“Get up,” Mila said, her voice sharp as a spear. “I’m taking you home.”
“But I like it here.”
The girl giggled and grabbed his free hand, smashing it against her other breast. “Stay a while, big man.”
Mila growled and leaned over him to grab the girl’s long hair. “Get out of here!”
“Ow, I was just playing!”
“Play with someone else.”
Lake rubbed his face, hiding his smile. “Where are we going, Mila?”
“I’m taking you home, Lake. Can you get up?” She mumbled to Cho, “I knew he was drinking too much.”
Cho shrugged and grabbed Lake’s arm. “At least he will sleep through the night, despite the noise.”
“You’re right.” She sounded relieved as she grabbed his other arm. “Up we go, Ednian. Come along.”
Several times along the path home, he managed to innocently fondle her, and she excused his behavior as drunken idiocy. He smiled all the way home.
She was so soft, so lush. She smelled of sunshine and female, and despite his slight intoxication from the drink, he realized how gentle his feelings were toward her. His mother had spoken to him of life mates. Of that feeling one got when he found the one born for him and no other. This was the feeling he had with this little Myaian. How terrible was it that she, a Myaian, would never accept him?
His mother had told him of that as well.
But he would convince her. He had an entire year to change her thoughts. So what if that meant she would be cast from her clan and lose her shadow? She would choose him and his clan over both. He would see to it.
He fell into his bed, unable to resist pulling her down atop him. He wrapped his arms around her, his lips against her warm neck. She struggled, but he easily held her. She was not trying very hard to escape him.
His cock, seemingly permanently hard when she was near him, became painfully rigid. He groaned and thrust his erection against her. “Mila.”
When Cho pulled her off him, he restrained himself from killing the little bastard. He was supposed to be drunk and unaware. It took all his strength to let her go, but he managed. Soon enough it would be his time.
“Mila, come.”
“Yes, Cho.”
He ground his teeth to keep from snatching her back and throwing Cho into the wall. Why was she allowing the shadow to command her?
He closed his eyes and turned on his side, snoring intermittently. Finally, he heard the door close quietly as they left.
In seconds, he was hot on their trail, slipping from shadow to shadow, avoiding the drunken villagers who couldn’t have cared less.
Gods help the shadow if he hurt her.
Mila belonged to him.
He followed them, swiveling his head this way and that as he caught sight of things he’d never seen in his village. The Myaians had become wild, wanton beings, coupling in the open, the shadows clinging to them like flies caught in honey.
He jerked to a halt, gaping at the dark scene on his left. Is that the fucking councilor?
Squinting through the darkness, he saw the Myaian leader tied to a tree, being ravished by a half dozen male shadows. As he watched, one of the shadows sank his teeth into the councilor’s bare thigh.
Lake wondered if he hadn’t perhaps drunk more than he’d intended. Surely the old man wasn’t letting the shadows draw his blood? He shook his head and hurried on, aware that Mila and Cho had wandered out of his sight.
No matter. He’d find them.
*
Mila held Cho’s hand as they hurried through the village, longing for the excitement that usually came on Shadow night. It was difficult when—
“Put him from your mind, Mila.”
“I’m trying.”
“Think of me, sweet. Think of the blood we will share.”
“I wish…”
“You wish we could share it with him.”
“Yes.”
“He would kill us both in a fit of revulsion, Mila.”
“Perhaps. Or perhaps he would see you as I see you, would accept what we must do to keep you alive. Perhaps he would understand that you are my responsibility and I love you.”
He shook his head. “No, Mila. You know that is not possible.”
“He is different.”
“He’s infatuated with you. To see you lie with me, sharing blood…no. He would not accept that.”
“Would he leave?”
“At the very least, Mila.” He looked at her as though she were a slow child. Then he softened. “It all depends upon the strength of his feelings for you. I’m not willing to trust those feelings. Not yet.”
“But by the time this night comes again, he will be gone.”
