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“I was,” replied Simon pouring a generous dollop of Irish cream into the coffees. “Then, I realized if they hadn’t experimented on her, she would have died.” His eyes rose to meet Gene’s whose shoulders slumped.

“I hadn’t thought of that. And truly, I have no problem with what she is. I am as drawn to her as you are, but, keeping her existence secret isn’t going to be easy.”

“Why, because some random demon came across her?”

Gene shook his head. “No, because the vampires who were created from the same gene as her know of her existence.”

“I killed them.” Simon stubbornly stated.

“Not all of them. So long as any of them are alive, along with the angelic creations, she is in danger of discovery. Fuck, for all we know, the vampires have already hooked up with a demon and relayed that information.”

“Only one way to find out,” said Simon and at Gene’s narrowed gaze, his face twisted into a chilling grin. “We find them and question them before we kill them all.”

“And if Legion already knows of her existence?”

Simon smacked his fist into his open palm, the loud sound bringing a dangerous glint to Gene’s eyes. “Then we help her fulfill her destiny.”

Chapter Five

I fell asleep troubled, and not just because of the demon who seemed to think the fact I lived spelled an end to the world. The guys, and my reaction to them, preyed on me. Why do I feel such a connection to them? It went beyond my wanting to jump them and ride them like an out of control cowgirl. I simply liked-no, make that loved-being around them. I loved the way Simon treated me like a fragile princess. I loved that Gene didn’t just drool over me, he joked with me like I was his friend. After my experience in the hospital with my brothers, I’d shied from friendships with men. I hated that they all looked at me with lusty eyes, never seeing me, the real person-albeit specially endowed with super powers. I had the same problem with human women although not to the same extent as men. With human men, all their actions and conversation with me seemed geared towards one thing-getting my pants off. In the past, that suited me just fine, after all, my mother always taught me to not play with my food.

With Simon and Gene, the sexual attraction was definitely there, along with the innuendos, but, it went further than that. They saw me for who I was, not just a sexy succubus. They could have taken advantage of me at any time as well, and yet, they’d acted like perfect gentlemen even though I sensed their raging desire. They talked to me and listened without staring at my boobs, which was disconcerting-I wasn’t used to men looking me in the eyes. I wondered how intense gazing into their eyes at the moment of climax would affect me.

All this musing, though, wasn’t getting me ready. I gnawed my lips as I realized something else.

I was nervous.

This was, after all, my first real date. Sure, I’d had guys take me home to see their ceilings, and I’d visited plenty of backseats, but all those encounters had resulted from me siccing my power on the male in question. Dinner in a nice restaurant where I was expected to keep my panties on while the eating happened, how new and different. The jury remained out on whether I liked it. If I truly wanted to be honest with myself-the horror!-then I needed to also admit the upcoming evening scared the hell out of me.

What if, we have a great dinner, and then go back to their place for some amazing sex, and tomorrow, they don’t call, and I go back to being alone? A part of me was terrified that once they’d conquered my panties, I’d end up ditched at the curb with a broken heart. Stupid me, when did I allow myself to care?

I really hated having in depth, heart-to-heart conversations with myself. I never liked my own answers.

I finished dressing and headed out to the living room and my waiting panel of roommates, ready to judge me.

“How do I look?” I asked smoothing down the skirt of the black cocktail dress I’d bought for the occasion. It went to my knee, and while hugging my curves was far from skintight. It did, however, dip really low in the back making a bra useless, so it had some redeeming slutty qualities.

“You look fabulous and you know it,” said Lana, taking the sea conch from her ear for a moment. On land, we had cell phones; under the sea, they used conchs and seashells. Go figure.

“Are you sure?”

Claire giggled. “I never thought I’d see the day you were worried about attracting a man, or should I say men?”

I made a face at her. “I’m more worried about looking too hookerish and not being allowed in the restaurant to eat.”

They reassured me that I looked elegant not high priced. I knew my friends were right-I looked great. On the outside at least, I looked sleek and sophisticated, but under the skirt, I wore a skimpy g-string and my cleft was clean shaven.

All my soul searching and disturbing conclusions still led back to one key point. I was given a second chance at life, and mutant hybrid or not, possible means to the end of the world or not, I’d live life to the fullest and worry about the consequences later. And that motto meant grabbing the boys by their horns-with a firm grasp-and taking what they offered-naked and enthusiastically.

I also had a plan to take care of my ex-brothers-kind of. But I’d need help, and I knew just the two guys to give it to me-and not just in a carnal sense.

A knock sounded and I jumped to the amusement of my friends.

Lana started crooning, “Like a virgin, touched for the very first time.”

I glared at her and went to answer the door. Upon opening it, I found myself assailed by a jungle-okay not a real one, but the wild tangle of blooms thrust at me certainly must have set back the rainforests quite a bit.

Startled-my first bouquet of flowers, sniff-I hid my surprise and delight by grabbing the supersized bouquet and heading to the kitchen to find something to put them in. An acre of land came to mind, but by splitting the floral arrangement into every large container I could find, I managed to find the time to calm my shaking hands. Like a virgin indeed, I snickered to myself.

Chiding myself for being a ninny, I took a deep breath and headed back out to the living room.

I stopped dead at the sight of them-I didn’t have a choice because I needed to clamp my thighs tight to stop the rush of moisture that flooded my cleft.

Oh my, they look so yummy.

I wasn’t the only one who’d taken care with her wardrobe. The guys looked splendid dressed in matching suits with-gasp-ties. The wicked vixen in me could already imagine those naughty neck nooses lashed around my wrists as I writhed beneath their sensual touch.

I’ll never make it through dinner.

Their eyes shone with admiration and their smiles reflected their happiness at seeing me. Simon approached me first and grasped my hand in his big paw. He lifted my trembling hand and twisting it slightly, placed a hot kiss on the inside of my wrist. I shuddered and I would have slumped into a boneless puddle at his feet, had he not released my arm to slide his own around my waist supporting me.

I am in so much trouble if something simple as that makes me lose all my motor skills.

Gene approached me next, and leaned in, kissing me softly on both cheeks, European style; the subtle aroma of his cologne tickling my senses. His whispered, “It felt like an eternity waiting for this moment,” made me almost close my eyes and swoon.

A snort from Lana with a “Get a room,” revived me a bit, as did the unexpected blush that crept up my face.

Claire sighed. “Oh, I can’t wait to find a man who makes me feel like that.”

“You’ll be meeting him sooner than you think,” Gene said to her cryptically before bowing in their direction. “Ladies, if you’ll excuse us, we have reservations.”