by I. T. Lucas
“Hold on.” Jacki lifted a hand. “If you hooked up for one night and then went your separate ways, how did Bhathian know that you got pregnant or that he had a daughter?”
Bhathian's expression turned guilty. “When Eva found out that she was pregnant, she sought me out and told me. But since I didn’t know that she was an immortal, and relationships with humans were not allowed, I asked her to have an abortion. When she refused, I offered financial support, but she refused that as well.”
Eva put a hand on his arm. “All of this is in the past, my love. You’ve punished yourself enough for that with the guilt you’ve carried for all those years.” She turned to Jacki. “I quit my job, found the first guy I believed would make a good father and married him. Bhathian searched for me, but I covered my tracks well. I was always good at disappearing.”
“That’s an amazing story.” Kalugal put his fork down. “I think that I’m starting to believe in your Fates. The probability of that chain of events is so astronomically infinitesimal that it just couldn’t have been coincidental.”
Jacki nodded. “Just like our meeting. The events leading up to it were too bizarre to be random.”
32
Edna
“Put me down.” Edna pushed feebly on Rufsur’s chest.
“The bathtub is full, and the water is getting cold.” He carried her to the bathroom.
“I’ve already taken a bath today.”
“Would you prefer a shower?”
“I don’t have the energy.”
“That’s what I thought.” He entered the bathtub with her in his arms and lowered them both carefully into the water.
Cradled between Rufsur’s powerful thighs, Edna sighed and rested her head on his chest. “This feels nice.”
“It does.” He cupped her breasts. “And so does this.”
A couple of hours ago, his big hands on her breasts would have reignited her fire, but she was all out of fuel. The last bout of lovemaking had consumed even the fumes.
How many times had they had sex? Seven? Or was it more?
Was there a position they hadn’t tried?
Perhaps only some of the more obscure ones in the Kama Sutra.
Hopefully, it would last her for months, or even years, because Edna was never going to have sex with a human again.
Heck, who was she kidding?
Rufsur had ruined her for any other male, human or immortal. Her blood would never sing for anyone else.
Perhaps she was just exhausted.
She’d never indulged so. Couldn’t have even if she’d wished to. Sex with an immortal male was in a different league. Part of it was the nearly endless stamina, and part of it was the effect of the venom bite, and if she cared to be frank, a big part of it was Rufsur.
He was caring, attentive, and attuned, always putting her pleasure before his own.
Sadly, this would be their only time together.
He was leaving soon, and even if he wasn’t, she couldn’t afford more nights like this.
Even now, saying goodbye to him was difficult. A few more nights like that, and she would follow him to the ends of the earth.
Regrettably, it had to end tonight.
“Penny for your thoughts?” His thumb rubbed over her nipple.
“I have no thoughts. I’m too tired to think.”
“Do you concede defeat?”
She sighed. “You won, lover boy. You exhausted me, and given that you are still hard, you could have gone on.”
He leaned and kissed her shoulder where it met her neck. “I couldn’t produce another drop of venom if my life depended on it.”
He’d bitten her three times, which he’d admitted was a record for him. Apparently, most immortal males could ejaculate many times but produce only enough venom for one bite. Two were a lot, and three were unheard of.
Should she feel flattered?
Or perhaps Rufsur had gone through a dry spell as well?
“How long has it been for you?”
“Pretty long. The last time was the night before Jin tethered Kalugal.”
“That’s a long time for an immortal male, which is probably why you could bite me three times.”
“I have gone without for much longer than that before, and I’ve never been able to produce enough for three consecutive bites.”
That was because all of his previous sex partners had been human and blacked out after the first bite, but she could play along. “I must be special.”
“You are.” He kissed the top of her head.
“What time is it?” Her heart squeezed painfully at what she had to do.
“After midnight. Why?”
“We’d better finish up. You need to get back to Kalugal.”
He chuckled. “No one is waiting up for me. I can spend the night if you'll allow it.”
It would have been easier to say what she needed to say while her back was to him, but Edna wasn’t a coward, and after the spectacular night he’d given her, Rufsur deserved to see her face when she told him that this was as far as it was going to go between them.
Stifling a sigh, she turned around and put her hands on his chest. “We can’t grow attached to each other, Rufsur, and every additional moment that we spend together will just make it harder to say goodbye.”
He frowned. “We don’t have to.”
“We must.” She ran her fingers through the sparse hair on his chest. “You are Kalugal’s second-in-command, and I’m the clan’s judge and councilwoman. Neither of us can or will abdicate our responsibilities. There is no future for us, no place where we can be together.”
He frowned. “We could visit each other.”
“Long-distance relationships never work. Besides, both our bosses will oppose it. Both of us hold prominent positions and are privy to information that should never leak out, and lovers talk. It’s just the way things are.”
He dipped his head and kissed her nose. “I can’t accept that this is it. I’ll fight for us.”
“Oh, Rufsur.” She cupped his cheek. “You are smart enough to know that this battle will have no winners, only losers.”
