Leo glared at Gregory. He wasn’t in the mood this morning for Gregory’s over-inflated ego. Of the twelve of them, Gregory was the one who did absolutely nothing toward running the resort. His job, as he put it, was to keep the guests happy in bed. “Get to the point, Greg. I’m busy.”
Gregory grimaced. Leo knew he hated being called Greg. “Fine. Mrs. Stanton said she’d reported her emerald and sapphire necklace stolen yesterday, and this morning it showed up back in her suite with no explanations, no apologies, nothing.”
“So? What does Blair have to do with that?” Leo hadn’t meant to sound so defensive. He forced himself to hold Gregory’s curious gaze.
“So, she asked me who the housekeeper was assigned to her suite this week, and I had no idea. So when mine came in, I asked her, and she told me she was pretty sure Blair has that floor all week.”
“Mrs. Stanton was in here yesterday morning to report the theft to me.”
“Did Blair take the necklace?”
“Obviously not, since it’s in Mrs. Stanton’s room.”
Gregory narrowed his eyes. “Since when do we keep staff who steal from our guests?”
Leo stood up. “We have no proof a theft occurred. Why don’t you take it up with Mrs. Stanton? And since Andras and Zach are in charge of our staff, why don’t you let them do their jobs, eh?”
Gregory slid off the desk and faced Leo. His sneer turned into a knowing grin. “Mrs. Stanton won’t just let this go, Leo. She’s used to people doing her bidding.”
“Then perhaps you should run along and do her bidding, Gregory. Keep her happy, and keep her out of the business of running this resort, okay?”
Gregory chuckled as he left the room. “Never thought I’d see the day you had to stoop to banging the help, Leo.”
Leo’s hand curled around the marble paperweight, but all he did was give it a hard squeeze. Unfortunately, even if he had hurled it at Gregory’s head, it wouldn’t have done any real harm.
He picked up the newspaper articles accusing Blair of stealing and read them again. They were in over their heads here. Frankie Fillipone was bad news, and even though he knew Zach had been right when he said they couldn’t ask Lilith for help, Leo knew they might have to before all this was over.
Leo had sneaked into Mrs. Stanton’s suite in the middle of the night, using every ounce of power he still had, and placed the necklace on her dresser where Blair had told them she first saw it. Mrs. Stanton never stirred in her sleep. What else could he have done? Tell the woman he just happened to find the missing necklace in his office? No, there had been no other way to resolve this.
He slammed his fist on the desk. Why the hell had he let his dick get the better of him yesterday? Gregory wasn’t entirely an idiot. He suspected something was going on, and he might not let it go, especially if Mrs. Elizabeth Stanton pushed the matter. He hoped Gregory hadn’t given Mrs. Stanton Blair’s name and wished he’d thought to ask him before he left.
* * * *
Blair plodded through her duties the next morning fighting a battle in her mind. Every time she let down her guard, her dreams from the night before invaded her senses with lust-filled images. How was she supposed to function like this? She couldn’t get Leo or Andras out of her mind while awake or asleep.
The dreams had been so vivid Blair had woken at one point bathed in sweat, convinced she smelled sage and peppermint in her room. She’d even jumped out of bed and checked the door to make sure it was locked. Was this what it felt like to lose one’s mind?
Another nagging thought had begun to take shape this morning as well. What if she got knocked up? Neither one of them had used a condom. Surely they used them with the guests? Blair was so lost in her daydreams she dropped things all day, including a vase of flowers in one of the suites. It set her back half an hour as she cleaned up the pieces of pottery and water.
She hurried into the staff dining room at half past noon and grabbed a sandwich and a bottle of Coca-Cola, taking the empty seat next to Cindy.
“What kept you so long?” asked the fiery redhead. “We have to be back to work in fifteen minutes.”
Blair swallowed the food in her mouth. “Just clumsy today. Dropped some flowers and had to clean it up.”
Cindy leaned close to the group of women at the table. “Did you hear Mrs. Stanton has extended her stay again?”
