Mallory picked up the remote and switched on the television situated along the wall opposite the refrigerator.
A news anchorwoman sat behind a desk, staring intently at the camera, a frown marring her pretty face. “President William Pratt has declared martial law in the United States. We have just been told that borders are now closed and tents are being erected on all hospital grounds. It has been confirmed, the Incola virus is now airborne.”
Amy’s stomach lurched as the reporter’s words settled into her brain.
Zaureth’s gaze left the television, but Amy didn’t care. She didn’t need to see the woman’s face to hear the horrifying words she spoke.
“The national guard is going from door to door, handing out surgical facemasks, along with hand sanitizer and orders not to leave home unless absolutely necessary. Entire cities are under quarantine. People who experience flu-like symptoms with fever, coughing, and or a rash are told to get to their local hospital as soon as possible.
“President Ramone Mendoza has issued a state of emergency for all of Cuba after reports of more than forty deaths in the past two days. Police were forced to gun down an infected woman in the street this morning, for exhibiting rabid behavior and attacking a couple on their honeymoon. Cuban defense minister, Alfonzo Cordero, has stated that troops are on the ground and steps are being taken to control the situation.”
The anchorwoman continued to speak, but Amy was no longer listening. The world’s worst nightmare had finally come to pass. “The beginning of the apocalypse.”
“It’s worse than you all know,” Fiona murmured quietly from her position by the door.
No one spoke for long moments. Zaureth gently squeezed Amy’s shoulders and moved into the center of the room. “I was aware that this day would come. I saw it one night while meditating in the catacombs.”
Amy sat in stunned silence, listening with rapt attention as Zaureth spoke of the nightmare that had become the world.
“The land walkers will suffer a great loss,” Zaureth continued in a quiet tone. “One such as they have not seen in more than a hundred years. War and famine will ensue, ravaging the surface until there is nothing left but sand and smoke.”
Tears filled Amy’s eyes as she thought about the innocent lives that would be lost. “Is there nothing that we can do?”
“Perhaps,” Abbie whispered, placing her hands on the bar.
All gazes swung in her direction. “I can surrender myself.”
Amy could see the rage on Hauke’s face through Zaureth’s eyes.
“I will not allow you to surrender yourself to the land walkers. Have you forgotten that they nearly killed you?”
Abbie lifted her chin. “I’ll never forget. But the virus has mutated, Hauke. It’s now airborne. If I don’t do something, millions of people will die.”
Hauke ran a hand down his face. “There has to be another way.”
“There isn’t,” Abbie persisted. “I’ll draw what blood I safely can from Arcanum and turn myself over to President Pratt. I can work together with the CDC on a vaccine that will hopefully put an end to the spread of this deadly virus.”
Hauke’s eyes slid shut, and he dropped his head back. A loud sigh expelled from him before he met her gaze once again. “If you go, I go with you.”
“No,” Abbie asserted, shaking her head. “They won’t kill me. I’m their only hope. But you’re a different story. Some might blame you for the virus’s origin. At the very least, they’ll hurt you out of fear.”
“Braum is in the States,” Hauke argued, resting his hands on his hips. “Protected by the human president. I will not be deterred in this. I go where you go.”
Abbie’s gaze softened. “You’re right. We can’t be apart, no matter what. I’ll get word to Pratt as soon as we arrive in Destin.”
Oz stepped back into the room. “I know that you all are aware of the president’s declaration of martial law. That’s going to make taking this yacht into Destin hard as hell.”
Tony intervened. “I’ll have Melvin meet us in the gulf. He can get us to shore unseen. Do you have a specific place you’d planned on docking this big bitch?”
“In the Destin Harbor,” Oz responded. “Does your man know the area?”
Tony raised an eyebrow. “Let’s put it this way. I wouldn’t be at all surprised if he had marijuana growing in the city’s sewer system. He knows every nook and cranny of Okaloosa Island.”
“Good to know,” Oz remarked, the corner of his mouth lifting.
