Love by Night

by Stina

  Adirah laughed nervously. He had certainly told her he was a king, but she hadn’t exactly got what he was saying. Between Lina drilling the undead, vampire stuff in her head and Kesh having a hold on her, Adirah was starting to feel like she was walking through one big dream. If not for the deep feelings she had for Kesh, she wouldn’t believe she was even alive.

  As they moved farther into the belly of the hideout, which Adirah decided was like some obscure club, she could feel all eyes on them. The people, who looked like partygoers, didn’t hide their bright-eyed stares. Some of them even whispered and pointed right at her. Adirah did notice that even in the dark, their eyes and skin seemed to glow. There were a few people, girls mostly, standing around who didn’t have that glow. Their eyes had a emptiness to them. Adirah had seen this look on the drug addicts back in Brooklyn. The hairs on Adirah’s arms stood up, and a chill shot down her back. An eerie feeling and a voice invaded her ears again.

  You’re among the evil. You’re in danger. Run fast. They don’t want you here. You’re not one of them, a silent voice said to her. It sounded like Adolphis.

  Heat flared up in Adirah’s belly. She waved her hand near her ear. Not now! I told you I was fine. Stop doing this, she screamed inside her head, telling the spirit that often spoke to her and haunted her to go away.

  “You okay?” Kesh asked.

  “Yeah, I’m fine,” Adirah lied, stumbling a little bit. She couldn’t shake the dark foreboding that had suddenly come over her. She felt like someone had thrown a dark hood over her head. The fairy tale she was creating in her mind with Kesh was being challenged by the voice and was causing her to doubt her actions.

  As she and Kesh moved forward, Adirah looked to her left and suddenly froze. She squinted, thinking her eyes were deceiving her. She opened her mouth to say something and lifted her hand to point at a man with fangs who was about to bite the neck of a young girl whose skirt was hitched up around her waist and whose legs were locked around the man’s torso. Does he have vampire fangs? she thought.

  “Are those—” Adirah didn’t get a chance to get the rest of her words out.

  “Let’s go over here.” Kesh tugged her to the right, turning her away from what she thought she saw.

  “What was . . . ,” Adirah began, but she trailed off. She knew what she had seen. She kept trying to look over her shoulder to confirm what she had seen, but Kesh kept pulling her in the opposite direction

  “Ahh, my people,” Kesh announced. He stopped in front of a group of men and women who were in various stages of drinking, smoking, and laughing.

  Adirah crumpled her brow, thinking that some of the faces were familiar, but she couldn’t remember from where. She waved off the thought, deciding that Billet had a big campus and chances were that she’d seen these people around.

  “Tiev,” Kesh sang. “This is my new love, Dira,” Kesh said, introducing Adirah and squeezing her closer to him.

  Adirah blushed. She had never had a man claim her like that. She lifted her hand, spread a goofy smile over her lips, and waved. Tiev stepped forward with his hand extended, but before he could connect with Adirah’s hand, he was pushed aside.

  “New love, huh?” A familiar girl stepped in front of Tiev, Kesh, and Adirah.

  “Ah, another one of my closest friends,” Kesh said and smiled. “Vila, this is—”

  “I’ve met her,” the girl rudely interjected, cutting Kesh off.

  Adirah squinted. “Um . . . uh . . . ,” she stammered, her pointer finger waggling. “I think you’re . . .”Adirah knew for sure the girl was familiar.

  “Vila,” the girl said and thrust her hand in Adirah’s face. “I am Vila. Another one of Kesh’s loyal friends, as he said.” She looked at Kesh directly when she spoke, almost through her teeth.

  “Yes, Vila. Lina’s friend. I think, um . . . Did we go out?” Adirah mused, rubbing her chin.

  “Yes. I was the one who introduced you two,” Vila muttered, looking up into Kesh’s face again and rolling her eyes.

  “Really? Didn’t we meet in class?” Adirah asked, looking at Kesh, confused.

  Kesh glared at Vila. “Why don’t you go get us all a drink, Vila?” he demanded more so than asked.

  Vila rolled her eyes, turned, and stormed off.

  “What’s with her?” Adirah asked. “Did you do something to her? She seemed pretty ticked.”

