by I. T. Lucas
“I need to ask something of you.” He rubbed his hand over the back of his neck.
“Do you also want sausage with your eggs? I can defrost some.”
“It’s not about food. As long as we are seeing each other, I need you to promise me exclusivity.”
She chuckled. “Before you barreled into my life, I went so long without that I can’t remember the last time I was with a man. You have nothing to worry about.”
That wasn’t the answer he wanted, but it would have to suffice.
“What about you?” She cast him a sidelong glance.
“I couldn’t even if I wanted to, and I don’t. You are the only one I want.”
“Damn.” The egg she’d been holding cracked in her palm. “You’ve bonded with me.” She tossed it in the sink and rinsed her hand. “That’s precisely why I was trying to stay away from you.” She turned the burner off and came to sit next to him at the kitchen counter. “What are we going to do now?”
“I don’t know what’s the big deal. Isn’t it what every woman wants? A guy who is exclusively hers and is not interested in other women?”
She reached for his hand and clasped it. “For a human, it wouldn’t have been a big deal. For an immortal, it is. This is not a temporary thing, Rufsur, this is forever. And I might have bonded with you as well, but it’s harder for me to tell since I didn’t have cravings for other men before, so I don’t feel differently now.”
That was good to hear, but he still didn’t know whether Edna felt the bond or not, and until she admitted it, he was going to play it dumb.
Frankly, he didn’t understand how they could have bonded without being in love first. Or maybe he was already in love with her?
Perhaps.
But Edna wasn’t in love with him.
“I don’t understand. How could we have bonded so fast? We barely know each other.”
“I’m not sure, but the lack of desire for anyone else is the first sign of the bond. There is also an element of addiction, but it’s too soon for that.”
“What addiction?”
Edna sighed. “It’s part of our strange genetics. When an immortal couple is exclusive with one another, the female gets addicted to the particular venom of the male she’s having sex with. That’s completely independent of a bond and can even happen to a couple who aren’t in love. After she becomes addicted, other immortal males are no longer attractive to her, and she is not attractive to them. Once her scent changes to match her mate’s, he becomes addicted to her as well. It usually takes weeks, even months of daily sex for the addiction to set in, so that’s not what is happening to us.” She looked into his eyes and whispered. “As difficult as it is for me to accept, we might be fated for each other.”
That was a romantic concept that many clan members believed in. They also believed in the Fates choosing mates for them.
Rufsur found it ridiculous.
He’d chosen Edna, not the Fates. It was his decision, and there had been nothing supernatural about it. She was a fine woman, intelligent, beautiful, kind, and one of the most prominent members of the clan.
Apparently, he had a thing for powerful women.
“You are a logical woman, Edna. I‘m surprised that you believe in such nonsense.”
“It’s not nonsense. I’ve seen it at work with other couples. Just look at Amanda and Dalhu. Do you really believe that their pairing could have happened without the Fates’ intervention?”
He shrugged. “They fell in love. It happens.”
“Amanda tried to fight it and ran away, leaving Dalhu behind locked up in the dungeon. She thought she could forget him, but she realized that she couldn’t and that she had to fight for them to be together. The entire clan was in upheaval, Kian couldn’t even stand to look at her, and Annani had to get involved.” Edna smiled. “I helped too, although my contribution was limited to finding a legal loophole.”
“What was it?”
She waved a dismissive hand. “That’s not important. What I’m trying to say is that they fought to be together against impossible odds and won.”
Rufsur leaned toward Edna, so his face was in line with hers. “So what’s the moral of the story, my lovely lady judge?”
Edna swallowed. “I don’t know.”
“Yes, you do. If you believe that we are destined for each other, then instead of fighting the connection between us, you should fight for us to be together. Am I right?”
29
Edna
Edna pulled back. “Maybe I overreacted.”
Why the hell had she jumped all the way to that conclusion? Rufsur had probably been with several females since the last time they’d been together, and despite his proclamations to the contrary, he probably would be again before returning to the village for the wedding in two weeks.
The thought was enough to make her blood boil, but wasn’t it what she wanted? It would prove that they hadn’t bonded and they were not each other’s fated mates.
And as for her, a lack of interest in males was nothing unusual.
“You are just scared,” Rufsur said.
She shook her head. “I don’t know what came over me. As you said, we are not in love. So how can we have bonded? And there is no way you are addicted to me. You might think that you don’t want to be with anyone else, but two weeks is a long time for an immortal male to go without sex. You will most likely change your mind.”
“It is a long time to abstain. But I haven’t been with anyone during our previous two-week separation, and I have no intention of doing so during the next one.”
“Perhaps you were busy with work?”
“I’m never that busy.”
Edna crossed her arms over her chest. “Last time, you admitted to me that you hadn’t been with anyone since Kalugal caught Jacki and Arwel. That was long before you met me, which means that it’s not unusual for you to abstain for long stretches of time.”
Rufsur sighed. “I don’t want to argue with you. How about we eat breakfast and then go back to bed? It seems that we communicate most honestly with our bodies.”
