“I’m glad Gerri found him for you,” Annette admitted. She was truly happy for her Braelynn.
“Me too.”
“So, when are you coming back?” She asked, picking a cucumber out of her salad and taking a bite.
“We’ll be back tomorrow. Hey, you want to come over for a packing party?” Braelynn asked.
“Oh, you mean, will I come over and help you pack your shit while we get shitfaced on wine?”
“Well… yeah.” Braelynn laughed.
“Yeah, I’m off tomorrow. Just give me a call when you get back in town.” Annette agreed.
“You going on another date tonight?”
“Yeah, I’ll swing by their place when I get off work.” She looked at the time again. “Speaking of work, my lunch break is just about over. Call me tomorrow.”
“Alright, talk to you tomorrow.”
“Have a safe trip.” Annette hung up with Braelynn and shoved the last of her salad in her mouth.
Just a few more hours and she’d get to see her men. Every time she thought of them she got flutters in her stomach. How did she get lucky enough for two? They’ve shown her incredible pleasure. Everything they’ve done has been with thoughts of her first. Neither has argued over who gets her time. Last night, Tony ended up working a couple of extra hours. She spent that time with Bryan and Tony joined them when he got off. With three in the relationship, it didn’t feel awkward like she thought it would. They were in perfect harmony together.
****
It was just after ten o’clock when she made it to Heads N’ Tails. Bryan gave her an access keycard so they wouldn’t have to escort her up every time she came over.
“Hi Annette,” Tyra greeted her. “Did you get in touch with Bryan?”
“Why? Is something wrong?”
“No, remember you called to get his number because you lost your phone?” Tyra looked confused, which mirrored the expression on her own face.
“Tyra, I didn’t call you today,” she told her. Annette reached in her pocket for her phone. “My phone is right here. It’s been with me all day.”
“You didn’t?” Tyra asked.
“Nope, whoever it was, wasn’t me,” she replied.
“Oh shit,” her eyes widened. “I’ll probably get chewed out for it then.”
“It’s no big deal. Just tell him it was a mistake.”
“Easy for you to say. You’re not the one who made the mistake.” Tyra sighed.
“Don’t worry, I’ll leave him in a happy mood.” She smiled and headed to the elevator.
“You do that,” Tyra called out as the elevator door closed.
She remembered the guys wondering how a woman named Mara got Bryan’s phone number. Guess that mystery is solved. From the conversation she overheard earlier, neither Tony nor Bryan liked the woman very much. For a moment, she considered asking them about her, but the moment passed as quickly as it came. They’ll tell her when they’re ready. With the animosity they seem to have for the woman, Annette knew she had nothing to worry about. Besides they already claimed that they wanted her and not that Mara chick. That was good enough for her.
Once she got off the main elevator, she needed to follow the hall around to the east elevator. When she turned the corner, a tall redhead stepped off the elevator. The woman had on a tight black leather dress. The woman looked amazing except for her nose being stuck up in the air. She eyed Annette as she passed. Something seemed strange about the woman. Maybe she has something against humans. Annette had to remind herself that she was in shifter land up here. She hadn’t had a bad feeling about being on the shifter floors. Being with Tony and Bryan made her feel safe. She was getting to know a few of their employees, and she always took the same route to the penthouse. She wouldn’t venture off the beaten path unless with her shifters.
Before getting into the elevator, Annette looked back down the hall. The hall was clear when she stepped into the elevator. She copied everything she had seen Tony do with the side panel. She felt at ease the moment the elevator started moving.
The soft ding alerted her that she arrived on the penthouse floor. As the door slid open, movement caught her eye causing her to jump and throw her hand up.
“Sorry love.” Bryan reached for her. “I was coming down to see if you had gotten lost.”
“I ran a little late at work,” she said, stepping off the elevator and straight into Bryan’s embrace. “Where’s Tony?”
“He’ll be up in a few. He’s in the process of firing one of our employees.” Bryan took her hand and escorted her into the penthouse.
