Beyond the Darkness (Dark Court 1) (5 page)

He broke away from Eljin and scanned the room, his gaze finally settling on a small bottle of body lotion sitting on the nightstand next to the brush Eljin had been using. He reached over and grabbed the bottle, squirted a fair amount out onto his fingers then dropped the bottle on the bed.
Eljin was panting when Zack turned back to him, the knowledge of what was coming clear in his eyes. Zack moved his hand back beneath the waistband of Eljin’s jogging pants and down toward the tight little hole he wanted into.
As he started pushing his finger in, he claimed Eljin’s lips once again, swallowing the man’s deep cry as his ass was breached. Zack paused, afraid he’d hurt him, until the man pushed back against him. Tight heat enveloped his finger.
Zack took Eljin’s reaction as permission to continue and began thrusting his finger in and out. He was a little surprise at how much Eljin seemed to want this, how much his body seemed to want it.
Every time he pushed his finger in it was swallowed right up as if Eljin’s body craved his touch. It made Zack’s breath hitch, his cock throb. He wanted Eljin’s body to swallow his cock in just the same manner.
Zack added a second finger to the first, amazed when Eljin’s body readily accepted it. After a few thrusts, he added another. This one was also sucked right in. Zack started to tremble as he fought for control.
He wanted to pin Eljin to the mattress and fuck him until they both passed out but he knew he needed to be gentle. Eljin was very fine-boned and delicate. Zack could seriously hurt him if he gave in to the deep passion burning through his body. He also needed to consider the baby Eljin carried. They both needed his gentle care, not a lustfilled beast.
Zack pulled his fingers free of Eljin and rolled the man onto his back. Eljin lay there, blinking up at him. Zack gave him a reassuring smile then grabbed the legs of his jogging pants and pulled them slowly off, drinking in every inch of skin he uncovered until he could toss the pants over his shoulder.
Zack swallowed hard, the level of his lust skyrocketing as he looked down at the bounty before him. Eljin didn’t have tons of muscles like Zack, but he did have some definition. His form was more delicate, with lean lines and creamy skin. He didn’t have a hair on his body lower than his eyebrows.
And then there was the soft mound that proclaimed Eljin pregnant with Zack’s child. His hands trembled as he reached down and covered the slight lump. Did Eljin’s present condition make him more desirable? Incredibly, and most confusingly, the answer to that question appeared to be yes.
He moved his hands away from Eljin’s distended stomach and farther up to pluck at his nipples. He liked the reaction he received—Eljin wiggled and moaned beneath him. Zack wanted to give him so much pleasure he’d never remember any time he’d been without it. An undeniable connection was building between them, pulling them both down into burning flames.
Zack leaned over Eljin’s body, making sure he kept his weight on his arms. He nipped at Eljin’s lips, his jawline, his throat, then moved down to circle Eljin’s nipples with his tongue. Eljin wailed, his moans growing louder with each wet swipe.
With Eljin’s cries ringing in his ears, Zack grabbed his legs and pulled them up over his arms, lifting his ass higher in the air. He scooted forward until the head of his cock pushed against Eljin’s tight entrance, then grabbed the bottle of body lotion and squirted a large amount onto the both of them.
He looked up at Eljin as a thought came to him. “Do I need a condom?”
“No.” Eljin shook his head. “I’m already pregnant and I can’t catch any human diseases. I also can’t pass anything on to you.” Eljin smiled. “But thank you for asking.”
Zack nodded, relieved, then glanced back down to where their bodies met intimately. “Fuck, Eljin,” he whispered hoarsely as he watched Eljin’s puckered skin quiver around his cock. “Your body craves me.”
“Yes,” was Eljin’s only reply as he bore down and Zack slipped in a little more.
Zack couldn’t tear his eyes away as he watched himself slowly sink into Eljin’s body, the sight more erotic than any pornography he’d ever watched. Eljin’s body just sucked him right in as if he were made to be there, every last inch of him until none of his cock remained outside of Eljin’s grasp.
Zack let his head fall back. He took several deep breaths, trying to regain the control that was quickly slipping away from him. If he’d known sex with Eljin could make erotic flames of desire and pleasure engulf him, he would have attacked the man the minute he first saw him.
He just hoped that someone like Eljin could continue to have sex through most of his pregnancy because now that he’d experienced how wondrous being inside of the man was, Zack was pretty sure he’d rather be dead than go without it.
