BloodLust (Rise of the Iliri Book 1) (24 page)

"Sal."  He swallowed hard before continuing.  "Kitten, ya'll be killin' again.  LT can na ignore yer ability, and he'll use it, even if he hates it.  Ever'time ya do, it'll feel like this.  Ever'time.  Ya can na keep running inta my bed, leaving LT's cold.  He's too human fer that."

She nodded, thinking about what he said, remembering what Blaec had asked her about being a woman in a group of men.  "What if I do though, Jase?  Would you let me?"

"Ayati, Sal.  I could na refuse ya, if that's what ya mean.  Hell, look at me."  He gestured to the gouges on his arms.  "I did na say no tonight, kitten, I can na. I prolly never will."

"Then we'll have to see what happens when it happens," she whispered, pulling him to her.

He resisted, leaning closer, but refused to fall into the bed beside her.  "Will ya go back ta LT tomorrow?"

"Probably."

"If we do this..."  He leaned down and kissed her lips gently before continuing.  "If I do this, will ya be here when I wake up?"

"Yes," she promised.

"Ayame.  Sae sussa il."  The words sounded perfect even if she didn't understand them.  "Then I'll take what I can get.  I'm already gonna suffer fer this, I might as well enjoy it."  He finally succumbed to the pressure of her hands.

Looking deep into her pale eyes, he rolled above her.  She kissed him and his inhibitions fled.  Sal felt him give himself to her, his kisses filled with an emotion he never showed, and his mind reached deeply into hers. 

Chapter 29

Cyno's lean muscles pillowed her head, and Sal heard Risk outside the tent.  Her ears followed the movement so she didn't need to open her eyes.  His feet barely made a sound when he slipped into the tent. 
This is becoming a habit,
she thought, starting to doze off again. 

She came awake quickly when Cyno reacted to the presence in his home.  He slid out from under her, reaching for a weapon before his eyes opened.  Seeing his outfit-mate standing calmly before him, Cyno sighed.

"Damn it, Risk.  Do na do that."

"You have to move faster than that to worry me, little brother.  Sal, LT sent your boots and I'm supposed to make sure the two of you are presentable outside of this tent.  Nice to see you didn't tear each other up too bad."  Risk chuckled at them.  "We need to fix your face up, but I didn't see in any point in doing this twice."

Cyno groaned.  "Maast, where's Shift?  And does ever'one know?"

"They do, and LT has him tending the front line.  Some skirmish started up near dawn, guards from Sal's escapade last night demanding the assassin be turned over to them."  Risk smiled.  "Oddly, no one has seen a busty blonde around here."

"Just do na set me off again, ok?"  Cyno moved to find his pants in the mess of black clothing on the floor.  Sal couldn't help but notice that his tattoos spiraled not only down his left arm but across his hip, caressing the top of his left thigh.

"You, I won't set off.  It's her I'm worried about, actually."  Risk kept his eyes on her while Cyno pulled his breeches on.  "So you go first, and get me out of here if she starts up."

"Deal," Cyno replied, lowering himself into his chair, reaching out both hands.

The golden man took a deep breath and closed his fingers around Cyno's.  When he exhaled, Sal watched Cyno clench his jaw, the muscles across his shoulders standing tense.  Miraculously, the lines through Cyno's tattoos closed, the skin healed, and the ink returned, leaving no trace of the night before.  The bruises and bites across his body faded like they'd never existed.  When Risk released him, Cyno looked completely healed.

"Damn, man, I think LT's trying ta make me pay for this," he growled.

Risk chuckled.  "Probably.  But was it worth it?"

Cyno looked at her, his blue eyes warm and content.  "Yeh.  Ayati, it really was."

"Sal," Risk said, moving toward her.  "You aren't my type."  The corner of his mouth lifted, his smirk lopsided.  "That's why I need Cyno here for this.  It's going to hurt. There's a chance it will set you off again."

"Kitten."  Cyno moved next to her.  "Ya know how I said we can na resist ya?"

"Yeah?"

"Yeh, well, I mean that literally," he told her.  "Sometimes pain sets us off, sometimes it's blood.  Death always does it.  There's something about you though..."

