When Clariel couldn’t take it anymore, she decided to go to Jolie to see if she needed help dressing.
“Mistress,” she called, knocking on the door, “do you need any help?”
“Oh God, yes! This lingerie looks simple, but it’s not really all that easy to get into. I hook this strap, and then the back one comes undone. I’m getting ready to toss it.” Jolie looked up from the strapless bra and tiny lace thong as she fought with the garters. “Please help!”
Immediately, Clariel dropped to her knees, trying not to giggle. As she helped buckle her mistress into the garters with ease, Jolie watched her effortlessly complete the task.
“You’re a lifesaver. Now, I really hope my mates have an easier time getting me out of this death trap.”
Clariel grinned wickedly.
“You’re a pro at this lady in waiting thing,” Jolie offered. When the last ribbon was tied, Clariel stood back to admire her handiwork.
“Thank you, Mistress. I love clothing and accessories. There’s nothing more amazing in the world. All the colors, textures, and pairing them together is a high.”
Jolie watched her.
“I hate to say I told you so, Mistress, but I was right. This is so very you. I think it looks even better on you than the model in the advertisement.”
“You were right. It is me. You both did a really great job.” Jolie paused, thinking about all the tasks that Chloe was forced to handle, and then she observed the smug satisfaction on Clariel’s face. It gave her an idea. “Do you really like shopping?”
“Oh, Mistress, it’s one of the pleasures that I’ve discovered in my new life with you. With Delina, there was no joy, but shopping is my new passion. All the beautiful things…”
Clariel glanced over, feeling set up. Suddenly, she was wary of the direction of the conversation. Lately, they had been buying many things and spending the mistress’s money like it was never ending. Sadly, it never occurred to her that there was a possibility of spending too much.
“You’re very good at it.”
“You honor me, Mistress.” Clariel bowed her head, afraid to look up and show Jolie the fear. “You’re generous with the opportunity.”
Jolie felt the terror brewing deep within the young vampyre, and it confused her. “Would you like the job of buying all of our clothing?”
Clariel paused as if there was the chance she had misheard the mistress. When she realized that she had indeed heard correctly, so many emotions rushed through her. There was the thrill of being the personal shopper for the woman before her. “You want me to buy you and your mates’ beautiful clothes? As in, you want me to pick them out?” she asked very slowly, trying not to get too excited.
“Yes, I do. Generally, I have Chloe do it, but she’s already overburdened with the rest of the household duties. Since you find so much joy in it, and are obviously good at it, I thought you’d like the job. Besides, we’re the same size, so you could take and borrow whatever you wanted. I wouldn’t mind sharing with you. Sisters share clothes, don’t they?”
“Sharing things like a sister?” The thought astounded her. The mistress would be sharing her things? A sister? It was almost too much to comprehend at once.
“Sure, unless you don’t like the idea of sharing, and then forget I mentioned it.” Jolie watched the carefully blank face disappear in a split second, and then she knew Clariel was about to pounce.
Literally--on top of her.
Jolie braced herself for the takedown.
Clariel screamed and threw herself at Jolie, knocking her to the floor in a tangle of limbs and hair. Jolie imagined it would look comical to anyone looking down at them. All she hoped was at that moment, the skimpy bra would stay in place.
Then again, what did it matter?
This had the makings of a spectacle, especially as everyone waiting in the other room came running in at the woman’s frantic scream.
The gasps from the doorway almost made Jolie laugh as she tried to untangle herself from Clariel. Eventually, she gave up. It was obvious that she was pinned beneath Clariel, and forced to listen to her frantic shouts.
“Are you all right?” asked Trina, rushing in nervously. Without hesitating, she forcefully yanked her mate off their mistress.
Jolie stayed on the floor, certain that the happy vampyre would be pouncing again if she got free.
Trina turned on her mate in anger. “Have you gone mad? What are you doing to the mistress? Are you trying to get us sent away?” she hissed at her, yanking her to her feet.
