Page 39 of Salvation
This wasn’t an honor he’d expected. Once an Anferthian claimed you as their own, you were family and they would fight to the death for you, like bloody Berserkers if need be.
“Welcome to the family,” Storo boomed, lifting his cup. The toast was picked up by all the Anferthians in their immediate vicinity.
Heat prickled the back of Nick’s neck, and he took a somewhat larger swallow of therymathan he’d meant to. As he choked back a cough, Storo’s large hand swept down and pounded him squarely between the shoulder blades, nearly knocking him to his knees.
“Little man is having a difficult time holding his drink?” Storo chuckled next to his ear.
“No. I’m fine, really.” That sounded anything but convincing, even to him. But Storo had moved to roar his approval and toast to another life event for the happy couple.
“Nick, they toasted again. Take another sip,” Sakura whispered urgently.
He did as she said, then caught her gaze. Everything about her was etched in sharp relief. The whites of her eyes were really white, and her dark pupils well defined. Soft pink lips opened and a song flowed from them like water in a cool mountain stream.
Yup, this stuff really did sneak up on you, but he wasn’t much more than moderately buzzed yet. Still, baby sips were in order for the duration of the dance.
Another roar of approval drew Nick’s attention back to the dancers. Dacey reached out and lovingly stroked the fan shape of her husband’s ears. Nero’s expression transformed from satisfied bliss to wild and raw male sexual desire. Dacey’s shout was nothing less than pure joy, and she all but jumped into his arms. The crowd whooped and roared as the newlyweds quickly disappeared into their cube.
Nick gazed into his cup of golden liquid. With the dance over, he wouldn’t need this anymore. Would pouring it in the bushes be an insult?Fyhenor not, it wasn’t worth the risk. He threw it back in one gulp, then closed his eyes for a moment savoring the mellow flavor of the drink.
The sounds of celebration continued around him, echoing in his ears. That was definitely an experience. Thank god Nero had taken Dacey inside to consummate with her…three times. Dayum. Dacey would be smiling for a month. How, exactly, did those ear receptors work? He’d have to finish reading that part in the green bible.
Nick frowned. There was one question the book would not have an answer to. Why didhismaleness now desire company?
He opened his eyes. The stars above him seemed to spin and twirl in their own suggestive dance. Yup, he was a little drunk and most definitely aroused. Maybe he should try to find his way back to the cube and sleep it off.
He lifted his free hand to rub his eyes, but something held it at his side. His gaze was drawn to his immobile hand, its fingers laced with Sakura’s, then traveled up, up to her lovely face. Desire bloomed in the dark depths of her eyes and he became fully alert. Everywhere. Literally. God, he wanted her so deeply he ached all over, like a fever.
He sucked in a sharp breath as pink-white cherry blossoms unfurled their delicate petals in her silky black hair.
Something was in his other hand, the one she wasn’t holding. Something he was certain he didn’t need anymore, and it kept him from touching the flowers. He opened his hand and the object disappeared. How convenient. He ran his fingertips over the cascading blooms. Soft, remarkably soft. His hand cupped her cheek. She was so beautiful, so perfect. Tears welled in his eyes. Why had he wasted so much time?
Saku stepped backward, pulling his hand, and he followed, slipping away from the crowd with her.
~*~
The drums still thudded, and Nick’s brain vibrated painfully with each beat. How long did Anferthian wedding parties go on, anyway? He groaned and forced his sticky eyelids to open. A ceiling, not stars, was above him. He was inside? When had he come inside? And what in the hell had he been thinking inviting the drummers to come into—his room? He frowned. How did he get to his room? And into his bed?
Someone chuckled. Nick opened his mouth to say something, but then closed it again because the words had floated away and now gently bounced against the ceiling like day old helium balloons. How odd. Wait...someone had laughed, which meant he wasn’t alone. He rolled his head carefully to the left and blinked. Huh. The dark-headed man seated in the chair at his bedside looked familiar. His name was….
“Dante?”
The Matiran healer raised one eyebrow. “Nick?”
“Uh, yeah. Who else would I be?” He creased his brow. “Wait, how do I know you’re not another hallucination?” Like the balloon words still floating above his bed. “Can you make the drummers shut up?”
Dante leaned forward in his chair. “First, you’ve been many people over the past forty-five hours. Second, there are no drummers in here. That is your pulse you hear in your ears. Third, have any of your hallucinations been able to do this?” His mentor pinched his upper arm and twisted hard.
“Ow!” he shot upright. “Why the hell did you....” Bile raced up from his stomach. “Oh, shit.”
Dante shoved a basin in front of him just in time to catch everything his body had decided to expel. A few minutes later, Nick panted over the full basin. Man, he’d never vomited so much in his life. So this was what it was like to be a wet rag. He managed a weak nod to let Dante know he was finished. A pair of green hands appeared from his right and removed the basin from his grip.
Nick’s head wobbled as he raised his face and squinted blearily at the Anferthian who stood there. “Storo?” Nick swiped the back of his hand across his mouth. “You don’t have to do this.”
“I choose to.” Storo’s smile was kind, almost like he understood what Nick was feeling at the moment. And he felt like a pile of steaming shit…in the middle of the street…being run over by cars at rush hour. And a few commuter trains.
The basin and the Anferthian disappeared into the bathroom. Nick lowered himself back down. “That was vile. What the hell happened to me, Dante?” The mattress couldn’t really be undulating, could it?
“Ryma,” Dante replied. “I took the liberty of giving you something to counter-act the worst of the effects.”
