“You can smell him?”
“Of course. All the members of my pride have a distinct scent.”
I would have asked him what they smelled like, but at that moment, the new arrival, presumably Isaak, stood in the center of the group and raised his arms to the sky, calling down a general invocation. At the last word of it, he turned to where Naomi was smooshed up against Ben.
I leaned forward a bit, keeping low against the stump, intent on hearing what it was he said.
“We have a full agenda for tonight, so we will get started immediately. Tonight we welcome a new member to the set. Benedikt Czerny, step forward and receive the blessing of the tyro.”
Ben moved into the center of the circle, and just like that, everyone tossed off their robes to reveal a whole lot of flesh in varying colors, covering forms that ranged from skinny to plentiful.
“Moon and stars above,” I said, blinking a couple of times.
“You will welcome our new brother to the set, Naomi.”
Naomi, stark naked, took Ben’s hand and led him over to a central blanket. All the others stood around, evidently going to watch them go at it.
I was on my feet again, the Vikingahärta almost burning my hand, my heart beating so loud I thought Ben would hear it.
David held both my arms, whispering, “Wait and watch, Fran. Please. For Luis.”
I ground off yet another layer of tooth enamel, looking away as Naomi pulled Ben’s robe off. I couldn’t stand not knowing the worst, however, so I looked back and found her gesturing to the jeans he still wore, laughing as she said, “Isn’t that sweet! He’s shy! Don’t worry, my darling. By the end of the tyro, you won’t have anything to be shy about.”
Without further ado, she unzipped his pants and pulled them down.
“Revenge is bad, revenge is bad,” I murmured to myself as Ben reluctantly lifted each foot so she could pull his pants completely off.
She reached for his penis, but Ben caught her by her arms and spun her around, whispering something in her ear. She laughed again, a shrill sound that made the hairs on my arms stand on end, and called out in a loud, clear voice, “Poor Ben hasn’t eaten since yesterday. He doesn’t think he can perform until he does so. Is there any objection to me feeding him first?”
“Make it fast,” the man named Micah called out, fondling the boobs of one of the two other women.
“By all means, don’t let my hunger keep you from celebrating the glory of the set,” Ben said, moving with Naomi to the far end of the area. She twined an arm around him, offering her neck, but he took her hand instead, his head bent over her wrist.
“Clever Benedikt,” David said softly. “He bought himself some time.”
“He can’t feed all night,” I said, watching him and Naomi with many dark thoughts that would have shocked my mother. “Sooner or later he’s going to have to stop, and then they’ll want him to join in the orgy.”
David was silent for a moment. “I can only imagine what you think of me for asking this of you, but I assure you that what Benedikt does tonight, he does for the welfare of my pride. He will not enjoy himself in the least.”
“Do you have a wife? Girlfriend?” I asked him, noting that he was right—the others were on the blankets, rolling around in one big mass of writhing arms and legs. I avoided looking at just what it was they were doing, keeping my attention on Ben.
“No. Why?”
“Because if that was your girlfriend out there about to have sex with someone who wasn’t you, I think you’d have a different perspective on the whole thing.”
He said nothing, but shifted uncomfortably.
“They don’t seem to be holding your buddy prisoner,” I added, my eyes drawn to him when he arched up from where one of the women was bent over him, and howled in wordless ecstasy. “In fact, he seems to be having a pretty good time.”
“So I’ve noticed,” he answered, a hard, flinty edge to his voice.
“I see I’ve arrived a little early.”
Both David and I ducked as two men strode within twenty yards of us, stopping at the edge of the ring of lights. I gaped in openmouthed surprise, then mentally chided myself for doing so yet again. I never used to be the sort of person who stood like an idiot with her mouth hanging open. It must have been Ben’s influence on me. He made me fall in love with him, thereby causing me to become a mouth breather.
Or something like that. I stared in disbelief at the dark-haired man who had appeared when I tried to summon Loki. “What is he doing here?”
David shot me a quick questioning glance, and whispered, “You know them?”