“I only want what is the best for the Union. That’s what I’ve always wanted. I follow your command.”
“What’s best for the Union? You think war is what’s best for the Union?”
“I follow your command.”
“Yes, you follow my command, while shaking your head and grumbling beneath your breath. I’ve heard your objections Dan. I’ve heard them loud and clear.”
“Should I prepare our men for war?”
Hause sighed and slid a palm across his forehead. “Put them on alert. I may have another solution.”
“All due respect, Lord Marshal, when the people find out about the coin and our soldiers, they will demand blood.”
“What did I just say?” Hause hissed.
“Yes, Lord Marshal.”
Hause pinched the bridge of his nose. “I’m sorry, I’m just… this whole thing just spiraled so quickly.”
Dan heard Loviatar’s hammer sink into Chad’s skull, there was the wet flop of brains hitting the floor. “What about Lerah? Should I be worried?”
“Someone has to answer.”
“You know I can’t allow you to hurt her.”
Hause gripped his hand. “It won’t be her that answers. Now bring them back.”
“I’ll deliver the order right away.”
“Sir, don’t let him kill me, please? I’m not a Rebel! I never did anything to the Union! Lord Hause, please?”
Short lived cries for mercy filled the hall behind them as they departed.
34
“It’s supposed to be bad luck for the groom to see the bride before the wedding,” Dominic said.
Lerah looked slightly lost inside the fresh change of clothes, like a child playing dress up; the shirt and pants were made of sackcloth and were quite baggy on her lean frame. “You’re really getting into the spirit of this whole thing.”
“It’s probably the only time I’ll ever get married, might as well make the most of it.”
“These people give me the creeps. Did you see the way they just stopped and stared at us with those blank faces? No smile. No frown. They just stared.”
“They probably don’t see many outsiders.”
“Maybe if they stopped killing all of them they wouldn’t have that problem.”
“That’s only if you can’t get pregnant. Don’t worry, I’ve got strong seed.”
She smiled and shook her head as she stuffed her dirty clothes into the duffel. “Thanks for the reassurance.” Lerah sat down on the straw stuffed mattress. The bed was made, the sheets were pulled tight. It was flanked by a dresser topped with bottles of hair oil and a brush. “It looks like someone lived here before us; they didn’t even bother to move their shit out.”
Dominic held up a pair of slippers he’d retrieved from under the bed. “These are a little too small for me.”
“You think they?” Lerah ran a stiff finger across her throat.
“I dunno, probably.”
She shivered. “I don’t want to think about it.”
He stood and checked the window. The sky was a dark purple. A few settlers were scuffling by with their families in tow, pushing carts and carrying sacks, braving the short path under the power of torch and lamplight. “You think Micah and Susanna are out there?” He looked back at her over his shoulder.
She was sitting forward with her elbows on her knees. “I don’t know. We’d have to ask around. But I’m not really sure how to go about doing that without raising eyebrows.”
“There’s Doctor what’s-his-name.”
“Scroggins.”
“Yeah, there’s him, we can ask him about it.”
“You want to just come right out with it?”
“Why not?”
“What if he’s with them? The Lord Marshal said he wasn’t sure.”
“Then we’ll have to improvise our asses out of here. It’s a risk, but it’s our only semi-solid move. I’m not keen on sticking around here for the next six months trying to find another weak point, are you?”
She sighed and fell back on the mattress, her arms sprawled above her head.
He came over and fell down next to her, propping himself up on one elbow. He slipped his other hand beneath her shirt and began rubbing her stomach; the skin was soft and warm and familiar. “Do you trust me when I say I won’t let anything happen to you?”
She laughed. “So I’m the damsel in distress now? Is the dashing Outlander going to ride in, guns-a-blazing, and save me from the bad men and women?”
“I sort of feel an obligation. You’re a guest in my home.”
