“Hey, what about me?” Rhett asked.
Holly looked at him and before she could stop herself she replied, “You can help me and then we’ll do you.”
Both men got very still for a moment. It wasn’t like they hadn’t had sexual contact with each other over the last two months but it seemed like articulating it was a big deal.
Instead of overthinking it, Rhett dropped to his knees and took Holly’s mouth in a devouring kiss. He tasted her tongue and her mouth, her lips, licking and nipping with his teeth. The little sounds and sighs she made into his mouth turned him on beyond bearing. And when Nate pushed his cock against their lips it seemed natural to turn with Holly and lick up one side as she licked up the other.
While Holly sucked Nate’s cock into her mouth Rhett kissed down her neck and over her shoulders. When she pulled back, he licked Nate’s cock in the wake of her retreat.
Nate could barely stand as he was awash in the sensual onslaught of four hands and two mouths on his cock, on his balls, his ass and thighs. He watched them both, the people he loved and adored, pleasuring him and each other, knowing that this would not have felt so miraculous with any two other people. That it was who they were to each other that made it all so special.
“I’m going to come,” Nate croaked out and tried to pull back but both Holly and Rhett had other ideas.
Before he could stop his orgasm, Holly took him as far back as she could and Rhett moved her so that he entered her from behind. His eyes locked with Nate’s and he began to slice through Holly’s wet pussy over and over as Holly slid her mouth over Nate’s cock.
“Holly? When we get home from dinner tonight I’m going to fuck you here,” Rhett slid his thumb into her rear passage and she moaned around Nate’s cock. “And Nate is going to fuck your pussy. We haven’t done that yet and I’ve been dreaming of it.”
“Yesssss,” Nate hissed as orgasm clutched him. Over and over, wave after wave of pleasure buffeted him until he was weak with it.
Afterward he held his hands against Holly’s shoulders, bracing her against Rhett’s thrusts. He leaned forward and watched from above as Rhett disappeared into her body over and over, the shaft of his cock glistening with Holly’s honey.
Nate leaned down and whispered into Rhett’s ear, “But before that, Holly and I are going to return the favor on you.”
Rhett gave out a long groan and unleashed himself deep into Holly who shortly was laid gently down on the floor and flipped over. Rhett lowered his face to her pussy and Nate took her nipples into his mouth, one and then the other, back and forth.
“Oh yes, more!” she urged Rhett, who had begun to flick the tip of his tongue over her clit. “Don’t stop!”
One hand burrowed through Rhett’s hair, pulling him tight up against her pussy, and the fingers of the other hand dug into Nate’s very hard biceps as he feasted on her nipples.
Hips churning, nearly blind with the intensity of the pleasure, her orgasm shot through her. Back bowed, a scream of delight ripped from her lips.
Afterward, Rhett looked up at her with a cocky grin, lips shiny with both of them. The moment that sealed the experience was when both men leaned in and kissed her at the same time.
* * * * *
Simon Decatur walked into Commander’s Palace and looked around for his son Josh. His eyes flicked from table to table in the first larger dining room, dismissing each group until he saw her and his heart slammed into his chest.
Her hair was red but her eyes were her mother’s, as was the curve of her lips. He could feel the power from across the room. She was at a table filled with other powerful witches and…a wizard too. Interesting.
He continued to watch her and he realized with a start that she had his mother’s hands. Her mannerisms. This was his daughter. The child that he’d been robbed of by his parents.
Josh walked in and waved but his father never saw him. Seeing his father’s distress and feeling his turbulent emotions, Josh reached out and touched his arm. “What is it?” he murmured, following his father’s gaze to the crowded table in the far corner.
“Oh my god, it’s her.”
“Who?”
Simon turned to his son at last. “Your sister,” he said, watching the shocked expression of his oldest son, the man being primed to lead the family for the next generation. “You remember when I told you about the girl my father claimed got pregnant by another man and left town with him? That’s not some other man’s child. That’s my daughter.”