Blair’s fingers trembled at the mention of Mrs. Stanton. “Isn’t this the third time?” She tried to fix Deanna with a neutral gaze.
Deanna nodded, a gleam in her green eyes. “Wonder what her husband thinks of that?”
“Isn’t he out of the country?” asked Sally.
Knowing laughter and tongue clucking greeted her question. Mrs. Stanton was rumored to be carrying on with Gregory Fallon, one of the owners. Her husband was a rich railroad owner. Blair’s thoughts drifted away from Mrs. Stanton and back to the scene she’d witnessed in a suite yesterday, before she finished her duties for the day and went back to her room. Her mind played over Emmett kissing one of the guests, then telling Blair she’d have to join them if she was going to stay.
Heat rushed up her neck and face, and she glanced at the other staff, hoping they were too engrossed in their gossip to notice. She stuffed the rest of her sandwich into her mouth and washed it down with the soft drink. What were Leo and Andras doing right now? Were they seducing one of the guests?
The image of them making love to a woman the way they’d had her on the sofa yesterday filled her head, and Blair nearly retched. The jealousy coursing through her was unexpected, dark, and frightening. She was only a chambermaid with no claim on either man. They were her employers, and they believed they’d caught her stealing from a guest. She was on tenuous ground, at best.
Yesterday had been a game they played—nothing more. She’d best get any thoughts of it being something more right out of her pretty, blonde head, as her father used to say when she would occasionally try to tell him her dreams and ambitions. “People like us aren’t destined for greatness, Blair. We have to work for a living. Put that thought right out of your pretty, blonde head.”
Blair hated to admit it, but in this case her father was right. She worked for Leo, Andras, and the others. It was time to put yesterday’s erotic adventure out of her mind and do her job before she ended up back in Chicago on the run again.
* * * *
Leo drummed his fingers on the desk and tried to concentrate on the menus in front of him. The trouble was that he just didn’t give a shit what kinds of finger snacks they should serve in the speakeasy next month, or if they should now consider calling it a nightclub as opposed to a speakeasy.
Now that Prohibition had been repealed, it was no longer illegal to serve booze. Frankie and his men were losing money on clubs like theirs in Chicago, and that was one of the reasons he’d tried to muscle in on their business a couple of years ago. They had a gold mine here, and Frankie wasn’t stupid. He’d realized that the first time he visited.
Leo and Sterling Neville were supposed to be handling all the details of the speakeasy, but Sterling had taken off two months ago to wander in the woods and do some soul-searching, as he called it, so Leo was running this part of the resort on his own for now.
Soul-searching. What a joke. They had no souls. Banished to Earth by the archangels for their sins, the twelve had started this resort as a lark fifteen years ago, with help from a demon named Lilith. Between the terms of their punishment and Lilith’s spell, cast out of anger, they were stuck living lives during which they never aged, never grew sick or tired, and could do whatever they pleased.
Andras’s remark to him yesterday about being able to call down demons was true. They could if they wanted to, but at what price? They might find out if Frankie figured out where Blair was hiding. So far, they’d been able to stay on the right side of the law, but that could change if a goon tried to worm his way in.
Leo pushed away from the desk and shook his head as his gaze fell on the sof
a against the wall. If he didn’t stop thinking about Blair, he’d get nothing done. The memory of her lips wrapped around his rock-hard cock filled his head, and he moaned. Where in the hell had she learned how to give such a perfect blow job? There had been no doubt about her virginity, but surely she’d had intimate experiences with a man before? No woman fucked like that her first time. He should know. He’d deflowered plenty of virgins.
The sight of her red, round ass wiggling in the air as he draped her over his leg filled his mind, and Leo rubbed the front of his trousers. The ability to maintain a perpetual hard-on wasn’t necessarily an advantage. He had work to do. She certainly hadn’t minded the spanking after a while, no more than she’d minded them fucking her.
“Be fair,” he muttered. They had used their powers on her. The dear girl hadn’t had a chance. She’d most likely never done anything close to that in her entire life. She’d been so flustered and embarrassed when it was over she’d practically run out of here.