Jolie laughed from the floor, shrugging helplessly as her mates stared at her. Jolie wasn’t sure if they were gawking at her because she had been attacked by one of their vampyres, or because of the lingerie.
Flynn grinned wickedly.
Yeah, that answered that question.
“The. Mistress. Has. Given. Me. The. Job. Of. Dressing. Her. And. Her. Mates!” She punctuated every word with a scream, and Trina stared for a moment until both women squealed and jumped up and down like children.
“Oh my God! Oh my God!” was repeated over and over again as they jumped in circles and screamed some more.
Jolie laughed as Flynn offered her a hand. Taking it, she was pulled to her feet. As she straightened her miniscule scraps of lingerie, she was thankful that she wasn’t giving everyone more of a show.
Then again, all three men stood shoulder to shoulder staring at the lingerie that was barely covering her body. Jacques and Flynn’s eyes showed pure possession, and Mathew just swallowed, trying to advert his eyes.
Yeah, epic fail on his behalf.
Suddenly, both men glanced over at him, baring their fangs. Mathew took that as his sign, so he backed out of the closet and moved away from the alphas. There was no point in provoking the mistress’s mates.
“Well? How does my new lingerie look?” she asked, slowly turning in a circle, specifically to torment them. “I wasn’t planning on the entire family seeing me in it, but since you’re here.”
“Wow, baby! That’s definitely something,” Flynn stated, his fangs still peeking out from behind his lip.
Jolie wanted to kiss him. He’d yet to master talking with a mouth full of pointy teeth. It gave him a sexy lisp, turning her right on.
“Mon Dieu! That’s scandalous!” Jacques truly believed that something like that should only be seen in the privacy of their room.
Jolie focused on the women. “Okay, ladies, that’s enough show and tell for the men in my life. Trina, get rid of them, and Clariel, I really need to get dressed. Part of the duty of buying my clothes is to help me into them. I’m a disaster, and I don’t trust my mates to help me.”
“Yes, Mistress.”
The two women went immediately to work. Trina had to physically shove the men from the closet. She laughed when the human tried to get past her.
Clariel focused on picking out a suitable outfit for their mistress, so she would be acceptable for the council meeting. Both women silently shared their feelings about how lucky they were that Delina was stupid enough to challenge Jolie when she came to the last council.
Jolie smiled as she heard their words, her heart a little lighter that she could give them joy.
“Oh, and ladies?” she said, bracing herself.
“Yes, Mistress?” they answered at the same time.
“Along with buying my things, there’s also a paycheck. Consider fashion your new job.”
The squeals said it all, and Jolie didn't have time to stop them from jumping on her.
In the end, it didn't matter.
They were family.
Jolie’s mates sat on the couch in the great room, waiting for her. There was no doubt in either of their minds that they would have plenty of time to relax.
Females took forever to get ready, and a woman, being assisted by two other women, would take even longer.
Granted, both men had to regroup in order to get past the tiny scraps of lace that barely contained her body. It
literally struck them stupid. Forgetting the blood red garters had been a feat in itself, and just knowing that the gorgeous concoction was under her clothing for the evening, made her mates wild with ideas for later in the privacy of their quarters.
Yeah, they had plans.
Tonight, after council, the sexy games would begin.
It was the clicking of heels across the tile floor that alerted them of her arrival, pulling them both from their daydreaming.
Jolie could feel her mates in the great room, and neither was speaking. In fact, it was quiet.
Too quiet.
She hoped that she had not kept everyone waiting for too long. The men were likely to get antsy waiting. What they didn't get was that perfection took time. She wasn’t dressing for her, but for them.
Why try to explain that to the male species? They would never understand. Jolie entered the room, and immediately moved toward Mathew to check on him. After the hissing in the closet, Jolie was worried about him being alone with her mates.
Don’t get her wrong. Her men wouldn’t hurt him, but Mathew freaked out easily. She couldn’t help but smile as she greeted him, his face flushing from the neck up. Yeah, he wasn’t thinking about the men beside him.
