Part Four
RAAHOSH
The scene before me is something out of my worst nightmares. Liz’s small form stands on the edge of the cliff, her strange weapon clenched in her hands. Metlaks – the wild, unpredictable creatures – surround her. I have seen them tear a hunter limb from limb in a matter of seconds, and I have seen them walk past another as if he did not exist. They are impossible to understand, and savage when provoked.
And a cub stands near Liz’s leg, which definitely counts as provoking.
“Run,” I command her again, but the stubborn woman doesn’t listen. Instead, she raises one of her bone-sliver arrows and aims, waiting. A protective fury comes over me when one of the metlaks bares its big, yellow teeth in my direction. They think to hurt my mate? To take her from me after waiting for so long?
I will snap their bones and crush their filthy pelts under my boot before I let them touch her. A feral snarl escapes my throat and I pull one of my deadly bone knives free from its casing, my spear in my other hand.
Liz takes another step backward, ever closer to the edge of the cliff. My heart hammers in my breast, and a wave of pure fear moves over me.
“Liz,” I bark out as one of the metlaks prowls toward her. “Run past me. Go now. I will distract them.
Quickly!”
“I’m not leaving you,” she calls out, not looking away from the metlak closest to her.
“Don’t be foolish,” I growl as it paces ever closer to her. Two more steps and he’ll be able to reach her with his long arms. She needs to move fast. “Come, Liz—“ My heart stops as it lunges for her. I cry out and surge forward, my spear flying. It flies through the air and slams into the side of the metlak reaching for my precious mate. It staggers and then falls forward, still reaching for her. I cry out in anger and storm through the snow, moving to stand in front of her.
Another creature bellows and begins to beat on its chest, sending a furious call forth across the snows.
The other metlaks respond, and one charges forward. I’ve seen these tactics before. They will rush us to the edge of the cliff and pick off our carcasses later, once they know we are dead. I refuse to fall back.
Sssssthok.
One of Liz’s bone needles flies past and appears in the eye socket of one of the bigger males. It groans and falls into the snow, twitching. Her shot is beautiful, and I see the potential for the weapon.
“Watch your arm,” she calls to me as she raises another arrow and aims it. When another leaps for us, she shoots again, and again, her bone needle hits its mark. The metlak is dead before it can hit the ground.
It is a thing of beauty to see, and fierce pride in my mate surges inside me.
Then, the remaining metlaks scream and charge forward all at once.
My instincts honed from years of hunting, my need to protect fierce within me, I surge forward with a yell of my own. I hear Liz gasp, but it only encourages my ferocity.
They will not get near her. They will have to storm over my dead carcass first.
I launch into the first one with a fury, my bone blade slicing against its wooly neck with such ferocity that it’s nearly severed. I lunge for the next, and instead of fighting me, it ducks away. Another lands on my back, pulling at my hair and clothing. Sharp teeth sink into my shoulder and I hear Liz scream. I jam my knife into the one in front of me, even as the one on my back slides to the ground. I look down and see another one of Liz’s thin bone arrows jutting from its throat.
“I’ve only got the one left,” she cries out behind me, even as two more jump onto me and a third attacks from the front. One on one, they would be no problem. But metlaks are savage, ripping creatures. Already their claws and teeth are sinking into my skin, tearing at me. I growl with pain when one slashes across my face, and blood veils my sight. “Raahosh!” she cries from a distance. “You’re moving too close to the ledge! I —hey! Get back!” Her warning voice changes to one of fear, and I snarl and turn toward her. Three are heading for her, pacing in her direction, their large teeth bared. The one on my back bites at my neck furiously, and I feel shockwaves go through my arm even as my blade sinks into the chest of another.
Must save my mate.
The thought rings in my head over and over again.
Must save Liz.
She is everything.
With a brutal cry, I grab the two metlaks in front of me. My fingers sink into fistfuls of shaggy fur and I
pitch toward the cliff.
“Raahosh! Look out!” she cries.
But she does not realize my plan until too late. I hear Liz’s scream of anguish as I topple over the side of the cliff, taking five of the brutal creatures with me.
I will even the odds this way. Maybe she can escape the two or three left.
The memory of Liz’s face swims before my mind moments before I hit the ground with a sickening crunch, and all goes dark.
LIZ
I scream in horror as Raahosh’s long body goes flying over the edge of the cliff, several of the creatures flying over with him. I rush to the side where he went over and look down. It’s at least a thirty foot drop and Raahosh is on his back, crumpled in the snow. One of his legs is at an odd angle and he lies atop a dead metlak. The others are strewn around him, not moving, and the snow is spattered with blood. I can’t tell if
he’s alive or dead.
I can’t be alone out here. I can’t.
I can’t lose him.
Hot panic rushes through me. I only have one arrow left and there’s three of the creatures remaining, along with the young one that still frolics and plays in the snow as if this is all a game. I don’t know what to do. They continue to advance and I see wicked claws tipping each finger, and their furby-like faces look more and more ominous as they approach.
And they killed Raahosh. These fucking dicks.
My last arrow trembles in my hand and then I get an idea. I fling my bow aside and grab the metlak youngling as it frolics close, and I jam the arrow under its jaw and pin it against my body. A hostage is the only chance I have — but I don’t know if the creatures are smart enough to realize what a hostage situation is. They look vaguely human-like, but I could be all wrong. They could just stare at me and then come and rip my throat out anyhow.
But they cry out and stop when I grab the young one. It wriggles and squirms in my arms, and its claws sink into my arms, but I hold the arrow against its jaw, grimly determined. I take a step to the side, and they watch me, their eyes wild. They make weird crooning noises in their throats, and the one in my grip
responds.
This…might work.
I glance over the edge of the ledge, desperate for a way down. I have to get to Raahosh. Have to. In my head, if I can get to him, I can save him. Let him know that I don’t really hate him, that I’m just confused and unhappy, but that his smiles make the world not so bad…
I pace against the edge, watching the other metlak-things as I creep around the cliff, looking for the way down. I spy something that looks like a footpath and head toward it, my hostage squirming and clawing in my scratch-covered arms. I look at the others, to see if they’re staying back. They hunch in the snow, watching me with predatory eyes. “Raahosh,” I call out, hoping he’ll answer and is fine, and my eyes are just mistaking things. But there’s nothing but silence.
