by I. T. Lucas
A night with a harem full of human females could not have satisfied him as much as having her alone.
His immortal mate.
How could he be so unlucky and lucky at the same time?
But even after Mortdh knew how many bouts of sex, Lokan was still hungry for his female, and as he heard the water in the shower running, he jumped out of bed, hurried into the bathroom, and stepped into the shower.
If she was leaving soon, he wanted to enjoy these last minutes with her.
“Do you want to wash my hair?” Carol handed him the shampoo. “I bet you’ve never done that before.”
Pretending not to get her meaning, he huffed. “I wash my hair every day.”
She batted her eyelashes and fluffed her curls. “It’s not the same.”
“No, it isn't.”
This felt intimate, familiar, something he’d never had the pleasure of doing because he’d never cared about a woman enough to want to do that.
Sitting on the shower bench, Lokan pulled Carol into his lap and took the shampoo bottle from her.
“I love your hair. It mirrors your personality.” He poured a handful and rubbed it into her soft curls. “It’s playful and bouncy, soft and fragrant, but it’s also strong, and the curls always spring back to their original form.”
With a sigh, she leaned her head against his chest. “I didn’t know you had a poet in you.”
He chuckled. “Is that what it was? Poetry?”
“I wouldn’t know. I’m not a very literary girl, and poetry bores me. I like action, adventure, sex…”
He nuzzled her neck. “My kind of girl. So, who is counting on you to show up today, and what do you need to do?”
“I’m helping with setting up a wedding party.” She turned to look up at him. “Vivian and her mate are making it official today, and a bunch of us volunteered to prepare things for the celebration. They kind of sprung it upon us, and there was no time to hire professionals to do that. Except for the food, that is. Some of it will be catered by a pro.”
Taken by surprise, he stopped massaging her scalp for a moment. “Does the clan have a special mating ceremony? Like a human marriage?”
“Not really.” She waved a dismissive hand. “We kind of make it up as we go. Former Dormants usually want a wedding-like party, and that’s what Vivian is having. Because she is older, her transition can be potentially fatal. Her mate wants them to be married before she attempts it, and he is also adopting her children, so she knows that they will be taken care of if anything happens to her.”
It still amazed him how much he didn’t know about his own kind. Every day he was learning something new. “I didn’t know there was an age limit for transitioning. What is considered safe?”
Carol shrugged. “Every case is different, but it looks like the younger the person, the easier the transition. It’s best to do it when puberty hits, but most of the Dormants we have discovered were older, and some had very difficult transitions. Thank the merciful Fates, we haven’t lost anyone yet.”
“I’m glad Ella is so young. She should have no problem transitioning.”
“I hope so. She’s my friend.”
Reaching for the shower handle, he rinsed the shampoo out, careful not to get any of it into her eyes.
“I was hoping she would come to visit me, even if it was to gloat. I want to meet the guy who bested me.” Lokan was competitive, and it rankled losing to another.
Turning to look at him, Carol pinned him with a hard stare. “You don’t sound like someone who had only a professional interest in the girl. What gives, Lokan?”
Damn. He should have been more careful. He’d gotten Carol upset for no reason.
They’d became so close so fast that he felt comfortable letting his guard down around her. That was a mistake.
Lokan knew nothing about relationships and couldn’t take anything for granted. The prudent thing was to talk less, listen more, and learn.
“Nothing gives. I’m curious, and I’m damn competitive. I hate losing even when I’m not interested.”
She relaxed, once more leaning against him. “I get it. I’m the same way, but it’s not a good thing. It means that we are both too full of ourselves and think that we are all that, and that there could be nothing better out there.”
He squirted more of the shampoo into his palm. “There isn’t. You are every guy’s wet dream, the perfect woman, and you even know how to cook. Wars have been waged over less worthy females.”
Not expecting a compliment back, he kept massaging her scalp even though her hair was already clean. It just felt good to be taking care of her like that. There wasn’t much else he could do for Carol. Washing her, massaging her, and satisfying her sexually was all he could do while locked up in a cell. And even that was dependent on Kian’s goodwill and could be taken away from him at any moment.
“What happened?” She turned in his arms. “Why did you get sad all of a sudden?”
“I was just thinking that this could be taken away from us at any moment. We are at Kian’s mercy. He has absolute power over us.”
Cupping his face, Carol shook her head. “That’s true to an extent, but Kian is not the be-all and end-all. Annani is. And the goddess is a staunch romantic. If Kian decided to separate us, as a last resort, I could appeal to her heart.”
“Wouldn’t that be dangerous to go over his head? Kian might retaliate.”
“He won’t. The clan doesn’t operate like that. The worst I can expect from him are a few stink eyes, and I can live with that.”
48
Carol
“I have an idea,” Callie said. “We have this big, beautiful kitchen here in the underground, and we have the banquet hall. What if we make communal meals in here like they do in Scotland? It would be nice for everyone to meet for dinner. It would be like having a party every night.”
“Are you volunteering to cook for everyone?” Carol finished with one appetizer platter and started on another.