  “She’s just a little testy,” Kesh replied. “Let’s dance.” He pulled her away from his clan. Adirah could feel the heat of all their gazes on her. She shrugged off their apparent shock and dismay at her presence there as her being the new girl.

  Kesh wiggled his hips to the music as he smiled at Adirah and pulled her. “C’mon. Move that body like I know you can,” he said, encouraging her.

  Adirah laughed and tried to resist being pulled into the center of the room. “I . . . I . . . don’t know how,” she said, her feet moving forward despite her playful protest.

  “Just move your body to the rhythm. It doesn’t have to be perfect. You’re already perfect. I know. I’ve seen you and those thick round hips in action,” Kesh told her, moving his body against hers. He let go of her hands, stepped forward, grabbed her back, splayed his hands over it, and pulled her so close, she had no choice but to inhale his intoxicating scent. Her body instantly fell into a rhythm with his.

  “Dancing is not my thing,” she said breathlessly. Adirah melted against his muscular chest and swayed with him. They were moving too slow for the thumping rap music. Adirah wasn’t listening to the music; she was focused on her beating heart. “Oh, goodness,” she panted, feeling her clitoris swell and her insides throb with lust. No man had ever affected her like this. Adirah was feeling helpless before Kesh’s lust. “Kiss me,” Adirah said, looking up into Kesh’s face.

  He smiled and lowered his mouth over hers, his dreads falling around their faces and creating a privacy blanket. Adirah opened her lips and allowed his tongue into her mouth. She was drowning in ecstasy and passion. His saliva was a sweet nectar. Bees could use it to make honey.

  “Your drinks, King.”

  Adirah jumped apart from Kesh at the sound of Vila’s voice. Kesh turned and accepted both drinks from Vila. He nodded at her like she was a servant, and handed one of the drinks to Adirah. Vila’s eyes were hooded, and her fists were curled at her sides. She shot Kesh a look that could launch a thousand bullets, and then she stormed off.

  “Thank you,” Adirah called out before Vila got too far away.

  “Don’t thank me. Thank your king,” Vila snarled, halting her movement to turn and glare at Adirah.

  Adirah’s eyebrows dipped. She looked from Kesh to Vila and back at Kesh. She was trying to figure out the dynamic between the two. Adirah had no idea what she could have done to upset this girl.

  “Let me speak to you for a moment, Vila,” Kesh said and then walked over in a fury and grabbed her arm. He pulled her farther away and out of Adirah’s earshot.

  “Wonder what that’s all about,” Adirah grumbled under her breath. She lifted her drink to her mouth, thought for a minute, and lowered it. She didn’t like the way Vila had looked at her. A sinking feeling went through Adirah’s stomach.

  She turned around and watched the seemingly heated exchange between Kesh and Vila. Kesh had his face very close to Vila’s, and he was scowling. Vila’s mouth was pursed, and she was clearly angry. She moved her hands to emphasize whatever she was telling him. They were arguing. Adirah concluded that perhaps they were former lovers and Vila was jealous. She hoped to have a chance to smooth everything over at some point, but for now she would try to steer clear of the woman.

  Adirah set the drink on a table. She certainly wasn’t going to drink something Vila had given her. She just didn’t trust something about Vila, especially now.

  * * *

  “You are being disobedient.” Kesh gritted his teeth and squeezed Vila’s arm, which he had in a death grip.

  “You are being disrespectful,�
� Vila growled back, wrestling her arm away.

  Her defiance shocked Kesh. He looked around to see who was watching. Flames flashed in his eyes, and he breathed fast and hard.

  “I am nothing more to you than a slave now? An obedient little servant?” Vila snapped. “I’m not good enough? You’d rather flaunt your little precious mortal girl? Why bring her here of all places? I had to deal with her in the outside world, but this place . . . this place is supposed to be for us, our kind. Only.”

  Kesh couldn’t control his breathing, and he felt like steam was coming out of his ears. How dare Vila question him? “I am the king of this clan. I do whatever I want, especially when it is in the best interest of this clan. If you want to remain part of this clan, you will stop this blatant insolence,” he said through clenched teeth. “If you keep it up . . .”

