"Won't hurt, I promise," his body pushed against mine. I only had a moment to be frightened before we were one. It didn't hurt. Didn't burn or sting. His body was treating mine gently, with careful strokes. Instead of bites, I received kisses. Whatever he could reach was kissed and teased and caressed. "Love you, Reah. Love you. Love you. Love you."
* * *
"It's the linking," Gavril blew out a sigh. "All he has to do is touch her and it activates."
"Linking? Have I heard this before?" Kevis asked. He'd finally gotten into the pool with everyone else. Dee had come and was now coaxing Mathilde into the water.
"Once a High Demon puts his teeth in a High Demon female's neck, the next time forms the linking. His desire is hers and vice versa. Hard to stop, once it's started."
"Your brother told you this?"
"Uh, not exactly. I was a curious child," Gavril admitted.
"Uh-huh. Care to talk about that?" Kevis asked.
"I'm not having a session with a naked man," Gavril groused.
"Point taken," Kevis sipped his drink and grinned.
"I'm much older, guaranteed," Dee pulled Mathilde along, her nicely plump form an enticement to the old vampire.
Gavril grinned. "Time to get out," he said quietly. Kevis agreed. Everyone slipped out and quietly made an exit.
* * *
"That is a fool's errand," Maldak, the Copper Ra'Ak Prince glared at the ones standing before him. Both claimed to be Elvish Princes. "We have no power against one of that kind," Maldak continued. "I will not even consider it."
"But we will pay very well. Offer sacrifices, if you want."
"Faugh. You think to tempt me with that?" Maldak snorted. "We can get our own. We do not need such brought to us. Leave now and you keep your lives."
"Come, Naldill," Reldill grasped his brother's arm. "We'll find another way." Maldak's eyes narrowed as he watched the two elves disappear. He'd known about the rogue attack upon the Saa Thalarr. Had it on good authority that a High Demon had come and destroyed all thirty-six rogue Copper Ra'Ak. Just as well. It saved Maldak the trouble of killing them himself.
* * *
"Reah, baby, are you hungry?" Tory traced a finger down my cheek. I huddled farther into his warmth. Why were the men always so warm? Unless there was a heat wave, I felt cold most of the time.
"Cold, avilepha?" I was gathered closer. I still hadn't opened my eyes. Tory was practically reading my mind. "Do you feel all right? How's the baby?" A hand, warm, splayed on my belly. "Come on; let's get you fed before you feel nauseous." I was lifted off the bed, carried into the shower and finally forced to open my eyes when the spray of warm water hit my skin.
"See, those pretty eyes can open," Tory smiled at me.
"Where are we?" Tory grabbed the soap and began working over my body, not answering my question for a moment.
"The palace in Lissia," he finally said. "My suite." It must have been updated since I'd visited last, but that had been more than twenty-five years earlier. Of course it had been updated since then.
"Great. Now your mom and everybody else will know." I pushed wet hair back from my face. I hoped at that point that I could get it trimmed soon. The length was almost too long for me to handle.
"Know what?"
"That we—you know."
"Is that a crime? Reah, we're mated."
"Since when?" I turned away from him.
"Don't go back on me now," Tory turned me around and blinked concerned, dark eyes into mine.
"Tory, we were mated long ago. I don't know what we are now. You never married me, if you'll recall."
"I know. Baby, that was long ago and I've learned my lesson at least ten times since then. Can't we let it go? We were good last night. You wanted it as much as I did."
"I don't know what I want anymore. Not as far as we're concerned."
"You have to sort this out with Kevis. I know that. Whatever it is. He'll help you."
"And then what? I can just forget about the last twenty-five years?"
"Look, I know that's not possible. I was hoping we could set that aside and go on from here." He raked wet hands through his dark hair in frustration.
"Tory," I dropped my face in my hands. Here he was still not offering to marry me. Not taking responsibility. What did he want from me? Confessions of undying love? I wasn't sure I was capable of that. Not in my present state.
