Layla whirls toward me, her dark curls bobbing with the sudden jerk of motion. I can’t help the smirk that rises to my lips as I see the panicked look on her face before she realizes it’s me, a laugh nearly breaking free when her features relax slightly and she rolls her eyes.
Layla steps toward me hurriedly, her eyes darting around for witnesses as she hisses “That’s not funny, you scared me!”
The laugh that had been building in my throat shakes free as I look down at her and give her a wink.
“You like it,” I murmur softly, earning another eye-roll, although she’s unable to hide the small smile playing across her full lips. My fingers itch with the desire to brush across them, to feel her soft, tanned skin beneath my hands. I’ve waited long enough for her.
The rest of the village is quiet, but that’s no reason to be sloppy. Before she can react, I grab the crook of her elbow and pull her into the alley behind us, pinning her to the wall with my body weight as I drop a searing kiss to her lips.
Surprise renders her unresponsive for a moment, her human senses struggling to catch up to my elven speed. As soon as her mind catches up with her body, however, her lips part beneath mine, returning my kiss with every bit of hunger and passion.
I can’t get enough of her.
Layla’s tongue darts from between her lips, brushing against the seam of my mouth in equal parts question and demand. I groan, opening my mouth against hers and letting our tongues tangle together.
I don’t think I’ll ever be able to get enough of her.
Ever since I first spotted Layla last year, I haven’t been able to control myself. Dark elves take human slaves and play things all the time on the larger continents, especially in the bigger cities, but Layla is so much more than that to me.
When I first arrived at Camp Horizon, I was an eager, untried, bright-eyed soldier, intent on making his way through the ranks. Miou soldiers never stay in Camp Horizon too long, finding the camp boring and lacking any real way to move through the ranks.
Soldiers pass through here in rotations, using the camp as a stepping stone to bigger and better positions once they gain enough experience to warrant transfers to more exciting, opportunistic locations.
But the second I found Layla, I knew I wasn’t going anywhere. It took nearly no time at all for me to be head over heels for the woman. I don’t care that she’s human, and I don’t care what beliefs or opinions others of my kind hold- she’s everything to me.
My ambitions within the ranks of the miou, my dreams of becoming a Lieutenant and proving my worth to my family, all feel childish as my lips move over Layla’s. Nothing, no victory or rank or recognition, could compare to the way she makes me feel.
Layla breaks our kiss first, the both of us breathing heavily as we stare at each other. Her warm brown eyes twinkle in the stray spears of moonlight. It’s all too easy to forget my responsibilities when I’m with her, to cast aside all of the things I know I want. In this moment, right now, I only want her.
“How was work?” I breathe, falling into our usual, playful routine. Layla loves her routines, and I love that about her. I especially love throwing a wrench into it every now and again, especially if it means that I get more time with her.
Layla grins and gives me a playfully casual, one-shouldered shrug.
“It was work,” she responds. “How about you, how was work?” I mimic her reaction, loving the way her smile grows wider.
“It was work,” I reply. Neither of us acknowledges what we know is coming. Transfer season is on the horizon, and Layla is all too aware of the ambitions I hold so closely to my heart. They’re certainly not unusual ones, especially for guards who choose to be stationed here for at least a brief time, but my case is made all the more unusual by my family.
Phonipe and Kunardah Torsys, power couple of the decade. My father is well known for his position among the miou ranks, being an influential player in Vhoig among the nobility. My mother was his chosen prize, the beautiful and talented daughter of another strict, traditional miou family.
My older brother, their first son, is everything they’ve ever wanted him to be. The perfect soldier in shining golden armor, with his perfect mate and perfect life. He was stationed in Camp Horizon for a time as well, before leading armies and earning prestige through his victories.
My parents have always wanted me to be the same, to uphold our honorable family name. They waste no opportunity to tell me as much, to push me harder and farther, pointing out all of my numerous flaws and missed opportunities for success.
In some ways, I guess I can’t really blame them. Salnath created an expectation that I don’t know if I’ll ever live up to, and given the social expectations of my dear family, it’s no wonder that they expect only the best from me.
Too bad I’m little more than a disappointment.
With transfer season coming up, my father has sent countless karasus with messages on where I should be transferring, what I should be doing, and the like. Just like every year since my first at Camp Horizon.
And just like every year before, I have no intention of following his orders. I won’t leave Layla, I don’t know that I could even if I wanted to. I’ll simply have to find a way to become a lieutenant in Camp Horizon, even if it means usurping the current camp lieutenant so I can take his position.
There’s only ever one lieutenant here at a time, intended to lead us and run this camp and our sister camp on Zerva, hence why no other miou have lingered here for too long. That’s no problem to me, however.
Our current lieutenant is a drunk, and I have no issue with gunning for his job, no matter how long he’s been in his seat. Especially if it means I can stay close to Layla without my family breathing down my neck.
Another problem with transfer season, and another problem Layla and I never speak about, is that there will be new guards entering the fray. Guards that are eager to make a name for themselves, who will keep a closer eye on things. Those who might notice the two of us sneaking off together and cause trouble.
It wouldn’t be the first time a dark elf has been caught with a human, of course. It’s generally accepted as part of the perks for this job by some of the more uncouth miou, but my family would take less kindly to finding out about any sort of dalliance of mine, especially with a human woman.
I can only imagine the position it would put Layla in.
I realize too late that Layla and I have just been standing in silence in the quickly dimming light. There’s a certain sadness in her gaze, something distant that I can’t quite put my finger on. I can’t help but wonder if she’s thinking of the coming transfer season, too.
“Stay the night with me,” I breathe as I hold her gaze. Layla’s face shutters instantly, her eyes dropping mine as they dart toward the mouth of the alleyway.
“I’m already late, my aunt and uncle are going to worry. They might even send Amara out after me,” She says, avoiding answering my question directly. She can’t bring herself to truly say no- she wants to come with me, we both know it.
“You know Amara won’t find us,” I retort, dropping my face into the warm crook of her neck and drawing my nose lightly across the sensitive skin. Layla shivers beneath my touch, her head dropping back slightly in welcome.
“We could get caught,” Layla argues, although her voice is feeble and lacking any real conviction. I graze my teeth lightly over the peek of her exposed collarbone, a purely male swell of pride blooming in my chest at the strangled noise that slips from her lips at the contact.
My obsession with Layla and the looming, ominous feeling of transfer season aren’t the only reasons I’m so intent on making room to have her to myself, although they certainly play a part. No, there’s another reason everything feels more urgent now, every stolen second feels weightier.
Layla’s 24- marrying age. Most human women tend to get married even earlier these days, their lifespans shorter and more pressing on Protheka than they ever were on their home planet. I see the way the men in the village eye her as if she’s some prize to be won, as if she could ever be anyone’s but mine.
The idea of another man with Layla, of her marrying or his hands skating across her curves, fills me with rage. I drown the feeling, unwilling to let my darker nature ruin a perfectly good moment as I withdraw from Layla’s neck and find her eyes.
“We’ve never been caught before,” I say with a grin, my voice rough with my overwhelming desire for her. Layla’s cheeks flush scarlet as her eyes dip to my lips, only making my smile grow wider. She wants me nearly as bad as I want her, a fact that will never cease to make smug satisfaction ripple through me.
“But my family-”
“I’ll send word,” I interrupt her, my hold on myself growing weaker with every passing second her little body is pressed to mine. “I’ll tell them you’ve picked up an extra shift. You’ll be safe with me, I promise.”
“I know,” Layla whispers. It’s all the permission I need as I twine my fingers between hers and tug her down the alleyway, leading us toward the dark elf quarter.