Ouch.
He was accusing her of being dishonest, and there was something to it. She loved being with him, but did she love him? Could she even feel love anymore?
In any case, it was too soon, and they needed to slow down. Hopefully, because their lovemaking was so sporadic, she wouldn’t get addicted to him even though his venom was the only one entering her system, and she had no intention of mixing things up just to avoid that. It would be better to abstain entirely.
Liar, the small voice in the back of her head whispered. You want him in your life. You are already dreading the moment he leaves.
Shut up! Edna commanded the silly voice. I’m not a teenager in love. Not this time. Out loud, she said, “I’ll put bread slices in the toaster.”
She turned the burner back on, cracked six eggs in, and then added two more. Rufsur was a big guy who needed a lot of fuel, especially if they were going back to bed.
Perhaps she should ask him not to bite her again. He’d already done so last night and again this morning, so it shouldn’t be a problem for him. His venom glands were most likely depleted.
As his phone buzzed with an incoming message, Rufsur groaned. “Whatever it is, I’m not leaving before I have something to eat.” He didn’t even pick the thing up.
“Check who it’s from. What if it’s an emergency?”
He flipped the phone over and unlocked it. “It’s from Kalugal. Kian is inviting us for a tour of the new plots he’s grading.” He looked up. “Do you know what that’s all about?”
Edna shook her head. “In typical Kian fashion, he decided to prepare lots for fifty more houses without informing the council or asking our opinions. Apparently, he believes that many of your men will want to cross over to the clan once they find mates. They will need homes to live in.”
Rufsur frowned. “Even if that turns out to be the case, which I hope it won’
t, hardly any of the houses in the part of the village that we are staying in are occupied. Other than us, I think only two are. Even if all of us moved into the village, there are already enough homes for everyone.”
“My thoughts exactly. Kian’s excuse was that he couldn’t secure the Chinese crew that built our village just to put up the fence, and he needed to give them more work. He says that he doesn’t plan to build on those plots anytime soon.”
“Why does he use a Chinese crew?”
Edna scooped the scrambled eggs into two plates and put them on the counter. “It is easier to keep them contained. Once they start a job, they don’t leave until they are done. They stay on the property until they are ready to go back to China. They also don’t like to interact with anyone, and that makes thralling away their memories of the village easy. Kian only has to do it once before they leave.”
“Does he ask their permission? I was led to believe that the clan is big on consent.”
“According to clan law, he doesn’t have to. Thralling humans to keep our existence secret is allowed.”
“That leaves a lot to interpretation.”
Edna smiled. “You would make a good attorney.” She got up to get the toast. “When is the tour?”
“Kian is picking up Kalugal and Jacki at ten, so we have a whole hour, and I know how I want to spend it.” He winked.
“First, finish your breakfast.” She took a bite of her toast, and then put it down. “I’ll come with you. It will be interesting to hear Kian explain what he imagines those additional fifty houses will be needed for.”
30
Vlad
“Look what I got.” Wendy walked into the bedroom with a small box in her hand. “I was afraid that it wouldn’t arrive on time, but apparently it came with the other things that I ordered, but someone took it by mistake.” She unpacked a tube of lipstick and looked at it lovingly as if it was a hard-won prize. “I found it in the deliveries room, but today’s shipment hasn’t arrived yet, so someone must have taken it and returned it later.”
“That’s nice.” Vlad turned back to look at the red T-shirt Wendy had left for him on the bed.
It was so annoying that she had refused to order things for herself until she’d gotten her first paycheck, and then when she had gotten it, she’d gone ahead and ordered things for him as well.
Between his share of clan profits and what he made in the bakery, Vlad had plenty of money, and since Wendy was his mate, it belonged to her too.
Except, she wasn’t ready to accept it. Perhaps she needed a proper wedding ceremony to convince her that they were mated for life?
She’d freak out if he suggested that.
“Why are you looking at the poor shirt as if it’s the enemy?”
“It’s red.”
“That’s the idea. You need to add some color to your wardrobe. Everything you have is either black or gray.”
“Do you really think it will look good on me?”
“Yes.” She made a face. “Put it on.”
The T-shirt was simple, and it fit him well, but he’d never worn red before, and it felt awkward. The indigo she’d gotten for him would have been better.
“How do I look?”
“Gorgeous. It goes perfectly with your dark hair and pale skin.” Wendy wrapped her arms around his neck. “My beautiful vampire.” She kissed him, going right in with her little tongue and playing with his fangs.
He pulled away. “If you want to make it to Roni’s barbecue, you’d better not start anything.”
“Fine.” Letting go of him, Wendy smiled and waved her new lipstick. “I’m going to try it on.”
As she ducked into the bathroom, Vlad sat on the bed, propping his elbows on his knee, and his head on his fists. The barbecue was a good opportunity to talk to Roni about digging for stuff on Wendy’s mom, but he still wasn’t sure that it was the right thing to do.
