Head Over Heels -- Hump Day HUMP/Sunday Snog

Head Over Heels

by Marteeka Karland

“Drop the towel and come here,” he said, reaching out a hand to her.

She actually blushed, her gaze shifting away from his.

“Please, Natalia.” His voice was husky, betraying his need.

Natalia hesitated, but did as he asked. Immediately, his breath caught. Her breasts were small, barely rounded mounds with muscle layered underneath them, but through each nipple she wore a small, gold hoop. He’d been right about that, but the suspicion and the realization had very different impacts. If the first had made him hard, the latter brought him to his knees with needing her.

It took a supreme effort to drag his gaze away form her nipples, but he did manage. She didn’t have a naval piercing—which surprised him, given she obviously wasn’t opposed to the idea.

“Why not pierce the sexy little belly as well?”

She flushed and looked down and away from him. “My mother would know.”

“Ah, so it was a form of rebellion. I wonder what other treasures you have hidden?” Zechariahs managed to sound steady and calm, but it was seriously straining him. Especially as he continued his inspection of her perfect body.

Her mound was bare, devoid of any body hair—the cut of her leotard made that expected—but then he caught the glimmer of something...

He did drop to his knees then, needing with everything in him to know what she hid between her legs. She stiffened when he urged her legs apart, but obeyed his silent command.

“Sweet Mother above,” he breathed.

That was all he could take. Without another word, without any warning whatsoever, Zechariahs latched onto the little gold ring piercing her clit and swirled his tongue around it and her.

Natalia’s knees gave way and Zechariahs had to wrap his arms around her thighs and hold her just underneath her buttocks in order to catch her. He didn’t stop his teasing and tugging on that damned ring though. She deserved it for having it to begin with. No red-blooded man could resist the temptation she offered.

When she squealed and pushed at him, gasping and shuddering, he stopped just long enough to look up at her.

“It’s too much, Zechariahs,” she breathed. “I can’t”

“Yes you can, Natalia. With me, you can.”

He stood then, scooping her up to lay her gently on the bed. Whipping his t-shirt over his head, Zechariahs followed her down. She scooted back and away from him a little, but almost immediately stilled, allowing him to lie beside her, his body curved around hers as if he could take her into the shelter of his body and keep her there forever.

Lazily—when he was really as tightly coiled as a spring—Zechariahs circled one nipple with his tongue, catching the ring with the tip and tugging gently. He was rewarded with another squeal from Natalia, but this time, she circled his head with her arms, holding him to her.

Taking that as an encouraging sign, Zechariahs moved over her more, putting his jeans-clad leg between her thighs and rubbing gently. He moved to the other breast, lavishing it with the same attention as he had the first. Natalia’s nipples peaked deliciously when he laved them with his tongue. The way she made that little sound when he tugged the rings ever so slightly made Zechariahs’ cock swell and throb.

Muscles played and bunched beneath the skin of her belly, revealing a six-pack to rival his own. Until that moment, he’d always thought muscled women weren’t feminine. Now, he realized how sexy muscle could be on a woman. Natalia was slight of build, but she was strong. She was built to take his much larger frame. Her sculpted body, though small, was made specifically for him. He could play with her all day and night and she could take whatever he needed to give her, and give him just as much back.

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The Log Line Blog: Head Over Heels

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Space Marine is Available Now!

ONLY at Changeling Press!!!

Space Marine -- Hump Day HUMPS

Not only does Andromeda go where no man has gone before, she resides there. Boredom is null and void in her line of work -- the entertainment of Space Marines who seem more than a little hungry for a warm and willing female form. Yet, something has been... missing. That something might have just strolled through the doors of her station...

EXCERPT!

If there was one thing Andromeda loved, it was a big cyborg space marine. They always had those delicious muscles that made her mouth water. Every one she’d ever met had never refused the optional “equipment” that went with the cybernetics. It always made for one delicious ride indeed.

The station orbiting Earth had more traffic than any other station in the sector. Which meant more space-weary customers starving for a woman than she knew what to do with. But Andromeda $wanted a space marine. Besides being starved for a female body, they paid well. They always demanded much, but the perks far outweighed the demands.

“I want to fuck.”

