Lacey's Luhpynes [Beyond the Veil 1] (Siren Publishing Ménage and More)

by Honor James

  “Yes ma’am,” both said with huge grins.

  Lacey grinned. “I like her,” she confessed to her men. “Thank you. For bringing me here. For being willing to share your mom with me.” She gave both her men a small hug and followed, looking over her shoulder and saying, “Well, come on, guys. Your mom mentioned booze and I’m so there with her. Damn nerves.”

  “That excuse doesn’t work when you’re not nervous anymore,” Zhubin said. They caught up with her easily just inside the door. “You just like the idea of getting your hands on some Luhpyne alcohol. You do realize that it’s nothing like human alcohol.”

  “Really?” Well that was something she didn’t know. “And who says that I’m not still nervous? I still have to have a conversation with your mom so that I can figure out what I’m doing with this whole mating thing.” She honestly didn’t know what in the world she was doing, just that she loved these men completely and fully.

  “We all know you’re going to do it,” Ansell was the one to say. “Just don’t imbibe too liberally, Lacey. When Zhu says it’s stronger, he means a lot stronger. Take your most potent alcohol and kick it up a hundred or so notches. You’ll be relatively close to just how potent it is. Whatever you do, drink lots of water while drinking the alcohol. Otherwise that conversation may end up being a tell-all that Gennette really doesn’t need to hear.”

  “Right, well it’s not like the three of us have done anything so it’s not like I can tell her a great deal,” she teased him. “Don’t worry, I don’t plan on having a great deal of drink because I want to have a full and clear mind tonight. We are going to complete our mating tonight, right?”

  “Yes but you’ve been watching us for five years. The Gods only know what questions you might spout off with if you were drinking.” Ansell muttered behind her as they walked through the large entrance, down a wide light-colored hallway and through a very large doorway. They all moved directly to the long, deep and low-slung sofas.

  “Here you are.” Gennette passed Lacey a small glass. There was only a small splash of clear liquid that sparkled slightly at the bottom. “I thought I’d let you try this first and see if you liked it before giving you a full glass. If you don’t, we have quite the selection for you to try.”

  “Thank you, Gennette,” Lacey said with a smile. “And it’s my understanding that Luhpyne alcohol is far stronger than anything that I’m used to so I think very small drinks would be very good for me for the next while.”

  “Oh, it most definitely is. I’ve also got water jugs all over the place with glasses next to them. If you need some water don’t even ask, just grab it yourself. It helps to dilute the effects but, for reasons beyond me, it only works as a separate entity. Mixing it with the alcohol does nothing at all.”

  “How strange. Thank you for that though.” She would have tried to do just that. She would have tried to cut the booze with water. Taking her drink she leaned against Ansell when he wrapped his arms around her from behind and sighed happily. This was what she needed.

  “Thanks, Dad.” Zhubin took two glasses from his father, passing one to Ansell. He took a sip and nodded. “Brought out the old stock did you?” He chuckled.

  “Figured we might as well dust off one of the bottles, given the occasion,” Thorin said. Sitting on a sofa across from Lacey and Ansell he tugged his mate down next to him. “Quit fussing, Genny, she’s not going to be upset if a plate is a micron out of position.”

  Ansell snorted. “Likely won’t stop her for long. By the by, where’s Shan and Martynn?”

  “Shan should be arriving any minute but Martynn got stuck in the capital. Something big was going on so he had to stay and deal. He won’t make it until the morning meal if not later. He did promise he’d try to get here as quick as he could. Didn’t want to miss meeting the lovely Lacey Rose, the woman who finally hooked our boys.”

  Shaking her head, Lacey looked to Genny and smiled. “I adore you already. I truly do because you gave me the two most amazing men ever to be mine. And you welcome me like family. That means something to me. It really does. I want to be family and family doesn’t worry about every little thing. Will you let me?”

  “You are already family, Lacey Rose,” Thorin told her. “Mainly because you are actually willing to put up with these two hooligans. And you have made my mate happy. Good enough for me.”