“The Odus can handle most of it, and we can make a schedule for everyone to come help once or twice a month.”
“I like it,” Wonder said. “I could close the café earlier. It’s not easy handling it mostly by myself. I need more help.”
“Why don’t you ask Ella?” Callie opened one of the ovens and checked on the salmon.
“She has her hands full with the fundraiser.” Wonder glanced at Carol. “When are you coming back?”
“I don’t know yet.”
So far, no one other than the people directly involved with Lokan knew about the mating. Carol hadn’t told anyone else. Not even Ella. She had no doubt most assumed she was having her way with the infamous prisoner—after all, her past wasn’t a secret, and she wasn’t shy about her sex life—but for some reason, her and Lokan’s mating was difficult to announce.
Robert and Dalhu had been accepted because they had left the Brotherhood voluntarily. Lokan had been captured while trying to abscond with Ella and Vivian. Many clan members harbored resentment toward him, and she couldn’t even fault them for it. Their reasons were valid.
“Hi, everyone.” Ella walked into the kitchen. “Can I help with anything?”
Amanda wrapped her arm around Ella’s shoulders. “This is your mother and Magnus’s wedding. Today, you are a guest, darling.”
“But I have nothing to do until an hour before the party. I can at least help set up the tables.”
“The Guardians are doing that. We have everything covered.”
“What about decorations?”
“That too. But if you want, you can hang out with us here.”
Eying the appetizers, Ella whistled. “Did you make these, Carol? They look amazing.”
“I wish. These are compliments of Gerard. He had his assistant chefs work all night and prepare most of the fancier dishes.”
“That’s so nice of him.”
“Not really.” Amanda grimaced. “I had to use threats and bribes to get him to do
it for us. I love him, but he is such a prick.”
Her statement was followed by a general murmur of agreement. Carol knew no one who liked Gerard. The guy was a stuck-up jerk.
Walking up to Carol, Ella bent over the tray. “They are such fancy little things. I would love to learn how to do this.”
“You can learn anything you want from YouTube. Just don’t think of apprenticing with Gerard. Amanda was being polite calling him a prick. He is much worse than that, but he is also talented as hell.”
Ella shrugged. “All chefs are prima donnas. And the more talented they are, the more temperamental.” She turned to Carol. “How are things going with Lokan? Is he behaving, or is he trying to manipulate everyone?”
“He’s behaving.” Now was a good time to fess up, but Carol didn’t want to do it in front of everyone. “I’m going up to the surface to smoke. Do you want to join me?”
Ella lifted a brow. “I didn’t know you smoked.”
Yeah, she also didn’t know about the drugs and the booze, but that had been the old Carol. The new one had been clean for a long time.
“I occasionally do, and right now, I feel like having a few puffs. Are you coming?” Carol grabbed her purse even though she didn’t have cigarettes with her. She had one old pack stashed somewhere in her house, but she had no intention of going there.
“Sure. No one wants to let me work anyway.”
When they entered the elevator, Carol leaned against the side and crossed her arms over her chest. “I don’t really want to smoke. I just wanted to talk to you without everyone listening in.”
“Is everything okay? Did Lokan tell you anything about me?”
“It’s not about you and Lokan.” The elevator doors opened, and they stepped out into the glass pavilion. “It’s about Lokan and me.”
Ella shrugged. “That’s none of my business. I knew that you wanted to sleep with him. You told me so.”
“It’s more than that. We’ve bonded. He is my mate.”
Ella’s hand flew to her chest. “Oh, Carol. I’m so sorry, and I hate telling you this, but he is playing you. Lokan is an amazing actor. He had me completely fooled.”
“It’s real. I’m not a naive young girl, Ella. He can’t fool me.”
“Are you sure? Because he is much older than you, and he’s smart and cunning. Is there some kind of test you can subject him to?”
Carol snorted. “The only test I can think of is bringing a gorgeous naked woman to his cell and watch his reaction. If he gets a stiffy, then he’s not my mate. Amanda says that true-love mates feel desire only for each other and no one else, so that should be a good indicator.
“There are exceptions.” Ella looked down at her shoes.
“Not really. In your case, the confusion existed only because of Lokan’s compulsion. If not for that, you would have felt no attraction toward him.”
“That’s true. The moment he removed it, my desire for Julian flared up, and my attraction to Lokan vanished.”
Carol waved a hand. “Here you go. Case proven.”
“Where are you going to find a beautiful woman to come to his cell and strip, though?”
“That’s not a problem. I could hire a human stripper, and after her performance have Arwel thrall her to forget. The thing is that Lokan would see right through it and somehow control his reactions.”
“Does he know that mates are not attracted to anyone else?”
“I don’t think that I told him about it.”
“Then how would he know to control his responses? Human males can be happily married and deeply in love with their spouses and still get a hard-on when watching a stripper shake her boobies at them.”
“Hmm.” Carol tapped a finger over her lips. “Maybe I can have Arwel bring a stripper in. Because if I do it, it would be suspicious. Lokan knows I’m the jealous type.”
Arwel could tell him that the stripper was his reward for disclosing the island’s location. A Doomer would think nothing of it.
