“That is why you kissed Nicky hello and not Ethan?”
“Yeah.”
“So, the women are not your lovers either?”
I sighed and so wanted out of this conversation, but truth was truth. I wasn’t ashamed of my female lovers, but these were not the women in my life I was the most comfortable with. They were two of the newest, and we hadn’t worked out all the kinks in things yet. Angel slept with Jean-Claude and Richard, Ulfric of the local werewolves, more than me. She and I had sex with the men in my life together more than sex with just each other. She was cheerfully bisexual, just like her brother. The only other person I knew who was as truly bisexual as the twins, without a strong preference for either sex, was Nathaniel.
“It’s okay, Anita. You don’t have to stake a claim you don’t feel,” Angel said, and there was no teasing or smiling now. Some of the light had dimmed in her blue-gold tiger eyes, because they were the eyes of a tiger caught in her human face. All the pure-blooded clan tigers were born with animal eyes, though most people just thought her eyes were exotic human eyes. People see what they expect to see.
I looked at her unhappy face, and I didn’t want her unhappy. I closed the distance between us and slid my arms around her waist, which was surprisingly slender for someone so much taller than I was. I was still more accustomed to touching men. She smiled down at me and put her arms around my shoulders.
“The kiss has to be gentle,” I said, “or your lipstick will be all over me.”
She wrapped herself more securely around me, pressing her breasts into my face so I had to turn my chin up more not to touch my mouth to any of her. That mischievous smile was back on her face, and it made me happy to see it. She gave a little wiggle through the hips, which was usually an invitation to move my hands from waist to her ass, but I moved them up her back instead. Her back was strong and firm under my hands. I fought not to dig my fingers in, because I knew we’d both enjoy it. The mischief was suddenly evil, and I knew she was debating just how gentle the kiss was going to be.
“I mean it, Angel. The locals are already weirded out about the whole wereanimal thing. We don’t need to ring the heterosexual insecurity bell, too.”
“Promise me a kiss like Nicky got once we’re in private?”
“Better kisses in private, I promise,” I said, and I couldn’t help smiling up at her.
“Deal,” she whispered, and leaned over me.
I went up on tiptoe like I did for the tall men in my life. The biggest difference was that there were breasts to brush mine, though with me in body armor, it wasn’t nearly as fun as usual. Her lips were soft and full, and because I wasn’t wearing my own lipstick, I could taste hers. She wrapped her arms around me and pressed us together, and I returned the favor. She opened her lips, and I slid my tongue delicately inside. There was a moment when I forgot about being careful and started to kiss her like I wanted to, with teeth mixed in with tongue and lips until she made a small sound against my mouth. I returned the favor, finally letting my fingers dig into her back. Her hands responded to me, sliding over my body armor like she was t
rying to find me underneath it. When her hands touched my ass, I drew back first, laughing and a little breathless.
“Enough for now,” I said.
I fought not to glance in Olaf’s direction. If he was looking all serial killer at us, it would spoil the mood. If he looked at us like so many men who had that lesbian fantasy, that would piss me off, so I just concentrated on the excitement in Angel’s eyes, her face alight with what we’d just done.
Ethan had Kleenexes in his hands to offer to both of us. Men’s pockets hold so much more than women’s pockets.
“Thanks,” I said.
Angel laughed as she got a compact out of a tiny purse that had cherries on it to match her outfit. She started carefully cleaning her makeup. I just started to wipe the lipstick off. Since I wasn’t wearing any makeup, I didn’t need to be that careful.
I turned to Nicky and Ethan. “Did I get it all?”
Ethan shook his head. Nicky just took the Kleenex and started dabbing at the corner of my mouth and a little on my chin, which meant I looked like I was wearing bad clown makeup. He put his fingertips on my chin and turned my face to the side. “Clean.”
“Thanks,” I said, and turned toward Pierette.
I held my hand out to her, and she took it with a smile. I didn’t have to look very far up to meet her eyes. They were as solid a brown as mine, though not quite as dark. I laid my hand on the side of her face; my other arm went up and over her shoulder. Her arms slid around my waist and up my back. She was one of the women in my bed who made me think words like delicate, dainty, petite. I liked that she made me think words like that as I stared into her eyes from inches away. We leaned in together, and I closed my eyes, though I knew Pierette didn’t. She’d trained herself out of it for safety reasons, or so she’d explained one afternoon.
Her lipstick was neutral, mostly just a shiny lip gloss. It meant we could kiss without worrying about smearing it, so I did. I kissed her like I wanted to be in her arms. I let her know that I valued my hand cupping the delicate bones of her cheek, the press of her mouth against mine. My tongue slid between her lips and she opened wider, so the kiss grew as we explored each other’s mouths. I thought the same thing I’d thought almost every time I’d kissed her: Her mouth was so small. Pierette didn’t like rough kissing, so I was careful not to use teeth or dig my nails into her back. Her arms tightened across my back. I had a moment of feeling just how strong that delicate-seeming body was, and then she broke the kiss like she was coming up for air and I was water that she had to throw herself free of. She stood there with us just holding hands, her breathing ragged like we’d done more than kiss. I wasn’t nearly as breathless with her as with Angel. I missed the teeth and nails.
“You are not bothered by this, any of you?” Olaf said. I didn’t know whom he was asking, but Nicky answered.
“Why should we be?”
“She is only one woman. How can you be happy sharing her with so many others?”
Nicky smiled and let himself look pleased. “Do you think that the only person I have sex with is Anita?”
Olaf looked at him. “I did.”
Careful not to compromise Nicky’s gun hand, Angel came and slid her arm through Nicky’s. Her lipstick was perfectly red once more; she’d retouched it while I was kissing Pierette. Angel leaned her head toward Nicky like they were posing for a couple’s photo. She gave that smile she seemed to be able to do at the drop of a hat. Nicky smiled that guy smile. The one that said, I get to hit this, and it still hasn’t screwed up my primary relationship. It wasn’t a cat-with-cream smile; it was a have-your-cake-and-eat-it-too smile.