Raine: The Lords of Satyr (22 page)

“D
o you remember what happened last night?”

Jordan jolted in surprise at the sound of Raine’s voice. Surreptitiously, she swept the project she’d been assembling out of sight, beneath her skirts. It consisted of two small branches denuded of leaves, hastily scarred and then bound and tied together with a bit of ribbon. Every morning she was driven to create another of these strange little talismans. It was embarrassing. Crazy.

Trying to conceal her agitation, she stood and went to her armoire, tossing the creation in with all the others like it. There were so many. Soon she would run out of the ribbon she’d taken from Raine the night they met. What then? She shut the mirrored door on them and saw he’d come close. Had he seen?

Hoping to distract him, she flirted, sliding her arms around his waist. “Of course I remember. We made love. Out in the glen,” she said. “Though I’m not sure how we got there.”

“You were sleepwalking. I found you. You’d been called to the sacred glen by Morpheus, a creature of ElseWorld who wishes to take you from me.”

She paled, straightening. “I thought that was a dream.”

“No. You were impregnated last night.” By Morpheus or himself, he didn’t know. Did she?

She lay a hand over her belly. “That’s not possible. I’m almost certainly barren!”

“No woman is barren for a man of Satyr blood. As I’ve explained, I could impregnate a woman five times your age if I desired.”

“But I probably don’t even have a uterus,” Jordan quibbled, still unable to believe him. “Even if I do have one, I’ve been told it’s likely my male organs would supercede my female ones so that I could never bear a child.”

“You must take me at my word. You are breeding. I estimate you will give birth in four weeks.”

Jordan smirked. “Someone needs to instruct you on human biology.”

“I’m attempting to instruct you on Satyr biology,” he replied. “Satyr children gestate in four weeks as do all children born of ElseWorld.

Stunned, Jordan roved her hand over her abdomen, testing it shape. It was already hard and slightly distended. “How efficient.”

A fleeting fragment of memory came to her. “Were Nick and Lyon in the glen with us last night as well? Or was that part of my dream?”

Raine’s eyes sharpened on her, attempting to weigh what she knew. “Nick was there, with Jane. But we spent the Calling apart from them.”

“And Lyon?’

Raine gave her a quizzical look. “He’s in Paris. Remember?”

“Don’t act as though my suggestion is particularly bizarre. On Satyr land, many impossible things occur. Such as four-week gestations within the wombs of those without wombs.”

“You have a womb. Trust me on that. My cock has greeted it more than once. In view of your condition, I trust you finally comprehend the necessity of marriage between us?”

She looked worried. Marrying her would bring trouble to him, but he’d never forgive her if she insisted their child be born a bastard.

He mistook the reason for her concern. “It is not unusual for first children to come early.”

She followed his line of thought. “Eight months early? Everyone will assume we anticipated any wedding vows we might undertake.”

“Does that bother you?”

“Not in the least. I assumed it would bother you.”

He shrugged. “Gossip can be dealt with.”

This from a man who abhorred wagging tongues?

“I only wish for healthy Satyr children,” he said.

“Will the birth be normal?” she asked.

“Fairly.”

“
Fairly?
”

“Yes, fairly normal for a Satyr birth.” Though in truth he couldn’t promise her it would be a Satyr child or another sort of child she would birth.

“You’ll have to do better than that by way of explanation.”

“Come, I have matters to discuss with Nick. We will visit his household and you can ask Jane your woman’s questions.”

W
hen they arrived at Castello di Blackstone, the courtyard and gardens were a profusion of flowers. Even in autumn, there was a disconcerting abundance of greenery and color everywhere Jordan looked. She’d been struck by it each time she’d visited, but still she shook her head in amazement.

“Your sister has quite the green thumb,” Raine murmured.

“An understatement to be sure,” said Jordan.

When they called in, they were told that Nick was out in his office, which was located nearby on his property. Only Jane greeted them in the salon, appearing somewhat groggy.

“I apologize for keeping you waiting. I overslept.” She glanced at Raine, blushed, and then sheepishly looked away.

It was left unspoken between them all that she’d been up all night engaging in Calling sex in the glen. As had her sister.

“I would like you to explain the way of things regarding the birthing of Satyr children to my soon-to-be wife,” Raine announced. “She is breeding.”

Jane’s eyes widened, moving from Raine to Jordan and back again. “I see. Congratulations.”

“Thank you. But he can’t know such things, can he?” Jordan scoffed.

Jane ushered Raine to the doorway and nudged him out into the corridor. “You may return in one hour,” she said before shutting the door on him.

“He’s wrong, isn’t he?” Jordan demanded after he’d gone. “It’s next to impossible for me to have children.”