“That’s terrible,” she said. “Do you have coverage for the position?”
“Yeah, Hannah came in to cover for tonight.” Bryan looked over at her and smiled. “Why? Would you like the job?”
“Ha,” she sat down on the couch. “I can cover while a bartender is on break, but for a whole night? Not a chance.”
“Well, it was worth a try.” He laughed as he sat beside her.
“He couldn’t talk you into it, could he?” Tony came in through the door.
“A bartender, I am not.” She smiled up at Tony.
“Huh?” Tony’s eyebrow arched in a quizzical look.
“I offered her Kalene’s job. I was only joking though,” Bryan chimed in.
“What else was he going to talk me into?” She asked Tony but raised her brow at Bryan.
“I wanted to ask you over a nice glass of wine,” Bryan started.
“Hold on,” Tony went to the kitchen. He was only gone for a minute before returning with three wine glasses filled with red wine. “Now, you can continue.”
“Why do I have a feeling this is a loaded question?” She smiled and took a sip of wine.
“You see, I was thinking you may like to see a different level of the club tonight.” Bryan paused.
“I’m listening,” she urged him to continue.
“I want to take you to level 15.”
“What’s on 15?” She asked.
“You’d have to see it to appreciate it,” Tony said taking a seat beside her.
“I guess the best way to explain it to you is, theatre meets strip club.”
“As long as you promise no one will be grinding on me.”
“The only one to grind on you is us,” Tony stated.
“Woah, is that a hint of jealousy?” She teased Tony.
“We may share you, but it doesn’t go outside our circle,” Tony said. “They can look all they want. We’re the only ones allowed to touch.”
“I’m totally okay with that.” She smiled. Two is all she could handle.
“So, you’ll go?” Bryan asked.
She thought about it for a moment. They wouldn’t let anything happen to her. She put her trust in them before when it came to the different levels of their club. They knew her limits and she doubted they would take her anywhere she’d be uncomfortable.
“I’ll go anywhere with you two,” she admitted.
“Great!” Bryan leaned over and kissed her cheek.
“Have you eaten yet? We can swing by the restaurant on our way down,” Tony asked. “They also serve food on the theatre level, mainly appetizers.”
“I had a large salad at work, so I should be good,” she answered.
“We’ll fix a midnight snack when we get back,” Tony suggested.
“Sounds good.”
They sat around on the couch, talking about their day, and finishing their wine. Neither Bryan nor Tony mentioned the call from Mara.
“Is there a time we need to be downstairs?”
“No, the performances continue through the night. I figured we’d mosey on down when you finish your wine,” Bryan told her.
“In that case.” She finished the last sip of her wine.
Bryan collected their empty glasses and took them to the kitchen. Before leaving she needed to make a quick stop to the bathroom. She looked into the mirror and checked her makeup. Her hair was still pinned up in a
twist. She pulled the pins out, letting her hair fall just passed her shoulders. After finger brushing her hair, she left the bathroom.
“Ready?” Tony asked, offering her an arm. She grabbed her purse from the kitchen counter.
“Ready as I’ll ever be.” She hooked her arms around theirs as they left the penthouse.
Nine
The theatre level was larger than she thought possible for being on the 15th floor. Bryan explained to her how they combined the 15th and 16th floors to give it the high ceilings and raised seating. The stage could easily hold a large orchestra. Though it wasn’t the size of the stage that drew her attention, it was the beautiful woman dancing on stage. Her body resembled that of a human, but her coloring was different. There was a green tint to her skin. Green scale like spots lined her face and neck. Her lean body was barely covered by a sheer white dress. Her seductive dance was captivating. She radiated beauty as she gracefully moved across the stage. Annette couldn’t take her eyes off the dancer. She danced around the stage, looking around at the audience. Her eyes shone bright yellow when she looked Annette’s way.