The deep, gruff voice brought her out of her musings. Not that she minded. Looming over her was the biggest, meanest looking space marine she’d ever seen, complete with outer armor and a big gun at each hip.

“Lucky for you, I’m on duty, big guy.”

“Not you,” he grunted. “Not now.”

She rolled her eyes to cover her irritation, crossing her legs and propping her chin on her hand. “Sorry, big guy. We’re busy tonight. It’s me or nothing.”

He looked frustrated, but a few seconds later, he swiped his hand in front of the reader. The scanner deducted the appropriate amount for an hour of her time. Andromeda smiled. She could definitely spend more than an hour exploring, but some was better than none.

“Weapons in the locker.” She pointed to a large storage locker where he could store his suit and other weapons. The man was already working to get himself out of the bulky body armor, eyeing her up and down as he went. As she’d hoped, the enhancement between his legs was a huge bulge contained in the tight under armor he wore underneath his outer suit. “Well, all but that one.” She nodded to his crotch. “We’ll definitely need that.”

Space Marine - Sunday Snog

Last Sunday, I was unable to open the blisskiss webswite. So I'm reposting this for them. :) Space Marine releases next week!!! Be looking!

Her marine wrapped his arms around her waist before latching on to one peaked nipple, sucking and nipping. Andromeda slid her hands over his head, his high-and-tight cut abrading her palms as she held him to her. If she lived to be a hundred, she’d never get tired of the feeling of such a large man wrapping himself around her. She loved his strength, the feel of his hard body pressed so tightly against hers.

COME BACK WEDNESDAY FOR AN EROTIC EXCERPT FOR HUMP DAY!

Hump Day HUMP! Executive Decisions (Collection) Hidden Agenda

Excerpt from Hidden Agenda in the Executive Decisions collection!

Aurora turned her head to give those wonderful lips in her dream better access to her throat. If she hadn’t known for absolute certainty she’d gone to bed alone, she’d swear she was in bed with one or the other of those two pesky, sexy werewolves. Since this was a dream, however, she didn’t question it. She just let it happen.

He was warm against her, and his skin was coarse with the dusting of hair on his chest. Large, callused hands lightly traced her shoulder and face.

“Mmmmmm.” She stretched as she enjoyed the sweet pleasure of being touched by another human. This had to be the most vivid dream she’d ever had. Given her intense orgasm to the sounds of Storm and Jason fucking like rabbits, she wasn’t surprised her dreams had gone all erotic.

“Mmmmm, indeed.” The deep, masculine voice sent shivers down her belly straight to her cunt, and gooseflesh broke out all over her skin. She opened her eyes lazily, not really wanting to wake up, but wanting to see Jason lying next to her.

She peeked through her lashes, and shut them tightly again. It seemed her dream was there in the flesh. Aurora scrubbed her fists over her eyes to wipe the sleep away before opening them again.

He was still there.

Frantically, she looked around her. She was in his bed. Fully clothed, but still in his bed.

Omigod!

Aurora scrambled to sit up, but Jason held her gently, yet firmly flat on her back at his side. “What the hell are you doing, and how the hell did I get here? I distinctly remember being on the couch and I didn’t drink anything.” His deep, sexy chuckle seemed to turn her insides to mush. Heat suffused her, and she knew her face had to be beet red.

God, he looked damned good. His hair was tousled and wild after the night. He was bare-chested, and all that muscle and hair-dusted skin seemed to beckon her to touch. If she did, she knew she’d never be able to stop.

“Relax, Aurora. We’re just giving you breakfast in bed.”

“But I don’t want breakfast in bed. I want to check the phones and call Darius to get us out of here.”

Jason shrugged lazily. “Why? He always knows what’s going on. If he wanted us out, we definitely wouldn’t be here.”

“That’s just nuts. How could he possibly know we got stranded here and that your date left?”

“Call it good business. Trust me. He knows. Maybe not about the stranded part, but he knows the woman who left that note isn’t here with us, and if he wanted us back home, we’d be on our way right now.”

“He’s got a point.” Aurora jumped and whipped her head around. Storm stood leaning against the doorframe holding a tray of whole and sliced fruit and also not wearing a shirt.