She didn’t protest as his fingers crept beneath the waistline of her pants. She gasped, arching her back. She placed a hand against the side of his face and ran her fingernails through his wiry beard. “I don’t think we’re in your home anymore. This place, I think it’s a world unto itself.”
Lying there, freefalling through her gaze, something began to spark up inside of him. Something he hadn’t felt since the mud and blood of the war. An emerging knowledge that’d he’d be willing to face down all the bad shit the world had to offer if it meant saving Lerah just a moment of suffering.
“What are you thinking about?” Her voice sounded as if it were lined in velvet.
His fingertips stroked the inside of her thighs. She opened her legs a little further, giving him more room to work. “I thought you said this was a onetime thing?”
“I did. But when you look at me like that my memory gets a little fuzzy.”
“Sounds like you’re doing better than me.”
“How so?”
“Because when you look at me, I feel like I can’t breathe.”
She scratched at the bottom of his chin with two fingers and smiled. “So, what are you saying? That I’m killing you?”
“You are, and it’s a glorious death.”
She wrapped her hands around his neck and kissed him hard, circling his lips with her tongue before pulling away. “You’re going to be trouble.”
A knock at the door caused them to roll in separate directions. They came to their feet on opposite sides of the bed.
“Come on you two, everyone is waiting.”
Dominic came around the bed and offered Lerah his arm. “Ready to get married?”
Lerah giggled and put a hand over her mouth, feigning girlish excitement. “A cult wedding, every little girl’s dream.”
They managed to suppress their laughter before stepping outside.
As she entered the sanctuary with Dominic no one in the crowd stood, they simply twisted around in their seats. They looked sulky and tired; eager to get the show on the road so they could get on the road. Even with lamps and candles burning around them everything still felt dark and sleepy. The mural above the pulpit was a pleasant shift in tone, water being poured into an overflowing fountain, streaks of ivory and blue. Lerah set her eyes on that image as she walked arm-in-arm with Dominic through the center of the disinterested, and perhaps even hostile, crowd.
Mother stood waiting for them at the front of the aisle with her book of Scripture clenched in her hands. She was flanked by her son, the one with the bad breath and the spastic bowels. He’d parted with his rifle but still wore a highly prominent pistol on his hip.
Lerah and Dominic came to a stop between the two front pews. She gripped his hand. To others it would look like a display of love. For her it was a security blanket. No, it wasn’t the wedding day jitters or anything like that. It was the vulnerability. It was being unarmed in the middle of a room full of potential hostiles.
Dominic held her hand a little tighter as if sensing the turbulence. “You ready for this?” He kissed her softly on the top of the head and set a cage of butterflies loose in her stomach.
Yeah, he’s going to be trouble.
“Shall we proceed?” Mother met them where they stood. Her fingers instinctually navigated the pages of scripture. She searched their faces with blood shot eyes, with alcohol still fresh on her breath, and b
egan the ceremony; bonding them together, even until death.
Most of the settlers left the sanctuary as soon as the final words were spoken; even Mother seemed to be in a hurry to dismiss. She hugged each of them briefly, with as little contact as possible, welcoming them into the family. She encouraged them to stay behind and mingle with the skeleton crew of stragglers.
“So, how does it feel to be married?” Dominic took her under his arm and tickled her ribs.
She wiggled away, laughing. “We’re not married, we’re united. Remember?”
“Oh, yeah, forgot. How does it feel to be united?”
“Perfect. Every little girl’s dream. Guest list could have been a little better.”
There were a handful of people left, murmuring to one another, uninterested in welcoming Dominic and Lerah into the fold. “Yeah, when we do this thing for real, they’re definitely not invited.”
“Oh yeah, we’re going to do this for real?”
“Absolutely, I’ll get you a big ring and everything. I’ll even use Hause’s coin to buy it, make it extra special.”
“I’ll let you run that notion past my father. He’ll love hearing an Outlander confess undying love for his daughter.”
