“No,” I said, reaching out to take his hand. “But you look so different; it’s still a shock to see you so young. And you’re talking a lot more than you ever did before.”
“Snakes are quiet,” Lash said with a shrug. “Now I can be completely human without the snake part of me being present. I always liked talking to you, Sar.”
I gave him a smile, then sipped my wine.
“You know they have a pool table here. It’s just over there,” he teased.
I kicked at him again. He evaded my kick and laughed.
Well, I could tease, too. “They have a juke box too,” I said pointedly.
Lash gave me confused eyes. “So? You want some money to play something?”
“I want you to dance with me. I have change in my purse.”
“No,” Lash said, pouring us the rest of the bottle. “I don’t dance.”
“C’mon,” I said teasingly. “One song.”
“I can’t,” Lash protested. “I never learned. I’ll step on your feet.”
“Then I’ll teach you,” I said, offering my hand.
Lash looked at me with a wry smile that said he knew he was going to be sorry for this. He downed his glass of wine, probably for courage. “You had better keep this a secret, too,” he said, getting up.
He followed me to the juke box. It was one of the newer ones, with access to thousands of songs online. “What are you going to pick? I’ve never used one of these newer ones before—”
Letting him pick or even give input might be a disaster. I hurriedly chose Joe Cocker’s “When the Night Comes,” then motioned Lash to come over to me. As the music started, I put his arms around me at my waist, and put my arms around his neck.
Lash stood there, looking unsure. So I shifted my weight from foot to foot and we shuffled together, swaying awkwardly. He was right, he couldn’t dance. I was surprised that he could be so graceful as a snake and be this uncoordinated. All his grace was absent as he moved stiffly in my arms. It was funny, and also sweet that he didn’t feel proficient, and was still willing to do it for me.
We’d only danced for maybe a minute when I noticed we’d garnered the attention of a bunch of jocks drinking at the bar. They looked college age, maybe Ivy League, or maybe on a research trip. They were shooting looks at one another and laughing, then pointedly staring back at Lash and me.
I didn’t care. I was having fun. I hadn’t been able to hear what they said anyway. But Lash heard it and his eyes went flat instantly. He hissed in anger, then shot them a nasty glance. At once, he escorted me back to the table.
“Stay here, Sar,” he hissed furiously. “I’ll be right back.”
I sat down, watching Lash stride over to them, then downed the rest of my wine in one swallow, suddenly worried.
Lash stood in front of their table, then folded his arms across his chest. “Fucking shut your mouths,” he hissed in a cold, cold voice. “Or I’ll hurt you.”
Most of the group saw he meant business, and went quiet immediately, looking away from him. But one decided to mouth off instead. “Get out of here, loser! You think you’re Indiana Jones or something, with that whip—”
Lash uncoiled his whip in a flash with a flick of his wrist, and then he let it fly, shattering the light above them. The glass showered down on them in a rain as they covered their heads, yelling.
The bartender reached under the bar. Was he was getting a shotgun, or calling 911? Shit, we didn’t need the police here. The last thing we needed was to be on the news, or end up in jail.
“Get the fuck out of here!” Lash snarled. The group of jocks ran, slipping a little in their haste to get away from him, their pitcher of beer falling to the floor to smash into pieces.
Lash lashed out with his whip again, sending the end to wrap itself around the bold kid. He yanked backwards, the kid flying through the air to land at his feet. Lash dropped his whip, then grabbed him by the neck. “You fucked with the wrong guy, dickweed—”
The bartender cocked the shotgun, pointing it at Lash from a few inches away. “Drop him!”
Lash held the kid up in front of him as a shield. “Go ahead. Blow him away, old man. You’d be doing the world a favor—”
I had to stop this. Someone was going to get hurt!
“I said, drop him!”
In a dexterous motion, Lash grabbed his whip from the floor. With a sharp crack, he jerked the gun out of the bartender’s grip with his whip, and tossed it twenty feet behind him. The bartender leaned on the bar, hissing in pain. God, was his wrist broken?
