Her Wanton Ways [Notorious Nephilim 4] (Siren Publishing Ménage Amour) (3 page)

She gave him a sly smile over the top of the menu. “I don’t believe I’ve ever stood anyone up.”

Oh, she was a firecracker—no doubt about it. Blade practically squirmed in his seat.

“What do you recommend?” she asked, laying aside the menu.

“A drink, for starters. You look parched.”

Blade turned around to signal a waiter and frowned when he spotted Cristian sauntering toward the table. He’d assumed Cristian would sit at one of the other tables where plenty of women hungry for more than the gourmet food waited, but he was making a beeline for them instead.

Blade finally caught a waiter’s eye and motioned him over. “What’ll you have?” he asked Joelle.

“Rum and Coke.”

“Bring me a bottle of Jim Beam,” said Blade.

“A whole bottle?” Cristian pulled out a chair and sat across from Blade, uncomfortably close to Joelle. “Planning on getting drunk?” He glanced at the waiter. “Rum and Coke, no ice.”

“That’s my drink, too,” said Joelle, smiling.

“Really?”

“I’ve liked them since high school when my friends and I would sneak booze out of the house and park behind the Discount Mart.”

“Sounds boss.”

Blade glared at Cristian. This wasn’t the first time he’d tried to muscle in on Blade’s action.

Cristian stuck out his hand. “Cristian Neville. One of the owners.”

Joelle shook his hand, and Blade watched as her eyes clouded over with surprise and confusion for a second, then softened into lust. It was the same thing, every time. All the babes fell for Cristian’s easy charm.

“Joelle Albright.”

“Pretty name, Joelle. What does it mean?”

She chuckled. “Well, it means Jehovah is God, but the reason I have it is because my father was convinced I’d be a boy, and had already chosen Joseph Ellison for my name. When I was born, they finally decided on Joelle. It’s a combination of Joseph and Ellison.”

“Ah, clever. Do you have a middle name?”

“Marie. Had to be a saint’s name, of course.”

Cristian nodded, then picked up the menu Joelle had been looking at earlier. “Have either of you ordered?”

“No,” said Blade. “Joelle had just asked me what I recommended.”

“And?”

It was on the tip of Blade’s tongue to tell Cristian he recommended a different table, but he didn’t want to appear rude or petty in front of Joelle. “The roast beef is always good.”

“Boss. That’s what I’ll have then.”

* * * *

When the waiter returned they gave their orders, but Joelle knew if she were served cardboard she’d barely notice. Whereas Blade had that all-American boy-next-door quality to his looks, Cristian’s dark hair and chiseled face reminded her of Cary Grant or Randolph Scott. His gray eyes were penetrating and deep. When he smiled, a small dimple appeared in each cheek. Joelle wanted to put her tongue into those dimples.

“When I showed Joelle to her suite earlier, I explained how all the suites have recently been renovated. You can tell Zach the money was well spent. Joelle was very impressed.” Blade leaned back with a smug smile on his face, as though he were proud of this fact.

Cristian chuckled softly. “Yeah, Blade. I’ll make sure to tell him that.” He addressed Joelle. “How do you like it here so far, Joelle?”

“I love it. The scenery is breathtaking.”

“Yes, it is.” His gazes traveled over her face, down to her cleavage, then finally back up to her eyes again. “How did you hear about us?”

Why did they both need to ask that? “An article in a magazine.”

“Really? Which one?” Cristian frowned in confusion as he cut his gaze to Blade.

“I’ve already asked her that. She’s being very secretive about it.” Blade winked at her, and Joelle decided there was no harm in telling them.

“All right, true confession time. My roommate Peggy took a trip to London last month and brought back a copy of
Health and Efficiency
—
H&E
. The article was in there, written by a former guest.”

Both men nodded. “Did our former guest have good things to say about us?” asked Blade.

“Yes, she did, which explains why I’m here.”

Cristian chuckled. “Emmett and Zach will be pleased as pie that this place is getting exposure across the Atlantic.” He turned his attention back to Joelle. “So why didn’t this roommate come with you?”

“She’s getting married in a few months.”

Cristian gave her a wicked smile and lowered his voice, leaning close. The scent of maple syrup filled Joelle’s head. “We have married guests here occasionally.”