But her fear had been real. The memory of the look in her eyes when she thought they worked for Frankie deflated Leo’s cock. Blair was on the run, and she was terrified. He and Andras had inadvertently taken advantage of that. Well, maybe not inadvertently. But it wasn’t as if they’d planned it. It just…happened. Blair was there, smelling fresh and alive, and she’d bared her soul to them. How were they supposed to resist that beautiful face and those big blue eyes?
“Fuck.” Leo rose and began to pace the room. He didn’t want to let a woman under his skin, guest, or staff. It was nothing but trouble to allow them in too far. For one thing, he’d have to tell her their secret. And who the fuck would believe it, even if he did? It was too much of a risk.
Some of the staff had been with them since the beginning, and he knew they’d noticed that none of the owners had appeared to age. He and the others had already discussed the possibility they would have to tell the staff what was going on and what that might mean in the long run. But what other choice did they have? Fire them all every ten years or so and start over? That was bound to attract unwanted attention as well.
What if they just told Blair and no one else? At least, not for now?
Leo stood in front of the window, watching a flock of ducks wing their way across the lake. If they told her, she might understand. Underneath that frightened childlike exterior lurked an intelligent woman. Her speech was refined, and her eyes were full of deep emotion. A different woman than the daughter of a small-time bookie was hidden underneath Blair’s chambermaid uniform. The life Leo suspected she’d been trying to flee when she pawned the jewelry wasn’t the life she’d been born to lead.
He believed her story. He wasn’t sure if Andras did, but he did. Blair deserved something better in life than what her father had given her. Where was her mother? He’d wanted to protect and shelter her the moment he laid eyes on her, and he felt no differently now.
Leo’s musings were cut short as the door opened, and Andras stood there, a thoughtful look on his face.
“Stop reading my thoughts,” said Leo.
Andras grinned. “I’ve been resisting the urge to go up to the fourth floor all day. We may have to reassign her work to someone else.”
“Yeah, that wouldn’t be noticed by anyone.”
“Okay, bad idea. But I want to invite her to dinner. I mean a real one. Candles and the whole deal.”
Leo gave him a droll look. “You know that would backfire. We don’t know her past experience. If you lead her on and give her the wrong impression, it could bring trouble.”
“She’s already in trouble.”
“You know what I mean, Andras. You give a woman the idea you’re interested in her romantically, and she starts hearing wedding bells.”
“Well, that’s not going to happen, is it?”
“No kidding. But she doesn’t know that, Andras.”
Andras shrugged and plopped into the nearest chair, resting his hands in his chin. “Then let’s tell her the truth.”
Leo averted his gaze. He didn’t want to admit to Andras he’d been thinking the same thing. “We can’t get involved with them. Not that way. You know the rules.”
“Do you think that’s real? The conditions placed on our imprisonment?”
“Don’t you?”
The two stared at each other. The same fear coursing through Leo’s body was reflected in Andras’s eyes.
“I don’t know. None of us have actually tested it.”
“Andras, you aren’t serious. One hour with her and you’re dizzy with a dame?”
Andras ran his hand through his hair in a gesture that reminded Leo of Zach. He’d picked up many of Zach’s habits working in that tiny office with him all day for fifteen years. “I don’t know. I mean, maybe. Shit. I can’t get her out of my head, Leo. And I feel terrible about the way we handled it. She was scared, and we seduced her. You know as well as I do she didn’t steal that damn necklace. And I’m still not sure what went down with the jewelry in the alley, but I don’t believe she’s working for her father or that she stole anything from him or his clients.”
“I don’t either.” Leo pulled a chair across from Andras. “But I’m not ready to throw in the towel, Andras. Sure, we’ll have our fun with her, but let’s be careful, okay? We don’t know anything about her.”
“Then we should get to know her. The proper way.”
Leo laughed. “The proper way? A girl like Blair deserves to be courted. I’ll agree with you on that one. But we can’t do that, now can we? Not the proper way. Our intentions aren’t proper. Our intentions are more of the same as we got yesterday and a few other things, if we can talk her into it. Not that she needed much persuading—”
“Shut your mouth, Leo.” Andras’s eyes flashed with anger.