Lash stared into the kid’s terrified eyes. “You see that woman, the one you were making fun of? You look at her real good, because her being here saved your life, you fuck. I’ve killed younger kids than you for less.”
He drew his knife, then held it to the kid’s throat. The kid wet himself, urine streaming down his pant leg.
“You can’t hold your beer,” Lash hissed scornfully. “Leave, jackass, before I give you another hole to pee out of.”
He dropped the kid, who flailed on the floor, crying, before he crawled for the exit, finally getting to his feet by the door. He dashed outside, leaving the screen door wide open.
Lash sheathed his knife, then walked over and grabbed the bartender hard by the front of his shirt, pulling him up and slightly over the bar. The bartender took one look at Lash’s fangs, and cringed backward.
“We’re leaving,” Lash hissed. “Here’s a hundred for a new light. You know what’s good for you, you won’t call the police, or anybody else. Or I’ll come back and see you some night. Got it?”
The man nodded. Lash shoved him backward hard enough he fell behind the bar. After leaving some money in a pile on top of the bar, Lash sauntered over to me. “Ready to go?”
I nodded. I was more than ready to go. Not meeting his eyes, I followed him out, stepping gingerly over the broken glass and spilled beer.
“Sorry about that,” Lash hissed, putting his arm around me as we walked back to the hotel room. “Young people today have no manners.”
I didn’t reply, too shocked at the ease with which he’d gotten violent. While Devlin had just as much violence in him, even he wouldn’t have trashed a human-owned bar. At least, I didn’t think he would. Lash wasn’t sorry at all; he’d enjoyed making that kid piss himself. That was the type of man he was. I’d better remember that just because he’d been gentle with me didn’t change that fact.
“What did he say?” I asked as we walked. “That kid in the bar?”
“Never you mind,” he said, anger immediately in his tone. “He was a no-good fuck.”
Okay, then. “I can’t take you anywhere,” I said lightly, and hesitantly leaned into him.
“I’m bad company,” he said self-mockingly, with a touch of pride. “But he deserved it.”
“Yes, but I wanted some more chocolate,” I teased.
Lash nodded. “I’ll drop you off at the room, and go get some, then—”
“Not so fast!” I teased, giving him a smile. “You owe me a dance still, Mr. Lash.”
“Come with me then,” Lash said, and switched direction, heading toward his truck parked a few feet away.
I leaned back against it as he rummaged inside. “Aren’t you worried someone will report what happened?”
“Neither of them will,” Lash replied with a sneer. “No man ever wants to admit he pissed himself, or that a man took his gun without it being at gunpoint.” He cranked the engine to life. Suddenly, loud music began blaring from the trucks stereo system. I roared with laughter, holding onto the truck so I didn’t fall down. He’d put on Thoroughgood’s “Bad to the Bone.” “Is this like your theme song or something?” I said, laughing.
I looked up to see him sauntering toward me, baring his fangs a little, his eyes flat. Abruptly I stopped laughing, and backed up a little bit. Lash kept coming, his walk purposeful, his eyes fastened on me. He reached out and grabbed me, his hands sliding down my arms to grasp my hands. He planted them
on his hips, just below his knife and whip. “Move me,” he said, slipping his arms upwards to hold me loosely
While the song was campy, it had a good beat. I gripped his hips in my hands, and began to move. In a few seconds, Lash and I were slowly swaying together to the beat of the song, as he followed the gentle pressure of my hands. All at once he seemed to get it, his movements in sync with mine. I slid my arms up from his waist and held him around his neck. Lash slipped his hand up from my waist to run his fingers into my hair, then cupped my face in his hand. Holding my eyes with his, he swayed to the beat with me, his hand on my cheek, caressing me slightly with the tips of his fingers.
Lash’s eyes were dark, dark as the blackest night, darker than Danial’s had ever been, and I wanted to lose myself in them, as I’d lost myself in his arms earlier today. I slid my hand up from his shoulder then, and put my hand on his cheek. He faltered briefly, losing the rhythm, then found it again quickly, his eyes never breaking with mine.
