His cock was already hardening again. “Hmm, maybe.” She ran a hand down Joseph’s chest and touched his cock. As shestroked, she said, “Take me, Laurie, and I’ll take care of Joseph this time.”
And as Laurie entered her, Meadow stroked and caressed and played with tightening her grip, all while Joseph kissed her.
By the time all three of them had orgasmed, Meadow had forgotten all about her douche-y former lovers. And once they were all cleaned up again, she fell asleep in their arms, hoping they wouldn’t hurt her. Because if she wasn’t careful, she could see herself falling for them.
Chapter Eighteen
The next morning, as light filtered through the curtains, Laurie held Meadow close and barely resisted waking her up to make love to her again.
Joseph had gone to get breakfast for them. Normally, they could just ring and ask for something to be brought up. However, two disgruntled patrons were refusing to leave even though the pleasure house had shut down a few hours ago. Since Joseph was better at handling that kind of situation, he’d gone, but not before murmuring something about giving Laurie some time alone with Meadow since he’d had her at the ball last night.
Part of him was thrilled to get to know their fae witch better. And yet, another part of him wanted to jump out of bed and find an excuse to leave. Not because he didn’t want to spend time with her. But rather he was afraid that once she learned of how he’d failed his sister, then Meadow wouldn’t want anything to do with him.
No matter how many times Joseph—or even Nora herself—had told him it would’ve been impossible for Laurie to have done anything differently, he still felt guilty.
Meadow stirred, her lovely, soft arse rubbing against him, and he pushed aside his memories to focus on what he hoped was his future. He kissed her neck. “Good morning, Emmy.”
“Hmm.”
“Not a morning person, are you?”
“I can be, although my work before was mostly at night. So I kind of became a night owl out of necessity. That works in your favor, though, since you’re a vampire.”
He hugged her a little tighter against his body. “Not just a vampire, but one who runs a den of sin that mostly functions at night. So you’re a perfect fit.”
Meadow rolled over until she faced him on her side. She placed a hand on his chest and lightly stroked it. His cock twitched, but he focused on her words as she asked, “I’ve been curious—how did you guys end up opening and running Nyx’s Kingdom in the first place?”
He lazily played with one of her breasts, loving how her nipple beaded for him instantly. “It mainly started for selfish reasons. Not long after Joseph saved me from a street gang—one that had been intent on killing me to get my last remaining coins—I knew I wanted him. And after being together for a while, we were comfortable enough to admit that we both wanted a third bed partner to share. However, it was nearly impossible to find one since you can’t just advertise it, and we didn’t know enough trustworthy people to put the word out.
“However, Joseph had heard of a few human-run pleasure houses where they wouldn’t bat an eyelash at multiple bed partners. However, almost all of them banned paranormals.”
Meadow nodded. “Things seem more divided here than in my time. Not that it was perfect by any stretch, but we all kind of lived and mingled together, at least in the US.”
“We’re still a far cry from that in London, although my brother is working on changing that with the other Dark Lords.”
“So back to your story—Joseph had heard about some pleasure houses. Then what happened?”
He traced her collarbone and up her neck as he replied, “Well, one night after a few drinks, I blurted out that we should open our own pleasure house for paranormals. I expected Joseph to laugh and say it was a stupid idea, but he didn’t. No, instead he started to sketch out a business plan. I added the creative touches, and eventually, we had a solid idea. A few friends believed in us and gave us some funds in exchange for a percentage of the profits, and it didn’t take long before word spread and we started doing well. Once Leo became the vampire Dark Lord, we could invite the fae witches and shifters. Then a few years ago, we started allowing some humans to join, too. And, well, our eventual goal is to expand even further by opening another establishment in the shifter territory. And maybe now that Leo’s married to Yesenia, we can even have a place in the fae witch territory, too.”
She searched his gaze. “And if you marry me, that gives you a higher chance of having one in the fae witch territory.”
At the disappointment in her gaze, he cupped her cheek and said, “Don’t ever bloody think that’s the reason we want you, Meadow. You being yourself is enough. You’ve already helped Joseph, in ways I never could.”
Curiosity sparked in her gaze. “And what about you, Laurie? You appear happy and teasing and charming, but I sometimes catch a glint of something else there. Something sad and painful. Won’t you tell me why?”
As he caressed her cheek, his first impulse was to tease her or distract her with an orgasm. He’d always done that in the past with females who started asking him personal questions.
And yet, Meadow was different. She was genuinely curious, didn’t seem to care much about his or Joseph’s wealth, and instead wanted to know about him.
She might push you away, though. Do you want to risk it?
“Laurence.” He frowned and scrunched his nose, but she continued before he could tell her not to use his full name again. “There, I got your attention. Why don’t you like being called by your full name?”
Before he could talk himself out of it, he answered, “My father always used it. He used all of our full names, and it brings back unpleasant memories.”
Her eyes widened. “Oh, I’m so sorry, Laurie! I had no idea it was that serious. I never want to hurt you on purpose.”
He stroked her cheek with a finger. “I know, pet. But you didn’t know, so I can’t be angry about it.” He sighed and moved to rest his head on her shoulder. “My father was an absolute bastard. And not just because of what he did to my sister, but also because he convinced me that trying to help her would be a mistake.” He wrapped his arms around Meadow. “I failed Nora completely, and she suffered because of it.”