“Then you will have nothing to worry about.”
She stopped, looking at him in surprise. “You’re right. If I get through this night, tomorrow will be a new day. He doesn’t have to know.” Because I can’t bear for him to hate me.
“You almost sounded as though you meant to leave the clan for him.”
“That’s impossible.” Still, she felt a pang of hope. Could she leave with him? Would he be willing to exist in the darklands with her?
No. She wouldn’t allow him or Cho to be subjected to the Darklands because of her. The Darklands were worse than death.
“You’re right, Cho. Now is not the time to think of the Ednian. I will think of him once Menda’s Eve has arrived. Tonight, I am yours.” Still, a secret part of her wished with everything in her that Lake could be part of this night. She wished she could lie with Lake rather than wasting the night with Cho. But that was a silent, private thought she would never in a million years share. She would not hurt Cho.
They followed the winding path to Cho’s fire. The full moon’s light, added to the many bright fires, lit up the world. The dancing flames licked at the darkness, casting dancing shadows of mystic eroticism over the village.
She spread her arms and took it all in; the boundaries and the freedom, the love and the hate, the need and the disregard. The beauty, the ugliness. For that one moment, she saw, and accepted, it all.
This was her world. This and the Ednian. Which would be the victor? She couldn’t have guessed. Not then.
Chapter Nine
She needed no coaching. This night had come and gone for her for years, since she’d left childhood for her journey into young adulthood.
Cho had taught her well. He loved her; there was no doubt in her heart about that, but sometimes she wondered why there was this love. Some things people just couldn’t understand. It just…was.
She dropped her shift and lay down, letting the fire bronze her skin and heat her blood. Not that it needed heating. Cho and the other shadows took blood from animals for an entire year. But tonight, this one special night, they would feed on the humans.
Cho had told her there was nothing like it. It was worth everything they had to do to get human blood. It was different, he’d said, from human to human. Her blood was strong and pure and tasted of magic and mystery and innocence.
In return for this one night a year of feeding, the shadows let the humans live. Not that the Myaians thought of it that way, not exactly…but if the shadows were not freely given the blood they needed, they would take it.
The last time that happened, years and years before Mila’s birth, the shadows had massacred many of their hosts. Then the shadows of the dead humans had died, and it was a horror no one wanted repeated. Some of the humans had almost died, but not quite; those humans had, over days, become mutations of the shadows themselves, and had to be destroyed.
How the shadows managed to live on blood only one time a year, no one knew. Or if the shadows knew, they weren’t telling.
Mila didn’t care. She loved Cho. Things were different now, and she willingly gave him her blood once a year, as did the other villagers. The shadows were part of them and, besides, getting bitten by a shadow was an occurrence none of the Myaians wanted to do w
ithout once they’d experienced it. The only thing keeping some of the villagers from giving blood more often was the knowledge that, if they did, they would themselves either die, or worse, become a shadow.
Mila’s stomach tightened, and she clasped her hands above her head. “I’m ready, Cho.” Her voice quivered, and she bit her lip. Oh, the bliss he was to give her.
Cho was in the mood to tease, to draw out the anticipation of what was to come. Once done, it was over for another long, long year.
He pulled off his boots before straightening to loosen his tunic strings as she watched. His dark hair flowed long and loose. He folded his tunic, then slowly removed his breeches, placing them both on a nearby rock.
“You’re so fastidious.”
“I amuse you, as usual.”
“A bit.”
Her mood turned serious when he walked back toward her, his skin gleaming in the firelight, his hair hanging like a dark sheet over his shoulders. But what drew her gaze was his cock. Shadows were smaller, true, but their male parts were most definitely not.
She couldn’t stop her shudder, but when he peered into her eyes, he smiled. He knew she was not afraid of him.
“Touch me?” he asked, and stood waiting by her side so that she might, or might not. He wouldn’t insist. “If you’d rather not, I will get you relaxed and ready for the bite.”