She tried to concentrate on the food. She was more of a biscuits and gravy woman herself, but the sight of food when she’d had very little the day before set her stomach rumbling. To her great embarrassment, both men chuckled.

“Well, I’m used to getting my three squares, and I missed at least two yesterday.” Aurora tried to push Jason away, but she only succeeded in pushing herself up into a sitting position. Jason mimicked her movements, but kept his hold on her.

“I think we can take care of that.” Storm sat on the edge of the bed and sat the tray across her lap. The small bed tray indeed bore an assortment of different fruit and some kind of milky white dipping sauce. When Aurora reached for one, Jason gently diverted her.

“Uh uh. You just sit back and relax.” Storm’s face was as serious as she’d ever seen him. Jason’s, too. It was obvious she wasn’t going to win an argument here. If she wanted to eat, and she really did, she was going to have to do whatever they wanted.

She crossed her arms over her chest and huffed. “Fine. But make it snappy. And make sure I get a lot of whatever that sauce is. I love fruit dip.”

Storm didn’t bat an eyelash. “We know,” he said, and picked up a wonderfully plump, red strawberry. He dipped it in the sauce twice, half covering the berry in the thick, creamy stuff, and held it to her lips. Somehow, Aurora knew this wouldn’t be an innocent breakfast or peace offering. They were setting her up for something naughty. Gingerly, she opened her mouth to receive the offering. Sweet and tangy flavor exploded on her tongue, and she couldn’t help but close her eyes and moan a little.

Jason took a morsel for himself before offering her another bite, this time a peeled orange slice. The taste was an eye-watering contrast of sweet and sour, but still delicious.

She found herself going from one to the other of them for tasty bits until a bit of dip smudged her chin. She started to wipe the sticky stuff away, but again, Jason stayed her hand. When she looked at him questioningly, he didn’t waste words. He simply dipped his head and licked her chin clean, then snuck his cream-coated tongue inside her mouth when she gasped in surprise.

Aurora trembled, unable to stop the nervous tremors at the suddenly erotic turn. She’d known it was coming, thought knowing was enough to prepare her, but the reality of it was far beyond her caliber of sexual encounters. This was “it.” There was nothing to stop them from playing her body like a finely tuned Stradivarius violin except her, and she was in no state of mind to do that. Her body was working too much against her.

Head spinning, she turned helplessly to Storm, who held a bit of apple, coated in fruit dip, out to her. His expression was intensely sexy, as if she were the sole focus of his attention. As if no other woman in the world were as important as she was. She opened her mouth automatically, but instead of offering it to her, he put half the slice in his own mouth, leaving the other half sticking out. Slowly, he lowered himself to her until the bit of apple touched her lips.

What could she do? She closed her mouth around the juicy fruit and grazed his lips with hers when she did so. He bit the apple in two and took her mouth gently in a wet, sticky kiss. Knowing she’d never fight something she wanted so much -- especially when it turned out to be even better than she’d ever imagined -- she surrendered.

Both men seemed to know the moment she made that decision. The fruit was taken away, and she was left with masculine lips and tongues. Everywhere she moved, one man or the other -- sometimes both -- kissed her. They urged her to scoot down and lay back in the bed. She complied with little resistance.

Storm settled his face into the soft part of her neck, and she giggled when his morning stubble tickled. Her giggles soon turned to sighs as both men found bared skin with their lips and tongues.

Jason settled on her midriff and pulled her shirt higher. He delved into her navel and licked a trail lower to her pant line. Aurora inhaled sharply, and her belly twitched at the unaccustomed contact. She was wound tight with contained energy. Every touch seemed to fill her with more, and she needed a release.

God! What would it feel like to actually have one of them bring her to orgasm? She wasn’t altogether sure she’d survive. But what a way to go!

She was enjoying the lovely sensations when Storm unbuttoned her jeans and slid them down her hips, panties and all. Aurora lifted her hips automatically, though she was a little nervous about this. If she went through with it, their relationship would be changed forever. Then again, she’d never again be able to look at or talk to these men without thinking of the last few hours.

In actuality, their relationship had changed the moment they’d kissed on that plane. Jason slid her shirt over her head and unfastened her bra. It had taken them all of about fifteen seconds to get her completely naked.