He finally looked back down to where he was joined with Eljin and started pumping his hips. He meant to go slow, to be gentle, but the first time he pulled back then shoved in again he knew he was done for. Nothing had ever been this good. Pleasure zinged through his body from the top of his head to the bottom of his toes. He was in so much trouble.
He gripped Eljin’s legs tighter, lifting them up a little more, and started thrusting. He panted heavily as his body took over, knowing exactly what it wanted. And it wanted Eljin.
The tightening of Eljin’s body around his and the wild cry from the man’s lips caught Zack by surprise. He glanced up quickly, captured by the sight of Eljin’s cock spouting white cream all over the both of them.
Dear god. The man came and Zack hadn’t even touched his cock. He’d heard of things like that happening, he’d just never experienced it firsthand. He was mesmerized until his body told him he was heading to the same place.
Zack winced as Eljin’s inner muscles massaged his cock, squeezed it until he could barely move. All that hot silk surrounding him, and the knowledge he’d brought Eljin pleasure, combined to send Zack right over the edge.
He pulled out until just the head of his cock remained inside Eljin’s tight hole. As he start to climax, he rammed back in as far as he could go, Eljin’s body caressing him the entire way.
A great bellow came from Zack’s mouth as the most exquisite pleasure he’d ever experienced ripped through him. His body went stiff as his cock swelled then erupted, filling Eljin with his seed.
As he slumped over Eljin’s body, still mindful to fully support his own weight, he heard a soft whisper in his ear, “ My beautiful
leannan
, give me your life, your love, your forever, as I give you mine.”
Eljin’s hands stroked his back, his sides, the nape of his neck. He lay there enjoying the caresses for several moments before pulling free and rolling to his side. He rubbed his hand over Eljin’s stomach.
“He’s okay?” Zack asked quietly. “We didn’t hurt him?”
Eljin’s hand covered his, holding it in place over their child. “He’s fine. I told you, he’s a strong one.”
“I just wanted to be sure. I’ve never had sex with someone who was pregnant before.”
Eljin chuckled. “I’ve never had sex while pregnant before.”
“Funny!” Zack smirked as he rolled to the side of the bed. He went into the bathroom and cleaned up, grabbed a wet washcloth and brought it back into the bedroom. When Zack began wiping Eljin down, the man protested for a moment but then let Zack work, giving him a curious look.
Zack tossed the washcloth into the bathroom then curled his body around Eljin’s, snuggling the smaller man back against his chest. He laid one arm down on the bed for Eljin to rest his head on and wrapped the other one around the small mound where his child slept.
“Go to sleep, hummingbird,” Zack whispered as he closed his eyes. “I’ll keep you safe.”

Eljin’s eyes flickered open. He stared up at Zack as the words registered in his sleepy brain. Time to go. A cold shiver of dread and resignation ran up his spine. “Okay.” He rolled to the side of the bed and reached for his clothes, pulling them on slowly, as if it took every bit of energy he had just to move.

His heart was breaking. He’d known this time would come but he had hoped for a few more days with Zack before it did. He wanted just a little more time to build some memories, memories he could pull out and go over in the lonely years to come.

Eljin couldn’t keep a small sob from breaking free of his lips when he thought of his future without Zack. If it weren’t for the baby he carried, he would probably throw himself off the nearest cliff, wherever that was.

“Eljin?”
“Please, let me—” Eljin pressed his lips together and lowered his gaze when he realized what he’d been about to do.
I won’t beg him to let me stay.
He turned his head away as tears started to fall down his cheeks. His shoulders shook with the sobs he tried

Again, he stopped talking before he said something stupid. Despite what happened between them earlier, he knew that Zack never signed on for an instant family, certainly not one where the mother of his child was actually a man.

Last night had been wonderful, glorious. Eljin knew he would never forget having Zack with him just because the man wanted to be there. It would be a memory he would hold close to his heart in the years to come. But he was a realist. This world had taught him that he didn’t always get what he wanted, no matter how much he wanted it.

“Okay, I’m ready,” Eljin finally said as he got to his feet. “I appreciate everything you’ve done for me.”
“Eljin, wha—”
“Thank you, Zack,” Eljin whispered. His hand trembled as he reached out to Zack and brushed a finger along his cheek. “I won’t forget you.” Tears clogged his throat as he turned and headed for the door.
