“I’ll do that,” he smiled. “I’ve always been a great admirer of hers. Thank you, Brenna, and I look forward to seeing you again.”
She ate a couple of canapés and drank a glass of champagne, watching the people and enjoying the music. She watched Rebecca and Irina go up the stairs and then Antonia on the arm of a tall, distinguished looking man with white hair. She danced with a couple of men, asking the second one to escort her upstairs.
She returned in time to see Noel approach Seamus and Cindy. They chatted for a bit and then Cindy put her hand on his arm and said something to him. He bent down, scooped her up in his arms, and carried her up the stairs. Smiling, Seamus watched them go.
Rebecca appeared at her side, nudging her and directing her attention to Jill. “You’re getting outdone. That’s her third already.” They watched her take a man’s arm and head toward the staircase.
“Are you enjoying yourself?” Brenna asked her.
“Oh, hell yes, I love it. Oh, my God, will you look at that?”
Brenna turned, and saw Seamus escorting a woman upstairs. She blinked, trying to make sense of what she was seeing. Turning, she searched the room for Callie. She found her on Collin’s arm, heading for the stairs. Her world started spinning and she reached out for Rebecca, who steadied her.
“I think we’re undergoing culture shock,” Rebecca murmured. “Either that or someone spiked the champagne with hallucinogens. Oh, there’s someone I wanted to try. I’ll see you later.” Brenna watched her cross the room and sidle up to William. That convinced her hallucinogens were the answer.
She decided to stop worrying about other people, and approached a handsome young man she didn’t recognize to ask him to dance. While they were dancing, she noticed Irina watching them and realized she had asked him just before Irina had. When the music stopped, she thanked him and drifted to the buffet, seeing Irina approach him and take his arm. Irina shot Brenna a grateful look.
Thinking of Noel, she decided that she should probably not show favoritism. She approached Nigel Richardson, director of the London office, and asked him to escort her upstairs. Later, she found Todd Harwood of the Dallas office and took him upstairs also.
Before she knew it, the rock band was setting up, the crowd had thinned, her feet hurt, and she had the most marvelous Glow going. The last two men she had taken had both asked her to drain them, saying they wanted a true succubus experience. She obliged them, notifying the Protectors so they could be moved into their own rooms.
She had last seen Rebecca going upstairs with a man on each arm. Earlier, Siobhan had taken Seamus up and Cindy had taken Collin. Antonia had taken Callie’s husband Randolph, Brenna’s grandfather Fergus, and Kallen’s half-brother Seamus. Her grandmother Caylin had taken at least two men upstairs that she’d seen.
One man who, in spite of his good looks, had been avoided was Kallen. She’d heard he enjoyed very rough sex and Rebecca had warned her to stay away from him. On a whim, she approached him. “Kallen, if I ask you up, will you be gentle with me?”
He looked at her oddly. “No, but I won’t hurt you. I’m not a gentle man, Brenna.”
She considered, “Kallen, would you do me the honor of conducting me to a more comfortable place?”
“It would be my honor, Brenna.” He offered her his arm and they went upstairs. He took her to his room on the third floor.
Inside, she gave him a pheromone burst and started taking her dress off. He stripped in a hurry, then grabbed her and pushed her forcefully into the wall. Putting his hands under her bottom, he picked her up and pushed her ankles up onto his shoulders. He was huge, almost as large as the basketball player in New York, and he plunged into her without any foreplay at all, hammering her. The angle of the position allowed him to drive as deeply as she could take, and she took it all. It was rough, hard and fast, and his stamina was incredible.
She just hung on, mindlessly surrendering all control. Her body shattered, sending rockets from her groin to her brain in an endless stream. Waves of scalding heat roared through her blood. In the distance, she heard a woman’s voice whimpering, saying over and over, “More, yes, more, God, more.”