  Gennette smacked her mate’s leg lightly. “No need to be so brusque, Thorin.”

  “Efficient,” he countered.

  “Brusque,” she shot back. “That may work with the lords and the senators but you need to be more open with family. Especially the newest member. She doesn’t know you yet, love.”

  “She’ll learn.” Thorin grinned.

  Lacey couldn’t stop her giggles even if she had wanted to. Shaking her head she said, “Good lord, I see me in you, Genny. I love you for that. I can see me dealing with these two just like that. Why have we never met before now?” she asked with a shake of her head. “I think that the two of us will be very, very good friends.”

  “The Gods help us all,” Thorin muttered. He caught Gennette’s hand when she went to smack him. “Do it again, woman, and your children will end up with one hell of a lesson.”

  “Oh Gods,” Zhubin groaned. He grabbed a pillow and held it before his face.

  “Not like they haven’t seen you do it before.” Genny smiled slowly. “But I don’t think Lacey needs to be shown just where your sons learned a lot of what they know in the bedroom.”

  “La, la, la,” Ansell was singing, his fingers in his ears. Zhubin was rocking back and forth moaning as if in pain.

  Lacey was laughing her ass off. She couldn’t help herself. Snickering, she shook her head. “God you are too much. I freaking love it. See, this is good.” She patted Zhubin’s knee and watched his parents interacting together. “I need to take notes I think.” She shot back after a moment.

  “No!” both Zhubin and Ansell yelled, shaking their heads frantically.

  “There is no need for you to be so loud, boys,” Gennette said, shooting them both looks to quell. “You do whatever you feel is right Lacey. For now though I see we’re being signalled in for the first course. So, we shall leave off torturing my sons and enjoy a meal. Come, you can sit next to me and we’ll talk while the men ignore us.”

  Lacey was laughing her ass off and nodded. Standing, she moved away from her guys and linked her arm with Genny’s. “My parents died six years ago and I haven’t had a mother in far too long. I miss that, more than I can possibly tell you.” She admitted in a soft whisper of a sound, it was something that needed to be shared just between the women. She then gave the woman another hug, leaving the men behind as they walked away chatting.

  “Well you have me and I’d be honored to call you daughter, Lacey. You are just what my boys need,” she said as they walked into the dining room. She guided Lacey toward the table and waved her into a seat. “Hopefully you will find everything to your liking. It’s food not completely unlike what you’d get at home but it is a little different.”

  “Thank you. If I have questions you can bet I will be asking.” It warmed Lacey to know that this woman was willing to accept her so readily in their lives. It made her happy, very happy. “It smells delicious and I can’t wait to dig in,” she admitted to the woman as she settled in at the table. When Ansell sat at her side she smiled at him and took his hand in hers. Goodness, she loved that man.

  “Well, don’t wait on us. We decided not to stand on any ceremony tonight,” Gennette told her. “But come the holidays it will be a little different. We’re a bit more formal then, as is our tradition,” she said, passing over a bowl. “These are from my garden out back. Fresh-picked right before the meal. They are, or so Ansell has told me, much like your world’s green beans.”

  Smiling at the woman, Lacey nodded. “I will turn to you a great deal for what I should do and shouldn’t do. I hope that you will be okay with that Gennette. I have no idea how to
function on this side of the Veil and even on my side of the Veil I’m more than a little out of my depth. Sometimes,” she added with a grin. “But on this side, if you don’t mind, I will lean on you a lot. Especially come holiday time.”

  “Whatever you need dear.” She smiled back. “But really, it’s not too different than yours I’m sure. We gather as family, have too much food, celebrate with little gifts and enjoy being together as a family. I suppose the only real difference would be the food and the blessing we do.”

  “Even on the other side of the Veil they do something similar, love,” Thorin told his mate. “Not quite as particular as we are on it, but the similarities are there.”

  That had Lacey grinning. “Well I look forward to it, very much so.” She leaned back once more, Ansell’s arms coming around her shoulders automatically and Zhubin’s hand on her knee. She felt the love from the two larger-than-life men and she basked in it. This was where she belonged, where she had always belonged and why she had fought it so long was beyond her. She was here now, that was what mattered.

