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Anita had gone on dates with Jean-Claude and dates with Richard, but never on a date with both of them as a true Triad. In fact, this was the first Triad she'd formed since both of her college fiancés had abandoned her because their WASP families didn't want a Hispanic's daughter tainting their very white family tree.
So she was nervous.
She checked her very red lipstick that combined with a smoky eye and eyeliner made her brown eyes more intense and her face framed by a vast black hair that she let grow to unacceptable levels, as both Richard and Jean-Claude agreed not to cut their hair, while she didn't cut hers as a result her hair reached her waist the longest it had ever been in a long time.
Anita tried not to think too much as she drove to the discreet restaurant that Jean-Claude owned and that had been chosen for this particular meeting.
When she spotted Richard sitting at the table, dressed in gray business attire without a tie and with his hair slicked back in a way that almost did the trick of making it look like a short bob and his honey brown, almost golden eyes fixed on her, Anita was glad she hadn't been the first to arrive, she hated waiting.
He stood up like a knight to pull out the chair and give her a light kiss on the mouth, being careful not to get lipstick all over himself and look like a clown.
— You look beautiful. — Richard said, his warm breath hitting my earlobe before sitting down.
They chatted for a while longer about pleasantries. Richard asked about Anitta's work, and she replied through gritted teeth that her boss Bertie was being a bastard as usual, and Richard talked about a project of his involving supernatural creatures threatened with extinction in some small town in the interior of Missouri.
Then Jean-Claude came in for a grand entrance, his long black hair a beautiful contrast to the red silk shirt that looked sinful with his expensive leather pants that disappeared into square-heeled leather boots. He looked good, he always did, but he looked particularly sensational tonight, or maybe it was just that Anita was particularly excited.
— Ma petite, mon loupe. How do I look tonight?
— Wonderful. — Anita conceded, even though she knew it was dangerous to give Jean-Claude the compliments he liked to fish for.
— Flashy. — Richard said through gritted teeth.
Jean-Claude gave his sexiest laugh that always made the hairs on the back of Richard's neck stand up and his spine heat up even if he didn't like it or admit it.
It seemed silly to think about it, but it was the first time that the three of them were sitting at a triangular table suitable for triads ready to eat or at least Richard and she would eat, after all Jean-Claude would only taste the food through the telepathic link he had with Anita and Richard, his human and animal servant to call, respectively.
— Do you already know what you're going to order? — Jean-Claude asked in anticipation.
— We didn't get there long before you, we didn't even have time to look at the menu yet. — Richard replied defensively.
Jean-Claude pretended not to notice his girlfriend's boyfriend's discomfort. Because that's what Richard was his girlfriend's boyfriend, Anita had no illusions about being a true triad with her two boyfriends—a vampire and a werewolf—who could barely tolerate each other when they were in the same room.
Growing up in rural Missouri in a fervently Catholic family with two mothers and a father, Anita understood that certain misogynists were internalized in Richard that he might be straight and have no interest in men and especially no interest in Jean-Claude a man who was not used to being rejected by anyone and by an irony of fate was interested in the two people least affected by his stunning beauty and midnight blue eyes.
— Take the menu and choose something for me. — Anita said with a rare moment of appeasement.
Jean-Claude opted for Shrimp Beurre Blanc for Anita and Richard chose a French dish with red meat. Waiting for their order, a somewhat uncomfortable silence settled over the table for a moment.
Normally, Jean-Claude is a social butterfly capable of entering and exiting any situation with grace and elegance. His impeccable social skills had yielded him many rewards, which is why he always kept them sharp. It was only in the presence of these two who were supposed to belong to him as subordinates to his master, and who still challenged him every step of the way, that he never seemed to get the right reaction.
—How is your Thunderbird protection project coming along, Richard? — Jean-Claude asked with false innocence.
—Better than expected after the National Animal Protection Association understood that even a supernatural creature still deserves protection… — then Richard stopped and realized. —How do you know about my involvement in protecting the Thunderbirds?
— I'm just interested in what you do, Richard. And I like to keep myself well informed.
— You have no right to spy on me, Jean-Claude, we are nothing to each other.
— Aren't we? — Jean-Claude had learned that the best way to keep Richard and Anita interested was through provocation; neither of them could let a fight go.
— We are not friends, boyfriends or… or lovers, we have a supernatural bond of convenience that will soon be severed and that's it.
Jean-Claude laughed mockingly.
— I don't even need the lycanthrope's sense of smell to know that this is a big lie, mon loupe.
Anita was happy that the food had arrived just as Jean-Claude and Richard were about to engage in one of their long discussions that for some reason were more charged than usual.
Richard seemed more relaxed eating his rare steak and Jean-Claude looked cute. As strange as it may seem, that is the only possible description for his satisfied expression as we ate and he tasted the taste in his mouth as if he were human again. It was in these moments that something in Anita's heart softened and she stopped seeing him as a monster and started seeing him as a man she was beginning to love.
After Jean-Claude broke the ice with a light provocation the conversation started to flow again with them talking about their work and their mutual acquaintances avoiding names that would sour the conversation was almost normal with light laughter and gentle flirting.
I remind Jean-Claude of his previous triads, despite having had thousands of lovers over hundreds of years of his existence, he has only had two triads, the first when he was still human and served as a scapegoat for a noble family until a recently widowed baron and baroness were enchanted by him to the point of proposing marriage, and the second when he had already acquired immortality and his once good friend Asher and his human servant Juliana had invited him to their bed and their hearts.
The bittersweet feeling took hold of him against his will and he tried to shake it off. He had always been the third of a prime couple. Even now that he had met Anita first and in theory they were a prime couple. He knew that Richard had gotten close before he and Anita could make a more permanent bond, and the mortality that bound Richard and Anita, kept them apart from him.
Richard was waiting for dessert, but despite everything, the night wasn't the disaster he thought it would be after he agreed with her to appease Anitta. He didn't say lightly that the bond he had with Jean-Claude would soon be broken. It was only natural that this would happen when he finally managed to take control of the pack and could choose another girl to be the third with him and Anita.
He knew he would have to do this sooner rather than later, after all Jean-Claude's laughter was starting to affect him and his sweet scent that had previously brought repulsion now calmed his inner wolf. He really wanted to be able to say that he was completely immune to the power of seduction that the vampire exuded, but in the privacy of his thoughts some things could not be omitted.
There was a reason he went to Jean-Claude after Anita left with him, but refused to sleep with him. Richard firmly refused even in the privacy of his thoughts putting it into words.
Richard knew that Anita was the right woman for him and what other explanation could there be for him to be there sharing her on a date with another man when he only wanted to have two wives, just like his own father and mother's marriage.
Richard's entire family had one-man, two-woman triads in houses with white picket fences, big lawns, and lots of kids, and that was all he wanted for them.
Then he looked at Jean-Claude with determination. I just need to get rid of you. And my dreams came true.
As if reading his thoughts, Jean-Claude looked deep into Richard's eyes and gave him a smile that made his blood sing.