He pulled her away from the wall and carried her to the bed, dropping her on her shoulders and driving her into the mattress. Lost in a continual orgasm for over thirty minutes, scorching heat filling the space between her legs, she felt like a bomb had gone off in her mind when he finally spilled into her, and forgetting entirely about the switch, she drained him. He rolled off her and smiled. “Thank you Brenna, you’re such a sweet, lovely lady. I hope you enjoyed your first ball. Good night.” He closed his eyes and slept.
She lay there beside him and waited for the earthquake to end. It took her some time to put herself together and make it back downstairs. Collin sent her a thread saying he had to check security after the ball ended at four, and he would see her in their room around sunrise. Irina was dancing to the rock band with Jared, and Jill was dancing with Tom. Rebecca wasn’t there. Seamus and Cindy had retired, as had her grandparents, Callie, Antonia, and most of the older people.
After Kallen, she didn’t have any desire for another man. She soon wandered upstairs, going to her room and making a cup of hot chocolate. Watching the moon travel across the sky out her window, she let the images of the evening play across her mind without really thinking about them.
Dawn was breaking when Collin came in. He stripped and took a shower, then came to bed. They made slow, gentle love, and fell asleep in each other’s arms.
~~~
Chapter 2-9
The people I'm furious with are the women's liberationists. They keep getting up on soapboxes and proclaiming women are brighter than men. That's true, but it should be kept quiet or it ruins the whole racket. - Anita Loos
The Christmas tree was erected on Solstice day, a giant twenty-foot spruce tree. Although she wasn’t involved in decorating it, Brenna was told that traditionally everyone hung at least one ornament, often something with a personal meaning. She’d wracked her brain trying to think of something. Rebecca, who had been there the previous year, hung a silver ball with the year the family found her written in glitter. Finally, Brenna took the teddy bear she had carried through multiple foster families, wrapped a bit of ribbon under his arms, and tied him to a branch.
She spent all her free time between Solstice and Christmas wrapping presents. She did a lot of her shopping online and had some anxious moments waiting for some presents to arrive. By paying expediting charges, she had even managed to get Noel’s present there on time.
Many of the guests from Solstice had left over the next couple of days, traveling to spend the holiday with their own families, but Callie told her the number of people staying for Christmas was higher than normal.
Whatever their stated reasons, Callie suspected Brenna was the reason for the large turnout at Solstice and the number of people staying over for Christmas. Everyone wanted to meet Seamus’ prodigal granddaughter and was curious about her, especially after the Gless incident. A twenty-three year old PhD, a succubus who looked exactly like her mother, a telepath of unexplored power, she was an enigma that everyone wanted to meet.
Brenna was unaware of the intense scrutiny being leveled at her. Completely oblivious of the Clan’s internal organization and politics, she didn’t know the entire power structure of the Clan and its allies had gathered at the estate for the sole purpose of figuring out how she fit into the Clan, what her future role would be, and what the relationship of each of them would be with her. She just knew she had a lot of relatives, the Clan had a lot of people who were important and wanted to talk with her, and she had a lot of presents to wrap.
~~~
On Christmas Eve, Seamus wandered into the ballroom and found Callie standing near the tree, its lights providing the only light in the room. He walked up and put his arm around her and she leaned against him, marveling at how being close to him still made her feel safe, as though everything was
right with the world.
“It seems there are more presents than I remember from previous years,” Seamus said after looking the tree over.
“That’s because Brenna hasn’t been here in previous years.”
“But, I mean, aren’t there a lot of presents?”
“Dad, see that pile over there on the right side? All those are from Brenna.”
“Good God, who did she buy presents for?”
“Everyone.”
“What do you mean, ‘everyone’?”
“Everyone. The family, her friends, her lovers, the kitchen and household staffs, the Protectors, the stable hands … everyone. That doesn’t include the seventy-two that she shipped off to New York, Baltimore and Washington. She bought a present for Tom Moody, the cop that was first on the scene in Spencerville. She said he was kind to her.”
“How many?”