Amy took a shuddering breath, grateful to have the safety of Aukrabah awaiting her, yet sickened that so many lives would fall victim to the Incola virus. Babies included.
Chapter Twenty-Five
The tears swimming in Amy’s eyes nearly doubled Zaureth over. He held up a hand for silence, hoping to quiet some of the horror spewing around the room. “We can discuss this later, after we have made it safely home. As for now, I would really like to taste a pancake.”
Zaureth skirted the kitchen island and took a seat next to his mate.
Leaning in, he softly kissed her damp cheek. “Do not cry, little one. I cannot bear to see your tears.”
Amy wiped at her eyes with the backs of her hands. “I’m sorry, Zaureth. I’m afraid of what’s coming. I’m saddened for the children who might never have the chance to grow up.”
Zaureth wrapped an arm around her and laid his face against her shoulder. “I know. But there is nothing that we can do at the moment. My first priority is to get you to safety.”
Minutes ticked by with no one speaking. All gazes remained glued to the television, everyone hanging on the reporter’s horrifying words.
Abbie set a plate of pancakes in front of Zaureth, which he promptly slid toward Amy. “Eat. It will help you to feel better.”
The next hour was spent devouring Abbie’s delicious breakfast, drinking coffee, and discussing strategies.
Amy sat in helpless silence while the women cleaned up the kitchen. She turned to face Zaureth. “Did you enjoy your breakfast?”
“I did,” Zaureth confessed, getting to his feet. “Would you like to go lie down for a while?”
Amy shook her head. “I hate to go rest while Abbie and Mallory clean up our mess. It wouldn’t feel right.”
“Oh, nonsense,” Mallory piped in. “Go catch a nap, honey. You can believe that’s what I’m going to do in a few minutes.”
Zaureth hauled Amy up into his arms before she could protest. “Your sister has spoken. I am putting you to bed.”
“I haven’t been out of bed but a couple of hours,” Amy remarked, looping an arm around Zaureth’s neck.
Not to be deterred, Zaureth spun around and strode off toward the hall. “I did not allow you much sleep last night. We have a long trip ahead of us. It will do you good to rest.”
Zaureth felt the moment that Amy went pliant in his arms.
He carried her to their room, closing the door behind him before gently depositing her on the bed.
Pulling the blanket up to her shoulders, Amy yawned and rolled to her side. “Aren’t you going to lie down with me?”
“I have some things to attend to. But I will be back as soon as possible.”
He bent and kissed her cheek. “Sleep well, my mate.”
Zaureth left the room before he changed his mind and crawled into bed beside her. He couldn’t take her again. Not yet. She needed another day to heal from his earlier invasion of her body.
His sex twitched with the memory of her coming apart in his arms. Zaureth had heard other males speak of the pleasures of being inside a female’s body, but he’d never imagined it would feel as incredible as it did with Amy.
Making his way to the front of the yacht, Zaureth sought out Oz. He found Oz sitting in a chair, his hands on a small wheel as green, red, and yellow lights blinked along a panel in front of him.
“Have a seat,” Oz offered, indicating the chair next to him.
Zaureth sat, watching as
Oz maneuvered the yacht through the choppy waters of the gulf. “I would like to wed with Amy in the human custom.”
“Okay,” Oz acknowledged with a nod. “Does it have to be legal?”
Zaureth frowned. “Legal?”
“A marriage license, filed with the state.”
Zaureth thought about that for a moment. “That is what is required?”
“To be recognized by the government,” Oz confirmed. “But an exchange of vows will marry you in the eyes of God.”
“Ah, your human God. That is what I wish for Amy. To exchange vows before her God.”
Oz nodded. “I will marry you two before we arrive in the States.”
Zaureth’s shoulders relaxed. “Thank you, Oz.”
“Where is Amy?” Oz inquired, glancing behind him.
“I put her to bed. She did not get enough sleep last night.”
Oz’s lips twitched. “I imagine not. Poor girl. I’ve heard that Bracadytes were insatiable.”