Josh nodded, stunned, as he remembered the story his father had told him only two years before. He turned and looked at the woman and he could feel her. He could feel that biological spark that tied her to him.
“Dad, what are you going to do?”
“Well I’m not going to let other people push her out of my life again. She’s a Decatur and belongs with us.” He smoothed down his suit jacket and straightened his tie and noted with pride that Josh did the same.
Holly looked up, feeling the pull of intense scrutiny, and Nate tensed beside her.
He touched her arm and leaned in. “What is it, sweetness?”
She looked into the deep brown-black eyes of the man near the door and felt the shock of recognition. The eyes, the man, it was what she’d seen when she’d used the cards with Isolde that night.
“Sweetness?” Nate said again and Rhett returned to the table, leaning in to hear what was going on.
“I think I know that man,” she said, not taking her eyes from him.
“Has he threatened you?” Rhett asked, his voice edged with menace.
“No, nothing like that.”
The man leaned in and said something to the younger man with him and they both started over in their direction.
Suddenly Alex looked up and magic crackled in the air.
The two men stopped in front of the table and everyone looked up at them. The older one gave a slight bow. “Pardon me, I’m Simon Decatur and this is my son Joshua.”
Alex stood and returned the bow. “Ah, the Scion of the Decatur family. I’m Alex Carter.”
“You’re welcome in our city. It’s a shame we haven’t met you yet.”
“I haven’t wanted to align myself with anyone. I’m still a Carter.”
“You need not align yourself with us. While we control the city, we certainly do not do it so exclusively that other wizarding families are not allowed. Please feel welcome to use any of our facilities and services,” Simon said graciously.
“Thank you.”
Simon looked past Alex straight at Holly. Nate and Rhett felt the power flowing between the two and Aidan’s power was stoked simply through Rhett and Nate feeling that their mate was being threatened.
“Have we met before?” Simon asked her softly.
Holly’s eyes took on a glazed look and Isolde blinked in surprise and Em gasped.
“Someone had better say something soon because there are three hopped-up vamps here,” Josh said quietly.
“You’re Elena’s,” Simon said and Holly nodded.
“Oh my,” Holly stood up and at once Simon found himself backed up against a wall, being held up by a very large vampire, incisors gleaming and eyes glowing with bloodlust.
Josh began a spell under his breath and nervous and worried waitstaff began to accumulate. “Stop!” Holly cried out and they all turned to look at her. “Nate, let him down.” She turned to Josh. “Please, don’t continue that spell.”
The manager showed up and quietly spoke with Isolde, who agreed to leave at once.
“Let’s take this home, shall we?” Lee suggested.
“I didn’t get any Chocolate Sheba,” a pregnant Em groused and Con laughed and promised to conjure her some and a slice of the Creole cheesecake too.
“Mr. Decatur, our home is not too very far from here. We have much to discuss, would you please accept our invitation?” Holly asked, voice shaking.
Simon touched her cheek and their connection sparked. “Where is y
our mother?” He looked sick when he saw the tears well in her eyes and he knew. He sighed sadly and nodded. “I see. I’m sorry. Yes, we do have much to talk about, lead the way.”
* * * * *
Once everyone had arrived at Holly’s house they went into the large living room and took seats throughout. Simon would have rather had the conversation in private but the way the Charvez witches and the vampires with Holly were looking at him, he knew it was impossible. They were in protection mode.
“First of all, may I ask your name?” Simon asked softly.
“Holly. Holly Daniels, or I suppose Charvez.” She answered as if she were in a dream. She knew who this man was but she couldn’t wrap her head around it.
“I’m…I have reason to believe that I’m your father,” he said quickly.
There was a collective intake of air in the room and Nate put his arm around her and felt the shock of it reverberate through her body.
“Oh god, you’re so beautiful. A combination of Elena and my grandmother. You have my mother’s hands. The way you cock your head, it’s hers.” He turned and indicated the sandy blond at his side. “This is your brother. You have two more. I can’t believe you’re here.”
