“Put it in your mouth,” he commanded softly.
“You can’t expect… I won’t,” she whimpered.
“You will,” he growled, gripping her by the hair. “I want you to pleasure me while he watches. It will be his penance for being so foolish.”
“Please,” she sobbed.
He turned his gaze upon her and she froze, her face growing blank, her eyes vacant. She leaned forward and slid his member into his mouth. He forced Henry’s head down, bringing him within inches of his wife’s handiwork. When he finally climaxed he pushed Eunice back onto the couch roughly. He let go of Henry’s throat and grabbed him by the hair pulling him off his feet. Adam looked at Lana over his shoulder as her father dangled in her grasp. He smiled at her exposing extended canines before sinking them into Henry’s throat.
After he dropped the lifeless body to the floor, he sat beside Eunice on the couch. She still stared into space as if seeing nothing and everything. He stared at Lana as he lifted her mother’s arm to his mouth and began to feed. When he released her, she slumped over, head on her knees. It was clear she was no more.
“Lana darling, are you going to stay in your room all night or are you ready to come out and join the party?”
She was locked in place by his gaze. “How do you know my name?”
“Because I know everything,” he said with a laugh. “Now come out here so I might have a better look at you.”
“Are you going to kill me to?” she asked, taking a hesitant step forward.
“Do you want me to?” His head tilted to one side.
She just shook her head as she moved closer.
“Are you afraid of dying?” he asked, appraising her with a slow look from her feet to her face.
“Yes,” she whimpered, now no more than a stride away from him.
“What if I told you it was in my power to make you immortal?” He rose from the couch slowly.
“How?” was all she managed in a meager voice.
“With a kiss,” he replied, caressing her cheek.
“You killed my parents,” she whimpered, fear trembled through her shoulders.
“I’m sorry for your loss. I truly am.” He let out a heavy sigh. “But I saw no other way. Do you understand that once I was forced to expose myself, action was required… and still is?”
“Why would you spare me?”
“I see… potential.”
She cast her gaze around the lavishly furnished front room. This was home. This was her life, but it was a life forever altered. Nothing would ever be the same. Her parents were dead, but wouldn’t they want her to live on and do so for eternity? She looked back up into his smiling face.
“Then kiss me,” she whispered.
His smile broadened. “Excellent choice, my dear.”
She moved closer, her lips seeking his. He grabbed her by the shoulders and held her at bay.
“I will give you that kiss, but you are still a bit young as yet. Serve me for two seasons. If you prove your loyalty as a mortal, I will return that service with the greatest gift of all.”
Niccolo felt a sharp tug on his consciousness as the sensation of being Lana disappeared abruptly.
“Easy, friend,” Pavlo warned. “She is far too young and cannot afford to offer up much more blood if you hope to keep her in good graces for the entire evening.”
“My apologies,” Niccolo said, feeling sheepish. He’d become so caught up in the drama of her encounter, he’d forgotten about her safety.
He pulled her close to his chest and licked the wound on her neck clean. She shuddered, eyes closed. Easing himself back inside her, he barely suppressed a shudder of his own.
“Don’t apologize, just come for me,” she cajoled.
“Ladies first,” he breathed into her hair.
“If you’re waiting on me, you’re backing up,” she giggled. “I had two wonderful tastes of death as you fed from me.”
Niccolo complied, concentrating on the sensation of his quickening thrust until his own orgasm exploded forth. He pulled out of her and dropped to his knees, panting heavily.
“My turn,” Lana said huskily.
“But you said—“
“No, silly. I want to feed from you now,” she explained with batting eyelashes.
“Careful, yearling,” Pavlo said in a stern tone. “That one there has tasted the blood of the ancients. To drink from him could set your veins ablaze.”
“Is he teasing me?” She stared at Niccolo with wide eyes.
“It was a long time ago,” he assured her. “You should be fine as long as you don’t ingest too much.”
She worried her bottom lip, apparently torn between the opportunity and the risk. “Perhaps just a little to replenish what you took from me,” she finally decided.
Niccolo tilted his head, offering her his throat. She pushed him back on his haunches and straddled him before biting him timidly. A rush of euphoria swept through his body as her teeth pierced his skin. The sensation ended nearly as quickly as it began.
“Finished so soon?” he asked in a whisper.
She stared at him, shock evident in her soft features. “You really loved her.”
Niccolo turned away from her, pain searing his chest.
“I’ve never felt a love so strong before in my life,” she continued unabashed.
“That too was a long time ago.”
“What happened to—“
“I do not wish to discuss it with you,” he all but growled.
“I’m sorry.” She looked away from him. “It’s just that, now I know such a love is possible…”
“Go on,” he urged when she failed to continue.
“Now that I know it’s possible, I will spend the rest of eternity searching for someone who will love me like that.”
“You can’t search out a love like that, my dear. Such a love can’t be forced,” Nessa added with sudden interest. “If it is meant to be, it will find you and swallow you whole.”
Pavlo rose from the couch, casting a disdainful glare at the window. “I hate to interrupt, but unless we would like to see whether or not this room can block out the mighty eye of Ra, I suggest we continue this conversation elsewhere.
