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Well, no. She would never really be free of it. She would always want him, and knowing that he wanted her would be sheerest torture. She could never really spend the rest of her life alone. Not now. The next alternative was to wait, as he said, until they got back to Mazonia and he could hunt for a suitable male. If they waited until they returned home, and together they could scour the slave-markets, looking for someone with a compatible personality... But that did not seem practical. It did seem very, very cold-blooded; as if they were looking for a pet dog, or a nice goose to roast. So what else was there? He had made some hints, once or twice, that there might be a man he had already considered for such a- liaison. Perhaps he did not realize that he had let such a thing slip, but Xylina had heard the tone of his voice, and she had a shrewd notion what it meant. After all, although Ware was male, he must have had a great deal of experience in knowing what "Wara" would find attractive; really, in many ways, these things would be the same for either of his aspects, incubus or succubus. In some ways he might always be looking for potential mates, on the chance that he would be able to find a matching pair. a a T T n n s s F F f f o o D D r r P P m m Y Y e e Y Y r r B B 2 2 . . B B A A Click here to buy Click here to buy w w m m w w o o w w c c . . . . A A Y Y B B Y Y B B r r And unless she was greatly mistaken, Ware had said that he not only was born in this region, but that he continued to visit. Putting two and two together was no great feat... the man surely existed, and must be alive and living in this very realm. And that was what finally decided her. As Ware was no doubt already aware, the chance of finding a "matching male" for Xylina was very slim. The chances of finding two such were much smaller. Why take a chance that there might be another of sufficient intelligence and independence? She decided at that moment that if such a man already existed, Ware must go to see if he could persuade that man to join them. Or rather-Wara must. That night, she made some pretense of bringing him something as he stood his watch, and once they were out of earshot of the other men, she put her proposal to him. Or rather, her supposition that this mysterious "perfect" male existed and was in this very realm. She walked alongside him under the stars, keeping her voice pitched low so that it would not carry. The night air was cool, and insects sang in the grasses all around them. It would be a perfect night to share their love for the first time-if what she had guessed proved to be the truth. "The other night, you kept starting to say something about a-a man for Wara, and stopped before you got very far," she said, feeling her skin turning so hot she was surprised she didn't glow like a fire-coal. Now that she had come to this point, she was rather surprised at how embarrassed she felt about it all. "What was it that you didn't say? Is there a man you were thinking of somewhere out here? In this realm? I know you said before that you were born here and that you visited here fairly often; it seemed to me that if you were here a great deal you might have found this-this man who is a match for your succubus side." He did not reply for a long moment, but when he did, his voice was full of surprise. "Just when I think that I know all there is about you, Xylina, you amaze me again. I had not thought I had revealed that. Either I am far more transparent than I had thought, or you are more observant. On the whole, I am inclined to think it is the latter." "Well?" she persisted, now feeling her very ears afire. "Is there such a man? And is he within reasonable distance of us? Would he consent to join us?" Another long silence, while off in the distance some sort of dog-pack howled at the full moon above them. It was a very mournful sound, and it made the hair on the back of her neck rise. "Yes, there is someone who might be suitable," he said at last. "I have known him for several years, and he knows what I am, and my dual nature. People in this realm are more familiar with what a demon is, and what their natures are. He is a close friend, or as close a friend as a demon may have and not be a lover. And I think he may have considered this kind of a liaison himself, with me. The last time I saw him, he said something that was half in jest and half in earnest-that while he loved me as a dear male friend, he could love me better as a female friend, and he would not be loathe to do so." Xylina digested that for a moment. "That sounds promising," she ventured. "In fact, that sounds better than I had thought. Is he far from here? Could you reach him by foot-travel?" "Several days' journey and all in the wrong direction," Ware said ruefully. "Although I will grant you that I can probably dematerialize and steal some kind of mount before I have to go too far afoot. But there are other considerations. For one thing, I have not seen him for over a year. Many things could have changed in his life. He could have changed his mind. He could have found a mortal he loved and married. He could even have died; this is a violent realm, and that is quite likely, in fact. He was not the a a T T n n s s F F f f o o D D r r P P m m Y Y e e Y Y r r B B 2 2 . . B B A A Click here to buy Click here to buy w w m m w w o o w w c c . . . . A A Y Y B B Y Y B B r r oldest son, but the oldest might have died, forcing him to consider the family before he considers his own desires." "But if none of these have happened-what prevents you from offering him what you offered me?" she replied, stiffly. It was very difficult for her even to say the words, yet she did not want Ware to know [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ] |
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