Lash leaned in closer, our faces just a few inches apart, as we moved to the music.
“How am I doing?” he whispered, putting his cheek alongside mine.
I didn’t answer him, lost in enjoyment of his strong, lean body against mine moving to the beat of the music.
“Sar,” he said, pulling back from me so his lips were an inch from mine. “Answer me.”
“Good,” I whispered hungrily, looking into his dark, dark eyes. “You’re doing good.”
Lash looked at me, then slowly opened his mouth, his hooked fangs growing before my eyes. “I can be better,” he hissed softly, then kissed me consumingly, twining his tongue around mine, still swaying to the music with me.
By the time the song was over, I was panting with desire, and we were no longer dancing. Lash had me backed against the side of his truck, and we were kissing each other ravenously, his erection pushing into my groin eagerly through his straining jeans.
“I want you,” I said hoarsely, breaking the kiss. I reached down into his jeans, cupping his swelled flesh.
“You’re getting me,” he hissed with a groan, pulling away from me. “But I’m not doing you out here, where everyone can see us.” He shut off the truck, locked it, then took my hand, walking fast towards the room.
We made it to the room in record time. Lash swiped the card, then kicked the door open. Grabbing me, he undid his pants, then tackled me on the bed, pulling off my jeans as he wriggled out of his own. Then he was inside me, his lips everywhere kissing, his forked tongue tweaking and teasing as his hands caressed me. I was frenetic beneath him, moaning and writhing, his every motion within me both bliss and torturous tease. We came together screaming, clutching one another, our bodies shuddering.
“God,” Lash panted, rolling onto his back. “I should’ve learned to dance decades ago. I had no idea it was such a turn on.”
“Maybe you just needed the right instructor,” I teased, stroking his still stiff penis.
He put his hand over mine, caressed the back of my hand gently, then let go. “I did.”
I rolled on my side, facing him. “I have to ask; why didn’t you want to, outside? You’ve...I mean, we’ve done other—”
“You mean me,” Lash hissed tiredly. “You’re right, I’ve done stuff that wasn’t private at all. But that wasn’t my choice, ever.”
“Lash,” I said sarcastically, withdrawing my hand. “You tried to raise The Lust in front of Theo in a parking lot.”
“I know, I know,” Lash said, holding up his hand. “What I did was bad. But I wouldn’t have let you be embarrassed that day, even if you had reacted like I wanted.”
I gave him a skeptical look. “There’s no way I wouldn’t have been.”
Lash turned his head. “I’m not stupid. I knew that the window was closing, that soon you wouldn’t want me anymore. I had to try, if there was even a chance. It was too good with you not to.”
“That wasn’t me,” I said softly. “The real me.”
“I didn’t ask you for lunch trying to get sex,” Lash hissed wearily. “I wanted to spend time with you, like I do now. But you’d practically given me permission to raise it in you. And so when our walk was done, I was going to try to raise it one last time.” He squeezed my hand. “I had rented us a room earlier that day, Sar, in a hotel across from the Japanese restaurant. If things worked out, I was going to take you there. I was furious with Theo for spoiling it, when I wanted you so much and it was so close to happening. So I kissed you and hoped for the best. I knew he’d forgive you after, even if he’d want to kill me for what I’d done. And if I could raise it, he’d let me have you until it was sated, even if he waited outside the door with his gun so he could try to kill me right after.” He squeezed again. “I wanted to be with you again, however I could.”
“You have been,” I said, hugging him. “You got your wish.”
“That and more,” Lash said, kissing my hand. “But you wished for chocolate. You still want some?”
“I’ll eat whatever you bring back,” I replied, stretching. “But chocolate would be nice.”
Lash returned shortly with some hamburgers, French fries, and dessert for us. He devoured his, then fed me my fries, missing my mouth purposely, so he could kiss the ketchup away. We shared the towering quarter wedge of moist chocolate cake.
“I’m glad you can share this with me,” I said, feeding him a piece.
Lash chewed, then gave me a smile that contained a little pain. “The flesh and blood diet was tedious, even if it was a normal snake diet. That’s why I enjoyed the sushi so much, and the other things you made for me. Seeing and smelling food I couldn’t eat was awful.”
