“What if we ask her ex-husband to watch out for her? He seems to be very protective.” Christian wasn’t convinced but he could feel that Sebastian thought that this was the best solution. At least they knew she wasn’t attracted to him, but they obviously still cared for each other.
Christian reluctantly agreed to call Roger, even though he wasn’t one hundred percent convinced this was the right course to take. The three of them worked on a plan. Now they just had to hope the rest of the pieces would fall into place. Sebastian called their staff, most of whom were Demetria’s progeny. It was going to be a long night but one that could determine their very existence.
* * * *
Gwen woke to the incessant ringing of her cell phone.
“Fuck, it’s not even 6:00 a.m.,” she grumbled when she saw the time. She grabbed the phone, and with her eyes still closed, she answered.
“What? It had better be good.”
“Gwen?”
“Dammit, Roger, I thought I told you to leave me alone.”
“I can’t. Besides, the vampires asked me to keep an eye on you. Now why do you think that is?”
“I have no fucking clue, but I’m still pissed at you from last night. You need to leave me alone.”
“But, Gwen, you’re in serious danger. I have to protect you. I got you into this. I need to get you out of it, too.”
“No, you don’t. There is nothing to get me out of. I don’t want to repeat myself again. Please just leave me alone. I need to get through the opening and then maybe I’ll have time to talk to you.” Gwen disconnected the call and tossed the phone onto the nightstand. She was shaking with adrenaline. She felt as though she had just gotten to sleep. Damn phone. Damn Roger. Between no sleep and the stress of last night, she fought the need to escape. No time for running away for me. Apparently no sleep, either.
The sun was just coming up as she glanced out her window. Okay, now what? Beans ’n’ Buns for coffee? Ughhh. Her first instinct was to run to Sebastian and Christian, but that would be a mistake, too. She still didn’t know how she felt about all she heard last night from Roger, coupled with the fact that they had bitten her. Damn, why is everything so freakin’ complicated?
As Gwen stood in the shower to ease her stiff muscles, she thought about the mess she found herself in. Maybe it’s time to fess up to Bree? She decided to give Brianna a call. They could meet at Beans ‘n’ Buns, which would keep her from a total flip out. At least Gwen hoped it would. They still had things to finish up, and she needed a dress, and there were only two days left before the opening.
Chapter 20
Bree walked through the door of Beans ’n’ Buns at 9:00 a.m. on the button. She was dressed in her usual Goth black dress, boots, and dramatic makeup. Gwen watched her assistant come toward her and wondered how she would react. She knew she’d have to tell her everything, and then maybe they could come up with a plan of action.
Bree gave Gwen a big hug and sat down at the table. “Are you okay, boss lady?”
“I’m okay, I think.”
“You look like hell.”
“Gee, thanks.”
“So, does this impromptu meeting over caffeine mean you’re ready to tell all?”
“Yeah, it does. And since you’re enjoying picking on me, let’s see how you are after you hear all of this crap.”
“I’m sorry, Gwen.” Gwen could see she felt badly about teasing her. Without Bree, her life would be horrible. There was no way she’d be able to get through this without her.
“No worries, but first we both need caffeine. I know I need a lot more of it. Do you want your usual?”
“Please, and a toasted bagel with hummus?” Bree gave her a big smile, as if she needed to convince Gwen to get it for her. Sometimes she really showed how young she was. Usually it was easy to forget she was in still in her midtwenties. She seemed like a very old soul, and Gwen was lucky to have her.
Gwen put Brianna’s bagel, hummus, and her large soy chai latte on the table and went back for her own large café mocha with an extra shot. I probably should have made it two, considering everything.
Bree took a sip of her chai and spread the hummus on one half of her bagel. Gwen knew it was only a matter of time before she started firing questions at her. She knew her assistant too well to think otherwise. So she sat back in her chair and sipped her mocha, waiting for the barrage to start. She didn’t have to wait long.
“So what the fuck is going on? First you looked like shit when you came in yesterday, and then last night you disappeared. I tried calling you over and over for hours. No answer. So what is going on?”
“You aren’t going to give me a break, are you?” Gwen hid her smile behind her mocha and took another swig.
“Nope. Not after yesterday I won’t. I was freakin’ worried about you all night. Sorry, boss lady, but you’re spilling it all.”
Gwen knew it was going to come to this so she might as well get it over with.
“I don’t know any other way to say this. Sebastian and Christian are vampires.” Gwen watched the expressions play across Bree’s face. She forged ahead and let it all pour out like verbal diarrhea. “Roger knows and is working with some weird gypsy lady. They want me to destroy the guys somehow.” She stopped for long enough to take a breath and another long drink of her coffee. She watched as Brianna seemed to process everything she had just told her.
“You’re serious, aren’t you?”
“One hundred percent.”
“Holy shit.”
“Yup, pretty much. That’s how I feel. And it gets worse.”
“How could it get worse?”
“I’m pretty positive I could fall in love with the guys.”
“Don’t you mean vampires?”
Gwen gave Bree a look that said if they were anywhere else she would be dead right now.
“Yes, I mean vampires. But, shhh. Really, it’s not like I want to be carted off to the funny farm, either.”
