Gideon set his jaw. "I plan to tell her. Sometime after this dinner. Let her have something before she has to freak out over something else."

"We don't eat, Gideon."

"No, you don't. But you do like the taste of food. There's a food and wine fest in town, and tomorrow night, for an exorbitant all-for-charity cover charge, you can attend it." Gideon pulled the flyer from his back pocket, tossed the folded card onto the table between them. "A fancy black-tie thing where you get bite-sized pieces of a few different foods to sample, and a whole lot of wines. In addition to your cover charge, it's expected you'll buy a few bottles."

"Very ambitious for a man who carries his cash in the heel of his boot."

"Using your supersonic speed to spy on me?"

"Hardly. I have good hearing, and can hear the paper crackling in the sole." Daegan met his gaze. "For that matter, when you're in her shower by yourself, I can hear you jerking off. Your body aching for both the softness of a female body and the hardness of a male one. There's no reason to tear yourself in two, Gideon. We are both here."

"I'm only going to say this once," Gideon ground out, and he was pleased he sounded reasonably steady and menacing. "The pheromones you two put out are making me temporarily insane. It's not my thing. Not now, not ever. Like the blood-drinking thing. So get over yourself. Are you going to do this dinner thing or not?"

The flash in Daegan's eyes had Gideon tensing, knowing he'd pushed a little far. He was afraid that Daegan would try to prove him wrong. Other parts of him hoped he would. He hated those parts, enough that he'd consider amputating them if he didn't like using them for Anwyn so much.

"We will," Daegan said at last, with that steady, dark-eyed look that saw so much more than it should. "You should go tell her. Give her back her smile."

Gideon gave a curt nod, moved a couple of steps into the room, on surer ground. "I'll be your chauffeur, since you're looking at all the clothes I own."

"Then we'll find you some. James is close to your shoulder size and build, and he has a tuxedo for special events at the club. I'm sure Anwyn can convince him to part with it for one night, as long as you don't spill anything on it." As Gideon began to protest, the vampire shook his head, his voice firm. "I believe your judgment on Anwyn is sound. If this is something she needs, then we do it together. Otherwise, I will not consent to it."

"Consent? You think I came in here asking your permission?"

"Whether you did or not, you require it."

Gideon tightened his jaw. "Fine. I have one more thing to talk about; then I'll go."

"I'm all ears." Daegan's gaze gleamed, a reminder of what he'd just revealed about his hearing. Gideon forced himself not to grind his teeth.

"You're all bulls.h.i.t, far as I'm concerned. You remember that night, a long time ago, when you told me to fire the crossbow at you?"

"I remember."

"You were showing off."

"Some, perhaps." Daegan shrugged, all unapologetic arrogance. "But I wanted to take care of any illusions that you could hurt me."

"Everybody can be hurt. Toe-to-toe, Hercules might not be able to stand up to you, but if someone plans carefully enough, a ten-year-old kid could. So when you get sent off on these a.s.signments that take you away from her, don't get too confident, all right?"

Daegan considered him. "You are concerned for me."

"You mean a lot to Anwyn. And I've taken down too many c.o.c.ky vampires."

A shiver of air, and Daegan was no longer at the closet. Gideon knew the male was at his back now, no more than an inch between them, but he chose not to turn, keeping his tone dismissive, with an effort. "That doesn't prove anything. As I said, planning."

"I think I mean something to you, vampire hunter." Daegan touched his arm, fingers curling over Gideon's biceps. Gideon shrugged him off, sliding away, except Daegan was now in front of him, arm braced, effectively caging him between the wall and the door. He stared into the vampire's dark eyes, tried not to get absorbed in the set of the firm mouth.

"Stop f.u.c.king with me," he snapped.

"Your concern is misplaced. I will be fine."

"Fine. When you get staked, I'll say I told you so." Gideon pushed off the wall and shoved at Daegan's arm, intending to leave the room.

Before he could complete the motion, Daegan had pushed him back against the door, Gideon's weight making it close with a resounding thud. The vampire had his hand beneath his throat, eyes and mouth so close to Gideon's that he couldn't think, though he automatically tried to break the hold, with no luck. Even when a run-of-the-mill vampire had a grip, a person was pretty much caught. With a vamp like Daegan, there was no "pretty much" to it.