“A Satyr can choose whether his seed is fruitful.” Jane informed her, ringing the bell for tea.

“But I’m probably barren. It’s possible I don’t even have a uterus.”

Jane’s brow wrinkled. “Does Raine know?”

Jordan nodded. “Though he refutes it.”

“You joined with him last night, didn’t you? I was there in the glen. I saw you.”

“Oh.” Jordan’s cheeks pinkened. “I don’t remember that. I wasn’t—myself.”

“Don’t be embarrassed. It’s the same with Nick and me during Moonful.” She sighed. “At least Raine has forewarned you about what’s to come. When my birthing time came, Nick said nothing and I was horribly worried, thinking myself grown so big that I might bear quadruplets!”

The tea tray arrived, and once they were seated Jane began serving. “One other thing I should warn you about,” she said as she poured. “He won’t touch you in a carnal way for the next month.”

Jordan’s gazed at her in horror. “Why ever not?”

“It’s the way of the Satyr.” Jane rolled her eyes, smiling. “I can’t believe I just said that. Nick uses that expression to explain away anything he wishes me to accept without question.”

“Men!” Jordan said in disgust.

Both women giggled, then yawned.

Raine found Nick in his office poring over a collection of Egyptian scarabs he’d recently acquired. He looked vital, well rested. Just as Raine always felt after a Calling night.

“Fascinating, aren’t they?” Nick enthused, holding up a particularly large specimen. “Mementos of Napoleon’s failed Egyptian campaign.”

Raine’s orderly nature shuddered at the expensive clutter filling Nick’s salon. He lifted a priceless pair of silk-and-gold-threaded medieval gauntlets from a chair and sat. “Scarabs eat their own dung, don’t they?”

“Yes! Efficient little devils.” Noting Raine’s serious expression, Nick abruptly tore his attention from his collection. “What happened last night with Jordan?”

“Morpheus happened.”

“Fuck,” Nick breathed. “Were his brothers in on it?”

“I’m not sure. But Morpheus was the one trying to mate her.”

“And did he?”

“He met with a degree of success. I’m not certain of the extent of the damage.”

Nick rubbed a hand over his face. “Is she breeding?”

Raine nodded.

“And you don’t know if it’s yours or Morpheus’s?”

“That’s correct,” said Raine.

“Bacchus. If it’s his—”

Raine’s eyes narrowed. “I won’t let him have her regardless.”

“Even if you can keep him from taking her, he’ll want the child. And he’ll have a legal claim on it if it’s his.”

“Screw his claim.”

Nick’s chair creaked under his massive frame as he sat back, folding his hands over his chest. “If she bears his issue, will she let it go?”

Raine looked away. If she were forced to choose between him and a child, he shuddered to think which way she’d lean. “I’m not sure. She has made it clear motherhood is something she desires.”

“If you challenge Morpheus’s right to it—”

“Which I will,” said Raine.

“Just be aware the ElseWorld Council will at the very least allow him Seeing rights,” said Nick. “And quite possibly Visitation. It will give him a foothold in our world. We cannot allow that to happen.”

“That’s all assuming he succeeded with her. I did my best to ensure that any child she bears is Satyr, not Morpheus’s offspring. In the coming weeks prior to the Birthing I will endeavor to teach her to control her dreams so that he cannot reach her through them again.”

Nick nodded. “The repercussions of her being drawn farther into Morpheus’s web will adversely affect more than our family. If he’s allowed into EarthWorld, others from ElseWorld will soon follow.”

Raine stood and went to the window. Running a hand through his hair he stared out at the vineyard at the center of their lands. For the first time since he’d come here as a boy, he almost wished he could leave all this behind, taking Jordan with him. Somewhere safe. Somewhere these unnatural dangers didn’t threaten her. But there was no such place.

“S
o, I understand from Jane that you and I are not to have concupiscent relations for the next month,” Jordan grumped as she and Raine strolled through the forest. Nick and Jane had entertained them with luncheon. Once they’d returned home Raine had disappeared for several hours and by now it was late afternoon.

Raine lifted her over a low stone wall and then stepped over it himself. “That’s right.”

Her eyes turned mischievous. “Where exactly is the line drawn?”

“What do you mean?”

She moved close. “For instance, can I touch you here? Or do this?”

Raine pushed her lips away from his neck and pulled her hand from his crotch. “Though it pains me to say it—no, to both.”

She sighed. “It’s going to be a long month.” Looking ahead, she saw the path would soon turn rocky, slowing their progress. “Where are we going?”

