Species Interaction (15 page)

"Damn. Would you look at this?" Ducian tossed out from his position at one of the bedroom doors.

On the way, I noticed the other bedroom, closest to the kitchen. I took a moment to check the room out, finding nothing more than I would expect to find in any hotel room, reassuringly normal. Only the bed loomed bigger, the TV larger, the comforter fancier. Something I could certainly live with.

I headed toward the other bedroom, sneaking around Ducian to see inside. Meat beat me there, stepping entirely into the room of interest.

I blinked at all the leather, the chains, the whips; things that I didn't even have the slightest clue what they were.
Omigod
. All items had to be more than my allotted twenty-seven steps into the scary store. On a guess, I expected hardcore practitioners sought such devices and trekked to the very back of the store to find the new toy of the week. I only visited for the penis lollipop flavor of the month.

My right eyelid began to twitch.

Both guys eagerly entered the room, touching items, holding up fuzzy handcuffs, twitching the whips, and pointing out one of the large wooden items, the one that resembled a pommel horse the gymnasts used in the Olympics. Only I didn't recall those ever having rings and hooks and leather bracelets.

Two more large wooden devices completed the room. They reminded me of framework, but again, held attachments that I didn't even want to consider. A couple of baskets sat on the bed. Even as I watched, Meat grabbed one, pulling the contents out, and holding them up for inspection. The handcuffs were bad enough, but at least I knew what they were.

Meat plucked the next item to show. "Gates of Hell." He laughed then dropped it back into the basket, fishing for the next goodie.

"Parachute!" Ducian called out, chuckling all the more.

"Clamps, too!" Meat added, holding them up for inspection.

Meat pawed through the other basket, picking up one item that I did recognize. My face heated immediately when he hit the button causing the BOB to gyrate.

"Would you look at the size of this?" Meat turned the item right side up. All eyes watched the extra large purple phallus as it vibrated away.

"Damn. Didn't know they made them that big," Ducian chimed in with his two cents worth.

Meat picked up the basket, tilting it so Ducian and I could peer inside. Sure enough, the whole basket contained a variety of phallic shaped objects.

"Oh, hell!" Meat ruffled through all the items, pointing them out to the vampire and me. "Plugs of all sizes." He found a straight metal piece a few inches long, holding it up for all to see as he grinned wickedly.

"A sound? You're fucking kidding me!" Ducian reached for it.

I didn't know what most of those items were, didn't even want to think about it. There was a good reason I didn't venture to the far corner of the scary store.

My eyelid twitched with a vengeance and I couldn't catch my breath no matter how quickly I breathed. I felt like Alice in Wonderland, only I couldn't remember falling into the dang rabbit hole. I wasn't sure, but the Mad Hatter might have been in that bedroom as well.

The world spun and I chose my final option: retreat.

Spying the large screen TV, I headed directly for it, plopping down on the couch.

Meat called from the bedroom. "Shy? Where'd you go?"

Clicking the power button, I yelled back, "Just checking to see what's on TV."

His chuckle carried to my ears.

I prepared myself for Meat's goofy idea for playtime later. Knowing him, he would expect to put all goodies and equipment to good use. Well, he would simply have to either entertain himself by playing bondage with any and all non-humans in the room. Heck, he could even call the young brown haired bellhop and invite him to join the party. The guy would probably be jumping in excitement for the chance at a slap and a tickle with Meat and Ducky.
Wait, that didn't sound quite right.
From what items I had seen in that bedroom, it would be fall along the lines more of a spanking and plugging. I shuddered at the thought.
No way
. I'd drag my feet and refuse to budge like a stubborn mule. Shy parts didn't need to be clamped, tied, paddled, or plugged. My therapy bill would surpass the national debt.

Moans, groans, and slaps pulled my attention back to the TV. One glimpse at the screen and I choked on my own spit.
Oh, good grief.
Whoever watched this television last left it on the porn channel. With a grumble, I hit the up button on the remote over and over again, only to make an alarming discovery.

Every stupid channel contained porn. Not even a single commercial. Just naked or semi naked people performing Kama Sutra acts with various numbers of friends and toys that I recently escaped. I flipped through every option, to no avail.