“Two hundred twenty-five here, I think. I’ve been trying to keep count since the pile started growing the beginning of the week. God knows where she’s been stashing all this stuff. I did find out from Mrs. McCarthy that she acquired keys for a couple of empty bedrooms on the third floor, but what she did when we filled those rooms for Solstice I don’t know.”
“Well, you and I always get presents for the staff, so it’s nice she thought of them.”
“Dad, you and I give them gift certificates, bonuses, bottles of wine, things like that. Every one of those is individualized. Every one will mean something to the person who receives it. Every one has a meaning to her. I asked about some of them. She can tell you about the person and why they want or need the particular present. You know Karen Parker?
“Cute little brunette who works in the kitchen?”
“Yes, she’s getting married this spring. There’s a set of high-quality cookware for her kitchen. There’s a down comforter for Jeremy. She told me she got cold in his room. There’s an envelope for Mrs. Doyle, two tickets and a week’s reservation at a resort in the Bahamas for February. Jewelry for Rebecca and Irina, a knife for Kallen’s collection, half a dozen things for Collin, from the practical to a lovely ring, a pair of silver spurs for Rory … I’ve found something for everyone except me.”
“No present for you?”
“She said someone told her I’m a present-peeker, so mine isn’t there. I wonder who might have told her that?”
He chuckled, “If the shoe fits, Callie.”
“I haven’t done that since I was a kid.”
“Okay, so that explains a lot of that pile of loot, what about the rest?”
“At last count, there’s one hundred twenty-seven presents for Brenna. And who knows how many aren’t under that tree. You’re aware of what Rory and his boyos got her, aren’t you?”
“Yes, Rory told me. It seems she’s made an impression on people.”
“She does that. She’s made an impression on me. I’ve known her six months and I love her as much as I do Jared or Jill. She’s as special, and infuriating, as you are.”
“Funny, I could say the same thing. I haven’t thought of your childhood, adolescence, and scorched-earth after-college years so much in a long, long time. I suppose we should be grateful she’s fallen in love with Collin. I hate to think of how wild she might be if she didn’t have a reason to come home at night.”
“I’m not sure if he’s really a calming influence so much as an anchor. The influence she’s having on him though is nothing short of amazing. I think the boy’s growing up.”
~~~
Guests were warned Christmas at the manor house provided a minimum of service. Most of the household and kitchen staffs spent the day with their own families and only volunteers and single Protectors were in the building. A buffet was set out for breakfast and dinner would be served. Otherwise, residents and guests were on their own and the staff on duty would sit with the family for dinner.
Waiting for the official eight o’clock start to the festivities on Christmas morning, Callie wandered around the ballroom sipping her coffee with a camera around her neck. Callie’s passion was photography, and she’d documented the family for decades. She immediately noticed a bundle of five boxes that hadn’t been there the night before, with a tag reading ‘Aunt Callie’. When the present rush scramble ensued, she headed for it first, her curiosity almost boiling over.
Sitting amidst the torn paper, she gazed in wonder at Canon’s latest top of the line professional camera, with the three lenses she didn’t already own and a fourth to replace the one she had dropped and dinged at the Grand Canyon seven years before. Callie immediately set the camera around her neck aside, put her new one together and started snapping pictures. She had to be reminded she still had other presents to unwrap.
Rebecca sat and stared at the diamond collar necklace, three strands, with matching earrings. Irina’s blue eyes filled her face, her mouth worked, but nothing came out. She pulled the three-string pearl choker and earrings out and put them on. Callie thought the picture of her in pajamas and bathrobe with that jewelry on was one of the best she took that morning.
Brenna’s presents were an eclectic mix. The girls in the kitchen gave her a hand-lettered coupon book, redeemable for the dessert of her choice every month. The household staff gave her an electric teapot for her room and a collection of teas. The Protectors pitched in on a calf-length, suede sheepskin coat. An envelope contained a note from Rory and the boyos at the stable saying to come see them to get her present.