She closed her eyes tightly, holding her breath, waiting for them to touch her. When nothing happened, she opened her eyes again to find them staring at her body. Looking her over as if memorizing every square inch of her skin.

That broke the spell nicely.

“What are you doing?” Again, she tried to sit up, this time to pull the covers with her and cover herself.

“Stop it.” Jason batted her hands away gently while Storm pushed her back down on the bed. “Let us look at you for a moment.”

“But --”

“Hush.” Storm’s voice was quiet, and she got the feeling he wasn’t really paying her words any attention. He was too busy devouring her with his eyes. As was Jason.

Aurora had never been more self-conscious in her life. She’d always taken pride in her creamy skin, but over the years, extra pounds -- no matter how much she fought them with diet and exercise -- had moved in on her rear, thighs, and belly. Such close scrutiny by two such perfect men was, in a word…

Wait. Scratch that. There was no way “one word” could describe the level of uncomfortable she felt. To make it worse, that God-awful blush that had plagued her fair skin all her life started to creep up her throat to her face. The rest of her body probably looked like she had some sort of contagious disease.

“She blushes prettily.”

“She’ll never be able to keep anything from us, that’s for sure.”

“Stop it!” Aurora pushed at them, but they merely brushed her hands aside and -- for the love of God! -- started sniffing her. Suddenly, all the sweat and grime of the last twenty-four hours without the benefit of a shower came rushing back at her. Especially when Jason’s nose found its way into her armpit.

Immediately, she twisted out of his way and shoved his shaggy head away. “That’s just…”

“Necessary,” Storm interrupted and dipped his head back to her belly. His hair tickled erotically as he continued from her navel to the thatch of hair at her pubic area. Jason tried to nose his way back against her side, and she tried to push him away again. Neither man was distracted, and Aurora was not only more embarrassed than she’d ever been, but she was totally freaked out.

“That’s enough! What the hell are you guys trying to do?” She scrambled up and finally managed to pull the sheet over her body, distancing herself from them a little.

Storm rolled his eyes, and Jason gave him a stern look.

“Hello,” Storm said, as though it were perfectly obvious what they were doing. “We’re sniffing. Getting your scent. Do you mind? It’s part of it.”

“Part of what? Do you realize I’ve not had a bath or even used a wet washcloth to wash in more than a day?” She knew her voice was increasing in pitch in her agitation, and that it was an annoying sound, but she couldn’t seem to take that deep breath she’d need to calm herself. “I stink! Get away from me.”

Jason reached over her and smacked the back of Storm’s head. “Would you shut the fuck up?”

“Ouch!”

“Believe me, Aurora. You do not stink.” Jason lunged toward her and found her mouth with his. His tongue snaked out and slipped inside her, and she almost forgot her agitation. “We waited for this on purpose. You see, if you’ve not bathed, you’ve not used soaps and artificial scents to mask your own, intoxicating scent.”

Had she been angry with them? Yes. Yes, she’d been angry with them. Pretty words weren’t going to change that. But… they were very pretty…

“Yeah,” Storm said, pulling the sheet away from her. She reluctantly let go, and he spread her legs. Before going any farther, he looked up at her, all traces of playing, teasing, or anything else lighthearted erased from his face. “What he said. Besides, this way, no matter where you go or how far you try to run, after this we’ll always be able to find you.”

Oh, dear God! Storm bent to lick the fluid leaking from her cunt. How in the world had she gone from hot to cold to even hotter in three point four seconds? These men were seriously screwing up her nervous system.

The pleasure she got from Storm’s tongue on the hot flesh between her legs was almost indescribable. It had been so long since she’d engaged in oral sex, she’d forgotten how good it felt. Then again, she was pretty sure nothing she’d ever experienced quite compared to this. If he concentrated on her clit, she’d definitely lose all grip on self-control and come embarrassingly fast.

Storm’s ministrations were so wonderful, she almost lost track of what Jason was doing. That is until he moved to the underside of one breast. He licked and nibbled until he reached its ripe peak, then he took her nipple into his mouth.

That was it. Screw professionalism. Screw fighting an obviously losing battle. Jason was right. Darius was nothing if not intelligent, and she had no doubt he knew the depth of her affection for these two men. If he was willing to put her in this position, then she absolutely would not feel bad when they spontaneously combusted.