"Shy?" Ducian called.

Fumbling with the remote in a panic, I tried desperately to find the power button, to shut it off before the guys found it. First of all, they would want to watch it. Secondly, I would be more than embarrassed being caught watching erotic movies.

"Shy?" Footsteps followed.

ACK!
I punched a couple more buttons, dropped the remote, picked it off the floor, and hit more buttons. Just as Ducian entered the room, the screen flashed black once more.

I sighed in relief. Plastering a calm expression on my face, I turned around. "Yes? You hollered?"

He looked at me for a long moment, then shrugged. "I thought I heard voices out here. Must have been the TV." He gestured toward the now silent set. The mischievous expression on his face made me believe he knew some secret and it involved me.

I nodded. "It was. But…"
Oh, good grief. Think, think
. "There was nothing on. You know even with two hundred fifty channels, there's still nothing on."

He shot me an odd look; a small grin teased his lips. "Maybe there will be something on later."

At this rate, I didn't think so, but wasn't about to tell him that. Deciding it would be a good idea to change the subject, I stood to face him. "What did you guys find?"

His smile immediately turned wicked. "Toys. You wouldn't believe all the stuff they have in there."

He's right. I wouldn't believe it. I couldn't believe what I saw already and that probably wasn't the tip of the iceberg when it came to "novelties" located in the room.

Meat walked out with a smug grin. "Exactly what theme did you choose, baby?" He dangled what looked like a leather band with a plastic red ball in the middle.

"I… but… well… I didn't…" I stammered. "The woman said BDSM. I squeaked. She hung up."

"You chose the BDSM theme?" Meat busted out laughing outrageously while swinging his new toy by his fingertips.

Ducian joined in the humor, giving me a wink. "Nice choice."

"I always knew you were a closet Dom."

"What? I am not!" I protested.

"But you love to hurt me, baby." Meat broke out in loud guffaws once more.

I won a prize alright. A trip on the Twilight Zone to the Scary Store from Hell. With two of the most perverted men on the planet.
Lucky me.

Picking up the phone, I waited for the operator to answer. "Is our dinner ready yet?"

Chapter 17

Dinner over, I made a production of biting off the prominent part of one of the cupcakes, earning a groan from the guys.

"These are good. You should try them."

Both shook their heads, but continued to watch me.

Swallowing, I pointed to the other trays. "I don't get it."

"Get what?" Meat asked, his brow crinkling in confusion as he stared at the remaining desserts.

"Why do the melons rings have donut holes? I can understand the pineapple because, well, that's just what they do with pineapples. But why does the cantaloupe have a hole? A big hole."

Ducian shared a look with Meat. Grins appeared on their faces. "Decoration."

I blinked at Ducky. "Decoration?" Taking another bite, I finished my cupcake.

Meat nodded. "Think"—he tapped his chin, and then I could see the light bulb click on—"think the ring toss game."

Perplexed, I gazed from him to the melons once more. "I throw those and try to make them land on a pole?" My face heated as I realized just what pole he spoke of.

"Sort of. No throwing. More like eating dessert on a stick," Ducian said.

"Isn't that messy? Sticky?" The words barreled out of my mouth.

Both men grinned wickedly. "Oh, yeah."

Shaking my head, I gestured toward the giant lifesavers. "What about those?" The question blurted out before I could consider the consequences.

Ducian took the lead on this one. "Ever heard of a cock ring?"

I could only blink, gape, and stare. "Like the melons?" My voice resembled a mouse squeak.

Meat shook his head. "The melons are for flavor. The lifesavers have a more practical purpose."

I shook my head. "I don't get it. I like the taste of lifesavers, especially the chewy ones."

Ducian chuckled, reaching out to pick up a red ring. "These are a bit snugger than the melons."

"So?"

"They are used so a man can… hold off… his climax."

I choked and coughed. Meat whapped me on the back.

"Yeah, if those don't work, there are real ones made out of steel in that basket. Just in case cat boy here has a spring-loaded trigger."

Meat flipped Ducian off. I started to wheeze. Impulsively, I covered my right eye, trying to still the annoying twitch.

