, moving sinuously.

Ray gasped as her hips pressed back against him and rose against him, then slid down. His cock snugged itself into the cleft of her sweet, round hips and when she rose again, she was almost like a glove stroking him. He shuddered, struggling not to cry out, then lost the battle on the third stroke, moaning softly into her hair.

Benny's free hand slipped around and settled at the small of Ray's back, pulling him forward, encouraging Ray to ride with them, and Ray surrendered, joining the dance. In some distant way, he knew he was biting and kissing at Frannie's throat, rolling her nipples between thumb and forefinger, but he couldn't bring himself to care about how wrong it had to be-- his body was lost in bliss, and if he pretended, he might almost believe that he was buried in her, or that Fraser was buried in him.

She arched, pushing back against him and down onto Fraser, her keening moans sharpening. Ray could see the tendons in Fraser's arm flexing, and pinched her nipples lightly in time with Fraser's touch. She writhed, shrieking in his ear, and then she was shuddering, her whole body stiff for a long moment as orgasm wracked her.

Benny smiled up at Ray, the expression as innocently wicked as anything Ray had ever seen, and then his face gentled as Francesca returned to herself, gasping and slumping into the support of Ray's arms.

"Oh God..." she breathed softly, her voice shaken. "Benton. ....Ray."

"Frannie." Ray heard his voice break with love and apology. "Fran."

"Ray...." she turned to him, her face sweet and trusting, and before he could breathe she was kissing him, her tongue stroking lightly along his lower lip, then she drew away to sink down against Fraser and kiss him as well. She moved like a cat, all grace and sated lassitude. When she finally raised her head, she and Benny gazed at one another for a long moment, something silent that Ray couldn't quite make out passing between them. Then Benny's eyes moved to catch his.

"Ray..." Benny paused, tongue flickering out to lick his lips. "It's your turn to be in the middle."

A frisson slithered down Ray's spine, reminding him how cold the air was, and he nodded numbly, caught in the liquid heat of Benny's eyes. Only one night. Only one. Survival, and everything else is on hold. All the rules are gone. One night. His earlier harsh thoughts about what Frannie would do for one night with Benny stung his conscience, and he squirmed. He wasn't any better, apparently.

Frannie slipped away from Benny's body without protesting, wonder of wonders, leaving room for Ray between them, and Ray crawled awkwardly up to take her place, his heart hammering. Warm sweet flesh enclosed him, solid at his front and soft at his back. Frannie's lips touched his shoulder; he had just time enough to register the fact before Benny's took his mouth.

He couldn't even think about keeping silent this time, whimpering into Benny's kiss and melting into his arms just as lasciviously as Frannie had. Benny's tongue was hot and agile, sweeping inside his mouth, teasing there and retreating, and Ray followed it mindlessly, writhing against Fraser, harder than he'd ever been. And Benny... Benny devoured him, one hand slipping up to cradle his skull and hold him in place.

Ray was hardly aware of Francesca's soft gasp behind him, forgetting everything in the heat of Benny's mouth. Wildfire consumed him, and he thrust against Benny hard, verging on orgasm, refusing to leave Benny's mouth even to breathe.

Fraser thrust him gently away. "Ray..." his lips looked bee-stung, red and swollen. "We have plenty of time." He touched Ray's lips with his fingertip, and Ray realized Francesca was overlooking them, propped on her elbow, breathing hard.

"Oh, god..." she repeated softly. "I never..." her voice trailed away. "Do that again."

And Benny did, sweeping Ray underneath a tide of sensation, through which he realized after a moment that the hand on his cock was Frannie's. It had to be-- the angle was wrong for Benny and the palm was too small. And then she had Fraser's cock too, and was stroking them together, and Ray nearly choked, floundering out of the kiss in confusion.

Benny smiled again, and Ray wondered if that imp of mischief had always hidden under his smiles.