33
Rufsur
Awake in bed, Rufsur dreaded getting up.
Kalugal wouldn’t ask any questions, but Jacki would, and he really didn’t want to talk about it.
Last night, when he’d returned, Eva and Bhathian had still been there even though midnight had been and gone. Rufsur hadn’t wanted to answer questions about where he’d been, so he’d sat on the porch with the nightshift Guardians, waiting for the couple to go home.
When they’d finally stepped out onto the front porch, Eva had said something about rushing back to her baby, and they had only exchanged goodnights.
Hopefully, Kalugal and Jacki hadn’t told them where he’d been. Whatever had transpired between him and Edna was private, and the last thing either of them needed was for the rumor to spread throughout the village.
The Guardians had assured him that what happened under their watch would not be discussed with anyone other than their chief, and Rufsur had no reason to doubt that. It was unprofessional to do otherwise.
Warriors didn’t gossip. At least not about what transpired while they were on duty.
With a sigh, he threw the comforter off, swung his legs over the side of the bed, and padded to the bathroom.
It was best to put last night behind him and try to forget about attempting to seduce Edna again. She’d made it very clear that this was a one-time thing, and that he shouldn’t try to see her again.
Regrettably, her reasoning wasn’t wrong, and much as he would have wanted to get to know her better and see where this could lead them, it wasn’t feasible.
Perhaps it was better that he hadn’t had a chance to discover the reason behind her sadness. A heart-to-heart talk would have brought them even closer, and parting would have been even harder.
It was already difficult.
Edna had rocked his world, and g
oing back to human women would be like going back to drinking Jack Daniel’s after having tasted Macallan 30. It wasn’t that Jack was bad, it was actually quite good, but it couldn’t compare to any Macallan, and especially not to the Macallan 30.
And if he was already using the whiskey analogy, then the other clan females were all Macallan quality, but Edna was the most exquisite and difficult to get.
Damn, he hadn’t expected to be hit so hard.
She’d surprised him, intrigued him, maybe even captured his heart.
Looking at himself in the mirror, Rufsur rubbed a hand over his chest, where the aforementioned organ was giving him trouble. There was a heaviness there that he hadn’t felt for a long time, and he didn’t like the feeling.
Perhaps it would get easier when they returned home, and things got back to normal.
Yeah, as if that was possible.
Kalugal was married now, and things would never be the way they used to be before Jacki had entered the picture. There would be no more clubbing together, or even bar hopping.
The best Rufsur could hope for was for Kalugal and him to share a drink after a successfully concluded meeting. Except, his boss would probably want to hurry back home to his mate instead of spending time with his best friend.
He didn’t begrudge Kalugal his happiness, but from now on, his life would be even lonelier than it had been before.
As Rufsur came out into the living room, three curious sets of eyes greeted him.
“Good morning, everyone.” He walked into the kitchen and poured himself coffee from the carafe.
“How did your date with Edna go?” Jacki asked.
He’d known the question would come from her. Kalugal knew better than to ask, and so did Hivak.
“She probed me.”
“Oh.” Jacki cast a worried glance at Kalugal. “Is that okay? I mean, Rufsur knows a lot about your operation.”
“Edna doesn’t read thoughts.” Rufsur took a sip from his coffee. “Only intentions, feelings, regrets, hopes, those kinds of things. And since I have no regrets, no hopes, and no malevolent intentions toward the clan, it was harmless.”
Jacki let out a relieved breath. “Good. She probed me too, but she said that I was difficult to read. I thought it was because of my immunity.”
As usual, Kalugal didn’t miss much, and the way he was regarding Rufsur with sadness in his eyes, he’d noticed the remark about no hope. “Things are never as straightforward as they seem.” He walked up to Rufsur and clapped him on the back. “You missed Eva and Bhathian’s story, which illustrates it perfectly. Do you know that Eva met Bhathian years ago, seemingly by chance, and that they conceived a daughter in that one encounter?”
“That’s remarkable. Why didn’t they stay together?”
“Neither of them knew that the other was an immortal. Bhathian somehow managed to either not bite her or conceal it. I didn’t ask for details. But the bottom line is that they parted, and he only found his daughter years later when she was already an adult, and together, they searched for Eva. Since she didn’t know how she’d turned immortal, she assumed that she’d been experimented on without her knowledge and that immortality was a side effect of those experiments. She went into hiding to protect her daughter, thinking that the government was searching for her and would snatch both of them to figure out how her immortality worked.”
“That’s a fascinating story. But what does it have to do with me?”
“Nothing. It’s just another example of how twisted things might get and still unravel in the best possible way. There is always hope.”
34
Kalugal
Hivak walked into the living room with Kalugal’s phone and handed it to him. “You have a message.”
Since Kalugal didn’t trust the devices that William had loaned them, they were kept in the pantry, and someone had to check them for messages every fifteen minutes or so.
“It’s from Kian.” He pressed play on the recording.