Zaureth frowned. “She is too small for me. I did not take her more than twice, else I would have injured her more.”
Oz raised an eyebrow. “Injured her?”
“There should not have been that much blood.”
“She was a virgin?” Oz asked in a surprised voice.
Zaureth nodded. “We both were.”
Oz flipped a switch and turned in his chair to face Zaureth. “You have never been with a woman before Amy?”
“Never,” Zaureth affirmed. “Being a healer came with certain responsibilities. Vows were made, and abstinence became a way of life for me.”
“What made you break your vows?”
Zaureth shrugged. “My queen pointed out that not all who are able to heal should be healers.”
Oz stared back at him with a blank look. “I’m not even going to pretend to understand what that means.”
“I do not understand all of it either,” Zaureth confessed. “I only know that being with Amy feels right. She calms my soul.”
“So, you were both virgins,” Oz began, pinching the bridge of his nose. “How did you know what to do?”
Zaureth thought about that for a moment. “I had to rely on instinct and certain things I knew about the female body. But I fear there is much I do not know.”
“Well, the good news is, it was her first time as well. So, I doubt she has a lot of knowledge in the sex department either,” Oz pointed out. “I can give you a few tips, if you’d like?”
Zaureth gave a quick nod, slightly uncomfortable with the conversation, but too curious to stop it. If there were other ways to sexually please Amy, he wanted to learn of them.
Oz clapped him on the shoulder. “Very well. Are you familiar with oral sex?”
“Oral? As in mouth sex?” Zaureth was more than a little shocked. “I have never heard of this before.”
Oz laughed. “Man, are you in for a treat.”
Zaureth listened intently as Oz spent the next few minutes explaining the concept of oral sex.
“And the human women enjoy this?”
Oz grinned. “Not only do they enjoy it, but most demand it.”
Zaureth let that information sink in. “It does sound appealing. I will give it a try.”
“You do that.” Oz laughed before sobering. “I heard what you said in the kitchen about your vision.”
“My vision?”
Oz held his gaze. “The one you had in the catacombs, about the destruction of the surface.”
“Yes,” Zaureth acknowledged, turning to stare out at the gulf. “I do not always understand what I see while meditating, but the fate of the land walkers could not have been more clear.”
“Do you think it was a premonition? Or a possibility of things to come if the virus can’t be contained?”
Zaureth faced him once more. “I do not know for certain, Oz. And I am not sure that the virus can be contained at this point.”
Chapter Twenty-Six
Amy moaned, her hips lifting as something warm and wet coasted up the juncture of her thighs.
She must be dreaming, she thought, another moan slipping past her lips.
A deep rumbling sound penetrated her senses, bringing her out of her sleepy state.
Amy froze as realization dawned. Zaureth’s head was between her thighs, his tongue swirling around her most sensitive places.
Instinct demanded she close her legs, but his head prevented it. “Zaureth?”
His answer was to apply a gentle pressure and suck her into his mouth.
Amy’s eyes rolled back in her head, and her back arched off the mattress. She’d never thought anything could feel as good as Zaureth’s mouth on her did.
He slid into her mind. “You taste so good, my mate.”
“Oh God,” Amy groaned aloud, on sensation overload. Her hands instinctively flew to his hair. She pulled him tightly against her, glorying in the feel of his tongue’s manipulation.
His palms slid up the insides of her thighs, spreading her open for more of his torturous tongue play.
Nerves came to life in places she didn’t know she had. Amy’s mouth fell open on a silent cry as waves of intense heat formed everywhere his tongue touched.
“Zaureth, please,” she begged, rolling her hips against his hot, wet mouth.
He gently pressed a finger inside her.
Fire flew up Amy’s back. Her breathing grew choppy, and her heart felt as if it would burst from her chest.
Still, Zaureth licked and sucked.
Amy’s body seized. An unrecognizable sound came from her, followed by an orgasm that exploded through her body in an incredible climatic release.
