Tikk twisted on his straw-stuffed pallet. Visions filled his sleep. Milk-white breasts, full and round, with nipples like rose petals; gleaming emerald eyes; lush lips; passionate embraces; the bite of fang; the rending of claw; two rutting, jungle beasts ripping lust from one another. Tikk gasped awake clawing for the stone she had placed around his neck. It was no longer there.
In the pre-dawn light, Tikk could see the four stones lying on the table glowing softly and seemingly staring at him like two sets of eyes. It was the tawny, golden chrysoberyls that had been tied about their throats when the woman took him to bed. Tikk shifted his gaze from the accusatory stares and memories of the night.
At the window, the woman—Kaaleel, she had whispered sometime earlier—stared into the distance. Sensing his gaze, she turned and smiled. She dropped the cape she had wrapped around her and moved toward him. Tikk, who thought his lust spent and numb, felt new arousal.