"Can we agree to a truce, at least? Until we figure this out? Tell me you didn't enjoy what happened between us. I wish I hadn't been so thickheaded about all that. Darletta couldn't even come close to what we have."
"You had to bring her into it, didn't you?" I skipped angrily away.
"Don't ask." I walked furiously past Kevis, naked, wet and angry. Turning on the taps in the shower, I stepped inside, intent upon finishing what I'd started on Le-Ath Veronis.
"What happened?" Kevis was inside the bathroom, asking questions while I was cleaning up. Well, he'd seen all of me before, why would this be any different? Why didn't I just walk around naked all the time? I slapped the soap onto the shelf and scrubbed my skin.
"Torevik Rath, that's what," I muttered. "He proceeded to tell me that the sex he had with me was better than the sex he had with Darletta. Like I wanted to hear that."
"Perhaps he thought to pay you a compliment."
"Bringing up sex with the woman you married to the one you didn't isn't a good idea in my book," I grabbed the shampoo bottle and squeezed out a generous portion. "I don't care how good he thinks the compliment is. Want to go into the outside world with me while I get my hair trimmed today?" I snapped.
"Reah, I will go anywhere with you, but we'll look for a place where you won't be harassed."
"Good luck on finding that," I huffed.
"We'll find something, I promise."
Mathilde was smiling and humming as she placed breakfast in front of us. Teeg had an eyebrow lifted but didn't say anything when I sat between him and Kevis at the table. Farzi and Nenzi watched too, but remained silent. Joey, Norton, Franklin, Celestan and Galaxsan ate quietly. Astralan stole a look in my direction occasionally but didn't interrupt my meal. Lok and Aurelius weren't there. I wondered where they were but didn't send mindspeech or ask the three healers.
"We're going to get our hair trimmed," Kevis announced when I finished eating.
"Huh?" I turned to him. He'd said we.
"We're going," he repeated. "As many as want to go." He made a circle with a finger, indicating everybody at the table.
"Ah. Mathilde, would you like to come? Get your hair washed or something?" I looked at our cook.
"If the bosses say it's all right," she smiled.
"It all right," Farzi nodded.
"Then I'll come."
"Let me brush my teeth. Where are you taking me again?"
* * *
"Reah, this is Conner." I was introduced to a beautiful woman with long, blonde hair. Not as long as mine, but most women didn't have hair that long.
"Honey, we're going to take you to my favorite salon. You and Mathilde both." She had a slower way of speaking and a lovely accent. "We'll get your fingers and toes done, too." We were folded to an exclusive salon, with private rooms and such. Mathilde and I were allowed inside the same one. We were given manicures and pedicures first, then the hairdressers arrived.
"Is this your natural color?" The young man stared at me in surprise.
"Everything about her is natural," Connor observed dryly. "We just want a bit of a trim. About eight inches, I think," she added.
"To the middle of the back?" he asked, drawing a finger across the designated spot. "My name is Todd," he introduced himself.
"Maybe a little longer than that," I said. Someone named Mari worked on Mathilde while Todd walked around me. I sat in a hydraulic chair that Todd raised quite high. My hair hung over the back of it.
"Let's trim those bangs and taper them. We'll make the hair softer around the face," Todd said, chin in fingers as he
decided what to do. "You must have had beautiful parents; you got great genes from somewhere," he said as he worked on my hair after wetting it down for the cut.
"Ixnay on the arents-pay," Conner said. I didn't understand what she said at all. And I didn't want to go into my troubles with a hairdresser, so I remained silent.
"See, you can still pull it back, but it'll be feathered around the face and not so severe if you do pull it into a braid," Todd showed me later, holding the length in his hands. "But look at this." He turned the chair around and gave me a mirror to examine the back. My hair was cut to the right length, the heavy weight curling under slightly. "Honey, that is movie star hair. No doubt about that. I know women who would kill to get it."
"They'd have a fight on their hands," I handed the mirror back to him. "I like your work," I added.
