“Thank you,” he whispered.
Madison opened to his touch, and he made sweet love to her in a pool of sunshine.
Alexi watched from the balcony he’d strolled onto from the bedroom next to Madison’s, honeysuckle screening him from the neighbors. Clad only in his pants, he lounged on the chair Madison had placed there so she could enjoy the shade on hot summer days, and propped his bare feet on the railing. He watched, growing hard, as Madison took Thomas deep inside her once again.
She loved him. The fact screamed itself to Alexi, but Thomas, the dickhead, had no idea.
They were so beautiful together, Thomas’s long, brown body entwined with Madison’s more pale limbs, both of them a contrast to the crisp white sheets on the bed. Madison’s dark hair flowed across the pillow, and Thomas’s tight backside moved up and down as he loved his lady. They didn’t need a third, didn’t really need Alexi as their catalyst to find deep passion.
Alexi’s thoughts moved involuntarily to the loving couple he’d destroyed, so long ago that no man alive remembered it. They hadn’t been famous; no records existed of them. They’d simply been a man and woman destined to be together, and Alexi had ruined their lives.
Alexi had wanted the mortal woman, Sophia, lusted after her as only a god could lust. She’d been beautiful, his Sophia, her black hair flowing, her eyes dark like onyx. The man who’d loved her had been called Thanos, a young man from a decent, if dull, family. In Alexi’s opinion, no way good enough for Sophia.
Alexi had used his god magic to turn Sophia from Thanos. Alexi had tricked and coerced her into his own arms, where he’d made certain she found the greatest pleasure she ever could.
After weeks together, where she lived only to serve his every need, Alexi had been certain she’d love him without compulsion, and he’d removed the spell. But Sophia had looked at Alexi in fear, loathing, and hatred. She begged to be returned to her family, to Thanos, though by the culture of her people she was now ruined, having let Alexi take her virginity. Thanos, by rights, could shun her, and so could her own family.
In desperation, Alexi had tried to spell her again, to erase that horror on her face. But his magic wouldn’t work now that Sophia knew the truth. Sophia fled him, back to her family, where she killed herself in front of her father and Thanos to retain her honor.
Alexi hadn’t been able to save her. Alexi’s father, Eros, had explained to young Alexi that he’d violated the most sacred of laws, that the gods of love didn’t use their power for personal gain, especially when the mortal in question belonged to another. Eros had been charged to punish Alexi for his transgression, and Eros had cried as he’d explained. Alexi must either be killed or sent into exile until he did five thousand good deeds, one per year, in the name of love.
Alexi had chosen exile, being too afraid of to face a death meted out by the gods. After five thousand years, however, his loneliness was almost unbearable. He’d made friends of other demigods who made their home on this plane—Demitri, Nico, and Andreas—but they each had their own problems to solve, had found their own ladies to love.
Alexi lived doggedly century after century, each year bringing together a couple who, without his help, would have spent their lives in lonely solitude. Alexi was not allowed to manipulate their thoughts with magic; he had to rely on mundane means, though he could use minor spells, as he had locking the doors to Madison’s house so Thomas wouldn’t leave.
Some of the people he’d helped had been royalty, some peasants; some so rich they could purchase cities, some so poor they could barely afford to eat. Alexi had learned, as his father had wanted him to, that love cared nothing for wealth and class, race and rank. It was Alexi’s job to see that couples at risk worked through their problems and stayed together, else the deed would not count toward ending his exile.
Madison and Thomas were job number five thousand. If Alexi successfully brought these two together, his sentence would be lifted, and he could return home to his father and mother, his friends, his lonely exile over. If he muffed it, he’d be trapped on this plane of existence forever, stripped of his magic, made mortal.
Madison and Thomas.
Alexi hid a smile. In spite of his task being punishment, he liked his work. Nothing tasted more satisfying than watching two people finally open up and admit their love, the more vulnerable they had to make themselves, the better.
Thomas and Madison had been dancing around each other for years. And now...