He tried to speak. "Benny..." was all that came out, hoarse and shaken. He wondered if Frannie had seen the difference between their kisses and the one she'd shared with Fraser herself-- Benny had kissed her politely, fucked her politely-- and though he'd done both things with obvious enjoyment, the fire had been missing.

The fire Ray had just tasted.

Frannie stroked their cocks again, reminding him of her presence, and Ray moaned, feeling heat surge through him. Forbidden fruit. His sister, his male partner... two very different loves, consummated in ways he'd never dared to hope for, and a thousand promises shining in Fraser's brilliant blue eyes....

Ray fumbled for Benny and kissed him, feeling Francesca purr against his back. For one moment in time, he had everything-- and like Frannie had apparently already decided, you'd have to be a fool to quibble over petty scruples and miss the chance to have your dream.

Fraser pulled away after a few moments and licked his lips again, eyes smoky. "Francesca."

Just like he'd given detailed instructions, Frannie nodded and helped him turn Ray over. Ray found his kid sister in his arms, not looking anything like a kid at all, gazing up at him with a slightly stunned, very aroused expression. Then Fraser settled against his back and his cock, still fairly slick from being inside Frannie, slid between Ray's thighs.

Ray moaned, letting his eyes close, and Frannie's tongue slid into his open mouth. Her nipples were hard points against his chest, and he could still smell apples. Apples and leather and kerosene and moldy straw and Frannie and Fraser, and nothing had ever smelled better.

Ray clutched at Frannie, feeling the tender birdlike bones of her small body through her velvety skin. Benny's cock thrust between his thighs, insistent and possessive. Just as he started to relax into the sensations, Frannie slithered agilely out of his arms and started kissing her way down his chest. Benny's tongue dove into his ear, fragmenting his mind, and Ray whimpered, anticipating the touch he knew was coming, his cock straining for it, waiting... waiting...

And Frannie's warm mouth settled on the tip, her tongue circling expertly, and then she sucked him in.

"Don't even... want to know where you... learned that," he heard himself gasp, and felt Benny chuckle against his back. Frannie slid all the way down, showing off a little maybe, until Ray couldn't spare the breath for speech anymore, wondering how the hell he was going to manage not to come with her mouth so hot and wicked on him and Benny's teeth nibbling love bites across the nape of his neck and down the tendon of his throat.

He quivered, struggling not to thrust. Benny's hands helped, stroking up his sides to tweak his nipples, then wandering up further, one square palm turning his chin for a kiss. Benny's cock maintained its steady rhythm between Ray's thighs, the friction growing a little.

"Francesca, if you would try your best to prevent Ray from reaching climax?" Benny spoke, and for a second Ray couldn't gather enough wits to know what he meant. Benny pulled out from between his thighs and Frannie's warm mouth left his cock; Ray looked back, worried, for reassurance.

"Ray?" Benny's voice was a soft, hoarse whisper, and his eyes were gentle, but they radiated pure heat. "Would you like me inside you?"

Ray felt his throat close; his heart sped. One chance in a lifetime.

Feeling torn between ridiculousness and terror, he shut his eyes, shy of Francesca's presence, of Benny's gaze, and of his own consciousness of self-- as if, like an ostrich, he could remove himself from the world simply by making it invisible to him.

"Yes," he husked.

"Francesca?" Benny shifted, his weight covering Ray deliciously for a long moment. "May I enlist your help?"

Ray opened his eyes, blinking; Benny moved past him and settled over Francesca. Her slim thighs were parting, and Fraser slipped between them, sliding into her-- and Ray crimsoned, realizing why.

Francesca touched Benny's face, smiling a little, looking just a bit wobbly, then released him. He moved off her, caressing her breast as he went.

"Hands and knees over her, Ray." Benny was so calm and certain Ray obeyed him, kneeling between Frannie's spread thighs and looking down into her face. Her eyes sparkled up at him with a little wry humor, but there was no distress there, no loathing or dismay, and Ray nearly sobbed with the relief of it.

"In her, Ray." Fraser whispered.

