Sixteen
Elaine
Our new cave came with rugs on the floor, a round bed on a wooden platform behind a silk screen, and enough floor cushions to host a party if we had any friends in Ashgate to invite over. The high ceiling left enough space for Timur to fly comfortably. And we even had a small bathing pool with our very own source of water that could be activated by pulling a lever. The waste water drained into a toilet hole. So I no longer needed to sneak out onto the beach during the most deserted hours of the day to do my business behind the rocks.
Timur and Zayr spent the rest of the evening salvaging whatever was left from our belongings down on the beach. That included chasing away the looters and fighting them for whatever they had stolen. We had more than enough space now to accommodate everything we had and then some. I didn’t care about most of the stuff either way, but I exhaled in relief when Timur brought the fluffy blanket he’d bought for me shortly after he’d boughtme.
“I tried to shake the sand out of it, but I’m afraid I couldn’t get it all out,” he said apologetically.
“There’s a laundry service in the Wall,” Zayr told us, bringing some food Timur had ordered. “It’s not cheap because water is expensive.”
“Thanks, but I’ll do my own laundry,” I declined.
There was no need for the added expense. I was more determined than ever to save every coin we made. It wasn’t just for my freedom or Timur’s independence. I had to find a way to free Mia, Erik, and the others. If Ray and Mazra refused to sell them, then I would find a way to steal them somehow.
“Suit yourself.” Zayr shrugged. “You have water now. It comes with the cave, and it’s yours to do with as you please, as long as you’re not selling it to others.”
“What would happen if we were?” I asked, mostly out of curiosity. I didn’t know anyone in Ashgate to sell water to anyway.
“If you start selling it, I’d have to kill you,” he replied matter-of-factly.
It made sense that Ray wouldn’t want to have competition in his water selling business. And since Zayr apparently did all Ray’s dirty work, he’d be the one enforcing that rule.
After Zayr had left, Timur locked the door to our cave. He also closed and locked the solid double doors to the large patio off our new cave, while I quickly washed the sand off my skin and out of my hair in our new bathing pool.
When I got out of the bathing area with a towel wrapped around my body, Timur was putting clean sheets on the bed. He slid a quick glance down my figure, his skirt moved in the front, and he promptly averted his gaze. Maybe I should’ve taken the clean clothes into the bathing area with me. But no matter what I wore, I caught his heated glances on me often.
“Time for you to rest,” he said softly.
The clean sheets over the thick, round mattress were calling to me like a siren, promising the best sleep I’d had in weeks or even months. It felt great to be able to bathe whenever I wanted and sleep in a real bed again. The moment I thought about it, however, I realized I’d been wasting all this pleasure when we should be getting money for it.
“When is our appointment tonight?” I asked.
Timur shook his head.
“Not tonight. Not after the day you’ve had. The clients will have to wait until tomorrow.”
That worried me. We didn’t normally cancel or miss appointments. We needed the clients and their gold, now more than ever since the price for humans in Ashgate had skyrocketed.
“They’ll leave, Timur. Nobody from Kalmena is going to sit around Ashgate, waiting for me.”
I remembered how irritated the fine lady, my very first client, had become by our delay. She’d looked ready to leave after just a few minutes of waiting. She certainly wouldn’t have waited for an entire day.
Timur didn’t seem to share my concern, however. He moved his chair to me, spreading his knees to give me space to come closer.
“Trust me, Elaine, they’ll wait. Your joy is priceless, and they all know it now. There is no other place where they can taste anything like it. They will wait for as long as it takes to get just one delicious drop of your pleasure.”
As if enthralled by his own words, he leaned forward and placed his hands on my hips. He’d lost his cloak back on the beach that morning. His new wings shredded it when they emerged, and he didn’t bother to look for another one. Maybe he saw no point in hiding his appearance from the world anymore. Or maybe he’d realized that being feared had its advantages.What he’d been loathing as his weakness turned out to work in our favor by terrifying our enemies.
He rolled out his wide, mismatched shoulders and held his head high, not hiding his altered face. His unusual eyes met mine. Both his hands touched me with no hesitation, the claws of the right one holding me firmly but gently, just like the fingers of his left.
When he was sitting in his chair, Timur’s face was eye level with mine, so close, his breath fanned over my skin.
“You are their source of the most fantastic pleasure, my sweet.” The words fluttered from his lips, caressing my face like a kaleidoscope of delicate butterflies. “And you are my source of endless temptation…”
His voice died off like a breeze. The silence that followed pressed on my chest.
I ran my hands up his shoulders, tracing the bumps and ridges of the bone on the right and the hard muscles on the left. I’d seen the look of horror on the faces of the most hardened criminals at the sight of him. I’d witnessed him kill, maim, and literally rip people apart. It was impossible not to fear him. But not when he held me like this, not when he touched me so reverently or whispered words that made me shiver in anticipation.