I understood at last why Serena’s offerings of food hadn’t been touched. “You—?”
“Yes, I’m the reason. I told all the other guards if they ate any of what you left out for us, I’d hurt them. I was dying for a taste, but I knew it would make me sick. I was already failing by then—”
I reached out and clasped his hand.
“—But I’d be damned if any of them were going to have something I wanted for myself, if I couldn’t have it,” Lash said, eyeing me pointedly. “Ever.”
“I’ll make you one as soon as we get back,” I offered. “What kind is your favorite?”
“No,” Lash said gently. “I meant what I said to Titus, Sar. I care for you deeply, but Devlin’s my best friend. When we go back, I’m going to keep you at arm’s length like I did before. We won’t be like this again, unless you get pregnant again and you need me. Now that you’re fixed, that’s unlikely.”
“It would just be a pie,” I said, stroking his arm gently. “I make them for Danial’s guards all the time.”
“You know as well as I do that it’s not the same with us as it is with his guards,” Lash said gently. “I need to be just your guard again, not your lover.”
“Can you do that?” I stated skeptically. “See me all the time, and know I’m with him, and not with you? That I’m with Theo?”
“It’s not saying that it’s going to be easy,” Lash said, rolling his eyes. “I’ll think about us together like this. I’ll still want you as much as I do now. But its right. And you know as well as I that it’s what we need to do, unless you want to give up Theo.”
I looked at him, shocked.
“Devlin’s not going to let you have another lover, Sar, not when he has to share you with two other men already,” Lash said with something like regret. “Not even if it’s me.”
He was asking me to give up my marriage. I looked away from him.
“I know you love Theo. Can you leave him, Sar? Tell him that you want me instead? Devlin would probably amend your Oath to include me, if you would agree to drop Theo. Danial probably wouldn’t care, so long as you kept seeing him the same days you do now.”
That wasn’t true. Danial was still harboring fantasies of the three of us together, and he would never consider Lash a replacement for Theo. As much as I cared for Lash, I couldn’t
consider that, either.
“Don’t ask me to do that,” I said softly, not looking at him. “Not after everything he and I went through to be together. I’m sorry, but I have to think of Devon, Lash. My son has to come first. I feel so hypocritical saying that after the last two days, but—”
Lash pulled me close. “I am not asking you, because I knew that this is what you would say. I understand, Sar. I know you don’t love me. And it’s okay that you don’t.”
Now I felt like pond scum. “I didn’t mean to hurt you—”
“Shh,” Lash said gently, kissing my lips. “You haven’t. You saved me when no one else could have. And let’s be honest, only Devlin would have. He is my only friend, next to you. If you need something done like when I helped you before, you let me know. I won’t hurt Devlin, but anything else.”
Being given carte blanche like this from Lash took me aback. “Thank you.”
“Now kiss me,” Lash said, moving aside our food wrappers. “Titus will be here soon, and there’s not much time left. Don’t waste it talking about what we can’t have. In the little time we have left together, I want as many memories of you as we can make.”
Lash abruptly stopped. “Was that enough chocolate? I could go out, and get you more—”
I looked at him and smiled, putting my finger to his lips. “I’ve had enough food, Lash. But I will always want more of you.” I leaned in and kissed him eagerly.
Lash put his arms around me, his forked tongue delving deep. I sucked it gently into my mouth, then caressed it with my tongue. Lash groaned, squeezing me tight, then lay me back on the bed and began kissing down my chest, tickling me with his forked tongue as he slowly worked his way down my body.
“Then I’m going to give you more,” Lash hissed tenderly. “As much more as you can take. You might be sore, but if I do this, you’ll feel only pleasure.”
“Then turn your body around, and face the other way,” I said softly. “I don’t want you left out.”
His eyes widened. “You don’t have to do that for me,” Lash said quickly. “I don’t expect it.”
“You’re getting it anyway. Come here,” I ordered, reaching for him.
Dark Solace Page 17