Beyond the Edge Read online

  Anando drew her closer still. He’d never let anything happen to her.

  “The music will change soon enough,” he replied. “And you looked like you needed a hug.”

  Her arms tightened around his neck, and she pressed her face to the crook of his shoulder. Her sigh was warm against his cool skin.

  Damn. He shouldn’t have reminded her that she wasn’t feeling great. Or at least, not so soon. They’d have to talk about it, sooner or later, but first she needed to relax a little. Picking her up, he twirled her around, drawing a surprised giggle from her lips. He could barely hear it over the music, but it still wrapped around him, warm and soft.

  For the next few minutes, they continued to rock to their own beat in the middle of the dance floor, sometimes jostled by over-enthusiastic dancers. At last, the DJ switched to slower songs, and their dancing matched the rest of the crowd’s.

  Slipping a finger under Virginia’s chin, Anando tilted her face up. He looked into her eyes and gave her his softest smile, wishing he could take away her worries. She smiled back and leaned in closer, pressing her mouth to his.

  As often as they kissed, he doubted he’d ever tire of how soft her lips were, how gentle her touch was at first, as tentative as when they had shared their very first kiss what seemed like an entire lifetime ago. He let her lead, knowing that this simple caress of lips on lips awakened the same fire in her as it did in him and that she wouldn’t be able to resist her own desire for long.

  Indeed, after a beat or two, she pressed harder against his lips, her tongue sliding into his mouth as though she owned it—owned him. He threaded his fingers through her hair and angled her head to deepen the kiss a little more. She moaned into his mouth, a quiet vibration that spread through him as quickly as wildfire.

  She wound her arms around his torso and pressed her breasts against his chest. Anando dropped both his hands to her ass and pulled it forward, trapping his cock between them. She moaned again when one of his hands sought the hem of her dress.

  Her tongue stroked against his teeth until he extended his fangs the way she wanted. She pricked her tongue on the point of one, offering him the taste of her blood and stroking the flames of his desire even more.

  Nothing mattered at that moment but her warmth against him, the intensity of their kiss, and how much Anando wanted her, needed her. The rest of the world did not exist as far as he was concerned.

  Not until a hand tapped his shoulder while a woman’s voice said, very close and full of amusement, “You might want to cool it down before security decides you two are a fire hazard.”

  Virginia pulled back as Anando opened his eyes. They both turned to Lisa, standing at their side, her eyes gleaming with mirth.

  “Come on up,” she says. “Drinks are on me. There’s something I want to ask you.”

  She winked before turning away and sashaying through the crowd, her hair bouncing on her shoulders. She didn’t look back to see if they were following.

  Focusing on Virginia again, Anando caressed her cheek with the back of his fingers. Her skin seemed even paler than usual against his own coffee skin. She smiled a little absently.

  “Do you want to talk to her?” he asked. “We don’t have to. We could just go home.”

  He didn’t know what Lisa wanted to ask them, but his best guess was that it involved sex, and in the mood Virginia was in, it might not be the best time for a suggestion like that. They’d talked about joining Leo, Lisa, and Brett for another night of games, but it had been months, almost a year since the first time, and they had yet to do more than talk about it.

  “A drink sounds good,” Virginia said nonetheless. “And it’d be rude if we didn’t go.” She took his hand and entwined their fingers together. “Lead the way?”

  He leaned in to caress her mouth with his own, then opened a path through the dancers toward the staircase. Her fingers remained woven with his until they reached the first floor, and even then she only let go to allow him to draw a chair for her at Lisa’s table. He sat on Virginia’s right and took her hand again on the table. Across from him, Lisa offered a conspiratorial grin.

  “I ordered for all of us, I hope you don’t mind. I want to be done before Brett sees us on those damn cameras and decides to come down.”

  She was finishing when Leo approached the table, and Anando threw Virginia a look. She seemed as confused as he was. Why wouldn’t Lisa want Brett to join them?

