After dinner came dessert, of course, and cordials and digestives to go along with it; and after dessert Lady Periwinkle excused herself. “My apologies, but I am unaccountably weary. May I borrow Justin?”

“What?” From me? Did she think I owned him? “Of…of course,” I stammered.

Justin leaned over, gave me a delicious kiss under my ear, and then got to his feet. “My lady,” he said to our hostess.

She took his arm, and together they left the room.

Max and Aiden looked up from the conversation they’d been having across the table. “You don’t have to stay here on our accounts, you know,” Aiden said, giving Finley and me a wicked grin. “I imagine you have unfinished business upstairs.” He turned to face Finley more directly. “Just don’t wear her out.”

Finley gave a half-bow, grinning back at Aiden. “Don’t worry. I believe she only gains energy from this…business.”

I blushed. “That’s not true. I slept all afternoon.”

Aiden feigned a shocked look. “Slept? Good god! Get out of here, you two! I don’t want this fellow—” he nudged Finley “—saying he didn’t get his fair share before you’re passed along to Max…and then to me.” He grinned directly at me. “Saving the best for last, of course.”

I wanted to take offense at this…heck, this morning I had taken offense at quite a bit less than this…but it seemed that I had covered rather a lot of ground between then and now. Somewhere, I’d decided that this was all okay. That I would do this.

I would sleep with Finley again tonight, and with Max tomorrow. I wanted to; I was eager to.

And beyond that: it was the only way to get to Aiden.

Not that I was not excited to get to Max. I looked over at him as he watched the whole exchange with a small smile. He was definitely the quiet one of the bunch, playing his cards close to his vest…I looked forward to getting to know him better.

Finley rose from his chair and came around the table to offer his arm. I rose and took it.

“Good night,” I said to the two remaining men.

“Pleasant dreams,” said Max.

Aiden just kept smiling at me.

I shivered, savoring the weirdly delightful sensation of being surrounded by men who wanted me…who were mine…and who were not in competition about it.

I couldn’t imagine ever getting used to such a thing.

Finley led me back to his room. It had been cleaned and straightened while we were at dinner; fresh sheets were on the bed, fresh towels in the bathroom. “I could get used to this,” I said, stretching out on the bed.

“I hope you do,” he said, sitting beside me and starting to unzip my dress.

The phone by the bed rang. I looked at it, startled; I hadn’t even noticed that there was a land line in here. What a funny, old-fashioned place this mansion was. Of course, if Lady Periwinkle was as old as they said, even this telephone must be startling new technology to her.

“I am sorry, but if that has rung through, it must be urgent.”

I nodded. “Go ahead.”

Finley leaned over and picked up the receiver. “Yes?”

I rolled over and watched him. He frowned, said “Mm-hmm” a few times, and then, “Come on, then. We just got here.”

Then he hung up and turned back to me. “That was Justin. He needs to talk to us both about something. I hope it’s all right that I’ve asked him to come by?”

“Of course.” I sat up; my dress, half-unzipped, fell open, revealing my lacy purple bra. “Oops.” I reached behind me, trying to zip the skin-tight dress again.

“It’s nothing he hasn’t seen already,” Finley said, with a wicked grin. “Or you could just change, if you wanted to. There’s robes and things on that rack, at the far end.”

I chuckled. “Slip into something a little more comfortable? Why not?” I got up and investigated. Indeed, in addition to the long slinky ball gowns, there were long slinky dressing gowns. Like something out of a forties movie. I chose a pale peach one that set off my dark hair. Finley helped me the rest of the way out of my dinner dress, planting kisses all the way down my back as he lowered the gown off me.

When he reached the top of my panties, he let the kiss linger, then gave a theatrical sigh. “I suppose this is Justin’s payback for my visit this morning.”

“He won’t stay long, will he?” I asked.

“Not if I have anything to say about it.” Then he got to his feet and handed me the robe.

I shrugged into it just as the knock came on the door. “It’s open,” Finley called.

Justin stepped in, closing it softly behind him. He looked tired; worried, even. “Thanks for seeing me,” he said, and then he really looked at me. “Oh god, you look stunning.”

My heart leapt in my throat. He looked amazing too. I wanted to go to him, to kiss away that worried look, smooth that furrowed brow. But I was with Finley, here in his room—

Finley, who had no such compunctions. He walked over and pulled Justin into a comfortable hug. The men embraced a moment, then both turned to me. “Come on,” Finley said, motioning me forward.