I call his name desperately again as I slide down the steep path. “Raahosh! Please! Answer me!”
The ‘path’ gives out a short distance from the bottom and both I and my captive tumble the last few feet to the ground, only to land in thick snow. The breath is knocked from my lungs and I pant, flat on my back.
Next to me, my captive gets up and darts away, heading away from the cliff instead of back toward its parents. It disappears over another snowbank and I consider going after it, but pick myself up and grab my lone arrow and then rush to Raahosh’s side.
“Raahosh?” I press my hand to his chest. There’s blood tingeing his mouth and his eyes are closed.
There’s a small puddle of blood where his head was and a sob escapes me at the sight of it. I press against the armored skin over his heart and hear it beating, slow and steady.
Oh, thank God. For a moment, I want to fling my arms around his big blue neck and cry my brains out, but I look up the cliff, my arrow clutched in hand, waiting to see if the others are coming down after me and the child.
But there’s nothing. For several minutes, there’s nothing and I sit alert at Raahosh’s side, waiting. I can keep waiting, or I can help him. I focus on the fallen man at my side. I run my hands over him, trembling, trying to assess the damage. His leg is at an odd angle, and his breathing is shallow, but I can’t tell if he’s broken ribs or worse. I try not to think about that. His cootie starts up at my touch, and I hope that’s a good sign. “I’m going to get you out of here,” I whisper to his unconscious body. “You can count on me. It’s going to be all right.”
I wish he’d wake up and smile at me. Or frown. Or something. But he’s so still.
One of the metlaks twitches and makes a wounded sound. I gasp and turn to it, my hands scrambling to find a weapon. The only thing I have is my last arrow, and my bow was left atop the ridge.
But it’s not getting up. It makes a pitiful cry and jerks on the ground, as if trying to get itself up but can’t.
Its hips are at an odd angle, and as I look around, I see another metlak is moving, just a little. I look at the top of the ridge to see if the others are going to return, but there’s no sign of them.
I think these wounded ones have been left for dead.
My heart gives an uncomfortable little squeeze. Even I wouldn’t wish this kind of pain on our attackers.
The sounds they’re making are horrible, and I glance around and spy Raahosh’s bone blade a short distance away. I grab it and stand over one of the wounded creatures. There are five of them in total, but only two are moving. I don’t know that it was a big enough fall to kill them, and I don’t know what I’ll do if they wake up and attack again.
I’m low on options. So I kneel beside the first one. “I’m sorry,” I say, and cut its throat. I remind myself that it’s a mercy killing. That it’s kill or be killed out here, and that it’s wounded beyond its ability to get up and limp home. It still doesn’t make me feel any better. It was easier to do this when they were attacking and there was no time to think or process. I move to the next creature. It’s unmoving, but I cut its throat anyhow, just to be sure. By the time I finish the last one, I’m spattered in blood and crying.
I move to Raahosh’s side and touch my fingers to his cheek. Does he feel cool? Oh God. I don’t know what to do. “Please don’t die on me, Raahosh. Please, please.” I lean over him and give in to girly tears for a bit longer, sobbing. Then, I sit up and wipe my eyes, because tears won’t make it magically better.
I have to get him home to our cave.
“Okay, think, Liz,” I tell myself, and glance around, sniffing. “You have a big honking alien you can’t carry and can’t walk, and you need to get him home.”
I look over at Raahosh and wonder if my cootie has made me stronger. Can I drag him? Our home cave is up the cliff and a few miles away, but there’s got to be a way back up that doesn’t involve the shitty footpath
I came down. There has to be another way around. I just have to find it. I stand up and examine Raahosh, then grab his arm and tentatively tug on it.
The fucker is heavy. I pull harder, trying to move him. He makes a low groan of pain and I immediately stop. “Shit. Sorry!” I examine his other arm to see if it’s any better and I can see the bones sticking out of a break near his wrist. Fuck. I can’t tug on that one. It’s just as well, because that test-tug only told me that he
was super heavy.
I need a better way.
Desperate, I look around. In the distance are the pink, whippy trees that bend and move with the breeze, and I grab Raahosh’s bone knife and head for them, an idea in my head. When my dad shot a deer, we’d normally tie the legs to a pole and then shoulder it, but there’s no one to hold the other shoulder for me this time. One time, though, I was being a whiny kid and my dad got pissed and made himself a travois out of two branches and a tarp, and dragged the deer home behind him while I blubbered at his side.
God bless me being a shitty kid. I can make a travois and drag Raahosh home.
It takes me nearly an hour to chop down one of the flimsy trees, but they’ll suit my purpose just fine. The ‘trunk’ is big enough for me to grip comfortably, and even though it’s sticky and spongy to the touch, I should be able to carry it just fine. I chop down another, and by the time I drag them back to Raahosh, I’m trembling with exhaustion and I worry I’ve ruined his bone knife by dulling it.
There’s no time to worry about that, though, because a fine snow is now falling and the skies are overcast. If I don’t get Raahosh home, we’re going to be in deep shit. So I kneel to the ground and shrug off the warm cloak he gave me this morning, and begin to tie it down to the poles to make the base of the travois. I use some of the ties on my leggings to tie the cloak down, and by the time I’m done, I’m shivering in the cold, my clothing is wrecked and half gone, and the snow is coming down in a thick blanket.
“Raahosh?” I call softly, tapping his cheek to see if he’s awake. No response. In a way, I’m glad. This will hurt less if he’s unconscious. With an apology in my brain, I grab his good arm and drag/roll him toward the travois. He groans with pain but doesn’t rouse.
I grab the poles, clench the knife between my teeth, and begin to drag my makeshift travois after me.
Fuck. It’s heavy, but I’m out of options. I’ll just have to suck it up. We can’t stay here. I bite my lip and begin the long, slow, drag home.
It takes me hours to find the way out of the canyon, but once I do, I’m able to see the remainder of our footprints as dips in the falling snow, and the glacier’s in the distance. I can make it home. I can. My fingers feel like bricks of ice and I have blisters on my hands, but there’s a light at the end of the tunnel.
