She realized she should bring up the rear, so she wouldn’t delay the men, but Niall took that position, the two of them flanking her. Determined not to be a burden, she pushed herself to keep up with their longer legs. However, the steep grade began to take its toll within a couple of miles. As a servant, she’d maintained a strict workout and diet regimen to stay in excellent shape, but she hadn’t had time to restore her strength properly, even by human standards.
Never in her life had a complaint passed her lips, and today wasn’t going to be the first time. She tried to focus on her surroundings, how the forest canopy occasionally thinned enough to show her the moon, or a glimpse of the mountains off the steep decline to her left. It was as if they were traveling through a woodland tunnel, granted the occasional window of the world outside of it.
There were all sorts of sounds. Niall told her the short grunts or gusts were deer, and they had to stay cautious of them during rutting season, which was almost upon them. A chittering noise turned out to be a pair of raccoons climbing a nearby tree. Pointing, he showed her the shadows of their movements along the bark. The moonlight was sufficient to light the way of a vampire and third mark; she understood better now why they were having her walk between them, because though the light wouldn’t have been enough for her in that regard, it was enough to stay aligned with their track. She wanted that second mark. It might augment her strength, and it would definitely help her night vision. As well as her sensitivity to temperature.
As the night deepened, it also cooled. She’d worn only the pants and serviceable long-sleeved T-shirt, because the men were in similar outfits. With the exertion of keeping up, it wasn’t a present concern. But she reminded herself it wouldn’t matter anyway. She’d been cold plenty of times.
Stumbling, she caught herself on a branch, wrapped in a thorny vine that jabbed her hand. Smilax bona-nox. Saw greenbrier. She recognized it from her book. Unfortunately, when she started to draw back, she realized she’d stepped into the patch of it growing up from the base of the sapling, such that it dug its barbs into her pants leg and tangled over her foot. A whole thicket of it came up with her when she tried to pull away, which also incited a small army of bugs to swarm around her. The branch had swayed under her shift of weight, and now the vine there had trapped her hand.
She started to yank free, but Niall caught her arm. “Be still, muirnín. The barbs’ll tear your skin.” The moonlight flashed over the switchblade he pulled out to free her legs with several efficient cuts. Then he straightened and did the same for her arm. As he did so, he slid his fingers along her forearm. “Ye could do some intriguing things with this, keeping a lass still while pleasuring her, hmm? Or watch her get so wild under tongue and hands that she doesnae mind the bite of thorns so much.”
Her reaction to that was involuntary and immediate, her breath shortening and skin tingling beneath his hold. Currently held by his command to be still, and by the light prick of the thorns, she was aware of how close he stood to her, the lazy survey of those tawny eyes, acknowledging her helplessness and her reaction to being at his mercy. And not him alone.
Evan had retraced his steps, and now pressed up behind her, his fingers replacing Niall’s around her forearm to hold it steady as Niall finished cutting her loose. “An intriguing thought. Fortunately, plenty of this grows close to the cabin as well.” The vampire surveyed her arm, which had two jagged scratches.
“I apologize, sir,” she said. “I’m not familiar with hiking. No need for me to slow you down. I’ll catch up.”
“If I wanted to use my vampire speed, I’d be there about an hour before both of you, wouldn’t I?” Giving her an inscrutable look, he bent to put his mouth on her arm, sucking on the two gashes, his tongue swirling over her flesh. She wanted to lean back into him, but that was seeking intimacy, closeness, and Stephen had never welcomed that, pushing her away and teaching her to remain still. The way Evan touched her made her wonder if he felt differently about it. Figuring the blocker and Stephen’s torment had distorted her perspective, she played it safe, remaining upright. However, the longer Evan’s mouth rested on her skin, the more she wanted to be closer, follow his movement with a complementary response.
Evan lifted his head, sparing her the embarrassment of such impropriety. “Even on a schedule,” he said, “it’s never just about getting where we’re going. What’s along the way may end up being more important.” He fingered the thorny vine. “The birds love the berries on these. Look through there. Can you see the tree, its leaves?”
He leaned past the greenbrier, his elegant hand passing unscathed through the vines, like a forest spirit in truth. When he caught a slim branch of the tree he’d indicated, he pulled it down with a gentle grip, showing her the unusual leaf shape. Niall provided a small flashlight, augmenting her vision. “The leaves look like teapots, don’t they? In the spring, they have clusters of berries that look like tiny pumpkins, no bigger than a child’s marble.”