“Don’t stare into her eyes,” Tony whispered in her ear. When she didn’t look away, he stepped in front of her and planted his lips on hers. Instantly, she was drawn into his kiss and closed her eyes.
“What was that?” Her voice was barely above a whisper.
“That was Giana,” Tony replied.
“I forgot she was up tonight.” Bryan led them to a table near the center of the room.
“Giana is a bit mysterious,” Tony said, pulling a seat out for her. “We know she’s a serpent, just not sure exactly what. Lock gazes with her and you’ll be drawn to her. A crush as you would say.”
“The allure is more appealing to humans.” Bryan took a seat next to her.
“Got it, don’t look into her eyes.” Annette figured that would be easy. She has better eyes to look at. “Thank you for saving me from a girl crush,” she told Tony.
“Not a problem. There’s only room for one woman in this relationship.” Tony smiled.
“Don’t worry. I don’t want to see you two with another woman. You two are mine,” she declared.
Bryan smiled over at Tony. “Told you, she’s the one.” She heard Bryan speak but his mouth wasn’t moving. What Braelynn said was true. These were the men for her.
Giana was still performing on stage. Annette watched the performance while avoiding looking at her face. As her dance came to an end, many clapped their hands. A few gentlemen whistled out. A loud roar sounded from the back of the room. Annette jumped and quickly looked around for the source of the roar. A man with sandy blonde hair sat on the far side of the room. He’s face was elongated to that of a lion. She watched as it slowly turned back into a man’s face.
“He’s not going to turn into a lion right here in the room, is he?” She asked them.
“It’s not likely,” Bryan said. “Yet, we don’t have to hide who we are here.”
“We created this place specifically for shifters,” Tony added.
“Then why have a human level at all?”
“Who are we to discriminate? Humans need love, too.” Tony winked.
“Beings of all kinds need a place where they can be themselves. A place to unwind from the outside world,” Bryan said.
Bryan’s body stiffened. He stared off behind her with narrowed eyes. Annette turned in her seat to see what or who he was focused on. There were too many people for her to tell exactly who he was looking at. No one was looking in their direction. Most were focused on the performers coming out on stage.
“Excuse me, loves.” Bryan got up from his seat. “I’ll bring back some wine.”
Annette watched as Bryan walked toward the bar, but her view was cut off by two couples slowly making their way to their own seats. When Bryan came back into view he was talking to the tall red head, she had seen in the hallway earlier.
“Is that Mara?” Annette asked Tony, turning back to face him.
“So, you did hear us.” Tony smiled.
“Only a little,” she admitted.
“Yeah, that’s Mara,” he said, looking just as irritated as she felt with Mara’s appearance. “She’s from Nova Aurora.”
“Then, why is she here?”
“She wants Bryan to go back,” he said simply.
“Tough shit,” Annette spat out. “That shouldn’t be up to her. Clearly, Bryan chose not to be there for whatever reason.”
“He left for me,” he told her. “Their parents wanted them to marry. A family merger so to speak. They dated for a while. She just couldn’t accept that a woman alone couldn’t complete him. She wouldn’t accept a man in the same bed with them.”
“Man, she doesn’t know what she’s missing.” Annette leaned over and kissed him softly.
“You have the softest lips,” he spoke as she pulled back.
“I leave for five minutes and you’re already stealing all the kisses.” Bryan smiled at them.
“There’s plenty more where that came from. Come here and I’ll show you.”
Bryan set the wine glasses down on the table, one in front of each of them. She pulled Bryan close and pressed her lips against his. His tongue ran across her lips. Her lips parted and invited him in. All too soon, he pulled back from the kiss.
“There’s more for later, too.” She winked.
“Good to know.” Bryan kissed her cheek.
“Why is Mara here?” Tony asked. Bryan’s eyes widened, and he looked over to Annette.
“I already know about her,” she admitted. Bryan sighed and closed his eyes for a moment before opening them again.
“She said she’s here visiting her brothers. They recently moved here, and she’s staying with them for a while. We may have to put up with her from time to time.”