As I give the travois another tug, Raahosh groans. I gasp and set it down gently, then rush to his side.
“Raahosh? Are you awake?”
His head tosses, and then he gazes at me with a pain-glazed stare. I’m not entirely sure he’s aware of where he is. “Liz,” he breathes, and tries to reach for me with his hand. His face contorts in agony and he falls back against the travois.
“Don’t move,” I tell him. “I’m getting you out of here. It’s going to be fine.”
“Leave…me…” he pants. “I am too wounded.”
“Bullshit,” I tell him, though he’s voicing my worst fears. “You’re fine! You just need to rest and recover for a few days. Let the cootie do its work!”
“You’re….not….safe.” His eyes slide closed again.
“I’m fine,” I bellow a little louder than I need to. I lean forward and grab Raahosh by the collar. “Are you listening to me? I’m fine, and you’re going to be fine. Don’t you die on me!” He doesn’t answer, and I panic a little. I shake him, eliciting another wounded groan from him. I don’t care. If he’s groaning, he’s alive.
“Don’t you fucking leave me, Raahosh.” I release him and smooth his clothing down, then lean in, putting my hand over his chest. His khui vibrates at my touch, and I decide bribery is the best weapon I have. I place my mouth close to his ear. “If you come out of this alive, Raahosh, I’ll fuck the hell out of you, so help me God.”
RAAHOSH
My mind is a blur of red pain and black dreams. Sometimes my khui resonates in my chest, and everything feels better. Sometimes there is a jolt of dark pain, and I sink further into the blackness. I need to focus, to concentrate, but my mind won’t stay alert.
But I have to, I remind myself. I must protect Liz.
“Liz,” I breathe. “My mate.”
“I’m here,” a soft voice says in the darkness. Tender fingers brush my cheek, and I fight against the tide of pain that threatens to pull me under. My eyelids feel as if someone is sitting on them, they are so heavy.
“Relax,” she says, her breath sweet. I feel her lips kiss my cheek, and then she caresses me again. “You’re
safe. Just heal, okay?”
I lick my dry lips. “Metlaks—“ “Taken care of. I’ve got a fire and meat drying, and I’ve resharpened your knife.” Her hands smooth down my chest and my arms, and I feel a fiery bolt of pain surge as she does. A hiss of breath escapes my throat. “You’re healing well. Really fast, actually. I had to set your bones. I’m sorry. I know it must hurt. Just relax, okay?”
My khui thrums in my chest, and I hear hers respond. Even though I am grievously injured and awash in pain, my cock stirs in response. We are taking too long to answer the call of the resonance, and my body reminds me that we must obey soon. “Do not leave me…”
“I won’t,” she says in a soft voice. “Just live. Sleep.” Her fingers brush over my lips. “Sleep,” she repeats
again.
And I do.
• • •
I’m in and out for what feels like forever. My mind is full of the soft touches of Liz’s hands, her soothing words as she pours broth down my throat, and the throbbing ache of my body as my khui works to heal it.
My limbs are not the only things that ache – my cock burns ferociously for my mate, and I worry that I will wake up, healed, only to fall upon Liz and force her into mating.
I do not think a human would like that. Not with all their rituals of denial.
But my choices are not my own. My body must have time and rest to heal, and so I slip in and out between dreams.
At one point, I wake up, surprisingly clear-headed. There is an ache in my body like a rotten tooth, lingering but not overly painful. I’m able to open my eyes without it feeling a chore, though, and I look over to the fire.
Liz is there, my leather tea-pouch boiling over a tripod placed over the fire. She sharpens my knife against a rock and as I look over, I see strips of dried meat hanging from a net of woven reeds placed against the wall. Her bow – no, a new one – is placed against the far wall, and a companion to it lies unstrung nearby.
My mouth feels as if it is leather. I lick my lips and try to sit up, thirsty. I am weak, and my khui throbs and hums with hunger.
Liz looks over at me with surprise. “Raahosh!” She moves over to me and puts a hand on my chest.
“Don’t get up. Seriously. You’re still weak.”
I ignore her fussing and sit upright, testing my body. It aches but nothing grates out of place in my chest.
I lift one hand and flex it. There’s hot pain in it, but it is straight, a makeshift splint around it.
“I had to set the bones,” Liz explains, tucking blankets around my body. “Does it feel okay?”
“You did well,” I tell her thickly. Her nearness makes me ache with a different kind of hunger. My cock aches and my khui resonates as she leans in to press her small fingers to my forehead. I grab her hand and kiss the palm, wishing it was wrapped around my cock and stroking it. I remember that from before – the rawness of it is seared into my mind.
“Are you thirsty? Hungry?” she asks, her eyes wide and searching. She pulls her hand from my grip and gets up, moving toward the fire. “I made you some broth. You need to keep your strength up.”
When she brings the small cup of broth to me, the scent of her warm skin is more appealing than the drink. She lifts her arm to hold the cup to my mouth, and I caress her round, lovely breast through her clothing. Liz trembles and my khui resonates in time with hers. “I see you’re feeling better,” she says in a shaky voice, and pushes my hand away. “No hanky-panky right now.”
“Hankeepahnkee?” I ask. I do not know what this word is. Nor do I particularly care. Liz’s hair is braided back from her face, displaying her beautiful neck, and I want to bury my face there. I want her small body against mine, to feel her heart beating, to scent her arousal and touch her and claim her.
“That’s right,” she says, and her voice is breathless. I hear her khui resonating in her chest. “It’s not the time right now. You’re not really well yet.”
My fingers brush her cheek, touch her jaw, her throat. I touch her everywhere I can before she moves away, even as she puts the cup to my lips and forces me to drink. When she pulls it back, I lean my head against the cave wall, my eyes closed. I’m tired, but touching her is making me feel better.
She puts the cup aside and peels the blankets off my legs. I hear a muffled snort. “Well, it seems part of you is working just fine,” she says.
I open my eyes and glance down. My cock is at attention, thrusting up from my body. It aches and for a hopeful moment, I think she will take it in her soft human mouth again and tongue it. It is not to be, though.
Liz is all business and checks my bandages, clucking at my wounds. “You’re on the mend, but still not better.”
“My khui does not care,” I tell her. She’s bent over and her face is close to my cock even as she fusses over my bandages. “It wants me to claim you.”