"Pheromones," Risk said.

"Well, it turns us inta dogs sniffing at a bitch in heat.  We can na refuse it, even if we wanna.  Even if ya are na our type."

"Ok."

"So, if you feel it coming, I'm here.  Ok?"

"Is this really that bad?" she asked.

"It is," Risk answered, guiding her back on the bed.  Then he knelt beside her.  "Close your eyes, little demon, and relax."

She tried.  Without warning, the pain hit her.  She felt the side of her face peeling away from her skull as the bruises healed in seconds.  The gash on her lip seared a line of white fire through her mouth, and she found herself straining to breathe.  The bites across her body felt like coals pushed into her skin and every muscle struggled to escape the pain.  When it receded, she lay still, gasping for air.  A groan slipped out.  She opened her eyes to stare at the canvas ceiling of Cyno's tent.

"Kitten?"  he whispered.

"I'm ok," she gasped, "but damn, that hurts."

She heard Risk sigh and turned to look at him. His gold eyes watched her warily.  "You both have an hour, then the Lieutenant's called a meeting. The strategy's changed since you brought back that metal, Sal."

They nodded and Risk excused himself from the room.  Sal forced herself out of the bed, shocked to find no trace of sore muscles.  Cyno had placed clothes beside her, within reach, and when she stood to dress, she saw him distracting himself with anything his hands could find.

"Jase?"

"Yeh?"  He answered without looking at her. 

She tied her breeches and slipped the shirt over her head, then crossed the room to him.  He tensed just before she touched his shoulder.

"What is it?" she asked.

"The morning after."  He chuckled.  "I do na know quite how ta act.  Maast, most women do na wanna stay long enough fer there ta be a morning after."

"Maast?" she asked, trying to get her tongue around the strange word.

"It's jus' old iliri. It's the word for last night.  Ya know, with the passion on us."

"Jase," she said again, turning him to face her.  Cyno's blue eyes refused to meet hers.  His face looked calm but the smell of concern clung to him.  She ran her hand across his cheek until he looked up.  When their eyes met, she smiled. "Thank you for last night." 

Her words made him glance away, a small smile on his lips.  "This is gonna suck.  Ya know that, right?  I do na know how I'm gonna look LT in the eyes."

"He doesn't own me any more than you do," she reminded him.  "Now shut up and kiss me one last time before this meeting."

Cyno complied willingly.  "It was worth it.  It was so worth it, kitten," he whispered.

***

Sal tried to convince Jase to escort her to the Lieutenant's pavilion, but he refused.  He hoped she'd take the chance to return to LT alone – knowing they both needed it – and convinced himself that his own embarrassment had nothing to do with it.  After she left his room, he tried to clean the traces of her away, but her scent lingered, teasing him.  He looked at his bed, the coverings straightened and clean, and felt his heart beat faster at the memory. 

He'd never known a woman like her.  She understood him like the rest of his brothers in arms.  He trusted her, unlike any other woman in his life, yet he found himself so strongly attracted to her.  He'd never felt the pull before, the desire to be owned, to be consumed by someone.  It all started when he checked her recruitment papers that first day.

Iliri women chose their mates, not the other way around, and it wasn't uncommon for a woman to keep her own harem.  But those were stories from centuries ago, passed from mother to child.  Most tried to live like humans now.  The Lieutenant had made it clear that he expected them to blend into normal society and hide their iliran desires.

Besides, LT was a better match for her.  Cyno knew death, and for most of his life, death had been his only love.  The Black Blades accepted him and even embraced his strange passions, giving him an outlet for his needs.  When he'd confessed to LT his desire to kill, the Lieutenant made him an assassin, training him carefully and completely.  Cyno's natural speed and agility were assets that couldn't be overlooked.  When Zep caught him in the midst of his bloodlust, he'd reacted with understanding, sending for a whore and warning the men away from his room for the night.  The next morning they'd greeted him without reserve, treating him no different than before.