Madison softly cried Thomas’s name. Her hips lifted, her breasts pressed his chest. Thomas’s head rocked back, his eyes closed, and he groaned as he released his seed.
Thomas was bare inside her. They’d been so engrossed in each other, neither one had given a thought to condoms, to protection.
They didn’t need it. Alexi could see with his magic that they were both clean, and if a child resulted of this day, it would bind them with an even stronger love.
Alexi also knew how to help Madison’s financial dilemma. The magic of this house had hidden what she needed, almost as though it—or Madison’s grandmother, a magic woman of some repute—had been waiting for Alexi to come and reveal its gift.
Thomas’s movements slowed, but he was still inside Madison, smiling at her, while she ran gentle fingers along his back. It was a beautiful moment. If they declared their love right now, Alexi could go home.
But they didn’t. Alexi had known it wouldn’t be that easy. These two had too much fear, held themselves too tightly to trust. They had to reveal their true selves before each could accept the other, before their love could catch hold and last.
Alexi might not be able to use coercive magic on them, as he had with Sophia, but he had a few non-magical tricks up his sleeve. He knew now what pushed Thomas’s buttons, and Madison’s.
Alexi rose from his chair and padded into the room and to the bed. Neither Thomas nor Madison looked at him, absorbed in each other.
“Well, my friends,” he said, touching Madison’s soft hair. “Ready for one of my famous breakfasts?”
Alexi could cook, Madison gave him that. By the time she and Thomas had showered and descended to her kitchen, he’d made omelets stuffed with spinach and feta cheese, fried some sausage, brought out pita bread with hummus, and brewed rich-tasting coffee. Madison didn’t remember purchasing pita, hummus, and feta on her last grocery trip, but she no longer was terribly surprised at anything that happened around Alexi.
“So,” she said brightly as she sipped the coffee. They sat around the kitchen table, comfortably eating, talking a little, but mostly enjoying the languid quietness of this warm summer Sunday. “What shall we do today?”
Alexi smiled his dark, sultry smile. He really was a good-looking man and should have a woman to gaze at him adoringly. He seemed lonely, despite his sex-god looks, and Madison’s heart went out to him.
“I have many ideas,” he said.
Madison quirked her brows. “Do they involve sandwiches?”
Thomas nearly choked on his coffee. He’d worried that Madison would be ashamed of what they’d done last night, maybe demand that Alexi open the doors and let her out. But she sat haloed in sunlight, sipping her coffee, giving Alexi a teasing smile. She hadn’t even flinched when Thomas confessed that he was a shape-shifter. She’d known, accepted, and kept the secret. What a woman.
“They could,” Alexi said.
Thomas finished eating, deliberately keeping his imagination in check until he could swallow his food. He sipped coffee, savoring the smooth, almost malt taste.
He loved this. Sitting here comfortably with Madison, she in jeans and a tight top, he in his suit pants and white shirt from yesterday. He wanted with everything he had to live here with her, to eat breakfast in this sunny kitchen, to watch her sweet ass move as she got up to pour more coffee.
No wonder she loved this house. It spoke of warmth and family, of comfort, the happiness of generations soaked into its bones. Babies had been born here, couples had married,
grandparents had watched grandchildren grow up, and the cycle had gone on. Madison was the last, and Thomas suddenly didn’t want her to be the last.
He set his silverware on his empty plate. “By the way, Maddie. I meant to tell you something last night before we got ... distracted.”
Madison refilled his cup, the aroma of the coffee curling pleasantly in his nose. “Tell me what?”
“The real reason Keith Girard wants to get his hands on this house. Apart from the fact that it’s on prime real estate.”
Madison filled her cup and Alexi’s and returned the pot to the counter. “Do we have to talk about him right now?”
“You’ll want to hear this. It’s funny.”
“Tell us,” Alexi said in mild tones. “It will be important.”
Thomas wasn’t sure what Alexi meant or whether the man also knew the truth. Thomas fixed his gaze on Madison as she sat down again and reached for her cup.
