Sacrifice: Laid Bare (Laid Bare #4)(7)

He didn’t add with Dunne, but I knew that was what he meant.

Dunne cleared his throat, reminding Lucien and me that we weren’t alone. “Well, if you two are done professing your never-ending devotion,” he said, “would you like to hear my proposal for how you can escape your destiny without anyone having to die?”

Lucien lowered his hand from my face and pivoted to Dunne. “Yes, of course. How can I get out of the pact in a way that allows us both to live?”

Dunne smiled smugly, his hazel eyes sparkling. “There’s only one way. We must make Dahlia one of us.”





Lucien



I laughed. “If that were possible, Dunne, I would’ve done it ages ago.”

“It is possible,” Dunne maintained. “You just don’t know how.”

That was true, and I hungrily demanded, “So, tell me. I’ll do it right now.”

“It’s not that simple.” He took a sip of his scotch. “Also, only through both of us using our powers can this task be accomplished in a way that’s not harmful to Dahlia…or to you. In fact, when it’s done, you two will be a force to be reckoned with, a team so strong no one will ever be able to fight you.” He lowered his head. “Not even me.”

I was intrigued. “So, I could walk away from the pact, and Dahlia and I will remain safe forever.”

“Yes.”

Hmm, I suspected there had to be a catch. “And just how exactly can we accomplish that?”

Dunne blew out a breath. “This is the part you’re not going to like. As I said, making Dahlia like us will require both of us to use our powers to the fullest. Together, and only together, will we be able to transfer enough power to Dahlia to change her into one of us.”

I wasn’t sure I liked the sound of this. I’d given Dahlia some of my power in the past, and there was only one way I knew of for it to work—sex.

“Is this just your way of trying to f*ck my woman?” I asked accusingly.

I huffed in irritation, and Dahlia quietly interjected, “Let’s hear him out, Lucien.”

She had a point. I was irrational when it came to her. I couldn’t figure out why I was so possessive—in all ways—of Dahlia. Sex was usually not such an issue for me. And true, I’d forgiven her for f*cking the waiter at the hotel, but that was only after I’d killed him. Dunne, though, I’d never be able to kill.

“No, you would never be able to kill me,” Dunne confirmed.

“Stop getting in my head!” I roared, standing. I was tiring of his exerting his power every five minutes.

Dunne was unaffected by my outburst. “Sit down, Lucien,” he stated calmly. I grudgingly sat back down, and Dunne said, “Why don’t we ask Dahlia what she wants?”

“Sure, fine.”

Both our gazes moved to her. She was sitting quietly, head down, her auburn hair framing her heart-shaped face.

“Dahlia?” I prompted.

“Is it just sex?” she asked.

“Yes. It would be like when I gave you power before,” I said.

“But with both of us,” Dunne threw in.

I resisted the urge to growl.

“I’m willing to try,” Dahlia said in a rush, her green eyes meeting my gaze. “But we need to set some ground rules first.”

Both Dunne and I nodded. Ground rules sounded good to me, like maybe Dunne could off himself after.

“You wish,” he murmured.

“First,” Dahlia began, ignoring me and focusing instead on Dunne. “There will be no more talking to Lucien without me. If you go into his head, you go in mine.”

“Fair enough,” Dunne said.

And then to back up his words, I felt him leaving my mind.

“Thank you,” I muttered sarcastically.

Dahlia ignored my commentary and just went on. “Second, I think we should try a trial run.” She looked from Dunne to me. “Maybe just the sex part first. I don’t know if I can handle everything…not all at once. Let’s see how I deal with being intimate with you both. And”—her eyes went solely to me—“we need to see how Lucien reacts, as well.”

Could I handle it? I was going to have to in order to make Dahlia into a being like me. I needed to check my possessiveness at the door to save us both.

“Okay,” I agreed, knowing I could do it if it meant saving our hides. And, well, it did.

Dunne nodded. “That sounds agreeable to me, as well.”

I had to bite my tongue to not utter I bet.

Dahlia stood, taking my hand and Dunne’s. “What are you doing?” I asked.

Smiling, she said, “I think we should start now.”





Dahlia



I couldn’t believe I was doing this, taking two men to bed with me. And these were not just mere men, but powerful beings. I still wondered what Lucien and these creatures were, beyond being something magical. Perhaps Dunne would tell me, or maybe Lucien would afterward. I’d sure like to know what I was signing up for, after all.

Upstairs, in the loft, I smoothed out the mound of covers Dunne had designated as a bed for me and Lucien, and then I laid back.

I kicked off my wooly socks, leaving me in just a sweater and leggings. Lucien and Dunne kneeled on either side of me, and my emotions promptly scattered all over the place.