Darkness Falls (25 page)

“Don’t think,” he ordered softly, using his thumb to rub the center of her forehead and smoothing out the wrinkle she imaged was there. “There is no one but you.”

With that, he kissed her and eased himself into her.

Brushing her hair away from her face as he held her in his arms afterwards, he softly asked, “What’s going through that wickedly clever mind of yours, Malorie?”

“Nothing.”

He chuckled, kissing the top of her head, “I find that hard to believe. You always have something going on up there.”

Tilting her head back, she looked at him with a lazy grin, able to forget for a little while that she was going to rescue her brother and risk Feryn’s wrath. “I guess you wiped my brain completely because I’m not thinking about anything but you.”

Chapter 10

Malorie sat on the beach beneath the warm sun and contemplated her life as Toby and Jack played in the sun. Rubbing the smooth, unimpressive stone that Feryn had given her, the
key
, she felt like she was going to be sick and it had nothing to do with the baby. So much had changed and Malorie hardly knew who she was anymore. She wished to stay forever with Feryn but she was going to betray him to protect her loved ones, including the brother that probably despised her.

Since Feryn took Jiro to the caves to search for his son, Malorie had spent some time surreptitiously studying the grounds, figuring out where her brother was being held and how many guards watched over him. She learned that the boy had limited freedom, moving between the beach and Jiro’s apartments with a guard always tagging along. Once, he had been standing on the beach with his hands in his pockets staring off into space, a sad expression coloring his handsome face. Her brother looked lonely and Malorie was determined to give him back his life, or at least a semblance of the life he once had.

So far, she had spied no female
guests
and she figured Jiro had separate living quarters for his harem of human women.             

“You look like you’ve lost your best friend,” a warm, familiar voice murmured, interrupting her thoughts. Before Malorie could reply, Ginny sat down on the ground next to her as Jack and Toby continued playing catch. “You must have it bad.”

Looking at the stunning redhead, Malorie smiled. She had liked the girl from the first moment they met all of those weeks ago, although it seemed as if a lifetime had passed. “I do.”

Ginny chuckled as she leaned back on her arms and relaxed beneath the afternoon sun, barely taking her eyes off Jack. “But you’re not marked.”

Blushing, Malorie raised the hem of her shirt and showed the girl the mark that covered so much of her torso, hips and thighs. Staring at the skin in awe, Ginny’s arms gave out and she fell onto the blanket. Malorie pushed the shirt down but Ginny had rolled onto her stomach and grabbed the material, jerking it upwards. “My God, I’ve never seen anything so beautiful. No wonder why you’re languishing away without your owner.”

“He’s not my owner,” she automatically protested, battling with Ginny over the shirt so she could cover her stomach. “And it’s only been a few days.”

Ginny chuckled, once again propping herself up on her elbows and looking at Malorie from beneath her long lashes, “A lifetime when you’re without the man who marked you.”

“What about you?” Malorie asked, desperate to turn the conversation away from her. Glancing up, she saw the anguished expression on Jack’s face as he looked at her, which disappeared as soon as their eyes met. Forcing a smile, he turned back to Toby and continued tossing the ball back and forth.

“Jiro has been… distant, even before he went off on his latest adventure,” Ginny said on a sigh, trying to pull her eyes away from Jack and not quite succeeding. “We’ve only had sex a handful of times in the past few weeks, my mark is fading, and I’m afraid I’m losing him to that man playing with your son.”

“Jiro’s not interested in Jack, at least not in that way,” Malorie attempted to explain. “Jack’s… well, Jack is unique and Jiro is interested in discovering just how unique.”

Ginny’s eyes widened in her head as she continued staring at Jack, “What? Does he have, like, two penises or something?”

Malorie choked on a laugh, “Just the one penis.”

“How do you know that?” the girl asked, narrowing her eyes as she glared at Malorie.

“I was married to him for a few months,” Malorie admitted, figuring it couldn’t hurt too much since Ginny’s memories were going to be erased once she left the Aradian lands, the girl had told her as much the first time they met.

“And you decided a life as a pet was better than marriage to that guy?” Ginny’s voice was thick with disbelief. The way Ginny said
that guy
was telling and Malorie couldn’t hold back a smile. The redhead was attracted to Jack! Turning her head, Ginny looked at Jack once more and the color drained from her face. “Oh. My. God. He’s the boy’s father. What the hell, Malorie?”

“To be fair, he died,” Malorie said in her defense. Now Jack was a Breeder and she had been working with him to develop his powers. Toby had explained that Jack had exhibited a minor degree of being able to make plants grow before Mal had kissed him but it wasn’t until after the kiss that Jack’s change was complete. It didn’t take a genius to realize the energy that built up within her when she went through Netherspace must have flipped the switch, or whatever it was, and made Jack a full-fledged Breeder. At Ginny’s understandable look of confusion, Malorie sighed, “Well, he didn’t die. He was a vampire and now he’s not. Hence, Jiro’s interest in him.”

“Holy fuck,” Ginny breathed.

“Besides, I’m with Feryn,” Malorie finished up even though it was apparent Ginny had lost interest in the conversation as she visually undressed Jack even as he played with his son. Licking her lips, hoping Ginny would be able to offer some insight since she was Jiro’s pet, Malorie asked, “Do you know how the new boy is adapting?”

“What?” Ginny asked, blinking her eyes and forcing herself to focus on Malorie. “Oh, are you talking about Hunter?”

“Yes.”