Giving herself the mental “OK,” she grabbed Storm’s head and pulled him deeper between her thighs. Immediately, he grabbed the insides of her legs and parted them even wider. When he latched on to her clit unexpectedly and sucked it hard, she knew why he was holding her legs. She wanted to close them around his head and keep him there forever. Aurora clutched Jason and held him to her chest as she tangled her fingers in Storm’s hair. There was no way either of these men was going to get away from her until she was well and truly done with them. Which might be a very long time indeed.

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Executive Decisions (collection) SUNDAY SNOG!

Excerpt from One Night Only, book two in the Executive Decisions collection!

One night only.

No. She couldn’t do it. It would tear her heart to shreds tomorrow.

She hung helplessly suspended by tendrils of air and watched them advance on her. What would she do if they forced the issue? She knew she was powerless to tell them no. They’d know her heart wasn’t in it because they’d always been able to tell when she was lying. She wanted them both with every fiber of her being -- she just wasn’t sure she could give them up when it was over.

“Guys, I’m serious.” She tried one last time to make them see reason before she spread her legs and hoped they fucked her senseless. “I can’t do this. I really can’t.”

“Can’t?” Raven asked. With a flick of his wrist, a thread of air lifted the simple cotton dress from her body, leaving her floating slowly toward the bed in nothing but her panties. She blushed and swallowed the groan. Granny drawers. Of all the things she could have worn, she’d put on granny drawers this morning. “Or are you just afraid?”

“Does it really matter?” She tried to cover her breasts with her hands. Hiding the granny drawers would be impossible.

“It does.” Hawk flourished his hand and her arms were gently pulled away from her chest. “Don’t cover yourself, Sophie.” His voice was husky and his face became hard, as if he were angry. “Don’t ever cover yourself in front of me.”

Raven glanced at his brother with an annoyed look. “Either of us.”

Hawk blinked and shook his head. Sophie was gently lowered to the bed, and she scampered backward to grab a pillow to shield herself despite his warning. She couldn’t help the shiver of anticipation, and she knew she’d creamed her granny drawers but good. Would they leave her in peace now?

“What do we do?” Hawk asked his brother. “We can’t share her.”

“We can’t?” Raven raised an eyebrow. “Do you honestly think this wasn’t set up with that specific purpose in mind?”

Hawk looked shocked, then his features melted into a smile. Finally he chuckled lightly, followed by all-out laughter. “That sly, conniving witch.”

“Would you have dared it otherwise?” Raven, ever the serious one, merely rolled his eyes and shook his head at his brother’s lack of emotional control. “Go secure the doors downstairs. I’ll have a talk with our reluctant charge and explain things to her.”

“Whatever you say, brother. But if I come back and she’s worse than when I left, I’ll have to turn you into a goat.”

Still chuckling, Hawk left the room, and Sophie heard him skip down the stairs. She was left with Raven and, if it was possible, was even more anxious than before.

“You’re not going to leave, are you.” She made it a statement because there was no question the two men would take what they wanted. They always had.

“No. But I want to know why you’re so reluctant. Don’t you find us appealing? Have we been so rotten over the years that you can’t even give us one night?”

All Sophie could manage was to swallow and shake her head. She clutched the pillow to her chest as if it were the only thing saving her from certain doom. How could she tell him the reason she couldn’t was because one night would leave her longing for every night for the rest of her life?

“Then what’s the problem?” Raven sounded so reasonable, she felt like a petulant child not answering him, so she sighed and bit the bullet.

“I can’t do one night with the two of you, Raven, and it’s cruel of you to ask it. Even worse than that, your grandmother is in on this.” Speaking it aloud hurt more than she imagined it would, and she had to swallow the lump in her throat. There was no way she could go home after this. She’d always look at the men -- her men -- knowing she could never have them, and she’d feel awkward in front of Mrs. Grinnich. She obviously expected Sophie to have sex with her grandsons, but what was supposed to happen after tonight?

Raven narrowed his eyes. “Why would you think less of Mamaw for this?”