“My charm can be quite persuasive.”
“I have no doubt. Just be sure to tell me how you want your funeral arranged, first.”
A tall man with ebony skin and snow white hair emerged from the social mix. He was trailed by a petite woman bouncing a child on her hip. He exuded confidence as he strolled up to Dominic and presented a firm handshake. “Congratulations to you both.” He bent down and hugged Lerah, kissing her on both cheeks before returning to his wife’s side. “I am Blake Scroggins. This is my wife Riley and my daughter Judith.”
“Say hello to the nice people, Judith,” Riley prompted her daughter.
The little girl was gnawing on a misshapen block of wood with wheels.
“Judith, honey, these people just got married, tell them congratulations.”
“Gratulations,” Judith mumbled. The wooden toy was firmly planted between her lips and soaked in drool.
Lerah lit up like a child with a new puppy. “Oh, aren’t you just adorable.” She crouched, getting eye level with Judith.
“I’m Dominic and this is my new bride Lerah. But you probably know that. Apparently we’ve got an appointment with you tomorrow.”
Blake sucked in a big breath, visibly uncomfortable with the turn in conversation. “It’s not the most pleasant thing. But I’m required by Mother to perform the procedure, so I do as I’m told.”
“Required by Mother or by Scripture?”
“Well, I mean, they’re pretty much the same around here.”
Dominic nodded. “Is she the only one with a copy of that book?”
“The Scriptures?”
“Yeah.”
“Well, she’s the only one that has the power to interpret it.”
Lerah latched on to Dominic’s arm. “Honey, we just came into town and you’re already grilling people. I’m sorry. He’s got a question about everything, an insatiable curiosity.”
“Oh, no worries, it’s impossible to come by the answers unless you ask the questions. Word of warning,” Blake lowered his voice. “Be careful who you ask, okay? Some people around here get suspicious when folks go around asking too many questions, it can get you in trouble.”
“Fear of knowledge?” Dominic matched his tone.
“You could say that, yeah. You two have a goodnight.” Blake gave them each a parting handshake and ushered his family away.
The sky outside the window had turned from purple to black. Ribbons of neon pulsated on the face of the obsidian sea, swelling and then shrinking, diving beneath the pitch black surface before breaking up through the depths again, more brilliant and magnificent than ever.
Dominic watched the familiar lightshow from the bed, one arm wrapped around Lerah’s naked form. She scooted in closer, wrapped one leg over his, and kissed the inside of his neck to let him know she was still awake. Following on the heels of her affection he kissed the top of her head, inhaling the sweet smell of her hair. “What happened to that hard shelled Union grunt I met a few days ago?”
“Perhaps there never was a shell, perhaps I just didn’t like you very much; you ever think of that?”
“I tend to grow on people.”
“Yeah, whether they like it or not.” She pinched the lobe of his ear between her teeth, tickling him with her breath.
“Hard shell or not, you didn’t really strike me as the type that liked kids.”
She jumped on top of him and propped her chin on his chest, looking up into his eyes. “What do you mean?”
“The way you lit up when you saw Blake’s kid, it was a side of you I didn’t expect.”
“So? She was a cute kid. I have many different sides; you haven’t known me long enough to see them all.”
“I’m just saying, you’re not… hell, I dunno what I’m saying.”
“I’m not what? A callous bitch?”
He ruffled her hair. “I wasn’t gonna say it like that, but yeah, pretty much.”
“What about you?”
“What about me?”
“Mister mercenary gunslinger, only taking jobs for coin; such bullshit.”
He wrapped his arms around her lower back. “How is that bullshit?”
“You’re a bastard, but you’re not the bastard you make yourself out to be.”
“Do tell, what sort of bastard am I?”