This was how he repaid all that.  He took advantage of his commander's mate and the entire outfit knew about it.  He tried to remind himself that he couldn't have resisted her and that it was her choice who to spend her affection on, but it didn't help.  Blaec was in charge.  Sal had submitted to him.  Their pack order was just fucked up, but he had to obey it.

Sighing, Cyno pulled his boots on, tucked his shirt into his pants, and decided to face it head on.  He strode out of his tent with his head up and walked directly to the Lieutenant's pavilion, knowing he was early.  He fought the urge to walk past the door, but taking a deep breath, he scratched at the tent flap.

"Come," LT called from the other side.

When Cyno ducked inside, he found LT alone with Risk, Sal nowhere to be seen. 

"She's not with you?" LT asked.

"Nah.  I told her ta come here, ta talk with ya."

"She hasn't made it yet, but that's ok." 

Glancing over his shoulder, the gold man smiled and excused himself from the room.  When he passed Cyno, Risk patted him on the shoulder then stepped outside without a word.

"Cyno -" LT started.

"LT, I feel like shit, man.  I did na mean – " Cyno tried to interrupt him, but a wave from the Lieutenant cut him off.

"Let me go first," LT said.  "I wanted to say thank you."

"Why?"

"For taking care of her.  For being there when I couldn't.  For giving her what she needed."  LT shrugged.  "She's not my toy, and I don't know why everyone thinks she is.  I'm lucky enough to spend time with her and that's all there is to it."

"Yeh, I know what ya mean."

"Do you remember the first time it hit you?"

"Yeh," Cyno said.  "I also remember how ya made it easy fer me.  I did na expect it.  They allus said I was a beast."

"But you spent the night with a whore.  Damn it, Cyno.  Think about it.  She pulls at all of us.  Would you rather she spent last night with a whore?"

He could only shake his head, shame and understanding warring in his mind.

"Did you enjoy her any less knowing that she'd been with me?" LT asked.

"Yeh.  Well, yeh and nah," Cyno said, thinking about it.

LT smiled.  "Yes after, but not during I bet."

Cyno fought the smile creeping to the corner of his mouth.  "Yeh, pretty much."

"Will you hate me if I say I feel the same?  If she comes back to me, I'll enjoy her and only think about how you might feel later?"

Cyno looked up, meeting LT's calm green eyes, trying to read something in them.  When the silence stretched on, LT continued, "She'll go to you again, there's no way around that.  I can't be upset about it.  I know I don't have whatever it is you both need.  I hope you'll do me the courtesy of not resenting it if I don't refuse her."

"LT..." Cyno started, unsure of his words.  "I dunno.  I know it is na right, but being second is na so bad for me.  It's just iliran."

"And I'm ok with that.  I just don't want hard feelings between us.  Any of the three of us, or however many more she decides to indulge herself with," LT said.

Cyno nodded.  "I'll do it again, though."  He dared to look into LT's eyes, a hint of challenge there.

"I know.  Next week actually.  I'm sending the two of you out together."

***

Sal walked calmly to the Lieutenant's tent.  She'd found every excuse to postpone this, but she wanted to speak with Blaec before the others arrived.  Her heart beat inside her chest, but she ducked through the door like she'd only just returned.  In the diffused light under the canvas, she saw Blaec standing with Jase, the two men talking, at ease with each other.  At the sound of her steps, they turned to face her.

Seeing both men, Sal's stomach tied in knots.  Green eyes beside blue, Blaec stood a head taller than Jase, and both of them smiled at her calmly, warmth in their eyes.  She looked from one to the other before reminding herself that Cyno knew she'd go back to Blaec.  Letting the tension drain from her shoulders, she turned to the Lieutenant.

"It's still morning," she said.

"It is."

Sal glanced to Jase, not sure what she expected.

"It's ok," Jase assured her.  "I'll be back when the rest come.  I think ya both need some time alone."

"Thanks, Cyno," LT said as the lithe man slipped out of the tent.

Sal closed her eyes, taking a deep breath.  When she opened them, Blaec hadn't moved.  He watched her with a worried look, smelling as if nothing at all was wrong. 

She stepped into his arms. 
It's still morning,
she thought at him.
I'm back and I'm sorry, Blaec.