Mold Me [Dungeon Masters 4] (Siren Publishing Menage Everlasting) (7 page)

Then he shook his head. She truly was unique. Undoubtedly she’d do, or say, or be wearing, something completely unexpected. Although, in her case, he was coming to believe the unexpected was her idea of normal.

“I wish she’d let us come to her apartment and bring her to the restaurant,” said Callum.

“Yes, me, too. Having separate cars is going to make it more difficult for afterward. Unless we go to her apartment. Maybe that’s her plan. It would make sense then. Although, picking her up would have made sense if she planned to invite us back in later tonight as well.”

The more he thought about it the less he understood.

“I hope it just means she’s keeping her options open. She’s really quite smart.”

That was true.

They almost drove past the restaurant. It was a tiny little storefront in the middle of a row of stores. They circled the block and came back again, looking for a parking space but there were none. The second time around the block they both noticed a sign indicating there was parking on the next block.

But there was no electric blue Chevy Malibu in the parking lot. Actually there were no electric blue cars anywhere around. As they walked back to the restaurant Lachlan said, “I hope the fuck this is the right place. I don’t like it being such a narrow entry and there not being parking right nearby.”

“Take a chill pill, Lachlan. It just gives us an absolutely guaranteed excuse to escort her home.”

Lachlan smiled. “That’s true.”

The heavy wooden door opened onto a long flight of stairs covered in a thick red rug. The walls were papered with red as well and overhead was a chandelier with so many candles he would likely go dizzy trying to count them all. “Okay, they’ve gone for ye olde worlde version of luxury, I guess,” he said very softly, knowing that Callum would hear him but ordinary people wouldn’t.

“The question is, do we wait out on the sidewalk, or should we go upstairs and wait for her there?” asked Callum.

“Likely we should go up and check. Just because we didn’t see her car that doesn’t mean she didn’t park somewhere that we didn’t look.”

They took the stairs up into the restaurant, and Lachlan was pleased to see it was normal-sized when they got up there. The walls were still red and there were at least a dozen more chandeliers, but there was no sign of Phoenix. They retreated to the sidewalk, leaning against the wall of the building and him watching mainly one way while Callum concentrated on looking in the opposite direction.

It was maybe five minutes later that he heard the distinctive clatter of high heels on concrete, at the exact moment when Callum gave a tiny sigh. Lachlan whirled around, eager to see Phoenix and what she was wearing. Then he grinned. She was walking fast in another pair of ridiculously high-heeled shoes, these ones with sexy straps around her neat ankles. But the real kicker was that she had on a coat covering all of her right down to those ankles. The weather was by no means hot, but it wasn’t really coat weather either. Both he and Callum were wearing jackets, but that was to look nice and be well mannered, not because they needed them to prevent being cold.

Either Phoenix was wearing a barely there dress under that coat, one which would display a lot of naked flesh and she might have felt cold outside, or else she was teasing them by making them wait to find out what she’d chosen to dress in. One glance at her sparkling eyes and he knew it was the latter. That didn’t mean she wasn’t wearing a hot-weather-only outfit. But it did mean she might be wearing jeans and a sweater instead. She was just the type of woman to roll her pants legs up the few inches necessary to hide them under the coat.

Damn, I love this woman. The little witch yanks my chain with everything she does and still I need her more every time I see her.

* * * *

Callum settled her in the corner of the booth and sat opposite her, beside Lachlan. He’d only had a split second to choose where to sit, but opposite her meant he could watch her all the time and still hold her hand. If he sat next to her she’d constantly have to turn her head to look at them. Opposite was the superior position.

Almost the moment they were seated, the server brought out a platter of antipasto and a bottle each of white wine and red wine. They each chose a few tiny appetizers to eat and sipped their wine. Phoenix held her fork in the air and said, “Tell me about yourselves in a few paragraphs. You first, Callum.”

Wow. She didn’t pull her punches. He hadn’t expected to be put on the spot quite so fast. Or even at all. “I was born and brought up on a large cooperative farm fifty miles from here. I came to Richmond to study and stayed on.”

“Parents, siblings, job description, significant other?” she asked.

“You do realize we’ll be asking you all these questions in a few minutes.”

She nodded, taking another bite of her food.

“Two parents and one older brother who all still live on the farm. I work from home managing some blogs and websites for animal shelters and animal rights groups. No significant other for a long time now.”

“Oh, what a wonderful job. I’ve always wanted to have a dog. A really big one. One day I’ll adopt one. When I have a house with a yard for him to play in, and enough money to buy his food. Now you, Lachlan.”

Callum relaxed and then snorted as Lachlan said, “You already know where I work and what I do. Why don’t you tell us what your job involves apart from going to conventions?”

“Not so fast. Parents, siblings, significant others. Where did you grow up?”

“I grew up on the same farm as Callum. We’ve known each other all our lives. Well, all his life. I’m two years older than him. I have a stepbrother and stepsister but I’ve only met them once or twice. My parents divorced a long time ago and my mom remarried. Dad’s still on the farm. No significant other.”

Another plate of appetizers was brought to them, this time tiny servings of marinated vegetables and a Russian salad.

Phoenix tapped the server’s arm and said, “I know the salad is a traditional dish. Tell me about it, please?”

Callum had a moment’s urge to punch the smiling server when Phoenix looked at him like that. He gripped his hands together so he wouldn’t disgrace himself. The man was just doing his job, but Callum was insanely jealous of him for a brief moment.

“It’s made of carrots, potatoes, peas, hard-boiled eggs, bologna, cucumbers pickled with salt, not with vinegar, green onions, and dill, mixed with black pepper and mayonnaise.” He bobbed his head and left. Phoenix scooped a tiny serving onto her plate and tasted it. Instead of serving himself, Callum found himself watching her. She closed her eyes and savored the flavors of the salad for a few minutes and then opened her eyes again.

