Page 34 of Beyond the Ruby River
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The man Temaj chose was a behemoth. Greek, tall as a stallion and near as wide as one too. A thick beard covered most of his face, rare among Egyptians but a mark of honor among Greeks. Well on his way to drunk by the time Temaj selected him, he was loud, jovial, and smelled of seed ready to spurt.
Daka’s appetite reared despite his reluctance to feed. He was grateful to Temaj for handling the seduction.
Using whatever form of sway vampires had plus his own ample charms, Temaj convinced the man to leave with them. It hadn’t been difficult. His name was Demippos, and he let Temaj cling to his bicep and lead them along the shores of the Mediterranean Sea.
Daka, content to follow, strolled along behind, listening as they chatted.
“What brings you to Egypt?” asked Temaj, his voice pitched high and feminine.
Demippos didn’t miss the opportunity. “Perhaps I’ve been looking for someone like you.”
“Like me?” Temaj graced him with his musical laughter, leaning in close. “You don’t like my friend?”
Demippos glanced over his shoulder and smirked, making Daka self-conscious.
“Oh, I like him too.” Demippos turned back to Temaj. “Is that what you had in mind?”
“Maybe. He mostly likes to watch. That all right?”
Daka tuned them out and studied his surroundings. The great expanse of the dark green sea loomed to his left. The sound of the water rippling along the shore drowned out the conversation he’d rather not hear.
The air stank of fish, but Daka didn’t care. The ground was mush beneath his sandals. Sand found each crevice between his toes.
Would Mahu like the sea as much as he loved The Nile?
Daka had never thought to try swimming before Mahu suggested it. Even now he had the urge to fling his sandals off and wade into the water, let the waves ease his spirit, the salt cleanse his skin.
He must have gotten lost in his musings because not far ahead, Temaj hissed for him.
“Dakarai, now!”
Daka trotted over to where Temaj had Demippos’s back against a boulder. Ruby droplets stained the man’s tunic and dangled from Temaj’s exposed fangs. A chill raced up Daka’s spine. His chest tightened.
Temaj’s hand worked between Demippos’s bulky thighs, milking a generous rod. The energy Daka needed swirled around the pair of them. He forced himself forward.
“Thank you,” Daka murmured as Temaj returned to the bleeding wound on Demippos’s hairy throat.
The urge to bat Temaj’s hand away and take over rose and fell. Daka didn’t really want to, but his incubus side expected it of him. Torn, he leaned in enough to feed, hand on Demippos’s waist, and closed his eyes.
Temaj brought Demippos off with ruthless efficiency. A loud moan pierced the night air as the man jerked and released. His climax sent waves of vitae into the ether, and Daka drank them down as if starved. Maybe he was starved. He hadn’t fed since Mahu.
Mahu.
What would he think of Daka now? He’d be revolted. Perhaps Temaj was right. Mahu would never understand, and Daka couldn’t help but need the sexual release of others to live. They’d been doomed since the day they’d met.
Tears threatened again. Daka forced them back.
Hunger sated, he turned away from the vampire and their dinner and wandered back to the shore to wait. Temaj would make sure Demippos recovered. Daka owed him his thanks. This would at least keep his family from worrying for a few days.
A few days of breathing room.
Then he’d have to do this dance all over again.
He sat in the sand and rested his head in his hands, listening to the sea and thinking of swimming to the bottom.
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