Virgins and Vampires: Blood Falls (The Blood Falls Book 3)

“There is a distinct lack of chocolate in this plan!” Cass declared, finger pointing in the air. “Is this a deliberate attack on me?”

“I’m pretty sure it’s not,” Bridge sighed.

Again. She sighed a lot these days.

We sprawled across the Wren kitchen and dining table with ingredients and recipes everywhere. “Yeah, I was just in the mood for lemon cake.” I seemed to be drawn to all things yellow lately. Even food.

“And I wanted to try sweet breads again. I think I used old yeast last time. I’m determined to master these delicious little treats!” Bridge said.

“Then, once again, it falls to me to represent chocolate. This calls for chocolate cake with chocolate frosting.” Cass yanked open the fridge and started pulling out butter and eggs.

Bridge and I shared a look and a shrug. Normally the twins and I were all on the same page. So close I knew what they were thinking just because we shared every thought as naturally as we breathed air. But we were all crazy busy and I spent most of my free time with Kris instead of them. I had no idea why Cass was jittery and fidgeting over ingredients, and I didn’t know why Bridge kept sighing. I could bring down my wall and figure it out for myself, but that was cheating and invasive.

Instead I’d worm it out of them over baking and wine just like we usually did.

“So I brought up a selection to sample.” I waved at the four bottles in the middle of the counter. “I’ve also brought a snack tray. It’s our own little wine tasting party.”

“Oh that’s great!” Cass swooped in and poured out far more than a sample.

“Yeah, thanks.” Bridge also poured way more than a sample.

I watched, a little startled by how moody and unhappy they both were. “Can you pass the flour?”

“What?” Bridge still hadn’t set the wine down. “Oh…flour. Here.”

“You know you’re supposed to sip that and savor the flavor, right?”

“I will,” she said, “after I’ve had a glass or two or three.”

I tossed my slow and methodical plan out the window. “Okay, what the hell is going on?”

“What? I’m stressed. It’s just wine.” Bridge wouldn’t look at me.

“You’re something, but I’m not sure it’s stressed.” I turned to Cass. “And you’re no better.”

She shot me a look. “You’ve been busy. We understand.”

Understand? “Is that your way of saying you’re only sort of mad at me and not super mad for being a terrible friend?”

They both froze. Cass shrugged. “It’s not really about you. I’m not mad at you. I’m…I don’t know, jealous maybe? I miss the three of us being together all the time and working things out together. It turns out I’m terrible at dealing with things on my own.”

Bridge stared with unfocused eyes. “And it turns out I’m terrible at doing anything alone. In fact, groups seem to be my thing.”

“What does that mean?” Cass scrunched her nose as she glared at her sister.

“Exactly what I said.” Bridge shot back.

I threw up my hands. “Wait…have you two not been talking to each other?”

The twins sipped their wine in unison while staring back at me.

“You two are twins and yet somehow I’m the glue in this relationship?” I did not see that coming.

“It’s not just you. It’s everything. We’re all everywhere doing different things. I’m so tired at the end of every day I collapse into bed. And then I’m exhausted when I wake up. Rinse, repeat,” Cass sighed.

“Yeah,” Bridge agreed, but her voice was a little funny. “No time for talking.”

Cass’s eyes narrowed. “Wait a minute. Come to think of it…you’re gone an awful lot. I can’t talk to you because you’re not here. You’re gone as much as Rain!” She flicked a hand at me.

“Thanks.”

“I didn’t mean it like that.” She shot me a look then returned to glaring at her sister. “Where are you spending all your free time? Or…should I ask who are you spending all your time with?”

I gasped when Bridge turned tomato red with embarrassment. “Bridge, are you with someone?”

“It’s not like you and Kris or anything.” Her eyes tracked to Cass as she collapsed into a chair.

“How did I not know about this?”

Bridge shrugged. “Because I’m confused. If I’m confused, how the heck am I going to explain it to you?”

I took a chair opposite them. “Well now you’re going to explain it to both of us. Out with it!”

She squirmed. “Like I said, it’s nothing major. I’m not in love or anything.”

