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She must’ve turned red because Korum burst out laughing. “Yes, my darling. But don’t worry, the robes they’re wearing are specifically designed to give them privacy. Your delicate sensibilities won’t be too offended.”
“My sensibilities aren’t delicate,” Mia hissed at him, knowing that all the Krinar around them could probably hear their conversation. Like the vampires of legend, Ks had sharper senses than most humans, with better hearing, eyesight, and sense of smell – all courtesy of their hunter heritage.
“No?” he teased, raising his hand to stroke her cheek. “You’re used to public orgies?”
Mia swatted his hand away and determinedly turned her attention to the couple on the platform. Sometimes Korum liked to play with her, telling her all kinds of naughty things just to watch her blush. Mia was not a prude, but she couldn’t help her skin’s involuntary reaction – and he seemed to enjoy that fact quite a bit.
In that moment, the hall darkened and the noise of the crowd abruptly subsided. A soft light came on, spotlighting the platform only. It was like a stage, Mia realized, her cheeks heating up again at the thought of what was to come. In general, she found the Krinar culture to be quite paradoxical; while their science and technology were incredibly advanced, some of their customs – like the Arena fights and now this bonding ritual – were almost barbaric.
A strange music, unlike anything Mia had heard before, began to play. The melody was haunting and powerful, and the underlying beat was both rhythmic and irregular at the same time, making Mia want to squirm in her seat. It was not dancing music, but there was something oddly sensual in it, with a few tones almost caressing her skin. She had no idea what musical instruments were used, but she had to admit that the overall result was beautiful. Korum had let her listen to some Krinar music before, and she’d found it to be quite unusual – but
nothing like what she was hearing right now.
“This is the traditional bonding song,” Korum whispered to her. “It’s one of our oldest melodies – it dates back more than a billion years.”
“It’s incredible,” Mia whispered back, feeling the fine hairs on the back of her neck rising as the tempo picked up.
The couple – who had been standing on the stage this whole time without movement – took a step toward each other. Their arms came up, their palms joining together, and the robes that they were wearing seemed to expand and curve around their bodies, creating a tent of sorts. Only their heads were visible now, and the expressions on their faces were calm, as though they were not about to do something very intimate in front of fifty thousand spectators.
As the music continued to play, Leeta’s mate started speaking, his voice echoing throughout the hall. “For the past forty-seven years, you have been my companion, my love, my life. Without you, my future has no meaning. You are the air that I breathe, the water that I drink, the food that I consume. You are a part of me, and you will always be a part of me.”
He stopped, and Mia blinked to get rid of the sudden moisture in her eyes. While simple, the words seemed truly heartfelt, and she couldn’t help envying Leeta for having someone who loved her so deeply.
Leeta spoke next. “You are my mate, my love, my life,” she said solemnly. “Without you, my future has no meaning. You are the air that I breathe, the water that I drink, the food that I consume. You are a part of me, and you will always be a part of me. I will be with you for forty-seven more years to come, and forty-seven years after that, and every forty-seven years into infinity.”
She fell silent, and then they spoke together. “We are united,” they said, and their vow reverberated throughout the building.
The music quieted for a second, and then it picked up again, only this time the beat was deeper, more sexual. To her surprise, Mia felt herself beginning to get turned on, her pulse speeding up and her belly muscles tightening at the unusual, but melodious tones. She’d never imagined that music could do something like that to her.
And apparently, she wasn’t the only one. The mood of the audience seemed to shift, and Mia could sense the sudden tension in the atmosphere. A warm male hand landed on her thigh, caressing it lightly, and Mia turned her head to see Korum looking at her with a familiar glow in his amber eyes. “Now the fun part begins,” he mouthed to her, and Mia’s cheeks got warm again.
Surreptitiously glancing around, she saw that the other spectators were staring at the stage with a rapt expression on their faces.
In the meanwhile, the couple on the stage came even closer to each other. Even though Mia couldn’t see their bodies, she could tell that they had to be touching at this point. Leeta’s eyes were now closed, and she looked flushed underneath her light golden skin, while her mate seemed to be breathing harder as he gazed at her beautiful face. They didn’t kiss, and there was no visible physical contact of any kind, but Mia’s heart still pounded at the knowledge of what they were doing. The scene playing out on the platform was unbelievably erotic, made even more so by the fact that so much was left to the viewers’ imagination.
Enthralled, Mia stared at the stage, unable to tear her eyes away.
* * *
A couple of rows away, the Krinar watched Korum’s charl observing the bonding ceremony.
Her little face was pink with color, and her lips were slightly parted. He could see her small chest rising and falling with every breath, and his fingers itched to pull down her dress and expose those perfectly round, pink-tipped breasts to his gaze.
In the past two weeks, his craving had turned into an almost unbearable obsession. When he tried to analyze it logically, he knew it had something to do with the fact that she belonged to his enemy. He’d hated Korum for a long time, and the thought of taking away something he loved was exceedingly appealing.
But it went deeper than that. He found himself thinking about her constantly, fantasizing about touching her, tasting her . . . Fucking her, as he’d seen Korum do on the beach. To this day, he hadn’t been able to watch that incident fully, rage and bitter jealousy coursing through his veins at the sight of his nemesis enjoying something he so desperately wanted himself.
It was incredibly dangerous, this obsession of his. He was starting to have trouble controlling himself, and he couldn’t afford to let his true feelings show. There was too much at stake to throw everything away for the sake of one human girl, no matter how much he hungered for her delicate little body.
Besides, if he succeeded in his plan, she would be his.
Everything would be his.
Chapter 14
After the bonding ritual was over, an opaque wall rose up around the edges of the platform, hiding the couple from view, and the music quieted down.
Her cheeks flaming, Mia rose from her seat, following Korum’s example. What she had just witnessed had been far from pornographic, yet she couldn’t get the rapturous expressions on the couple’s faces out of her mind. Their sexual act had been hidden from view, but their feelings and emotions during the ritual had been on display for everyone to see. At the end, the music had reached a crescendo, and Mia realized that it was both imitating and facilitating their lovemaking.
