Neither man moved, unsure if more was to come.
As the various colored petals rained down on them, like velvet soft snowflakes, she finally lifted her head to stare at them. The black orbs were gone, and the serene violet eyes they loved had returned.
“I’m fine,” she offered, as she put out her hand to help Flynn from his position on the ground. He immediately reached for her without thought for his safety. His willingness to trust her spoke volumes and touched her heart.
“Wow, those poor flowers never saw that coming,” he joked, gazing into her eyes. “You’re quite possibly the most beautiful woman I know, but your temper astounds me. Those poor roses never had a chance, you big brute.” He tried to cheer her up with levity. When he kissed her lips, some of the tension had drained away.
Jolie laughed at how silly they looked with colored rose petals in their hair. Obviously, the moment had safely passed, and the anger was gone.
“Feel better now, mon amour?” asked Jacques, brushing pink and red petals from his clothing as he grinned lovingly at his mate. This outburst was mild, and he was grateful. He hated seeing her suffer in the aftermath.
“Yes, I think I do. I appreciate my big strong mates cheering me up,” she admitted. It felt good knowing that the truth was out there, and neither man was going to make a big production out of it. Jolie didn't want to dwell on her past. Despite what Flynn had said, she didn't want to believe it made her into the vampyre she was today.
It made her sick and always would.
“We’ll deal with your new found gift as a couple. Maybe it’s not meant to punish you, but to help us,” added Jacques, the optimist in the group.
“What do you mean?”
“We don’t know what’s going to be happening with Chloe or the hunters who are killing the vampyres. It’s possible that all of this is tied together--like a puzzle of sorts. I doubt that it’s all a coincidence that the minute we arrived, this all began unfolding.”
“I really hate puzzles, Jacques.” Jolie especially hated mysteries that involved her life. Jolie liked everything to be cut and dried. You had rules, so you followed them. If you didn’t, then you died.
How much more straight forward could it get?
“I hate how this is screwing with us,” replied Flynn, crossing his arms.
“We need to figure all of this out, and we will, but first, we should get some rest. Tomorrow is the council gathering, and I’m sure it’s going to be an adventure.”
Flynn snorted at that.
Yeah, lately, all their adventures ended with guns, knives, and death.
“That’s a really good idea, my loves. I didn't really rest well yesterday,” she admitted, taking their hands in hers as they headed toward the house. “We’ll deal with this later.”
There was no doubt in any of their minds that they’d have to because this wasn’t going to go away.
Once in their room, behind locked doors, Jolie reached out for Chloe to give her instructions to wake them by four. Then they would have time to get ready for the council meeting. Jolie could feel the donor’s anxiety growing, and it gave her more reason to be on guard. Jacques’s words kept echoing through her mind.
Not a coincidence.
Before speaking privately in their minds, Jacques made sure Jolie was blocked from the conversation.
‘Is she okay?’ asked Flynn into his mate’s mind as he stripped to climb into their bed.
‘Yes, I believe so, for now.’
‘We need to keep an eye on Chloe, and I really mean closely watch her. I have a bad feeling, Jacques.’
‘Oui, I agree. We’ll have to be careful. I don’t like any of this.’ They made their agreement to protect the one they loved.
Jacques dropped the last of his clothes, and sat on the bed beside Jolie, who was blissfully unaware that they were privately speaking about her.
“Come, mon amour, let’s rest and regroup tomorrow at dusk.” He invitingly held out his hand.
Momentarily, Jolie lost focus when she saw both very naked men waiting for her. It was a sight to behold, and it pushed out all the sadness. Now, she was thinking about them.
Flynn laughed. “You’re such a perv.”
Jolie had to shake her head to clear her mind. “You think?”
Her laughter was the last thing either man heard as they slipped into death and sleep.
