Netherworld: Drop Dead Sexy (3 page)

He smiled winningly at me. Tristan
Keith was the county commission’s only para member, and more than
one of my clients had whispered the vampire had his eyes on the
state legislature. Considering paras had only been eligible to run
for office for the last 30 years, that said something about his
ability to charm.

He said, “During the day when my body
dies I am no more than a ghost, the same as you. When my body
re-animates, my soul is drawn back to it.”

“No wonder you don’t look
vampy.”

He grinned, not looking at all like a
bloodsucker. “Disappointed?”

I relaxed. He wasn’t a fanged monster
right now, and I could deal with that. Especially since he was so
nice to look at. “I keep clear of vampires.” At his raised eyebrow
I added, “No offense. I’m sure you’re nice enough. The voters sure
like you.”

Tristan chuckled. “My kind has a
reputation, especially among those who don’t care to get to know
us.” As I mused over whether or not he’d just insulted me, he spoke
to Dan. “Does she remember anything?”

“No, she’s still in shock.”

The last of my worry about talking to a
vampire fled before a sudden spark of anger. “I’m right here. Don’t
talk about me like I’m not.”

He gave me that raised eyebrow again.
“So you are. My apologies.” Tristan bowed a little. Very courtly,
but his dismissal had offended me. Worse, I still sensed
condescension.

Incensed, I glared at both of them. Dan
looked embarrassed, but Tristan just seemed fascinated, as if I was
a dog that had suddenly started talking. I got angrier. A girl true
to her red hair, I meant for Mr. County Commissioner, vampire or
not, to realize the error of his ways.

“Just because I’m an escort doesn’t
make me an idiot.” If I’d had fangs myself, I would have bared them
at him.

Tristan finally looking chastened. “Of
course not. I didn’t mean—”

“Yes you did. It’s just like a man to
think a girl who gets along on her back is stupid, not capable of
doing anything of merit. For your information, I was my high
school’s class valedictorian.” I babbled, unable to dam up the
stream of words pouring from my mouth. “I went to college on a
scholarship, Mr. Big-shot Vampire, and I have – I had dreams that
went beyond screwing for the capital to realize those dreams, and
you should have a little compassion for someone who just died and
found out she’s not going to realize those dreams and,
and—”

Oh poop. I was breaking down, my eyes
filling with tears and tightness closing down my throat. I fought
it for all I was worth. I refused to cry. But both men had closed
in on me, stroking my hair, patting my back, making comforting
shushing noises that brought the pain ever closer to erupting in
horrified sobs. I clenched my fists and squeezed my eyes
shut.

I’m tougher than this.

On the other side of my closed eyes,
Tristan whispered, “I’m sorry Brandilynn. What happened to you is a
travesty, one I’m trying to take care of before anyone else
dies.”

His voice sounded so kind, totally
different from the calculated charm I’d heard on television news
soundbites. I opened my eyes to see both men right there, looking
down on me. Over six feet tall, Tristan towered over me and Dan. I
found myself comparing them. So different, but equally yummy. I
gratefully drowned the grief in pure, innocent lust, then thought
twice about that solution too.

Turn your motor off, Brandilynn. Have
some self-respect. You’re dead for heaven’s sake!

But flirting is as second-nature to me
as breathing. I couldn’t help myself, so I asked Tristan, “Are you
this nice when you’re a vampire?”

“No.” His handsome face turned dark,
but he stayed utterly human. “I’m very different when I return to
my body.”

“That’s too bad.” I meant it, because
my word, he was gorgeous as all get out. Looking at him made me
feel a whole lot better. I decided being horny did beat being
hysterical with grief after all.

“What can we do to make you feel
better?” Dan asked.

My Marlboro Man so shouldn’t have asked
that question because of course my mind went where it shouldn’t.
How could it not with them both standing there, looking good enough
to eat?

We needed to talk about the weather or
the season the Braves were going to have this year before I
humiliated myself. But before I could switch the tracks my naughty
brain-train ran on, Tristan flashed his devastating grin. “Ah yes,
the one thing that makes us all feel alive and well.”