Joelle stared into his eyes. They were such an unusual shade of gray, almost like storm clouds, but there was nothing angry or dark about them. They shone with a light all their own. “How intriguing.”

Cristian cut his gaze to her left hand. “You’re not married or engaged, are you?”

Joelle averted her gaze. She didn’t want to talk about Scott, not tonight or anytime during the next two weeks. “No, I’m not.”

“I sense an undercurrent of disgust in that answer,” said Blade.

Joelle snapped her gaze to his face. Was he a mind reader, or was she that transparent? “I was engaged, but I broke it off six months ago. He still harasses me though.”

Blade frowned. “I’m sorry to hear that. Let’s change the subject then. How about your family? Tell us about them.”

Joelle smiled. How refreshing to meet a man who didn’t ask endless questions about why, where, when, and how she’d dumped Scott. “My parents are both from large families, so holidays are always exhausting but fun. Lots of aunts, uncles, and cousins milling around.”

“Do you have a lot of siblings as well?” asked Cristian.

“No, I’m an only child. How about you?”

Cristian cut his gaze to Blade. “No siblings, just a lot of cousins, like you.”

“Oh, how many? I have twenty-two.”

“Not quite that many,” said Blade, giving Cristian a look of warning. “The twelve of us own the resort together.” What was with the warning look? Were they not supposed to talk about their family?

“How interesting. Did you inherit the property?”

Cristian opened his mouth to say something, but Blade cut him off. “Yes, we did. You mentioned New York City earlier, by the elevators. Is that where you’re from?”

“No, I’m from Chicago, but my father is an advertising executive and travels to New York, among other cities, several times a year. We have a second home in upstate New York where I stay with my parents when we travel. I love taking the train into the city with them.”

Their salads arrived, and Joelle caught the scent of maple syrup again. She tasted her food, thinking there was something that gave off that smell in the salad, but realized it was coming from Cristian. Did all the owners smell so enticing? How could a scent emanate from a person?

“How’s the food?” asked Blade.

“It’s really good.”

“We take pride in that as well.” He winked at her, and Joelle nearly dropped her fork. A wave of desire spread through her so quickly she had to sit still for a moment until it passed. She couldn’t remember being this aroused from nothing more than conversation with a man. Having two so near, and both smelling good enough to eat, was enough to drive her mad.

Cristian leaned closer and made a show out of sniffing the air. “You smell great. What is that?”

“White Shoulders,” said Blade, the smug look returning to his face.

“Blade thinks he’s a perfume connoisseur.” Cristian gave her a conspiratorial wink. “He once claimed he could walk up to every woman in any room and instantly tell what brand of perfume she was wearing.”

Joelle found it interesting that Cristian, whose looks were more classic and refined than Blade’s, was the more playful of the two. It was obvious they were both trying to impress her, and Joelle shivered with delight.

“Is that true, Blade? How fascinating. Should we walk around the room and test it out?”

He studied her face for a few seconds, as though he wasn’t sure if she was teasing him, so she leaned forward and gave him a view of her cleavage. She didn’t want him to think she was making fun of him. Her gesture must have convinced him, because he finally smiled. “No. The only woman I want to get close enough to smell tonight is you.”

His voice was deep, soft, and so sexy that a fresh flood of wetness filled Joelle’s panties. At this rate there would be a watermark on her seat cushion by the time dessert was served.

Cristian muttered something, and Blade asked him to repeat it. With a sheepish look on his face, Cristian cut his gaze to the waiter who had arrived to take away their salad plates, then pointed to Joelle’s empty glass. “Another one?” Without waiting for her to answer, he asked the waiter for two more drinks.

“Are you trying to get me drunk, Cristian?”

He gave her such a smoldering look Joelle had to bite back a moan. She clasped her hands together in her lap and swallowed hard. He touched her cheek, softly, but the effect was like tiny tongues of fire lapping all the sensitive places on her body at the same time.

“No, not really. I was hoping you’d say yes without the benefit of alcohol.”

Blade snorted and coughed, almost as if he were trying to disguise a laugh. Cristian glared at him the way a bully on the playground might stare down a challenger. Joelle could feel the tension between them, and she didn’t like it. There had to be a way to diffuse this situation.