I came, and they pulled me into their hug. It should have been awkward. But it wasn’t.

It felt like coming home.

Justin finally pulled away with a weary sigh. “I won’t keep you two. I just…I didn’t know who else to call.”

“You can always come here, you know that, bro,” Finley said. “Come, sit.”

He led us to his little sitting area, then poured three glasses of scotch, handing them around. I sipped. It was smoky and delicious. Was there no end of amazing things to eat and drink in this house? I was definitely going to have to find that gym if I was going to spend any amount of time here.

Finley took a seat in one of the armchairs; Justin and I had taken the small sofa. I tucked my feet under me, trying to resist leaning over to Justin, pulling him into my arms. The urge to comfort him was astonishingly strong.

“It’s far worse than our lady makes out,” Justin said, with no preamble. “And she’s very, very worried about it.” He turned to me. “Our cohort needs to be ready as soon as possible. She fears that, now that she has rejected Edwin’s ‘offer’, Mundon will attack at any time.”

“Can we get ready any faster?” I asked. It would mean sleeping with Max and Aiden…

Justin shook his head, but it was Finley who answered. “We each need a whole day for the bonds to cement. I’m glad you’ve met the other two men and started the process of your magic reaching out to theirs, but we can’t rush you through this. We run the risk of instability, of the bonds being forced and not taking solidly.”

I nodded, though I didn’t really understand what this all meant. Magic still being new to me and everything. “There are a couple other cohorts in the house already protecting her, right?”

“Yes,” Justin said. “And they’re doing everything they can. But this has gone on far too long, and everyone’s at the end of their strength.”

“We were lucky that our lady found you when she did,” Finley put in. “She was almost too late.”

“How did she find me?” I wondered. “I don’t remember her ever coming into the gallery, but my boss Trevor said she’d asked for me specially, to come to that party last night.”

Finley smiled. “Oh, she has her ways.”

“Don’t be so mysterious!” Justin chided him, finally cracking a small smile. “Lady Periwinkle has been to your gallery several times, though not as you see her here. She is a mistress of disguise, even without magic to aid her efforts.”

“Oh.”

“Do you remember a young heiress with a little poodle, kind of a jerk?”

I thought about it a moment, then grinned. “I can think of several, to be honest.”

Justin laughed. “This one was particularly interested in a Kay McKay oil painting, she just had to have it. Then she disappeared after insisting you put it on hold.”

“I do!” I leaned back against the corner of the sofa, marveling. Yes, I could see it now, I remembered her well. What a spoiled brat, I’d thought at the time. She’d been nothing like the calm, warm, elegant lady I knew now.

“She wasn’t just trying to annoy you,” Justin told me. “She knew you had latent magic within you, but she also wanted to test your calm, to take the measure of you. To see how you did under stress.” He smiled at me. “You passed with flying colors.”

“When she came home and told us all about you, I knew you were the one,” Finley said, gazing at me with love in his eyes.

Love? No one had said the word yet…but it was written all over his face.

“Ahem.” I cleared my throat, suddenly shy, and turned back to look at Justin.

“We are so happy you’re here,” Justin said. He reached over and found my feet under the fall of silk that comprised my robe. “Finley says you like being massaged. May I?”

“Oh gosh, yes,” I said, stretching my legs out so he could take my feet in his strong hands. He began working on them, pressing his thumbs gently but firmly into my arches. “Ohhh,” I sighed, closing my eyes and leaning back. “Okay, that’s it, I’m all in. You guys can do anything you want to me.”

Finley chuckled. “Don’t mind if I do.” I heard him take another sip of his scotch, then set the tumbler down. And then he was behind me, beside the sofa, reaching over to rub my shoulders as Justin massaged my feet.

After only a minute or so of this, Finley maneuvered around so that he was behind me on the couch. This meant I had to scoot closer to Justin, who pulled my legs into his lap. He was now massaging my calves, working the tight muscles there, as Finley loosened the knots in my neck and shoulders.

My robe somehow fell away. Magic, I tell you; magic. And Justin’s hands were now rubbing my upper thighs, circling back and forth from my hips around to my inner thighs, stopping just shy of probing anywhere more intimate…at least for now.