"Thanks," he smiled. Mathilde was finished shortly after I was. She'd gotten her shoulder-length, reddish-brown hair colored and layered. She looked quite nice. Dee would be impressed, I think.
Conner insisted on paying, and all my men rose from their seats in the waiting area when we walked out.
"Beautiful," Teeg walked around, examining the cut. "Very, very nice," he moved hair aside and ran a finger down my cheek. "Here." He tossed a wad of paper currency to Todd as a tip. My hairdresser caught it with a smile.
"Will you come to the house for tea?" Conner asked.
"We will," Kevis answered. We ended up at a manor house. The architecture was archaic. Certainly not modern, but well-kept for all that.
"This is where we live," Franklin informed me. "Shane, Tomas and I. We'll bring Celestan and Galaxsan here soon. Conner wants to meet them."
"That's wonderful," I said. "They've been looking for you for a while, I think."
"We know about the hundred year thing," Franklin said. "But they say it won't matter."
"I've heard that it doesn't with your true mates." Ry had told me about it.
"That's what they say," Frank grinned. "I'm afraid we don't want to give them up. Come along, let's have tea and cake."
"These are very good," I said. The tiny cakes were lightly frosted and melted in the mouth.
"I love petit fours," Conner laughed.
"You ready for tomorrow?" Joey asked.
"Nearly. I need to pick up a couple of things and get the fresh gishi fruit from Edward, but that's it."
"We can take you when we leave here," he offered.
"That sounds good. I need to talk to Edward anyway."
* * *
"Here it is, and the inspectors passed the temporary facility. We're laying the foundation for the other one tomorrow. It'll go up quickly after that." Edward smiled and led me to a barn where crates of gishi fruit waited.
"Here are the sugar and spice suppliers," I handed my comp-vid to Edward, who tapped his codes in to transfer the data.
"Are you available to come tomorrow?" Franklin asked Edward. Frank, Norton and Joey had come with me; the others had gone back to Campiaa.
"I would be happy to go if Reah is going," Edward grinned.
"Then please do. We'll come pick you up," Franklin smiled.
* * *
"I'm surprised you love cooking so much, when working in the kitchens when you were a child was so traumatic for you," Kevis said, watching me pull dark chocolate cakes from the oven. The cakes had to cool before I set them inside boxes for transport. Franklin had gone to get Edward, who'd agreed to come with us. The gishi fruit ice cream was prepared already and packed in cartons inside the large freezer in the reptanoids' kitchen. Edible gold flakes were stored inside shakers, the fresh oxberries and redberries were already washed and ready to use.
"There you are," Edward appeared with Franklin inside the kitchen.
"Want something to drink?" I asked.
"Of course I do," he grinned. He was such a wonderful man, and not difficult to look at, either.
"Kevis?" I raised the pitcher. I was about to make the rum and fruit drink that everyone seemed to like so much.
"Sure." He nodded at me while pulling a stool out for Edward.
"This is very good," Kevis sighed, sucking the last of his drink through a straw.
"You only get one, unless you want to attend the party a little sloshed," I said.
"All right, but I may want to be sloshed later," he smiled.
"Good enough. Let me know when you want the sloshing to commence," I said. "Just make it before my bedtime."
"Okay, boss," Kevis laughed.
"You've had too much already," I pulled the glass away from him.
"Are we ready?" Franklin asked later, after I'd gotten cakes settled into boxes. Everything else, including the ice cream, was sitting on the huge island, waiting to be transported.
"I'm ready." I'd changed clothes, although I still wasn't dressed for a party. I wasn't an invitee, just one of the cooks, after all. Garwin Wyatt had finally made his presence known, too. I couldn't fasten the waistband on any of my pants, so I'd worn a pair of black jeans with the stretchy front, coupling them with a jeweled blue top gathered slightly between my breasts. The outfit was comfortable and looked nice enough. Low, black heels finished everything out, and I'd elected to wear the jewelry that Farzi and Nenzi had purchased for me.