Callie gave her a pair of handmade riding boots, and her gift from Seamus was a saddle. Collin’s gifts included a gold necklace with matching earrings worked in the shape of a graphic from the Kama Sutra. The set definitely couldn’t be worn to church. Rebecca and Irina embarrassed her with an outfit that made her blush when she unwrapped it in front of Seamus. The black corset, garter belt, panties, knee-high stiletto boots, leather handcuffs and flogger were beautiful, but …
Alice’s present almost stopped her heart, a thigh-length mink coat, thick and dark and the softest thing she had ever felt. When she tried to protest it was too much, Alice laughed. “Don’t say I can’t afford it, not after I had the most profitable December ever.”
Wearing a new pair of sheepskin boots from Jill, the suede sheepskin coat the Protectors had given her and a knit wool hat from Jeremy, she walked down to the stables. The presents for Rory and his boyos and her new saddle floated along behind her on a telekinetic leash.
When she got to the stable, she passed out the presents. The horses, the stables, and the down-to-earth men and women who worked there were one of the major joys of her life. But she wasn’t prepared for their present to her.
“We didn’t bring your present up to the house because you would have just had to bring her back down here, and it’s rather cold this morning,” Rory started. Brenna gaped at him as one of the men led a black mare out of a stall. “A man over in Maryland had her for sale. Said she was a little too spirited for his daughter, but I figured you could discuss things with her and work out an accommodation.”
“Oh my God. She’s beautiful. What’s her name?” Grins, leers and lifted eyebrows met her query, but no answers. Brenna looked from face to face, then a suspicion began to creep into her mind. “Oh no, you didn’t. Succubus? Jesus, you guys are incorrigible.”
“Coming from you,” one drawled, “that’s a compliment.”
Rory grinned. “The man I got her from says she has a fancy for the boys. I’m hoping you’ll let me breed a couple of foals from her.”
She spent the next two hours getting to know her new friend, brushing her and feeding her carrots, then trudged back up the hill to the manor house for Christmas dinner.
~~~
Late in the afternoon, she wandered into Callie’s parlor. Her aunt was deep in conversation with Jill and Noel.
As she entered the room, she heard Noel saying, “It seems a bit quick to make such an important decision, but I tend to agree with you. I don’t think waiting will change the way any of us
feels.”
Becoming aware of her, the conversation stopped and they turned to look at her.
“I’m sorry, am I interrupting something?”
Callie patted the couch next to her, “Of course not, come join us and have some tea.”
Brenna could tell Callie wasn’t being completely honest, and the three looked uncomfortable, trying to find a different topic to discuss.
Callie poured her a cup of tea, and Jill restarted the conversation.
“Brenna, I know you’ve had a lot going on, and had a lot hit you in a very short time, but have you thought about what you want to do, what your future will be? Become an international jet-set party girl?”
Brenna laughed. “You mean become a professional succubus? I think that would get pretty boring. The sums Siobhan and Antonia say I could earn are pretty astounding, but I don’t think that’s how I want to spend my life, and I don’t really need the money.”
She took a sip of her tea. “I’ve been thinking a lot about the research I was trying to do at Hopkins. I really do love it. Now I have a population of true telepaths for research subjects, so I think I could really make some progress, really learn something. The problem we’ve discovered with the succubus carriers, maybe there’s something we can do for them. We don’t have to be slaves to genetics, we can try and figure out ways to either modify or enhance what genetics has handed us.”
“You’re thinking about going back to Johns Hopkins?” Callie asked.
“Oh, no, that would never work. I could never publish the work I want to do with telepaths. No, what I’m thinking about is establishing a lab here. I haven’t had a chance to thoroughly research it yet, exactly what the costs would be, but such a facility could be used for a lot of other things, such as Elsie’s and Dorothy’s clinic. It’s just starting to take shape in my mind and I’d need to discuss it with you and Seamus, but I think it would benefit everyone.”
The Telepathic Clans Omnibus Page 37