“Eljin, where are you going?”
“I don’t know. I’ll find someplace.” He glanced over his shoulder. His lips trembled as he tried to give Zack a smile even though he was dying inside. “Don’t worry, we’ll be okay.”
“Eljin,” Zack said firmly as he stomped forward, “you’re not going anywhere without me.” Zack placed his hand over the mound in Eljin’s stomach. “You and this baby belong to me. We go together from now on or not at all.”
“You want me to stay?” Eljin whispered, afraid that he might be dreaming. “You’re not telling me it’s time to leave?”
“We do need to leave, Eljin,” Zack said as he pulled him into his arms, “but we’re going together. I don’t know about you but last night meant something to me. I’m still unsure of what this all means but I’d like to find out.”
“I thought you were telling me it was time for me to leave,” Eljin cried. He gripped Zack’s shirt so hard, the material ripped. “I promised myself I wouldn’t beg you to stay, that I’d respect your wishes but I—” Eljin shook his head, too overcome with emotions to continue.
“Shh, hummingbird, not to worry,” Zack replied. “I’m not leaving you and you’re not leaving me.”
“Then why did you say it was time to go?”
“Gunny heard word when he was in town that strangers have been sniffing around. We both think that moving from here is the best choice. I’m not going to let those people get you or our baby, Eljin.”
Eljin wobbled as his face drained of color. Zack had just put words to his biggest nightmare. “They’ve found us.”
“Afraid so, hummingbird.”
Eljin frowned. “Why do you keep calling me hummingbird?”
Zack’s grin was irresistibly devastating. “Because you remind me of a hummingbird, Eljin. You’re so small and delicate but there’s a strength about you that makes you beautiful.”
Eljin knew Zack could see his flaming cheeks, even in the dark. No one ever called him beautiful or strong. His brothers were the beautiful ones, tall and muscular, warriors and future leaders each and every one of them.
“We say
leannan
,” Eljin whispered. Euphoria enveloped him as Zack pulled him close. “It means sweetheart or consort, like lover or partner.”
“So that’s what you’ve been calling me all this time?” Zack asked. “And the rest of it, the other words you used? What were they?”
“Give me your life, your love, your forever, as I give you mine,” Eljin said quickly, his eyes dropping away from Zack’s inquisitive gaze. “They are just simple words from one lover to another.”
Zack chuckled and shook his head. “Oh no, Eljin, you’re not getting away with that answer. Nothing is ever simple where you’re concerned. Now tell me the rest of it. What do those words mean?”
Eljin gulped. Zack would be so pissed when he found out what he’d done. He couldn’t blame him. He would have been angry too. Eljin just couldn’t take something from Zack without giving something back, even if it was a part of himself.
“Eljin?”
“They’re words of commitment,” Eljin whispered, feeling like the bottom was about to fall out of his world. “When we were together before, at the research facility, I took something from you against your will. I couldn’t do that without giving something back so I gave you me. It was all I had.”
“Gave you me?” Zack seemed genuinely puzzled. “What does that mean?”
Eljin bit his lip, pushing away from Zack to take several steps back. He absently rubbed his stomach. It was a nervous habit he’d developed but it gave him a connection to Zack, even if it was a small one.
“In my world when one person says those words and commits to another, it’s forever. When I said them to you, I promised you I’d never be with another, never love another or give them a part of myself.” Eljin swallowed the lump in his throat. He could see Zack’s shock in the way his face paled. “Once it’s done, it can’t be undone.”
“Damn, Eljin, what would you have done if we never saw each other again?”
Eljin shrugged then rubbed his hands up and down his arms when cold brushed over him. “I would have had that night.” He moved his hands to his stomach again. “And our son.”
“Oh, Eljin.”
Eljin walked into the arms Zack held out to him. He was shocked to be standing where he was. He’d felt sure Zack would tell him to leave or laugh at him.
“Did you really commit yourself to me with a few words?” Zack’s voice reflected his disbelief.
“There was a little more than that involved. For the words to truly be effective I had to take your blood.” Eljin sighed. “I bit my lip when I kissed you.”
“Does that make me committed to you in the same way?”
“No,” Eljin murmured, his eyes fluttering closed at the wave of intense pain that statement caused.
“Then don’t you think we should fix that?”
Eljin’s eyes popped open. He stared at Zack in shock until he saw the knife the man held. His breath flew from his chest as he watched Zack draw the blade across the palm of his hand. Then Zack held both his bleeding hand and the knife out to him.