“I thought you had to have a membership to get in here.” Annette commented.
“Members are allowed to bring a guest. I’ll have her brothers’ membership flagged. We’ll know when they bring a guest next time,” Bryan explained.
“I was always under the impression her brothers didn’t like her much,” Tony commented.
“Half-brothers,” Bryan corrected. “As far as I know, they don’t. Things can change, I guess.”
Annette picked up her wine glass to take a sip. As she brought the glass to her lips, she felt a jerk and wine spilt down her blouse.
“Shit!” She set the glass back down on the table and looked around to see who tipped her glass. She didn’t see anyone walking by or standing near their table.
“What happened?” Tony asked as Bryan handed her a cloth napkin.
“I’m a klutz,” she said. “Where’s the restroom? I need to get cleaned up.”
“It’s over there,” Bryan pointed to a hall on the left side of the room. “Follow the hall, it’s the first door on the right.”
“Thanks, I’ll be back in a minute.” She stood and grabbed her purse.
“I’ll escort you.” Tony went to stand, but she placed her hand on his shoulder.
“I got it. I won’t be gone long.” She grabbed the cloth napkin to take with her.
She went straight to the bathroom, avoiding making eye contact with anyone. The restroom was easy enough to find. She set her purse down on the counter next to the sink and turned on the water. Wetting the corner of the napkin she dabbed at the red wine stain.
“Ugh!” She said in frustration. “This is never going to work.”
She dropped the napkin by the sink with a frustrated sigh. Gripping the bottom of her blouse, she pulled it over her head. Suddenly, a clattering echoed through the restroom. She pulled her head out of her blouse and looked around the restroom. No one was there. Her purse and all its contents laid strewn out across the floor.
“Lovely, just fucking lovely.” She threw her blouse down by the sink.
She crouched down and picked up her purse. She didn’t think she had set it that close to the edge. One by one,
she picked up her stuff and shoved it back in her purse. Her wallet made it all the way over to a stall. The restroom door opened and Annette jerked her head around to see the doorway empty. Finally retrieving everything, she stood up placing her purse farther back on the table. She turned the water off, not even in the mood to try and save her blouse. Thankfully, she had on a spaghetti strap tank top underneath. The wine only seeped through a little. It shouldn’t be too noticeable under the dim lights of the club. Finally accepting her ruined attire, she shoved her blouse in her purse and left the restroom.
On her way back to the table, she recognized Mara heading in the same direction. Irritation fueled Annette as she picked up her pace to cut Mara off. Why won’t she just go away? She stepped in front of Mara a few feet from where Bryan and Tony were enjoying the performance on stage.
“Just where do you think you’re going?” Annette put her hand out to stop Mara.
“I’m going to talk to Bryan,” Mara stated with her nose turned up.
“I’m sure you already bothered him enough for one night.”
“What do you know of it?” Mara snarled.
“I know Bryan made his choice clear, and it’s not you.”
“What you think it’s you?” Mara laughed.
“You damn right it’s me.” Annette smiled.
“Doubtful,” Mara said. “You’re just as pathetic as Tony. Why don’t you two run along and play? Let Bryan have a real woman.”
Annette had had enough from today, and she’d had enough of Mara. Usually she could keep herself in check but the moment Mara insulted Tony, that was it. Annette balled up her fist. Without batting an eye, she punched Mara square on the lip.
“Oh shit!” Tony said as he and Bryan jumped from their seats.
A big burly man wrapped his arms around Mara before she could throw a punch. Bryan grabbed Annette’s arms, holding them down by her side.
“You better watch out girlie,” Mara spat out, blood dripping from her lip. “You have no clue who you’re fucking with.”
“I see a desperate bitch, who doesn’t know when to let go.” Annette pointed to her lip, in the spot that mirrored Mara’s busted lip. “I think it’s time to let go.”
For the Love of Fire and Ice: Paranormal Dating Agency (Heads N’ Tails Series) Page 5