She makes a humming sound in her throat, but I can’t tell if it’s agreement or not. “Tell your khui now is not the time.”
I watch her as she gets up and moves about the cave. Her body is graceful and lean under the shapeless leathers, and her eyes are bright. She smells like the richest honey, and my senses are starved for her. I shift in my pallet. “I recall…a promise you made.”
Her face flushes and she moves toward the fire, tucking one of her braids behind an ear. “When you’re better, I intend to keep my promise. But for now you need to sleep.” She rubs one of her eyes and I realize that she’s got dark rings on her pale skin. She looks hollow and tired herself. Her clothing is dirty and ragged, and her hair has not been washed in many days. She’s thin, too, like when she was sick before.
“How long have you been caring for me?” I ask, humbled. While I have been lying here sleeping, letting my khui heal itself slowly, she has been hard at work.
She moves to the wall of the cave and touches it, and I see hash marks chalked onto the stone. “Nine days,” she counts, then picks up a chalky stone and adds another mark. “Ten, really.”
No wonder my body is reacting to her nearness. I’ve never heard of a couple avoiding a resonance mating for this long. I also wonder if this has to do with how long it is taking my body to heal. With the healer Maylak’s help, a break can be healed in a matter of days. If I have been mostly unconscious for nine, I worry that my khui is overtaxed and unsatisfied.
Soon, it will stop asking and start demanding. I wonder if Liz realizes this.
• • •
Now that I am conscious again, my khui has decided it must claim Liz, and must claim her now. It does not matter that my body is yet healing, or that Liz is exhausted. All that matters is the mating the khui demands. Liz resonates every time she gets near me, and sometimes when she returns to the cave, she smells of sex on her hands, as if she has pleasured herself. I know she is not unaffected by the need between us. She must be hiding her desires, thinking my body more fragile than it truly is.
The only thing that is fragile is my control.
Every night, she curls up against me, exhausted from a day of hunting and tending the fire, and then tending to me. She tenderly bathes me and feeds me chunks of dried meat from kills she has made. All the while, she is busy making weapons or melting more water or emptying out my piss-pot, since she insists I need to stay off my leg.
It is becoming impossible to resist her. When she moves past me, I reach for her automatically. When her body fits itself against mine in bed, it takes every ounce of strength I have not to push her to the ground and fuck her.
And when she comes back with her hands smelling like her sweet cunt? I must close my eyes and remind myself that control will win my human, not brute strength.
But control only goes so far, and I worry it will flow through my hands like water.
LIZ
It’s a lot of work to rough it and take care of Raahosh. The day seems like a never-ending list of chores.
Clean cave, bathe Raahosh, shake out blankets, melt water for drinking, eat, check traps, smoke extra meat, melt more water, fix weapons, tend to Raahosh, melt even more water, and so on and so on. Raahosh is a terrible patient, too. He’s healing faster than anything I’ve ever seen, and I suspect that’s the cootie’s work.
Too bad it’s not helping his mood any. He’s grabby despite his injuries, and cranky when I push his hands away. He’s healing, which means fooling around is a terrible idea, no matter how good it sounds to me.
Truth is, I’m indescribably horny.
I’ve never felt this way in my life — like I need to jump Raahosh’s bones or I’ll die. But Raahosh’s bones are newly mending, and I just can’t. He needs to save his strength. And truth is, I’m tired and I don’t feel very pretty. I’m grimy and sweaty from all the work I’ve been doing around camp, and my leather clothing is stained with Raahosh’s blood, mine, and the metlaks I killed, along with the game I’ve been hunting.
But this afternoon, it’s snowing fiercely and there’s plenty of fuel for the fire. There’s dried meat for dinner and Raahosh is napping in the blankets, his long legs sprawled in the furs. He watches me sometimes and then pretends to sleep. Right now, though, I think he’s truly asleep. I scratch at my itchy scalp, and my tightly-braided hair feels dirty. I look at the fire and wonder if I can have myself a quick hot sponge bath while he’s resting.
As soon as the idea enters my mind, I’m all for it. I fill the cooking skin with snow, and when it melts, add more handfuls of snow until there’s a good amount heating over the fire. I find the soapy berries that Raahosh explained to me were for cleaning and not eating, and smash a few of them between my fingers and add them to the water. While it heats up, I strip my leathers off and stretch near the fire.
I stay clothed around Raahosh, mostly because I don’t want to tempt him. It’s not that I don’t want to have sex with him anymore. Nearly losing him made me realize that, okay, yes, I do want to have hot, nasty sex with the man — er, alien. I was only torturing myself by denying it. I’m not sure I’m ready to deal with the ‘mates’ and ‘babies’ aspect, but one thing at a time, and right now I’m fixated on sex. Sex, sex, sex.
Masturbating quietly outside the cave hasn’t been scratching the itch, and I can hardly wait for the man to start walking around so I can jump his ass.
Metaphorically speaking, of course.
But while we’re in physical denial, a nice quick sponge bath sounds awesome. I take a tiny bit of rabbit- ish fur and dip it in the warm water and then begin to bathe myself. Grime streaks off of my arms as I do,
and I bite back a moan of pleasure. My sponge bath feels amazing already. Quickly, I wash my body, running the fur over my skin, across the back of my neck, and under my arms. My breasts are sensitive and I whimper when the wet fur glides over them. I’m half-dreading, half-anticipating how it’ll feel to wash my girl parts.
When I get to that section, though, I screw my face up and give it a quick, vigorous wash, trying not to touch myself more than I need to. No sense in getting worked up only to have zero release. I dunk the bit of fur and then start to wring the water out into my braids, wetting them in the hopes of cleaning my hair a bit.
When it feels a little cleaner, I squeeze my braids to remove the excess water and then all that’s left are my
legs.
I bend over to swipe at my calves.
Warm hands grip my ass, startling me. “Raahosh?” I glance over my shoulder to see him press his mouth against my hip, the look on his face one of sheer and utter bliss. He’s naked – he’s been naked and in bed for days. And he’s completely aroused.
And my pulse goes wild, as does my cootie.
“You shouldn’t be up,” I tell him, sounding as breathless as I feel.
