Blood and Mint Chocolates

by Adrianne Brennan

  “Well… that’s good.” The color crept back into Erin’s face.

  “Would you like such a night, Erin?”

  Merideth couldn’t help herself; she turned around to see Kalia’s eyes darkened with lust, that sexy upturn of the corners of her lips begging her to kiss them. Blood, I’d like such a night. Several, in fact.

  She glanced at Erin, who blushed. “Who wouldn’t? I mean, c’mon. Do you know many people are fascinated by vampires? And fantasize about being bitten by one?”

  With a delicate air, Kalia raised an eyebrow. “Really now? Do you?”

  “Well, um, yeah, and I mean… um… I have and all, and…”

  MERI, HELP THE POOR GAL ALONG. I FEEL LIKE I’M ABOUT TO DEFLOWER A SCHOOLGIRL.

  Remembering how Kalia seduced her, Merideth decided to take a page from her book. She lifted Erin’s hand with care and with excruciating gentleness took her index finger into her mouth. Watching as Erin’s breath quickened, she bit the tip of her finger and started to suck on it.

  Erin moaned, and her eyes rolled back into her head. Encouraged by her reaction, Merideth put her other hand on Erin’s knee and dragged her fingertips along her smooth, silky inner thigh. When Erin parted her legs, she knew her attentions were welcome.

  A quick glance out of the corner of her eye revealed Kalia, who appeared engrossed in watching them both. The magistra’s lips parted, her eyes glittering with dark passion.

  Knowing that Kalia was turned on made Merideth all the more aroused. She moved even closer to Erin. She slipped a finger inside her and sank her fangs into her neck. Erin’s moans grew louder, and her hips ground into her hand as Merideth enjoyed tasting her sweet blood.

  Bracing herself, Merideth lowered her shields. Bright, colorful images danced in her vision, and among them she saw Erin arguing with Steve, Erin fucking Steve, Erin getting hit by Steve… at this, she winced. Any regret she had over deceiving Steve and taking his blood in the way she had vanished in a millisecond.

  The visions poured into her head without mercy. Erin getting bitten by two other vampires, a man and a woman, and reveling in its ecstasy. She referred to them earlier as her “friends” but without a doubt the three of them were much more than that. Both blood and sex had been involved, and Merideth wondered at her shy reaction earlier. What caused it?

  Then she knew—Erin was afraid. The male vampire to whom she gave blood told her many horrible tales about other vampires and how she couldn’t trust them, that they might kill her for her blood and take without asking. Merideth’s gentle approach reassured her, and the vampire felt Erin’s relief underneath the euphoria.

  Oh, the ecstasy. The overwhelming rapture pouring forth from Erin threatened to swallow up her visions. Merideth angled her finger in just the right spot to give Erin the exquisite release she yearned for, and in that moment she extracted her fangs with great care from her neck. A quick spell, and the wound on her neck disappeared.

  But as delicious as Erin tasted, Merideth was far from sated. She throbbed between her legs, aching for satisfaction.

  Sensing Merideth’s frustration, Erin grabbed a hold of her and yanked down the rest of her dress, still left partially open by Kalia’s earlier embrace. With a sly grin she stated, “My turn.”

  Merideth blinked as Erin pulled her close, positioning her thigh between her legs. With one hand, she grabbed Merideth’s head towards her for an ardent, open-mouthed kiss. Erin’s tongue tormented the inside of Merideth’s mouth, and her other hand caressed the sensitive, swollen bud between the vampire’s legs. Then she placed not one, but two fingers inside Merideth, bracing them with her thigh as she pumped into her. Merideth screamed, the intense sensations overpowering her.

  Merideth didn’t detect Kalia’s presence behind her until the magistra’s hand snaked around her and began massaging her left breast, harshly pinching her nipple at odd moments. The unexpected jolts of pain kept delaying her orgasm, causing her to writhe in frustration.

  Kalia moved her other hand down Merideth’s back, and with delicate caution inserted a finger into her ass. The double penetration sent Merideth sailing over the edge into madness.

  But Erin wasn’t about to let up on Merideth. With Kalia’s help, she lifted Merideth’s hips up and hoisted her legs onto her shoulders.

  “Now’s my turn to taste you,” purred Erin.

  Merideth’s eyes widened, both surprised and intensely aroused. The sensuous, silky but rough tongue caressed her labia with delicate strokes, resting on her clit before giving it one slow lick.

  She groaned. Oh, this was torture. This human tormented her on purpose—and oh, did it make her want her even more. Erin continued to afflict the most exquisite sensations in Merideth as she writhed with frantic twitches in the clutches of both Erin’s and Kalia’s grip.

  Erin slowly led a trail of unbearable waves of ecstasy down from her clit to her now soaked entrance. With great deliberateness and glee, she thrust her tongue into Merideth and sucked down her juices.

  Through the haze of bliss, Merideth realized the blood exchange would happen after all—enough blood mixed with the fluids dripping from her pussy to create the psychic bond she needed in order to keep tabs on the woman after they both left for New York the next day.

  That was her last coherent thought before an intense orgasm slammed into her like a freight train. Her body seized by earthquakes, she could do nothing but clench her fists until her palms bled from her fingernails—which Kalia obligingly licked clean.

  Then the visions hit her, and she saw from their brightness that they were of the future. From them she determined that yes, Erin could be trusted—and either way, with or without their help, Clan Gladius as well as the rest of the Order was in extreme danger.

  Moments later, the three women managed to make it to the bed where they collapsed in a tangled embrace, just barely managing to avoid knocking Steve off the bed. As Merideth lay there with both Kalia and Erin, she never felt more alive.