“Then why are you so flustered?” I couldn’t quite pin her emotions without my gifts.

“Because…it’s casual. And I like it. But I also don’t understand it.”

“Okay,” Cass drawled, “I’m still confused as to why you’re being so secretive. It’s not like we’re judging you. Fuck whoever you want.”

“Absolutely,” I agreed.

She fidgeted some more then sighed, straightening in her seat. “Okay, so you remember how I was caught in your bubble? Before you knew what was happening?” She waited for both of us to nod. “Well, it was an eye-opening experience for me. I’ve had plenty of sex since reaching maturity, but never anything like that. Nothing close to that. And…it kind of shook me.”

“The intensity?” I still felt a little weird that my passion swept so many up in it.

“That. Definitely never done anything so intense, or with so many at once, or so kinky.”

Cass snorted. “Kinky?”

Bridge bristled. “I’ve been kind of tame up until recently, okay? Taking things slow. Learning.”

“You went from methodical to instinctive.” I could definitely relate. “That’s not kinky. That’s just normal.”

“Okay fine. Call it whatever you want. It’s new to me.”

Everyone sipped their wine, unsure of how to proceed since Bridge was being uncharacteristically uncomfortable around us.

“Is…is there something specific about it that has you more confused than the rest? Because passion and intensity are normal. I can see being surprised, but this is more than surprise,” Cass said.

Bridge stared at her wine. “I think I thought I knew who I was, but now I’m not so sure, and that’s why I’m so freaked out.”

“Well who did you think you were?” I asked, my curiosity growing by the second. What on earth had my friend reeling?

She blushed and sipped more wine. “I thought I’d be like my parents. Like Dray and Rhysa. Like…”

“Me and Kris.”

She nodded. “That I’d get whacked by Fate one day and fall passionately in love with someone who would be my everything.”

“Well, two things,” Cass said, holding her fingers up. “One, no one said that won’t still happen no matter what you’re discovering right now. And two, you don’t really know what goes on in a relationship unless you’re in it. So don’t put anyone up on pedestals and berate yourself for being stuck on the ground when in reality they’re probably standing right next to you.”

Bridge scrunched up her nose. “You really think Mom and Dad were anything but madly in love with each other?”

She shrugged. “I have no idea. I barely remember them. All we have are the stories we’ve been told. And stories only feature the best and most important bits. They were Fated, made an unlikely family, and sacrificed themselves for us.”

“Dray and Rhysa seem pretty perfect.”

I snorted. Mostly because I’d been in their minds and I knew things I shouldn’t.

“Oh, someone has gossip!” Cass clapped and bounced in her seat.

“I do not. But no one is perfect. No relationship is perfect. If I were to guess, their love is as complicated as their Destiny.”

The twins’ eyes rounded as they stared at me. “You definitely know something,” Cass whispered. “Spill it!”

“Things I learn by accident are not mine to share.”

My guilt at intruding in other minds was my burden, but sharing it existed helped Bridge relax, so there was something to be said about that.

“Okay fine. Maybe I am making a mountain out of a molehill. But like I said, it shocked the hell out of me. I had all these plans for a house with my Mate, the wedding, all that crap. And now…I don’t know.”

“So what exactly is happening right now?” It was time to cut to the chase already.

She nibbled on her lip some more. “Pretty much the same thing that happened in the bubble. I’ve been with Katonya, Max, and Ronan every day.”

Cass’s eyebrows rose. “All three of them?”

“Not all the time, but yes. Ronan tends to come and go as he pleases.”

“Every day,” Cass whistled low. “That’s a lot.”

Bridge nodded, her cheeks bright pink. “And I love it. I love the variety, never knowing who will be there or what we’ll do. It’s exhilarating.”

“That sounds wonderful!” I said it and meant it. “So what has you all flustered?”

“I think that’s exactly what I want for always.”

“Polyamorous groups aren’t uncommon,” I pointed out.

“I know that. But it wasn’t what I pictured. It’s different from what I thought I wanted.”

“You mentioned kinks,” Cass pointed out. “Care to elaborate?”

