First Night Read online

  But it wasn’t that. She pushed thoughts of her idiocy from her mind. Now was the time to be happy. She was soon going to be made pregnant by…she shook her head, hating that the rest of that thought marred her happiness. Pregnant by the same monsters who’d cursed them in the first place.

  “It doesn’t matter.” She forced the bad thoughts away. She was going to be made pregnant. Her.

  “Why are you smiling?”

  “Because I’m going to be pregnant. I’m going to have a child. Do you know what that means?”

  “Yes.”

  She would hold a special place in the clan from the day she carried the babe in her belly, but that wasn’t the thing that made her nearly burst with delight. If the Ednian made her pregnant, the gods would be pleased. Maybe then the curse would be lifted. Maybe this was the time.

  She wanted that more than anything. For life to return to the way it was in the old days, long before her birth, when the men could love the women and give them children. When the Myaians didn’t have to depend on the Ednians to grace them with one of their men every couple of years, in the hopes that they might impregnate one of their women. It didn’t always happen. It would for her, though. She knew it would. She could feel it.

  If she could just close her eyes and pretend it was Creasy on top of her instead of the horrible Ednian. Creasy was a good lover, and he was one of her people. Though she wouldn’t admit it to him, she agreed with his assessment of the Ednians. She’d almost rather lie with a tree stump than an Ednian. She closed her eyes. “Cho.”

  Cho took the cup from her hand, gently, and she kept her eyes closed as he pushed her shift over her thighs. His lips followed his fingers, soft, silky lips that barely touched her skin.

  Goose pimples covered her skin, her nipples hardened, and she sighed as her body relaxed. This was what she needed.

  “Thank you, Cho.”

  “Shhh.”

  He lay between her open legs, then pushed her dress over her belly. Teasing her, he blew on her pussy, a gentle stream of warm, moist air.

  She squealed and opened her eyes, her breath coming in quick bursts as she watched him.

  He met her gaze. “Close your eyes, my sweet. Shut out the world and let me ease your spirit.”

  “I want to watch you.”

  With tender fingers, he spread her lips, darting his tongue at the nub of flesh hiding between them. He thrust his tongue inside her, twirling it around in circles before once again laving her clit with slow, soft movements.

  She squirmed beneath his knowing ministrations. The pressure grew, a wet, heavy weight that brought with it a throbbing, intense need. She jerked her shift over her head, throwing it to the floor. This was not the time for clothes.

  He pulled his mouth from her and ran his gaze down her body, his eyes deep with need. “Do you know how I suffer, Mila? How I wish more than anything to climb on top of you and sink inside your sweet, hot pussy? Can you know?”

  She groaned. “Cho!”

  “I’m sorry, my sweet, but sometimes I just need to tell you.”

  “It’s not like you don’t lie with your own, Cho. I’ve seen you.”

  He shrugged. “They are not you.”

  “Cho. Please…I can’t.” It was awful of her, and she knew it. She could let him touch her, bring her to orgasm, use his tongue on her, but she could never fuck him. The thought of his cock, engorged with some forest creature’s blood… She shivered and stared at him. “I’m so sorry, Cho.”

  His quick grin said all was well, and he lowered his mouth to her pussy once more. He seemed determined to make sure she suffered some of what he suffered, though. Finally taking his mouth from her, he stroked her with gentle fingers, laughing when she squirmed.

  “You’re supposed to be relaxing me, Cho, not driving me mad!”

  He massaged her clit, smiling. “Don’t you like this, Mila?”

  “Yes, I like this. So much…”

  He probed at her hole, pushing the tip of his finger inside her when she moaned. He added another finger and pushed them inside her, then pulled them out, the slow carefulness making her want to kick him out of the way and finish herself.

  “Cho!”

  He snorted with laughter. “I’m sorry for teasing you.” He thrust his fingers inside her, hard and fast, pinching her clit between the finger and thumb of his other hand.

  Her climax was hard and overpowering, and she cried out, thrusting her pelvis against his fingers.

