She felt it like a current, connecting the two of them.

Even Gideon, whose emotions were always such a tangled jumble, such that he followed an erratic course of instinct and self-denial to jump from moment to moment, allowed desire and hunger, savage need, to cross his expression. For the both of them.

Anwyn.

She let her mind be a conduit, so that Daegan could hear Gideon"s thoughts, linking the three of them. Yes, love?

It was the first time she"d ever used an endearment with Gideon, with anyone, and his mouth tightened. No one would know from the tough-guy expression what vulnerability existed in that powerhouse body.

I’ve never done this. Can you walk me through it, so I do it right?

Just do it the way you’d like it done to yourself, vampire hunter. Daegan"s dark eyes sparked, and Gideon"s cock jumped in reaction. Anwyn felt like she was standing between two flames.

You’re going to need that big mouth of yours, because I intend to ram myself down your throat. Daegan"s mind-voice made it a taunting challenge, so that Anwyn actually almost smiled. It was just the three of them. The rest didn"t matter.

Big talk. But Gideon swallowed. He didn"t quite seem to know where to go from there, but Anwyn reminded him. Daegan ordered you onto your knees, love.

Come to me, vampire hunter.

Daegan hadn"t moved, waiting, which somehow made the moment more charged. Gideon hitched up his pants to allow him to walk, the loose hold making the waistline caress the appealing line of hip and buttock musculature as he moved around Torrence. He gave Helga"s servant a menacing glance, which suggested if Torrence lifted so much as a finger to stop him, he"d lose the digit. But when Gideon passed behind Anwyn, she let her fingers trail along his side, pleased when his hand briefly gripped hers, caressing.

As he reached Daegan, Gideon stopped, hesitated.

Gaze down, Gideon. Don’t look me in the eye.

That jaw flexed again, a quiver running through the powerful back. Daegan placed a hand on his shoulder, gripping lean sinew and bone, and exerted downward pressure. Anwyn found she wasn"t the only one holding her breath as Gideon"s knees bent, taking him down into a kneeling position. The pants slid lower, giving her the upper rise of his ass, and without being told, he pushed them all the way down, revealing the dildo still firmly in place.

A slight bow from Daegan toward Brian. “Lord Brian, would your servant mind removing that so it doesn"t impede Miss Naime"s efforts?”

Brian glanced up at Debra, gave her a nod. The woman moved from the wall, keeping her eyes down, but Anwyn noted her hands were gentle as she balanced on her heels in a squat and removed the dildo, wrapping it in a towel provided by one of the waitstaff and laying it by Anwyn"s chair. Gideon had shuddered slightly at the removal, and Anwyn felt the way it stroked him inside, the arousal that was still there despite the rising tension. She"d also noticed how Debra had managed a stroke of the cheek with her fingertips. She was fairly certain it was a reassurance rather than a sexual indiscretion, and wished she could give Gideon a similar reassurance right now.

“Put your palms flat on your knees, Gideon,” Daegan instructed, still in that silky tone.

“You"ll do it all with your mouth.”

Anwyn started as a servant touched her arm. Turning, she saw Belizar"s full servant, Lena, extending a coiled bullwhip. The size and thickness brought an instant denial surging to the forefront. Her lips parted.

“If you prefer to watch, we can allow Torrence to do the honors,” Lady Carola said smoothly. “He"s very skilled.”

“As a Mistress, I expect Anwyn is a fair hand with a whip.” Uthe met her gaze across the table. “Can you draw blood with a bullwhip? Be accurate enough to administer thirty-six lashes to a kneeling man"s back and buttocks while he"s servicing Lord Daegan? Draw blood every time?”

“And not hit Lord Daegan,” Lord Welles added, a smile crossing his face that was anything but pleasant. “I"m sure he would not take kindly to that.”

Since she still had not moved to take the whip, Belizar cocked his head. “Torrence was obviously looking forward to fucking your servant. I"m sure he"ll reflect that in his accuracy and strength.”

So it was a test of them both, making sure she didn"t think she"d gotten away with any defiance on her part. Anwyn closed her hand on the whip. “I am more than capable, Lord Belizar. If the whip is properly formed and maintained.”

“Feel free to test it, fledgling.”

While Daegan waited, Gideon at his feet, his hand resting on her servant"s shoulder to keep his head down, she rose. Meeting Daegan"s gaze, she shook out the six-foot whip. Looking over the belly"s taper, she tested the balance of the braided length, as well as the weight of the handle. It was well made, as Belizar had indicated. The west end of the dining room where she and Daegan had been sitting was open space, as if intended for performances, so she moved back the right number of steps to take a few practice swings. A straight overhand, a flick, a coachman and a volley helped familiarize herself further with the single tail, the energy the body of the whip delivered to the popper. It was similar to the many she"d used at the club.

