She rose up and touched her lips to his. They were warm with Clay's blood. Kissing those lips meant kissing both of the men she cared for. And when she eased her tongue between them, the heat in Vellum's mouth came from Clay, too.
"I'm afraid," she admitted to him, pulling away just enough to see his expression. "I'm terrified of what you have planned because I don't know all of it. But I'm trying not to think about it because I believe that this moment here, with you and Clay, is more important. This is real, Vellum, and it's happening now, and it brings me more joy than anything has in my life."
His hands found her waist. One slid behind her, fingers running down her spine and inspiring her to arch into him. He cupped her buttock and pulled her in tight.
"This is real and important to me, too, Mariel."
"You will only have us now, in this moment," she said softly. "Why waste a second of it? Why deny yourself the pleasure? The love?"
His brows drew down in a rare display of uncertainty.
"The mountain will always be there," she went on. She kissed the strong line of his jaw. "Your fate will always be waiting. Please, Vellum. Stay with me and Clay. Be here. Be with us."
He cupped her chin and held her in place as he slanted his mouth across hers. He was never rough with her, but this time she felt urgency in his kiss, a not-so subtle demand. In his hot tongue that filled her mouth she felt the need for possession and claiming. Was he leaving his mark because he still intended to leave, or because he agreed that he shouldn't take what they shared for granted?
"Mariel," he groaned, breaking the kiss.
He buried his face against her hair and held her crushed against him. She ran her hand over his dark hair and rubbed across his broad back. She looked up at the jagged silhouette of Scar Tooth Mountain and realized that she faced it. Vellum had put his back to the mountain to embrace her.
She chose to believe it was a conscious decision and that the terrible vengeance Vellum sought had been put off for the time being. She clutched Vellum tighter, feeling protective of him. From her lips went up a silent prayer: that between she and Clay they could keep their vampire facing toward love and life, with death just a shadow behind them.
"I'll think about it," he told her.
She nearly sobbed with relief.
That night, the three of them made love in a way they hadn't before. It wasn't as much about touching each other to reach release, but about exploration. About learning what brought pleasure, and what inspired need. It was what lovers did, Mariel knew, and her heart swelled. It meant Vellum was going to stay with them.
They opted to remain in camp rather than ride until sunrise, giving them time to play and love and tease. Mariel, pleasantly exhausted by her two lovers, fell asleep a few hours earlier than normal, with Clay and Vellum lying warm on either side of her.
When something woke her sometime later, she noticed that only one of her arms was warm.
Vellum had left them for the mountain.
12
Mariel cocked the gun. "I said no."
Clay threw up his hands and began to pace. "You're mad, Mariel. This is what Vellum wanted. Don't you care about that? Or is this relationship based only on your needs?"
The question stung, but Mariel was determined. "This is about helping him. He's on his own. He can't face that vampire without us, Clay."
Clay's smile was grim. "He wouldn't appreciate hearing you say such a thing, you know. He may be a vampire, but he was once a man. He'll take care of his business on his own. He doesn't want your interference."
"Then why won't you go?"
"Because he told me not to."
To her frustration, she could tell he was telling the truth. She lowered the gun. Clay stopped pacing and stepped up to her. He carefully folded his hand over hers and the weapon.
"Sometimes you have to accept that a situation is beyond your control," he told her softly as he took his gun from her and holstered it. "Vellum knows what he's doing. Or at least, he knows what he wants."
"And he could be wrong. Just as we were wrong to stay away for so long."
He drew her against him and kissed her forehead. "Ah, beautiful, you're going to have to let this go. Vellum will return to us. He's tough and he's strange, but he loves you. I know he does."
"He cares for you, too," she murmured as she wrapped her arms around him.
"Maybe."
Sighing, Mariel turned her head to look at the mountain, which didn't seem so daunting in the light of day. "How long do we wait before we're allowed to become worried?"
"Hopefully, we don't reach that point."
~~~~~
Mariel reached that point eight days later.
"I'm tired of eating goat," she declared. She rose to her feet, her eyes on the mountain. "We need to go."
Clay stared sightlessly at their fire before tossing the remains of his own meal into the flames. "It's too soon," he said without much passion. Truth was, he was tired of sitting around, waiting on the vampire. Inaction had never really been Clay's strong suit and waiting here while Vellum potentially killed himself was nothing short of torture.