"You have said I do not always have the att.i.tude of a vampire. It doesn't mean I'm not one. As much as I respect your abilities, Gideon, I only take human defiance for so long. Particularly when your defiance is a poorly disguised mating challenge."

"f.u.c.k off," Gideon managed through gritted teeth, but groaned as Daegan put his knee against his stiff c.o.c.k, rubbed with devilish knowledge over his b.a.l.l.s. But the harder thing to resist was the mouth that brushed over his.

"Kiss me back, Gideon. Devour my mouth the way you've been devouring me with your eyes ever since I returned. Show me your hunger. Show me how much you you missed me." missed me."

It surged forth like fire, so that he almost knocked Daegan back a step. Gripping the collar of Daegan's shirt, Gideon slammed against his mouth, so violently that the vampire's fang cut his lip. Daegan's tongue curled around the blood, then met Gideon's, sliding, teasing, thrusting, a hard, openmouthed struggle and dance together. Daegan held him against the door, wouldn't let him move or take it any further than that kiss. His arousal built, his c.o.c.k cramped in his jeans, and Gideon ached shamefully as his mind shot right to a moment that had happened before the vampire had left. Daegan and Anwyn holding him between them, Anwyn kissing him, Daegan's hand over his, on Gideon's c.o.c.k, the two of them making him helpless to their desires . . .

Shame couldn't hold a candle to the explosive power of that memory. Gideon put everything into that kiss, his frustration and rage, his l.u.s.t and need. He wanted to touch, but the only thing Daegan allowed was the hands on his shirt collar, clutching hard. The vampire gripped his head, his fingers in Gideon's hair, body pressed up against his, so Gideon could feel his hard c.o.c.k pressed just to the right of his. He could rub against it if he could just move. "Let me move, d.a.m.n you," he muttered against Daegan's mouth.

"No," came the maddening reply. "Put it all into the kiss, Gideon. Think about my tongue here, then think about it teasing your a.s.s, getting you wet for me, then thrusting my c.o.c.k in hard, making you groan. You crave the feel of it as you sink into Anwyn's slick heat. You need more than even an incomparable Mistress like Anwyn. You need a Mistress and a Master to be complete."

"No. No." But he couldn't stop kissing him, telling him with his lashing tongue and sc.r.a.ping teeth what he needed so badly.

"You know what Anwyn is doing?" Daegan whispered it, drawing back. "She has sensed our pa.s.sion. She's leaning on the other side of this door, touching her neck, her b.r.e.a.s.t.s, sliding her hand down to stroke her p.u.s.s.y, her legs opening up, her beautiful a.s.s braced on the door, just below where yours is."

Gideon sought her, and her mind opened like an orchid, rare, exotic, irresistible. He saw it, felt her desire flood his mind. Daegan shut up then, putting his full effort into the kiss, taking it over. Gideon was helpless to do anything but go along for the ride. Then Daegan went for an even more devastating tactic.

He slowed their movements, so their tongues were doing a slow, twisting, stroking f.u.c.k together. A thrust and dragging retreat by that agile, moist muscle, a nuzzle of the lips, a tease of a sharp fang. Like the turning of eddies in a lazy pond, beneath bright sunshine. Then, at long last, when Gideon was lying against the door, both more aroused and more lethargic than he'd ever been, Daegan pulled back a few inches, stared into his eyes silently as Anwyn's erratic breaths, her cries, filled their ears. She brought herself to completion, knowing they were listening, their bodies taut and hard against each other.

"Go see James about that tux," Daegan murmured at last. He pushed away from Gideon, gave him an even look. "And next time, vampire hunter, knock before you come into my room. You need my permission to enter, or I'll finish what I started here, to remind you of your manners."

Gideon thought about blowing the whole thing off, disappearing until it was over. But he couldn't ignore how Anwyn's face had brightened like a new sun at the idea of an evening out. Or how she'd just as quickly needed absolute rea.s.surance that they were both attending and everything would be fine. He couldn't ignore the obvious fact she was rebuilding her confidence on the basis of a tripod. Not a seesaw, with Daegan alone on one end. It made Gideon want to believe, too much, that he was a vital, irreplaceable corner of it.