“What happens to me after tonight, Raven? What happens to the three of us?” She was shedding her self-control in her embarrassment and anger. Besides, she might not have always been comfortable around Raven, but he was a constant in her life. Someone she had come to rely on. Someone who had always been there, and she expected would always be there -- no matter what happened after tonight -- in some form or fashion. “Do we pretend this didn’t happen? Do we go on our merry way and forget what we did? Hell!” She dropped the pillow in her agitation and crossed her arms under her breasts. “We haven’t even done anything, and I already feel like there’s no hope for my future. Trust me. This isn’t a good idea.”

Hawk cleared his throat, making his presence known from the doorway. “Pardon me for saying,” he drawled as he leaned against the frame, “but neither of us has mentioned anything about a one-night stand. Who says this has to end here?”

Sophie opened her mouth to respond -- though she had no idea what she was about to say -- when Raven advanced on her. “Enough. I want you. Now.” He shed his slacks and button-up dress shirt so easily, he had to have used magic, though the spell was so subtle Sophie couldn’t see or hear him initiate it. “If you truly find me so repulsive, say so now. Otherwise, I plan on giving you a night none of us will ever forget.”

Before she could utter a single word, Raven was on her. His mouth found hers effortlessly, and he coaxed her tongue into his mouth. Sophie’s head spun as he pushed her back into the plush pillows and settled himself between her legs. Her belly clenched and her pussy throbbed, burning and tingling in anticipation. He smelled divine! Clean, masculine scents surrounded her in a spicy aroma that tickled her nose. Mint lingered on his tongue and in his mouth, encouraging her to sample more and more until she was kissing him back as vigorously as he kissed her.

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Executive Decisions (Collection)

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You’ll make the best impression by having a companion who is knowledgeable in your field of business, yet knows when to make you the center of attention. Remember, you’re the executive. It’s your decision.

Four women find themselves thrust into a world where fantasy and reality intertwine in a more than pleasurable way. Where every single move made is completely for her satisfaction. Where even the darkest desires are fulfilled. Where the men of their dreams have one goal -- to leave them sore, hoarse and still begging.

A girl could get used to this…

EXCERPT!

“Good morning, D and S Attorneys, how may I help you?” Zoe Carter answered the phone professionally, as always. She always did her best no matter what job she was doing.

“You can start by making sure the damned coffee is fresh.” She grimaced. Unfortunately, her employers weren’t so congenial. From the sound of it, Sebastian Collingsworth wasn’t in a particularly good mood. “And get me a decent shirt from Julian’s.”

“Yes --” The line went dead. “-- sir.” She sighed. “Good morning to you, too, asshole.”

Working for vampires sucked. Literally. Zoe Carter was just thankful she wasn’t on the menu.

She was the accountant and receptionist for Dorian and Sebastian Collingsworth, owners of D&S Collingsworth, Attorneys at Law, and had been for the last ten years. Because she was the most senior staff member -- OK, so she was the only staff member -- she saw the men at their best and worst. She also knew D&S Attorneys was only part of what the two big vampires did.

As a rule, the pair weren’t exactly morning people. Other than that, they didn’t seem to have any of the weaknesses she’d always thought vampires had. Instead, they had the arrogant belief they were superior to every being on the planet. Like most men she knew.

One thing the pair had on other men was the second job. They also worked for a very high-class escort service for women with particular and… intense tastes. On more than one occasion, they’d called her to come in before dawn to help one or both of them to their underground chamber at the office.

At first, she’d worried about them getting caught -- and her being trapped in the middle of some illegal prostitution ring. Being paranoid made her hyper aware of the people around her, especially when the local sheriff was a frequent visitor. There seemed to be several people who not only knew about the side business the two vampires had going on, but also that they were vampires. When she’d questioned Dorian about it, he’d laughed at her, saying not everyone was so naive to believe everyone in the world was human. As if the whole friggin’ town of Mount Bell was populated with vampires!

There was no denying their sex appeal. Zoe creamed her panties every day she went to work. These men exuded sex. The nasty, raunchy kind. They definitely fit the part they were apparently expected to play. She had heard them talking on more than one occasion about enjoyable bouts of kink. It was definitely the kind of sex nice girls like herself didn’t participate in.

Yeah. Right.

Damn.