Wendy was happy, she loved the village, and was making new friends every day. If he did nothing, it would be best for her. But he wouldn’t have a moment’s peace until he avenged her.
Thoughts of what her father might have done to her and her mother kept sneaking up on him, waking him up at night, and swirling in his head during the early morning hours at the bakery. The work he did was manual, not cerebral, and since his brain had nothing to keep busy, it wandered to dark places it shouldn’t.
So instead of living in mated bliss and smiling twenty-four-seven, he was angry most of the time, and trying to hide his elongated fangs.
Wendy came out of the bathroom and sat next to him. “What’s the matter? If you hate the shirt that much, you don’t have to wear it.”
“The shirt is okay. It’s just an adjustment.” He looked at her. “Nice lipstick.”
She smiled brightly. “I know, right? Amanda recommended it to me. It was pricy, but I figured that I could splurge on one item. Everything else I bought was inexpensive.”
He wrapped his arm around her shoulders. “When are you going to get it through your head that you have plenty of money? We might not be rich, but you can afford anything you want.”
Wendy shook her head. “I’m enjoying my independence. I don’t want to have to ask you for money.”
“You don’t. I added you to my bank account, and I ordered credit cards in your name. You don’t need my permission to buy things.”
“What if it’s something really big?”
“Then we talk about it. I won’t buy anything super expensive without discussing it with you first. We are a unit, Wendy.”
“I need more time to internalize that.” She tilted her head and looked at him. “I didn’t grow up in a shared household, so I have no good example of how a couple should handle their money, but you didn’t grow up in one either. How do you know what to do? Maybe we shouldn’t share everything?”
“I did what felt right to me. But if you want to keep separate accounts, that’s fine. I understand your need for independence.”
She cupped his cheek. “You are so good to me, baby. Give me a little more time to get used to this, okay?”
He couldn’t help himself and asked, "If we were married in a traditional human ceremony, would it be easier for you to accept that everything that’s mine is yours, and that everything that’s yours is mine as well?”
She didn’t laugh or freak out as he’d expected. “Maybe. Do you want to get married? Jackson and Tessa aren’t officially married, and neither are Roni and Sylvia.”
“So what? We need to do what feels right for us.”
Wendy smiled shyly. “I wouldn’t mind a wedding. But not yet. Maybe in six months?”
“Why six months?”
She fidgeted with the bottom of her shirt. “I’m joining Kri’s self-defense course, and I hope that it will help me lose some weight. I want my wedding dress to be a size six.”
When he opened his mouth to protest, she lifted a finger and put it over his lips. “I know that you are going to say that I’m perfect the way I am, and that’s very sweet of you, but I want to fit into size six for me, not for you. Things are finally going my way, and I’m happy for the first time in my life. It gives me the motivation to achieve the things I always wanted. I want to develop good exercise habits, and then I want to enroll in college and study something. I didn’t decide what yet, but I like the idea of working with children. Maybe I could open a daycare center in the village. With Kalugal’s men marrying clan females and Merlin helping everyone get pregnant, I will probably have plenty of clients by the time I get my diploma.”
31
Kalugal
“Edna, what a pleasant surprise.” Kalugal offered her his hand. “Are you joining us on the tour?”
He had to admit that Rufsur had been right about the good schtupping making Edna less uptight. Not that she was relaxed, tension still crackled around her like static electricity, but she looked like a different woman than the one he’d seen on his last visit.
Her hair was still gath
ered in a bun, but it was not pulled back tightly, and the few loose strands added softness to her angular face. She was also wearing well-fitting clothes and shoes that were not a throwback to 1940s fashion. Her face was still clean of makeup, but she looked good. Effortlessly feminine was the term that came to mind. Kalugal could finally see what Rufsur had seen in her. Edna might not be a great beauty, but she was a handsome woman.
The thing was, she wasn’t his lieutenant’s type.
Rufsur liked females that were easy on the eyes, easygoing, and fun to be with. He’d never been interested in smart, well-educated women, and Kalugal had always assumed that he was intimidated by them. Had he finally accepted what Kalugal had been telling him for decades? That smart ladies were the best lovers? Or was that the work of the Fates?
It seemed that they liked pairing people who, on the face of things, had nothing in common. He and Jacki were a prime example of that, and yet the Fates had been right, and Jacki was absolutely perfect for him.
“That’s why I’m here.” Edna shook his hand. “I hope that you and Jacki don’t mind.”
“Of course not,” Jacki said. “The more, the merrier.”
Edna chuckled. “I hope that Kian shares your opinion.”
So that was why she’d come. Were Edna and Kian butting heads?
Kalugal got his answer when, a few minutes later, Kian arrived with Syssi and raised a brow at the judge.
“Edna, I didn’t expect to find you here.”
“Good morning, Kian. I decided to join the tour. I figured that it would save you time by not having to explain twice why the village needs fifty more dwellings.”
Given the way he was glaring at the judge, Kian was about to say something unpleasant, but Syssi put a hand on his shoulder and smiled at Edna. “That’s a very good idea. In turn, you can explain it later to the other council members.”