The guys settled on the loveseat, bracketing me in the middle. Chewing my lip, I quickly debated my options. Game time had arrived. Unfortunately, I couldn't participate. At the same time, the thought of rejecting Ducky broke my heart. After all, he kept to his promise of not dining on me for dinner and did eat the bad guy who attacked me at my kidnapping. He made for a fun and funny companion, but he didn't give me goose bumps, make me think naughty thoughts, or want my naked body to writhe all over his.

"I never imagined I would participate in some sort of odd fetish," I attempted to both stall and explain.

Ducian grinned devilishly. "You do know what the difference between normal and fetish is, don't you?"

I shook my head.

"Normal is what you do. Fetish is what other people do."

Meat snorted.

"So what does kinky mean then?"

"Kinky is what three people do," Ducian whispered the answer in my ear.

Meat cupped my chin, drawing my attention, as he leaned in for a meshing of lips. At the same time, I felt small butterfly kisses on my bare shoulder where the vampire scrunched my shirt sleeve up. His other hand meandered down my side, coming to a rest at my rear. He pinched, and I jumped.

"Wait. Stop," I blurted, drawing back from Meat's mouth, taking some deep breaths to gain my composure.

"Why?" Ducian asked as both men stared at me.

With a sigh, I opted for sheer honesty. Shifting, I turned enough to face Ducian, while still being able to keep an eye on Meat at the same time. Reaching out with my right hand, I gently placed it on the vampire's cheek. Meeting his gaze, tears welled up as I sought the words I needed.

"I'm sorry. I just… I just… can't."

"About damn time you realized that," Meat growled from behind me.

To my amazement, Ducian wrapped his fingers around my wrist, pulling my palm around for a nuzzling kiss. A slow smile graced his face. "I know."

"Huh?" Blinking, I glimpsed Meat's frown before turning back to Ducky.

"We're more than just stud muffins, you know. We do have brains."

I shook my head, more confused than ever.

"We both knew you wouldn't be able to go through with this. Why else would you have waited this long to do this weekend?" Meat pointed out, wrapping an arm about my waist, and tugging me back against his side. "Any other woman would have been signing up the first weekend possible and not wasted a single minute beating down the doors to get it on."

I snorted and gave Meat an elbow to the gut. The overgrown housecat didn't even flinch.

My attention returned to Ducian. "But… I…"

He dropped my hand and gave a small wave. "Meat and I planned this all out already."

"You did?"

"Of course. We can't leave it up, willy-nilly, to women or we'd be sitting in this hotel room playing Old Maid for the next two days."

Okay. He had a point.

I intertwined my fingers with Meat's. "So what do we do now?"

Ducian literally beamed. He jumped up, pulled out his cell phone, and punched in numbers.

Unsure, I looked over my shoulder at Meat. He leaned forward, nipped my earlobe, and whispered, "You know the back-up winner for this prize?" I shrugged. I only knew her as the threat which lit a fire under me.

Unless…
The rat buzzard couldn't be thinking such a thing.
Anger shot to the fore followed closely by sheer indignation.

"What?"

I wiggled from his hold, stood, then turned angry glares at them both. "I just said I couldn't sleep with another man. Now, you kick me off the hotel suite prize island, and replace me with some other woman? Tygerius Augustus! You… you… tomcat!"

Meat chuckled. Ducian snapped his phone shut, laughing hard.

Growling, I turned to stomp to the bedroom, when Ducian snagged me around the waist. I barely managed to refrain from smashing his toes, but did shoot him a look rife with retribution.

He smiled down and pressed a quick kiss to my nose, earning a hiss from Meat. "Settle down. Catnip boy is messing with you."

I swung around to glare at the kitty in question before returning my attention to the vampire. "Care to enlighten me?"

"The backup winner, her name is Charity, by the way, anyway, she and I… well… have been seeing one another off an on." A small smile grew on Ducian's face as he spoke of her. "We knew you couldn't be with both of us. But, on the other hand, if you gave up the prize…"

"She would take it in a heartbeat and…"

"And be with me," Ducian finished.

Still not quite clear, I tossed out the burning question. "And be with Meat, too?"

"No." That came from the loveseat, where the man in question stood and walked over to join the conversation. "I wouldn't be with another woman, not when I have you."