It was a good thing she was so good at her job. As it was, she had to constantly recheck her figures. She found concentration almost impossible at times. She was too busy trying to catch glimpses of the two sexy men.

The only bad thing was she couldn’t stand either of them. Oh, they were nice enough to almost everyone. Just not to her. The only reason she stayed was because every time she tried to leave, they’d give her a raise, or a “continuance bonus.”

Aside from that, they were the biggest assholes in the world. They never smiled at her, never told her she did a good job, and treated her like a servant. It was almost like they wanted her to hate them.

As to today, she’d had this morning’s conversation with one or the other of them several times over the years and she knew better than to come back with only a “decent shirt.” Before she left, she put on a pot of dark roast and took the company credit card. She’d get a complete change of clothing for each of them. Julian would know what she needed.

By the time the brothers entered the office via the back entrance, she was back with everything they could possibly need.

“God, I need a Scotch.”

Except that.

Dorian looked like he’d been in a barroom brawl rather than on a date with some rich man or woman who needed companionship for the night and didn’t want complications. In fact, it looked like there had been plenty of complications last night. Blood and dirt streaked his clothing and face. His hair was a matted mess instead of the shiny, silky black it normally was.

“Just wash up and change clothes, Dorian. Griping about it isn’t helping.”

“If I’d known he was a junkie, I wouldn’t be in this situation, Sebastian. You’re the Psy. You should have warned me.” Both men were clearly agitated, and the longer Zoe listened to them, the more alarmed she grew. Dorian obviously expected Sebastian to have warned him about the drugs, but Zoe knew it was very likely Sebastian didn’t know. He could sense strong emotions, not read minds, and the strong emotions he could sense was what he fed from. As it was, she was terribly afraid they’d done something awful.

“What did you two do? If you’ve killed someone, I swear I’ll be the first one to go to the police.”

Dorian rolled his eyes and Sebastian gave her a scathing look. “Of course we didn’t kill anyone,” Sebastian snapped.

Dorian barked a sharp laugh. “No, but I may later. Doesn’t our contract state that drugs and alcohol are strictly prohibited?”

“Would you two stop for a minute?” As Dorian undressed, Zoe grew increasingly alarmed. When he took off his suit jacket and turned around, she saw nasty gashes on his back. They were deep and angry looking, already getting red at the edges as if infection was imminent. She approached Dorian and carefully touched the edge of one such gash.

“Fucking hell!” He jumped and whipped around. “What the hell do you think you’re doing?”

“This happened last night?” Zoe ignored her employer’s outburst. She was used to it. When she reached out again to touch the irritated skin to see if it was warm, Dorian rounded on her.

“Don’t fucking touch me! The only thing you need to concern yourself with is giving me the clothes I asked for, then getting the hell out!”

Zoe had never seen him like this. Sebastian gripped Dorian’s shoulder as if to hold the man back. Dorian looked absolutely furious. What the hell had she done to set him off?

“I was just trying to help. You’re hurt.”

“When I want your help, I’ll ask for it, mortal. Now get the fuck out!”

Zoe had never backed down from either of them before, but something in the way he looked at her scared the holy hell out of her. She backed out of the room, grabbed the clothes she’d acquired and tossed them in the general direction of the men. With one last angry look, Zoe turned and walked out the door.

Fuck it. She didn’t need this. She had a vacation coming. They’d have to live with her taking it early. Unless a couple weeks of solitude changed her mind, she wouldn’t be back.

Fuck it. Fuck them.

* * *

“She’s leaving.” Sebastian’s voice held no emotion, but Dorian knew the other vampire better than anyone. His blood brother depended on the emotions of others to give him sustenance, but it didn’t mean he didn’t have any emotions of his own. He simply tried to conserve as much emotional energy as he could by holding it inside.

“Good. She’s putting herself in danger because she believes us tame. I’m so desperate for blood, I could take her and never bat an eyelash.”

“As could I, but I don’t believe for an instant you could bring yourself to hurt her, no matter how bad off you were.”

“No, but I could fuck the living daylights out of her and you’d do nothing to stop me. The emotion coming from me alone would feed you for a month and I bet I could make her enjoy it just as much.” Dorian scrubbed a hand over his face. “Is she angry?”

