Page 140 of The Hunter

Lacey’s brows shot up as she grinned. This was definitely a side of Cole she hadn’t seen. “I guess the vrix are rubbing off on him.”

Shir trilled, mandibles rising and purple eyes narrowing in delight. “It brings my hearts joy to see Sophia happy.”

Breaking the kiss with a chuckle, Cole glanced at Shir. “Oh, I make her very happy. Every night.”

“Okay! Let’s not get into details,” Lacey said. “Unless you want to hear about how me and Telok⁠—”

“Nope!” Cole threw a hand out, palm toward Lacey. “I’m good. I think we hear enough every night to guess without needing you to tell us anything.”

Sophia waggled her eyebrows at Lacey. “Telok must take good care of you.”

Heat suffused Lacey. She knew she’d been loud, but she hadn’t realized she’d been that loud. She cleared her throat. “He’s good for relieving my…tension.”

Never would Lacey have guessed that Telok was a pleasure dom, but for days his entire focus had been solely on her and her pleasure without taking any for himself. And God, he played her body so well…

The only thing he hadn’t done in all that time was give her what she craved most—his cock. She wanted to feel him inside her again, wanted to feel that physical connection binding them together.

She slipped a slice of moonblossom fruit into her mouth and tried to get her mind off Telok’s stroking fingers, lashing tongue, and throbbing shaft. While Cole and Sophia couldn’t smell Lacey’s desire, the many vrix in the vicinity would.

Excited whispers rippled through the crowd. Only then did Lacey realize that the music had changed to something slow and anticipatory. She turned her head toward the center of the platform, where vrix were already rearranging themselves to clear a space.

“Is there a mating dance tonight?” she asked.

She’d barely finished the question when the lighting began to change in a series of whooshes, the orange flames flaring into blue-green as winddancers poured something into the fire bowls, casting an eerie, otherworldly glow on the gathering.

Shir hummed thoughtfully as onlookers seated themselves in a broad circle around the center of the platform. “There will be another choosing tonight.”

Tas approached, his eyes and the blue and red markings on his hindquarters aglow in the firelight. Shir trilled as her mate lowered himself beside her and pressed his headcrest to hers.

“My heartssong,” he said, words barely audible over the music.

“Kir’ani luveen,” she replied gently.

The drums quickened, drawing Lacey’s attention back to the center of the platform. Anticipation was building with that beat, charging the air with electricity, and she tipped her head back to look up at the dancer who was about to descend.

Though she knew there were branches and leaves shrouded in shadow high overhead, all she could see was darkness. Her eyes scanned it, seeking any sign of movement or the glow of a winddancer’s patterns.

Something moved in the blackness. Gradually, strips of neon green came into view, gaining brightness like metal being heated in a furnace.

Her heart skipped a beat. She knew those patterns even before she could see the body they belonged to.

Lacey watched in disbelief as the shadowy form descended a length of silk, lowering himself into the light to reveal those glowing green markings against a jet-black hide.

“Telok?” she breathed.

“No freaking way,” Cole said.

But it was Telok on that rope, and Lacey couldn’t look away.

He began to swing from side to side, quickly gaining momentum. As his speed increased, he shifted his weight, turning that pendulum motion into a broadening circle that was soon carrying him over the onlookers below.

Telok released the rope with all but his upper right hand. Winddancers gasped as his body swung outward, widening his arc. Lacey bit her bottom lip, not only marveling at his sheer strength, but turned on by it.

He glided through the air, his markings vibrant against the shadows. Soon, that circle began to draw in on itself, and the drums grew louder and faster.

Extending his left legs, he snapped them back in and spun, becoming a whirl of neon green and spiraling silk. It was…exhilarating.

The music halted, and Telok plummeted.