"This nice," Farzi grinned when he saw the jewelry. All my mates had been invited, in addition to Edward and Astralan. I just shrugged and allowed Franklin, Joey and Norton to fold us to the party.
* * *
"This is my mother," Franklin introduced me to Kiarra, who refused to tell us how old she was.
"We've met," I nodded at Kiarra, who smiled graciously at me.
"I should have known," Frank laughed. "Mom gets around, and half the time she forgets to tell me. This is my father, Merrill," Franklin added. Frank looked very much like his father, who also had black hair and piercing blue eyes.
"We'll place everything in stasis, so it won't melt or spoil," Merrill informed me when we settled everything on another huge island. "Dinner is about to start. We'll let you know when it's time for dessert."
I nodded to him; he smiled and then went immediately to Edward. "You don't know me," Merrill held out his hand, "but I know of you."
"How's that?" Edward asked, clasping Merrill's hand.
"I used to be vampire," he said. "I know about the half-Elemaiyan children. What I wanted to talk to you about is gishi fruit. Adam and I would like to either buy into one of the groves, or purchase it outright."
"EastStar isn't for sale, and I know the owner of SouthStar very well. He won't sell, either. You might be able to approach WestStar and NorthStar. I don't get along with them; they're always looking for ways to sabotage my groves," Edward huffed. "They think I'm cutting into their business, and they're terrified of SouthStar's owner and his manager. They don't try anything with them, but they love to dig at me whenever they can. The feud has gained local notoriety," Edward admitted with a wry smile.
"You're famous?" I smiled up at Edward.
"Not really. I'm just the guy who grows gishi fruit. Those other two fail to realize that there's a ready market for everything we produce, collectively."
"Growing gishi fruit works for me," I said. "Can I have your autograph?"
"I offered you my name. You haven't said yes, yet." He laughed.
"We haven't had our date yet."
"True enough. We'll do that soon. Don't forget, we start making ice cream in four days."
"I have shipments of supplies coming your way," I said. "I sent that information to you."
"And I received it. We'll make this work, just wait and see."
They should have asked you to do the cooking, Teeg sent to me. The food was good, but Teeg obviously thought I might do better. It didn't matter, dessert had tired me out. At least seventy people had come, so I was glad we had enough dessert for around a hundred.
Many of the dishes were vegetarian, too. Franklin's mother didn't eat meat, like several others, there. I'd met Kevis' mother,
Grace, as well as Karzac's third mate, Devin. They were very polite; I learned both were vegetarian and they kindly asked about the baby.
"Now, let's have some of that dessert," Franklin said when everyone had retired to what he called the ballroom. The cooking staff would supply coffee and other drinks; it was my job to get the dessert ready for the guests.
"Just tell them what you want them to do," Franklin led me into the kitchen, where a line of temporary employees waited for instructions.
"Cut the cake thin, like this," I sliced a piece that was little more than an inch at the widest part. "This cake is very rich, so we don't want it to overpower the ice cream and fresh berries. Now, scatter a good mix of berries around the top, like this," I demonstrated what I wanted. "Then, add a sprig of mint, dip a generous scoop of ice cream and drop it at the bottom of the cake, and sprinkle the entire thing with gold flakes."
"That looks pretty, how does it taste?" the cook demanded. I think he'd been insulted that someone else was inside his kitchen.
"Taste it, this one is yours," I handed it to him. He dipped up a bit of the cake with a little of the ice cream and tasted it.
"Holy shit," he sighed and dipped up more. "What kind of ice cream is this?"
"The most expensive you'll ever eat," Franklin said, patting my shoulder. "Come on, let's get it onto plates and serve the guests." We put an assembly line together and trays filled with dessert went out quickly.
"You're telling me this fruit only grows on two planets?" The cook, who said his name was Rio, asked.
"It's true. It harvests two or three times a year on or near the equator, in a particular volcanic soil. They've tried to grow it elsewhere, but the trees just die or the fruit is bitter."
"Amazing," Rio said. "I think I could ask any amount if I could get it here."
Demon's Dream (High Demon Series #6) Page 12