AllFreeNovel
Share Us
My dreams were silent on Saturday, a welcome relief. When Camille woke me near sundown, she and Delilah had already eaten. Iris was busy burping Maggie. I dressed quickly, throwing on a pair of black jeans and a brick red turtleneck, then a black denim jacket to match. As I slid on my stiletto ankle boots, Camille sat on the bed decked out in a gauzy skirt and skintight bustier, a preoccupied look on her face.
"Something wrong?" I slipped into my bathroom and quickly lined my lips with peach gloss, adding a dusting of emerald shadow and a thin line of black around my eyes before finishing up with a sweep of mascara.
I'd never felt the need for makeup until my skin color decided to move beyond the pale. Even then, it took coming Earthside to jog me into action. After a few disasters thanks to the twenty-four-hour drugstore cosmetics counter, Camille had gotten into the act. She went shopping for me during the day, when the department stores were open, and came home carrying bag after bag of cosmetics until we'd found the perfect look using cosmetics that didn't react with my skin's chemistry. Now, five minutes in front of the mirror made me go from death warmed over to glamour chic. I was still terribly pale, but at least I looked good.
She sighed as I returned to the bedroom. "I spent the afternoon with Morio. Trillian walked in on us."
I let out a loud guffaw. "Oh boy, I wish I'd been a fly on the wall for that one! What happened?" Unlike Delilah, I dove right in with questions unless the topic was off-limits. Blunt was my middle name. Okay, it wasn't. My middle name was Rosabelle, but I wasn't reticent about poking about when the door was left ajar.
Camille leaned back, her arms folded behind her head. She stared at the ceiling. "Morio had partially transformed and we were getting pretty damned hot. His fangs were out in full force and his claws had emerged. Not only that, but his eyes were glowing and he looked like he'd jumped right out of the bowels of hell. Gorgeous, but scary."
"You really don't like vanilla, do you?" I stared at her, grinning. So she liked fucking Morio when he was in his demonic form? And apparently this hadn't been the first time. "Go on, what happened?"
"The thing is, Trillian's never asked much about what I do with Morio. As long as we all keep our calendars straight." She sat up, the corners of her eyes crinkling. "Oh Menolly, I had such a hard time keeping from laughing. Trillian looked like he was going to have a fit."
"Pissed, huh?"
"No, that's the thing. He wasn't mad, he was just… well… he looked almost shocked. I guess he didn't know just how far on the fringe I'm willing to play. But you see, when Morio transforms, he takes me to a whole different place—it's like we enter a different world. I can't reach there with anybody else."
"Did Trillian threaten to Cuisinart Morio?" Her oath-lover routinely threatened to slice up the fox demon but we all knew it was just talk. At least, it was just talk as long as Morio acknowledged that Trillian held alpha male status in Camille's life.
With a visible swallow, Camille shook her head. "Not exactly."
"Then what's the problem?" I asked, getting a little impatient.
"I don't know if there is one. You see, Trillian demanded to stay and watch. Before I knew what was happening, he was right in there with us. Trillian isn't bi, he isn't into men, and neither is Morio. And I ended up having the best sex of my life. Now Trillian's decided that a real triad isn't such a bad idea. He likes to see me… happy."
Well, this wasn't what I'd expected to hear. I scrunched up beside her, folding my legs into the lotus position. "So how does Morio feel about this?" I asked, suddenly grinning. It felt so good to dish like normal sisters about something other than Shadow Wing and war and bloodshed.
Camille let out a low laugh. "He's hard to read. He's not possessive, though if I were in danger he'd kill for me without a second thought. But he… he just welcomed Trillian onto the bed." She gave me a soft smile.
"As long as you're happy," I said, gazing at her.
"I am," she said. "I guess I take after our father's people a lot more than Mother's, but I know I'll never fit into either world."
I shook my head. "You fit fine in both. You just stand out. Delilah's the one who has trouble fitting in, back home in OW. Regardless of the mercy fuck she gave to Zachary, you know her heart belongs to Chase."
Camille made a face. "Yeah, and only the gods know how she ended up with him. But that's her business." Abruptly she stood and shook out her skirt. "Ready to go? We'd better get to the meeting before too many people show up. Trillian and Morio are going to join us at the community center. Smoky said he's busy and won't be there. I have no idea what he's doing, nor did I ask."
I raised an eyebrow. "Smoky's a big complication in your life. And there isn't much you can do about it." Dragons made their own rules. Learn that and you were halfway home to avoid being eaten by one.
"Tell me something I don't know," she said. "Think we'll ever know his real name?"
I snorted. "Oh sure, any day now. Hey, if he decides to kill us, he might just spill it." At her look, I said, "Honestly, ask a stupid question, get a stupid answer. You know very well that dragons guard their names like they horde gold. They're all a bunch of mercenaries." I expected her to argue but she just laughed.
"You got me there," she said as she headed up the stairs. "But sometimes they're too damned gorgeous for their own good—or ours." I followed silently behind her. At least we couldn't complain that our lives were boring.
Chase was waiting for us when we entered the living room. Delilah had volunteered him to watch Maggie, and he'd reluctantly agreed.
"I still think I should go to the meeting with you," he said.
Delilah laughed. "Oh come on, Chase. No way. For one thing, we promised everybody that at the first meeting, we wouldn't allow any FBHs around. If we break that promise, there will never be another meeting, I'll guarantee you that. I'll fill you in on everything when we get home. Be good, sweetie." She leaned down to cadge a kiss from him. He broke into a boyish grin and pulled her onto his lap.
"All right, you two, break it up," I said, bringing Maggie in from the kitchen. Her face, oddly cherubic, lit up when she saw Chase. For some reason, the gargoyle liked him. "Here, lover boy, take care of her while we're gone."
"Okay, okay," he said as Delilah climbed off his lap and he cuddled Maggie in the nook of his arm. "Just make sure that you don't leave me here all night. I'm not cut out for babysitting."
"Tell me another one," I said. "You look every bit the part of a proud papa."
