by Anny Cook
His brother just shook his head as he grabbed a clean cutting board and began to slice up the vegetables. “No need. If you want to keep me company that will be fine but I expect that you’ve done more than your share in the past half-moon. Come back when you’re ready and tell me all about it.”
Unexpectedly, a yawn caught Hawke by surprise. “All right. We’ll have tea and I’ll tell you about our two eight-days in the wilderness.” He gathered his belongings and headed down the cool dim hall to the bedroom he shared with Wolfe. The idea of a shower suddenly sounded very, very inviting.
News traveled swiftly in the village. By dinnertime, four people had made it their business to casually find their way to Samara’s dome deep in the woods so that they could accidentally mention that Bishop was back in Lost Market.
She was harvesting some mint in her garden when the fifth visitor showed up. Exasperated, she didn’t even bother to raise her head to see who it was. “Yes, I know that Bishop is back. No, I don’t really know why he’s back and no, I don’t really care.”
“That’s too bad,” Bishop replied. “I passed up my share of Arturo’s valley pizza to come out here and apologize for being an ass.”
“An ass?”
“The backside of a stupid rowan,” he translated automatically.
She looked up at him, wondering why he had really come to see her. “I have some bohras and bean soup if you’re hungry.”
“I’ll take it.” He would have been willing to eat anything she offered if it meant he could sit at her kitchen table. As long as she was talking, there was still a chance. He didn’t know what he was going to say but just from his walk through the village, Bishop knew he was going to have to make amends big-time if he was going to be comfortable living here until he could find a way to go home.
He followed her into the dome and gratefully sat at the table while she served up a generous helping of the tasty soup. The tantalizing scent of roasted bohras filled the kitchen. He wondered why bohras bacon was not a part of the array of meats they served in the valley. Pig was pig, whether wild or tame. With a mental shrug, he focused his attention on his reluctant hostess.
After placing the bowl of steaming soup, utensils and several slices of sunflower bread in front of him, she puttered around, cleaning up and putting things away. Finally he asked, “Samara, do you think you could sit down and talk to me while I eat?”
Silently, she sat down and waited for him to speak. At last, he shot her a frustrated glance and said, “The silent treatment must be a universal female tactic. What do you want me to say?”
“This is my kitchen in my dome. I did not approach you,” she pointed out. “It is up to you to say what you feel you must say.”
“Just like a woman. They get pissed off and expect you to know what they’re pissed about. Okay, let’s start there. Why were you angry at the gathering?”
Samara pressed her lips together in annoyance so that they flattened. After a moment, she explained patiently, “When you only came to my dome to see me, then whatever we did was private. But you chose to accompany me to the gathering. You publicly declared that you had found your woman! And yet, you publicly balked at going to our hurka. There was accusation and denial in your voice, Bishop. Accusation that I would force you to swear the covenant bond with me. Therefore, I released you—publicly. No one in the valley expects us to bond.”
“So what’s the problem, then? You wanted it hard, deep and never-ending, as I recall. I believe I provided that as much as any man can.”
She bit her lip and looked away. “You are not a never-ending kind of man, I think. It is probably fear that prevents you from accepting love. Until you have the courage to take everything that I offer, we must part.”
He chewed and swallowed while he thought that over. Then he asked, “Does that mean we’re not going to fuck anymore?”
Immediately Samara stood up and walked to the back door. “Please leave now.”
He sat back and crossed his arms. “Was it something I said?”
She stood at the door with her back to him. “If I am your lover now without a public bonding, then I will be considered garbonhzan—a free woman who is paid for garzhinka. You are no longer important enough to me for me to consider that. Get out of my dome.”
“I thought you had no reputation to ruin?”
“I didn’t until you publicly declared that I was your woman. Now I have nothing left. Please go.”
Bishop stood up and shoved the chair out of his way. “Out-valley women complain about a double standard but you women here in the valley have them beat. I’ll go. And I won’t be back. I hope you’re real good with your hands or have a dildo, Samara, because I won’t be around for a convenient fuck!”
With her back turned to him, she waited until she heard him leave by the front door. Slowly, she closed and barred the back door, then went to the front door and did the same before going into her room and sprawling across the soft bed. Her chest ached as his final words pounded at her heart. I won’t be around for a convenient fuck! Tears trickled onto her pillow. And then she cried until she could cry no more.
* * * * *
Jiph made a cold camp in the woods near bonding circle three while he considered what his next steps should be. According to the comments he’d overheard since Bishop came back to Lost Market, the outlander was not popular at all. The villagers in general seemed to think that Samara had cast him out of her dome. If that was true, then he must find a new target. The more he thought about it, though, the more he was sure that Samara would take Bishop back in the end. There was something…something about the way they were together. They were aware of each other in the way of not just lovers but mates.
He pulled up the mental map he had of the valley and planned his next move. His camp was too exposed for him to linger longer than overnight. There was a place on the backside of Long Mountain that he hadn’t visited in quite a while. He could hunt for an eight-day, renewing his supplies. Then when he returned, he would see what he needed to do.