  As she came down, he slid his fingers to her asshole, rubbing the little hole while he waited for her sensitive clit to be ready for his attentions again.

  “Again,” she pleaded, “with your mouth.”

  He attached his mouth to her pussy, sucking her clit, licking her hole, his fingers holding her open as she screamed, orgasm after orgasm washing over her.

  When she was finished she wanted nothing more than to close her eyes and sleep. She tightened her fingers in his hair to hold him to her.

  He lay between her legs as she began to drift into sleep, his soft breath soothing and sweet upon her sex.

  She smiled, content.

  Oh First Night, come soon with your dreadful wonder.

  Chapter Two

  There was nothing Lake Caution hated more than having to play stallion to a Myaian mare. He’d never seen them, but other Ednian clansmen had stopped in to visit his clan on their way back from the Myaians with horrific tales of misshapen bodies, blood-sucking dwarfs, and depraved females.

  Only two of the men in his village had been sent to the Myaians, and both were reluctant to speak of their time there. One had told stories, but the tales changed with each telling, and Lake finally understood the man was making them up as he went.

  He’d fought against his people offering him up as impregnator to the horrific clan and had tried to reason with them. The Ednian men, he’d insisted, should have a choice.

  It was useless to argue; if he’d not done as ordered, he’d have a lifetime of guilt to look forward to. His people were masters of guilt. His own family, his own parents, added their insistent voices to the mix. And he’d always thought he was their favorite!

  It was his duty. His duty to keep the Ednians free of the same curse the gods had allowed to affect the Myaians. It wasn’t his fault if some ancient witch from decades ago had lost her temper. Still, if he had absolutely refused, he’d look like a selfish bastard and his parents—especially his mother—would never forgive him. He must help the poor, unfortunate Myaians. It was his duty. Gods, but he was sick of that word.

  He would live with the Myaians for up to a year. If the girl wasn’t pregnant by then, he was free to return home. It wouldn’t take him that long. His clan teased that he could get a girl pregnant by looking at her.

  He’d do his job, go home, and never think about this nightmare again.

  Yeah.

  He sighed and kicked his horse into a run, leaving the loaded, lumbering supply wagon far behind. Slawomir wouldn’t like that, but Lake wasn’t one for caring overly much about what his watcher thought. Bug-eyed bastard, his creepy long fingers constantly rubbing his chin, his gaze darting, never once looking a man in the eye…

  He’d been chosen as Lake’s watcher, the man who would make sure Lake did his duty. As if that spindly, puny ass could force him to fuck the Myaian if he didn’t want to.

  He’d do his duty. He’d fuck the girl, if his cock would cooperate. His father had advised him, with a heavy hand on his shoulder, to do the deed in the dark.

  And leave her with a babe, his babe, growing in her belly.

  The thought made him more than uncomfortable. It made him sick.

  * * * *

  “The donor has arrived,” her shadow said. “The walking cock is here.”

  Mila gave Cho a level look. “Walking cock, Cho? Really?”

  He returned her look with a cool one of his own. “Really. That’s what he is, sweet. That all he is. A cock. It will shoot into you the seed
that you need to get the one thing you want more than anything else in the world.”

  “Hush, Cho.”

  Wild Rose ran inside, her cheeks flushed a bright red. “He’s here, Mila!”

  Mila wrapped her arms around the other woman, her heart pounding hard from excitement. “Is he very ugly,” she whispered, “and quite hideous?”

  Wild Rose said nothing, but squeezed Mila a little tighter.

  Mila leaned back, surprised. “Well? What is it? Is he…” She swallowed a lump as big as a congealed bowl of oats before she could continue. “Is he even worse than we’d thought?” The last four donors had come from Ednian clans closer to them. Their men were not hideous, but had told the villagers stories of the far Ednian clans that made Mila have nightmares for a week.

  Wild Rose averted her gaze, her red curls a chaotic mess on her small head. “He’s…different.”

  “Different? He’s different.” Mila snorted with disgust. “I already knew that much.”

  “Come out and see for yourself.” Wild Rose grabbed her hand, pulling her to the door. Her plump body shook with eagerness.