Ray shivered, searching her face for permission, and then eased himself down between her thighs. Her eyes were bright and calm, dark with arousal. She lifted her legs, and he slid his cock into her so easily, without having to think-- hand and glove, they fit together. One flesh. He shivered and Frannie sighed, her breath sweet against his face.

" Sit back on your heels and pull her up into your lap," Fraser continued the low instructions, his voice hotter now, more sensual.

"I don't think I want to know where you learned this either," Ray muttered at him, but his heart wasn't in the jibe, his eyes still locked with Frannie's. He pulled her up carefully, then kissed her lips chastely-- the way a brother should, if that weren't so laughable given the context of the moment. She smiled and melted against him, the velvety clasp of her body perfect around his cock.

"He's Fraser," she said softly, with a little shrug, and Ray nodded, holding her as he'd been told.

"The two of you..." Benny hesitated, his voice thick with passion. "Beautiful."

Ray's cheeks heated and he realized Frannie's were doing the same. She laughed softly, reaching to touch his cheek. "You blushed, big brother."

Ray shook his head, blushing more, and then he felt Benny's knees working their way between his heels, and he lifted Frannie gently as Benny's thighs slid to fit under his, helping support her weight and his own.

Benny reached between them, touching the place where Ray's body joined Frannie's, collecting her slick moisture on his fingers. Then he brought his hand out and slipped his fingers between Ray's cheeks, touching the hidden opening there.

Ray shivered, noticing the scent of Frannie's musk suddenly as he felt her slick fluids stroked onto him. Then Benny's hand made the journey for more and Frannie purred as Benny touched the sensitive flesh between her legs, reminding Ray he had a responsibility: if he was going to fuck his sister, he might as well go all out and try to be the best (well, maybe the second-best; he remembered the look on her face as she sank down onto Benny) lay she'd ever had.

But his good intentions were lost in the dust when Benny's fingers slid into him, the first one breaching him gently and stroking inside until he unclenched, then withdrawing and entering again, along with the second. "Move in her, Ray," Benny whispered, and Ray did, pushing up into her, and when he settled, the blunt snubbed head of Benny's cock was waiting, and his own weight and Francesca's helped push it inside him.

Ray shivered, remembering the sight of Benny steadying his cock for Francesca's descending body. He could feel her eyes on him, watching his face with quiet awe as Benny sank in.

"Ray." She whispered, stroking his cheek with her own. "Oh, Ray..." her voice shook with something he couldn't quite identify. Maybe it was shock, maybe it was lust, maybe both. He was feeling more than a little of both himself, his ass burning mercilessly, his body struggling to accommodate the sensation of Benny's bulk inside him. Frannie's body was helping, her warm clasp encouraging his flagging cock.

Ray took a deep breath and thrust up into Frannie again, his trembling hands smoothing over her cool back, and he settled onto Benny, then thrust up once more. Overwhelming, the doubled sensation-- filling and filled, he was actually perspiring in spite of the cold, gasping for air.

Frannie's breasts crushed sweetly against his chest, and her mouth bruised open under his, responding to his sudden desperate greed for more. He half-moaned, half-growled into her mouth and shoved up hard, then let Benny shove into him just as hard, sending a fierce wave of sensation up his spine.

"Benny!" he jerked his mouth away from Frannie's, almost maddened by pleasure. "Oh God, Benny, oh God...." Light gathered behind his eyelids, and he felt himself trembling, his cock charging like a lightning rod with each fresh ebb and surge, with each fresh push and shove. Frannie's nails dug into his shoulders, and she was wailing low in her throat, her body contracting on his cock. Benny's tongue burned a path along his neck, and then Benny's teeth sank hard enough to bruise; with a hoarse cry Ray climaxed inside his sister's body, unable to stop the warm pulses spilling into her.

He wavered, nearly collapsing; Frannie clung to him desperately, moaning through the final throes of her orgasm, and Benny fucked him faster, supporting Ray's wobbly knees with brute strength until he pulsed and came. Ray could feel slippery wetness flooding him, an odd echo of the sensation of coming inside Frannie, and he clutched her tightly, not sure whether he was giving or receiving comfort.

