A gasp, another gasp, and then she was fair howling, scrabbling, digging her nails in, scoring him with her teeth, but in a savage, pleasurable way he embraced, making her work to get all of him. Evan had his arm around her waist, holding her snug against him as he made those last few deep plows that felt so good to a man when he was deep in a woman’s climaxing cunt, spending himself. Alanna made soft kitten cries as the movement took her over another rise, and Niall held her tight as her claws bit further into his flesh. Aye, she was theirs, no doubt. All theirs.

There was something to be said for that training, after all. As soon as she oriented herself to it, she set that pretty tongue to cleaning him, getting every drop she’d missed off his balls and shaft, his thighs. She was still experiencing aftershocks, making those sexy little noises against him as she tried to take care of him. God, he could fuck her all night long. She wanted to give so much to a Master, it was intoxicating.

Evan was right. The Council hadn’t made her anything. They’d merely polished the gem, but the true value was in the rough cut, when her real emotions took over. If only they could convince her of that without having to shock her with cruel words and cold water. He couldn’t do that to her again. Not after seeing this.

Evan pressed his hand into her back, bringing her to a halt. She was breathing hard, an emotional as well as physical response. Aye, it was catching up to her, the significance of what she’d just done. Plucking her off her elbows and knees, Evan guided her to straddle Niall as he rose to a sitting position himself. Niall gathered her close so she could curl one arm under his arm, around his back. She was limp, her other arm folded against herself, but not impeding the pleasant press of her breasts against his chest.

Evan slid in behind her, his knees over Niall’s, tangling all their legs. Niall stroked her hair, which had become snarled from drying wet, but he could help her work that out later. “Hope ye can sew, lass. You tore my shirt. I’ll expect you to fix that.”

“Yes, Master,” she said groggily, nestling her face in his chest. When Niall looked at Evan, the vampire merely lifted a brow, then licked the puncture wounds on her shoulder, soothing the bites.

Then he reached out, touched Niall’s face. Not sure what Evan was seeking, Niall remained still as the vampire traced his jaw over the girl’s head.

What?

Just feel, Niall. Same as her. No thoughts tonight.

Niall swallowed. He kept his eyes on Evan, the pensive gray eyes, the firm mouth that was far too attractive, that mysterious charisma that could draw a man into it like a dark abyss. He thought of Alanna, her fingers threading through Evan’s hair as he kissed her. Evan had once teased the Scot, telling him he had hair as soft and thick as a girl’s, but that was a rock tossed in a glass house. Those silken pieces that feathered over Evan’s brow and brushed his collar tempted Niall to touch, same as Alanna’s red locks. So he lifted his hand to do the same, blunt fingers sliding through the strands as Evan’s eyes stilled on him. They’d been part of each other’s lives for so long . . .

I’m sorry. For the things I said earlier. I shouldnae have said them.

Catching Niall’s wrist, Evan turned his mouth to it, scraped a fang over his palm. It didn’t make them untrue. The world is what it is. Help her sleep, neshama.

Unsatisfied, but never one to argue with simple honesty, Niall shifted to a reclining position on the bed, taking the girl with him. Surprisingly, Evan stayed. The vampire slid down on the other side of her, but it still somehow felt as if he was curled over the two of them. Protective. When his Master laid a hand on his chest, it eased the ache there. Overlapping it, his fingers brushing Alanna’s delicate jaw where she rested her head on him, Niall closed his eyes and was content.

11

ALANNA woke. For a moment, she felt an incredible ebullience, an elation like nothing she’d ever experienced before. Her body was deliciously sore, well-used, and she smelled like the men who’d possessed her. She recalled the few times she’d surfaced, staying in a half doze, but so aware of their bodies close around her, bare skin and heated muscle pressed to her flesh.

It hurt, such . . . happiness. Everything was so vivid around her. Though he wasn’t speaking in her mind right now, she could feel Evan’s mark there, her connection that said she wasn’t alone. And yet . . . what had she done?

Sitting up slowly, she saw a note on the nightstand. It was from Niall, telling her he’d given her the evening injection while she slept, so she wasn’t overdue for it. But he’d had to do it while she lay here, as lazy as she’d accused him of being.

She dressed carefully. Her hair was untangled and smooth. Niall’s doing as well, she was sure. Vaguely, she remembered the brush stroking her scalp, his hand following it.

It was perhaps an hour until dawn. Evan might already be below, but when she came into the main room, she saw him through the window, sitting at the picnic table. He must be working on the sketches he’d started earlier, when Niall threw her in the creek. As she approached, she saw what appeared to be lightning across a dark sky on the paper, but a corner of the sky was being drawn back, a blinding light coming from behind it. In that blinding light was a face. Merely a sketch, but already intriguing. She’d like to see it become a painting.