* * * H a r c o u r t e * * *
Sunday Afternoon
Darkness broke around her, almost falling away like dying leaves from trees. There was barely a struggle now, and Jolie wasn’t quite sure how she should feel about it at all. With each wakening, it was becoming more natural to not have to fight to the surface. She imagined that that this was what it must be like to wake each day like a human.
It was…different.
The previous night had been hell. Having to tell them about her past was a terrible pill to swallow.
While at the time she hadn’t been in the mood to discuss the detectives on the street, her ever worsening mood, or Chloe’s odd behavior, it felt good to get some of it off her chest. At least now she wasn’t lying to them.
Their relationship wouldn’t be broken by her dirty little secrets. They were out in the open. Still, what she wanted was to escape, but Jolie trusted the men beside her.
Now, maybe they’d let it go.
She nearly laughed.
Despite telling them what was bothering her, Jolie knew her men, and they weren’t going to let this go. For now, her honesty had bought a little time.
It was a start.
Resting there, Jolie stretched to loosen her cramped muscles. Not having to fight your way out of death was a rather pleasant feeling. It was calming to slowly float to the surface after years of doing battle.
Scanning her surroundings, she found both men by her sides, protecting her with their bodies. Jolie was cocooned between them like some delicate object.
It made her heart skip.
Jolie had to admit that it was a nice, comforting feeling to be so loved and protected. These two men really were the loves of her life.
Her Jacques, with his pale skin and chiseled Romanesque features, sometimes serene and sometimes filled with storms, was Jolie’s champion. He was dark and dangerous with the eyes of a killer. He saw all, missing nothing around them. He owned half her heart and looking back, he probably had for centuries--she just didn’t know it at the time.
Thankfully, he did.
Then, of course, there was her handsome detective. Each day, it marveled her that he, too, could be hers. Flynn was the exact opposite of her Jacques. The only physical trait they had in common was the silky dark hair. Flynn’s icy blue eyes also saw everything, but they took it all in with the strategic gaze of trained cop eyes. Since his transformation, they had become much cooler.
He was becoming more like them.
Actually, he was becoming more like Jacques.
Jolie couldn’t help but be grateful for that. The beating heart inside his tanned chest was warm and loving. Just when they waited for some horrible human flaw to surface, it never did. Their Flynn had a propensity to love with all his heart, and that was important to them.
Flynn Brogan was a gift, and they knew it.
Humans didn’t always react well to the idea of vampyres. Once they found out the truth, they often betrayed the undead. They wrote that off to the asinine lore passed down by word of mouth and by book.
But not their human--no, he’d been the opposite, trusting them enough to see the real vampyres beneath.
After all he had to go through to get to that one moment in time, Flynn could lift her spirit with just a laugh, a joke that he snuck in without warning, or a boyish grin.
He was a treasure.
Jolie brushed a hair from his face to enjoy the laugh lines surrounding his closed eyes. Sometimes, she couldn’t believe her good fortune when it came to love.
With gentle fingertips, she traced his lower lip, enthralled by
how full and delicious it looked. If they weren’t about to have company, Jolie might just sink her fangs and mouth into it.
At the door, there was the telltale knock. Chloe and Mina, the donors who they had brought with them to Paris, were ready to feed her.
Jolie used her mind to call to them. When they entered, as usual, they stood closest to Jacques’s side of the bed. He tended not to get nervous when he woke and found them standing above him. The detective could still be a bit skittish.
Jolie reached out, taking Chloe’s hand first, and then Mina’s to slowly feed from them. She took in as much energy as she could. Feeding both men could be draining.
Once done, Jolie blew both women a kiss, and they were dismissed. Now, was Jolie’s favorite part of the day.
It was time to wake her men.
Jolie focused on Flynn first. Again, his mouth had her full attention. The man kissed like a fallen angel, trying to lure her into very naughty things.
Then again, it wasn’t like he had to try all that hard. With him, Jolie would do just about anything to feel his hands on her body. Lightly, she ran her thumb across that sexy lower lip, relishing the silkiness. As if on cue, his eyes popped open.
