by Of Night
I wonder. Can I open my mind enough just to see what I want to see and find Valya? Gathering her resolve, she inhaled deeply and envisioned herself opening a window just slightly before she stopped and called out. “Valya.”
No response.
Pressing on, she opened the window a little farther and called out again.
“Valya.”
“Richelle?”
“Yes.”
“Where the hell are you?”
“I’m still here at the carnival. I can’t find you.”
“Stay where you are.”
An image of a cool breeze rushing through the window surrounded her. As the coolness touched her skin, she felt it grow warm. Like fingers, it caressed her skin before it evaporated around her. And then suddenly Valya was standing before her. She stared at his hard expression as he glared at her, his chest heaving as if he had run fifty miles. His displeasure and anger roiled off him, and she stood motionless under his scrutiny. She felt another emotion much stronger rise to the surface. Is that fear?
Before she could offer any explanation, he crossed the distance separating them, crushing her in his arms before his mouth captured hers in a possessive, soul-scorching kiss. Her head swam under his onslaught. He angled her head to give them both better access, and forged his tongue into her mouth. There was no resistance as he thrust repeatedly into the warmth of her mouth. Savoring her taste and relishing every soft contour, he licked and stroked, encouraging her to tongue to dance with his.
And she met that challenge, lick for lick and stroke for stroke, as he wrapped his arms around her, constricting her like a python until she couldn’t breathe. She tried to pull away. Hearing his grunt before he twirled her around, he gripped her tighter. She heard his thoughts as they slipped into her head.
“Mine. Mine.”
“Valya. Please let go of me.”
“No! Mine.”
She felt his hand threading through her hair to grip the back of her head and pull her mouth even closer, his mouth devouring her as his fangs nipped and scraped her lips. Her mind was filled with his echoes of “mine,” over and over, and he refused to release his hold.
“Valya. Please let me go.”
His answer was nothing more than a growl.
“Please, Valya. It’s hard to breathe.”
He loosened his grip and pulled his mouth away from hers. With his hand fisted in her hair, he gently pulled her head to rest on his chest. Feeling the rise of his chest as he breathed heavily, she tried to think of something to calm him. She brought her hand up and stroked a length of his hair while she snuggled into his embrace. His breathing had slowed but was still erratic.
“You scared the hell out of me,” Valya growled.
“I didn’t mean to,” Richelle replied.
“But you did.” He idly stroked her hair. His voice broke as he spoke. “I couldn’t find you or sense your presence. I will never feel that way again.”
“I’m sorry.” And she was. She didn’t mean to worry him. She hadn’t noticed the time or how long she was in the fortune-teller’s tent.
“Where were you?”
“I was talking with Madame Selene.”
“Who is Madame Selene?”
Pulling away, she gazed into his eyes and nodded toward the direction she came from.
“She’s a fortune-teller. She’s amazing. You’ve got to meet her. Her tent is over there.”
“Over where?” he asked, looking over the top of her head down the fairway. He grudgingly loosened his hold as she turned to point in the direction she came from but the “over there” died on her lips. The tent was gone. Richelle blinked several times, unable to believe her eyes. Pulling herself from Valya’s slackened embrace, she hurried down the corridor to where the tent once stood, with Valya close on her heels.
There wasn’t a trace of Madame Selene’s tent. Not even the grass was disturbed.
* * * *
She kept circling where the tent had stood, muttering under her breath. “It was right here, it was right here.”
Valya watched her with concern, unable to do anything to help. Yet another new emotion he didn’t want to experience again…helplessness. All he could do was stand, watch, and wait until Richelle came to him.
He didn’t have to wait long. She turned and looked at Valya, confusion marring her innocent beauty.
“She was right here. Her tent was right here.”
“Madame Selene?”
She nodded. “I don’t understand. What’s going on?”
“Are you sure she was here?”
“I was with her from when you left to get us some caramel apples until you found me.”
Valya didn’t doubt her. Living alone as she did, she had no wily or designing ways. Part of her allure was her candid sincerity. The fact that it was a part of his life mate’s nature was a piece of good fortune he was afraid to question. If Richelle said there was a Madame Selene, then it was so.
But Valya knew he had to do something. Her unsettled emotions were driving him to the brink of madness. Crazed when he couldn’t find her, he was ready to tear the carnival apart to find this Madame Selene, to give her some peace. He couldn’t sense anything other than what his eyes could see. Whoever this person was, she knew well how to hide herself. And until he knew why, she was a threat to Richelle.
“Am I losing my mind?” she asked, interrupting his thoughts. His heart sank. He wanted this evening to be special, to give Richelle a taste of some of the wonderful, magical things she had been denied. Not to be yet another reminder of all she had lost. She stood her ground with those damnable silent tears brimming in her beautiful sea-foam green eyes.
Valya did the only thing he could think of to try and erase the tears. He opened his arms to Richelle, his eyes reflecting understanding, offering comfort. She accepted by walking into his embrace and resting her head upon his chest. Stroking her hair and back, he crooned words of encouragement, of peace to calm her. Unconsciously, he began to rock her in his arms.