“Girard thinks there’s buried treasure in this house,” he said. “Legend says that Jean Lafitte was a close friend of your great-great-great-et-cetera-grandfather, Jacques Bouvier—some say the lover of your great-whatever-grandmother. Lafitte gave her a gift, the story goes, worth a hell of a lot, his personal possession, not pirate plunder. After the War of 1812 ended, Lafitte sailed off, never to be seen again. But the Bouviers kept the gift, handing it down through the women of the family, and the last to have her hands on it was your grandmother, Felice. People suppose that she brought it here when she married your grandfather. Not that people talk about it much anymore. Mostly the story’s been forgotten. But I found evidence that Girard has been looking up the legend, trying to find out everything he can about your family’s connection with Jean Lafitte, and where anything could be hidden in your house.”
Madison listened as Thomas talked, her cup hovering at her lips. When he finished, she set down her cup, tilted her head back, and laughed. “Keith believes that? What an idiot.”
“Story’s not true then?” Thomas asked.
“Oh, who knows? There’s a legend about Jean Lafitte in every old family—people swear their ancestors were best friends with him or that they know where he’s really buried or where he hid some of his booty.” She shook her head. “I always knew Keith was a moron. I should marry him and let him get his hands on the house just to make him look stupid.”
“No,” Thomas said abruptly.
“I was joking.”
“Damn right, you were.”
Madison gave him a look of surprise. “You’re high-handed this morning.”
“We’re not finished here,” Thomas said. “For another day and a night, you belong to me.”
Heat flared inside Madison, but she pretended his words didn’t affect her. “I only meant that Keith is stupid. My grandmother told me about Jean Lafitte’s ‘gift’ when I was a kid. I went all over this house looking for it. Other kids went to summer camp; I tapped on walls looking for secret compartments. The treasure doesn’t exist.”
Alexi smiled to himself. Yes, the old house hid its secrets well. He’d tell them all about it, in the fullness of time.
“Thomas is right,” Alexi said. “For this weekend, you’re ours, and I have many ideas about what to do with you.” He watched her eyes darken, desire stirring her blood. “Are you up to them, Madison?”
“After last night? Let’s see, you two tethered me to the bed, felt me up, ate me out, put a toy up my ass, and topped it off by fucking me together. I’m surprised I can walk this morning, but I feel pretty good.”
Alexi knew she did. His magic could do more than lock doors.
Madison made a wry face as she sipped her coffee. “But if any of your ideas involve a French maid’s uniform, count me out. Even worse, a cheerleader.”
Thomas laughed. Alexi pinned her with a black stare. “I have nothing like that in mind,” he said. “However, Thomas and I agreed that having you as our captive slave for the day might be fun.”
Madison ran her finger along the rim of her coffee cup, her pussy clenching in a pleasant way. “And what kind of things would that entail?”
“Anything we wanted,” Thomas said, letting his voice go dark. “Like you sucking us off, right now, while we sit here at the table.”
Madison shivered at his words, pleasantness giving way to hard excitement. “Lucky me,” she said faintly. “I’ve just had the floor cleaned.”
Alexi gave her a wicked look. “Then do it, slave. First him, then me.”
Madison went hot all over. She slid out of her chair and crawled under the table to where Thomas sat. He moved his chair back a little bit and spread his thighs. Madison worked his button and zipper open—liking that his cock tumbled free, unobstructed by underwear—and took him fully into her mouth.
Thomas groaned, pressing his palm to her head. She leaned in, loving the taste of him, smelling the soap from his shower, liking that nothing existed under this table but her and his penis.
Two penises. Thomas eased her off him and made her turn to see that Alexi had also opened his pants and was as hard as Thomas. Two cocks, one happy woman. She licked and sucked, loving her power, until both of them were coming. She drank them down, and laughed.