Jolie’s heart skipped a beat.
“Good evening, beautiful,” Flynn offered before he stretched, rubbing his body against hers like a giant jungle cat.
Jolie’s brain went fuzzy at the contact. That simple touch made her want to overheat each and every time.
“It’s time to feed, Flynn. We have a busy night ahead of us, and later, I’ll need blood.”
How could he say no to that? If she wanted him to slit his wrist and bleed out on the pricy silk, he would. Jolie could have anything she wanted.
“Oh, that’s right. We have another council to attend. I forgot.” His hand snaked up her bare leg as he tried to lure her into rolling around.
Jolie had to fight the urge to climb up his body. If they didn't have council, she would have been all over her naked mate. There was something alluring about that sexy tan flesh…
He snapped his fingers and began laughing when she started day dreaming.
Jolie shook her head. “Damn you, Flynn,” she muttered.
It pleased him that she wasn’t immune to his charm. Flynn wasn’t sure if it was a vampyre gift, or the fact that she was his mate--born to be his.
‘The latter,’ she admitted, slipping into his mind. ‘You were made for me.’
Thank God for that.
She had to focus before the lust and need to mate overpowered them. “Feed.”
“My pleasure,” he whispered, moving off her body to recline against the headboard. When she went to straddle him, Flynn offered Jolie his hand for balance.
“Thank you.”
“Did you dream last night?” he asked cautiously.
“No, this time it was the usual trip to death and back. When I woke, it was easy to escape. I don’t know why that freaks me out, Flynn, but it does. Death isn't usually so accommodating. It’s like I’m waiting to pay the price for this boon.”
“It’s a good thing, isn't it?” he asked.
“After having to fight death to escape every night for eight hundred years, it’s freaking me out,” she admitted, rubbing against him. Immediately, Jolie could feel him respond to her touch. Her mate’s body tensed as his erection pulsed beneath the sheet. What wouldn’t she give to have more time to do it right?
“Later, baby,” he murmured, running his lips across her shoulders and chest.
Oh, he could bet on it.
“Ready, Flynn, my love?”
“Oh, yeah! This is my favorite part of waking up,” he admitted, watching her face light with laughter as he continued his teasing. “I mean, next to ‘Frosted Flakes’, that is. I’d be hard pressed to choose between them. Although, with cereal, you do get a little prize in the box…”
Jolie punched him in the arm. “You’ll pay for comparing me to food again.” Jolie nestled against his hard body and pressed her lips lovingly against his. Calling to the energy in her, Jolie let it float from her mouth into his, touching all his depleted parts.
It immediately pulled a moan from deep within his body. Without thinking, his hands slid up her thighs to her hips, before pulling her roughly against him.
Jolie knew if she didn't stop, they’d be rolling around, and they didn't have the time. Not now. “Okay, tiger, you’re all set.”
“That wasn’t too bad at all. You must be getting soft for me. For a few seconds there, I thought that you were going to punish me for the food comment.” He wiggled his eyebrows seductively, enjoying the way she smiled at him.
“Oh, how little you know me then, Flynn. I’m going to punish you, Detective. I just like to catch you off guard.” Jolie winked salaciously before purring seductively in his ear, “I just bought a great deal of flimsy, French underwear, and I’m not going to let you see any of it.”
When she pulled away, he just stared as his mouth hung open. It was apparent that he was unsure if she were serious or kidding.
“That’s just cruel punishment, Jolie,” he muttered, closing his eyes before leaning back against the headboard. The second she crawled out of his lap, he wanted to drag her back against him. “Man, you can be one mean bitch!” he admitted teasingly.
Jolie giggled, and then kissed him on his pouting mouth. “Yes, I can be, and I thought it was pretty creative myself, considering you need to be hit right where it hurts--sex or food,” she said, pointing toward the bathroom. “Off to the shower with you. I’ll wake Jacques, and I bet he doesn’t compare me to a bowl of soggy, sugar cereal.”