  Smiling, Leo said hello as he set a champagne flute in front of all three of them, then sat, a fourth one in hand.

  “Champagne?” Virginia said. “What’s the occasion?”

  Lisa peered over Anando’s shoulder—to the back of the room, he realized, where a private door led to the apartment upstairs. Was she really keeping an eye out for Brett?

  “The occasion is Brett’s birthday,” she said. “In two weeks, on the sixth. We want to throw him a big party—”

  “—but he’s already suspicious,” Leo continued her thought for her. “So we can’t organize it here.”

  “And a restaurant or party hall feels a bit impersonal. So we were wondering if maybe you’d care to host the party for us. He’ll never suspect that.”

  Lisa finished with a grin that made it all too clear how happy she was about that idea. She was looking at Anando, waiting for him to reply, but he tilted his head toward Virginia. “Ask the lady of the house. It’s up to her.”

  Virginia’s fingers tightened over his. She looked thoughtful as her gaze drifted from the glass in front of her to Leo and finally Lisa.

  “When you say ‘party,’” she said, “do you mean an actual party with guests or… the other kind of party?”

  Even now, after all this time, all that had happened—after she’d been in the same bed as all three people sitting with her at that table—Virginia could still blush. It was rather adorable, and Anando couldn’t help leaning toward her and kissing her cheek. She flashed him an impish smile completely at odds with her blushing.

  “We meant the regular kind of party,” Leo replied, flames lightening his eyes. “Twenty to thirty guests. We’d take care of the food and drinks, of course. But if you two are up for an after-party when the guests are gone…”

  Virginia held Leo’s gaze until his voice trailed off, then she looked at Anando, her cheeks brighter still, but embarrassment wasn’t the only thing warming her.

  “Like I told Lisa,” Anando said, trying to keep his tone neutral but unable to suppress a grin, “it’s up to you.”

  She clucked her tongue. “That’s not how it works,” she reminded him. “You have a say in it, too.”

  Anando shrugged. “You know I’m up for it.”

  She snickered, as did Lisa.

  “No pun intended,” he belatedly added.

  It was nice to see a smile back on Virginia’s lips. It widened a little more when she asked Lisa, “Are we going for a specific theme or a plain old birthday party?”

  The two of them figured out the details while Leo, emptying his glass in one long gulp, returned behind the bar. As Anando sipped his champagne, it occurred to him that Virginia hadn’t said whether she was agreeing to a simple party or an extended one. Somehow, he didn’t think any of them had the slightest doubt about it.

  * * * *

  As they left the club, Virginia could feel Anando’s eyes following her every movement. She didn’t mind; she enjoyed being the object of his undivided attention. At that moment, though, his scrutiny meant more than an appreciation of her body, she was sure of it. She waited until he’d driven the car out of the parking lot then asked, “Something wrong?”

  He glanced at her before looking at the road again. “Wrong? Of course not.”

  It didn’t sound like a lie—not that she knew what a lie sounded like, coming from Anando’s lips—but it didn’t sound like the entire truth, either. She tugged on her seatbelt, loosening it a little so she could lean against his arm. He slid it behind her and drew her even closer against him,
holding her tight. Automatic transmission was a beautiful thing.

  “Are you sure you’re okay with this?” she asked. Her hand rested on his knee and squeezed. “You’ve been very quiet since I agreed.”

  “Yes, I am quite sure that I’ll be fine with whatever happens at this party.”

  He dropped a kiss to the top of her head, but Virginia wasn’t satisfied.

  “Why so quiet, then?” she insisted.

  For a little while, Anando remained silent. Virginia waited, stroking his knee, then his leg, climbing higher up his thigh. His legs spread further apart to encourage her, but his words, on the other hand, chilled her.

  “You were upset earlier. I guess… I was a little surprised planning that party distracted you so well.”

  Closing her eyes, Virginia sighed. It had distracted her, indeed. So well that she had forgotten all about her mother’s phone call.

  “I shouldn’t have brought it up again,” Anando said, sounding apologetic. “I’m sorry.”