She knew she was probably hurting him with the grip she had on his hair, but she couldn’t seem to let go.
Shudders continued to pass through her, again and again, before gradually fading to a sweet, pulsing euphoria.
Releasing her hold on Zaureth’s hair, Amy pushed her own damp hair from her forehead and blew out a shaky breath. “That was amazing.”
Zaureth crawled up her body, resting his weight on his elbows. He softly kissed her lips. “Did you like that, little one?”
Like it? Amy thought in amazement. He could do that every day for the rest of her life, and she’d never grow tired of it. “I loved it. Where did you learn to do that?”
“Oz explained mouth sex to me,” Zaureth informed her with a soft chuckle. “I think it is something I will want to do a lot.”
Amy kissed him back. “Humans call it oral sex. Would you like mouth sex, Zaureth?”
“I do not know,” Zaureth admitted. “I have only just learned of its existence.”
Amy thought about that for a second. “I would like to try.”
“You do not have—”
“I know I don’t have to,” she interrupted. “I want to.”
Pushing at his chest, Amy urged him onto his back. “I may need sight for this.”
Zaureth opened his mind, allowing her to see through his eyes.
She quickly sat up and divested him of his shorts.
The sight of his huge erection standing proudly from his body nearly stole her breath.
Amy wondered how oral sex with him would work. She was on the verge of asking him before discarding the idea. She decided to mimic what he’d done to her.
Wrapping her hand around his shaft, Amy gently fisted him and glided her palm up his great length.
A moan ripped from Zaureth. He shuddered beneath her, telling her without words how much he enjoyed her touching him.
Amy followed his gaze to the mushroom-shaped tip of his erection. Taking her cue from him, she slowly leaned in and took him into her mouth.
A strangled sound erupted from Zaureth’s throat. He tried to pull back, but she only held on tighter.
“I will not last,” he choked out in desperation.
Amy used her tongue on Zaureth in the same fashion he’d used his on her, swirling it around the tip before applying a strong suction.
&nb
sp; His breathing accelerated, and a big pair of shaky hands sank into her hair.
“Amy,” he gasped, now cupping the back of her head. “You must stop before—”
His seed exploded inside her mouth.
Amy had never felt more powerful than she did in that moment. She’d brought Zaureth to release in the same fashioned that he’d used on her.
She kept her mouth on him until his orgasm slowed, his hips stopped moving, and his hands relaxed in her hair.
Zaureth gripped her beneath the arms and pulled her up his body to lie across his chest. He hugged her to him, nearly crushing her. “I have no words to describe what I am feeling.”
Amy inhaled his masculine scent. “You don’t have to. I feel it too.”
“I do not know how I have lived my life thus far without you in it.”
“I know,” Amy whispered, a catch in her voice. “I never imagined I could love someone this much. I don’t know what I’d do if I lost you.”
Zaureth kissed the top of her head. “You will not lose me. I plan on spending the rest of my life showing you how much you mean to me.”
Anxiety settled inside Amy’s chest. So much uncertainty surrounded them. Zaureth spoke of the rest of their lives as if they were promised tomorrow. “What if my people decide to invade Aukrabah? Maybe it’s not such a good idea to give our government the location. So many things can go wrong.”
“I agree,” Zaureth quietly confessed. “But Klause trusts the human president. Perhaps we should give him a chance.”
Amy snuggled closer, burying her face against Zaureth’s neck. “Maybe. But even the president can’t control the chaos that is sure to come. Now that the virus has gone airborne, panic is sure to follow. People will be seeking refuge. And if Aukrabah’s location is revealed, that is exactly where they will run to.”
Zaureth ran his hand down Amy’s back in a comforting motion. “If it makes you feel better, little one, I will speak with Klause about it once we arrive.”
Another thought occurred to her. Amy jerked her head up so fast she bumped Zaureth’s chin. “What if the virus reaches Aukrabah? I mean, I know the Bracadytes and Abbie are immune to it, but what about my sister and her baby?”
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