“Agreed,” Niccolo said, anxious to change the subject.
They escorted the ladies out of the hotel and found a secluded spot from which to take flight. Niccolo hoped they would let the conversation die within the walls of the hotel. He had no desire to rehash the joys of the love he once had, or the desire to relive the pain of losing her. No, he hoped to retire for the day and hoped even more that holding Lana as he slumbered would stave off the nightmares of the loss of his human wife.
Chapter Eighteen
Selu’s eyes sprang open. She pulled the covers away from her face as a wave of nausea crashed over her. Clenching her eyes shut, she tried to make the room stop spinning. She took a deep breath and let it out slowly, whipping the blanket the rest of the way from her body. Kanati stirred and looked at her through one barely open eye.
“What’s wrong?”
She just held up a finger and shook her head.
Kanati was instantly awake. Rolling to his knees, he stared down at her, concern apparent in his eyes.
“You look awfully pale,” he said, placing a hand on her forehead. “But you don’t seem to have a fever.”
Rolling away from his touch, she pulled herself from the bed as quickly as her trembling legs would allow and stumbled through the house. She barely made it off the porch before the contents of her stomach spewed forth. The nausea passed quickly after that, but her body still trembled. She felt Kanati’s arms wrap around her and she leaned back into his embrace.
“Are you all right?” He kissed the top of her forehead.
“Something from last night’s supper must not have agreed with me,” she replied, allowing him to escort her back into the house.
Taima stood in the doorway to her bedroom one hand resting on the frame. “What
’s going on out here?”
“Nothing, Auntie,” she quickly assured her. “I just seemed to have a bit of an upset stomach.”
Her eyes narrowed as she regarded her shrewdly. “That’s odd. I feel fine. Kanati?”
“Fit as a fiddle,” he answered with a shrug.
“Were you ill when you went to sleep last night?” she pressed, stepping into the common room.
Selu merely shook her head.
“Did it wake you during the night?”
“It just came on a few minutes ago,” she answered still shaking her head. “But it definitely woke me then.”
The corner’s of Taima’s mouth twitched, threatened to spread into a frown, but resisted. She nodded absently as she ambled into the kitchen. Pausing near the table, she pulled out a chair and motioned for Selu to join her.
“Let’s have a look,” she said after her niece complied.
Her hands felt rough on Selu’s cheeks as they glided gently over her face and down to her neck. She pressed against either side of her throat with two fingers. “Uhm,” she said, each time she touched a different point on her body. Lifting her arm, she felt along the inside, across the pit and down to the side of her breast.
“Tell me if anything is tender,” she instructed as she pressed against her abdomen.
Selu shook her head after each prod.
“Nothing’s swollen, you’re not feverish,” Taima rubbed her chin as she thought aloud. “You’re a bit waxen, but overall your color is good. There just aren’t any signs that anything is physically wrong with you. Perhaps it’s nerves. Have you been upset about anything lately?”
Selu laughed. “Are you kidding? I’m married to the most wonderful man in the world; the world is my oyster.”
“Then I don’t know what to tell you. We’ll just keep a good eye on you for the next few days and hope it is nothing to worry about.”
“Thank you, Auntie, but really… I feel fine now. In fact, better than fine, I feel great.”
Kanati and Taima both stared at her with unmasked concern.
“Seriously,” she insisted.
“Well, it’s a good thing I don’t have to help Acabo at the store today, I’d be worried sick about you if I had to leave now,” Kanati said, taking a seat at the table.
“But you were going fishing,” Selu said, leaning over and taking his hand. “I promise… I’ll be ok. I don’t need you to coddle me.”
“It’s not coddling, it’s concern,” he said, bringing her hand to his lips. “Besides, we have plenty of food in the cupboards, so it’s not like I have to go fishing.”
“Aww,” she pouted. “I was really looking forward to Auntie’s soup.”
“I have some dried ones I could use,” Taima offered with a shrug.
“It’s just not the same.” She shook her head. “I know! Why don’t I just go with you?”
“Really?” He stared at her brows pursed. “I thought you didn’t like to angle.”
“It’s not my favorite thing in the world to do, but it’s not like I didn’t have to do it before I met you,” she said with a laugh. “Besides, you can fish and I will just keep you company.”
“Sounds like a great idea.” His smile stretched to his eyes. “Let’s have some breakfast and then we can take off. If you’re stomach is up for food that is.”
“Oddly enough, I’m actually quite hungry. I’ll make us something to eat.”
* * * *
Kanati slung a satchel over his shoulder and grabbed his favorite sapling rod. Once they were out of the house, he turned north. Selu didn’t follow.
“What’s wrong?” he asked, his concern rising rapidly again. “Are you ill again?”
“No,” she laughed. “But you’re going the wrong way. The creek is down there.” She pointed to the south.
“We’re not going to the creek,” he said with a wink.
She cocked her head to the side, eyeing him quizzically.
“I found a much better place about an hour walk from here,” he said, extending his hand to her.
“A pond?” she asked, entwining her fingers in his as they resumed their walk.