Jolie struggled not to laugh.
Mathew felt the air suck from his lungs as Jolie placed a chaste kiss on his cheek. After seeing the lingerie, chaste wasn’t what he was feeling for her, so he buried it deep down trying to stay out of trouble.
He could feel Jacques and Flynn watching her with him, and Mathew didn’t need the wrath of one mate, let alone two. If attacked, he might be able to take out the human, but Jacques--he would eat him alive.
All Mathew could hope for was the feeling of being enraptured by the mistress didn’t show on his face. When he wasn’t their focus any longer, Mathew couldn’t help but place his hand on her lip marks on his cheek. He didn’t know how he had gotten so lucky, even if he had to be wary of the men.
“Hello, my loves,” she purred.
Next stop was to her mates. Once there, she spun in a circle with a flourish. The leather dress was strapless and cut on a bias. One point of the skirt fell below her knee, and the other was high on her thigh, showing off the lace of her garter. The top of her dress pushed her full breasts up and together to make them look enticing, as if they were an offering to some deity.
Flynn checked out her boots. “You look delicious,” he muttered. He’d drop to his knees to run his lips up her long legs. In fact, he was barely in control.
Jolie glanced down at her leather boots, the focal point of both men’s eyes. They were glossy black and laced up the back with blood red ribbon to match her lingerie. They were tied off with a dainty bow that she hoped looked erotic.
Going first to her human mate, he pulled her against his body. “Hello, sexy. Where have you been all my life?” he asked, running his lips across her one bare shoulder.
“Dead,” she teased.
He laughed. “You look hot for a dead babe.”
“I’ll take that as a compliment.”
“I love how those boots make you almost as tall as me,” he admitted, seeking out her mouth with his.
Jolie wasn’t going to complain.
Not now.
Not ever.
Finding the strength to pull herself away, she stared into his eyes. “You look sexy as always, Flynn,” she admitted.
When she caressed his cheek with her warm palm, his heart skipped. It only stopped when she pulled away to go into Jacques’s arms.
“Mon amour, as usual, you’re stunning. You truly look the part of primus.” He bowed his head to his love before leaving a fiery hot trail of kisses up her hand, wrist, and then arm.
Jolie became overheated.
Her Jacques was very old world, and it turned her on.
“Thank you, my love,” she offered before rewarding him with a slow kiss that she knew would take his breath away.
When his fangs threatened to poke her in the lip, Jolie pulled away. Standing between them, she let their gaze crisscross her body.
Brogan ran his hand down his shirt. “Are we dressed appropriately for this evening’s festivity, baby?”
Jolie took in the snug leather pants both men wore, and the loose white silk shirts. Jacques’s was simple and fitted him impeccably, and Brogan’s shirt was loose and had baby blue flames licking at the bottom of it. “Yes, you are, my love. In fact, your shirt matches your eyes, Flynn,” she said, knowing he liked color in his clothing, where Jacques liked black or white.
“Yeah, it appeared in my part of the closet.” He looked at both of them. “Who went shopping again for me? I’d like to point out that I’m a grown man, and I can probably muster picking out my own things.”
Jolie looked guilty but confessed to nothing. “Does it bother you to have women buying your clothing?” It was a territorial little thing that she found great pleasure in. There was something intimate about picking out the things her detective wore. They’d had this conversation many times--from his suits, ties, and even down to his bat covered boxers--she couldn’t help herself.
“No, as long as I don’t have to wear the stuff Jacques does, and you’re the woman doing the buying. I know you handpicked Clariel and Trina to shop for you, but that weirds me out.”
Jolie stared at him. “Why?”
He moved closer to her body until she could feel his breath on her cheek. “It’s intimate. You’re the only one I want picturing me in my underwear,” he admitted.
Jolie’s heart skipped in her chest.
“Deal. I don’t want anyone picking out your things,” she replied, “or Jacques’s clothes.”
Both men moved closer still, aware that Mathew was watching them.
