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Category: Erotica/Paranormal Erotica/Romance
Description: Planning a wedding can be stressful and crazy-making. Planning three weddings at the same time? That's insanity. While The Vampire, The Witch & The Werewolf embark on a nuptial excursion, Silver & Nick hold down the home fortress in New Orleans. And as if everyone doesn't have enough to deal with, the Voodoo King comes calling with a magic elixir that diminishes sexual inhibitions and an eerie quiet spreads across the French Quarter. Life as they know it may never be the same. The threesome is forced to put off honeymoon bliss in order to banish the demons of their past, and embrace the uncertainty of the future.
eBook Publisher: Ravenous Romance, 2012
eBookwise Release Date: July 2012

Available eBook Formats: OEBFF Format (IMP) [233 KB]
Words: 50451
Reading time: 144-201 min.

Chapter One

Love times three. Twice the loving.

Being part of a threesome had its benefits.

When it came to sex, if Lily yearned to be touched, a lover met her demands. A mouth on each breast. Hands caressing every inch of her body.

She sighed with contentment. With love, the payout was even better. Even when the men in her life were not physically present, the sense of being loved remained. She'd certainly heard others talk about such an all-encompassing love, but to experience it was totally new.

The growing child within her shifted, letting her know his presence. She smiled. Yes, she'd started thinking of the baby as a he. But then her thoughts shifted. Most mothers worried about what their child would be like, but with a vampire and a werewolf as lovers and potential fathers, the possibility of problems increased.

Could she be carrying a demon-child?

Since Lawrence had been dead for one hundred and fifty years--or, rather, undead--odds were this wasn't his baby. The child was most likely Trevor's. After his mother's death in childbirth, Trevor had been more than hesitant about Lily getting pregnant. At first, he'd shied away from the thought. Now, he'd come to embrace the idea of their coming addition. Well, he didn't really have much choice there.

But even more than the fetus's paternal genetic makeup, Lily worried about what lurked in her own DNA. Witch and/or demon?

She shivered at the memory of the demon Arimanius, and his bruised-looking purple skin and crazed yellow eyes. As a sub-demon, Ari had held Lily's mother prisoner for years. She'd only escaped during her pregnancy in order to deliver Lily, and drop her off at the doorstep of Social Services.

Not literally, but figuratively.

If Julia, her mother, was to be believed, she didn't know who Lily's father was. He could have been any one of her multiple lovers from the time period, some of whom Julia swore she didn't remember.

Lily prayed it wasn't the demon himself. To be cursed as the daughter of a lord of hell--well, have mercy.

To be carrying his grandson? It wasn't that she feared her baby, but more that Arimanius would seek her out for the child. They'd battled him and barely won once. She wouldn't want to go up against him again.

She shook off the feeling of unease, her hand coming to rest protectively on her stomach. She needed to remain positive. Positive that despite being such a pain in the ass at the moment, everything would eventually work itself out. Usually, that was exactly the case. She just needed to be patient and live life as it came. Much easier said than done, especially since she had no idea what she was in for during her pregnancy, birth, or the rearing of this child.

No way she could go to a regular doctor. From her calculations, and from seeing the midwife, she was about five months pregnant. That gave her another four months to get settled with the changes and ready for his arrival. Although she looked bigger than normal, a fact that Trevor liked to comment on in awe all too often, she felt good. Not overly tired.

The slow beat of jazz from street musicians filtered up through the flats of the open window. A light spring rain had cleaned the air, and Lily played with the idea of planting some flowers from her California home. Would poppies grow in New Orleans?

After such a short amount of time, the French Quarter had taken over her psyche and heart, and felt like home as no other place had. Part of that feeling came from the magic itself, like roots grown deep in the soil of her life. The other portion could be attributed to Trevor and Lawrence, her lovers, and the relationship they shared.

She clicked through the nursery's website, planning her spring flowerbeds with tulips and daffodils. The vegetation in New Orleans leaned more toward ivy and coneflowers, which looked a bit like an inside-out daisy with its petals pulled back, and hostas with their big, leafy foliage, and summer blossoms. Lily clicked the mouse, bringing the images of the flowers up closer. For the most part, she believed if she planted it, tended to it, and loved it, it would grow. Hopefully, she wouldn't be proven wrong.

Silver popped into the room, looking around expectantly.

"Is this going to be the baby's room, and can we start decorating it soon?" The eager look on her soon-to-be sister-in-law's face made Lily laugh out loud. "Please say yes. Please say yes."

"Yes, yes, on all accounts," Lily said.

"Oh, goody!" Silver said, clapping her hands and jumping up and down. Pregnancy possessed its limitation. No matter how good she felt, Lily wasn't going to be jumping with excitement any time soon. For how mature the young woman seemed at times, there were moments when her youth and childlike demeanor took over. Lily reminded herself that Silver was still officially a teenager. True, she was a werewolf mated with a newborn vampire, but a teen nonetheless.

"Ever wonder what Lawrence did here with all this available space living alone?"

The question threw Lily. "Not really. I thought about him living with Trevor, but not before. You know, he did vampire things."

Now it was Silver's turn to laugh and the sound of it reverberated through Lily's body and filled her with shared happiness. Such pure joy.

When she'd met Silver just last year, the young woman had been wrapped up tight, all nerves and anxiety and fear of being rejected by her birth brother. She'd also grown up within a foster family, and after turning eighteen had reached out for her blood ties. She'd gotten way more than she had anticipated when she'd found her brother Trevor. Now, within the space of a few short months, she'd blossomed and grew into her skin and her new expanded family. Lily realized exactly what that felt like, except these days her skin pulled even tighter.

She yawned, thinking about turning in early. Lawrence was out, doing whatever he did in the early evening, and Trevor was managing their bookstore, Pages. If they needed her, they'd know where to find her.

As she stood, pain crisscrossed her lower back, and she winced and held onto the chair's arm for support.

"Are you all right?" Silver asked, coming to Lily's side.