The Naughty Angel and Her Three Very Wise Men: A Christmas Ménage (5 page)

“Yep, I knew you would look dynamite in that dress. Just wait till Marcus and Lance get a look at you. They're going have their hands full tonight trying to keep the other guys away.” Sandy giggled behind her, as she stared in the full-length mirror in her closet. Annabelle smiled and ran her hands over the black leather dress. It just barely covered her pussy, so she'd have to make sure not to bend over tonight. The top was fashioned as a halter, with two wide leather strips covering most of her breasts, leaving her cleavage exposed. “Don't you think it's a bit much for a Christmas party? I mean, even your dress isn't as exposed as mine.” She picked up the red thigh-high stockings and her black leather boots, and sat down on the bed to pull them on. “Well, it would have been, if I could have found one in my size. I swear they don't make enough size six dresses.” She pouted and sat down next to her. “I'm glad you wore your hair down and let me curl it for you. It looks so shiny and silky.” She fluffed up the back of Annabelle's hair as she slid on her boots. “You're so bad. We better get going. I told Marcus and Lance we'd meet them downstairs.” She zipped up her thigh-high black boots and followed Sandy as they left her room. Christmas music played in the distance as they made their way down the stairs. Poinsettias, garland, and mistletoe hung from every possible nook and cranny of the old mansion. Marcus and Lance stood at the bottom of the stairs. She sucked in her breath. They were devastating. Marcus wore black dress slacks with a red satin dress shirt opened at the front. The shirt stretched across his muscular chest, making her drool. Annabelle glanced at Lance. He wore black leather pants with a red leather vest and a black dress shirt underneath it. “I swear, if those two weren't your mates, or whatever they call it, I would fight you for them. You should have some pictures taken of them for your next book. Just imagine the women who would buy the book just for the cover,” Sandy whispered. “Sandy, they can hear everything you just said.” She laughed, watching as Sandy turned a bright red color. “Crap. I keep forgetting about that.” She laughed as they descended the bottom few steps.

“Ladies, you look beautiful tonight.” Lance bowed. “But if I had seen that dress before you put it on, I'm afraid I would have forbidden you to wear it tonight, Annabelle.” He growled. “Now we're going to have fight half the men in attendance to keep them from pawing you.” Annabelle smiled up at Marcus as he wrapped his arm around her and nipped her neck. “You're beautiful, but my brother is right. Tonight can't end fast enough.” His gaze smoldered as he brushed his thumb on the side of her breast.

“Marcus, don't. I'm sure it won't be that bad.” She tried to move out of his reach, but he held her tight against his side. “You're not leaving my side tonight,” he ordered as they escorted them to the old ballroom. “Didn't you know it's good for women to get some attention? You can't stop her from dancing. It's a Christmas party.” Sandy rolled her eyes at Annabelle. “You guys need to calm down. What the hell did you think we were going to be doing for the next three weeks in town? We sure weren't planning on sitting on our asses.” She laughed, but stopped as she noticed the men glaring at Annabelle. Marcus's arm tightened around her waist. “So, you were going to be with other men this weekend? Even after we told you that you were our mate?” He brought her in front of him and hugged her body to his, caging her in his arms. Annabelle glared at Sandy, but Marcus shook her. “Answer me, Annabelle,” he demanded. “I wasn't going to bring any men to my room. Please! I couldn't even get
you
out of my dreams. Now as far as dancing goes, that's a different story. I love to dance and it was a vacation. I'm sure your slaves would have kept you company.” Her tone dared him to say another word on the subject. “We'll see who dances with whom, but this conversation isn't over by far, Annabelle,” Lance snipped right back at her. Marcus didn't say a word as he escorted her into the room. Annabelle gasped as she looked at a huge Christmas tree, at least eight feet tall, covered in all Santa figurines and mistletoe. Beautiful men and women danced to the music and a long table of food covered one wall, while little tables surrounded the dance floor. “It's beautiful.” Eden walked over to them. “There you two are. I was worried you wouldn't come. Oh my, don't the two of you look hot tonight? My boys are going to have a long night.” She laughed as two men approached them.

Marcus's grip on Annabelle grew tighter once more. “Blade, Trent, nice to see you. May I introduce you to Annabelle and her friend, Sandy?” Eden smiled. The men bowed before them and one of them took Annabelle's hand, kissing it. “I hope you'll save us a dance, my lady?” His gaze scanned up her body, only to rest on her semi-exposed breasts. “Her dance card is full, and if you don't take your eyes off what's mine, I'm going to rip them out of your head,” Lance hissed, stepping in front of her.

“Boys, let's play nice, shall we? Come, Annabelle and Sandy, I want you to meet my daughter and her mate.” She grabbed onto their hands and walked them over towards the longer table where her own husband was standing, and smiled. “My dear new daughter. How do you expect my sons to do any work when they are going to be sore from fighting off every man in the room, including me?” He kissed her hand and winked at her. “I dare say, sir, I'm sure your wife would have something to say about that. As for the other men, there are plenty of beautiful women around. I'm sure they won't have to fight over me.” She laughed and gazed at the younger woman next to him. The woman frowned at Annabelle. “This is our busy time. Couldn't you have worn something less revealing?” she snapped. “My brothers don't need this right now.”

