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Hand in hand, Damon and I walk down the slope to join the others. It takes a while to get all of the supplies within the cave outside. By that time, the twilight hour is upon us again, and Simon and his men transform.
I almost wish they hadn’t because all Simon does is give me dirty looks. I assume he’s upset about my kiss with Damon. I almost blurt out the truth about our familial connection. I have to bite my tongue more than once. There’s no way to know how Simon will react after he learns the truth. Will he be mad? Perhaps. Will he be glad to have a sister? Hard to say. Will he resent the fact that I’m the reason his mother died? That’s almost a certainty.
Although there was no way I could have prevented her death, Simon may direct his anger toward Jack. It was him, after all, who fell in love with the queen and had a love child with her. From what little I know of Simon’s childhood, his mother was someone who could have changed the course of his life and made him a better man. It’s a shame she didn’t get to guide her son and help him become someone to lead his people into a brighter future.
“How in the world did you talk Alek into helping you?” Damon asks as we sit cuddled up underneath a blanket together by the campfire.
“I made promises that I intend to keep,” I say.
Damon’s body tenses. “What kind of promises?”
“That we would share the cure with his people.” I turn in Damon’s arms. “It’s the right thing to do. You have to see that.”
“What if there isn’t enough to go around?” he asks. “What do we do then?”
“We share,” I say stubbornly. “His people and the people of Dawn all deserve a chance to live normal lives. We can’t hoard the cure for only the people of Midnight. Whether we like it or not, we’re all in this together.”
Damon doesn’t look pleased, but he has to know I’m right.
I turn back around and pull his arms forward underneath the blanket. I place one of his hands on my bare midriff. He naturally slides it forward until he cups my left breast. I push his other hand down between my legs, wishing the leather wasn’t there.
“Are you hinting at something, Ivy?” he whispers in my ear, sounding amused.
“I would say it’s a bit more than just a hint.” I lean back against his chest, as his hands move against my flesh. “I want you, Damon. I’ve never wanted anyone more than you in my life. Until we make love, I’m not sure I’ll ever feel whole. There’s an emptiness inside me that only you can fill.”
“Oh, I know exactly where tofillyou,” he says, teasing my earlobe with his lips.
“Could you not be so blatant about your fondling of my future wife underneath that blanket?” Simon asks irritably. “Or should we have our fight now rather than later, Damon? I would rather not have to question the parentage of the babe I’ll be placing in her womb in the not-so-distant future.”
I instantly shiver at the thought, and wonder, yet again, if I should tell Simon the truth.
“Didn’t anyone tell you, Simon?” Alek chimes in from the campfire his men are gathered around. “I’ve already plucked that gentle flower. Why, I wouldn’t be surprised if Ivy is carrying my child inside her stomach right now.”
“We all know that’s a lie you’re telling any fool who will listen,” Simon retorts heatedly. “Ivy wouldn’t let a scallywag like you between her legs without a fight.”
“That’s enough!” Boris stands from where he and Margaret are sitting. “I will not sit here and listen to any of you say another disparaging thing about my daughter, is that understood?”
“And what’s a big tub of lard like you going to do about it?” one of Alek’s men asks, earning a round of hearty laughs from his pirate friends. He smiles toothlessly at Boris.
“I will cut the balls off the next man who defames her name and shove them down the fool’s throat. That’s what I’ll do. Don’t test me, boy.”
Boris sits back down, and Margaret places a comforting arm across his shoulders.
Damon pulls his hands away from me. I don’t try to keep them in place. The last thing we need is an all-out fight to commence.
“We should get some sleep,” Damon says. “My change will happen soon anyway. We should rest while we can since we don’t know what tomorrow will bring.”
Reluctantly, I agree and lay down, watching the flames of the fire.
“Don’t leave me,” I beg him as he begins to remove his clothes for the change.
“Never,” he promises, folding his shirt and laying it on the ground. Once he’s naked, he grabs a separate blanket and lays behind me. He’s not close enough for me to feel his body, but I do feel his warmth. With the reassurance of his closeness, I soon find myself in the world of dreams.
At some point during the night, I’m startled awake and sit straight up. I scan the area around the camp, but the only other person awake is Simon. He stands from his spot around his campfire.
“Did you hear that?” he whispers to me, looking in the direction we traveled from.
“Something woke me up, but I don’t remember hearing anything. What did you hear?”