“Oh, Cho, Cho.” Tenderly, she ran her hand up his leg, then sat up to squeeze the huge, firm sac hanging below his erection.
When Lake ran down the embankment, roaring and full of fight, she froze.
“Hmmm,” was all Cho said, but he stood his ground. It was Mila who pulled away, unsure of how to calm the Ednian.
Was he jealous that he wasn’t allowed to have a mate until Menda’s Eve, or was he furious that he had promised to get with child the woman he’d just caught fondling Cho? The Ednian had made no secret of his revulsion for the shadows.
Lake didn’t even hesitate. Like the hotheaded Ednian he was, he ran straight for Cho, and Cho barely had time to jump into the air before Lake reached him. The two collided, and Mila flinched at the sound of their bodies thumping together.
She registered the look of surprise on Lake’s face before rolling out of the way. She scurried up the embankment to wait, watch, and hope the men had enough sense not to drag the fight on for too long.
Cho was weakened, as were all the shadows, in the last couple of weeks before shadow night. Had he been at his full strength she wouldn’t have worried at all about him, but weak and against Lake…that did not make good odds for the shadow.
More than Cho, and more than Lake, she worried about her chances for a baby. There was still a chance she could explain to Lake, could convince him that his word meant more than his disgust.
“What the fuck?” Lake exclaimed as Cho rocketed through the air toward him. Obviously he hadn’t heard that the shadows were more than worthy adversaries and able to hold their own against any enemy. It was only one of many reasons the Myaians were so amenable to keeping them. The shadows kept enemies at bay.
But Lake was not the enemy.
He hooked the shadow around the throat and rode him to the ground, then got one huge fist halfway raised to punch him before Cho grabbed him at the wrist and, with a mighty heave, slung the Ednian off him.
Lake, slowed no doubt by utter shock at the strength and speed the little shadow possessed, found himself the one on the bottom as Cho slammed atop him and began pummeling the big Ednian for all he was worth. And that was saying something.
Mila stood. “Enough! Don’t make me come down there.”
The men changed position once again, amidst much grunting and cursing. Lake forced the shadow beneath him, meaty fist once again clenched and ready for a blow that would have caused a regular man too much damage to recover from.
“Lake!” Mila ran toward them, determined to end the stupid male posturing. Before she reached them, however, she stopped and stared. Cho wasn’t going to need her interference.
Lake couldn’t bring himself to actually land such a killing blow; he stared down at Cho with a mixture of outrage, surprise, and resignation, and Mila knew he would not strike.
That was the moment she knew beyond a doubt that the big Ednian was the one for her. For her, and for Cho.
Too bad that in order to be together, they’d have to live in the darklands. Looking at Lake, so huge and dangerous, sexier than any one man had a right to be, she couldn’t help but think he might just be worth the risk.
Cho must have recognized the same thing. He pushed at Lake’s chest. “Get off me, please.”
Lake raised an eyebrow. “Polite little fuck, aren’t you?”
“You’re smashing my dick.”
The look on Lake’s face was so completely horrified that Mila had to stuff her fist against her mouth to stifle her giggles. Lake scrambled off the shadow, nearly falling in his effort to put some distance between his bottom and Cho’s cock.
Mila couldn’t help but think he might have overreacted just a tad. She knew not all clans were as amenable to same sex lovers as were her clan, but it seemed to her that Lake might be trying to cover up a not-so-hidden and very uncomfortable attraction.
“You needn’t,” she said, realizing at his blank look that he had no idea what she was talking about. And now was definitely not the time to enlighten him. She shook her head.
She could feel Lake’s gaze on her as she went to Cho. She put her hands on her hips. “Are you two quite finished trying to kill each other?”
“Quite,” Cho said.
Lake remained silent, his attention on her nude body.
“Lake,” she said. “Cho must feed or he will die. Well, first he’ll go insane and end up killing me and half the villagers. Then he’ll die. Right, Cho?”
