Twice Bitten Not Shy [Vampires of Eternity] (Siren Publishing Ménage Amour) (2 page)

“Yes, I had. I like to have more information before a first meeting, usually. It makes for a much more constructive meeting. But since that is not the case this time, I guess we’ll just have to work our way through the details today.”

“I do apologize. Roger said that you would be discreet, but Christian and I wanted to meet you first. Since we haven’t unveiled any information to the public, we are keeping a very tight cap on all the details.”

“I understand completely. But if we are to make your deadline, we have a lot of work to get done in a short period of time.”

“Yes, Gwendolyn, that is very true.” She loved the sound of her name as he said it. He made it sound so sensual as it poured from his perfect lips.

“I definitely need more sex,” she mumbled to herself.

“Excuse me, did you say something?”

“No, not at all.” But her blush gave her away.
I barely whispered that. How did he hear that?

Sebastian’s sudden hungered gaze sent a spike of lust all the way to her core. She wondered if she’d be able to get to know him beyond their business dealings.

Gwen worked to get her raging hormones back under control by focusing on the reason she was here. “So how do you know my ex-husband if you’re new in town?”

“He came highly recommended by some friends of ours. They gave us his business card and told us to look him up. We’ve been searching for just the right property for years. It seems as though we have finally found it.” He sounded almost relieved, and once again she wondered what all the secrecy was about.

They stopped at the very last door at the end of the hallway. Sebastian gave a soft rap before opening it, but he didn’t wait for acknowledgement to enter.

* * * *

Christian sat behind the desk and waited for Sebastian to bring her to him, actually them. Gwendolyn had to be the one they had searched for. The key to the puzzle they had tried to solve for over four hundred years. Their maker, Demetria, that bitch, hadn’t told them that without their true mate they would weaken and eventually die. The gradual loss of their powers was bad enough, but the pain they experienced daily was excruciating. He wasn’t sure how much longer they had before they would simply cease to exist. Sebastian had been feeling it more than he, but they both had noticed the changes. There were so many things they couldn’t do now. Things they had taken for granted since they had been turned. She had to be the one.

She’s absolutely perfect
. Sebastian’s voice popped into his head. Telepathic abilities had saved their skins quite a few times over the years. It was definitely one of the advantages of being a vampire.

Is she the one?

Wait until you see her. There is definitely something different about this one. I know we’ve been disappointed before, but even my pain eased a bit when I touched her.

Christian smiled widely. Sebastian sounded hopeful for the first time in centuries. Maybe they had finally done it, found her at last.

Even if she is the one, we still have a long road ahead of us. And not a lot of time to convince her.
Christian didn’t want Sebastian losing sight of the fact that it wasn’t enough to just find her. Sebastian was always the patient one, but lately the pain had been worse. He had tried to hide it from Christian, but they were too close, and it was obvious to Christian that they didn’t have much choice. He prayed she was the one, and that she would want to come to them and become one of them. In order for the curse to be broken, she had to fall in love with both of them and be turned by them of her own free will. What good was it being a vampire if you spent every day suffering and hoping to find the one who could make you immortal? They needed to break this curse, and they needed to do it very, very soon.

“Gwendolyn, I’d like you to meet Christian St. John.”

As Christian stood up, Gwen’s eyes widened. If Sebastian was the epitome of tall, dark, and handsome, Christian St. John was a Greek god. His shoulder-length blond hair was so pale it looked like spun platinum. He was as tall if not taller than Sebastian, and he towered over her when he stood up. She was overwhelmed by the two of them.
These guys should be on the cover of
GQ
. They are gorgeous.
Also garbed in a solid black T-shirt and jeans, which hugged his physique like a second skin, she couldn’t help but notice he was not lacking anywhere.

Caught staring for the second time since she walked through the front door, she flushed and quickly held out her hand.

“Welcome to Eternity,” Christian said as he took her proffered hand and raised it to his lips.

What is it with these guys? Don’t they realize what century we’re in?

“Thank you, Mr. St. John. This is quite a place you have here…”

Christian’s deep-chocolate eyes twinkled. “Please, call me Christian, and as far as all of this”—he gestured with his hand—“you have no idea, but you will.”

“Um, yes, I’m sure I will. I’m Gwen.” She felt uncertain and off balance. These guys were overwhelming and glorious specimens of manhood. But when they stared at her she felt like dessert.
Roger and I are going to have to have a talk. He needs to stay out of my business life.

“Now that we’ve gotten the introductions out of the way, I think we have some business to discuss, gentlemen?”

Sebastian held a chair for her at the small conference table in the corner of the office. “But of course, Gwendolyn. We really do appreciate that you had the time to meet with us today. We are on a very tight schedule, and the urgency could not be helped.”

“No problem. But since I have no idea what kind of a party you want, or for how many, or when, or where, or what, I think we need to get started.” More comfortable now that she was back in business mode, Gwen opened her laptop. While it was starting up, she glanced around at her surroundings. The carpet was plush and a deep, forest green, as were the drawn draperies. The walls were painted a pale gray, which enhanced the richness of the green. The furniture looked antique to her, but she wasn’t sure. It was all very masculine and elegant looking. Three of the walls were lined with bookcases from floor to ceiling and filled to capacity.
Quite a collection. I wonder if they have read them all?

After she took in the room, Gwen checked out her clients. They had settled into seats across from her, and she could easily gaze at them over the top of her laptop screen. Once again, she realized how absolutely quiet it was in the building, and the anxious feeling she’d experienced earlier began to return.