“That’s really good. I like it.” She took a bigger serving and passed the bowl to Lachlan.

Callum took some as well, but he was trying to frame a question to ask her. Lachlan asked her instead. “Now, no more delaying. It’s your turn to tell us about you.”

“Oh, that’s easy. Only child of older parents. They don’t approve of my job but then they mostly have disapproved of everything I’ve ever done.” She shrugged. Callum looked hard at her but she didn’t seem to be holding hurt inside her. “Why is that?”

“I think they had unrealistic ideas of what a child would be like. They’d been together childfree for so long by the time I arrived I think the actuality didn’t match the dream.”

“Why don’t they like your job?” asked Lachlan.

“An erotic romance publisher? Get real. That’s too naughty.”

“So they’d be happy if you were on minimum wage at Starbucks, then?”

“Certainly not. I should be sitting in an office, which I am, but it would be a nice sober accountant’s office, or maybe a lawyer’s office. Somewhere I could meet a nice sober accountant, or lawyer, and, in five years’ time, give them a grandson.”

Callum tried not to laugh. “Just one grandson? Not half a dozen?”

“Good grief, no. One clean, neat, honor roll boy is all they require.”

Lachlan shook his head. “I don’t recall ever meeting a little boy who was clean and neat half an hour after he got out of the shower.”

Phoenix laughed. “I haven’t met anyone I’m ready to make a child with yet, so I’m not promising to have a kid. If I do, though, I can’t imagine it fulfilling any of their requirements any more than I did. I’d be more likely to encourage her to go climb a tree or play soccer. They used to dress me all in white when I was little.”

Callum stared at the tight purple top she was wearing. Her coat was resting on the bench beside her. “I like you better in purple.” He dropped his voice and leaned over the table. “Although naked works well for me, too.”

She laughed, their entrée was served, and the conversation became light and general. But all through the meal Callum was intensely aware of every movement Phoenix made and of how much he wanted her. He longed for the right to hold her in his arms, to claim her as his own. He’d really enjoyed sharing a meal with her and Lachlan. He’d held her hand and he’d watched her mobile face constantly changing with smiles, laughter, and grimaces. He’d learned some more about her and fallen more deeply in love with her. Nothing would ever change his opinion that she was their woman.

After their coffee was served, Lachlan took her hand and said, “May we come home with you tonight, please?”

“I’d like that, but you need to understand that I’m me and I’m not changing. I’m not a finicky neat person. My apartment isn’t dirty or a health hazard, but it’s not all prissy and polished and girly either.”

“It wouldn’t be you if it was girly, cotton-candy-pink vibrator notwithstanding,” said Callum.

She giggled. He loved that giggle. She was such a bright and lively person, always so happy and so very much alive.

The server handed her the account, she signed the credit card slip, and stood up. “Let’s go.”

“Can’t we split the bill?” asked Lachlan.

“Hell no. I invited you. If you invite me somewhere that’ll be your decision.”

“I don’t think I’ve ever been taken out by a woman before,” said Callum. But it suited Phoenix. She knew what she wanted. And besides, in the dungeon she obeyed them and that was where it really mattered.

Would she let them play a game with her tonight?

Phoenix was so excited about having the men back to her apartment, she had to consciously force herself not to drive too fast. She loved driving. She’d gotten her driver’s license the day she was old enough and had begged and borrowed every car she could to drive in the intervening few years until she’d saved up enough to buy her first car.

She indicated early as she whipped around corners, so the men could follow her, and actually stopped a couple of times when she had to make several turns in quick succession, but she still longed to go faster, to be home, to strip off, to unpeel the clothing from her men and to drag them into her bed. Damn, Lachlan looked like a bad, bad boy in all that black tonight. And Callum was the perfect foil for him in his neat business attire. Together they were a panty-drenching duo that had her almost quivering on the verge of release when they looked at her with lust as they’d done more than once this night.

She slid easily into her reserved parking space and jumped out of her car, locking it. Then she hurried down the road, waving at Lachlan, who’d stopped in the middle of the narrow road, to follow her. She took him maybe one hundred yards and pointed to an empty parking space. Lachlan pulled in then climbed out of his car. “Is this legal?” he asked.

“He works night shift. As long as you’re gone before six in the morning it’s fine. Everyone around here uses it from time to time.”

Callum looked all around. “Where are we? You turned so many corners I thought we were going to meet ourselves coming back.”

“Not to mention that I have no idea of the names of most of these roads,” added Lachlan.

“The highway is due north. It doesn’t matter if you go right or left, just keep wiggling your way north until you hit the highway. Come on.”

She led the way back to her apartment. There was an old warehouse in front, which had been turned into apartments, but her little home was accessed from the fire escape around the back. It’d been the manager’s apartment at one stage—likely before she was even born—and it was delightfully cheap because the owner had renovated it just enough to rent it out. She was allowed to decorate it however she pleased because he knew he’d have to do major repairs to get a higher rent for it, and was content to let her amuse herself painting and decorating.

She unlocked the door and stepped inside, and then stood to the side to watch their faces. Suddenly she was nervous. What if they were like her parents and hated it? Well, fuck them. She liked it and she was the only one who mattered here.

But both men were smiling. “It’s different, but it’s you,” said Lachlan, smiling at her.

“You have a real sense for colors,” said Callum.

“I bought the rugs at the market and they were too pretty just to put on the floor to get dirty,” she explained. She’d hung them on the walls, one on each of the three walls of her living room. None of them exactly matched, but they were all in varying shades of blues and greens with some soft pinks and peaches mixed among them as well.