Taken by a Vampire (Vampire Queen) - By Joey W. Hill Page 0,160

as he and Alanna maintained precarious balance through a handshake. “My pleasure, Alanna.” His voice had a sexy, firm timbre.

Chloe shook her head, already on to another topic. “Niall, go rescue Evan from Marcus. Josh and Thomas haven’t come back, either. Lauren couldn’t make it, because of a pediatric emergency, so Josh has no one to rescue him, and of course Thomas is Marcus’s, so he’s stuck with his bullying. Don’t send Alanna. She’s much too sweet. Marcus will do the Dom thing to scare her away, and I’ll have to punch him in the face. You’ll tell him to piss off and drag Evan out of there.”

“Dinnae underestimate Alanna. She’s handled Masters far scarier than Marcus.” Niall shot Alanna a droll look.

Chloe sighed. “Knowing Marcus, he’s trying to make them create his next hefty commission check right out of their backsides, here and now. I want to see Evan, and I’m getting sleepy. I know how you guys are. You disappear in the middle of the night, and I won’t see you again until forever.”

Niall gave Alanna’s hip a caress. “I cannae refuse the bride. Stay with Chloe until I get back. Understand?”

“Yes, sir.”

“Guid lass.” He gave her backside a firm squeeze, a reminder. As he strode away, she watched the graceful power of his movements until he disappeared past the pool house.

“See, even she does it.”

Chloe spoke to Brendan, drawing Alanna down to sit on his feet on the blanket. Brendan courteously adjusted so Alanna could prop her back on his calf while Chloe leaned against his hip, a casually intimate pose. “Does what?” Alanna asked.

“You don’t treat Niall like another sub. No one does, except Evan, and even with him it’s hit or miss. I thought Niall was a Dom when I met him, until I saw him with Evan, and then you can definitely see it. Niall’s an über-alpha sub. He can flip the Dom switch when he wants, but I bet Evan’s the only one who gets the awesome benefit of the sub side.” Chloe gave her an impish wink. “Both the artists I know, Josh and Thomas, they’re subs to the bone, but with Evan, you’re around him two seconds and you know that’s not him.”

Brendan nuzzled Chloe’s ear, his fingers slipping along her side, thumb caressing the underside of her breast. The gaze Chloe turned upon him, the press of her lips to his jaw, suggested it might not be sleepiness that would have them retiring soon. On the altar stage, they’d given and received pleasure for the audience as well as themselves. Now it was obvious they wanted to indulge the quiet intimacy of a married couple.

“Evan has a different kind of Dom vibe though,” Chloe mused, a little more breathless. She offered another cheeky grin. “Marcus and Tyler, they broadcast theirs like a moose’s mating call. They can’t hide it. But Evan’s sneaks up on you, surrounds you. You sense it like a pittosporum bush in bloom. Have you ever smelled one?”

When Alanna shook her head, Chloe inhaled deeply, stretching out her arms as if she was about to embrace the referenced foliage. “The flowers have a light, barely there scent, but after the first or second whiff, suddenly it’s all inside you. If that makes sense. Evan probably doesn’t want to be compared to girly flowers though.”

“I think Niall worries more about that kind of thing than Evan does.” It was new to Alanna, speculating on the type of Master she had, but it seemed all right in this context, as long as she chose her words carefully. “Evan’s focus is different. Being a Master is part of his blood, almost an afterthought. So he doesn’t pay much attention to it. It just is. The art . . . that’s what drives him first and foremost.”

Chloe nodded. “Yes, that’s exactly it.” Slipping her hand around Brendan’s calf, she slid down farther against his body so she could lean her head against his knee. He stroked her head, his expression absorbed, quiet. Familiar with the state of mind, she could tell he was taking in not only their conversation, but everything else happening. He was tuned in, ready to anticipate Chloe’s needs, but also easy, content with it. It was how she’d felt earlier in the evening, sated by both men, dozing in between them. She wondered if Evan or Niall experienced a contentment like that. She’d like to give that to them, but sometimes it was difficult to know what