“Something like that.” He stood beside her, and they both stared at Lake. “I must feed. This is the shadows’ night. You’ll have to accept it or go home.”
Mila gasped. “Cho!”
“Home doesn’t sound like such a bad idea,” Lake said, but he refused to look at Cho. He kept his gaze planted firmly on Mila.
She raised her chin, determined to get this fight over and done with. “You gave your word. You swore to fulfill your duty. Are you telling me that an Ednian’s word is worth so little?”
He snarled at her, and for a moment, she felt a little thrill of fear at pushing him. She kept her gaze steady, however, and waited.
“I do not go back on my word,” he said, but the words were low, hard, and reluctant. “I will fill your belly. But know this. Each thrust of my cock into you will be driven with disgust and loathing.” Still, he did not walk away.
She held her hand out. “Join us.”
His stare was as hard and cold as an icicle. “Never.”
“Not…physically,” she said, waving impatiently. “Just to watch. You might lose your horror at what we do to survive.” She looked at Cho. “Are you hurt?”
He shrugged. “I’m declining with the recent use of energy. I need you.”
She looked at Lake and raised her chin. “Then you shall have me. Ednian, will you watch? And learn?”
He stared into the fire. “Yes.”
Relief coursed through her like a backed up river through a busted dam. “I’m glad.” So glad.
Cho, weak but once again in command, took her hand and motioned to the Ednian. “Come.” His voice was as dark as a starless night sky.
Lake hesitated, then with a small sigh, stepped up to take Mila’s free hand and went with them.
Chapter Ten
“Feed if you must,” Lake said, once they were settled upon the ground, “since this one would keep you alive. But if you convince her to open her legs for you, I will make sure you never attempt it again.”
For a long, tense moment, the two men stared at each other. Finally, Cho nodded. “I will concede. For now. I do not have to fuck her. I have to have her blood. I will settle.”
“I’m right here,” Mila said. “I can decide whether or not—”
“Be quiet, Mila,” Lake said, still staring at the shadow.
She paused, her mouth open in stunned silence. “Ednian, do not think you can boss me just because I wish your child!”
He looked at her then, with an expression she couldn’t interpret. “Hush, Mila.” But his voice was tender.
She hushed, too unsettled to do otherwise. She couldn’t help but feel left out as the two men stared at each other, unspoken words passing between them in a steady, murky stream into which they hadn’t invited her to wade.
Tired of their staring match, she pulled her heavy hair away from her neck and lay back. “Cho. Bite me.”
Her words made Lake jerk his gaze from Cho, to spear her with the sharpness of his blue-eyed stare. “Why so eager for pain?”
Her smile was fleeting. “Oh, Ednian. Pain? A shadow’s bite is paradise.”
He grabbed her arm. “What?”
Cho had had enough delays. “Ednian. It is time. Dawn isn’t far away.”
At Lake’s questioning frown, Mila said, “He cannot feed once his night has ended. It is not permitted.”
Lake blew out a long breath. “Go on then, but I am here, watching.”
“I’m counting on it,” Cho replied, and without warning, he struck like a snake.
Mila screamed with surprise as the shadow’s teeth sank not into the side of her bared neck, but instead sank his teeth into the inside of her upper thigh.
The initial breaking of skin was indeed painful, but this was quickly erased and forgotten as he began to suck.
Lake grabbed her head and slid his legs beneath her, a mountainous, hard pillow that was somehow perfect. He caught her gaze, and her fingers dug into his arms as the pleasure of Cho’s mouth climbed through her body.
She moaned, an unending sound of pleasure so great it was distressing, and Lake leaned to capture the sound with his mouth. He swallowed her moans, his lips slanting across hers with a hunger she hadn’t been prepared for.
His kiss consumed her.
She buried her fingers in his hair and held him to her as though she might lose that kiss, offering herself to him, wishing he could take her. Wanting him to take her more than she’d ever remembered wanting anything.
First Night Page 6