  Mila knew without looking that Cho would be right behind her, practically touching her as he flowed with her out the door. He was, after all, her shadow.

  With any sort of good luck, the Ednian would impregnate her quickly and leave before the month was out. Then life would go back to normal except for one very important change.

  She smiled and touched her belly gently. Soon, my little one. Soon.

  The village had gathered to watch his entrance. Mila and Wild Rose pushed through the crowd, until they were close enough to see him.

  Mila held her breath as she caught her first glimpse of him. He sat atop an enormous horse, surveying them all with an expression she finally interpreted as disgust.

  This Ednian was disgusted by her people. It was almost funny, considering the fact that he was the disgusting one. She pushed herself from the crowd and stood with hands on hips, trying her best to look down her nose at him.

  That was a little on the difficult side, because he was high on his horse and she was on the ground.

  And Gods, was he beautiful. Not that she could allow him to know that she’d noticed.

  “Well, Ednian,” she said, “you might as well get off your beast. Someone will show you to your shelter and take care of your needs.” She snapped her fingers at him. “Come on then!”

  He merely leaned back on his horse and crossed his arms over his massive chest, quietly surveying her with eyes as dark and deep as snake holes.

  “Tell me,” he said at last, “that you’re not the girl I’m here to service.”

  She hissed at him, and felt Cho’s soothing hand at her back. She struggled to keep her face expressionless. What a bastard fate had sent her. “I wish you weren’t so repugnant, as I am the one who must take you. But it matters not what you look like. The important thing is that you are able to impregnate a woman.”

  “I assure you, Myaian, I am capable of impregnating most of the women in this clan.” Then he looked around at the twittering villagers and shuddered. Some of them were incredibly ugly. “Or maybe not.”

  Mila clenched her fists, her nails digging into her nails into her palms. “We hope you can do the job quickly and go on your way. We don’t want to keep you any longer than necessary.”

  She would have turned on her heel and left after putting him in his place, but Vera, naked and proud, slunk to her side. She put her hands on her hips and pushed her little breasts forward. “I was to have been chosen, Ednian, but she fucked the councilor and was chosen instead.”

  The villager’s gasps joined Mila’s own. “You lie!” Furious, she drew her hand back and delivered to Vera a slap the sound of which reverberated around the suddenly silent area.

  The Ednian jumped from his horse then, pulling the sobbing, naked Vera into his arms. “I won’t watch as you abuse this girl.” His glare was sharp and stinging.

  Mila’s laugh was anything but amused. “Stupid Ednian. Are you trying to make me believe you care what happens to a Myaian?” She couldn’t help but notice his thumb was terribly close to Vera’s pointed nipple, then wondered why she cared.

  “The same as I would save any bullied and hurt animal,” he replied.

  Vera stiffened in his arms. “Animal,” she shrieked. “Animal?” Even Vera had her pride. She pushed against his chest, looking tiny and underfed next to the big man. “Put me down, you…Ednian!” And when he moved too slowly, she beat at him with her fists. “Ponga!”

  Her tiny shadow leapt from the crowd, fast and sleek, eager to do anything Vera asked of him. He flew at the Ednian like an avenging demon, his face contorted, fingers bent into claws.

  “No,” Mila screamed, seeing her chances of getting a babe melting away. She turned to Cho. “Fetch the councilor. Now!”

  Damn Vera and her greedy, selfish ways. The bitch would not be happy until the Ednian was gone, one way or the other, and Mila was left with an empty womb.

  The big man dropped Vera to the ground as little Ponga went for his eyes, but Mila ignored her. Her attention was on the Ednian and Ponga.

  Ponga wrapped himself around the Ednian’s head like a thick scarf, and held on for dear life as the big man stumbled this way and that, trying to rip the shadow free.

  Mila couldn’t help it. Despite her horror, and her fear that this man was never going to offer himself now, her laughter burst free, and in seconds, the entire village rang with the sound of amusement. Her people held their sides and guffawed as the Ednian went round and round, Ponga draped around the man’s neck and over his face like a heavy mask. It was the funniest thing she’d ever seen.