* * * *
She relaxed further into the warmth of his embrace, letting the heat seep into her pores, easing the eerie chill she felt to her bones. Thinking over the past few days, Richelle admitted her lack of knowledge about Valya but also her inexperience in expressing her emotions, in sharing herself. She tried to sort through the bombardment of emotions consuming her thoughts of Valya and of them together.
Her feelings were not merely schoolgirl fantasies of hero idolization or gratitude for his saving her life. They ran so much deeper than that, so deep she felt she was drowning in a fathomless sea. While she knew it would take time to sort through everything she was feeling, she knew one thing for certain. She loved Valya, with a love she hadn’t believed she would ever know. She now believed that she and Valya were destined to be life mates.
And being unable to express what she was feeling in words, she chose a way he would understand. In her mind, she went to the part of herself she kept locked behind a door. Never once had she left herself open and vulnerable, keeping her most intimate thoughts deep within herself where no one could reach them or use them to hurt her. But now she wanted to share that part of herself with Valya. Opening the door, she invited Valya in.
* * * *
Startled, Valya pushed Richelle away so he could look into her eyes. Her eyes were filled with an overabundance of trust and love. Richelle was opening herself willingly, choosing to be vulnerable enough to invite him into her mind, an invitation he would not ever refuse.
Cautiously, he walked through the open door and was amazed by the depth and intensity of emotion. How she managed to hide her burning passions beneath her icy cool exterior proved to him the immense power within her. But now that she had opened her every emotion to him, there was no hiding the deepness of her abiding love…for him.
“You never said anything.”
“I didn’t know how to say it,” she meekly conveyed. “I’ve always been so afraid of feeling any
thing. I’ve lost so much.”
“I know.” His thoughts wrapped around hers, cocooning her in a blanket of warmth and trust. He wanted to give her the same gift she had given him, to show her the same amount of trust. So he opened his mind and offered his thoughts and emotions to merge with hers. Richelle started to cry, and Valya pushed her away again.
“I’m sorry, Richelle, I didn’t mean to hurt you.”
“You didn’t hurt me,” she stated, stepping back into his embrace. “I was just a little overwhelmed.” She giggled nervously. “Emotions can be a little scary and a little difficult to deal with.”
He hugged her tightly to him, planting a kiss on her forehead. “I know what you mean.” They stood there for a few moments, just enjoying the nearness of the other. Valya didn’t want to bring up her absence again, but he needed to express his anxieties.
“Richelle, promise me you won’t disappear like that again.”
She tensed for only a moment under his hand, but it disappeared quickly. “I didn’t mean to worry you.”
“I know you didn’t. I want you to be able to enjoy yourself, explore your new world. But until I can take care of this matter with Preacher and his Believers, I need you to be more careful.”
“I’m sorry.”
“I know, but you must learn not to be so trusting. You know nothing of this Madame Selene. She could have been sent to hurt you.”
Richelle’s brow furrowed. She didn’t believe Madame Selene was going to hurt her. She didn’t sense any deceit from her. If anything, she felt serenity.
“I don’t think so. I think she was sent to help.”
“What makes you think so?”
“I don’t know,” she uttered as she shook her head.
“Who do you think sent her?”
She looked up into his concerned face. “I don’t know.”
He leaned down and kissed the confusion from her brow before softly kissing her lips.
“It will be all right,” he murmured against her mouth as he kissed her again, thoroughly, deeply. And Richelle believed him.
They were both breathing raggedly when he pulled away. He was immensely pleased with himself as he gazed at her glassy-eyed expression and swollen lips. He rushed in and quickly pecked those lips again. And again. With a smile, he led her down the fairway, strolling like newlyweds, his hand resting on her hip. She lay her head against him with her arm slipped around his back and hand resting atop his shoulder.
Tonight, he knew Richelle would accept him, offering her blood to him willingly. It would be the first of three times, binding them as life mates. But for now, he was content to show her the wonders to be found in the night. Maybe I’ll share with her the joy of flying, he mused as he gazed ahead grinning like a love-struck teenager. Still in a daze, he pulled her by the hand and led her down the aisle toward the Ferris wheel.
Strolling along, Valya realized Richelle never got her caramel apple, but he wasn’t going to go back for another. He had a better idea. Stopping at a nearby vendor he bought a bag with mixed pink, blue, and yellow tufts inside. She watched him open the bag and then raised her gaze to him.
“Cotton candy,” he stated as he pulled off a piece and fed it to her, letting his fingertips graze her lips before he pulled them away. He watched her rapt expression as she tasted cotton candy for the first time. She closed her eyes and sighed.
“Do you like it?”
“Mmm,” she answered as she nodded her head. “It’s wonderful. Sweet, it just melts on my tongue.”
He held up another piece. She opened her mouth and let him place the cloud-like confection on her tongue. She held it there for a moment before she closed her mouth, giving an impish smile.
Valya watched her keenly, his cock responding eagerly. His body sang with want, but the night was young and there were still sights and sounds he wanted to share with her before they returned to his…no, their home. Still, he couldn’t resist the sweet temptation she presented. He rushed in and kissed her soundly, his mouth muffling her shock as his tongue swept in. Richelle was definitely sweeter than cotton candy. He felt her hand upon his chest as she pushed against him. She did her best imitation of his rakish smile.
