STORY EXCERPT

Layla Ricard. Weird since the day she was born.

“How is your condition today?”

“Could be better,” Layla said, looking at the night sky as Teresa wheeled her toward the front door of the apartment building. She waited while Teresa turned the chair to the side and entered the code. After the six beeps, the door clacked opened. The faint clicking sound of Teresa’s gun holster from behind drew Layla’s attention, and she looked into the front hall. “Stand down, Tessa.”

“Do you know them, Miss Ricard?” Teresa asked.

Layla went quiet, her tired mind not yet catching up to what she was seeing.

Three men stood by the stairs and the elevator, across the hall. One of them was Chester Thatcher, the man who had recently agreed to work at her agency after refusing the first time. He was due to begin in a couple of days. Their previous encounters had been strange. He’d avoided her, yet seemed intent on getting closer somehow. The first time she had seen him, her own reaction had surprised her.

“Don’t even try it,” the blond one said and grabbed Chester by the shirt collar so he wouldn’t leave.

Layla had only seen the second man from a distance before and had experienced the same reaction. His light blond hair, eyebrows and eyelashes of the same color, and light green eyes almost blended with his fair skin.

She switched her attention to the third man next to them, who looked straight at her. She’d never seen him before. Her eyes widened as her mind flared up, just like it had happened when she’d met Chester and seen the blond man. Layla’s heart pounded. Who were they?

“Miss Ricard, do you know them?” Teresa asked again.

“Yes. Can you go wait upstairs?” Layla said, and Teresa wheeled her into the building before walking past her. The large door closed behind them.

With Teresa in the elevator, Layla remained still. Chester wore dark jeans, and a white dress shirt under his jacket. The blond had black pants, a dark green shirt under his dark brown jacket. The third one wore a semi-formal all-black outfit. The three of them were over six feet tall, or around seven. She couldn’t gauge them properly from a seated position while her mind was in disarray.

None of them seemed to present a threat to her well-being. But her mind didn’t allow her to process fully what she was seeing. So far, she’d encountered Chester sporadically and the blond man once. She snapped out of her dazed state. “How do you know this place and how did you get in?”

The man with short dark hair and dark eyes approached her. His demeanor looked dignified, his back straight, almost as royalty. “I’m Inter—Eric Grave. We would like to speak with you, if you have time,” he said, his tone deep and serious.

She had to crane her head to look up at him. Her heart continued to pound. “About what? I just returned from work and you didn’t schedule a meeting.”

“We’ve been meaning to see you for quite a while now,” Eric said. He peered down at her as if he had a lot to say, yet held back.

Layla leaned to the side on her chair and looked at the other two. Chester kept pushing at the blond man to let him go. “Why is he doing that?” she asked quietly. “Did you and the blond guy kidnap him?”

Eric stood in the way. “Please don’t let that bother you. He wants to be here, he just doesn’t know how yet.”

ADULT EXCERPT

“You seem more excited about us being there than being with you,” Eric said with a chuckle. He leaned across the table and held Layla’s hand. “It’s a great idea, Layla. Chester told us what you discussed earlier, and that’s something I wanted to talk to you about. You’ve been a bit detached from us. We thought it was best to give you time to adjust to everything.” 

She gazed at him and looked down at his hand around hers. “That’s true. It takes me a while to adjust sometimes. The vampires exist thing, then mates, and I’m back to not needing a wheelchair. Unfortunately, I spend too much time in my own mind and withdraw to think. I hope this doesn’t bother you too much—I’m back, though, so to speak.” 

Eric kissed the back of her hand. “Not at all. I’d rather you do that than to rush into anything.” 

Lester moved closer over the table and kissed her lips. “Are you hungry right now? Can you wait for a couple of hours?” 

“We’ll have to reheat the food, then. Do you need to go somewhere?” Layla asked. 

“To your bedroom,” Lester said. 

Layla stared, her heart pounding. She looked at Eric and at Chester. They didn’t say a word. Her face got so hot that she had to put the back of her cold hands on her cheeks. They had been kissing for over a week, yet never took it this far. After some thought, she nodded. 

Lester stood and picked her up, taking her by surprise. He carried her to the only room they hadn’t entered until now, her bedroom. “Is this it?” he mumbled to himself and looked around through the darkness. He switched the lights on. “You should be able to see us.” 

She couldn’t calm her pounding heart as he carried her to bed. He sat her on it. Eric and Chester walked into the bedroom. “That’s the bookshelf I talked about,” she said quietly and pointed across the room. 

“An elephant figurine with three eyes and carrying an umbrella isn’t strange to a vampire,” Eric said. 

Layla looked down when Eric crouched in front of her. Lester was already taking his shirt off. Instead of doing the same, Chester sat next to her on the bed, moving his hand toward her as if he didn’t know where to begin. 

“I was in slumber for six hundred years and busy for a while before that. You have to tell me if I exhaust you tonight,” Eric said and pulled Layla’s pants off. 

Not knowing where to look, Layla glanced at each of them. “You don’t have to be too careful. I know you won’t go overboard,” she said quietly. 

Chester held her sides and sat her in his lap, facing him. “This is awkward for me as well. It’s not as if I’ve been with several people throughout my long life. Work has been keeping me busy,” he said. 

Layla gazed into his blue eyes. Before she could say anything, he kissed her lips. She rested her hands on the mounds of his chest when he pulled her to sit on his bulging crotch. Someone kissing the side of her neck made her shudder. Chester held her jaw to continue kissing her, spreading his thighs so she would press her pussy against his crotch. 

“We brought these, just in case,” Eric said. He left a condom next to Chester and put one on his own throbbing prick. 

She didn’t know how to handle their lust. Lester slid his hand down her abdomen from behind and into her underwear until he roamed his fingers over her clit. Pleasure jolted through her body. He rubbed her clit while spreading kisses on each side of her neck. She let out moans while they remained quiet. 

“More foreplay?” Lester asked, and Layla shook her head. He pushed one of his fingers into her wet slit and thrust it in. “You’re as eager as we are.” 

In a daze, Layla leaned back against Lester. With one of his arms wrapped around her waist, he now pumped two of his fingers into her pussy. She watched with half-closed eyes as Chester put a condom on between them. Chester, Eric, and Lester were robust, towering men, and she was five-feet-six. They were big in every way to her. 

Lester moved Layla’s underwear aside as he continued to tease her clit. “Can I have a sip?” he asked close to Layla’s ear and kissed the curve of her neck. 

Layla gripped Chester’s shirt as he filled her pussy with his cock. “Yes,” she uttered, and Lester bit into her neck. Intense pleasure spread throughout her body and she came hard, shaking between Chester and Lester. 

Chester pulled her closer onto his prick by her hips. “Ferret, careful. She might faint. You’re still a Noble.” 

Lester licked at the bite until it healed. “That’s why I only asked for a sip.” He put his hands over Chester’s on Layla’s hips and moved her up and down. “Focus on what you should be doing instead.” 

Moaning through her clenched teeth, Layla clenched her hands on Lester’s forearms. He now lifted her and dropped her on Chester’s cock over and over again. Chester’s cock rubbed her inside in a way that almost made her come again. She opened her eyes a tad and gazed at Chester’s blue eyes. He focused on his dick thrusting into her twitching pussy. 

Layla noticed Eric wasn’t around. She looked to her left and saw him stroking his own prick while he watched them. His hand was already soaked. She swallowed hard when his spunk shot up and landed on his hand and clothes in long ropes, his breathing becoming strained. “Where are you going?” she asked quietly once he stood. 

“Clean myself up before I come back. I’m not done yet,” Eric said on his way to the bathroom.