  “You brought her here to hurt me,” Vila interjected, her voice cracking. “She didn’t need to come and break the sanctity of our place. We come here to live as our true selves. How will you explain it to her when these mortal girls in here never show back up to class because one of us has fed on them? How do you explain bar tops lined with glasses full of blood to feed us? If you want to reveal yourself to her and break every rule of the Council . . . go ahead. But we, the entire Sefu Clan, we don’t want our existence in danger all the time. Bad enough we keep running and running from the Malum. Now you’ll have vampire hunters and everything else coming after us,” Vila said with feeling.

  Kesh released his hold on her and softened his face. The one thing he could always say about Vila was that she was fiercely protective of the clan. Kesh understood her fury. She was doing it out of loyalty to the clan, to him. “Vila, I’ve been your king for decades. I have always done the right thing. I have chosen the queen that I know will be best for us all. Things will reveal themselves to her in time.... She has me inside of her,” he said, his tone firm but softer. “She won’t betray us. I assure you. This is what’s best for us.”

  Vila swallowed hard and shook her head. “She’s a mortal, Kesh. No matter what, she is not one of us. I could’ve been your queen. I’ve served you in every way. Correction . . . I have served you in every way. I continue to serve you and the clan in every way. Just because you think you love her doesn’t mean we all have to accept her. I’ll never accept her as my queen, even if that means disregarding you as my king.”

  Kesh balked, reacting like Vila had dashed a bucket of cold water in his face. “Listen to me, and listen closely, Vila. You can’t survive without me. I am your maker and your king. I will destroy you right here and now.” Kesh grunted out each word with feeling.

  Vila looked in his eyes, and for the first time, he saw glimpses of her hurt and pain behind his decisions. He saw the innocent girl he had turned way back when. He also saw a jealous, defiant, and determined vampire whom he now had to watch out for.

  “You will do whatever I tell you to do,” Kesh demanded. “You will do whatever is best for this clan. Right now, me taking Dira as my queen is what is best. Besides, I love her. Get it through your head, I’ve never loved you.” After the last words slipped from his lips, he knew he had gone too far. He knew they would be like a wooden stake to Vila’s heart. He instantly wanted to take them back.

  Vila threw her hands up to her face, and her cries rushed out of her mouth like an alarm sounding. “You don’t have to worry about me ever again. Love whomever you want,” Vila cried, then ran away, pushing people out of her path as she moved.

  “Vila,” he called out, but it was too late. The damage was done, and there was no way Vila was turning around in that moment. Kesh’s shoulders slumped, and he sighed. He had wanted to be firm, but he had never wanted to hurt Vila like that. She was one of his most loyal members.

  Kesh turned to find Tiev standing right behind him. Kesh was startled. He squinted. “Stop following me,” he barked. “I’ve already told you this.”

  “This won’t end well with Vila. You turned her, Kesh. You can’t just hurt her and leave it like that. You could’ve handled that better. And, she’s right. It might not have been a great idea bringing the girl here. Just look at her, staring in shock at the things going on here,” Tiev said, jerking his chin in the direction of Dira’s seat. They both looked over and watched Dira move her head from activity to activity. There were things that she was witnessing that Kesh wasn’t ready to reveal.

  Kesh pointed in Tiev’s face. “I am the king, and I do what I want. I’ll fix this,” Kesh said, his jaw stiff.

  Tiev threw his hands up in surrender. “You’re right. You are the king, and you’ll have to deal with every single bit of fallout from your decisions. Vila . . . Tulum, and the Malum Clan. Oh, and the mortal girl’s friend—Lina, I think her name is—I hear she’s been snooping around our sacred grounds,” Tiev noted. “Good luck, King Kesh. Good luck.”

  Kesh blew out a windstorm of breath as he watched Tiev storm away to find Vila. Kesh wanted to go make things right, but then he looked over at his sweetest love, Dira. He started toward her. “She’s the only one who can make things right for me,” he mumbled under his breath. “She has charmed me, instead of the other way around.”

  * * *

  “You’re so beautiful,” Kesh moaned the words into Adirah’s mouth as his hands worked furiously to unzip her pants.

  “Oh, Kesh,” she breathed heavily, her words hot on his lips, her hands snaking down to the bulge in his pants.

  “I’ve wanted you for so long,” he panted.

  Adirah closed her eyes as her pants fell down around her ankles. “Me too.”