* * * * *
While Dai supervised lunch at the Llewellyn dome, he pondered what to do about Bishop. Clearly, Bish was not ready to settle in the valley. And Dai was not prepared to let him continue to wreak havoc with the valley women. Dai was already planning to take Arturo and Tyger down to his retreat so they could work through some emotional issues. He mulled over the idea of taking Bishop also. At least that way he would have more control over what Bishop did.
After lunch, Bishop went to visit Traveller. In the last few days, Trav had shown a marked improvement physically. When Bishop had queried him about the reason, Trav just muttered something about physical therapy with Wrenna. Bishop had an idea there was more to it than that but he didn’t push for the details. Bishop told him all about his exploratory trip on the edge of the valley as Trav listened intently.
Just as Bishop was prepared to leave Trav so he could take his afternoon nap, Dai came into Trav’s room and shut the door. “I must talk to you, Trav.” Bishop stood up at once so they would have privacy. “There is a thing I must explain to both of you.”
“What’s wrong?” Trav asked, frowning at Dai’s serious expression.
“Yesterday, I saw Wrenna with you,” Dai replied baldly. “There are things you must know before you do something irrevocable. In the valley, men and women must have the proper rites and ceremonies before consummation. If you are not serious, you must not do this!”
Bish had a bad feeling about where Dai was going with this. “What was he doing?” he asked in growing concern.
“It is not for you to interfere, Bishop. Listen and learn that you may not make the same mistakes!” Dai said sternly. Glancing at Trav, he asked, “Has Wrenna talked to you any more about the pledging and bonding-rite?”
“No.” Traveller was most definite. “As a matter of fact, conversation hasn’t been a strong point in our encounters. So what do we need to know?”
Dai carefully explai
ned about pledges, bonding and schalzah. He explained the purpose of the shardas and described schalzina and the schela.
Traveller looked at him as though he’d lost his mind. “Let me get this right. You’re telling us that once a woman begins schalzina, there’s no cure for it except sex.”
“With her bond mate. Yes.” Dai nodded his head.
“And this includes this locking where her schela grips his cock behind the head and he can’t withdraw until her schalzina episode is over—which might be anywhere from a short time to half a day?”
“Yes.”
“And schalzina episodes continue through most of the year after the oath-binding.” Trav shook his head. “That’s some honeymoon.”
“Merlyn has explained this ‘honeymoon’ to me. It is not the same, I think.”
Then Dai carefully explained all the many puzzling terms the men had heard, finally concluding, “It is why I have explained it all to you plainly. Children and women are very precious here in this valley. Until Dancer came and bonded with Eppie, the last pregnancy was over seven years ago. It is a very great responsibility to care for a bond mate. It is certain death if the man is not available in the last stages of schalzina or during burda. My cousin’s wife died and the child was lost also. This was a very great grief to him and his entire clan.”
“Why didn’t Wrenna say anything?” Trav asked in bafflement. “She’s never mentioned a word to me.”
“Perhaps she thought her brothers might have explained this to you, or even that I had talked to you. Or since she mentioned it to you before you came to the valley, maybe she’s waiting for you to ask her for more details,” Dai observed thoughtfully, explaining a few of the more detailed rules that dealt with bonding.
Bish nodded. “Right before Merlyn and Jade went to Elyria, he told me to stay away from the women. This must be why he was so anxious for me to not go near a woman.”
Dai nodded. “You! Until your hair grows out, a woman will not offer to pledge or bond with you. Did he not tell you that?”
“He wasn’t exactly forthcoming. I think he was focused on Jade right then. You might as well lay it on me…”
Dai willingly explained the importance of long hair in the valley.
Privately Bishop had hoped Dai would explain about garbonhzans and exactly what that term meant, but Dai didn’t mention them.
His brow wrinkling in a frown, Bishop hesitantly inquired about something that puzzled him from the first day in the valley. “Dai, you said a covenant bond is for anyone not involved in the bond that leads to childbearing. I take it that would mean two men or two women or something like that?”
“It is primarily for garzhan pairs,” Dai agreed. “But bond mates may also take a third or rarely a fourth partner with a covenant bond.”
“Then please explain why Tyger and Llyon have a covenant bond,” Bishop demanded softly.
“Ahhh. Tyger and Llyon.” A quick smile crept across his withered face and a twinkle lit his eyes. “Tyger and Llyon are twin-bond—two-as-one. It occurs about every two or three hundred years. They are bound to each other from birth until death. When one of them dies, so will the other. In their case, the covenant bond is a formality, signifying their readiness to begin life as a mated pair. Some twin-bonds also take a woman into their bond. One pair took another man.” He shrugged. “According to the Talking Wall, they are considered sacred pairs who are protected by the laws of the valley.”
“What is your position in this household, exactly? I mean, you seem to be in charge and all of the kids defer to you,” Trav pointed out.
Dai pursed his lips and then replied, “I am Merlyn and Jade’s third partner.”
Ménage was not one of the possibilities that had occurred to either of them. Bishop demanded, “You have a covenant bond with them? Why?”
“Because we love each other.”
Bishop couldn’t resist asking, “What do the children think about that?”
Dai shrugged. “It has always been that way, since before Eppie was born. I was their semtorn when they came to the valley. We have been together for many years now. I have always been the children’s jloni—Stepfather?”