He presses kisses on my damp hip, and his hand slides up the inside of my thigh. “I can smell your arousal, mate. Can smell it on your hands when you return to the cave. Do you think I do not notice?”
A hot blush steals over my cheeks. “I was, um, keeping things under control.”
“I have no control where you are concerned,” he murmurs, nipping at my skin with those long, inhuman fangs. I have no idea why the sight of them gets me so hot, but it does. Damn, does it ever.
“You’re not feeling well—“ “My greatest ache has nothing to do with bones,” he says, and his fingers brush over the folds of my sex,
insistent.
A whimper escapes me.
“Bend over.” His breath tickles my leg. “I would taste my mate.”
I clutch the bit of wet fur I’ve been using as a washcloth, and then toss it aside. My entire body is flushed with heat, and while part of my brain is screaming that I shouldn’t give in to what the alien wants, my cootie’s humming a delicious song in time with his, and I’m so full of need that I could crawl out of my own skin. So I slowly reach down and put my hands on the backs of my calves, like I’m in gym class and stretching. Except I’m naked, so naked, and turned on.
I feel Raahosh spread my cheeks and then his mouth is on my sex, tonguing with a ravenous ferocity that makes my knees weak. I cry out and immediately stumble forward, too close to the fire. Only his strong arm around my thighs keeps me from tumbling in. Instead, he swings me around until I’m facing the blankets, and then he pushes me forward, his arm still locked around my thighs. It forces me into the furs, my cheek moving to the floor, and my ass is in the air.
And still, he devours me with single-minded intensity. My toes curl and cries escape my throat as his tongue, bumpy and thick, spears me deep inside my core. Oh fuck. This is too much for me to handle. It feels too good.
He groans and pauses, and I catch my breath. “So sweet.” That’s the only warning I get before he dives in again, and my legs tense with the aching need of it all. Oh God. I am this close to coming already, and all he’s done is slam his face into my pussy and start licking. Of course, the visual of that makes me crazy, and I squirm against his mouth, bucking backward and trying to ride his face.
“Mine,” he growls into my flesh, and then thrusts his tongue into me again.
I scream and fist my hands in the furs as I come, my legs tight with the orgasm ripping through me. I feel my body spasm with the force of my orgasm, and wetness floods between my legs.
It makes Raahosh lose his mind. He snarls and then grabs my hips again. Before I can breathe, he has me flipped to my back, and my legs are in the air. He takes his cock in his hand and then he thrusts into me.
And I scream again. It feels as if I’ve been hollowed out from the inside, he’s so big. It feels downright amazing. I’ve had sex before but I’ve never felt every inch of a man as he was inside me. Normally it just
feels vaguely full.
This feels like intensity. I can feel every ridge of his cock, every rough bump, every vein. And I for damn sure feel the spur above his cock. The moment he thrust inside me, it slid between my pussy lips and brushed against my clit, gliding like another finger.
I’m overwhelmed with sensation.
He freezes over me, his glowing eyes narrowing as he gazes down at me. He’s utterly still, not even breathing. I can’t read his expression.
“Liz?” He asks. “Did I…are you hurt?” His hand drags over his mouth, and I realize the carefully veiled expression on his face is hiding worry.
“I’m good,” I tell him, and lift my hips. “Please, don’t stop.”
He growls low in his throat and the feral look returns to his face. He leans forward and plants a hand on my hips, and then he slams deep into me again.
And I cry out once more because, God, how can I not? It feels like he’s fucking me inside out. It’s the most amazing thing I’ve ever felt. His hair is hanging close to my face and I grab it by the fistful, holding on to him as roughly as he’s holding on to me. “Don’t fucking stop,” I snarl back at him. “Don’t ever stop!”
His nostrils flare, and then Raahosh hammers into me harder than ever. I’m screaming as I come, yanking on his hair, and raising my hips to meet his eager thrusts. It’s like my orgasm that I had a few moments ago never went away. It just keeps rolling through me, and I scream and scream as it goes on and on. With every thrust, Raahosh’s spur drags against my clit, and I feel as if I’m coming apart at the seams. I can’t handle this much pleasure. I can’t.
Raahosh’s body jerks, and for a moment, I think he’s going to complain about his knee or a muscle cramp, the look on his face is so utterly surprised. But then his breath hisses from his tight lips, his body jerks, and I realize he’s come, too.
RAAHOSH
I am utterly reborn.
Every muscle in my body, every tendon, every organ – it no longer belongs to Raahosh. It is all Liz’s to dispose of. I am completely and utterly hers.
I collapse on top of my mate, spent from our furious coupling. It hasn’t been very long at all, and my cock is still twitching despite the fact that it’s buried deep inside her, and I’ve come. But the resonance isn’t going away. If anything, it’s growing stronger with each passing moment, our khuis united in a song.
Liz’s hands slide from my hair and she grimaces at the sight of the long strands on her fingers. “I…might have pulled out a handful or two. I’m sorry.” She offers it back to me.
I take the strands of hair and toss them aside. “I have more.” She can pull it all out if she likes. I care not.
I just want to remain buried inside her. I roll on my side and tuck her against my body, pressing her face to my chest. I have never felt so…much.
She is mine. All mine. Even now, she is full of my seed. I can feel her cunt gripping me tight, hot spasms working through her body. She gives a little gasp with each one, and I suspect they are pleasurable for her. I stroke a hand over her pale braids, wet from her bath. “My mate,” I murmur. “My Liz.”
My human makes a little sound that is half moan, half sigh, all pleasure. She nuzzles against my chest and her hand strokes down my arm. I do the same to her, enjoying the difference in textures of our bodies. She does not have the soft fuzz that covers my people. Human skin is different, but…I enjoy it. It feels decadent to the touch, and it reminds me of licking inside her smooth cunt.
It is a good memory, and it’s something I want to do again, immediately. My fingers move to the base of my cock, still seated deep inside her, and I run my fingers along the edges of her opening, where she is gripping me tight deep inside her. Her folds are stretched taut.
She sucks in a breath. “What…”
“I like the feel of you when I’m inside you,” I tell her, and her face colors even brighter red under her warm flush. “You are stretched wide to accommodate me.”