She slid up his body and got nose to nose with him. His hands cupped her ass as she savored the taste of his mouth, holding on to his bottom lip for a moment before pulling back. “What you did in that settlement, helping those people, no one was paying you for that. That was all you. Then there’s the way you’ve taken care of me, keeping me safe, telling me that you’d never let anything happen to me; a girl notices those things. I mean, it’d be easier on you to just let me go to the wolves. But you can’t do that, can you? You’ve got a weak spot for helping those that can’t help themselves, just like me. I guess I should have seen it when you told me the story about the people you tried to save at Death’s Hallway. You lied to me, Dominic. You’re not the bastard I signed on for.”
He brushed her hair back behind her ears. “Sorry, I guess you caught me.”
“Why fake it?”
“You know as well as I do, it’s easier to keep people at shooting distance.”
“I’ve always preferred the blade.” She sat up, balancing her weight on his hips, careful not to disturb his wound, her small breasts swaying slightly with the movement.
He reached a hand up and pinched one of her nipples between his thumb and forefinger, squeezing hard, but not too hard. She turned her face towards the ceiling, releasing the slightest utterance of pain and pleasure.
“Too much?”
She shook her head. “Harder, use both hands.”
He could feel himself growing stiff against the soft skin between her legs. She was responding to him as well, growing wet and eager.
She reached back, took him in her hand, and slowly slid him inside. “Oh, yes,” she moaned, guiding him all the way in. She moved, slow at first, clapping her hands over his and holding them to her breasts. He rose to meet her thrusts. “No, don’t move. Let me.” Her hips picked up speed; back and forth and up and down. She ripped his hands away from her body and curled her fingers through his.
Her face red.
Purple veins showing through on her neck.
When the pressure became too much she’d release it in a string of breathy profanity, “Holyfuckingshitimsofuckingclose.”
That was how Lerah fucked.
On top.
In control.
Her orgasm. Her rules.
After she came she fell across his chest, sweaty and satisfied. “Oh my god, a girl could get addicted to this.”
He laughed and kissed the top of her shoulder, tasting the salt on
her skin.
“You want my mouth?”
“I’m okay right now.”
“You didn’t—”
“No, Lerah, I didn’t.”
“Okay,” she sounded relieved, “well, how do you want me?”
“I said I’m fine right now.” He was still inside of her, as stiff as an oak barrel whiskey.
“Okay, soldier, what is it? Talk to me, I know you’re thinking something.”
“I mean, this is fun and everything, but what about after this?”
“After what?” her lips brushed his as she spoke.
“After the mission is complete, what happens with us?”
“Ah, you thick headed brute, don’t go and complicate this.”
“I’m not complicating anything; I’m just asking a question.”
“I’m not thinking that far ahead. Who knows if we’re even gonna make it out of here? Why can’t we just enjoy right now?”
“We’re going to make it out of here, Lerah. That much I know.”
She placed a hand on either side of his face and ran her thumbs beneath his eyes, as if wiping away invisible tears. “I’m fond of you Dominic, I’m not going to lie and say I’m not.”
“And obviously, I’m pretty fond of you.” He arched his hips, prodding at her.
“You mean you’re fond of what’s between my legs.”
“You know it’s more than that.”
“Yes, I know. You don’t have to explain. And you also know it’s complicated. You and I, we’re not exactly on the same side of things.”
He sighed and pushed her off before rolling from the bed, leaving her tangled in the blankets. “You still believe that shit, after everything? After Perkins, after what you’ve seen, you still believe in the virtuous Union bullshit? You know, I was just starting to think you were smart, that you could think for yourself.”
“We still don’t know what we saw. Until I can sit down and talk to the Lord Marshal—”
“We do know what we saw. You still don’t want to believe it. And why would you want to talk to him about what happened? Why would you want to implicate yourself… to implicate us? He doesn’t know we were even there. For all he knows, Rebels or bandits killed his men. Aren’t you worried about what he’ll do to you? What about what he’ll do to me? I’m nothing to him.”
The Fall of Man: The Saboteur Chronicles Book 1 Page 28
