What should a woman say or do after experiencing something so climactic? How did one thank two lovers at once? You were both great, seemed a tad trite. The burning question of the moment, though, the one which had me the most flummoxed? What happened now?

Things had changed. The dynamic had shifted. No longer could I say with any definitive vehemence that I didn’t believe in a ménage lifestyle, or at least in the bedroom. That was too fucking amazing for me not to want to try it again. Forget choosing between them. I wanted them both. But did they feel the same way? How would the men handle themselves now after such intimacy? How did I now feel about them after sharing such a climactic experience?

“You’re thinking too much,” Anthony murmured as he slid from me and placed a kiss at the base of my spine.

“I guess she’s allowed one fault,” Pete added as he also shifted, freeing my mouth—which for once did not have a sarcastic reply.

As they aligned themselves on either side of me, it occurred to me that they intended to both sleep in my bed, a queen-sized bed that no longer seemed so large.

What just happened?

My first threesome, duh.

But how? I didn’t do threesomes. Bad enough I’d taken on two lovers. I wasn’t into kink. Then again, we hadn’t done anything really kinky unless one counted the fact an extra person was involved. Was this going to become a regular thing? Could I handle it? Could they? I wanted to ask them what this meant. I wanted to analyze what I felt. I wanted to—

“Sleep,” Anthony whispered against my ear.

I fought the word, but the jerk must have laced it with vampire mojo because next thing I knew, I woke to sunshine.

Alone.

“Gawdammit!” I yelled at the ceiling of my bedroom.

“What’s wrong, baby?” Pete answered my cry of frustration from the doorway to my room, appearing delicious and at home in low-hipped track pants that would have looked better on my floor.

“Nothing is wrong,” I grumbled. How to explain that for once I’d like to wake up snuggling, preferably with a cock buried in me. I’d gone to bed with two men. Two! And still couldn’t get no satisfaction.

“I think someone is feeling lonely,” Anthony replied, astute as ever. He crowded in beside Pete and tempted me to muss up his perfect appearance, replete with perfectly combed hair, pressed suit, and tie.

Did the guy have a personal assistant at his beck and call, ready and available at all times to deliver him clothes? If yes, then I’d admit to total jealousy.

“Would it kill you to stay in bed with me so I don’t wake up alone?” I complained, finally letting them in on my pet peeve.

It wasn’t a whine, more of a valid grievance. For men who professed affection for me, they didn’t understand my need for morning nookie or cuddling. But they’d learn. If I kept them around.

“I’m an early riser,” Pete explained. Apparently, judging by the fact that while still shirtless, he was freshly showered and shaved. And was that coffee and bacon I smelled?

“I don’t require much sleep,” was my vampire lover’s excuse.

“You both suck.” Mature? No. Did I care? Again, not really.

Their laughter earned them a glare. “We’ll try harder to ensure you don’t feel neglected in the morning,” Anthony promised.

“Want me to come back to bed?” Pete offered. “I can make the squad wait if you need me to.”

Put my selfish needs ahead of a job? I wanted to, but couldn’t. “No. I’ll live.” Barely.

I watched, with only a little chagrin, as Pete yanked a shirt over his head, covering his impeccable chest. As for me, I remained naked and brazen about it, especially once I noted—when arching and stretching—how their gazes kept straying to my body. Evil of me? Yup, and not ashamed of it.

Redemption, for them, came in the form of a shower already piping hot, a warm towel when I stepped out, and breakfast. But as for company over said meal? Not the male one—which I hated to admit—I looked forward to.

“Sorry, baby, I gotta go. We’re hitting that warehouse this morning.”

As for Anthony. “I’ve got some things I’ve got to deal with. I won’t be gone long.”

Disappointed at their abandonment, especially after the night we spent, I almost asked to go along. Hadn’t they, after all, not wanted to leave me alone?

As if reading my mind, Anthony said, “We don’t like leaving you by yourself, but we’re both needed elsewhere. With the sun blazing bright, you should be safe enough. Just in case, though, I’ve got some security positioned outside your building at the entrances to keep an eye out for suspicious characters. And, for entertainment—”

“They got me!” Brenda announced, flouncing into the kitchen, apparently let in by Pete. “And lucky you, I brought a little something from our favorite bakery.” She shook a paper bag, and although I’d already eaten breakfast, I drooled a little. There was always room in my tummy for pastry smothered in icing.

I made a feeble token protest. “What about work?”

A raspberry blown through perfectly pinked lips said, with eloquence, what Brenda thought of that. “I took the day off. Screw the office. My BFF needs me.”

I certainly did. I needed her to tell me I’d not turned into a slut or caved to the government’s wishes. For so long I’d bucked the ménage laws, and now, I seemed to embrace them, succumbing to the allure of two men with nary a fight. I hoped the tax break was worth the certain headache—and heartache—I suspected loomed in my future. Perhaps now was a good time to buy those Ben and Jerry stocks I’d had my eye on. Sales of the decadent ice cream could shoot through the roof if my relationship went south.

With Brenda present to keep me from killing myself from boredom, my men prepared to abscond.

“Remember not to leave your apartment,” Pete said before he left, his kiss leaving me breathless.