  “Oh, it’s hideous,” she gasped, tears streaming. “Just hideous!”

  But her laughter quickly halted when the stranger got a firm on the little shadow. He wrapped his big hand around Ponga’s throat, dangling him high in the air. Ponga’s face grew purple, his eyes bulging as he kicked his little legs in terror.

  “Release him,” Mila yelled, running to the Ednian’s side. “You’re going to kill him. Please!”

  “He tried to kill me. Why should I not return the favor?”

  She stared up at him. “He was only following her orders.” She glared down at Vera, who sprawled in the dirt, her eyes big in her white face. “If you kill him, you should kill Vera as well. He was only doing what she commanded. I would not see the little shadow take her punishment.” Of course, it was always a risk that if a shadow died, so then would his master or mistress.

  She put her hand on his bicep, her stomach tightening when it bunched beneath her fingers. “Please.”

  As suddenly as it’d happened, it was over. The Ednian opened his fist and let Ponga drop to the ground beside Vera. He said nothing, his dark gaze locked with hers.

  After what felt like an eternity, he finally looked away, down at the gasping, choking shadow at his feet. “Ponga. Thank this one for begging so prettily. If not for her, you’d be dead right now.”

  Chapter Three

  The councilor arrived in regal splendor, his brown robes held from the ground by his scurrying shadows. The wife ran along behind them, shouting orders to two hired girls who looked toward the Ednian with wide eyes and ignored the councilor’s woman.

  “Here,” the councilor shouted.

  The Ednian crossed his arms and stood staring down at the councilor, a cool mockery in his eyes. “It is finished, old man. There is no need for concern.”

  The councilor’s face purpled like an overripe plum, but before he could say anything, the wife stepped forward.

  She reached up to poke a finger into the Ednian’s chest. “You dare?”

  He smiled down at her as though he were humoring a child. Spreading his arms, he tried—with little success, in Mila’s opinion—to look innocent. “I apologize, Mother.”

  The lines between her brows deepened. “You will show respect, Ednian, or—”

  He cocke
d an eyebrow. “Or what, Mother? You will send me home?” He pointed his chin at Mila. “Home before I have filled yon belly?”

  “Don’t speak another word,” Mila said, furious. “Do not treat my people so.”

  “Bossy little Myaian.” But he stepped away from the wife to Mila’s side. “I have a duty to do. Shall we begin?”

  She drew back. “No! Stupid Ednian, Menda’s Eve is not for seven nights hence.”

  “I refuse to allow seven nights to be wasted because of your silly, rigid rules. We will begin now.”

  “First Night is seven nights hence,” The councilor said, echoing Mila’s words, his voice firm, eyes cold. “You will not attempt otherwise or I shall send you back to your clan. There are other Ednian clans from which I might choose. I am aware, as are you, of how shamed you will be. How you will live out the rest of your life in dishonor.”

  He stepped closer as he spoke, his lips curling away from his teeth, his eyes narrowing, his long fingers reaching as though he might hurl a curse right at the Ednian’s head.

  Mila shivered in fear at his terrible anger. The Ednian did not cringe, but he watched the older man with a new look in his eyes. Caution, and the realization that maybe he had underestimated this clan and its leader.

  Mila smiled as she read his face. “You should fear, Ednian. Our leader has more power than—”

  “Be still,” the councilor rebuked, turning his cold gaze upon her.

  She clutched her hands together and stared at the ground, choking on her words. “I apologize, Councilor.”

  Cho touched her back, calming her, but even his soft touch was not enough to make her totally relax beneath the amused, hateful regard of the stranger. He stared at her as the councilor lectured him on the ways of the Myaians.

  The Ednian speared her with his sharp blue gaze, nodding from time to time as though he actually listened to the Myaian leader and agreed with his words. His attention, however, was feigned. He leaned over to scoop a trampled vegetable stake from the ground, twirling it in his big hands like he couldn’t bear to be still long enough to listen to the councilor.