A Cast of Shadows: An Araneae Nation Story (12 page)

“Daraja.” His voice came near my ear.

My eyes cracked open to find him standing at my side. “Yes?”

Muscle flexed in his cheek before he grated out, “Don’t go.”

The words
I won’t
were perched on my lips. Days ago I might have accepted his offer, but I was a different person now than I had been. Being with Brynmor changed me, opened my eyes to the possibilities of the world, and I re-imagined my place within it. I could be more than a wife. I could be more than a mother. I could pursue my interests and my desires. I could be…myself.

“I must.” I turned my cheek so his lips no longer brushed my ear.

“I understand.” His sigh blew warm air across my neck, and I shivered. “I promised myself I wouldn’t ask you to stay, that I would let you make your own decision, yet I did and you have.”

Hope sparked in my heart, and I turned so our noses almost touched. “Come with me.”

Shock widened his eyes, and I would have laughed except that fear chased his surprise.

“I—I can’t,” he stuttered.

I cupped his cheek in my hand. “Then we have nothing left to say.”

His hand covered mine. “Errol—”

“—has proven he can call you with a thought across great distances.”

Brynmor glanced away. “He needs me.”

“Does he? Or do you need him?” Brynmor’s silence told me I was right. “Are you using the pack as an excuse to remain near Cathis? You might have accepted that you can’t play an active role in your son’s life, but have you accepted the fact that if you remain in this world, then you must lead your own? What is the point of being given a second chance if you don’t take it?”

“Errol is wounded.” Brynmor glanced aside. “His life is in danger until he’s recovered.”

I forced his gaze back to mine. “I agree he is at risk
until he recovers
.”

“You’re asking too much,” he said finally. “It’s too dangerous for him, and for me.”

“Once Errol has recovered, nothing is holding you here. If he needs you, he can call you.”

Brynmor shook his head. “It’s not that simple.”

“You two speak mind to mind,” I pointed out. “You will be in constant contact while we travel. If you can’t hear Errol once we cross onto Segestriidae land, then you can return to Cathis and I’ll continue alone.”

“You’re asking me for too much.”

“No.” I patted his cheek. “You’re offering me too little.”

He grasped my shoulders and shook me. “I’m offering you all I have.”

“You’re offering me what makes you comfortable. It’s not the same thing.”

Embers of desire cooled between us, and I shivered from the loss.

Turning from Brynmor, I ignored the burn of his stare blazing into my back and gathered my things. Tempted as I was to accept his offer, I should leave now. It was the best thing for us both.

Ties from his past moored him in place. If he cut them, we could drift through life together. By anchoring himself to the life he once had, he cast aside any hope of a future for the two of us.

“It was a pleasure meeting you, Brynmor.” The smile I gave him was fond. “I hope you and Errol enjoy many years of peace and that Jana prospers.” I waved over my shoulder. “Farewell.”

Without waiting for a response, I set off down a narrow trail I’d spotted earlier. In my hand, I turned over the necklace Brynmor had given me. It would pay for my travels for several years if I worked up the nerve to part with it. I wasn’t sure I could. Memories faded too quickly, and I wanted some remembrance from the time I had spent in the woods among a canis pack with the spirit of a legendary Mimetidae paladin who I missed already.

After picking my way back to the river, I realized I had lost my spears again at some point.

A warrior, I was not.

Usually I was not so absentminded, either, but Brynmor had driven me to distraction.

Rather than face him again, I began weaving a fresh net for myself. As I strolled the sandbar I kept an eye out for flint. If I found a large enough piece, I could knap it into a new spearhead. I could go days without a spear if I had a proper net, but Errol had destroyed mine. I longed for a spear, though, and would rest easier with a solid weapon in hand.

“You forgot something.”

I froze as Brynmor’s voice washed over me. “What are you doing here?”

“I told you.” Rocks crunched underfoot as he approached me. “You forgot something.”

My head fell back on my shoulders. “What might that be?”

He grasped my arms and tugged me against him, wrapping his arms around my shoulders. He bent his head, lips whispering over my throat, across my jaw before trailing to my ear. “Me.”

I shivered as his fangs rasped over my skin. “No biting.”

“That’s all you have to say to me?” The pressure of his mouth, his teeth, increased.

Thinking was impossible with his body pressed to mine. All my objections whirled away in a burst of relief that Brynmor had come for me. “Why are you here?” I needed to hear the words.

“You were right. I am not the male I once was. That Brynmor has died. His burdens are not mine to bear.” He exhaled. “My son is a wiser and stronger leader than I ever was, and Isolde… She finally has her freedom.” He brushed a kiss across my temple. “I was thinking freedom might be nice, if I had some way to occupy my time and someone to spend it with.”

“Hmm.” I leaned into him. “I have this necklace. Silver. Heavy. Expensive. I thought if I sold it, I might buy a boat.”

Of course I saw no need to tell him the thought had just occurred to me.

The delicious thing he was doing with his mouth against my pulse stopped. “A boat?”

“A person could spend a lot of time on a boat.” I reached behind me, between our bodies. “I worry it might get lonely.” I cupped the hardened proof of his arousal, and he groaned against my neck. “I could use company.” I braced myself for yet another rejection. “Well, what do you say?”

“I say…” His lips returned to my ear. “Yes.”

I released him, turning in his arms, needing to face him. “Are you sure?”

“I will always have ties to Cathis, to my son and to Errol.” He cradled my jaw. “But if you’ll have me, I will show you all this world has to offer.” He traced my bottom lip. “And when death comes, we will cross into the spiritlands, discover the paradise the gods created for us, together.”