  Chapter Ten

  Back, for now…

  The plane ride back to New York was agonizing. Merideth loved her time spent at Crystal Island, the Venus Estate… and every time she thought of her night—and the subsequent nights afterwards—spent with Kalia and later with Erin, her stomach tightened with desire. Blood, Kalia… The magistra was without a doubt one of the best, if not the best lover she’d ever had, and Erin had been the sweetest accident that ever fell into her lap. Her partners within the Order had always been of both genders, but she enjoyed her times best with women. There was something smooth, delicate, and deliciously sexy that she couldn’t quite get enough of—and she had dreamed of Kalia in her bed more than once over the years.

  Kalia was far, far better than anything had been in her dreams.

  She smothered a sigh. Human habit again. You’d think after decades of being a vampire… There was just something ingrained, beyond habitual about the action of sighing that couldn’t be duplicated with a hand gesture or some other bodily performance. While she understood the quest to be more than human—and not just a bloodsucker, as James had put it time and time again—she believed that sighing was a necessary evil as means of a release of tension and self-expression.

  There had been another single, beautiful blood-red rose delivered to her hotel room that morning. Only a simple note: “To Merideth, with love from Kalia” was all that came with it.

  Strange. Kalia is her Order name. All those times we had, and I still don’t know her real name. She wondered if she would ever know—or if anyone in the Order did, for that matter. It was taking a bit of a security risk, having her name like that even on just a rose. But Kalia seemed to be a good deal more… lax than other magisters and magistras. Such as James, for instance.

  She stifled a giggle. Oh, Blood. James. Merideth wondered how he would react to them having hooked up during her trip. Then she wondered if that night ever would’ve happened had she not wished for it.

  The vampire’s mood turned
sour. Was Kalia’s attraction to her due to the wish granted by Babalon? Or had she genuinely enjoyed her company? It seemed to her that Kalia’s response to her was genuine, but she truly had no idea.

  Like her real name, perhaps she would never know.

  She fingered her pocket where scrawled on a piece of paper was Erin’s cell phone number. The two exchanged numbers before going their separate ways on planes back to New York, and she remembered Erin’s tears with a sad fondness. She would have to call her so they could get together during one of her few nights off.

  But Merideth would not stress too much about keeping in touch with the young woman, as she now possessed a degree of awareness of her location at all times, not to mention glimpses of her thoughts and emotions. The small psychic link provided via the magick of the blood exchange gave her that much.

  She found it odd, but she couldn’t tell who she missed more at that point—Kalia or Erin. Never had she pictured herself having one, let alone two lovers, but somehow this worked.

  Now all she needed to do was to find a way for them all to keep safe. The visions she had about the future of her and Clan Gladius reassured her to some extent, but elements of what she had seen were foreboding. She could only pray that Kalia’s idea would work…

  ———

  Merideth arrived at the Sanctuary about half an hour before dawn. That was cutting it a bit too close for her liking, but with the airline schedule and subway, it was the best she could manage. Choosing to unpack later, she decided that it would be best to bury herself in her work as usual.

  Oh, but that vacation. Four nights in paradise, all but one of them spent in the arms of two of the sexiest, most vibrant women she had ever met. How could she ever return to her work as a librarian after that?

  She slumped into her office chair. Then she stared at her desk drawer. Oh, those chocolate mints… They couldn’t replace the hot, steaming encounters with Kalia—and oh, Erin—but they might take the edge off a bit. Merideth reached for the drawer.

  A knock came at her door.

  Gritting her teeth with impatience, she called out, “Come in.”

  No surprise—it was Janius.

  “Hello, Merideth! Glad to see you back.” His hands in his pockets, he appeared a bit more fidgety than usual. “How was your trip?”

  Must not giggle, must not giggle… “Oh, it was fantastic! Thanks again for sending me there.” She beamed at him.

  “Good, good. Any good clubs or parties while you were there?”

  She nodded. “Yes, a masquerade ball. I… had a great time.”

  “Good, good.”

  She did her best to keep her amusement hidden. He seemed somewhat nervous about something.

  “Is there something wrong, James?”

  “Oh, no… no, not at all. It’s just that… “He grinned. “I have a bit of a welcome back present for you.”

  Merideth blinked at him. “Oh?”

  Withdrawing his hand from his pocket, James presented her with a small, gold box. The librarian peered at it, not knowing what to make of it. Right on the top was a familiar label: “Godiva.”

  “Got you the small sampler. Remember, you’re a Fifth Degree. Gotta set standards for the rest of the Order. But… it wouldn’t hurt to have a little bit on occasion.” He winked at her.

  Her eyes widened. “Um… I don’t… I mean, I really…”

  His response was to laugh, loud and long. “Just enjoy.” James turned to head towards the door of her office, but paused. “Oh, Merideth, one other thing.”

  “Yes?”

  “The magistra of Clan Corvus called. She is planning an inter-order gathering between the Clans and specifically asked for your help in arranging everything. I’d like to send you down there to help her. Would you mind?”

  Merideth struggled to keep the shit-eating grin off of her face. “Oh, no. Of course not, James. Anything I can do to help out the Order and Clan Corvus, and a gathering sounds wonderful.” And getting my brains fucked out every night sounds wonderful too, yes.

  “Excellent! I’ll notify her as soon as possible. Unless, of course, you’d like to do so.”

  Mmm, phone sex with Kalia… “Oh, that’ll be fine, James. I um, I’ll contact her myself to arrange things. I know that you have a lot of work to do.”

  “Great, great! And once again, glad to have you back.” He quickly smiled at her and left her office.

  It was only after he left that she turned to the little gold box on her desk, grinned, and ripped it apart to eat the chocolate.

  Ooh, chocolate truffles… Usually she had mints, but these would do just fine. Just as decadent, if not more so.

  And now she had a new trip to plan.

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