The amazing difference was that she could actually see the popper snap, something impossible for the human eye to follow, since the resounding crack of a bullwhip came from the fact its speed broke the sound barrier, when thrown properly.

When she noted Stephen watching her with a sardonic sneer to his lips, and heard his mutter to Barbra, “She"s more likely to take out the Van Gogh on the opposite wall than stripe his back,” she executed a graceful overhead. The whip snaked out and took out Stephen"s wineglass, lifting it from the table and sending it spinning into the wall, well clear of the Van Gogh or any other artwork. The glass shattered, spreading wine over the stone like a bloodstain. Before anyone had time to react, the whip was back at her side.

“More than adequate, Lord Belizar,” she said, with a cool smile, caressing the handle.

“Thank you. My apologies, Lord Stephen. You seemed concerned about my servant"s welfare, and I wanted to assure you of my expertise.”

She could tell she"d successfully impressed the Council members with her unexpected maneuver, and the fact that Stephen hadn"t been spattered with even a drop avoided any accusation of disrespect. Daegan gave her an inscrutable look, but she suspected he was applauding her effort. Gideon, his head still ostensibly bowed, had practically highfived her in her head, which would have amused her under normal circumstances. Unfortunately, it didn"t buffer what she was about to do to him with that lethal strap.

Serving staff quickly moved in to clean up the mess as she turned back to her two males.

She could feel the anticipation building after her little performance. Seeing that bare back, already marked with her stripes, given reluctantly but in conjunction with pleasure, she felt torn between rage and her own despicable anticipation.

You know you like giving pain with pleasure, Mistress. Gideon"s words from earlier.

Damning all of these monsters, including the one inside herself, she stepped forward, slid her arm around Gideon"s chest. Bending so she could press her cheek to his, she let her hair fall to curtain them both. They want me to make it hurt, to punish you. Can we refuse?

No. It was simultaneous, from both Daegan and Gideon.

She closed her eyes. I hate this. This isn’t what it’s about, Gideon. Not what it’s supposed to be.

His hand came up, gripped her wrist. Then make it what it’s supposed to be. I don’t fear any pain at your hands, Anwyn. A weird part of me . . . Well, you already know, right?

She nodded, gave him an additional squeeze, and then paced back, locking gazes with Daegan. The vampire didn"t have to do this, didn"t want to do this any more than she did. She knew that with a clarity that made it hard to breathe. He was doing this for her, to ensure she

was accepted by this world, and so Gideon"s life wasn"t taken. Over the past month, for the past five years, he"d been part of her life, the best and the worst, and he"d refused to give up on her or the love he wanted from her.

She didn"t know what foolishness had ever made her doubt his love for her, just because he wouldn"t say the words. On that same note, she knew she"d never doubt Gideon"s love for her, either. No matter he hadn"t quite sorted out his feelings, he was trusting her implicitly, the most important step toward unconditional love. When the day came that he couldn"t be part of this world, she"d accept and know it wasn"t because his love for her wasn"t great enough.

Some scars in a man"s heart could never heal, no matter how much he, or she, wished they could.

Tying it all together, Daegan spoke in her mind. You can do this, cher . All three of us can.

Just breathe, and know that we love you.

Gideon gave a faint nod, though he kept his gaze on the floor. His broad shoulders rose and fell, slow breaths. He was preparing himself. That slight acknowledgment was a simple declaration, a reassurance that undermined the foundation of this horrible moment.

They were different from everyone else here. She wanted to give both of them what they gave her. She was done setting conditions of her own, except the conditions Gideon needed from her as Mistress, and those that she and Daegan embraced for that glorious push-pull relationship they had. It was a miracle, all three sides of their trinity. Even if it couldn"t be forever, it didn"t make it less miraculous, less valuable.

Meeting Daegan"s gaze once more, she saw his burning response to her thoughts and nodded. Let’s do this.

Daegan had worn a jacket, slacks and a silk shirt, so now he shrugged out of the coat, putting it into the ready hands of a waitstaff person. He unbuttoned his shirt in a carelessly sensual way, then opened his trousers. He kept them on his waist, of course, so the Council was not granted the vulnerable look at his bare ass they"d require of a servant. When he freed his cock, Anwyn let herself indulge the moment, the pleasure of watching it stretch out long and hard toward Gideon"s taut mouth, and know no other lusting mind at this table had the right to touch it, tease it, the way she did . . . and had so often.