She noticed that they exchanged glances before Christian answered. “Roger didn’t give you any background?”

By the gods, you were not kidding. She is exquisite
, Christian sent to Sebastian.

“No, he didn’t. He only confirmed what you had already told Bree when you set up this meeting. So all I know is that you’re new in town, and you need my services to plan an opening-night party. He didn’t go into any other details. So let’s start at the beginning, shall we?”

“Excellent. We wanted it kept under wraps. But because of your relationship, we weren’t sure if he would honor our wishes.”

“Oh, he did. He can definitely keep things to himself.”

“Do you know what a fetish club is, Gwendolyn?” Sebastian seemed to watch her carefully for any reaction, but she worked hard at hiding her emotions.

“Yes, I have a general idea. Is that what this place is?” Gwen looked around once more.
What surprises do they have in store for this opening? This just gets weirder and weirder
.

“Yes, Eternity is a fetish club, and we’ll cater to many different kinds. Do you think you can help us?” Christian seemed to be trying to see inside her head as they waited for her to answer. She had the feeling that more was at stake here than planning their opening night.

“Of course,” she replied, “as long as everything you do here is legal, it doesn’t matter to me what type of business you run.”

Sebastian nodded. “Great. We plan on opening the first of the month. That gives you about a week. We know it’s not a lot of time, but you are supposed to be the best. So can you accomplish this for us?”

Gwen offered her first real grin since meeting them. “Of course. We can do anything you want. I love a challenge. Once I understand exactly what you want then I’ll take care of the rest. I can give you an update tomorrow, and then I’ll have a few other things to run by you. But mostly you just have to sit back and leave it to me.”

“Why don’t we have lunch tomorrow, and you can show us what you’re thinking?” Christian’s chocolate eyes seemed almost molten as he grinned at her.

“That works for me. Why don’t you come to the office around one, and I’ll have Brianna order something for us. Is there anything specific you’d like?”

Christian grinned. “Nope, we’re easy, aren’t we, Sebastian?”

“Under the right circumstances, yes we are.”

“All right then. Why don’t you tell me what you were thinking about? Do you want it to be formal and elegant, playful, or maybe a bit risqué since it is a fetish club?”

“Christian and I have discussed this, and what is most important to us is that we make a statement and leave our guests in awe. Eternity will be different than anything else this town has ever seen, and so it is imperative that the mystery remains until opening night.”

“Understood, and I agree. You have something very unique here, and the more secrecy we have surrounding Eternity, the more successful it will be. Do you have a guest list prepared, or do you want me to invite all the ‘who’s who’ in town?”

Sebastian handed her a printed sheet, “Actually, we had already spoken to the mayor, and he gave us a list of the town’s ‘who’s who.’ You can send the invites from this list.”

“May I have a copy of the list? This would save me some time.”

“No problem.” Christian went over to his desk and picked up a folder and brought it back to the table. He opened it and handed her several sheets of paper.

“Here is some information on the rooms for the party. We have some staff already, and more will be arriving in the next few days. All of us will be more than happy to help in any way to make sure this is a huge success. We are hoping that you’ll be here for the opening as well, Gwendolyn.”

Engrossed in the notes she was making, it took her a few seconds to realize what he had said. Looking up from the laptop, she saw those eyes on her again. She resisted the urge to squirm in her seat, and instead sat up a little straighter before answering.

“Of course. I’m always at the parties. I’ll be making sure it all goes off without a hitch. But it should definitely be a very interesting evening.”

Sebastian, she puts on a good front. She comes across so strong, but yet, I can feel her uncertainty. She is a conundrum, our Gwendolyn.

True, Christian. But I can also feel her excitement. She is definitely intrigued. We have to make sure it is a thoroughly enjoyable experience.

“But for now I’m afraid I do need to get going. I have a rather full schedule today, and I need to get back to the office.” Standing, she packed up her laptop and all the paperwork.

Sebastian answered first. “It was our pleasure to have you here today, and we look forward to our continued association.”

“Yes, we do,” Christian echoed.

“See you tomorrow, then. I think I can find my way out.”

Back at her car, Gwen couldn’t get them out of her mind. Deep blue sapphires and smoldering dark chocolate—she’d never seen eyes like that before, and it wasn’t just their gaze, either. The power that radiated from them was incredible. And then there was that damn dream. As ridiculous as all of this sounded, she couldn’t help but think that the dream and this meeting today were linked, and none of this was a coincidence.

Once Gwen had pulled away from the front of the brownstone, both men heaved a sigh of relief. Just having her in their vicinity eased their suffering, which was good and bad. Good because she had to be “the one” they had been searching for, and bad because now their pain had increased.

While they walked through the club, they carried on their mental dialogue, not that it really mattered. The only others there were also vampires and could hear every word they were saying.

Well, I would say all of our questions have been answered, wouldn’t you?
Sebastian quirked an eyebrow at Christian, and then he entered the main room of Eternity. He gazed around the room, which would soon be transformed into the main club room. Sebastian felt wonder and hope for the first time in centuries.

True, I’d have to agree. Even in the way she reacted to us. It was all I could do not to drag her into our apartments and take her to bed
.

Sebastian understood perfectly. He had felt the same way. He was surprised they both had fallen under the spell of her charms so easily. It could only mean one thing, and now they had to be very careful. They were in uncharted territory. After so many decades of searching, to finally find her was remarkable. Nothing had prepared them for how being around her would make them feel.

Sebastian, what is our next move?