“Trish, that's enough! Apologize right now to Annabelle,” Eden snapped, and wrapped her arm around her. “Just ignore her. She is very protective of her brothers, I'm afraid.” “I can change into a different outfit. I didn't mean to upset anyone.” Annabelle pulled back and bumped into a hard chest. She looked up to see Lance behind her. His strong arms wrapped around her and he hugged her. “You're fine, sweetie. Our little sister was way out of line.” His gaze hardened and he frowned at his sister.

“Please, Lance, I don't want to stir up trouble.” Annabelle sighed and she tried to relax, but her emotions were all over the place. Right now, all she wanted to do was crawl into a corner and cry. “Come on, Annabelle, let's go get some food.” Sandy dragged her away from everyone and they made their way towards the table. “I swear, if one more member of that family says another mean thing to you, I'm going to attack them. I don't give a shit about my job or the fact they could wipe the floor with me. Now stop worrying about it and eat. You have a baby to think about.” She handed her a plate and silverware. “Look, they have your favorite, deviled eggs.” Annabelle wrapped her arms around Sandy, and squeezed. “Thanks, Sandy, I needed that. I don't know what I'd do without you.” She pulled back and wiped the few tears that had spilled out. “Now stop that. We are going to have a good time tonight. We'll just sit at our own little table and ignore the little witch. See, even her name almost rhymes with witch, Trish.” She laughed and picked up a carrot stick, biting into it. “Stop, Sandy. She was just trying to protect her brothers. You'd do the same.” Annabelle scooped three deviled eggs onto her plate, along with roast beef, ham, twice-baked potatoes, and a roll. “Fine, but she'd better not insult you again.” She pouted, piling the food on her plate.