“Braggart,” she says in a teasing tone, and her hand trails down my chest thoughtfully. “We probably did that all wrong, by the way.”
“We did?” I’m shocked that I’ve somehow displeased her. “Is there a human ritual that I have missed?”
She chuckles and her finger trails over one of my pectorals, then flicks my nipple. “Not exactly, unless you call foreplay a ritual.” She shifts, and I feel every muscle in her body against my cock. I inhale sharply, because I’m ready to claim my mate again but she’s talking, so I try to pay attention. “Most of the time,” she continues, “women want to be wooed into sex.”
Wooed into sex? I do not understand. She was screaming for me. I can still taste the wet arousal of her on my tongue. I study her for a moment, considering. Ah – maybe this is the time for the courting word.
“Newwwp,” I tell her.
Her hand slams on my chest. “What do you mean, newwp?” She looks affronted. “I can want some fucking foreplay! I don’t think that’s too much to ask.”
“Wait. Is this not a courting word?”
She makes an outraged noise. “I asked you for foreplay and you said no?”
“I said newwp,” I correct. “This is not right? You said it to me and it was clear you liked my touch.”
Liz gives me an incredulous look and pushes at my chest. “I have no idea what you are talking about, weirdo. Let me go—“ “Never,” I state, and fist my hand in her hair, like she did to me. She stills in my grip, and I study her, the pulse racing in her beautiful throat, the hot anger – and lust – flaring in her eyes. “Explain to me this
‘foreplay’.”
“You’re fucking kidding, right?”
I roll the words around in my head, but the translations do not sound right. “My cock does not claim you as a jest, no.”
“Oh Jesus, that’s not what I meant. I…” She blows a breath out, frustrated. “Okay. Foreplay. That’s like, titty squeezes and stuff. You gotta work a girl up for sex. Make sure she’s good and wet and into it.”
I frown down at her. “You were wet.”
“I know! But—“ “I licked your wetness off of the insides of your thighs. Your cunt was so wet it was dripping—“ Her fingers press my lips together and she looks…embarrassed. “Don’t say such dirty things.”
Dirty? It was beautiful to see all that wetness that I caused. I would drink of her sweet nectar for hours, but she seems uncomfortable with the thought. Humans are strange. “Then tell me,” I insist. “What is a titty squeeze? I do not know these words.”
“Oh lord,” she breathes. “What on earth did that translator teach you?” She pats the top of her chest.
“You know, boobs. Breasts. They feel good when you touch them.”
I immediately place a hand over one and give it a caress, then look at her face.
Liz giggles. “Not right now. Before sex, to warm me up. So I’m ready to go.”
“I am ready to go,” I point out to her. My cock is hard and still inside her, and I want to start thrusting again, but I am waiting for her very human signal that this is okay to her. That this is foreplay. So I give her breast another tentative squeeze. “Like so?”
Her brows draw together. “You mean…you want to have sex again?”
“Is that what this means?” I squeeze her breast again.
“No, that’s you honking my tit.”
“That is what you said you wanted!”
She rolls her eyes. “I talk in slang, babe.”
“And now you say I’m a child?” Now I’m offended. “I—“
Her fingers go to my mouth and silence me again. “Babe is an affectionate term for a partner. Don’t your people have words like that? What would you call me?”
“Liz?”
She smacks my chest. “Like a pet name. A nickname that one says out of affection.”
I think for a moment. “Woman?”
She makes an exasperated sound. “You know what? Never mind. Just forget—“ But now I understand what she is asking. “My woman?” I murmur, tilting her head toward me and brushing my lips over the fine line of her jaw. “My Liz?”
I feel a little shiver ripple all through her body, and she quakes deep inside her cunt. “Oh God, you are hard again, aren’t you? I can feel you.” Her khui thrums and resonates louder, and I’m encouraged.
“What other things do humans do for foreplay?” I lick her skin at the spot where her lip meets the little divot below her tiny human nose. It’s soft, so soft.
She sighs softly in my arms and her eyes close. “Kissing is a good one. Stroking. Soft touches. Caresses.”
Ah. So I have been foreplaying her before. I just did not know the word. “I would foreplay you now, Liz. I want your cunt ready for my cock to fill once more.”
“You’re already inside me, so we’ve got that part down,” she says, but she squirms a little against me, as if the reminder of my body buried inside hers is making her fidgety.
My hand is still twined in her hair, and I like that I have her pinned in place. I can tell she likes it, too. Her breath is starting to come in soft, rapid gasps, and when she opens her eyes to gaze at me, she has a sleepy, aroused look in them.
I will foreplay her now, then. She wants kisses? I can give her kisses. It is the mating of the mouth that humans like so much, and that Vektal spoke highly of. I enjoyed it before, too. Liz’s mouth is as soft and smooth as her cunt. So I brush my lips over hers, and when her mouth parts for me, I slick my tongue against hers like stroking my cock deep inside her.
She gasps and moans in response.
I like this. No, I decide. I crave this. My mate is finally in my arms, letting me claim her. There is nothing better in the world. I have never experienced the like, and I intend on being greedy with her. My mouth takes hers over and over again, until she is gasping and trembling underneath me. I lick her full, pink bottom lip with my tongue and then gently bite down on it, because it is soft and sweet and reminds me of her lovely cunt. A soft little cry escapes her, and I feel her cunt tremble and clench around my cock, even as her pupils dilate and she stiffens under me.
I slick my tongue over her parted mouth again. “Did I foreplay you correctly?”
“I think I just came again,” she sighs, a glazed look in her eyes.
“Do you wish for me to stop?”
“God, no.” That hazy look focuses on my face, and I feel her roll her hips under me. “I feel incredible.”
“It is the khui,” I tell her, and press my hand between her breasts. “We have acceded to its wishes, and now it rewards us.”
“Yay cootie.” She lifts her chin, a subtle suggestion that I kiss her again. I am happy to do so, even as my hand moves to cup her breast. Her human chest is shivering with the force of the khui vibrating inside it, and her nipples are taut and erect. I graze my hand over them and she cries out again, her eyes closing.
Ah. More foreplays. “Shall I put my mouth here?”
The look she gives me is dazed, but hungry. “I’m down for that.”
I pause. “Is that a…yes?”