Benny managed to pull them over onto their sides as he collapsed, and Frannie grunted as her leg was caught under Ray's weight, then squirmed free. Fraser adjusted his posture too, and they wound up lying with Ray sandwiched between them, each with a head on his shoulder.

Ray felt weariness and comfort stealing over him-- he lay in the center of Fraser's coat, and he was warm where their bodies pressed against his. He blinked at Benny, who was looking at him thoughtfully, as though trying to memorize his face, something very slightly pensive in the way he held his mouth, as though he were afraid of Ray's reaction now that they were still.

"I must confess, Ray, that I feel rather foolish," Benny spoke suddenly, his voice soft.

Ray stiffened, and felt Frannie do the same. The electric bite of fear and shame tingled in the back of Ray's throat again. "Why's that, Benny?" He tightened his arm around Francesca, bracing both of them.

"There is a stack of firewood against the far wall, and judging by the presence of a flame in the kerosene lantern, I assume there are matches somewhere nearby."

Ray blinked, and Frannie made a sound somewhere between a chagrined yelp and a snort of laughter. "Oh, my god, he's right!" She whacked Ray's thigh with her palm. "Why didn't you notice that, Ray?"

"Well, we were all kind of out of it when we got here." Ray looked down at his sister. "Besides, you were the one who found the matches!"

"Well, you were the one who was so eager to get naked you didn't even bother to look around!"

"ME?" Ray stared at her, wide-eyed. "You are gonna have to take this to confession, because that's a lie if you ever told one, Frannie."

She laughed again, rich and comfortable. "I don't think any of us will be telling Father Behan about this one." She snuggled up against Ray, looking across his chest into Fraser's eyes.

"Thank God for that," Ray mumbled, flushing.

Fraser raised himself, studying the interior of the shed further. "In fact..." he shook his head. "That appears to be a stovepipe in the corner." He scrambled up, unconscious of his nudity, and moved over to investigate. Shoving aside some rusty sheets of metal, probably once used for roofing, he uncovered a squat woodstove, and turned back toward the Vecchios, one brow raised.

"We're all to blame," he decided. "When I first located the cabin, I knew I was in danger from the chill, so I didn't hesitate to examine it more closely. I never saw the chimney pipe."

"Why do we have to blame?" Frannie sounded wistful. "Can't we just be grateful?"

Benny turned to her, and his face gentled. "Yes, Francesca. I for one am grateful." His eyes flickered to Ray, and Ray swallowed hard.

They watched as Benny examined the stove and loaded it with wood, then Frannie pointed him to the matches and he lit it. In minutes, Ray could feel a difference in the air, and he lay back, laughing helplessly.

"Oh, shut up and help me move the bed," Frannie whacked him again, not unfriendly, and so he got up and they scraped the straw over, then redistributed their makeshift sheets.

After the bedding was ready they lay down, Benny in the middle, the quiet suddenly awkward between the three of them.

"Fraser, I want you to know. What I promised earlier still goes." Frannie broke the silence first, rising up on her elbow to look down at him, including Ray with a glance. "If you say it didn't happen, it didn't happen." Her lip trembled slightly and her eyes were too bright.

"Thank you, Francesca." Benny touched her cheek with his palm, stroking down her neck to her shoulder, cradling it in the hollow of his hand. "I regret that I must be so cruel, but..." he swallowed. "I believe you know why."

"Yeah." Frannie swallowed harshly. "It didn't take long to figure out."

Ray shifted, nervous and not understanding. "Well, I'm glad it never happened. No offense. But God..." he bit his lip, not looking at Frannie. "Nobody'd understand this, you know?"

"Actually, Ray, there are cultural precedents--" but Fraser sounded wooden and miserable, and Frannie patted his chest, glaring at Ray.

"Not in my culture!"

"Jesus, Ray, get a clue, would you?" Frannie snapped. "Look at him!"