“Jiro has mentioned him to me and the other girls, asking for volunteers to, um, welcome him to the island,” Ginny explained, her eyes drifting back to Jack. Clearing her throat, she struggled to keep her eyes on Malorie. “Apparently he’s gone through some trauma and is under Jiro’s protection until he recovers.”

“Why Jiro?” Malorie asked casually as her heart pounded in her chest. She was interested to see how Jiro explained a sullen sixteen-year-old being held against his will.

“It’s the sweetest thing,” Ginny said with a happy sigh, her eyes becoming dreamy as she spoke. “Jiro found the boy wandering aimlessly down the side of the road and offered him a place to stay until he could get back on his feet.”

Malorie blinked her eyes in disbelief, wondering how anyone could believe such a huge lie. “Really. Have any of the girls, er, welcomed him yet?”

Ginny blushed, “No. Jiro says the boy is still traumatized and needs a few days before he has visitors.”

Malorie almost sighed in relief, catching herself when Ginny gave her a questioning glance. “Do you think he’s doing okay?”

“What’s all this interest in the new boy?” Ginny asked, her suspicions finally getting the better of her.

“He, um, oh wow, did you see what Jack just did?” Malorie asked, hoping her distraction worked and smiling when Ginny’s head jerked around and her eyes went to Jack.

“I didn’t see anything,” Ginny pouted, not tearing her eyes from Jack as he laughed at something Toby said. Ginny’s breath caught in her throat and Malorie’s smile widened because it was the perfect distraction.

Chewing on her lower lip, she slyly asked, “Do you want to meet him?”

Color flooded Ginny’s face as she lowered her lashes and looked impossibly young and innocent. The gregarious girl was suddenly shy as she softly admitted, “I shouldn’t.”

“But you want to.”

“But I shouldn’t,” she repeated, looking up with imploring eyes as her fingers fluttered along her neck. “I shouldn’t want to meet him.”

“Right, the mark,” Malorie muttered, her eyes dropping to the elegant design on Ginny’s slender throat. “If it’s fading, you should ask Jiro to release you.”

“I’m not ready to leave this place.” Her words came out in a rush as the color drained from her face. “I don’t know if I’ll ever be ready to leave here.”

Malorie understood. The world was a vast place and it could be cold and cruel and horrible, especially when one was alone.  Would her brother be okay out there or would he be better off if he remained and became an Aradian stud? Unfortunately, she didn’t have the answers. “If Jiro ever gives you any grief, tell him I’ll give him some of my blood.”

Ginny’s eyes narrowed dangerously as she glared at Malorie, “I’m not sure if I’m comfortable with him tasting your blood.”

This time Malorie blinked in confusion before she laughed, “It’s not for him to drink, Ginny. It’s to… well, it’s for something else entirely.”

“Does it have anything to do with the mark on your torso or why you seem to glow? Why the boy glows and why the man glows?”

Heat crept into Malorie’s cheeks but she managed a nod, “Something like that. So, do you want to meet Jack or not?”

Twisting around until she was sitting upright, Ginny straightened her shoulders and smoothed her palms over her barely-there dress. Color flooded her cheeks and she grimaced as she plucked at the sheer material, “I wish I had something more… concealing.”

“You look beautiful,” Malorie said, a little envious of the girl’s generous curves and flawless skin. Pushing a strand of hair behind her ear, she grinned as she called out, “Toby! Jack!”

The males stopped playing and trotted over to where the two of them sat. Toby plopped down in Malorie’s lap while Jack sank onto the blanket a little further away. Brushing the mop of hair out of her son’s eyes, she asked, “Are you having a good time?”

“I am,” Toby said with a happy sigh. “Daddy is so much fun.”

Looking up, she caught the happy sheen in Jack’s eyes that he was quick to wipe away. Reaching over, he ruffled Toby’s hair and grinned, “It’s because I have a fun kid to play with.”

Ginny delicately cleared her throat, never taking her eyes off Jack. Wrapping her arms around Toby, resting her chin on the top of her head, Malorie smiled at Jack, “I’d like to introduce you to my friend.”

“You don’t have friends,” Jack teased with an easy grin, though his eyes were desolate as he stared at his son on her lap. “You have minions.”

“I
used
to have minions,” she taunted back with a grin, remembering the old joke between them, especially when she was the only female in the group. At first, his teasing words had disturbed her because they were true but she didn’t see that there was anything wrong with not having friends. But then he had become her friend, her best friend, and his teasing had only gotten worse. A great sorrow pressed in on her chest over what he had lost, but he seemed to be adjusting the best he could. “Now I have friends.”

“Have the mighty fallen so far then?” he grinned as they fell into their old banter. His gaze touched on Ginny before he returned his attention to her. “Though I must say that the company you keep is much lovelier.”

“Jack,” Malorie grinned. “This is Ginny. Ginny, Jack.”

With one last look, Jack tore his gaze away from Malorie and focused on the redhead. “It’s a pleasure to finally have a name to go with the girl.”

Ginny blushed to the tips of her ears but she couldn’t wipe the ridiculous grin from her face as she held out her hand, “The pleasure is all mine, I swear.”

The color deepened as she heard the words that had come out of her mouth but her hand didn’t waver as Jack took it and brought it up to his lips. The courtly gesture was something he learned when he was a vampire and it was a reminder of all that he had lost and it made her stomach hollow out. Did he want to return to his own time, his old life? Well, a new version of his old life since his old life was dead and buried. She could give him the papers meant for her brother and he could start fresh and the Aradians would never know about him becoming a Breeder.