A delicious thought occurred to her, but she didn’t dare voice it out loud. Was there a point of etiquette for such a situation? What would Emily Post say? Joelle stifled a giggle at the thought of writing to Emily Post to ask her the correct way to tell two men she wanted to have sex with them at the same time. But that’s exactly what she wanted to do. What would Scott say if he knew?

This time she did laugh as she imagined the look on Scott’s pompous, well-bred face. Blade grinned at her laughter, but Cristian pouted, as though she’d just personally insulted him.

“What’s so funny?” he asked.

It was then Joelle realized the last thing he’d said was that he hoped she’d say yes. He thought she was laughing at his statement. “Oh, Cristian, I’m sorry.” She placed a hand on his arm, squeezing it as an excuse to feel the muscles visible beneath his clothing. “I wasn’t laughing at you. Honestly. Something rather comical just popped into my head—totally unrelated to either of you—and I couldn’t contain my laughter. Forgive me?”

The pout left his face, but his eyes weren’t quite as bright as before. “Of course.”

Joelle removed her hand from his arm and sipped her drink again, holding his gaze while she did so. She’d inadvertently hurt his feelings. Guilt washed over her as she struggled to think of some way to smooth this over. Was there really any harm in letting both men know her intentions? Isn’t that why the guests came here, after all?

She drained her drink then eyed each man, one at a time. Leaning forward again, she took a deep breath before she lost her nerve. “I have a wicked idea. Would what you say if I said yes to both of you, at the same time?”

Blade’s eyes widened and then a slow grin spread across his face. Cristian looked momentarily stunned and cut his gaze to Blade. Then finally the light danced in his eyes again, and he smiled. “Fine with me.”

“I can handle it if you can,” Blade said to Cristian, not Joelle.

“You know I can handle it.”

Joelle made a sound of disgust. “Look, you two, if you’re going to continue acting like schoolboys, we can forget the whole thing.”

Cristian put up his hands. “I’m done. No more misbehaving.”

“Me, too.” Blade reached across the table and took Joelle’s hand. His fingers warmed her skin until they were almost too hot. Dear God…what would it be like to touch the rest of his body? “Joelle, thank you for this. I—we—promise that you’ll have a fantastic time.”

Joelle shivered. “Oh, I don’t doubt it, Blade.”

* * * *

After dinner, Joelle walked out of the dining room, one man on each arm, and quite drunk. She’d only forced herself to eat because she suspected she’d need her strength. When they reached the elevators, she released their arms. “Will you give me a few minutes before you come up? I’m in 5A.”

Blade smiled and brushed a lock of hair off her face. His touch sent a fresh wave of desire straight to her sopping-wet pussy. “You are planning on answering the door when we come up, right?”

Joelle giggled. “Of course, silly.” She glanced around to make sure her next comment wouldn’t be overheard. “Do you think I’m a cocktease?”

Cristian made a strangled sound in the back of his throat. “No. Not at all.”

The elevator door opened, and Joelle stepped in. She blew each man a kiss before the door closed. Once she was in her suite, she tidied up the mass of clothes she’d strewn about the bedroom while getting dressed for dinner then turned down the bed covers. This was really going to happen!

Joelle had never made love to two men at the same time, but she’d fantasized about it so often she’d begun to dream of doing so. She and Peggy had giggled as they speculated about what it would be like, drinking rum and Cokes until their musings became so raunchy they could hardly catch their breath from laughing so hard. She couldn’t wait to tell Peggy all the juicy details.

She’d once made the mistake of jokingly telling Scott he should invite his friend Jack over one night to join them, and Scott looked at her as if she were dirt stuck to the bottom of his shoe. He’d become very upset and assumed Joelle had suggested such a thing because she wasn’t satisfied with his lovemaking. It had taken a long time to convince him otherwise, but nothing between them had ever been the same again.

But Scott was history, and he wasn’t here. Joelle had a rendezvous with two handsome, sexy men who didn’t think she was dirt because she wanted to live out an erotic fantasy, and she wasn’t about to let memories of the way Scott had treated her ruin it.

A soft knock on the door sent her sprinting into the sitting room. Every nerve ending was on fire, and a delicious tingling sensation spread from her nipples to her clit. As soon as she opened the door and moved aside to let them in, Blade pulled her into his arms and hugged her tightly. His scent filled her head, and Joelle gasped as his erection pressed up against her abdomen. How big was he?