The men exchanged knowing smirks and I
wished the floor would open beneath me and swallow me whole. How
embarrassing.

Tristan laughed out loud, and his voice
rolled over me, giving me shivers. Darn, this man didn’t need the
extra charm being a vampire would give him. He had charisma to
spare already.

Tracing a finger down my arm, he said,
“Don’t look so horrified, my girl. We all use sex here to affirm
our existence. The dead have nothing but time and little to fill it
with, so lovemaking is a very casual affair in the
netherworld.”

Trust a man to put the words ‘casual’
and ‘sex’ in the same speech. The glint in Dan’s eyes told me he
shared Tristan’s view. Well, I wasn’t easy, and I’d never been
cheap. Not even with two bona fide hunks like these.

Loftily I informed them, “I sleep with
a very select few of my regulars, but I never thought of myself as
a real whore. I’m quite particular.”

Tristan’s face turned sad as if
breaking terrible news. “You might not always be. Not here, not
when the centuries lie before you, dulling all with the neverending
monotony of death. Almost everyone here, no matter how prudish in
life, turns into a whore just to fill the time.”

His hand smoothed back up my arm,
curling around my shoulder, sliding to cup the back of my neck. I
felt the strength in his grip and my lower parts clenched. Oh
glory. I was in trouble here.

Dan looked back and forth between the
two of us. “Should I leave?”

Tristan answered. “It’s up to you. I
don’t mind.”

Whoa. My mind reeled as I contemplated
the idea of enjoying both men at once. Okay, maybe I was easy after
all. I’d never considered doing such a thing before … but then I’d
never been faced with two gorgeous examples of the opposite sex
willing to share before either. Were there consequences to such
actions? What’s the worst that could happen to a girl who’s already
dead?

I glanced at the elderly Victorian
woman reading her book. I swear she hadn’t moved an inch since I’d
gotten here. “She might not approve.”

Dan seemed confused for all of an
instant before he saw her too. “Miss Gertrude? She’s part of the
furniture, not a real spirit at all.”

Tristan grinned at the unmoving ghost.
“I’d forgotten she was here. She’s a residual haunt, Brandilynn. A
memory of the library, no more.”

I frowned. She sure looked real, as
real as the rest of us. “You’re sure?”

“Absolutely. She’s been in that spot,
reading that book for as long as I’ve been coming here. There’s no
soul there.”

Okay, so we weren’t going to offend the
old bird. Good enough. I could concentrate on interesting pursuits
without worrying a book would fly across the room to smack me in
the head for my harlotry.

“I’ve never been with more than one man
at a time. This is really cool with you both?”

Dan nodded. I’d noticed he was a man of
few words.

Tristan, a typical politician, liked to
talk. “If it will take some of your pain away. You’re our only
witness to the serial killer, Brandilynn. Your welfare is
paramount.” He pulled me against his chest.

“How kind of you to make such a
sacrifice.” My sarcasm got lost in the breathiness of my voice.
He’d taken control, something I’ve always been very responsive to.
Despite everything, I softened against his power.

“You’re a sub, aren’t you my
dear?”

My knees turned to water. Oh darn, oh
darn, oh darn. “Yes Sir,” I whispered, automatically identifying
him as a Dom. Out of the frying pan and into the fire. Some kinds
of trouble couldn’t be gotten out of.

“A sub?” Dan stood behind me, his hands
closing on my waist.

Tristan’s eyes never left mine. He held
me pinned to the spot with his gaze. “A submissive. Have you ever
tried BDSM, Dan?”

“Drugs were never my thing.”

Tristan barked laughter. “Oh my,
Brandilynn. We have a vanilla on our hands.”

I could hear the slow anger creeping
into Dan’s voice. “English, Tristan.”

“Don’t be insulted, my friend.
Brandilynn, tell us your kink.”

I wondered what Dan would think. Maybe
I wouldn’t have two men at once after all. Too bad. “My needs are
of the lighter variety. I like bondage and being
spanked.”