It was getting harder to convince himself that he was merely a temp, and even harder to accept that whatever the h.e.l.l he'd become, he wanted it to stay that way forever. Had it been only a month? Or had it started with that one night where he and Jacob had shared Lyssa, under her command, and every step since then had been a journey to Anwyn? And Daegan.

The h.e.l.l with it. Here he was. He'd been relieved by James's unperturbed acceptance of the request for his tux as something perfectly normal. Now he stood, dressed up in a monkey suit, waiting in the living room. It occurred to him that he didn't really have his own room. When Anwyn didn't want him in her bed, he slept on the couch.

It didn't matter. He didn't need a d.a.m.n bed.

No, you don't. You belong to me, Gideon. I don't want you to have your own room until you accept that. My bed is your bed, when I give you permission to use it.

An unexpected, silky threat and promise in her mind-voice, one that unfurled heat in his lower belly and an even stronger reaction in his chest. He, a person who'd resisted and scorned any form of authority all his life, reacted with hot need and deep pleasure every time she exerted a claim on him. It was too f.u.c.ked-up.

He cleared his throat. Shouldn't you be putting on makeup and curling your hair, doing girly stuff? Shouldn't you be putting on makeup and curling your hair, doing girly stuff?

I consider doing you girly stuff. Her s.e.xy laugh, but then she put that curtain back in place again.

Daegan came out of his room then, wearing a tuxedo perfectly tailored for his perfect body and perfect face. f.u.c.king perfect. Even from here, Gideon could tell how good he smelled, because of how the servant's mark heightened his senses. He'd been smelling that particular musk all day, thanks to that never-ending kiss while shoved against Daegan's door.

Yeah, he was totally f.u.c.ked-up. Before he could figure out how to absent himself until Anwyn had joined them, he noticed the man's cuff links. Gideon raised a brow, recognizing the shape. "You're kidding, right?"

Daegan lifted one wrist to better display the tiny silver and diamond bats. "A gift from Anwyn, a couple of years ago. Her charming wit."

Fortunately, the door to her room slid open then. Typically female, she'd timed her entrance last, and it was well worth the wait. While Gideon wasn't surprised that she rendered him temporarily speechless, it was something to see Daegan's overwhelmed expression.

During the week, she wore some enticing and attractive outfits, determined not to slum around their apartment like some pathetic psych case-her own words-as well as to practice getting dressed without the benefit of a mirror. He remembered the very first night in Atlantis, how she'd come to him as a Mistress, pure s.e.x in latex and lace. But this . . .

His soul rolled out in front of her, a coat he'd willingly throw over any mud hole to keep her from soiling her feet.

The dress was a teal sheath that glittered as she moved, a handful of tiny sparkle points like stars in the night sky. It clung from breast to midthigh and had no sleeves. She'd draped a transparent silver wrap over her arms. It picked up the topaz-and-diamond set at her throat. Her hair was twisted up on her head, all those little feminine tendrils artfully arranged on her slim neck.

Suddenly, he was greedy, wanting to jump forward in time to see her at the end of the night, when she'd let it tumble down. She'd step out of her elegant heels, accept his and Daegan's embrace as they worshipped her body with mouths and hands, bringing cries of pleasure from those wet, glossy lips. They were frosted a kiss-me deep rose and she'd sprinkled some kind of glitter dust across her b.r.e.a.s.t.s. A temporary tattoo of a blue-green fairy was high on one ankle, a further accent for her killer legs that her high heels made it impossible to ignore.

Of course Daegan was the first to recover. Crossing the floor, he lifted her hand to his mouth, giving her fingers a kiss that included a secret caress of his tongue between two of the digits. Gideon registered it because he saw her reaction to it in her mind.

He was so out of his league. He should be driving the car, or staying home to watch cable in a bathrobe, like a sitter waiting up for the parents to return.

"Oh my G.o.d, Gideon. Look at you."