Madison had always been of independent spirit, but she decided she liked Alexi’s game of captive slave. They made her do all kinds of things, like go down on them wherever and whenever they wanted her to. At one point Thomas demanded she strip down to everything but a pair of red satin panties, the only thing she was allowed to wear for several hours. They ate lunch like this, Madison mostly naked while they remained clothed, and then Thomas had Madison straddle him on his chair, making love so deep she screamed.
Later Thomas commanded that she put on one of her dresses with no underwear at all, and Madison again enjoyed the feel of cool linen against her skin without a barrier. That way, Thomas explained, when he wanted to taste her, all he had to do was lift her skirt and have at it, which he and Alexi proceeded to do—in the living room, the dining room, the kitchen, the back courtyard.
At times they didn’t do anything at all, and simply lounged in the living room, reading newspapers or books. In the warm afternoon, Madison gave them a tour of the house.
As Madison took them around, Thomas understood how much she loved the place. Pride and happiness flowed from her as she showed them the nursery where she’d spent her summers, the photos of her grandparents when they were young and madly in love. Madison greatly resembled her grandmother in the photos—put Madison in flapper clothing and an old-fashioned hat, and she would be the spitting image. Her grandmother had favored elegant and distinctive hats throughout the years, he saw, which was probably where Madison had developed her interest in them.
Thomas loved Madison’s willingness to play along with their sex games. She was having as much fun as they were, if the wicked glint in her eyes was anything to go by.
I want to tell her I love her. But not now. Not with Alexi and during these games. When it’s the two of us alone, no menage, no play, I’ll tell her. If she doesn’t love me back ... I’ll have to live with that.
Thomas knew he’d never simply “live with it.” He wanted Madison for the rest of his life.
But for now, he enjoyed making a slave of her. The best game was when they tied her to a porch post in the back courtyard after they stripped her of the dress. They tethered her facing them, hands over her head, and then he and Alexi licked her all over, trading places between her legs. They had her coming three times before they finally let her loose.
Alexi was good at this. He became the master, ordering Madison to perform various acts of pleasure on Thomas, promising punishment if she didn’t do it to his exact specifications. Thomas got to be the recipient of her sucking him off, her bending over the back of the couch so he could have access to her pussy and ass. Screwing her with a wand, then with his cock, in both entrances, made him crazy with excitement.
Madison did everything Alexi told her, though once, with a
sly smile, she disobeyed, and squealed with joy when she had to be turned over Thomas’s knee for a spanking.
After that, Thomas took her on the floor, both of them desperate for release.
Later, after dinner, they went upstairs and prepared Madison for another double. She was enjoying this so much that Thomas wondered if she’d ever be satisfied with Thomas alone, when playtime was over. Thomas didn’t like that thought. Although Alexi was making life very sweet for Thomas this weekend, Thomas didn’t want this menage to be a permanent thing. Madison was his. When the weekend was over, he wanted her with him. Alone.
But for now, sex was wild, wicked, and crazy, and they reveled in the freedom of it. Thomas tried to stay awake as long as he could that night, making love to her again and again, but in the small hours of the morning, he finally dropped off, spooned against Madison, where he should be forever.
When he woke in the morning, Alexi was gone, the air felt light, and he knew that the weekend was over.
Chapter 10
When Madison opened her eyes, the room was already bathed in sunshine. Something felt different, and it took her a moment to realize what. The thick, sultry feel to the air had gone, leaving it cool and ordinary. Everything felt, well, normal, again.
A warm weight depressed the bed behind her, a long wall of man against her back. Thomas, she knew it was him. She recognized his warmth, his scent, the way he cupped his hand casually on her hip. Of Alexi, there was no sign. He wasn’t in the room or sitting on the balcony.
Madison knew without checking that the doors and windows would be unlocked now, and she’d no longer be trapped inside the house with Thomas.
No, trapped was the wrong word. Not once in the preceding night and day had she wanted to leave. Even when Alexi had allowed them out in the courtyard, running away had been the furthest thing from her mind. Besides, she’d been stark naked, and letting herself be tied up for their pleasure had been much more fun.
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