We were alone, but Bridge looked around anyway. It was a day off for everyone to recharge and get personal errands done. The house emptied out after breakfast and we took over for a girls day of baking. No one was there to overhear us.

“They all have a…they get off on…I don’t know how to describe it exactly. Being taken care of? Praised? Told what to do? And it’s not like any one of them is always in charge. It depends on the day, mood, and who’s there. One day Max will tell me I’m so good and then what to do, and the next Kat is saying those things to him.”

“I get it.” All the attention turned to me. “Not exactly that. But, you know, similar.” I wasn’t sure how much they really wanted to know about their brother’s sex life.

Cass folded her hands under her chin and leaned toward me on the table. “I’ve thought long and hard about this since you and Kris hooked up. I’ve created a fictional mate for you in my mind. Just don’t use his name. That way I can mentally picture Arthur instead.”

“Arthur?”

“What? I’ve been doing a comparative analysis of a Nala legend to the King Arthur stories. You’re fucking King Arthur in my head from now on.”

“Okay…” Cass was either brilliant or insane.

“What’s he look like?” Bridge asked.

“Oh, he’s got dirty blonde hair, abs for days, and a naughty smile.”

“I’m good with that,” Bridge said. “Carry on. Tell us your kinks.”

“I…don’t think I would call it a kink. It’s just how I like it?”

“And…” Bridge waved with a flourish.

“I have to be so careful all the time. I have to control my mind and focus my thoughts. And now I even have to be in two places at once sometimes. So I really enjoy it when I can let my wall down and not think at all. I love being told what to do and know my pleasure is in someone else’s hands.”

Cass grinned. “And King Arthur does all that for you?”

“He’s in charge so you can relax,” Bridge said with a nod. “That’s…well, that’s at least part of what I’m enjoying. It’s kind of nice having someone tell you exactly what to do.”

Cass smirked. “You like being told you’re good at it. I know you, Bridghet Wren. Always eager to please, even more eager to overachieve.”

Bridge blushed again. “Yeah, well…it’s true. When any one of them tells me ‘I’m doing so good’ it’s like fireworks go off in my brain. And when all three of them say it?” She made exploding motions with her hands around her head.

“I like being told I will do something that seems impossible in a commanding voice and then praised when it actually happens,” I agreed.

Cass deflated. “My sex life is totally boring. I had no idea until just now.”

“There’s a steady stream of options moving through our library on a nearly daily basis,” Bridge pointed out. “You could start sampling the buffet more often.”

“That’s got me curious, actually.” I leaned on the table and poured myself more wine. “You said it’s not love and I believe I heard Ronan has to leave for a bit. Do you plan on staying with this group or will you explore?”

“Oh, I definitely think this is situational. Right place, right time. I guess I’ll enjoy it while it lasts and if some other option comes along, I’ll pursue that instead.”

“Now that you’ve found your true calling, do you have a new ideal situation? Is two females and two males your jam?” I asked.

She shrugged. “I’ve learned to stop planning for a future I know nothing about and to embrace the surprises to come. Aren’t the poly families in your House rather large?”

“Yes. Some are. Rever was in a family group of ten at one point.”

“Revenge?” Bridge blinked. “Truly? He’s such a solitary male.”

“Oh yeah. For…gosh, it must have been fifteen, sixteen years. I don’t know exactly what happened, but he left and he hasn’t really been serious with anyone since.”

“He and Ivy have been quite close,” Cass pointed out.

“She seems to calm him.”

“He’s still having nightmares?” Bridge asked.

“I think so. If Ivy brings him some peace, then I wish them a happy relationship filled with intense passion, surprises, and a few kinks.”

“Here, here.” Cass lifted her glass. “Can I get some of that too?”

I clinked my glass against hers. “Absolutely. Intense passion for everyone!”

Bridge stood up. “We better get to baking or we’re going to have some very disappointed siblings tonight.”

“And if we don’t get out of the kitchen before Kris starts cooking, no one will be happy,” I agreed.

“Does King Arthur have a punishment kink too? Should we take our time and make him mad?” Cass teased.

“Go make your chocolate cake!” Punishment or not, I was definitely calling Kris King Arthur tonight.