  Ansell pressed a kiss to her temple. “Dig in. We have a lot to show you after dinner,” he said softly. “And you’ll need your energy for later too,” he added with a wicked-sounding chuckle. The grins on Thorin’s and Gennette’s face said they both knew just what he was referring to.

  Lacey laughed and nodded, “So will you, big boy, so eat up.” She couldn’t help but tease him back. God she loved these men, both of them. She would now and for all time do anything she had to in order to ensure that they all had a very happy and long life.

  “Oh darling, I do plan on eating you up.” His lips quirked further. Thorin was coughing into his fist and looking anywhere but them. Gennette’s shoulders were shaking suspiciously, but her head was down so Lacey couldn’t see her expression.

  Lacey didn’t cave though. “You better. And you had better make me scream.” Yes, she was typically a very reserved person but something about being on this side of the Veil, being with these people simply made her want to be saucy, want to be naughty. “Just make sure to save some for Zhubin.”

  “He’s never had problems going after what he wants. And we’ve shared so well in the past, except for the glo-rathan, but that was an isolated incident I’m sure.” Ansell grinned at her. “Besides, I think you are more than enough woman to handle us both devouring you for hours on end.”

  “I think so too.” Lacey fanned herself finally, though, and licked her lips. “Good lord, the things that you boys do to me.” She loved it. Yep, very much so. She loved having them doing to her what she knew she was going to enjoy, a great deal.

  “So, moral of this story, eat all your vegetables. You will need the energy because you will be burning it. So eat,” Ansell ordered again. “And if you don’t, no sex for you.” He grinned and turned back to his own plate which he started to fill with all sorts of meat and vegetables.

  That had her laughing, Gennette laughing as well. Both women knew the truth. The boys had hit the end of their proverbial ropes and no matter what, there would be sex tonight. Lots and lots of bonding sex. Lacey for one couldn’t wait for it.

  “She thinks we’re kidding,” Zhubin commented from her other side. When she looked his way he cocked a brow up. “We’ve waited five years, Lacey. A night is a cakewalk in comparison.” The look he gave her said he really wasn’t joking. And when she looked at Ansell’s serious face she saw the same thing. They were actually willing to put it off another night.

  “Even a night with me completely naked in front of you? Using my battery-operated boyfriends in order to bring myself to climax time and time again, you would willingly turn me down?” Okay so that was likely far more than his parents wanted to hear but she didn’t care.

  “I, uh, need some, uh, something from the kitchen.” Thorin got up. He grabbed Gennette’s hand and hauled her with him as she howled with laughter.

  “We took them out of your bag and you’ll be tied down to keep you from being bad,” Ansell said softly. “Do you really feel the need to push this, Lacey? All I asked was for you to eat so that you would stay healthy and have the energy you will need for the bonding. But if it’s too much, then we might as well just turn in for the night and we can try this again tomorrow. I’m sorry you felt I was doing otherwise.” He stood and dropped his napkin on the table. “If you’ll excuse me, I feel the need to walk.”

  Zhubin didn’t say anything, just turned to his meal and dug into the food on his plate.

  Lacey shook her head and sighed. “All I was doing was teasing him,” she muttered and turned back to her plate. “I like being able to tease you guys, to play around and just be goofy with you both.”

  “And we enjoy it as well, love. But he wasn’t teasing you,” Zhubin said softly. “He was perfectly serious the entire time. We’re on edge, we’re tense and having to do this family bit is only making it worse. We want you to feel a part of our family but you have to understand, we’ve been waiting five years for you Lace.” Reaching over, he stroked her hair with a light hand. “Eat, darling, you really will need the energy.”

  “Oh I plan on it,” she said softly and ate. When she was finished she leaned into Zhubin and sighed. “Should we go and get Ansell and maybe get out of here? Do you think that your parents will understand if we leave now instead of sticking around?”

  “I’m sure they will understand. They had to go through this as well, love.” Pressing a kiss to her lips he stared down into her eyes. “We’ll head over to the guest house and spend the night there. It’s too late to try and get through the Veil anyway. And really, this will just be easier for us all if we’re here.”