Anwyn was so overwhelmed by the sight of her vampire hunter, she missed his reaction to her and Daegan entirely. For once he was smoothly shaven, the hard jaw clean and handsome. Despite Daegan's teasing, his hair had been brushed so it feathered over his forehead and lay gleaming on his broad shoulders. He looked as devastating in a tuxedo as only a handsome, rugged man could. His midnight blue eyes were gratifyingly riveted on her. She felt Daegan's amus.e.m.e.nt with the male, mixed with something else, something she herself was feeling. Moving to Gideon, she realized with a combination of joy and sweet sorrow why he was rooted to the spot. Reaching up to touch his face, she pa.s.sed her thumb over his lips before he could speak.

"Daegan received a kiss from this mouth earlier today, but my servant didn't give me the same pleasure. I think you owe me that now."

She'd noted that he responded to the formally worded commands far better than he realized. They were a trigger, as if they made something deep in that chivalrous soul leap over his usual cynicism and self-deprecation. They were pushed aside, and he desired nothing more than to serve her every wish. Pressing against him, she slid her fingers up into that silky hair. Blissfully, that was all it took. When she took his mind out of the equation, things were far simpler for him.

His arms banded around her, bringing her even closer, so close she stepped out of one shoe and curled a bare foot around his calf as he cupped the base of her skull and kissed her deep and desperate, letting her feel the delicious desire race through every inch of his hard body. He was trying to be a gentleman, but his hands crept down, and at her sound of encouragement, he closed them over the thin, stretchy fabric to find she wore nothing beneath it. His c.o.c.k leaped against her belly.

While Gideon gripped her b.u.t.tocks, Daegan's fingers whispered over the bare skin revealed by the dress's low back. When he traced her spine, he dropped a kiss between her shoulder blades, making her shiver.

"Okay, enough." She pulled free, laughing. "You two are are taking me to dinner. Keep that up and we won't leave this room. Really, I'm totally bored with both of you. I've had all the s.e.x I can stand." taking me to dinner. Keep that up and we won't leave this room. Really, I'm totally bored with both of you. I've had all the s.e.x I can stand."

"Her mouth says one thing, but her body . . ." Daegan tried to dip under the short skirt and she spun away from him, grabbing hold of Gideon to thrust him in front of her.

"Protect me from this insatiable pervert, Gideon."

"What's he going to do, hit me with that enormous hard-on you've given him?" Daegan scoffed.

The banter loosened the tightness in Gideon's chest. It had been nearly a month of life-and-death situations, tears and denial, anger and unexpected rages, but this moment was perfect. They'd done the right thing. Maybe Anwyn wasn't the only one who'd needed this. Her lightheartedness was infectious.

Also, he'd helped make this happen. So maybe, at least for tonight, he did did deserve to be here. deserve to be here.

Her eyes laughed up at him as she traced a quick finger along his jaw, her mouth softening and getting serious at once. "Of course you do. You belong to me, Gideon. I want you here, and so does Daegan."

"It's too much trouble to slough him off. Like a wart, it's easier just to accept he's attached." Daegan offered her his right arm. "Are you ready, cher cher?"

Shifting to take Gideon's left arm, she smiled at them. "Yes. And thank you both for going with me."

"Actually, I've got several supermodels holding a table for me. I'm only hanging out with you two losers until I get there," Gideon mentioned. When Anwyn pinched him, he grunted. "Ow. That was entirely unnecessary."

"I should have pulled out the harness to keep you in line tonight," she threatened darkly. "One with a phallus that vibrates, so you'd worry more about coming during dessert than teasing me."

"Promises, promises, cher cher," Daegan said. "I wouldn't mind seeing you in one, so you would be deliciously wiggling and squirming. Perhaps each one of us could put a hand on your thigh under the table, tease your p.u.s.s.y while you ate-"

"I'm leaving," she decided, freeing her arms and skipping to the door. "You are not going to tempt me, Daegan Rei. Not tonight. Tonight I am going out out to play. Coming, boys?" to play. Coming, boys?"

Exchanging a glance, they moved to follow her. Daegan held the door for her, though when he gestured Gideon forward, the vampire hunter shook his head. "After you."

"Don't trust me at your back, vampire hunter, or did you want a chance to grab my a.s.s?"