Finley’s hands, meanwhile, strayed forward, coming around my sides to cup my breasts, caressing my rock-hard nipples. I sighed and moaned and squirmed with pleasure and longing—it felt so good, but I wanted more, faster, now…

Justin leaned forward and took my right nipple into his mouth; Finley’s hand guided it there. As Justin suckled, Finley kept holding the breast, encouraging him, egging him on. And I was helpless in between them. I was now fully on Finley’s lap, and my robe was just a suggestion of silk wisping across my lower back, or the side of a breast…Finley must be rubbing the soft fabric against my skin.

It made an amazing counterpoint to his hard cock pressing at me from behind. I squirmed more, rubbing against it like a cat, like the Catwoman I had been last night. Trying to position myself to be entered…Justin took hold of my breasts as well, his fingers commingling with Finley’s as they both took pleasure in me, in my body.

I didn’t know what to do, where to put my hands. I reached forward, pulling Justin closer, unbuttoning his shirt and easing it off, pushing it down and away. His scent met me as I touched his face, inviting him to reach up, to kiss me.

He did; we kissed, deep and soulful, as Finley’s hands kept caressing my breasts. And then Finley reached lower, questing, finding my core. I groaned into Justin’s mouth; he chuckled back into mine, then drew back and returned his clever mouth to my nipples once more.

Finley’s finger entered me, then a second finger. I bucked and squirmed, brushing my ass back against his cock, trying to lure him forward. But he kept it just out of reach of my core as his fingers searched inside, finding my G-spot. “Oh my god!” I shouted, on the brink of coming.

He nudged the spot, and I gasped for breath; he pulled his fingers away, nearly drawing them out, stroking my clit. I was going to die, going to just keel over from frustrated lust. I grabbed Justin’s hair, holding him tight against me.

Finally Finley took pity on me. He removed his fingers altogether and shifted just a little….and then he was inside me, filling me deliciously.

I pretty much climaxed at once, arching my back and barely holding back a scream. Finley clutched me tightly around the hips as I shuddered; Justin kept on at my breasts, even though my nipples were so sensitive right now I could almost not stand it.

Almost.

The peak of my orgasm barely had time to settle down before it was climbing again. Finley was moving my hips, sliding me on and off him as he fucked me from behind. Justin moved closer and higher; his mouth left my breasts, trailing kisses up my throat, then claimed my mouth. I kissed him deeply, pressing into him, pressing into Finley behind me…I was sandwiched between the two men, and I had never been anywhere so amazing in all my life. I never wanted it to end.

Justin had somehow wriggled out his pants; his cock pressed against my belly. So sad that it was being left out of the action…I reached down and took it in hand. It was so soft-skinned, so hard-bodied…I stroked its silken length. Justin groaned in pleasure and kissed me more deeply. I stroked him in the rhythm of Finley’s fucking, and we all three moved together, faster, deeper, faster, more…

I came again, like a bomb going off deep inside me; Finley yelled and filled me with his climax; Justin sighed and released as well. I felt my hand get sticky with his cum; he panted against my neck, kissing my ear, whispering meaningless words.

“Oh, my god,” I said, after I came to my senses once more. We were still intertwined on the couch, a pile of sweaty bodies and tangled, discarded clothes.

Finley chuckled and kissed the other side of my neck. “That was…unexpected.”

“You’re telling me!” I giggled, suddenly awkward once more. This wasn’t the sort of situation the etiquette books covered.

Justin looked up at me, blinking those luminous green eyes. “I’m sorry for crashing your party.”

“I’m not sorry,” Finley quickly said. “And unless I am terribly mistaken, I doubt Emma is either.”

“Hmm.” I pretended to consider the question. “No, I don’t remember having much of a problem with it. If you guys are okay with it…”

“We are,” Finley said, as Justin added, “Absolutely.”

“Well then. Is Finley’s shower going to be big enough for the three of us, or do we need to go down to one of the guest rooms downstairs?”

Finley laughed out loud. “I’ll bet we can make this one work.”

~*~*~*~

We did in fact manage to successfully shower together, and even without a whole lot of extra shenanigans. Maybe we were spent. By the end, Justin was yawning, Finley looked almost as tired, and I realized what a long day it had been.

I dried Justin off; he gave me another long, luscious kiss before putting his clothes back on and slipping away. “Sleep well, you two,” he whispered from the door, then shut it behind himself.