Jolie knew she needed to change the subject immediately. She had sexy flashes of naked mates rushing through her head. “I need blood.”
It sent waves of heat through all three of them.
“Certainly,” Jacques said, kneeling in front of her as he unbuttoned his shirt. “I like this one, and we don’t have time to change,” he replied, noticing Flynn’s confused look over what he was doing.
The detective shrugged, mimicking the same position that Jacques had assumed. He, too, stripped from his shirt. He couldn’t wait to feel her mouth moving across his flesh.
Mathew moved as far from the feeding mates as possible. The last thing he wanted was to interfere with the mistress and masters while they shared blood.
That could get them killed.
Still, he wished he was kneeling before her too.
Jolie’s mates glanced at the doorway as the other vampyres just happened to stroll in, arm in arm. “Look, Trina, we’re just in time for the evening’s entertainment. It’s a pity we don’t like men. The masters look… delicious,” said Clariel, grinning. “May we remain, Mistress?”
Jolie motioned to the couch and couldn’t help but grin. Turnabout was indeed fair play. Many times, she was ogled by her mates. Now it was their turn to be lusted after. Not that she could blame any female on the planet. She often found herself staring like a fool.
Brogan lifted a brow and cleared his throat. “What doesn’t seem fair to me, isn’t that you’re leering at us, but that you both got to dress Jolie, and you DO like women.”
Leave it to her detective.
Jolie grinned wickedly at both women.
Trina dropped onto the couch, laughing.
“Master Flynn, that’s our cross to bear.”
“Come on! It’s just Flynn! How many times do I have to say that?” he asked.
Clariel winked at her mistress as she dropped onto the couch. They loved teasing their human master. It was fun to see him get flustered.
Jolie knew there was no doubt that the detective held a special place in the two young vampyres’ hearts. Flynn always went out of his way to make them laugh.
“Shall we begin, my loves?” she offered.
Both men braced for it. While sharing ener
gy was a turn on, blood lust was something that could destroy their control, especially Flynn’s.
Jolie ran her fingers over their bare shoulders, trying to decide who should go first.
Flynn prayed it was him.
“Are you ready?”
“Hell yeah,” he muttered, when she stood behind him.
Jolie moved closer, and when he turned and looked up at her, Flynn suggestively wiggled his eyebrows. Jolie couldn’t help but laugh. “Behave, you reprobate.”
He only grinned, resting his head in the crook of her arm to give Jolie complete access to his throat. “Shall we, my handsome detective?” she asked, brushing the silky strands of hair from his throat.
Brogan exhaled, bracing himself for what was to come. This was going to be torture. Until recently, he’d only related her drinking his blood to when they were having sex. So this was going to take his mind right there.
Yep, pure hell.
Then again, who was he kidding? He loved every second of it and couldn’t wait to feel it wash over him, He was addicted to the waves of want and need. “Yeah, baby, bite me.”
The tension across his muscular frame was palpable as she licked his pulse, preparing to drink him into her body. Jolie left little nips across the artery, enjoying the sharp intake of his breath. The foreplay made it even more delicious for her. When he groaned and closed his eyes, she was ready.
Fangs descended.
His artery was pierced.
Blood was consumed.
His body convulsed once, but she managed to hold him still by pulling him even more firmly against her frame. With her free hand, Jolie caressed his bare chest. The spattering of rough chest hair made it hard to focus.
She wanted him.
It was hard to fight fate and a mate chosen for her on the day she was born.
Slowly, Jolie drank from him, enjoying the spicy taste of his blood. She couldn’t suppress the addiction to his flavor. There was no doubt in her mind that she would always be hungry for him.
Slipping into his head, Jolie left him little mental snapshots of them in bed together. She was dressed in some of the other sexy lingerie that she had purchased for them. It proved to be too much for him as he tensed again. His hands gripped the calves of her legs as he anchored himself to reality to push back the images.
Dangerous Misery (The Harcourte Vampyre Society Book 3) Page 7