“Where the hell have you been?” Holly said, standing up, suddenly enraged. “She was alone! She had me alone in a hospital in New Hampshire. She had no one. For over twenty-four years she had no one! How could you just abandon us?”
Simon took a step toward her and stopped as the suave-looking vampire growled at him. “My father sent me away for two weeks. When I came back Elena had gone. He told me that she’d left, saying she never wanted to see me again, but I knew it was a lie. I loved her. She loved me,” he said dreamily as he looked off into the distance as if remembering it like it was yesterday.
“I went to her house but her father said the same thing. Said she’d run off with some itinerant worker. Gave me a letter and it was in her writing! The letter said she didn’t love me anymore, that she’d fallen in love with some other guy. I didn’t want to believe it but there it was in her own hand and she had gone without even telling me.” He sat down and put his head in his hands and pushed them through his hair.
“I didn’t know about the pregnancy. I didn’t know about you until three years ago. We have outside services and investigators who work for the family and one of them deals a lot with the Charvez family and it came up, I don’t even remember how now, that one of them had run off pregnant at fifteen and I knew it was Elena. I knew then that she’d left town carrying our child.
“I tried to speak with Elise, Elena’s mother, but I found that she’d been murdered and then we tried to get in contact with Isolde but I was told that…”
“We didn’t want to dredge up old ghosts,” Isolde said, the anguish clear in her voice. “Oh, chere, I’ve done you a great wrong. In my terrible grief over losing Elise I shut down and kept everyone but family out.”
“I hired investigators and we found the birth records from New Hampshire but nothing more after about six months later when you pulled up stakes and left. My people tracked you to Minnesota but nothing after that.
“Please believe me, I never, ever would have abandoned you on purpose. I was only seventeen at the time but I would have done right by both of you.”
“Wait a minute! Witches and wizards shouldn’t be able to reproduce,” Alex said.
“See the evidence of that theory right before your eyes, Alex! For god’s sake, this answers the question about just exactly why Holly’s power is so different but why it seems familiar at the same time,” Rhett said, reaching out to touch Holly’s hair.
“What happened to Elena? To your mother?” Simon asked, wanting so much to draw Holly into his arms.
“She died of cancer eight months ago.”
The shock of it left him pale. “What? Why didn’t she heal herself?”
“Good question. I ask myself the same one every day. Why she’d choose death over me. I’ll let you know if I ever figure it out.” Holly’s voice was loaded with bitterness.
“Oh sweet girl. My sweet girl, I’ve ached to hold you in my arms since the moment I knew you existed. May I?”
A father. The thing she’d wanted so much her whole life. He was standing there, handsome and powerful and yet humble. Asking her, wanting to love her but letting her decide.
Everyone in the room waited for her response, waited to either relax or kick the two wizards out into the street.
She nodded slowly and he moved to her and pulled her into an embrace and the two of them laughed and cried all at once.
* * * * *
After several minutes Simon stepped back and looked into the face of his oldest child, his only daughter. She was so lovely, creamy skin and that pretty red hair. Oh how he wished he could have watched her grow up. But now wasn’t the time for regrets, he had a twenty-four-year-old daughter and he had to figure out how to welcome her into his life.
“Are you hungry? We got, uh, kicked out of the restaurant before you two got the chance to eat,” Holly asked, looking around Simon—her father—to Josh. “We have some stuff for sandwiches and I baked bread earlier. I’m sure I can toss a salad together too.” She needed to do something with her hands, all of the emotions of the evening were too much, she had to focus on some small task or totally fall apart.
“Take her up on it, she’s an incredible cook,” Rhett said proudly. He and Nate had been trying to convince Holly to pursue cooking professionally.
“Oh my manners!” Holly turned and held out her hands to Nate and Rhett. “Mr. Decatur, this is Rhett Dubois and Nate Hamilton. They’re my husbands and my mates.”