“So you are falling for two vampires, errr, men. Well, I have to give it to you, boss lady. When you go for it, you really go for it.”
“Yeah, I know. I’m crazy, and what makes this worse is that Roger is so weird about all of this. Thank the goddess he doesn’t know how I feel about them.”
“Oh yeah, that’s a very good thing.”
“True, and really there’s still more.” Gwen knew she was blushing. Her cheeks were hot, and she could feel it traveling up from her neck.
“Shit, you slept with them, didn’t you? Both of them?”
“Yes, well, yes.”
“Wow. Uh, you go, girl.”
“Yeah, it was great until I flipped out.”
“Why did you flip out, other than the fact that you probably had the best sex of your life?”
“They bit me.” Gwen thought it was funny that Brianna was looking at her in a whole new light.
“Why did they bite you?”
“I don’t know. I flipped out and left before they could tell me.”
“Damn.”
“Yeah. Looking back on it, I probably overreacted, but I when I saw the bites, it freaked me out. Just knowing that vampires really exist was kind of a lot to deal with.”
“True, that would be a shock for you, I guess.”
“C’mon, Bree. You don’t really believe that they exist, do you?”
“I don’t have proof, but I did figure they existed. I mean, why not?”
“Well, they were my nightmares when I was a kid. I never expected them to be real.”
“So are there more of them?”
“More of who?”
Bree leaned in and was careful to keep her voice down. She whispered, “Vampires?”
“You know, I have no idea. But I would imagine there are many of them, whether or not there are more in this town. I’d have to ask. But I don’t know how secret this is. I know they don’t want anyone knowing, but the cat is out of the bag.”
“So what are they like?”
>
“Oh my goddess, they are amazing, but you’ll see them tomorrow night. I don’t have a good feeling about this, either. I think something is going to happen.”
“Because of Roger and the gypsy?”
“Yes, I guess so. And, well, do I really want to fall in love with two vampires?”
“Hmm, I admit that could be tricky.”
“No kidding.”
“So now what, boss lady? What are you going to do?”
“Well, let’s go to the office and make sure we have everything ready.”
“No shit.”
“The problem is I haven’t been able to talk to the guys since the other night, and then this shit with Roger. It’s all just crazy.”
“Yeah, you didn’t explain about that yet. What is up with him and the gypsy?”
“I don’t know. But she is one old woman. I swear, she looked like she was aging before my eyes.”
“Seriously?”
“Yes, it was as though her face was crumbling. I don’t know, maybe I had too many margaritas at dinner. Then the whole bit of Roger knowing that the guys are vampires and the gypsy thinking they need to die.”
“What the fuck? This gypsy really is one mean old bitch, huh?”
“Yeah, you can say that again. She creeped me out, too. I had to get out of there.”
“I don’t blame you.”
“But what is weird is that I never saw you had called. No messages, no missed calls. Nothing.”
“That is fucked up.” Brianna looked as perplexed as Gwen felt. All of this was just too whacky to be real.
“And then when I finally got home, the guys were in my driveway. I didn’t even want them to touch me. It was like the mere thought of it was scary.”
“Why? Didn’t you just fuck them the other night?”
“Brianna. Geesh.”
“Yeah, whatever. Why would they scare you?”
“I’m not sure, but I think the gypsy did something to me. I felt this chill when she touched me last night.”
“Weird. But I do have to say, if this were anyone but you, boss lady, I’d think you were drunk. I know you. You don’t believe any of this stuff. You’ve always thought I was a little crazy to believe it.”
“I know. Why do you think I didn’t want to tell you the other morning?”
“Well, still, it’s cool. Vampires are real, and whatever that gypsy thing is. So is there anything else you haven’t told me?”
“Nope, that’s it. Isn’t it enough?”
“Yes it is, but it’s still way cool. But we do have to plan how to handle tomorrow night.”
“Yup, and I still need to find a dress. I was going to go last night after dinner, but my evening didn’t go exactly as planned.”
“Oh, no worries. Why don’t you go back to the office and finish up what you need to do, and I’ll go to the mall and pick something up for you.”
“Girl, I love you! But remember who is going to wear it. Right?”
“Yeah, yeah. You know I would never do anything to embarrass you.”
They hugged. Gwen felt better than she had in days. Bree took it well, but she should have known that to begin with. Now Gwen wasn’t in all of this alone. She just had to get through the day and the party tomorrow night. Then she’d figure out how to handle the rest of it.
Chapter 21
Gwen pulled up in front of Affairs to Remember, and she saw the black Jaguar parked right in front. The windows were tinted, so she couldn’t see who was inside, but she would have bet that it was both of them.
Instead of just heading to unlock the door and go in, she stopped by the driver’s door and knocked on the window. It slowly lowered, revealing Christian’s gorgeous face. She couldn’t see his eyes, which were behind very dark glasses, but he had a big smile for her.
She couldn’t help but smile back. “Good morning. Umm, should you be outside in the daylight?”
“Yeah, it’s fine. We got some of our strength back the other night. So as long as it’s not bright sunlight, we should be fine.” The passenger side door opened, and she watched Sebastian’s head and shoulders appear. He was also wearing dark glasses, but nothing else indicated that they were worried about being out in the daylight.