“Worse than she’s ever been, but she’s more hurt than anything else. You scared the hell out of her.” Sebastian crossed his arms over his chest. “If you wanted her gone, you could have done it differently. You didn’t have to yell at her. Do you want her to leave for good? Because that’s what she’s planning.”

“Christ!” Dorian felt like an ass. Still, if she left, temptation would be removed. “No. I don’t want her to leave, but maybe it’s for the best. I know you’ve been just as miserable as I have. She’s not the type of woman who can handle us. And she’s human. I don’t want a human attached to me as anything other than an employee or a fuck toy.”

Sebastian chuckled. Dorian didn’t see anything very damned funny about it. “You might be right, but personally, I don’t think you give her enough credit. I’ll bet there’s a hellcat in there just waiting to explode. She might not be preternatural, but it takes a special human to accept us as we are, and she does.”

Dorian had had enough. He could only take so much of Sebastian’s bullshit. “You can’t honestly tell me that girl can hold her own with two vampires who need a mate so badly, they pimp themselves out to psycho sex hounds? You think she could survive a round of fucking like we did tonight? I might have come out of it worse than anyone, but I gave as good as I got. Besides, she’d probably shit herself if she knew about the others, to say nothing of the Coven at Pleasant Hills.”

“Don’t you think she deserves the chance if she wants it?”

“No! I don’t!” Dorian slammed his fist onto his mahogany desk hard enough to splinter the impact site and leave a crater the size of his fist. “I don’t want to be responsible for hurting her! Better a wounded ego than a wounded body.”

“I see.”

“Besides that, she’s a fucking human! We’re better than that.”

“I see.”

Goddamn the man! Dorian loved his blood brother more than anyone else in the world, but sometimes he wished the other man would rant and rave and argue with him instead of being so calm and reasonable all the freaking time.

“What the hell is that supposed to mean?”

“It means --” Sebastian crossed the room to grip Dorian’s arm in a firm, reassuring grip. “-- you love her just as much as I do and would do anything it took to keep her safe.” He snorted. “Human or not.”

“So, what do we do now?”

“She intends on taking a two-week vacation with or without our consent before she leaves us. When she books her flight and hotel, we make sure we pick up the tab. When she comes back to clean out her desk, we do something we’ve never done before.” Sebastian grinned.

“You don’t mean --”

“Yes. I mean exactly that.”

Dorian groaned. Still, Sebastian was right. It was definitely the only way, though it made him want to grind his teeth.

“In all my years as a vampire, I’ve never apologized.”

“Well, maybe it’s time you learn.” Dorian tried to wave the other man off, more of a token protest than anything else, but Sebastian -- the bastard -- had to drive his point home. “Do you want her out of our lives forever? Can you honestly say she’ll be out of mind if she’s out of sight?”

“Oh, for the love of --”

“No. You can’t say it any more than I can. I want her so badly I ache with it, but I’ve held back all this time for the same reasons you have. I’ve done everything in my power to keep her with me until she was ready. She’s been with us ten years, Dorian. Ten years! Maybe we should stop keeping her at arm’s length and embrace the woman she’s grown into.”

“Bah!” Dorian turned and paced across the office. “I may want to fuck her silly, but that’s it. I like her, and care about what happens to her, but that’s as far as it goes. If she wants to leave, let her. One less human to deal with.”

“So, you don’t care that she’s planning on leaving. It doesn’t bother you she’ll be kicking us out of her life?” Sebastian crossed his arms over his chest and leaned against the wall.

“Hell, no! Do you have any idea how much money we’ve spent on her in the last ten years? I’ve never wasted so much on anyone.”

“I see.”

“Would you stop it with the ‘I see’ business? There’s nothing to see! I’m simply making a statement!”

“So, seeing her work beside someone else every day in this town wouldn’t bother you.”

“Hell, no! Let someone else keep her up.”

“And you wouldn’t care if you met her on the street and she ignored you?”

“Not even remotely.”

“And when she finds a man to share her life with?”

“I’ll kill the bastard --” Dorian blinked. “Ah, hell.”

“I see.” Sebastian smirked.

Dorian knew when he was fighting a losing battle. “I really hate you sometimes, Sebastian.”

“No, you don’t. You just hate it when I’m right.”


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