  “No, don’t.” She sighed again. She’d sighed too much since hanging up that call. “I told you we’d talk about it, and we didn’t.”

  “We don’t have to.”

  He meant that; she was sure of it. If she asked him to drop the subject, he would, and never mention it again—or at least, not until Virginia received another call that left her in a funk. She might as well get it off her chest now.

  “My cousin Alli is getting married,” she said, trying not to sigh. “She’s five years younger than me. She’s the last of my cousins starting a family.”

  She could feel him tense against her and hurried to continue.

  “I’m happy for her. That’s not why I was upset.” She tried her best to keep her voice level, but even so a light tremor crept in. “My mother just went on and on about me not being married and how she wants to plan my wedding and have grandkids before she dies.”

  The car stopped, and she realized they had arrived home. Lost in her thoughts, she hadn’t recognized what she could see of the street.

  “Virginia,” Anando started, the word no louder than a whisper and already full of an apology she didn’t want or need.

  Sitting up, she covered his mouth with her hand.

  “No. That’s not why I was upset, either.” She took a deep breath and steeled herself. “I had the perfect occasion to finally tell her about you. To tell her I’m happy with what I have right now and I wouldn’t change it for anything in the world. And I’m upset because I didn’t. I was too scared about what she’d say when she heard you were a vampire. What my dad would say. My whole family.”

  She could feel the tears rising again, and it angered her that she could be so weak. She’d never considered herself a coward, and she had never apologized for her choices to anyone.

  On the contrary, ever since they had met, Anando had showed her how strong she was: adventurous, determined. Why did that only apply to their bedroom life? Why couldn’t she come clean and tell her family about the man who made her so happy? She wasn’t ashamed about any of it, and least of all Anando.

  Anando kissed her fingers, then took her hand and drew it away from his mouth.

  “You don’t have to tell them if you don’t want to,” he murmured. “It doesn’t change what we have. I know you love me.”

  “I do,” she said, all her conviction within those words. “But it’s been a year since I moved in, and I haven’t even told them about that. I’m happy, and I haven’t told them that, either. They’re my family. I want them to meet you. And like you. And understand that the big white wedding and half-dozen grandkids are not gonna happen, and they should get used to the idea.”

  Also, and she couldn’t bring herself to say it, the last thing she wanted was for Anando to believe she was keeping him a secret on purpose.

  “Tell me something,” Anando said. He was still holding her hand and stroking the back of it with his thumb. “Do they have to know I’m a vampire?”

  Virginia tried not to frown. “You want me to lie to them?”

  He shook his head. “Not lie. Just… don’t give them more information than they need. She’s asking about a wedding and grandkids? Tell her I haven’t asked you to marry me yet, which is true, and that I can’t father children, which is also true.”

  She couldn’t help but let out a weak laugh. “You mean, blame it all on you?”

  He shrugged. “I don’t mind. As long as you’re happy, I don’t care what anyone else knows about me or thinks.”

  The motion light, which had turned on when Anando had pulled the car up the driveway, timed out. In the darkness, Virginia couldn’t make out Anando’s strong features or soft smile. She didn’t need to look at him, though, or see his eyes to know he meant it. And that was why she wanted—needed—her parents to know him. All of him. So they would see what she saw in him. So they would realize there was no one else in the world who could love her as he did, who could make her as happy as he did.

  Raising her free hand to his face, she cupped his cheek and drew him to her for a kiss.

  Next time, she promised herself. She would tell them about Anando next time.

  CHAPTER 3

  Most mornings, Brett was first out of bed. Leo was only quicker to rise when he had trouble sleeping. As for Lisa, she was of the firm and oft-repeated opinion that any time before noon was much too early to be up—although it never seemed to be too early for lovemaking.

  That didn’t mean that Brett always stayed out of bed once he was awake. Both his lovers could be very convincing about getting him to come back for a few minutes, or even a few hours. The latter didn’t happen all that often. Brett usually had too much to do down in the office.