Damn. What was she thinking?
The seed of doubt Ella had planted in her head had immediately grown into a full-sized tree, but it had no roots.
In her heart, Carol knew the truth. Lokan wasn’t playing her. He was her mate, and she didn’t need any tests to prove it.
49
Kian
Out on the clan’s airstrip, Kian looked out the limousine’s window searching the sky for his mother’s plane. She should be arriving at any moment, and as always, his stress level was on the rise.
What would she do this time?
It had been years since she’d done anything outrageous, but the potential for trouble was there, and as much as he tried to calm himself down, he couldn’t help worrying.
He should have gotten used to Annani’s unpredictability, but it wasn’t something Kian could just resign himself to. It drove him nuts.
“I’m excited,” Syssi said. “Every time your mother arrives for a visit, it’s because something major is happening. By now I’m like those dogs in the Pavlov experiment, getting butterflies in my stomach regardless of the reason for her visit.”
Kian pulled her closer to him and kissed the top of her head. “You are an angel. Annani is not the easiest in-law to get along with, and yet you seem genuinely fond of her.”
“She’s always super nice to me. I couldn’t have asked for a better mother-in-law.”
It warmed his heart that the most important people in his life were getting along splendidly. Amanda and Syssi were more like real sisters than sisters by marriage, and his mother and Syssi adored each other. The Fates deserved a big thanks for that. They’d gifted him with the best mate in the entire universe.
“Annani is cool,” Anandur said. “I don’t know why you get so stressed out every time she comes to visit. All she asks for is to spend a little time with her loved ones. That shouldn’t be a problem.”
Not a problem. Right. That depended on what mood she was in and what crazy shenanigans she had in mind. Kian liked being in control, but since Annani was the ultimate authority and her wishes had to be obeyed no matter how irrational, he had absolutely none over her.
Like sparing the damn Doomers and keeping them in stasis in the keep’s catacombs.
Fucking waste of space.
Fates only knew what she would demand of him with regard to Lokan. The bastard was a charming manipulator, and he might get her to release him. Especially since he could claim that he was mated to Carol.
Kian hadn’t forgotten or forgiven Annani’s intervention on Dalhu and Amanda’s behalf. Except, Dalhu had turned out to be a stand-up guy and a perfect mate for his sister.
But that wasn’t going to happen with Lokan. Navuh’s son could never be trusted.
“The plane is landing, master,” Okidu said. “We should assume our positions.”
As they filed out of the limousine, Onidu, who had driven Kian’s Lexus to the strip, joined them. It was going to be an Odu reunion, and Kian wondered what the seven were going to talk about on the way home. If they were going to talk at all.
He often wondered about that. Did the Odus talk to each other when no one else was around? Or did they have some other method of communication?
They were like black boxes, which no one dared to open because no one could fix them if something got damaged. Still, if not for his mother’s adamant refusal, he might have considered taking a chance with one to uncover the secrets of their technology. Life in the village could have been much more comfortable with a bunch of Odus doing all the menial jobs. The alternative was to wait for Parker to grow up and compel human workers to silence.
“Here it is.” Syssi pointed to the sky.
Once the jet landed, the stairs were lowered, and the first Odu came out holding two suitcases. Behind him, Oridu carried out two more.
Walking up to the stairs, Kian offered his hand to Alena and then to his mother, helping them down even though they didn’t need his help.
“Welcome to
Los Angeles.” He bowed his head.
Stretching on her toes, Annani kissed his cheek and then rushed toward Syssi. The two embraced for a long moment, and then Annani let go so Alena could hug Syssi as well.
When all the greetings were done, Annani glanced around and frowned. “Where is Amanda? Why did she not come to greet me?”
Syssi threaded her arm through Annani’s and led her to the limo. “She is working hard on the wedding preparations. Your daughter should have been a general. No one else could have pulled off a full-blown wedding party in just a few short days. She is amazing.”
Annani smiled proudly. “Mindi is like me. When something needs to be done, she does not wait. She does it right away.”
Kian stifled a groan.
Alena smiled indulgently. “I’m so excited for the wedding. Is anyone pregnant yet? We desperately need some babies up in the sanctuary.”
Casting a quick glance at Syssi, Kian was relieved to see her smiling instead of cringing.
“Not yet. But I have a feeling we will have some good news soon,” she said.
His gut twisted. Did Syssi know something she wasn’t telling him?
Annani clapped her hands. “Coming from you, it is as good as a promise. I cannot wait.”
Once they were seated in the limo, Anandur got behind the wheel, and Brundar joined him up front.
“Do not forget to send Okidu back for my pilot,” Annani said.
“One of the Guardians from the keep will pick him up once he is done servicing the jet.”
“Good. He can meet us there. I want to go see Lokan right away.”
Why wasn’t he surprised?
“It’s not a good time today. We have a wedding to attend.”
She waved a dismissive hand. “The wedding is many hours from now, and I instructed my Odus to help with the preparations in any way they are told to. We have plenty of time to visit with Lokan and be back in the village to get ready.”