  She was so glad finally to be alone with Kesh. Away from his weird group of friends, particularly Vila. Adirah didn’t have a good feeling about Vila, but she hadn’t said anything to Kesh. It was obvious that there was more to their relationship than Adirah could understand from just watching them. She shook off the thoughts now, trying to stay in the moment. She didn’t know what this new sexual confidence was about, but she seemed to have no control over it. Adirah felt like something or someone new lived inside of her now.

  “Oh, God,” she groaned, throwing her head back as Kesh trailed his tongue down the ladder of her throat. Adirah inhaled his scent; it had done something to her since day one, but now it was so much more pungent. Her sense of smell seemed more acute, causing her to be even more turned on by his scent. She embraced the fine sheen of sweat on his face as it dampened her own skin. She loved the feeling of his dreads sweeping across her skin. The friction sent sparks up and down her body. She was flushed with heat.

  Adirah winced and blew out a breath when Kesh stopped at her weak spot—her breasts. He carefully lowered his hot mouth over the dark, rigid skin of her erect nipples. Adirah gasped. Just like the first time they made love, Kesh suckled her breasts, at first gently, then slightly rougher. He walked her backward a few steps. She fell back on his bed and grabbed on to the back of his head.

  “You . . . I . . . we,” she stammered, unable to find the words to express how she was feeling.

  “Us,” Kesh said breathlessly. “It’s us now, Dira.”

  He dropped to his knees and wedged himself between her legs. He moved his tongue from her breasts down the curve of her abdomen to her inner thighs. He kissed the insides of each thigh gently. Adirah moved her thighs apart wider, giving him full access. The anticipation of what was to come made her mouth water. She planted her hands on the top of his head, then guided him to where she wanted him to be. Adirah felt and acted like a pro. All kinds of thoughts and voices swirled around in her head. How did all of this happen? Who was she all of a sudden? Where did this passion come from?

  “Oh,” Adirah belted out, arching her back as he blew on her gently. “Oh, my God, Kesh,” she huffed, her voice gruff with lust. Electricity pulsed through her entire body. She panted through her slightly open lips. Her heart was racing, and her thighs trembled.

  If you say you love him, he will leave you. He will betray you. You can’t say i
t.

  Adirah shook her head, trying to get rid of the spirit voices. She was in the moment; she didn’t want to hear anything negative about Kesh.

  “Do you feel good?” Kesh asked.

  Adirah let out a small gasp as her body became engulfed in the heat of desire. She reached down and pinched her erect nipples, sending an even stronger electric sensation flooding all over her body. The combination of what was going on below her belly button and the pressure she was putting on her nipples was almost too much to handle.

  “Yes,” she whispered lustfully, lifting her hips slightly toward his mouth.

  Kesh thrust his long, wet tongue deeper into her warm, gushy center. He used his hands to gently part the petals of her flower, carefully lapping up every bit of her nectar.

  “I want to feel you again,” Adirah whispered. “All of you.” Kesh stood up and took off his pants. Adirah shivered just looking at his washboard abs and muscular legs. Kesh lowered himself down in front of her.

  “You ready for me?” he teased, licking his lips like he was starving for her love. Adirah shook her head and licked her lips too. Kesh pulled her closer to him, until her hips were hanging off the edge of the bed.

  “Ah.” Adirah winced as Kesh used his steel-hard member to fill her up. Adirah’s body was on fire. She lifted her pelvis in response to Kesh’s rhythmic thrusts. Their bodies moved in sync, each feeling the buildup in their loins. Adirah’s hands splayed across Kesh’s back like a pair wings.

  “Oh, oh, oh!” Adirah crooned. Her inner thighs vibrated from the explosion of pleasure filling her body. Just on the verge of climaxing, she could feel the pressure building. Her screams urged Kesh on. He ground into her pelvis with longer, deeper strokes. Her slippery walls responded immediately, pulsating and squeezing him tight. Kesh growled as his body picked up speed; he was at a tipping point.

  “Are you mine forever?” he huffed in Adirah’s ear. The heat of his breath sent sparks down her spine.

  “Yes. Yes.” Adirah gasped, losing her breath, as Kesh slowed down and began grinding into her slowly again.