“Will you let me take your blood?”
Eljin’s hand trembled as he reached for the knife. “Zack, you know this can’t be undone once it’s done. It’s for life, forever. You won’t be able to change your mind once you do it.”
Zack’s hand covered Eljin’s over the handle of the knife. “I don’t want to change it,” Zack said as he brought the blade across Eljin’s palm.
Eljin winced, but the joy of the moment quickly overrode any pain. He could barely breathe as Zack ran his tongue across the palm of his hand, licking away the blood. Zack then lifted his head and clasped their hands together and their blood mingled.
“Now, say the words, hummingbird, so that I can repeat them to you.”
Eljin opened his mouth to speak but nothing came out. He swallowed then tried again, this time looking deep into Zack’s eyes. “Give me your life, your love, your forever, as I give you mine.”
“Give me your life, your love, your forever, as I give you mine.” Zack echoed the vow.
Before Eljin had been the only one making the commitment, this time they both were. The bond was instantaneous, like a bolt of lightning hitting each of them simultaneously. Eljin felt Zack in his mind, felt himself in Zack’s.
It was a heady feeling.
Zack shuddered. “Damn, Eljin, I can feel you.”
“Yeah.” Eljin felt drunk, his head woozy, his body languid. He would have dropped to the floor if Zack hadn’t been holding him up.
He’d dream of this, filled hour after hour fantasizing about this moment. He’d wanted it more than he could ever remember wanting anything. To finally realize his dream overwhelmed him. Tears clouded his eyes, and Eljin couldn’t attribute them solely to being so emotionally overwrought from the pregnancy.
Zack
, he whispered the word in his mind, using their mental link for the first time since they were fully bonded. He looked up at him, letting the man see the tears of joy in his eyes.
My beautiful leannan.
Zack’s eyes rounded. “Eljin, I can hear you.”
“Yes, it’s one of the benefits of bonding. We can speak to each other in our minds. It’s a connection we won’t ever share with another living being.” Eljin chuckled and glanced down at the abrupt movement under his shirt. “Except for maybe our son.”
Zack’s hand settled over his stomach, and the baby’s movements instantly ceased. “He can talk to me anytime he wants.”
“And me?” Eljin leaned his face into the hand Zack cupped around the side of his face.
Zack’s lips twitched, amusement glinting in his eyes. “I’m afraid that I must insist on that, hummingbird.”
The joy that Eljin had been feeling stuttered and froze almost as if he was holding his breath. He regarded Zack with searching gravity. Every word out of Zack’s mouth was exactly what Eljin wanted to hear, had been dreaming of hearing since the moment they met.
And that scared him.
“Zack, not that I’m complaining, because believe me I’m not, but why the change of attitude? Yesterday you were yelling at me, saying you weren’t gay and men didn’t have babies. Why the change of heart?”
“I’m not sure I have an answer for that, Eljin,” Zack answered. “I look at you and all I can think about is the aching hole I would have in my chest if you weren’t at my side. I don’t understand why I feel this way. I just know I feel it.”
“It’s the bond,” Eljin replied. “All
Aes Sídhe
feel it.”
“Gunny told me about you and the
Aes Sídhe
. I don’t think I believed him until he started telling me about his long lost lover, Roland.” Zack smiled ruefully. “If a man like Gunny can admit he wants to be with a man then so can I.”
“Roland?” Eljin asked in confusion.
“Roland was
Aes Sídhe
, just like you. Gunny met him about twenty years ago in Ireland. Apparently Roland was taken by the Unseelie Court and Gunny never forgot him. He’s spent his life trying to find him. That’s why he knows so much about your kind.”
A shadow of alarm filled Eljin. “Zack, my uncle’s name is Roland. He was captured on your side of the veil nearly twenty years ago. The Unseelie Court held him for almost two years before they released him.”
“Christ!” Zack stepped back, pushing a hand through his hair. “We need to tell Gunny about this. I don’t know if your Roland and Gunny’s Roland are one and the same but he needs to know.”
“So let’s go tell him then,” Eljin said. “If they are the same person then we need to get the two of them back together. Roland has been alone for twenty years, never taking a
leannan
. He never talked about it but I always knew something happened to him. I’d like to see him happy.”