His brow pursed as he considered his response. “I’m not sure what you would call it. It’s far bigger than any other pond I’ve ever seen, but definitely not big enough to be a lake.”
“I know what it’s called,” Selu said, smiling up at him.
He just stared at her expectantly, one eyebrow arched.
“Kanati’s secret fishing hole.”
They shared a comfortable laugh before he turned his attention to the tall swaying grass they were tromping through. A flutter of movement to his right signaled the presence of his prey. He pounced with practiced ease, and was rewarded with a squirming grasshopper for his troubles.
“Wow, first try,” Selu said, eyes wide. “And you didn’t even drop your fishing pole.”
“Yes, the Gods have graced me with cat-like reflexes,” he said with a laugh as he put the insect in a small leather pouch.
She cocked her head to the side as she stared at him before her smile spread. “Yeah, I could tell that from the moment I met you.”
Kanati felt the heat rise to his cheeks as he remembered how clumsy he’d been around her not that long ago.
“Aww, don’t be embarrassed,” she sighed. “I only tease you because I love you.”
“I love you more,” he said before kissing her on the forehead.
They marched on, gathering bait along the way. By the time the pond came into view, they had a full pouch of grasshoppers and even a couple of crickets.
“I’ve had the best luck over here,” he said, pointing to a sloping grass covered bank just visible through a break in the trees.
Kanati led her to the edge of the water and surveyed the glistening surface before dropping his satchel to the ground.
“The water looks really calm today,” he said, pulling a long stretch of twisted gut from his bag.
He secured it to one end of his pole and threaded the other end through a hook he’d fashioned from a piece of deer bone. Selu handed him a grasshopper from the pouch. After baiting the line, he tossed it into the water, took a seat on the bank, and waited. She sat next to him, leaning her head on his shoulder.
“This is relaxing,” she said without looking up at him.
“Yes, very peaceful,” he agreed. “I’ve done some of my best thinking while I’m out here.”
“What sort of things do you think about?” She turned her face toward his.
“You,” he replied, kissing her tenderly.
“You are such a sweet talker,” she said and kissed him again. “So, what else do you think about?”
He laughed mirthlessly, shaking his head. “Life both with you and the unbearable pain of what I would do without you. I think about our future, I worry if I can bring you all the happiness you truly deserve.”
She stared up at him with expectant eyes. “How can you ever doubt that? I love you… I married you. Of course, you make me happy.”
“It’s more than that,” he said, taking a deep breath before continuing, “The Talwa is changing. Hell, it’s already changed. Everything has become so…mercenary. Sure, we still share amongst ourselves, but more and more we turn to things we can buy rather than make and to be able to purchase these things we have to have a means to make money.”
“I don’t understand your fear,” she said. “Acabo pays you for your help, does he not?”
“Yes,” he said, shaking his head. “And it is enough to buy the essentials, but…”
“What?” she pressed when he fell silent.
“What if you want more?”
“Then I’ll make it,” she laughed.
“I just don’t want you to feel deprived of… well, anything.”
“Just because the Talwa is changing doesn’t mean we have to.” She stroked the side of his face. “We don’t need money. Both of us are more than capable of living off of what nature prov
ides us.”
“Thank you for—“
His reply was interrupted as the rod in his hand jerked forward. “Got one!” he yelled as he started backing up the bank, pulling the fish to shore. Selu rushed forward to catch the flopping prize. She eased the hook out of the mouth of a bass that was as long as the length of her arm from her fingertips to her elbow.
“See.” She smiled as she held it up for his inspection. “You’ve just proven my point.”
He rummaged in his bag for another length of line, threaded through the gill of the fish, tied it off and tossed him back in the water, securing the other end to a piece of wood stuck in the bank. She re-baited his line and had it ready for him when he turned around.
“Two more like that and we will have ourselves a fine feast tonight,” he declared proudly.
“Actually, I think that one would be more than enough for Auntie’s stew,” she said, nodding toward the tethered line.
“Probably,” he said, rubbing his chin. “But you saw how long it takes to get out here. We might as well stock up while we’re here.”
“Sure.” She kissed him again. “I don’t care what we do as long as I’m with you.”
“You won’t get bored?” He winked at her.
She worried her lower lip, dropping her gaze. “If the waiting becomes too tedious, I’m sure we can think of some way to pass the time.”
Staring into her eyes, he couldn’t suppress the smile that spread across his face. He took the end of his pole and pushed it through the grass and deep into the soft earth of the bank. Using his foot, he packed the dirt in tight around it before turning his attention back to his wife’s.
“How poor of a husband would I be if I took the chance of letting the tedium grow to such a point?”
Giggling playfully, she leaned back on her elbows, pushing out her ample bosom. “Well, when you put it that way…”
He leaned over her, pressing his body between her thighs and untied the straps of her leather top. Pulling it away, he dropped it on the grass. Wasting no time, he slipped one of her nipples into his mouth while he gently massaged the other.
“Harder,” she murmured.
He was only too eager to comply. His hand was just roving down her stomach when the clip-clop of horses caught his attention. They both froze in place.
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