Goosebumps broke out on Annabelle's arms and she could have sworn the hair on the back of her neck stood straight up. Right behind them stood Trish, her fists at her side. Her face was beet red as she glared at both of them. “I was ordered over here to apologize, but I'm warning you again, if you hurt my brothers or get in my way, I'll rip your throat out. I don't care if you're carrying a child,” she hissed at Annabelle. Annabelle trembled with anger. She had never been so pissed off. It was one thing to threaten her, but an innocent child was another. She handed her plate to Sandy and stepped into Trish's personal space until they were nose to nose. “You can say whatever you want to me, but if you ever threaten my child again, I'll rip your heart out so fast you won't know what's coming. I don't care if you're their precious sister or not. Don't think that just because I'm human, I don't know how to take care of myself, because you'd be wrong. I have three brothers who were all in Marines Special Ops and believe me, they trained me well enough to defend myself, so back off, princess,” she hissed, not caring that Marcus and Lance stood behind her. She gazed at Marcus, then at Lance. “Sandy, we're leaving. I'd rather fight a fucking demon, than be worried if she's going to attack me when my back is turned.” She grabbed Sandy's arm and started to pull her away. Nicholas suddenly appeared beside them. “You're not going anywhere, Annabelle. My daughter will leave. This is your home now, and she has stepped way over the line. Oliver, take your mate back home and keep her there until she can apologize properly and be decent to her new sister. And Trish, be warned that if anyone threatens a child, they are not part of my family.” Nicholas pushed his daughter towards her mate. Annabelle sighed. “I knew I should have never come here.” She grabbed her plate from Sandy and was going to go sit down, when Nicholas grabbed onto her arm, stopping her. “You are our daughter now and you carry our grandchild. I won't risk your safety or the child's. I blame my daughter for this, but it was not wise to put yourself at risk knowing she is much stronger and faster than you. I don't know what is wrong with her, and I'll keep her away until you three can find your own place, but I won't have you put yourself in danger again. Is that understood, young lady?” Nicholas asked. Annabelle smiled. He sounded just like her father. “Yes, sir. Sorry, sir.” “Hmm, for some reason I'm having a hard time believing you when you're smiling.” He lifted her chin with his fingers; she could have sworn there was a twinkle in his eyes. “I was just thinking of my father. You sounded just like him.” She grinned at him. “Thank you. I'll take that as a compliment. Now, I don't know where the two of you were going, but our table is this way.” He escorted her to the long table. Sandy giggled next to her, drawing his attention. “I wouldn't be giggling over there, young lady. The same goes for you, too. I've informed both of your parents that you are here for the next three weeks and of the threat you are under. Sandy, your father has given me permission to do anything necessary to keep you safe. Do you get my drift?” “Yes, sir. Sorry, sir.” Sandy ducked her head. “Excuse me. Were you saying something?” Nicholas cupped his ear. “No, sir. Well, yes, sir. I was cussing out my father, sir. He had no right. I've been on my own now for more than six years.” She pouted. “I'm well aware of that, but he knows of the dangers ahead for you two and he only wants the best for you. As for you, Annabelle…” He pointed at two chairs and they sat down as he faced them. “Since your parents are going on the cruise with Sandy's parents, your brothers have insisted on being here to help with protecting you. They will be here tomorrow. I've had the last three bedrooms down the hall from yours set up for them.” Annabelle was stunned. Her brothers were coming here? They never left the mountains unless it was on direct orders from the military. “Crap, do you know what you've done? They're going to raise holy hell around here.” She shook her head. “Annabelle, watch your mouth,” Lance ordered, walking up to them. She looked up at him, and glared back. “You won't be saying that when they get here. Do you think for one minute they're going to let you share a room with me? They're going to want your blood for getting me pregnant as it is.” Lance laughed, as did Marcus. “Honey, don't worry about it,” Marcus said. “We'll deal with them. And no one is taking you out of our bed.” She grabbed a deviled egg from her plate and stuffed her mouth. If she didn't, she knew she would end up over the knee of one of them even though that did have some merit. The men walked away from the table to fetch their food. She glared at their backs. “You do know this is going to totally suck,” Sandy said. “With your brothers here and the way Nicholas acts towards us, we're not going to be able to do shit. And here I thought I would get lucky tonight. Damn it! Some freaking vacation. Locked up and can't do crap.” She slumped in her chair, shoveling a piece of ham into her mouth. Yep, their vacation was officially over. Hell, they couldn't even go shopping for Christmas presents. “What the hell are we going to do about Christmas? We can't even go shopping. I so wanted to check out that new store next to the hotel. You know the one with all those odds and ends. They were bound to have something for my dad and brothers, who have everything.” Annabelle sighed. “Well, at least I have your present packed away. If I had my laptop, I could work, but I don't even know if the jerk destroyed that.” She pushed her plate away and gazed out at the floor. People were laughing, eating, and dancing all around them. “I need fresh air. Come on, Sandy, let's go for a walk outside. “ She pulled her hand and headed towards the door when two men stepped in front of them, barring their exit. “Umm, excuse me, but we need to get through here.” Annabelle placed her hands on her hips and frowned at them. “Sorry, miss, but we have orders not to let you by unless one of your mates is with you,” the one guard said. “What if I have to go to the bathroom? Do I need permission from them to do that?” she hissed. He looked at his partner. “No, ma'am. There is a restroom over there in the corner of the room.” She turned and scanned the room for her mates. “One…two…” “No, Annabelle, you can't start anything here. We're guests.” Sandy stepped in front of her. She gazed at her friend. “I need some air, Sandy. Everything is closing in on me. All I wanted to do was walk, so I could think. Hell, I'm whining and I hate when I do that. Come on. Let's go back to our seats and sit like good little girls.” Annabelle just sat down when Eden came up and frowned at her. “Why aren't you eating? You need to keep up your strength.” She sat down beside her. “Not really that hungry anymore. I guess everything that has happened is finally catching up with me.” She smiled at her. “I'm really sorry about your daughter, Eden. I don't know what I did to set her off.” “I'm afraid it has nothing to do with you. She's been acting out lately and we have no idea what's wrong, so don't worry about it. I wanted to show you something I think will help pass the time here, if you want. It's my little haven away from the alpha males. I want both of you to use it while you're here.” Eden smiled and stood. “I'm afraid we'll have to see it another time. I'm not allowed to leave this room. I've already tried to take a walk earlier, but it seems your sons don't want me leaving, but maybe tomorrow.” She sighed and took a sip of her water. “They what? We have guards all over the place. There's no reason for you to be trapped in here. Come on, we're going for that walk. Let them stop me,” she snapped and pulled her up. “I swear they are just like their father.” “Who's like me?” Nicholas appeared next to her and stared at her. “Your sons. Now, out of my way. I'm taking my daughter for a walk. She needs some fresh air.” Eden tried to move around him, but he grabbed her and stopped her. “We have guards at the door for a reason. She will not be patrolling around the yards at night time unless one of us is with her. You know demons can materialize anywhere,” he snapped. “Damn it, Nicholas. She's not our prisoner, so stop treating her like one. Now move. There are plenty of guards around.” Nicholas glanced behind them as Marcus and Lance walked up to them with plates in their hands. “Marcus, you and Lance take Annabelle for a walk in the gardens. I need a private minute with your mother,” he ordered, and dragged Eden out of the room. Annabelle stared up at Marcus, and he frowned at her. “What the hell was all that about?” “About your stupid guards not letting us take a walk. Your mother found out and, well, she's not too happy about it, as you saw.” “Annabelle, those men are there to protect you and our child.” He sighed and put his plate down. “Come on, I'll take you for your walk.” He reached for her hand, but she backed away. “No, it's okay. Eat your food before it gets cold. We can go later.” She sat down and picked at her food when her cell phone buzzed in her pocket. “Damn it. Why didn't I just leave this thing in the room?” “Hello.” She got up and walked towards the bathroom where it was somewhere quieter, but stopped halfway there. “Dave, just leave it alone!” She shook as she hung up the phone, and ran to the bathroom. She flung open the door and had just made it to the toilet when once again she lost everything she had eaten. The door creaked open and she knew it was one of her men. “I'm fine. Just leave me alone.” She grabbed some toilet paper and wiped her mouth. “I don't know what's going on. Is it normal to be so sick when you're only pregnant a week?”