“Did you like it?” she asked, raising a brow and feigning innocence.
His steely rod surged against his tight leather pants at her playful flirtation. He pulled her back against him, trapping her hands between his hard chest and her soft mounds.
“Mmm,” he growled licking both the sugar confection and her sweet taste from his lips. She lowered her lashes shyly as he gazed at her lush mouth. His body burned with the need to feel them against him again. Her eyes flashed to his giving him an inviting smile.
“Would you like another taste?”
Valya growled again, nodding his head. But unlike before, there was no mad rush to capture her lips in a searing kiss. Instead, he bent his head slowly. His lips slightly parted as he gently laved her lower lip with his tongue.
* * * *
Flames of desire licked her neck as she felt her face grow warm.
Just when she thought she would be burned alive by his touch, his tongue slipped past her lips and delved into her mouth. Her toes curled with the fervor of his kiss, and his hand slipped into her hair, holding her head in place, where all she could do was receive his kiss. As he dipped her, deepening his kiss, he opened his mind and let her feel, completely feel, how they were together. And how they were going to be when they came together physically.
Richelle gasped as she experienced the overpowering gift Valya was giving her. No pain, no fear, no voices invading her mind, simply the encompassing adoration a man felt for his woman. That Valya felt for her. Sighing, her body went limp, and Valya set her upright. Her feet were on the ground, but her head was in the clouds.
When Valya had steadied her, he planted tender kisses over her lips and her face. She felt his hands slide from her hair to cup her face as he gingerly kissed her eyelids. And then she felt the warmth of his skin as it pressed against hers, his cheek caressing hers. Slowly, she opened her eyes and gazed up at Valya. He was mesmerized by the misty-eyed longing reflected in her eyes along with the twinkling stars from the night sky.
“Thank you,” she murmured. It felt as if her heart would burst, it was so full of love. Rubbing his nose against hers before he kissed the tip, he hugged her tight. They had not yet made love, but she sensed his feeling of completeness of being with her.
“No, mio dusa. Thank you.” He waited for her staunch reminder to not call her precious heart, but it didn’t come. Instead, she kissed him lightly on the lips.
“Come with me, mio dusa, and know what it is to soar thru the night.”
She smiled and nodded enthusiastically
* * * *
He watched from the shadows, his hatred of Valya escalating minute by minute. The cool night air simmered around him as he watched them— together.
Damn Valya. Damn all Immortals!
He would bide his time. Wait until the right moment.
And then Richelle would be his. As she was meant to be.
He was not going to let the so-called prophetic ramblings of an ancient healer who should have ceded his position centuries ago dictate his will.
Mine is the only will. My power, the ultimate power. And all Immortals, the entire world, will kneel before me and proclaim me Master.
He continued to watch. His hatred of all Immortals, of Valya, grew with each passing moment. He would enjoy watching them suffer as his plan came to fruition, before he destroyed them and took his place as ruler.
He would wait until they exited the ride. He would create some diversion in order to control a few minds to challenge Valya. And while Valya was defending himself, he would have his opportunity to steal Richelle away. They would be gone, their trail covered so Valya could not follow.
Richelle, and the world, will be mine.
* * * *
As they approached the ride, Richelle was
amazed by the size of it as well as the mixed feelings she sensed from the passengers. It was awesome with the light and music, watching it spin on the axle and the expressions of anticipation, fear, and amazement on the riders. And she was overcome by an urge to experience it for herself, to not merely live vicariously through other people’s lives, but to know firsthand what it felt like to ride the night air.
It only took a few moments for them to reach the head of the line and be assisted into a seat. The carny pulled down the bar as Valya settled his arm about Richelle’s shoulder. Stepping back, the burly operator pushed the lever, and they began to rise slowly as more passengers got on.
Stopping at the top, she could gaze out across the grounds. From up here, it all looked so…new, so unlike the world she was accustomed to. And then, the wheel lurched forward as it started its descent. The ground came up fast, and then they were rising again to the top. On and on it went. And she loved it. She settled back into her seat, snuggling against Valya’s body, and let herself be taken away by the new sensations.
She felt as if she were truly flying as the wheel continued to turn. She looked out over the carnival. The lights twinkled in the night like earthbound stars but nonetheless brilliant in their illumination. Richelle knew that there was ugliness in the world, but there was little she could do. She had cloistered herself away from the dismal existence of the outside world and survived. But she had never lived.
Down on the ground, the fairways were dirt, littered with rubbish from the carnival goers. But up here, it looked almost…beautiful. Looping her arms with his, she nestled her head upon Valya’s shoulder. He placed his hand over hers and gave it a little squeeze. Gazing up at him, she gave him a little smile.
“Do you like this?”
“Oh, yes,” she cooed dreamily. “It’s wonderful.”
* * * *
His heart soared. Even as a child, there was always some part of her soul she kept locked away from him. In his wolf form, he assumed she would open up to him. But here, now, she was so open. He could feel her heart skipping with childlike delight, which spilled into him so his heart felt like it was ready to burst.