  On the morning of his birthday, two things were different. For one, he’d made sure he didn’t have any deliveries, appointments, phone calls, or urgent paperwork on his schedule so that when Lisa and Leo insisted he stay and celebrate with them as he was sure they would, he wouldn’t have to say no. For the other—and that part was unexpected—he was alone in bed.

  This unpleasant fact gave him pause. He couldn’t remember the last time he’d woken alone. With two lovers, it didn’t happen often—or even at all. That it was happening on his birthday of all days…

  He’d asked them not to plan anything special, but he hadn’t realized they would take it this far.

  Feeling more than a little grumpy, he pulled himself out of bed and slipped on a robe, leaving the belt hanging loose. After a quick stop in the bathroom, he followed a strange, burnt smell to the kitchen, and could hardly believe his eyes when he found both of his lovers in front of the stove. Lisa was wearing a black negligee that failed to fully cover her ass, and Leo wore nothing more than boxers. Brett bit his lip rather than comment on how that wasn’t suitable attire for cooking. They’d learn soon enough when they got splattered with whatever they were burning.

  He’d heard some of his friends say how much they enjoyed cooking together. Daisy and her husband had even taken cooking classes together. He supposed it was fun, but he’d never know for himself. Lisa was hopeless in the kitchen. Leo was a little better: his attempts only turned out inedible seven times out of ten. Brett knew it for a fact. He had counted.

  “It’s burning,” Lisa hissed, bumping her shoulder against Leo’s.

  Judging from Leo’s movements, he was stirring something in a pan or skillet; judging from the smoke, Lisa was right.

  “I told you it was too hot,” he replied, a heavy sigh in his words.

  They were so focused on what they were doing—burning—that they didn’t even notice Brett, not until he pulled a chair away from the table and climbed onto it. They both turned toward him then, the same confused expression on their faces.

  “What are you—” Lisa started, but the strident beeping of the smoke detector right above Brett interrupted her.

  Brett raised his arm and pressed the button on the detector to stop the beeping.

  “You might want to take what
ever it is off the heat,” he said, indicating the stove with a vague gesture. “Or it’s just going to start beeping again.”

  With a rueful grin, Leo picked up the skillet and dumped the blackened remnants of what might have once been bacon straight into the trash. As Brett had expected, the residual smoke triggered the alarm a second time. He shut it off again before climbing off the chair.

  “Happy birthday to me,” he said, deadpan.

  Lisa and Leo looked at each other and burst out laughing. Brett couldn’t keep a smile from his lips.

  “Happy birthday,” Lisa said, grinning. She stepped up to him, threw her arms around his neck, and leaned in for a quick peck. “Why don’t you go back to bed and we’ll bring you breakfast?”

  The proposition would have been a lot more appealing without the smell of burnt food filling the kitchen. Before Brett could express his doubts, however, Leo tutted.

  “I have a better idea.”

  One arm wrapped around Lisa, Brett watched Leo leave the kitchenette with a menu in hand he had pulled from the drawer by the fridge. He went to the coffee table, where Brett had left his phone the previous night, and started dialing.

  “They’re closed at this hour.” Brett pointed out, having recognized the leather folder as the menu of his favorite restaurant.

  It wasn’t actually a take-out menu. That restaurant, one of the best in town, didn’t do take-out. Brett, however, happened to be a long-time friend of the owner. They’d gone to business school together. And the staff was under orders to accept take-out orders for him.

  “Closed doesn’t mean that no one’s there,” Leo said.

  “They don’t even serve breakfast.”

  Leo threw a wicked grin his way. “I guess we’ll have to keep you busy until lunch, then.”

  Brett’s cock understood what Leo meant before his brain did. It leapt to life and tented his boxers, sticking out obscenely between the sides of his loose robe. Leo’s eyes burned even hotter, and so did Lisa’s lips when they trailed against the light stubble on Brett’s jaw. She didn’t say anything, but her hands settled on Brett’s hips, and she turned him toward her.