“What?”
“I said shut your fucking mouth.”
“What’s your story? She’s no gold digger or moll, but you can’t tell me you aren’t wondering the same things about her. She didn’t exactly stop us, and she certainly knew what to do when we—”
Andras stood up so fast his chair nearly toppled. He clenched his fists. “We used our powers on her.”
Leo stood and faced his friend. “All right. Calm down. You’re right. Man, Andras. You have it bad.”
“I’m having dinner with her tonight. I don’t give a shit if you approve.”
Leo waved him away. “Fine. Go. But don’t come crying to me when she starts talking about china patterns and what she wants to name her children.”
Andras slammed the door, and Leo stared at it for a long time, trying not to picture him naked with Blair, tangled in the sheets. Why the hell had he reacted that way when Andras told him how terrible he felt about the way they’d seduced her? What he’d said was the truth. They’d treated her like a whore, and she hadn’t deserved that. Now, instead of helping Andras make it up to her, Leo had a mountain of work to finish tonight. Alone. Without Blair and her big blue eyes. Fuck.
Chapter Six
By the end of the workday, Blair was in no mood to eat dinner with the staff. She hadn’t been able to stop thinking about Leo and Andras in the arms of another woman, and her stomach was tied up in knots. But she knew if she didn’t eat something, she’d wake up in the middle of the night from hunger pains, so she decided to take a sandwich and maybe some roasted vegetables up to her room. Those were always so good. Her mother used to make them, and the taste reminded Blair of happier times.
Maybe she’d listen to the radio and sit in front of her open window to enjoy the warm night? It was almost Independence Day. Did they shoot off fireworks here? She hoped so. It had always been her favorite holiday. Her mother had loved to watch fireworks over Lake Michigan. After she died, her father eventually stopped taking Blair to see them.
She was lost in memories of her childhood as she made her way from the bathroom at the end of the hall, where she’d just taken a quick shower. She liked to get hers in early, before the rest of the chambermaids who
lived on this floor lined up to wait their turn after dinner.
Dressing in blue jeans and a simple cotton blouse, she glanced at the clock. She had just enough time to get dinner before they stopped serving it. As she rounded a corner near the staff dining room, her gaze was on the floor in front of her, and consequently she didn’t see the muscled chest of Andras Neville until she ran straight into it. Just as she had the day before in front of the elevators.
“Oh…Mr. Neville…” Heat flooded her neck and face. Every erotic image from last night’s dreams came rushing back. “I’m so sorry. I didn’t see you.”
“That’s two days in a row.” He glanced around then fixed her with a grin that made her pussy flood. “It’s all right to call me Andras.” He lowered his voice. “We’ve seen each other naked, after all.”
Blair bit back a moan as his soft, sexy voice washed over her.
“I came up here looking for you.” He produced a red rose from behind his back. “And to invite you to dinner.”
Blair stared at the rose with her mouth open. No one had ever given her a flower, let alone a red rose. He placed it in her hand then tilted her chin up with one finger. “Will you have dinner with me?”
She’d do anything he wanted. All he had to do was ask. “I…I don’t know what to say.”
“Say yes.”
“Yes.”
Andras offered his arm, and she took it. He guided her toward the elevator. She couldn’t get in there with him. It was too close and tight. There was no way she’d be able to keep her hands off him. The scent of the rose mixed with his smell of peppermint, forcing memories from yesterday into her already crowded imagination.
Blair inhaled deeply and wished she could think of clever words to use like the women in the moving pictures. They always knew exactly what to say, how to bat their eyelashes, and just the right way to smile to make the man fall crazy in love with them.
Andras pulled back the gate and ushered her inside. She squeezed against the back wall and tried not to stare at his forearms as the sleeves of his jacket fell back a bit. As she recalled the fine dusting of blond hair on them from yesterday, an urge to run her fingers across it washed over her.
Seducing the Chambermaid [Notorious Nephilim 2] (Siren Publishing Ménage Amour) Page 5