Over the centuries of their combined existence, the Three P's had seduced millions of dollars from suitors who were literally dying to meet them, so they no longer pursued moneyed men to insure their survival. No, in this present incarnation, they'd taken on a godlier mission in the orphanage-although that came down to vanity, really: they believed the blood of younger, untainted victims would prolong their youthful beauty. It assuaged their occasional twinges of social conscience, spending that old blood money to feed and clothe unwanted children. And it gave them a sense of purpose, however skewed, that convinced them they had every right to indulge their more hedonistic whims, as well.
Hence, their foray into town last night-the first I'd known of in years-was for the pleasure of duping Virgil Furmeister, and to bring Billy back as their prize. I couldn't dispute their taste, for Tripplehorn was a prime morsel indeed. And right now, at midday, he was safe from their clutches.
I wondered again, however, what they'd done with him when they got him home…just how far they planned to take him…how deeply they intended to sink their shimmering teeth to keep him in their thrall-and to ruin any chance I might have at a normal relationship. They knew, of course, that if Billy lured me away from their nether nest, they'd be hard pressed to replace their link to the natural, living world-the liaison who saved them from their ancient roles as predators constantly on the hunt.
It was no pretty business, being a vampire.
And it was no easy feat, juggling my duality to maintain the luxury they now enjoyed, in these wooded hills beyond Redemption. I sensed, as I parked the buggy and settled Dory into the stable, that the delicate balance keeping the living and the undead in their rightful spheres was being tested every second. Billy Tripplehorn could well be the nugget that tipped the scales-especially with the magistrate pinning Lucy's murder on him.
I stepped through the back service entrance, pausing to get a sense of any new secrets these old walls had witnessed. While I could not listen in on others' thoughts or coax them to go my way, as the three Sisters did, I had developed a knack for knowing when things had gone awry. Pink, Perfidia and Pandora weren't really such a bloodthirsty lot-they just had to eat, like the rest of us. And their need to feed was the axis upon which our entire world rotated. When I heard a giggle and the furtive slap of flesh upon flesh, I relaxed.
A peek into the parlor revealed Cerise-completely out of uniform-clearing away cups from bedtime refreshments. In reality, she was wagging her pretty ass at Justin and his brother as she leaned over the low table. Not ones to ignore such an invitation, the blond twins moved to either side of her to fondle a pert breast with one hand while smacking her backside with the other. The dishes in her hands rattled, and her face tightened with the effort it took not to drop them, but she seemed in no hurry to stand up straight again.
Smack! went the hand on one side, punctuated by the maid's laughter, and then smack! came the answering slap from the other. I hated to interrupt their fun, but they carried on this way for hours when the Sisters weren't supervising them.
I cleared my throat to alert them to my presence. "Where's Billy?"
Cerise cocked her head, looking my direction. "Upstairs asleep, cherie."
I let out the breath I hadn't realized I was holding. "And the Sisters have fed, and are resting peacefully?"
Justin and Jeremy nodded, fixing me with the glazed look of those held in that hypnotic limbo brought on by vampires who'd spared their lives but enslaved them. It was best for all of us that our maid-who was no more French than I, but had been convinced by Pandora to behave that way-and her two cohorts lived in a trance that enabled them to pick out the Sisters' living dinner and then dispatch the remains. This saved me the horrible heartache of sorting through the children, and kept Pandora, Perfidia, and Pink in a rosy state of satiation. And when those three ladies were happy, everyone was happy!
"You are exhausted, Mademoiselle," the maid continued with a concerned pucker of her brows. "And you look-how you say? Ravished? Or ravishing?"
I chuckled in spite of my weariness. Again, her feigning ignorance of the English language came from the total conviction that she'd been imported here to serve: Cerise, like myself, had been abandoned at the orphanage, and had somehow found favor enough to survive the Sisters' feedings.
"Ravished, my dear-and then held in jail with that idiot Furmeister, until I could slip away. Billy and his new playmates owe me one hell of an explanation!"
The three domestics exchanged a knowing glance. Their fixed, polite smiles told me they'd been instructed to keep the Sisters' recent activities secret…yet another hypnotic suggestion no amount of my prying would unlock. I suspected the blond twins, Justin and Jeremy, had also been spared years ago because Perfidia so easily made them her mental slaves: her mesmerizing gaze overrode the impulsive behavior common to most young men, and they obeyed her like loyal puppies.
"I'll run your bath, Andrea," said Jeremy with a slight bow. "Downstairs, in the deeper tub."
"And I'll prepare the sauna for a hot marble massage," his twin added. Together they strode toward the back stairway, their silk sarongs whispering with each step.
Who was I to argue? Their attentions would be most therapeutic, allowing me to sleep until dusk, when I could confront the ladies who slept in a sealed chamber adjacent to the sauna-and Billy would be none the wiser. It was an unspoken rule that guests, no matter how intimate with Perfidia, Pandora, and Pink, were never to know a lower level existed beneath the house, let alone guess why their hostesses slept there rather than in the elegant bedrooms upstairs.
With an endearing smile, Cerise slipped her arm around my waist. "May I assist with your bath, Miss Andrea?" she whispered, her sparkling eyes fixed on mine. "The twins, they do a fine job, but we women know how to truly please each other, non?"
Tired as I was, her lithe body brushing against mine made for a sure aphrodisiac…an invitation to blissful release in warm, frothy water. My smile made her breath catch. The maid opened the door, her peaked breasts pointing the way down the stairs to our pleasure-the leisurely affection shared by housemates who felt no pressure to perform or impress. Indeed, the twins and Cerise, being somewhat younger, had always treated me as though I ranked only slightly below their three mistresses. While I had never requested such special treatment, I certainly wouldn't offend them by refusing their favors!
My companion closed the door behind us. The snick of the lock echoed in the darkness of the landing, and as we allowed our eyes to adjust, I felt a soft kiss on my cheek…a kiss that slipped slowly down my neck on the tip of her little tongue.
"It's been a long time, cherie," Cerise murmured against my skin. "You are always so warm, so sweet to me. I hope, in my eagerness, I don't make a fool of-"
"Shhhh, you'll be fine," I murmured, placing my finger against her dewy lips. When she closed them around my finger and began to suck, I had to chuckle. "Billy Tripplehorn has a big dick, but he'll never be as tender…as sensitive to my needs as you."
Cerise grinned, her face softened by the flickering candlelight from the sconces. "Oh, mon Dieu, it is long and thick, oui! I cannot watch him-even from the keyhole-without going wet and then wiping myself again and again. If only my fingers were as filling as-"
"Maybe the ladies will give you a turn at him someday," I teased, testing the curve of her slender hip with my hand, "but don't expect ME to share him!"
Her giggle rang around the small marble vestibule we'd entered, and the moment I reached for my top button, the maid peeled away my clothes with an eagerness that made my pulse pound. It was our custom to undress before entering the bathing chamber and sauna-and I loved the feel of the smooth Italian marble beneath my bare feet.