“Yes, daddy,” I mocked.

His low growl and heated look made me smirk as I waved goodbye.

Anthony, on his phone in the corner of the living room, waited until my werewolf was gone before bestowing his own instructions. “It’s very important you not exit this place. I had a TDCM defense specialist place a ward on your condo. In the very slim chance the demon decides to show up here, he shouldn’t be able to come in.”

I reeled back from his words. “Excuse me, but why would he show up?” I wasn’t a magic user or part of the coven. And, despite all the sweets I liked to eat, didn’t think of myself as a particularly tasty treat, for demons at least.

“If he’s been watching the scene of the crimes or visited them, it’s possible he saw or scented you.”

“You mean I could be a target?” I didn’t squeak, but it was close.

“Not likely. You’re not a witch.”

“But I am a bitch,” I muttered.

“Good thing I like that about you,” Anthony teased.

Brenda just about choked.

Casting a dirty look her way, which she replied to with a grin and double digits waggling, I thoroughly kissed my man and indulged in an ass grope. He left flustered. Brenda turned green with envy, and I ate some glazed donuts in the hopes of curing my worry.

With nothing better to do, I relayed the events of the past few days to my BFF. Did I leave anything out?

Nope. Some secrets needed sharing. Besides, if I suddenly went missing, turned pale with a penchant for blood, or began to eye Brenda with something other than friendly intent, I wanted her forewarned. I knew I could count on her to stake me if I went all vampy and got out of hand. Just like I promised to chop off her head if she ever got an urge for brains.

It was nice to have someone to count on, although, if my lovers could be believed, that number had increased by two.

Speaking of which, “What should I do?”

“What do you mean?” Brenda asked as she took over my couch, sprawling lengthwise.

“Now that I’ve slept with them both at once, what happens next?”

“Great sex every night.”

“Apart from that.” And no, I didn’t succeed in stopping the blush heating my cheeks. Acceptable or not, admitting aloud that I’d fucked two guys and loved it wasn’t an easy feat.

“Have you talked about it with them at all?”

“No. It just happened last night. Do you think we’ll be doing that every night? Or will it be once-in-a-blue-moon kind of thing?”

She shrugged. “How the hell would I know? You could ask.”

I goggled her. “Ask? Are you freaking nuts?”

“Hey, you asked. If you’re too chicken to be direct, then I guess you’ll have to wait and see.”

Therein lay the problem, though. I didn’t want to wait. Waiting meant thinking about and reliving the pleasure, over and over again.

“What do I do if they decide to make it permanent? Are they gonna make us all move in together?”

I almost picked some eyeballs up off my floor, Brenda’s stare got so wide. “How did we go from ‘how will I survive screwing two hotties’ to ‘shacking up’?”

How had I? An answer eluded me.

“Chloe, is there something you’re not telling me?”

“I don’t know what you mean.”

“A few days ago, you reluctantly agreed to let them have sex, no strings attached. Take it or leave it, even though they professed to want something more. Now, you’re talking about living together, making the situation permanent. This isn’t like you. You never make quick decisions like this.”

No, I didn’t.

“So, let me ask you again, in words you might understand. Do you love them?”

“I can’t.”

“Why not?”

“As you said, it’s too soon.” I barely knew them. We’d met only days ago. Already I couldn’t imagine life without them.

Fuck me, I was so screwed.

“Too soon, yet you’re talking about moving them in.”

“See what I mean about them messing with my mind? This isn’t like me. I swear, Brenda, they must have cast a spell on me.”

“Or you’ve met your soul mates.” She clutched a hand to her breast and sighed.

“That only happens in books.”

“Does it? You wouldn’t be the first woman to fall in love at first sight.”

“Fall in lust, you mean.”

“And just how do you think most relationships start?”

“This is different.”

“How?”

How to explain it just was? I didn’t understand it myself. In such a short time, they’d managed to turn my world topsy-turvy. To make me feel things I’d thought existed only in romance novels. Being with them brought me alive—mentally, emotionally, and sexually. I longed for things I’d eschewed—their presence and companionship, their humor and sharp wit, the way they took care of me, and not just in the bedroom. The protective circle they placed around me as if I was a precious object. Their jealousy implying the same. I wanted them, and not just occasionally or to scratch a sexual itch. I… I…

Nope. I wouldn’t think the words. To think them was to make myself vulnerable. I wouldn’t place myself at their mercy. I wouldn’t give them the power to hurt me. It was too soon for me to make decisions. Sure, on the surface, everything seemed to indicate smooth sailing and a happy ending, but Brenda did make one valid point, a point I agreed with. It was too soon.

The walls of my condo were stifling as my dilemma closed in on me. “I need to get out of here,” I muttered.

“Say what?”

“Why don’t we hit the second-hand store down the street and see what new junk they’ve got?” You never knew the deals you’d find. People dropped things off on consignment there all the time. Besides, shopping was a great way to take my mind off things.

“You heard what your boyfriends said. We shouldn’t leave your condo.”

“Bah. I’m not a witch. And you heard them. The thing doesn’t like sunlight. We’ll be perfectly safe.”

Turns out my decision to disobey might have saved our lives.