Zack headed for the door then stopped when an alarm started blaring. Eljin glanced wildly around the room. What the hell? A cold, creepy sensation climbed up his spine.
“Zack?”
“That’s the alarm. Someone must have breached Gunny’s secure perimeter.” Zack held out his hand to Eljin. “Come on, we really need to go now.”
Eljin grabbed Zack’s hand, grateful Zack seemed calm and cool, and in control of the situation, because he certainly wasn’t. Had he been on his own, he’d have frozen in fear. “Zack? Is it—”
“I don’t know, Eljin, but you’d better grab anything you want to take with you because I don’t know if we’re coming back here. Gunny has some sort of escape plan in mind for us but we need to be ready for anything.”
Eljin glanced back over his shoulder to see if he’d forgotten anything. His gaze landed on the body lotion on the nightstand. He pulled away from Zack and ran over to grab it. He slid the bottle into the pocket of his hoody before running back over to join Zack.
“Okay, I’m ready.”
Zack shook his head, but a smile played across his lips as he reached for Eljin’s hand again. “Good thinking, hummingbird. We might need that.”
“I can hope,” Eljin murmured as he followed Zack out of the room and into the main gathering room. They met Gunny just as he came into the room from the small kitchenette. The older man’s gaze went to their joined hands and he raised an eyebrow at them.
“We’ll explain later,” Zack said, giving Eljin’s hand a quick squeeze.
Gunny snickered and shook his head before heading toward the hallway. “You two need to get ready. There are clothes on the table for you to change into. I need to go sanitize the house.”
“Sanitize the house?” Eljin asked as he followed Zack. He wasn’t sure what cleaning the house had to do with them escaping. “He is going to clean the house now?”
“Gunny is going to clear out all signs of us being here, make the bed, straighten the guestroom, stuff like that,” Zack explained. “It won’t keep the bad guys from coming after us but it might delay them for a while if there’s no sign of us being here.”
Eljin nodded. That much, at least, made sense to him. Zack and Gunny acted as if their current situation was an everyday occurrence. Eljin, on the other hand, was so out of his depth that he needed to be led around by the hand… literally.
“Zack, what if—” The rest of Eljin’s words were lost in his cry as Zack grabbed him and shoved him behind his back. Eljin looked beyond Zack to see two huge shadows advancing toward them. He cringed, waiting to be attacked, only to frown in surprise when Zack’s friendly laughter filled the room.
“Doc, Rocky, what in the hell are you doing here?” Zack asked as he shook hands with each of the large men.
“Gunny called us, said you’d gotten your ass in a sling and we needed to come rescue you,” one man said.
“Again,” said the other, amusement clear in his voice.
“You might say that.” Zack laughed. He glanced back to Eljin, holding out his hand.
Eljin stepped forward and grasped Zack’s hand once again. His other hand fluttered against his neck as his shattered nerves failed him. Too much had happened in too little amount of time. How much more could he take before he cracked?
When Zack drew him into his strong arms, Eljin went gratefully, clinging to him as if he were an anchor in the storm. And, Eljin supposed, that’s exactly how he felt. Zack was his one solid rock in all of this craziness. He clung to the man, afraid if he didn’t, he’d sink into the floor like a large puddle of mindless goo.
“This is my hummingbird, Eljin,” Zack said, much to Eljin’s surprise. He didn’t expect Zack to claim him so publicly.
“Hummingbird?” mused the man with the dark brown hair.
Zack’s knuckles grazed the side of Eljin’s cheek. “You don’t think he looks like a hummingbird?”
“If you say so, dude,” said the other man.
“Eljin, this is Pete Lewis. He’s our unit medic. You can call him Doc,” Zack said as he pointed toward the man who’d just spoken. He then nodded in the other man’s direction. “And this rather impressive mass of muscles is Rocky Rodriguez.”
Eljin offered a tremulous smile to both men, not sure what exactly to say to them. The dark camouflage fatigues that they wore designated them as military men. The confident stance they took and the way their eyes constantly scanned for danger designated them as warriors.
These men knew how to fight.
“Gunny said you two had someone after you?” Rocky asked. “Want to fill us in?”
“There’s some sort of secret military unit after Eljin and me. They want to capture Eljin and kill me. The perimeter security alarm just sounded, which tells us they are about fifteen minutes out. And I’d bet my right arm they’re heavily armed and I know they’re very persistent. They followed us over three hundred miles, all the way from my place.”