“Boobs now,” she says, pushing my head down toward her breasts. “Talk later.”
I move lower as she demands, and my cock slides out of her wet warmth. She makes a small noise of dismay, but I will return there soon enough. As she says, boobs now. I capture her soft nipple in my mouth.
She gasps and squirms under me, practically coming off the furs with her need. Ah. I like this. I flick my tongue over the tip, enjoying her cries.
Liz moans and her hands go to my hair, my remaining horn, and she clings to me, desperate. She likes this very much. My cock aches, wanting to be back inside her wet warmth. I’m unable to resist touching her, my hand sliding to her cunt and toying with the soft, wet folds there. She is slick between her legs, my spend and hers mingled together, and she moans when I push my fingers inside her again.
“That’s not enough,” she says.
I bite gently on the tip of her breast. “My fingers?”
“We can play ‘Find the G-spot’ later,” she says, more nonsense human language. “I want you back inside me, Raahosh. I ache for you. Please.”
My cock surges, but I’m not done playing with her yet. I’m still exploring my sweet, soft mate, no matter how much she protests. I gaze down at my fingers as they pump in and out of her cunt, and a dribble of my spend trails down her folds. Automatically, I catch it with my fingers and push it back inside her. I will take her so many times that we will make a child together. And then when her belly is rounded with our mating, we will return to my people and no one will be able to take her from me.
“What are you doing?” She shifts against me, restless.
“I am ensuring that my seed stays inside you.”
“How very barbaric of you,” she murmurs. Her legs part a bit wider and she sighs. “You know what would
put even more of your seed inside me?”
“What?”
“If you fuck me again.” Liz gives a little wiggle. “Cut out the middleman and go directly to the source.”
Again, some of her words make no sense but it doesn’t matter. She is demanding more sex, and that is all I need to know. My khui resonates hard, insisting I take her again. And how can I refuse when she asks so sweetly? I slide back up her body and kiss her mouth, and she whimpers and clings to me. Her hips rise again, and so I fit my cock at her entrance once more, dragging the head of it through her wetness.
“Oh, God, yes,” she moans, and her hands fist in my hair again. “Give it to me.”
I sink home and she shrieks with joy. My eyes nearly roll back in my head with pleasure. There is no sensation like the warm grip of my mate’s cunt tight around my cock. And as I begin to push into her with rhythmic thrusts, one thought cycles through my mind, over and over, resonating as my khui does.
Liz is mine.
Liz is mine.
My mate.
My everything.
LIZ
Some time in the early morning hours, I wake up with my cheek pressed to Raahosh’s chest, drooling on him a little. Oops. I sit up and wipe my mouth and then his bare skin, but he only shifts in the bed and pulls me against him once more. “Gotta pee,” I tell him sleepily, and slide out of bed.
I waddle out to the lip of the cave to do my dirty business – waddle being the important word there. I’ve been fucked so hard and so often in the last night that I’m surprised my legs are even functioning.
Now I see why Georgie was totally cool with Vektal claiming her as his mate. If he’s anything like Raahosh, he dicked the brains right out of her. I feel pretty brainless and giddy myself. I mean, I’ve had sex before, but sex with Raahosh? It’s kinda SEX with capital letters and little hearts drawn around it. That shit was incredible. I feel sticky and battered all over, but I’m dopey with endorphins and pleased as punch.
I rub a little snow over my aching girl parts to clean up, and then smooth a few more handfuls over my sweat-sticky skin to clean it off. Then, yawning, I head back into the cave.
He’s awake now, sitting up amidst the furs and watching me with a predatory look that makes my cootie start to hum again. I don’t know that I can stand another round of fucking without melting into a boneless little puddle, so I primly sit near the fire, legs tightly locked together, and stir the coals with a stick.
“Come back to bed,” he says, and pats the furs.
Yeah, I’m pretty sure he doesn’t have sleeping in mind. “It’s almost dawn,” I say. “I have a lot to do
today.”
“It can wait.”
“You know, you sure do have a lot of energy for a dude that had a gajillion broken bones just last week.”
He lifts one of his arms and for a moment, I almost think he’s going to flex. But he only examines it and shrugs. “The khui helps us heal faster.” He looks over at me again and then pats the furs. “Come back. I would fill you with my seed again.”
My stupid cootie starts humming like an idiot, but I ignore it. “How about we, you know, chat about what comes next?”
He tilts his head and gives me a curious look. “Why?”
I sputter. “What do you mean, why? Because we’re building a relationship here!”
Raahosh’s eyes narrow at me in that way that tells me he thinks he’s being patient, but he’s really not. “I do not see that there is anything to discuss. You are my mate. You belong to me.”
I sputter again. “So we’re back to property now?” There goes my post-coital afterglow. I get to my feet and head for my clothes. “You know what? I don’t want to talk to you right now.”
“What are you doing?”
“Getting dressed. I need to check my traps.”
He gets to his feet and snatches my clothing from my hand. “You cannot go hunting. Even now, you might be carrying my child. Our child.”
Oh, no he did not just throw the barefoot and pregnant in the kitchen thing in my face. “You really want to see my head explode, don’t you?”
He frowns. “I would never wish harm on you—“ “Aaaah!” I throw my hands up. “Fine. You want to be like this?” I jab a finger into his chest — which stings, because the damn thing is plated. “Nothing has changed between us other than a little rompy- pompy. We had sex, that’s it. I did not become your magical property, and you did not magically become my man. We are the same as we ever were, which means we are two jerks who like to bicker with each other. My hunting skills have not been affected by your jizz. I know it’s dangerous out there. Remember the part where I dragged your broken body for like three goddamn miles in the snow?”
His arms cross over his chest.
“Yeah, I thought so.” I gesture at the cave mouth. “So now I’m going to go out and catch us breakfast.
You can sit in here and like, beat your chest like a caveman or something.” I move to pick up my bow, and he catches it before I can sling it over my shoulder. I glare furiously at him.
When he speaks, Raahosh’s voice is low and serious. “Before you arrived here in this world, I had nothing to live for. I hunted. I existed. I did not look forward to anything. But now you are here, and you might be carrying my child even now.” His jaw flexes. “I know you are more than capable. The problem is not with you. It is with me. This world is dangerous, and I think of you, alone, out in the wild, and it is more than I can bear.” He stares at me for so long and so hard that I think his jaw is going to snap from grinding his teeth. “If I lose you,” he finally says gruffly, “I have nothing.”
