Anita Blake, Vampire Hunter Colletion_ Books 11-15 - Laurell K. Hamilton [151]
For a moment I thought he was wearing leather pants, until I realized the black boots ran up the entire length of his leg. He was wearing black pants but they were barely visible. I got just a flash of the back of the boots when he moved. The entire length of the boot from ankle to ass was tied with a blue cord that matched the startling blue of his shirt.
I was caught between going yippy-skippy I get to play with them both, and running like hell. I managed to simply stand there in the middle of the room and not run, or fall at their feet like a groupie. Though that last part took more determination than I’d ever admit out loud.
“Ma petite, have you heard a word that we have said?”
I remembered that their mouths had been moving while I gazed at all that masculine splendor, but for the life of me I couldn’t repeat a word of it. I blushed as I admitted, “Not really.”
He looked exasperated, hands on hips, spreading the coat backwards, flashing more of the blue cord as he paced towards me. “It is as I feared, Asher. She is besotted with you. If we cannot,” he made a waffling motion with his hands and I saw the sapphire ring for the first time, winking at me in the candlelight, “tone this effect down, she will be useless tonight.”
“If I had dreamt that she could be so totally affected I would have held back.”
Jean-Claude turned and faced Asher. I could see that there was blue embroidery on the back of the coat. It made a pattern or picture, but I couldn’t figure it out through the spill of hair. “Would you, mon ami, would you truly have withheld such pleasure? Could you have resisted?”
“If I had known this, oui. I would not have weakened us with Musette and her people here, not for any pleasure.”
I frowned and shook my head. “Hold it guys.” They turned and looked at me. They both looked surprised, I think because I sounded so normal. “This can’t be Asher’s powers, not unless his fascination extends to Jean-Claude, because you both seem equally nifty. I feel like jumping up and down and saying yippee, I get to play with them both.” I blinked and fought not to blush. “I’m sorry, did I just say that out loud?”
The two men exchanged glances, then Jean-Claude turned back to me, and Asher directed that pale blue gaze on me. “What are you saying, ma petite? I have never seen you stand so speechless and insensible before me.”
I looked at the two of them and shook my head. “Fine, you need a reminder, I can do that.” I walked past them to the full-length mirror that sat on the opposite side of the room. I motioned them both over. “Come on, come on, we don’t have all night.”
They finally drifted over to me, looking puzzled. I got a little distracted watching them glide towards me in all that silk and leather and sparkly stuff. But finally, I had them standing in front of the mirror, though they weren’t looking at the mirror, they were looking at me, still puzzled.
I finally had to touch each of them lightly on the arm and maneuver them so that the golden cream of Asher’s coat spilled against the black velvet of Jean-Claude’s. So that black curls intermingled with golden waves. I pushed them together until the startling blue of Jean-Claude’s shirt and the sapphire pin brought out the blue of both of their eyes.
“Look at yourselves, and tell me that any mere mortal isn’t going to stand there and say wow, for a few minutes.”
They looked into the mirror, they looked at each other, and finally Jean-Claude smiled. Asher didn’t.
“If it were merely Asher’s powers then, you are correct, ma petite, it would not extend to me.” He turned to face me, still smiling. “But I have never seen you this besotted.”
“You just haven’t noticed.”
He shook his head. “Non, ma petite, I would have noticed such a phenomenon before.”
I shrugged. “Maybe I’ve never seen you both dressed to kill before. The double impact