And we did.

Dawn brought heavy rain, yesterday’s sun-drenched morning now a distant memory. I yawned and stretched in the comfy bed. “Coffee?” Finley asked, from beside me.

I rolled over on the pillow and looked into his eyes. “You look very awake. Have you been watching me sleep?”

“Maybe for a few minutes.” He was suppressing a grin. “You’re just too cute. You even sleep cute.”

I rolled my eyes. “I’m not cute.”

“Sure you are!”

“I’m not, I’m a grown woman. I can be beautiful or magnificent or stunning, but not cute.”

He leaned forward and stole a quick kiss before turning to sit at the edge of the bed. I admired the strong muscles of his lower back, and how his waist nipped in above the curve of his gorgeous ass. “Drooling on the pillow is definitely cute.” Then he leapt off the bed before the pillow I threw could hit him.

He opened the curtains, which hardly made the room any lighter. “Not fit for beast nor man out there,” he said. “Shall I send for breakfast to be delivered?”

“Sure.” Breakfast in bed. I could really get used to things around here.

“Then I’m to hand you off to Max by noon.” He kept his back to me as he said this; I wanted to see his expression.

“Noon? Isn’t that early? You’re not getting your twenty-four hours that way.”

Finley walked over to the phone by the bedside. He pressed a button, then ordered eggs, toast, coffee, and fruit sent up. No intercom here, it seemed. “Depends how you count,” he told me, after he’d hung up. “I had coffee with you yesterday morning before you went to your apartment.”

“But I didn’t come back till afternoon, and then I slept for hours after we…” I thought another moment. “And then you had to share your evening time with Justin.”

He shrugged, now grinning. “That doesn’t matter. It actually made it more intimate, don’t you think? And it really strengthened this part of the bond. You’re now close to both of us in a way that would have taken much longer if we only saw you one on one.”

He was right, actually, now that I thought about it that way. Something about breaking down old boundaries…I did feel closer to both men.

And what was the future going to hold? Well, I would start finding out at noon.

I heard my phone buzz with a text, so I rolled over, searching for my purse. Finley handed it to me. “Thanks.” I dug out the phone: Kelly, of course.

Well???????????

I snickered and showed Finley the text. He grinned. “A friend?”

“My roommate. I should let her know what’s up…or at least that I’m not dead.”

“Yes, good idea.”

I’m fine, more than fine; I might be away another day or two. No need to send bloodhounds. This is amazing.

She answered a moment later. You’re sure? I mean, I’m happy for you, but…???

I promise I will tell you everything! I typed back. Pinky swear! Meantime can you feed Trixie and tell her I haven’t abandoned her either?

Will do. And I’m holding you to that.

Breakfast arrived while I was texting with Kelly. The coffee was as good as yesterday, and the simple eggs and toast were delicious. More like fancy gourmet fare than anything I’d ever managed to cook. Or maybe it was the company: Finley was relaxed and easy to talk to. He had done well to dress up as a vampire for the costume party, vampires being notoriously charming.

And sexy.

I pushed away my empty plate and leaned back in the comfy chair, sipping my coffee as I looked around the room. Hard to believe I’d have to leave so soon…my gaze fell on the musical instruments in the corner. “Oh, I never got you to play your cello for me. You guys were great at the party.”

His eyes lit up. “I could play for you now, if you like.”

“Would you? That would be great.”

“Of course!” He got up and went to the instruments, choosing the smaller case. He pulled out a beautiful cello, then sat down and began tuning it. Within a minute, he was playing a haunting melody—from memory, no music on the stand.

I wiped away tears at the corners of my eyes when he finished a few minutes later. “Oh Finley,” I sighed. “That was amazing. Play another.”

He looked over at me, pleased and shy. “You don’t need to humor me.”

“I’m not. When I…if I…I mean, if I live here, I want you to play for me every night.”

His look became more intense. “I will do anything it takes to convince you to live here. Including things far more onerous than playing music.” He played a few lilting notes, as if he were testing something out. “I love playing; the others joke that they can hardly get me to stop.”

“I would never want you to stop.”

Now he smiled. “It keeps my hands occupied, Emma. Wouldn’t you want my hands free for other things? Like…massages?”

I giggled. “Well. Maybe some of my other men have entertaining skills.”

A strong dissonant tone was his only response, before he plunged into another gorgeous song.