“That sounds permanent.” I enjoyed the way his cheeks flushed.

“I would like us to be.”

Leaning closer, I smoothed his collar. “I might take you on. Someone has to row after all.”

He blinked. “You’re offering me…work?”

I tapped a finger to his lips. “Relationships are work. You of all people must know that.”

“True.” He nipped my fingertip before saying, “You’ve made me a tempting offer.”

“And?” I asked, despite myself. “What do you say?”

He appeared to give my terms due consideration before a smile broke across his face. “Yes.”

“Good.” I breathed, fusing his mouth to mine.

Wrapping my arms around his neck, I tugged him closer and pressed as much of myself against him as possible. Hard flesh and hot male pressed back, so real I moaned. His fingers bit into my sides, the slight pain making me crave what came next. This was much more than airy kisses and wind-whispered caresses. This was Brynmor’s skin beneath my fingertips, his taste in my mouth.

Brynmor tugged up my shirt, his hands splaying over my ribs. “Take this off.”

“You first.” I worked the tie of his pants. “Wait. We can’t just—not out in the open.”

His hands crept higher until he cupped my breasts. “Are you sure?”

“Yes.” I slipped my hand into his pants and found him as ready as I was. “I do have a tent.”

Brynmor shuddered in my grip. “You aren’t serious.”

I stroked him once, and then again. “Oh, but I am.”

He sighed. “This is because of Errol, isn’t it?”

“You took me in a hole, in the dirt,” I said drily, “an arm’s length from a canis.”

At least Brynmor had the grace to grimace. “Fine.”

He reached behind me, into my pack, removed the heavy fabric of my tent and shook it out. A flick of his wrist spread the material over the ground. He hooked his arm around my waist and lifted me off my feet while he kicked the edges of the tent into position.

“What are you doing?”

“You wanted a tent.” He kissed me hard, fast. “I’m giving you a tent.”

He tugged my shirt overhead, then lay me down beneath the stars. I tilted my head back and admired the moon while he made quick work of removing my boots and pants. His clothes vanished in a trick I envied. Crawling up my body, he braced his knees between my open thighs.

Smoothing hands down the muscular curve of his spine, I snorted. “I was right about you.”

His breath hit my chest. His lips brushed against my breast when he said, “Oh?”

“When you disappeared that first time, I thought you were Kwaku Ananse.”

He paused. “The trickster god?”

“It explained a lot then.” I gestured toward his nudity. “It explains more now.”

When he grinned, I noticed his distended fangs. I chose to ignore them.

He tilted his head in a very canislike manner. “Explain it to me.”

“You’re cunning, and you’re ruthless in the pursuit and acquisition of what you want.”

“Hmm.” He nodded. “Admirable qualities.”

I rolled my eyes. “You would think so.”

“Perhaps I can convince you.” His grin came slow, and it was sharp. “Let me show you how ruthless I can be…” he nipped my right breast, “…in the pursuit and acquisition of what I want.”

I yelped. “
No
biting.”

His fangs scratched over my nipple. “Aren’t you going to ask what I want?”

“I know what you want.” I slapped his chest.

“Do you?” he asked, eyes searching mine.

Aligning our sexes, I elicited a shiver from him. “That is what you want.”

The teasing laughter drained from his eyes, replaced by an emotion I wasn’t ready to name.

I let my legs fall open, lifted my hips and welcomed the hot press of his erection at my core.

“No.” His wide palms cupped my face. As he slid deep into me, he whispered, “Just you.”

His tender words made my foolish heart flutter hard enough for the both of us.

I had followed the river in the hopes of finding my heart, and perhaps I had found my match in Brynmor. It was too soon for us to know. But I had found something infinitely more precious.

I had found myself.

About the Author

Hailey is a wife turned mother turned writer, who loves her husband, her daughter and alone time with her computer. Whenever southern living strikes her as too ordinary, she can be found squinting at her monitor as she writes her next happily-ever-after or with her nose glued to her Kindle’s screen. Wings and/or cupcakes are usually involved…

She loves to hear from readers at
[email protected]
.

You can also swing by
www.haileyedwards.net
for all her latest news.

Look for these titles by Hailey Edwards

Now Available:

Daughters of Askara

Everlong

Evermine

Eversworn

Araneae Nation

A Hint of Frost

A Feast of Souls

The only way to save her is to bind their souls as one.

A Feast of Souls

© 2012 Hailey Edwards

Araneae Nation, Book 2

Born with the ability to communicate with the dead, few things take Mana by surprise. But when a canis lopes into her life, announcing himself as the long-dead father of a childhood friend, she’s shocked. To make matters worse, he has a dire message that she alone can deliver.

Now Mana must face Vaughn, the male who inspired one too many girlish fantasies, and impart the spirit’s message—without acknowledging her source—so the soul can be laid to rest.

With rumors of a burgeoning clan war setting his nerves on edge, the last thing Vaughn needs is for an innocent to get caught in the crosshairs. But the woman he remembers as an awkward girl refuses to leave his side until he’s heard her out. That’s not the only change in her that calls to him. Her kindness soothes his battle-scarred soul—and he craves her in ways a warrior shouldn’t.

When they are both captured, they learn of an even greater threat. The plague devastating the southlands has come to his clan home. And his best—and only—chance to keep his people alive is the female who walks among the dead.

Warning:
This book contains one fierce hero with a nose for danger, one stubborn heroine who smells like trouble, and one wolfish spirit who makes most relationships with the in-laws seem downright tame. Fur, fangs and some biting should be expected. But never fear, the hero has a sword, and he knows how to use it.