When he nodded that it was okay, she touched the leaves, feeling the smooth shapes. “If you’re studying the plant life here, you should take leaf samples, make yourself a journal to document them, figure out the ones you’re not sure about.”
Preparing such a journal would be useful . . . and it interested her. She thought of supplementing the samples with some sketches of the trees, and then regretted she hadn’t brought one of her composition books with her, because she’d bought a couple at the store to take notes about her duties.
“I’m sorry, sir. I should have brought—”
“If I want an apology from you, Alanna, I’ll tell you.”
“Yes, sir.” She bit back the additional apology, but the direct order infused her with a sudden, welcome calm, despite bugs, thorny vines and aching feet, back and legs.
He nodded. “Not to contradict myself, but we are trying to reach our destination ahead of the moon’s current track. We’re going to pick up the pace. Can you manage it?”
She didn’t lie about things that could inconvenience her Master, but she would have preferred to cut out her tongue rather than say it. “No, sir. But I can wait here until you return.”
“No. You’re only carrying the one mark right now. I won’t be able to hear you if there’s a problem.”
“You were going to take care of the second mark when you got up,” Niall reminded him. “You just pissed away your time as usual.”
“I didn’t forget,” Evan said, unconcerned. “Timing is important. I’d rather not treat her second mark like one of your beef jerky breaks.”
“Artists.” Niall rolled his eyes at Alanna. “Everything is a bloody production.”
“Whereas a practical Scot calls the Mona Lisa a homely lass with a dodgy smile.”
“I’m not wrong about that. I can carry her, if you can carry the gear. Or vice versa.”
Alanna was starting to digest the astounding fact that this was normal conversation between them. “That’s not necessary,” she interjected hastily. “Since you’ve given me the first mark, sir, I can sense where you are, if you’ll open your mind to allow that. I can follow and catch up to you both.”
“She weighs no more than a brace of quail,” Niall pointed out. He shot her a grin and spoke in broad Scots. “Guid things come in sma bulk.”
Evan shrugged. “Very well.” Taking the second pack from Niall, he shook his head at her. “It’s no inconvenience for him, Alanna. He’s very suited to being a beast of burden. I’m fairly certain he was an ox in a previous life.”
“I probably ended up jamming one of my horns up some vampire’s arse, too,” Niall replied. He dropped to a knee. “Jump on, muirnín. If you wrap your arms and legs around me, I’ll be able to ‘experience the journey’ all the better.”
Evan had shouldered the gear, was already proceeding up the trail. They’d completely ignored her opinion in the matter. She should be used to that, but it rankled all the same, given the circumstances. Regardless, she obeyed, bending to put her arms around Niall’s shoulders. As he rose to his feet, he gave her a hitch to secure her legs, crossing them over his abdomen and clasping her ankles. He also adjusted her arms so instead of pressing against his windpipe, her forearms crossed his sternum, her cheek pressed against the side of his head, his hair teasing her face.
“I willnae rattle your teeth, but let me know if ye get uncomfortable.”
She was as likely to do that as she was to saw off one of her fingers, but she merely nodded against his jaw. She felt the pull of a smile and then he was moving, his legs eating up the ground in a steady trot she never could have matched. Even as a third mark, she would have had to run to keep up. As the grade became steeper, his speed increased accordingly, the Scot not winded by the pace or terrain.
When they were cutting her loose from the vines, she’d resisted the desire to lean into Evan’s body. She didn’t have to resist this time. For one thing, Niall was a servant, but for another, the position required her to hold on tight, which pressed her breasts into his broad back, her inner thighs spread to accommodate his hips, her calves over his groin. His pace provided a stimulating friction that had her fantasizing about him putting her down on the forest floor, using those vines to secure her. The thorns would be a delicious prick of pain as he spread her for his Master, her thighs pushed down farther by their bodies as they each took their turn, lying upon her, naked, hard and wanting, her pussy wet and ready to serve them.
There had been times Stephen took her while feeding. Though it had been merely a functional release for him, she always responded with excitement and pleasure, even if her mind sometimes escaped, going to a place where he responded to her emotionally during the sex, in a way he never truly did. He didn’t mind her fantasizing in such a way, as long as the fantasy was about him and achieved the desired result.