“Huh.” Trav pulled his earlobe and thought about that for a while. “Two more questions then. What is a semtorn? ”And why aren’t you with Merlyn and Jade now, instead of here managing the household?”
Explanations tumbled from Dai’s lips as he grew more agitated with each new fact.
Visibly struggling to calm himself he breathed in harshly and then nodded his head. “A semtorn is the one who shares the valley enzyme with a newcomer. If the newcomer mates with a valley inhabitant, then usually their semtorn is their bond mate.”
Trav and Bishop shared another mystified glance and then Bishop asked as delicately as possible, “Uh, how is the enzyme shared? And what does it do?”
Abruptly, Dai began to laugh. “What does it do?” Suddenly overcome, he slapped his knees and shook. “Oh, Traveller! The enzyme is the reason you will turn blue and change your appearance, Trav.” He leaned forward and whispered loudly, “Wrenna will share it with you when you bond. She’ll bite you!”
“Like a vampire?” Bishop demanded loudly.
“Exactly.” Dai sat back and surveyed them with satisfaction. “Any more questions?”
Both men shook their heads morosely. “I think we already know more than we wanted to. Too much information,” Trav admitted. Dai left them to puzzle over the information he’d shared with them.
“Now what?” Bishop muttered. “Every time I turn around, there’s another rule to worry about. We would have more freedom in a jail.”
“Now that is not true. There are no women in jail. For sure, there aren’t any women like Wrenna.”
“What the hell were you doing with Wrenna, anyway?” Bish asked curiously.
Trav shook his head. “Never mind. I never kiss and tell. You know that.”
Bish stared him in the eye. “So you’re going to bond with her, huh?”
“Yeah. If she’ll have me, I’m going to do that very thing. What about you, Bish?”
“I can’t stay here. I’m happy for you, Trav but the place gives me the willies. I want to go home before some broad bites me and I turn blue. I need to go home.”
Soberly, Trav regarded his friend, noting his nearly desperate expression. “I hope you find a way, then. I’m sorry I dragged you into this mess.”
“Don’t worry about it. As I recall, I was the one doing the dragging. You get your future with Wrenna settled. Make a zillion babies. Live long and fuck often. It’s the valley way.”
“Smartass.”
“You know it.” Bishop laughed. “Take a nap. I’ll talk to you later.”
* * * * *
Dai stomped off in irritation, annoyed that Trav and Bish had reminded him how long it had been since he’d made love with his mates. It was forbidden for covenant partners to have sex with bond-mates during pregnancy. It was especially hard because of his mental link with them. During the early stages of pregnancy, sex was frequent due to schalzina—and he was aware of every single encounter. He couldn’t wait until the babies were born and he could return to their bed.
He went down the hall to the small room that he used during Jade’s pregnancies. Once inside, he deliberately locked the door, removed his clothing and stretched out on the bed. His kzusha pulsed and ached with longing. He found his small vial of oil and dripped a few drops on his palm. Then taking his kzusha in his hand, he stroked and squeezed as he thought of the last time he had made love with his mates.
Merlyn and he had been across the river, offering their assistance as Arturo introduced the newest warrior class to the first intricate steps of the Grimahr Dance. Abruptly, through their mental link, they heard the most glorious music. Making their excuses as quickly as possible, they hastened over the bridge to the Llewellyn domes where they found Jade in their bedroom listening to a small device that Dancer had loaned her.
Swaying with the music, she trailed her slender blue fingers along her hips and then back up to her breasts. She cupped them in her hands, tugging and rubbing her nipples until they were tight and erect. When Merlyn groaned, she turned away with a tiny grin and presented her back.
With fascination they watched her ass undulate in slow circles as she reached up to remove her glittering hair picks, one by one. When the last pick was free, the shimmering auburn waves tumbled down below her butt.
Hastily undressing as they watched, they haphazardly flung shardas and sandals in the corner. Then, stroking their kzushas in time to the music, they waited to see what she would do next.
Her hips still swaying, she slowly turned until she was facing them, her hard lavender nipples playing peekaboo through the narrow ribbons of hair that tumbled down her chest. She widened her stance, slid her fingers down over her mound and separated the swollen lips. Teasing them with fleeting peeks, Jade lightly massaged her clit with agonizing slowness.
Abruptly, Merlyn breathed, “Enough!” and swept her up in his arms, carrying her to the bed. “Dai, we must punish her for such a naughty display!”
The swinging bed rocked gently to and fro as they all piled on it in a tumbled heap. Dai immediately scrambled down until he was situated between her legs. She willingly parted them so he could feast on her slippery pussy while Merlyn captured her busy hands, pinning them to the pillows above her head.
“So, love, did you have fun?” he teased as he nibbled on her ears. “Damn, that was the sexiest thing I’ve ever seen. What is this music you’re listening to?”
Jade twisted and writhed under their ministrations, dislodging the tiny ear buds that Dancer had taught her how to use when he gave her the little music box. The music faded as the small metal square she wore around her neck slipped behind her head. “I don’t know,” she panted. “It was something Dancer thought I might enjoy.”