But that wasn’t very likely, was it? She rubbed at the sore spot on her arm, suppressing that unsettling place in her mind.

She didn’t see Niall, but she didn’t look for him. Instead, she went to Evan, dropped to her knees, bowed her head and waited to be acknowledged.

Niall was sitting on the log bench, repairing one of the kitchen chairs so it wouldn’t rock. He’d seen the girl come out, looking so intent and serious. Evan had warned him there might be fallout from last night, but he’d hoped . . . He was a fool, of course.

It was a few moments before Evan looked up from his drawing. He’d been deep in his creative process, so he blinked as if coming out of a sleep. Niall sheathed his knife, but she didn’t register the movement.

“I’m sorry, Master. I failed you. I sought pleasure for its own sake, and not yours.”

“Isn’t that what I told you to do?”

Her gaze lifted, confused. “But it didn’t feel that way. It felt . . . different.”

“Aye, it did. It felt bloody marvelous,” Niall said. Now she did glance toward him, though Evan sent him a mildly quelling look.

“You did what I wanted you to do, Alanna, so you’ve done nothing wrong.” He touched her face. “When I rise tonight, I will have a list of things for you to do.”

She brightened considerably, like a false sun, and nodded. But before she could rise, he bade her stay with a firm gesture. “I’ll leave you a list daily, but they come with a condition. There’s one task I expect you to do every day. No matter what other things I give you, it has the highest priority.”

“Yes, Master. Anything.”

“Every day, you’ll spend two hours doing something you choose to do. Entirely for yourself.”

Her brow furrowed, considering it. “What if what I want to do is something that pleases you?”

The lass was a clever thing, and far more stubborn than she realized. Evan’s lips twitched against a smile, but by the time she’d glanced up, he was giving her a stern look.

“You’ll be doing that with the tasks I give you. You’ve learned to be the kind of servant the Council requires. But I’m not a Council vampire. If you truly want to serve me according to my desires, then you’ll need to expand your skill set. Those two hours will help you do that.”

She mulled that over. “I will try, Master.”

Honest as well. It was like when they were hiking and Evan had asked her if she could keep up. Even if she wanted to, she wouldn’t lie.

“Do better than that,” Evan reproved, making her flush. “You are fully capable of this task, Alanna. For now, I want you to go back to bed. You’re exhausted. If Niall sees you out of bed before three in the afternoon, he’ll tie you there. Your body is still recuperating.”

She pressed her lips together, but bowed her head. Evan touched her hair, letting a long strand slide through his fingertips. “It’s not a punishment, yekirati. I want you well-rested. Go.”

With a nod, she rose to her feet, turned and hurried back into the cabin. As Evan watched her, Niall came to his side. “What are you thinking?”

“If a vampire had a heart, that girl would break it.”

She reluctantly realized Evan was correct. Once she laid back down, her eyes didn’t open again until three thirty, startling her. But her momentary dismay was dispelled by Evan’s note on the side table.

If it’s past three o’clock, you have obeyed your Master. I’m pleased with you. As a reward, you may feel free to bedevil Niall about his laziness as much as you wish, without repercussions.

Underneath that had been scrawled an additional note, in Niall’s handwriting. He can only enforce that at night, muirnín. During the day, I wouldn’t push your luck.

They made her smile. Then she remembered Evan was supposed to have left her a list.

He had, a full page on the kitchen table. Niall was gone, but he’d left a message on the counter that he’d be back in time for a nine o’clock dinner. That prompted another smile, the less-than-subtle hint in the message that he’d like for her to have something ready. He was probably scouting for Evan again.

The item at the top of Evan’s list was slide reorganization. He directed her to sort out the ones that appeared extraneous or redundant. Suspecting he wanted to test her understanding of what she’d seen of his work so far, she embraced the challenge. Considering the slides carefully, she put her discard choices in one box, and the others useful for future inspiration in another.

Then there were lenses to clean and file back in their velvet-lined box, something Evan’s to-do list indicated Niall was far too clumsy to handle. To underscore it, he’d sketched a picture of a bear trampling broken glass in the margins. It made her chuckle, but it also made her think about the needs of their “bear.” Amusingly enough, the next item on the to-do list was to make Evan “a sugar cookie.” In parentheses, he’d added, “and three dozen more.” That list item was accompanied by a picture of a bear sitting with all paws curled possessively around a cookie jar.