"I never trust anyone at my back. And was that a request?"

Anwyn turned in the hallway. Had Gideon actually just flirted with Daegan? Antic.i.p.ation leaped in her own breast as Daegan's eyes intensified to flame, the sensual lips curving in a dangerous smile. "Better start getting used to having me at your back, Gideon. I intend to have you both tonight, and I will."

With that remarkable and tantalizing statement, he gave Gideon a shove, sending him out the door ahead of him.

7.

IT had been a long time since Gideon had partic.i.p.ated in any group event that wasn't crashing a church barbecue or pancake breakfast to get a low-cost homemade meal. This high-dollar event was about as alien to him as the tux, but the food was good. Their private table was close to the stage, where a jazz band provided entertainment. Between sets, there were presentations about the food from the chefs who'd made it, or discussions of the vintages that were being poured. They were on the outer edge of the front row, so Gideon didn't feel hemmed in. He suspected Daegan liked the position for the same reason. In contrast, they chose seats on either side of Anwyn, protectively flanking her.

She'd slid out of her shoes and curled her feet beneath her, so she was now leaning toward Gideon. Daegan was rubbing her bare feet with idle fingers, moving in easy circles. Her hand lay on the chair arm, and when Gideon joined his hand to it, she sent a smile his way, her head c.o.c.ked, listening to the jazz selection being played.

In this light, he could see the faint reddish hue of her irises beneath the normal color, but it was a trick of the light, not a warning of an attack. A couple of times in the car, she'd gotten tense, but he'd teased her out of it and Daegan had followed his cues to do the same. Now she was as relaxed as she'd seemed in a while. Still, mindful of the lessons learned and the system they'd agreed upon, he kept his antennae cued to her mind at all times, ready if that changed. Faithful as a diabetic, she also discreetly used the monitor Brian had given her to check her blood and temperature reading every fifteen minutes.

Daegan looked a little less pale. He'd gone out briefly at dusk, before they'd gotten dressed, and apparently found someone to take care of his breakfast. Anwyn had noticed, picking up the perfume of the woman from whom he'd taken blood. While she hadn't seemed particularly pleased about it, she hadn't said anything. Guy had to eat, after all. And it sure as h.e.l.l wasn't going to be Gideon.

"So why don't you have a servant?" he asked Daegan, not wanting to go back to that sticky subject, in case Anwyn caught the stray thought.

Daegan shrugged. "The life I currently lead wouldn't work well with a constant companion. There's less liability in hunting alone."

Another thing they had in common. Great. A computer dating service would pair the two of them up in a heartbeat. "At least, I believed that to be the case," the vampire added, his serious gaze turning to Anwyn. Lifting her hand, he kissed her fingers. Anwyn brushed their tips against his jaw.

"You couldn't have predicted that. And I've forgiven you for it," she said softly.

"I have not." He nipped one of the fingers, but then shifted his glance to Gideon. "When I'm with Anwyn, she has been my primary blood source. When I am traveling, I get it where I can. Like today."

"You're not worried about the Delilah virus?" Gideon asked. The virus, genetically engineered by a splinter group of vampire hunters, had been spreading enough in recent years to create concern among the relatively small vampire population.

"I am immune to it," Daegan said, surprisingly. But before Gideon could pursue that, Anwyn broke in.

"And exactly who was was breakfast this evening?" she asked sweetly, the tips of her fangs showing, a quick gleam. breakfast this evening?" she asked sweetly, the tips of her fangs showing, a quick gleam.

Daegan wound his fingers in a lock of her hair, gave it a tug as his eyes warmed on her. "A woman in her fifties, very attractive. She was at the park, sitting on a bench that backs up to the wooded area, not actually a very safe place for her to be. She was reading a vampire romance novel and getting quite caught up in it. I helped her enjoy the fantasy for a few moments, and when she revived, she found herself on a bench in a more populated part of the park, with a very handsome fiftysomething park ranger asking if she was all right."

"Breakfast and matchmaking." Gideon gave a snort. "Don't believe him for a second, Anwyn. He took out his straw at the first hot blonde with big b.o.o.bs that crossed his path."