Ray did, but Benny was silent, his eyes turned away, his mouth closed. His lips were still red, the lower one deliciously swollen.

"Stop worrying about what some bunch of idiots would say and look what you're doing to him!" Frannie's eyes were snapping. Yeah, everything was back to normal there, all right.

"Benny?" Ray ventured quietly. "I thought you wanted us to forget and go on."

"I didn't ask that promise of you, Ray." Benny turned his eyes to Ray again and the hurt was visible there, open and raw and vast and almost as powerful as the hope and the fear that also shone in his blue eyes. "But if you ask it of me, I will."

"Benny," Ray breathed, upset. "No, I don't want you to forget. I don't want to forget being with you, either. I just meant... well, you know." He shifted uncomfortably and kept his eyes away from Frannie, moving one shoulder slightly in her direction, pointing and shrugging at once. She sat up uncomfortably, moving a little closer to the stove.

"Ah." Fraser nodded. "Yes, I understand." His voice sounded strained, as though he were battling joy and regret at once. "I can see how that might be a problem. I'm sorry, Ray. It's my fault."

"No it isn't!" Two voices chorused, indignant, and Ray looked at Frannie again, forgetting to be shy of her eyes.

"I could've let you take care of her," he told Benny gruffly.

"And I would have taken his arm off if I didn't want him to touch me." Frannie pinked. "Angie always said you were good in bed, Ray...."

Ray's jaw dropped; he goggled at her, unable to find words. Women! They were impossible; he'd never understand--

"He is, isn't he." Benny nodded soberly, that gleam of mischief back in his eyes, replacing the fear and pain.

"That didn't mean you had to find out for yourself. Frannie!" His protest was weak, and he knew it.

"Shut up and kiss him, Ray." Frannie blushed nonetheless, and for lack of an adequate comeback, Ray obeyed her. Benny slid up from his shoulder, touching him with amazing shyness for someone who'd seemed so sure just a few minutes ago. Ray sank into Benny's kiss, then pulled away, a thought striking him. He looked at his sister, who was watching them wistfully, sitting up with her arms wrapped around her knees, then at Benny, who nodded very slightly.

"Frannie." He spoke gently, opening his arm in invitation to her, and Benny smiled, scooting back to leave room between them. "It isn't morning yet, last time I looked."

Shyly she scrambled over and slipped between them. Benny's eyes met Ray's over her head, shining with love. They enfolded her in a comfortable embrace, and tired from the eventful evening, they eventually fell asleep.

Ray strode out the door toward his newly-repaired Riv, Fraser in tow. "Come on, Benny, we're gonna miss the first act." He felt giddy and ecstatic: after a week, his newfound romance with the Mountie was only getting better.

A dilapidated old clunker pulled up before they could get in the car, and some greaseball honked the horn. Ray tensed and flicked a glance at Benny. Sure enough, Frannie trotted out onto the porch, her hair sprayed and her makeup perfect and her skirt about a yard too short. She hesitated, looking soberly over toward Ray, and Ray's fists clenched. Turning her head, she marched resolutely across the narrow strip of front lawn and climbed in the car. Ray took a half-step forward, and a hand fell on his shoulder, stopping him.

"Ray," Benny murmured softly in his ear. "She'll never find someone to love her if you don't let her try." He sounded sad.

"Yeah," Ray muttered miserably, and they got in the car, but the evening at the Opera was ruined for him.

That night as he held Benny in the narrow bed in the slum on Racine, all he could think of was the wounded sweetness in Frannie's eyes as she'd left their makeshift bed of straw to get into her clothes. That, and the beauty and happiness that had been on her face when Fraser touched her.

"Benny?"

"She'll be all right, Ray." The warm, quiet voice in the dark comforted him.

"I'm glad you didn't want me to forget." Ray felt his eyes sting, and he groped for Benny, holding him tightly as they made love.

End Forbidden Fruit by Cara Chapel: cara_chapel@hotmail.com

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