Shax leaned back in a chair, his arm draped around the back of it as he stretched his legs before him. There was a naked woman kneeling between his legs with her head moving enthusiastically up and down.
What is she doing?
Heat blazed up my neck and burned into my cheeks when I realized her mouth was encircling his shaft. I ducked back to rest my forehead against the tree as I inhaled a tremulous breath. I should leave. I should run back to the tent and forget all about this night, but I found my feet wouldn’t move.
Where is Kobal?
I wasn’t sure I could handle it if I saw him with another woman. However, I found my head sliding out from behind the tree again. My gaze ran over the demons once more. There was Morax leaning against a tree with Verin; both of them were still fully clothed. They didn’t appear to notice anyone else around them as they remained close together. Not for the first time, I found my gaze riveted on the bite marks on their necks.
Another demon I didn’t really know stood in the shadows of a tree with a human. He lifted her from the ground and, turning on his heel, walked over to the nearest tent. Corson sat on the ground next to a couple of women. They all touched and kissed each other, their hands traveling over each other’s bodies as moans of excitement emanated from them.
I made myself look over the clearing once more, but I still didn’t see Kobal anywhere. That didn’t mean he couldn’t be in one of the tents, like the other demon who had just left. The idea of him with another woman caused my teeth to grind together as my chest constricted. My fingers dug deeper into the tree bark. I had zero experience with anything like what was going on in the clearing. However, I knew he would participate in this, and it would be something he enjoyed.
Probably something he’d enjoyed with countless others. I couldn’t bring myself to look for him again as I listened to the carnal sounds emanating from the clearing. I would give anything to be the one to ease him in such a way, but this was not my life, not who I was.
Walk away.
It was the best advice I could give myself, and finally, I managed to turn on my heel. I didn’t get one step before I almost smacked into Kobal. His arms were folded over his chest; the firelight played over his chiseled features. My heart plummeted into my sneakers when I realized I’d been caught spying. Well, not completely spying as I’d really been looking for him, but I’d still been lurking in the shadows like some kind of creeper.
Which I guess I was.
CHAPTER 25
River
The flames from the fire reflected and leapt in his eyes when he looked over my shoulder. I was going to need a fire extinguisher if my cheeks burned any hotter. I had no idea what to say or do as he remained focused on what was going on behind me before looking at me again. Had he been on his way to join them?
Before I could decide between sprinting all the way back to the tent or melting into the ground, he clasped hold of my shoulder and turned away from the fire. For the first time, I realized he was wearing clothes. Did that mean he hadn’t been a part of what I could only consider some kind of orgy?
The profound relief filling me caused my knees to shake. He wasn’t mine, never could be, but I didn’t want him to be anyone else’s either. Then I recalled the woman from the cafeteria earlier; he already had been someone else’s, most likelythousandsof someone else’s given his lifespan.
“I told you not to leave the tent alone at night.” His tone was far gruffer than normal.
His body vibrated with a different energy as he moved me down the hill toward the tent. Daring to glance up at him from under my lashes, I noticed the sweat beading across his brow and the firm set of his jaw. His head turned toward me, and a black eyebrow rose when he found my eyes on him.
I looked away hastily before responding, “I had to go to the bathroom.”
“The house is in the complete opposite direction.”
I couldn’t deny the truth.
His hand squeezed my shoulder. “It’s not safe for you to wander outside alone. You shouldn’t have disobeyed me, and you shouldn’t have gone near the fire.”
Yep, bring on the fire extinguisher. Maybe, justmaybe, I could have gotten over him catching me gawking like an idiot if he hadnevermentioned it, but I should have known better. “I was curious,” I muttered.
He released a derisive snort. Stopping abruptly, he drew me back with him. Over his shoulder, I saw the distant flames leaping into the sky. I was still curious about what was going on there, about what it would be like… withhim. My pulse raced as a throbbing ache spread between my legs.
“And did you have your curiosity answered?” he inquired.
“I, uh… I, ah… I guess,” I managed to stammer out.
“You guess? What did you expect to find?”
“I don’t know. What they were, ah… doing, do they do it often?”
“Every night.” My jaw fell faster than an apple from a tree. He folded his arms over his chest as he leaned back on his heels to survey me from head to toe. “Why is that so shocking to you?”
“I’ve never seen anything like it before,” I murmured. “I didn’t know…”