“I guess you want to come in?” Gwen smirked, since she knew that she couldn’t do anything to keep them out if they wanted to get in.
Sebastian’s chiseled face looked like it was set in stone. “Yes, we need to talk to you, and it really can’t wait.”
“Okay, come on in then. We can discuss whatever it is in my office.” Gwen unlocked the door and led them back to her office. “Did you want any coffee? Um, do you drink coffee?”
Sebastian smiled. “Yes, we drink coffee, but we are fine. Please go ahead and get yours if you wish.”
“No, I’m good. I’ve had several cups today already.” Gwen walked through the front area and led them to her office. She sat down behind her desk. She wondered what they needed to discuss with her.
They sat down opposite her and looked at each other and then Gwen. She knew that they could talk to each other without words, and she thought it would be nice to have that skill right about now.
Christian laughed. “You know, it’s not all it’s cracked up to be. Sometimes you find out things you’d rather not know.”
Gwen scowled at him. “I thought you guys weren’t going to read my mind anymore.”
“Sorry. Since the other night, it has been more difficult to avoid it.”
“Because you bit me?”
Sebastian cleared his throat, and Christian leaned back in his chair. He was obviously going to let Sebastian handle whatever it was that needed to be dealt with.
“Gwen…” Sebastian hesitated.
It was obvious to her that this was not going to be easy for him. “Just go ahead. I can’t read minds, but I know there is something bothering you.”
“Very well. We never did get a chance to tell you everything we had wanted to. You left before we had a chance.”
“I know, and I’m sorry. But under the circumstances, I think it was understandable. You dumped a huge pile of shit on me out of the blue. I haven’t come to grips with it all yet.”
“I know. We both do. If there had been any other way…”
“Okay, actually, hold that thought. I think I do need another cup of coffee to get through this.” She started to walk around the desk when Christian was there. He took her arm in his cool hand. She inhaled his earthy scent. Her pulse pounded in her ears. She didn’t know whether to be scared or turned on.
“Oh man.” She slowly exhaled as he began to pull her closer.
Somewhere she thought she heard Sebastian’s voice underneath the pounding in her ears. But she couldn’t process what he said. She was entranced by Christian’s eyes as they bored into her.
“Gwen, nothing else matters. We want you. You want us. Don’t throw this away.” He pulled her close. She could feel the firmness of his chest as her breasts were squished against it. Instantly, her nipples hardened. Her libido was on a runaway train, and nothing was going to stop it.
“Yes, yes,” she moaned. The last of her resistance melted away.
That was the only invitation Christian needed. His lips found hers. He kissed her as if she was his last meal. He nibbled on her lips and kissed her with such passion her lips couldn’t help but part. His tongue dipped in to her mouth and swirled around. It tasted like spring rain and mint. This wasn’t enough. Her body was on fire with need, for him and for Sebastian. She wanted them both, hot, hard, and fast. She had a fleeting thought that they could be interrupted, and hoped that Bree was going to be out for a while. It passed almost before it was fully formed, and her mind was consumed by passion once more.
* * * *
Christian, what are you doing? Sebastian practically screamed into his head.
I’m not going to let her get away again. She wants us, and we want her. Enough of this already. After I take her, we can explai
n the rest.
You’re mad, this could drive her the rest of the way from us.
No, you don’t really believe that. I don’t. Look how she has responded to us.
Christian knew Sebastian would have no answer for that. It was clear she wanted them. They could smell her passion. The scent of her pussy filled the room with a sweet, pungent aroma. It made his mouth water. He wanted a taste, and he was going to have it.
Christian deepened the kiss. His tongue swept the inside of her mouth. He learned every inch and wanted more. He leaned back and looked into her violet eyes. He could see the flames of passion as they smoldered.
“Bloody hell, I want you, and I will have you.”
He didn’t wait for her answer, and he shoved everything over before he lifted her onto the edge of her desk. His hands cupped her face, and he nibbled and licked his way to her ear. Her skin was soft as silk, but it burned with her desire. She smelled of summer sun and roses.
Christian lifted her petal-pink sweater over her head. Her skin was flushed a lovely shade of rose, and he loved that he had caused it. He couldn’t slow down, as his restraint was at a breaking point. His hands swept her silky black hair back from her shoulders. He reached around her back to unhook her pink lace bra. At last her breasts were bared to him.
Gwen looked up at Christian. “Oh my goddess, I want you. Both of you.”
Her words were all it took to send him over the precipice. He took one mauve nipple in his mouth and sucked. His teeth closed over it as gently as he could control, and he licked the tip. Sebastian had joined them and had her other nipple in his mouth. Just as the other night, the urge to bite was strong, but they both managed to hold off.
Christian ripped off his shirt and undid his jeans, exposing his throbbing cock. He saw her eyes widen, but she only reached out to grasp him. “Bloody hell, Gwen, if you do that much longer, I won’t last until I’m inside you.”
Twice Bitten Not Shy [Vampires of Eternity] (Siren Publishing Ménage Amour) Page 10