  “I would rather be on this side anyway because I don’t want anything at all to get in the way of us coming together. I am terrified if we go over there somehow this monster will find a way to stop our mating and that is not something that I want to happen. This is ours. Somehow and some way, this is ours.”

  “I know, love,” he said gently. His hand rubbed up and down her arm slowly for a time. Then he stopped and gave her a squeeze. “Come on, Lace, let’s go and find Ansell.” Zhubin got to his feet and helped her from her chair. Taking her hand he led her down a hall to a door and then out into the well-maintained yard of the large home.

  “Oh, I thought that you would know just where he was.” Lacey was mildly shocked that Zhubin didn’t know exactly where Ansell was. “Is he angry with me? I hope not. I really didn’t mean to piss him off.” She just had that effect on people sadly. Yay her.

  “I have an idea of where he might be, but we have a lot of land here, he could be a number of places. We’ll find him, Lace, promise.” Zhubin pulled her closer, wrapping his arm around her. “He’s not angry, he’s tense, frustrated and likely horny to the nth degree. So am I, as a matter of fact. He tends to let his emotions run him though. You didn’t piss him off, but I think you pushed him to the edge. I’m pretty sure he was ready to throw you on the dinner table and take you there and then.”

  “I’m pretty sure that I would have let him,” she admitted bluntly. “You boys aren’t the only ones riding the edge of sanity. All that I know is that I have waited too damn long. Far too damn long. I let a Vampyre get in the way of our happiness but never again. I need you. Both of you. Here, now. So we need to find him so that we can cement our bond.”

  “And we will, Lacey,” he promised, hugging her to him. They walked for a time, he was looking around but she wasn’t sure what caught his attention that halted their progress. “This way,” he told her as he changed direction. They walked a little further and then she saw Ansell. He was skipping stones over a pond. “Go ahead,” he spoke to her softly, giving her a nudge toward the other male.

  Lacey walked away from Zhubin and to Ansell. Wrapping her arms around him she gave him a squeeze and looked up at him. “I love you, Ansell. I really do. I was teasing you, I’m sorry it got out of hand. Can we please move on? Can we go back to where you love me too?” She kne
w that he did, but she needed the words too.

  “I’ve never stopped loving you, Lacey,” he said quietly. Lifting her up in his arms he hugged her close and put his face in her neck. “I shouldn’t have walked off, I was too tense and didn’t want to hurt you.” Ansell held her tighter, squeezing her closer to him, and let out a shuddering breath.

  “You would never hurt me,” she told him softly. “And I was pushing your buttons, I won’t lie, however I ate every single bite on my plate.” She pulled back and grinned. “Do I get a reward?”

  He stared at her and nodded slowly. “Yes you do get a reward.” He pressed his lips to her ear and slid his tongue over the shell. “You get my cock filling your ass while Z fills your pussy. You will be ours tonight and for the rest of time. No more running, no more hiding, no more.”

  “Good.” She moaned. “No more running, no more hiding. From now until forever we are one,” she said simply. “Forever. Now, get naked because I need you. I’m so fucking horny, I’m so wet it’s like I’ve sat in a river for a swim. Naked. Sex. Now.” Okay, so maybe when they got to the cottage, but she wouldn’t turn them down right here in front of the lake either.

  “Not outside, no need to scare off any more of the staff,” Zhubin said from behind her. “The cottage,” he added so that Ansell would know where they were going as well.

  Ansell nodded and began to move, holding her tight to him as he moved with long-legged strides. He nipped at her neck and squeezed her ass in his hands. “Are you sure you’re ready for this, Lacey? We haven’t exactly had time to prepare your body for what needs to happen with us.”

  “God yes I’m more than sure.” Lacey moaned. “Can’t you feel how fucking wet that I am? How much I need you?” she asked and rubbed herself against him, hard. “I can’t wait another moment. Rip my clothes off but damn I need to be naked with you both and very, very soon or I will explode.”