“Holly, sweetheart, I’d love it if you’d call me Dad. If you’re not ready for that yet, at least call me Simon.” He looked between the two vampires. Two huh? Well, okay. She was a witch with two husbands. He didn’t know a lot about vampire culture but he knew enough to know that they mated for life. And as such, these men were obviously all about her and she about them, and as her father, he would support that.
“Nate, Rhett, it’s a pleasure to meet you.” He held out his hand and they each shook it.
“I’m sorry about earlier,” Nate said.
“No, don’t be. You didn’t know. You thought I was a threat and you protected her. That’s what you should do.”
“So? Dinner?” Holly said, embarrassed over the fuss being made about her.
Her father grinned at her. “I’m starving. It’s been a long day, I haven’t eaten since this morning.”
In the large kitchen she put together large sandwiches on fresh bread and then tossed a salad of baby greens, crisp green apples, walnuts and gorgonzola cheese. She doubled the ingredients with a smile when she saw the way everyone was watching.
While they ate, Holly told her father about growing up and about losing her mother and how she’d come to meet Nate and Rhett and ended up in New Orleans.
“I think we have some new reasons why a wizard might feel threatened by your existence,” Alex said as he drank a cup of coffee.
“A hybrid? But who would know and why wouldn’t they just have killed her when she was an infant? When Elena was pregnant? Why wait until Holly was past the age of maturity and had begun to come into her powers as a wizard?”
“Maybe they didn’t know until two months ago.” Nate combed fingers through his beard as he thought.
“And we need to find out just what the heck the real story is. I need to have a long talk with my father and I think we should do the same with Elena’s father.”
“We don’t know where he is. He left New Orleans after Elise divorced him and no one has seen him since. Not that we really tried that hard to find him until Holly came back to town and this whole thing came about,” Isolde said.
“We’ve got an investigator on it. We’ll find him,” Nate said. “When we do Rhett and I will have a talk with him. Holly is the only human I’ve ever seen who wasn’t susceptible to the thrall in Rhett’s voi
ce.”
“We can protect you at home,” Simon said. “Come live with us for the time being. A house full of wizards, no one can hurt you.”
“A wizard is the one trying to kill her in the first place!” Rhett said vehemently. “She’s safe here. The place has been warded well and she’s learning how to use her powers to defend herself. And Rhett and I are quite capable of protecting her.”
Holly felt their need to protect her. She knew they’d both been terribly upset about her having the vision when they were asleep. Reaching out, she touched him softly. “I love you, Nate. I trust that you and Rhett will protect me. Never doubt that,” she murmured so that only he could hear.
He looked startled for a moment and then softened and gave her a smile. Rhett heard and brushed his lips over her temple.
Once she was assured Rhett and Nate were all right she turned back to her father. “Thanks for the offer. We’ll stay here but I appreciate it. I hope that we can get to know each other. I understand if your wife may not like the idea of an illegitimate daughter. I promise, I don’t want anything from you but what you’re willing to give.”
“We want you in our lives. You’re my daughter and I plan to hold you out publicly as such. I’m proud of you. We need to work on your training too. Have you meet your other brothers, Penn and Eli. They’re eighteen and twenty. Eli is at Harvard right now and Penn is at Northwestern. I’ll call them home tonight. They’ll be over the moon.”
Simon looked to Alex. “How’s her power level?”
“Master status, easily.”
Simon grinned with pride. “Chip off the old block I see. Josh is too and Eli is nearly there. Penn is the wild card, he doesn’t have the magical focus but he’s competitive, if his sister is that powerful, he’ll buck up.”
“First we need to figure out who’s trying to kill her and why,” Nate said, bringing the subject back to the topic at hand.
“You’re right, Nate. I got a bit distracted there with the proud father thing. Of course Holly’s safety is paramount.”
They talked for several more hours, Holly learning about the relationship between her mother and father and also about her power as Simon went through some spells with her.