“We need to talk. Call me when you get this message.” The gruff voice made it sound as if it was an emergency, but Kalugal knew better.
Jacki looked up at him with worry in her eyes. “Did something happen?”
Kalugal waved a hand in dismissal. “That’s how Kian always sounds.” He returned the call. “You wanted to speak to me?”
“I will come over. Is this a good time for you?”
Kalugal chuckled. “It’s not like I have anything better to do.”
“I’ll be there in ten minutes.”
Jacki crossed her arms over her chest. “Now I’m sure that something has happened. Otherwise, Kian wouldn’t need to talk to you in person.” She glanced at Rufsur. “Are you sure Edna found nothing incriminating or suspicious in her probe?”
He shrugged. “Not according to what she told me. She might have lied, but I don’t think she’s the dishonest type. I mean, with her being a judge, she can’t, true?”
Kalugal had met enough corrupt judges to know that they weren’t necessarily honest people, but he didn’t think Edna was the type either. “Did anything happen on your date with her that I should know about?”
Rufsur shook his head. “It was a very pleasant evening, and we parted on friendly terms.”
The guy sounded as if he was talking about a business meeting and not a hookup, but Kalugal wasn’t fooled. He knew Rufsur too well for that. Usually, his lieutenant was an upbeat kind of guy, but this morning his mood was dark, almost despondent. Things hadn’t gone well with Edna, and he had a feeling that Rufsur had gotten his feelings hurt.
But as long as the reverse hadn’t happened, and Edna was fine, they had nothing to worry about.
Several minutes later, Kian arrived with Anandur and Brundar, which was expected since he went everywhere with those two, and given their friendly expressions, they weren’t there to make trouble.
Kalugal got up and offered his hand to Kian. “What brings you here this morning?”
Kian shook what was offered. “We need to go over a few things, and I thought it would be better to meet here rather than in my office.” He looked at Jacki. “Some of it concerns the wedding party.”
She nodded and waved at the armchair. “Please, take a seat. Can I offer you coffee? Tea?”
“No, thank you. Perhaps later.”
As Kian sat down, his bodyguards joined Rufsur and Hivak at the dining table.
Leaning back, Kian crossed his legs at the ankles and smiled. “I have good news. I spoke with Annani last night, and she agreed to postpone the wedding by a month.”
Kalugal let out a relieved breath. “I’m glad. But does it have anything to do with the judge’s hostility toward us?” He cast a quick glance at Rufsur, who was pretending not to listen and doing a lousy job of it.
“In part. We’ve realized that not everyone was comfortable with you being here and with the rest of your men arriving for the wedding. Syssi suggested that we take a more gradual approach so people would get used to your presence.” Kian pushed his longish hair back. “She pointed out that those who attended the summit got to know you and some of your men, which made us more comfortable with you being here. But to the others, you are Navuh’s son and an unknown entity.”
Chuckling, Kalugal lifted the arm with the cuff. “Does that indicate comfort? I don’t think you are comfortable with us being here either.”
Kian shrugged. “We were forced to move quickly because of Jacki’s transition. Personally, I would have liked more time as well, but Amanda pointed out that we shouldn’t lose momentum either. The summit was a good start, and the wedding is a great opportunity for our peoples to get to know each other. That’s why I believe a month is the perfect timing. It’s not too far off into the future to allow the spirit of cooperation we’ve achieved in the summit to fizzle out, but it’s long enough to give us more time to do some PR work.”
Kalugal snorted. “Are you going to try to sell my men and me to your clan, Kian? You can’t do that if
you don’t believe in us yourself.”
“It’s not a question of belief, and I’m not talking about propaganda. I’m talking about exposure. You need to show your face around the village, go home, return in a week or two for more talks, and then when you arrive with your men for the wedding, it won’t be such a shocking development.”
Uncrossing his legs, Kalugal leaned forward. “I understand the need for me to come back in a week or two to make an appearance, but I thought that we’d covered all the important issues in the summit. The details could be discussed over the phone or via email. Perhaps it could be more of a social meeting.” He smirked. “You can claim that you miss your favorite cousin and want to see my beautiful wife and me.”
Kian ignored the teasing. “We left out one issue of crucial importance regarding the future matings between your men and our females. Who will live where? I don’t want our females leaving to join your community, and you don’t want your males leaving yours. But even if we agree on a fifty-fifty split, with half the couples living in the village and the other half joining your community, it will still mean a net loss of females for us. And as we all know, our future depends on their ability to produce Dormant children who can be turned immortal.”
Kalugal had been expecting that. In fact, he was surprised that it had taken Kian so long to come to the conclusion that their tentative agreement was not as beneficial to the clan as it was to Kalugal.
“I understand your concern. What do you propose to do?”
“I don’t know yet. We both need to give it some thought and revisit the issue when you come back in a week or two.”
“Am I still going to meet the goddess?” Jacki asked.
“Of course. You are invited to lunch at my house at two in the afternoon.”
“Can Rufsur and Hivak come? They also want to meet the goddess.”