“Yeah, yeah, yeah,” he muttered, sliding out of the bed. Then, he couldn’t resist and gave her a slap on the ass as he walked past her.
“Flynn Brogan!” She gave him the most disapproving schoolmarm look, trying not to laugh at his silliness. His boy-like antics lifted her spirits and made him even more endearing, but there was no reason to tell him that little secret.
Then, his ego would be out of control.
He loved the way she stared at him with big violet eyes. He wasn’t buying it at all. Little did Jolie know, but the schoolmarm act riled him up. Now he was even hornier than a few seconds ago.
Damn!
This was going to be a rough day.
“Sorry, but I was already in trouble, so why the hell not?” he asked, heading into the bathroom to shave and shower. Her laughter floated into his mind and seductively wrapped itself around his body.
Uncontrollably, he shivered.
Oh, yeah. His life was damn good.
Jolie leaned over her other mate and called him from death’s hold, the struggle was evident as she reached into his mind. Jolie could feel him battling hard to escape. To reward him, Jolie pressed her lips to his neck, and nibbled gently to get his attention.
“Mmmmm,” he whispered, and then rolled with her to the center of the bed. “I love the way you wake me up, mon amour.”
Jolie ran her hands down his back “We need to get ready for tonight, or I’d really be waking you and Flynn up.”
“Damn the time constraint.” He briefly looked distraught, and then it was gone again.
“What’s troubling you, my love?” asked Jolie, placing her hands over Jacques’s heart to send energy into his body.
He went with the truth. “I’m just worried about you. I wish I could take all the pain away.”
Jolie expected this reaction from him. It made her relax that he wasn’t making too big of a deal over it. Of course he was going to feel her pain. It’s what Jacques did.
Smiling, she kissed him tenderly on the lips. From her peripheral vision, she saw their detective return, wrapped in a towel that rode low on his hips. “I love you both very much, and I know what you’re doing. Flynn woke trying to distract me with humor, and now you’re using tenderness,” she admitted.
Well, the jig was up on that one.
“Don’t forget my manly nakedness,”
added Brogan. “Want to run your hands all over me?”
Jolie laughed. “You know I do, but we can’t.”
Both men sighed. This was vacation. That meant sex in every room, position, and all day long.
They both looked distraught.
Jolie wasn’t sure if it was because of what she had told them last night, or if it was because they weren’t getting sex. She was going to go with the latter.
“I’m fine with what Death has given me. I know that I’ll adjust to this. Now, you need to get off me. I have wicked lingerie to dig through. I plan on wearing some under my clothes tonight.”
Both men shared a look.
“I meant what I said, Flynn,” she added.
“You’re mean and cruel,” stated her mate, snickering.
Jacques just looked confused.
“He compared me to a bowl of soggy cereal and is being punished,” she stated, filling Jacques in on their conversation. Her smile said it all. She wouldn’t punish him for such a small infraction.
Jacques couldn’t help himself. “I saw the lingerie in that store, my friend. You’re going to be really sorry, Flynn,” he admitted, as he headed toward the shower.
“Man, are you really going to punish me for being a human? Come on, Jolie, please?” He followed her into the giant walk-in closet begging, and when that didn’t work, he tried to grab her and tickle her into submission.
Jolie slipped out of his grasp and locked the closet door, all the while laughing.
The answer was no. She’d never punish him, but at least in here she could hide.
The smile vanished.
Now she could face the cold hard reality.
Hell was coming.
Jolie Harcourte had lived long enough to know it.
CHAPTER three
Mathew, Clariel, and Trina sat patiently on Jolie’s bed, waiting for her to exit the closet. Their mistress had called for them, and all three were very nervous. The last time they had been summoned to their room, they were headed off to council, and that ended with them nearly being taken from the family. Fear was vibrating around them as they waited for her to appear.
Dangerous Misery (The Harcourte Vampyre Society Book 3) Page 6