And because I’m a total marshmallow, I soften. I reach up to pat his cheek, but he leans in to my touch and it turns into a caress. “Raahosh, seriously. I know how to take care of myself.”
“So do I. I was still downed by a band of metlaks.”
He’s got a good point. “So come with me. We can hunt together.” I nod at him. “If you’re feeling up to it.”
“I have a better idea,” he murmurs, and pulls the bow out of my hands. “We eat the smoked meat. You come back to bed and let me fill your soft cunt with my hard cock.” His arms go around my waist and he drags me against him. The moment we touch, our cooties start to resonate. “And then we will go hunting tomorrow. Together.”
It’s hard to stay mad at a guy when he strokes your skin and makes you prickle all over with desire. I consider for a moment. “My traps?”
He glances out at the entrance to the cave. “It is snowing. Whatever is in them will stay frozen another day.”
“Mmm.” I pretend to consider. There’s really no considering to be done. My cootie’s going a mile a minute, and I can tell I’m already wet between my legs with need. I look up at him. “If we’re going to be
mates—“ “There is no if. We are,” he insists.
“Then we need to be equal partners,” I tell him. I brush my hand over his gorgeous, naked chest and then move up to his neck, caressing the back of it. “There’s no ownership. You are mine as much as I’m yours. Understand?”
“I am yours,” he agrees. “Completely and fully.”
“Then I can be yours, too.”
He leans down and kisses me gently on the lips. “My mate. My Liz. You are my everything.”
Yep, definitely hard to stay mad at that.
• • •
We end up lazing about in bed for a few more hours, making love a few more times and napping. To his credit, he promises to be more understanding about the hunting. All the while, he caresses my abdomen when he thinks I’m not paying attention.
I’ve never particularly thought about being someone’s mom. But it’s clear that to Raahosh? Me and this baby are everything. And it makes me wonder what his life is like back at the caves. Vektal made it sound like everyone was all happy go lucky in igloos or some shit, but maybe it’s lonelier than I think for someone like Raahosh, who has scars and sucks with people skills. The fact that he was a big ol’ virgin tells me that with the few ladies in the tribe, they weren’t exactly banging down his door for his dick.
No matter how magnificent his equipment is.
And it’s weird, but I’m kind of glad he’s all mine. There’s no chick waiting for him back home. No ex- girlfriends I might have to confront. He’s just…mine. It’s like he’s always been waiting for me.
So…I guess I won’t go hunting alone if it really gets his panties in a wad.
But by the time we’re hungry for dinner, I balk at the thought of more of the dry, tasteless smoked meat.
“You can come with me,” I cajole Raahosh. “We can check the traps and have something fresh and tasty to eat. Wouldn’t that be nice?” I tap my stomach. “And fresh food is better if I’m truly pregnant.”
He grunts a response and puts on his loin-cloth, so I suppose that means we’re going out. It’s odd, but I’m excited to get out in the fresh air and tromp through the snow. I like seeing what’s wandered into my traps. And I’m really craving fresh, raw meat. Weird, I know.
We bank the fire, straighten up the cave, and then head out, dressed and armed for a trek. The weather’s overcast and it looks like it could snow again. Big surprise there. It snows every damn day.
While Raahosh was recovering, I pulled two more of the ugly spear-fish things from the water and made two bows and a whole slew of arrows. I even managed a couple of makeshift quivers with some extra pelts.
I’m a regular Daniel Boone around here.
It’s strange – I remember hunting with my father when I was a girl and never thought anything of it. Now that I’m out on my own with Raahosh, I’m remembering things I’ve forgotten, and more than that…I’m enjoying myself. I never thought of myself as the outdoorsy type, but there’s nothing more satisfying than letting a well-made arrow fly into a kill.
Well, okay, sex with Raahosh is more satisfying. Hunting is a close second.
Raahosh hovers a bit as we go tromping through the snow, until I slap his hands away when he tries to help me through a particularly deep patch of snow. His lips quirk with amusement when I shoot him a pissy
look, and I realize he’s baiting me.
Dick. He’s so getting it tonight when we get back to the cave. As we check the traps, I mentally think of ways I can sexually torture my alien. Withholding’s off the table – that would be punishing me as well as him.
Maybe a nice, languid blow job and I won’t let him come— “Ho!” calls a voice from a distance, the sound faint on the blowing wind.
I look over at Raahosh in surprise. Was that English? Am I imagining things?
He stills, and then scans the horizon. Immediately, he grabs my arm and begins to hustle me back from where we came. “Hurry, Liz.”
“Wait. What are we running from?” I ready my bow as we slog through the snow. “Is it more metlaks?”
“Raahosh!” a voice calls out, and then says some words I don’t understand.
I gasp. “Are those your people?” I stop and turn, shielding my eyes from the overcast skies to see if I can make out who is there.
“Back to the cave,” Raahosh growls, and he stumbles in the snow.
My heart skitters in my chest and I tug on his arm. Playing around in bed is a different sort of activity than slogging through heavy snow, and I worry he’s overextending himself. Just last week, he had a broken leg.
“Raahosh, wait. Don’t hurt yourself—“ He grabs the fur of my heavy cloak and hauls me against him. It takes me a moment for me to realize that he’s picking me up and carrying me away. He’s going to try and outrun them?
“Raahosh, wait!”
“They will not take you from me, Liz,” he says fiercely. “You are mine! My mate.”
“They can’t take me,” I say soothingly, trying to pet his shoulder. I’m worried he’s going to hurt himself.
“Raahosh, please. You’re scaring me.”
That stops him in his desperate treading. He stops in the snow, and gently sets me down again. His hand touches my stomach, and then he cups my face in his hands. “You are my everything, Liz,” he murmurs
before he kisses me.
“I know,” I say, confused.
“Raahosh! Human called Leezh!” Two voices, and new ones. “Do not run!”
We’ve been found.
Raahosh closes his eyes and holds me against him, gripping his knife. It worries me. I place my hand over
his, a silent request not to attack.
And we wait.
