Seven Devils and a Rose

He led me to the table and then pulled a chair out for me, the one opposite Lord Geoffrey.

As I sat, Lord Geoffrey said, "You look beautiful in that dress, Alfie."

I said, "Thank you, my lord." Though he had already seen me in it this afternoon during the interrogation.

Felix took the seat to my right and Caleb my left. As Felix was pouring some juice into my glass, Caleb and Lord Geoffrey started gathering food, oddly enough, onto my plate and after, theirs.

As naturally as that, we started eating in this lovely sort of companionable silence. I guess the lords must be very hungry, and boy could they eat. Aria wasn't kidding when she had told me the lords had big appetites. But of course, this was because of their dark qi, which apparently required a huge amount of daily sustenance to nourish it. I guess the other types of qi, the pure ones included, didn't require as much food to cultivate them. Because I sure didn't have that big of an appetite. Although, I did love food.

It was halfway through the meal when I decided to question them about something that had been nagging at me since this afternoon.

I cleared my throat, and I said, "About the earrings."

Lord Geoffrey lifted his gaze to me, his emerald-green eyes twinkling. He asked, "You don't like them?"

I shook my head. "No, I love them very much, my lord. Brenna said because they have the Acaedien motif, it means that I'm…"

"One of us," Lord Geoffrey said. "You're family now, Alfie."

Oddly enough, I felt my heart glow in delight at hearing this. So I was a part of their family now. How nice indeed. I licked my lower lip and said, "But I'm not of this world."

Felix said, "Does it matter? The fact that we're in love with you proves that whatever your background is and where you're from doesn't matter."

I nodded in understanding. Wasn't it fortunate for me that I happened to stumble into these men's lives? Now I'd become one of them, a part of their family.

I said, "Regarding that, there's only one of me and three of you, my lords."

Beside me, Felix shrugged his broad shoulders. "We don't mind sharing."

Across the table, Lord Geoffrey winked at me with a wicked grin that made my tummy flutter.

He said, "If you don't mind having three suitors, of course."

I stammered, my face blushing hot, "I… I don't mind. Not at all. Fact is, I'm pleased that I don't have to choose."

Lord Geoffrey and Felix burst out laughing, while Caleb reached out and stroked my cheek fondly. I shifted my gaze to him and smiled.

He said, "We're glad you don't mind. If you did, there'd be a problem on our part."

"The thing is, Alfie," Lord Geoffrey said, "you might not end up with just the three of us." He chuckled. "Imagine that. You'll have your own harem." He winked at me again.

He was teasing me, wasn't he?

Of course, I knew exactly what he meant. I knew that the other lords, too—Noah, Aaron, Victor, and Ethan—were smitten with me in their own way. It was hard not to notice, after all. Lord Ethan even declared out loud that he and his comrades wanted me when they had explained to me about the attraction between the pure and dark qi.

I retorted, just to get back at him, "I don't mind having my own harem, my lord, and starting with three is a perfect number for me."

Gosh, I spoke about going into a relationship and having my own harem of hunky men as if it were natural, didn't I? Suddenly, my mind flicked to the demanding question at hand.

What about the sexy stuff? How was that going to work out?

I shook my head and decided that we'd discuss it later. Now I wanted to know more about the earrings.

I cleared my throat and asked, "Felix's and Caleb's earrings, are they qi suppressor items, too?"

Lord Geoffrey nodded. "Yes." His eyes twinkling, he continued. "Due to a certain little elf from another world and the unexpected incident that occurred a week ago, they've leveled up again. In other words, they've gone through qi evolution. This resulted in some changes in appearance. Unfortunately, this time, the masks aren't enough to hide and suppress their powers."

Well, of course I knew that he was talking about me being that culprit of a little elf from another world.

So because of me and my pure qi leading to that incident, both Caleb and Felix had their powers increased. Did that mean that their qi strength would evolve every time they went through some sort of berserk-like event and overcame it?