“We’ve arrived,” he informed her, pausing beside a rocky pool. “Here, I have something for you.” He pulled a small jewel-encrusted vial set on a gold chain from his pocket and draped it around her neck.

She lifted it from her chest to stare down at it. “It’s lovely.”

“I’m glad you like it because you will wear it from this day forward. That vial contains a potion of rare oils I blended together that will act as a dreamcatcher. It’s a sort of net that will enable you to separate the real from the unreal during your sleeping hours.”

She wrapped the vial in her hand. “It’s that easy?”

“Almost. To function properly, it must first be activated.” He turned away, causing the air around him to undulate. In moments, two Shimmerskins appeared, both beautiful and with iridescent skin.

“Why are they here?” she asked, frowning.

“To take part in the ritual.”

“What ritual?”

He shot her an exasperated look. “The ritual of the oils—the activation ritual I just mentioned to you. During the process, you’ll be especially vulnerable to nightmares. But once it’s finished, you’ll have more control over them. As long as you continue to wear the amulet.”

Jordan threw up her hands. “That statement opens so many questions, I scarcely know where to begin.”

“This pool is an incubation chamber built of rock from the temple of Aeslepius, the god of healing,” he explained patiently, indicating the rocky pond. “You’ll spend this night here with the Shimmerskins and by morning the ritual will be complete.”

The glimmering females came toward her. She eyed them suspiciously, moving behind him. “You mean I’m to stay here with them? Without you?”

“Yes, though I’ll be on guard nearby.”

The Shimmerskins found her where she hid, caressing her with their delicate hands.

“Stop that!” she told them. But they kept on. “Are either of these the same creature from last night in the glen?”

“They’re never the same. When they come to us, they are newly born. When they go, they cease to exist.”

“Then they’re not like the dryads,” she said.

He shook his head. “Dryads are living creatures. The Shimmerskins are needed tonight to facilitate the ritual, aiding you in learning to control your dreams rather than having them control you.”

She searched his eyes, scarcely daring to hope what he said was true. “What do I have to do?”

“To begin with, choose a code word. One you’ll remember easily but won’t accidentally say.”

She felt cool air on her back. The Shimmerskins were undressing her! She shrugged them away. “What exactly does this ritual entail?” she demanded.

Raine took her shoulders, holding her for the touch of the glimmering hands. “Let them minister to you as they will. Reach for the edge of pleasure. But you mustn’t let its wave crash. Use your code word. It will tell them when to cease stimulation.”

Jordan glared at him. “Stimulation? So as I understand it, I’m to spend a night here, being brought to the edge of pleasure over and over by these creatures but not succumbing?”

He nodded. “Have you chosen a word?”

“Yes.”

“What is it?”

“Asshole.”

Raine scowled at her. “This is important. Choose a damn word. One you’ll remember but won’t accidentally say.”

“All right,” she said, hands on her hips. “‘Birthday.’”

“Fine.”

“Fine.”

“Whenever the temptation to orgasm grows too strong, say, ‘birthday’ and the Shimmerskins will wait until you have calmed enough for them to continue.”

The Shimmerskins were massaging her breasts now, having lowered her bodice to her waist. She batted the creatures’ hands away. “Tell them to stop for a moment so I can think!”

Though he neither spoke nor moved, the Shimmerskins abruptly desisted and stood serene and still.

“How did you do that?” she asked.

He shrugged off the question. “You must see reason, Jordan.”

She pressed a hand over her abdomen. “I want this child, Raine. Jane said that carnal pleasure could endanger it.”

“That’s essentially true. But as long as you don’t let the wave crash…”

“Can’t this ritual wait,” begged Jordan. “The dreams have been with me for six years now. What’s another month?”

Raine looked doubtful. “It’s imperative that we act quickly. Your dreams could be used to snatch you from reality again at any time. Through them you could be taken ElseWorld where you would be lost to me, as would your unborn child.”

“How? I’ll refuse to go.”

“You can be driven insane by your dreams if you refuse.”

She eyed the Shimmerskins balefully. “But what if I can’t resist temptation during this ritual? You say my succumbing to it could harm our child. I’d rather suffer harm myself than take that chance.”

Something shifted in his face as he struggled to determine the best course. “Very well,” he said finally. “We’ll let the ritual wait.”

He took her hand and they turned back to the castello. Behind them, the Shimmerskins wavered, then slowly faded from existence.

“Why did you choose ‘birthday’ as your code word?” he asked.

She shrugged. “Because my birthdays have always been an awful trial. Just like I suspect this ritual of yours will be.”

He planted a kiss on the top of her head and silently vowed her next birthday would be a celebration rather than the horror all her previous birthdays must have been.