I liked other things too, but I thought
we’d start with the easy stuff.

“Mmm-hmm,” Tristan said, his eyes
evaluating me with a kind of glee. “That will work for me. I’m not
a sadist. Are you a well-behaved sub or a brat?”

“I am what my Master wishes,” I said.
My insides turned warm and melty with anticipation.

“I’m feeling like being obeyed to the
letter today. What do you think, Dan?”

“Are we talking about tying her up? Is
that the kind of thing you have going here?”

“You can tie her up if you wish. Or
simply order her around.”

“And you don’t mind that,
Brandilynn?”

Bless his heart, I heard the concern in
Dan’s voice. “May I turn around, Sir?” I asked Tristan, my head –
my entire body – already into the scene.

“Yes. Tell Dan what he needs to
know.”

I faced Dan, delighted to see he’d
pitched a tent in his pants. Maybe he had dominant tendencies. A
girl could hope.

“I am a submissive, Sir. In my case
that means I derive sexual satisfaction out of being controlled by
my Dominant. You can tie me, cuff me, or restrain me in order to
take whatever pleasure you wish from my body. If I misbehave, you
can punish me with a spanking or by tormenting me
sexually.”

“Tormenting?” The bulge in his pants
looked as if it would burst through the seams.

“Getting me excited but not allowing me
to orgasm.” I shivered. “I will obey your every order. I’m yours to
command to bring you every sexual pleasure you desire.”

“What if I want something you
don’t?”

“Then I’ll use my safeword. If I say
the word ‘sharkbait’, you know you’ve gone beyond my limits.
Everything stops immediately.”

He snorted laughter.
“Sharkbait?”

I grinned. “As in, ‘if you don’t stop
now, I’ll be on you like Jaws chomping on a naked
swimmer.’”

Tristan chimed in. “Her submission is a
gift, Dan. She’s giving you control over her, for your pleasure and
hers.”

Dan’s eyes widened. He licked his lips.
“And you’re okay with that, Brandilynn? Really?”

“Yes Sir. I’m very okay with
that.”

He blew out a long breath.
“Damn.”

I winced. I hate profanity, but I had
gone to that place in my head where it wasn’t my place to protest.
I had handed all control to the two men. Dan and I would discuss
how a man should talk around a lady after playtime
ended.

Tristan’s voice was as smooth as
butter, yet as commanding as a five-star general. “I’ll start so
you can get an idea of what it’s all about. Join in when you’re
comfortable. Brandilynn, think about being naked.”

I did as he told me, and just like that
I didn’t have a stitch of clothes on. I stood naked in front of
both men. I gasped in amazement.

Well that sure saves time and effort.
Wooeee!

“Wow,” Dan said, looking me
over.

“Indeed,” growled Tristan. “Turn around
slowly so we can have a look at you, Brandilynn.”

I obeyed, proud of the body I’d worked
so hard on. For the kind of men who hired me to decorate their
arms, I had to keep in shape. Many agonizing hours had been spent
on elliptical machines, treadmills and Nautilus torture devices to
keep myself thin enough to slip into designer gowns. The results
manifested in a sculpted rear end, a slender waistline and high,
firm breasts well into my mid-thirties.

Dan looked me over, the want in his
expression sending my stomach tumbling. His chest moved with quick
breaths. Tristan put his hands on my breasts, testing their weight.
Watching my face carefully, he pinched my nipples, his grip
tightening until a bolt of desire sizzled straight to my crotch. I
turned instantly wet with need.

His mouth crooked into a dangerous
grin. “Get on the table. Kneel with your arms behind you,” he
said.

He helped me climb onto the nearest
reading table. I went to my knees before him, legs splayed apart to
open me wide. My wrists crossed at the small of my back, and I
bowed my head before him. My gaze greedily raked the erection
straining the buttoned closure of his slacks. I wondered what he
would do, how long he would play with me before pressing his flesh
into mine. I shivered in anticipation.