I turned to Felix and said, "Is that why your hair color stays red, Felix?" Then I turned to Caleb. "And your hair looks even darker?"

They both nodded.

I chuckled. "I suppose, Felix, you'll be a redhead from now on."

He asked, "Don't you like redheads, darling?"

I said, grinning cheekily, "I like redheads, Felix. In fact, your hair color reminds me of the sun, very warm, generous, and giving."

Felix showed me the oddest expression on his face then. Suddenly, his mauve eyes darkened, and he said loudly, as if he couldn't contain himself anymore, "Fuck!"

I asked, "What's wrong?"

Lord Geoffrey said, "It's obvious that Felix has been doing his best to control himself, Alfie."

Control himself?

Then I saw the way Felix was looking at me, in that raw erotic way that made my heart skip.

I see. Felix wanted me, didn't he? He wanted to… make love to me.

Once I fully realized that, I felt my body respond by going all hot and bothered, while my face was flushing.

Caleb said then, drawing my attention to him, "Before committing to this… relationship of ours, Alfie, you need to know a few things."

I cocked my head to one side. "A few things?"

Lord Geoffrey said, "Regarding the intimacy part."

"Have you had any experience before?" Felix asked gruffly.

I shook my head. "I've never been with anyone before. Is that a problem? But I know the gist of it."

God, I wondered if this was the type of conversation we should be having during dinner.

I glanced around the table, looking at each man in turn. Was it just me or did they seem quite pleased with my answer?

Were they pleased about the part where I had never been with anyone before, or were they pleased that I knew the gist of how sexual intercourse worked?

Lord Geoffrey said, "The thing you need to know is, Alfie, once you've become intimate with us, your body will change."

"Change?" I asked. "What do you mean change?"

Felix said, "We're demon lords, little elf. For one thing, when we make love, our qi sometimes could get out of control and we might end up hurting you."

"I see," I said. "But I have strong qi, too, so shouldn't I be able to handle it?"

All three lords seemed pleased with that answer.

Caleb said, "That aside, as Geoffrey said before, your body will change physiologically."

Felix said, "In history, women who took demon lords as lovers tended to… have disastrous ends."

"Such as?" I asked.

"They became mentally and emotionally unstable because they couldn't handle the… demands."

Were they implying that demon lords were sex-craved addicts or something?

Caleb said, "What we mean is that once you've mated with a particular demon lord, your body's physiology will change to accommodate that demon lord. Your body will produce what we call qi nectar, and it can be quite unbearable for some."

Lord Geoffrey said. "Which is why you need to think about this very carefully, Alfie."

Caleb said, "Furthermore, your body's aging process and mechanism will change to one that is like ours."

"In other words, you will age slower than you normally would as a human," Lord Geoffrey said.

"Because we've mated?" I asked. Not that we have yet, though.

All three lords nodded.

So it was just like when a vampire turned you, then? Your body's mechanism changed and you were no longer human. Although being a demon lord's lover didn't mean that I'd be immortal, right? In fact, I didn't think even the demon lords were immortal. They just had very long lifespans.

I said, nodding my head, "I understand."

Lord Geoffrey said, "Then we'll let you have some time to think about it."

I shook my head. "What is there to think about? I love all three of you, and no matter how hard or long I think about it, I'll just end up with the same answer. I've already decided that I'd go into a relationship with all three of you, despite the fact I have no idea what the future holds for me, especially since I'm from another world. And of course, intimacy is a part of that relationship."

God, I couldn't believe I could say something like that. Then again, my logic was that when you finally found the one—or in this case, three—you truly love, why wait? Why not enjoy the precious gift and time the universe generously offered you now? Before it all disappeared before your eyes?

Suddenly, both Lord Geoffrey and Felix burst out laughing again. Meanwhile, Caleb pulled me into his arms and kissed me on the lips so hard and so passionately that I felt my body quivering with ardor.

When he drew back, he said, "This is getting harder by the second."

I chuckled. "Then what are you all waiting for?"