by Stacy Jones
The guys reared back at her reaction, alarm showing on all their faces. Clearing her throat uncomfortably, she smiled sheepishly. Glancing back up at Drrak, she tried to tone down her excitement.
“Ta shh … teho ?” she asked, stumbling a bit as she tried to find the right word to ask if he was sure .
For some reason, her question caused his face to soften and, if she wasn’t imagining things, surprise and sympathy to enter his bright eyes.
He bent until they were nearly eye to eye and growled out, his voice impossibly deep, “Tul Leelee .”
Whoa, he’s intense!
“Uh, thank you… er, me krrar shh , Drrak,” she responded, her grin breaking free even as his thunderous voice made her pulse pound and caused a flush to heat her cheeks.
Impulsively, and without examining the urge too closely, she stepped into him. Laying her cheek against his upper stomach, she reached her arms as far around him as she could and hugged him to her.
She felt him go ramrod straight and heard his breath hitch in his chest, but didn’t let go right away.
A fine tremble worked through his big body and his muscles seemed to lock up. Thinking she might have crossed some kind of personal boundary, she started to step back but, before she could, his strong arms came around her slowly, haltingly, stopping her retreat.
She felt one of his big, rough hands settle between her shoulder blades, above the top of her cardigan dress against her bare skin, and sucked in a quiet but sharp intake of breath at his touch. His other three hands came around, each spanning almost the entire width of her back, lined up all the way down to the top of her ass.
He stayed that way for a long moment, barely touching her and not really hugging her back, before his locked muscles seemed to relax all at once. A deep, fast purr began in his chest as she felt him bow over her head, bending nearly in half until she could feel his cheek rest against her crown.
He tightened his thick arms around her until they almost circled her waist and released a shuddering breath, fluttering the hair that had come loose from her braid and sending a shiver down her spine.
His hold was tight but delicate, as if he wanted as much contact between them as possible but worried about hurting her. Warmth spread through her at how gentle he was, how much care he showed.
What started as a display of thanks turned into something else entirely. Lily could feel his loneliness and his hunger for touch through his embrace and her heart overflowed with empathy.
She vividly remembered how lonely she’d been on the farm, how the house seemed painfully quiet, and how the long nights were spent yearning for someone to touch her, for the warmth and comfort of another person beside her—someone to laugh with, someone to hold her when she cried, someone to care .
She wanted to take his loneliness, wanted to make it so he was never forced to feel that way again.
Her eyes were open, but she wasn’t seeing anything in front of her, too focused on Drrak, his touch, and her response to it.
Her heart pounded so hard and fast in her chest that she knew he could feel it, knew he would be able to hear his effect on her but, in that moment and for reasons she couldn’t articulate, even to herself, she wanted him to know how she responded to him.
Lily found her feelings for Drrak beyond confusing. It was like she had to consciously remind herself she didn't know him, because it felt like she did.
When she wasn’t with him, she remembered that she’d only met him roughly a week before and he was basically a stranger. Yet, the minute she was around him again, he felt like so much more.
She recognized him, and it wasn’t because he was Arruk’s twin.
He didn't actually remind her of her big teddy bear at all. Even his face, which should have looked like Arruk’s, didn't because he didn't have the same expressions. It was almost as if, the moment she saw him, he stopped being Arruk’s twin at all and became Drrak: the man she was insanely attracted to, the man she was helplessly drawn to, and the man her soul recognized.
She’d had nearly identical reactions to her guys. She trusted them with her survival and safety within a shockingly short span of time and had fallen in love with them faster than she ever thought was possible.
Lily never believed in soulmates in her life before, thinking that stuff was just for movies, but her guys had shown her how very wrong she was. They made her believe.
But she never anticipated anyone else would ever make her feel the way that they did.
What she felt for Drrak would have made her question the authenticity of her feelings for her guys if she didn't know, down to her bones, that she loved them completely.
How many soulmates could one person have? How much love did one heart have to give? She didn't know the answer, and that scared her.
His fingers almost imperceptibly stroked the bare skin of her upper back, trailing from the base of her neck to the top of her dress. Something about that touch made her eyelids flutter and sent a zing of arousal straight to her core.
A whisper-soft moan escaped from between her lips, answered immediately by a quiet grunt, as if that sound had knocked the breath from him.
Her senses were heightened to an almost painful degree as she stood there, surrounded by Drrak’s body, feeling his presence all the way down to her center. His feather-light stroking of her skin, his breath sighing against her hair, warming her ear and neck, her breasts pressing rhythmically against him with each trembling inhale, the soft fur covering the skin on his back tickling her fingertips and palms; all of it felt intensely erotic .
Arruk and Tor closed in behind her, joining her and Drrak’s embrace and, instead of breaking the spell woven between them, their addition made it more powerful. All of them touching her felt… natural, familiar—like a forgotten memory.
A voice whispered in the back of her mind that Drrak belonged there.
If Frrar had been with them, she thought it might have felt perfect: like home, complete and safe and whole.
L eelee’s sudden snatching of the stone had startled Drrak so badly he reared back away from her. He worried she was going to lob it at his head, but she cradled it as if it were precious rather than a worthless trinket and something he had been ridiculed for collecting in the past.
He had not expected her to react so strongly to his Gift, had worried she would not like them at all since they were not the traditional Gifts a male was supposed to give a Pasha to show his interest.
Drrak felt quite pleased with himself, until he thought he saw uncertainty pass over her features .
His breath locked in his chest thinking she planned to reject him, but when she asked if he was certain of his interest Drrak felt as though his heart was being squeezed—a very disconcerting sensation—and nearly fell over with shock.
This ethereal Pasha was questioning if he really wanted to be one of her Chosen?
Did she not see how special, how astonishingly exceptional she was? Of course he was sure of his interest, but her insecurity resonated with him and made him realize that even one so perfect as her could doubt her appeal.
Learning that made his obsession to be hers grow into a near-fanatical desire.
After he told her he was sure, she had embraced him. Bewilderment held him frozen for many long moments—long enough he felt her start to withdraw.
That had been enough to spur him into action. He did not want to lose the contact, however foreign it felt to be touched by anyone other than his brothers. His arms were heavy and awkward as he wrapped them around her, too large and brutish against her delicate frame, but as soon as he touched her, a feeling of peace swept through him, a sense of belonging and relief.
The rumble that involuntarily began in his chest shocked him more than her uncertainty. It was the deep, fast vibration only made by imprinted males.
He knew he was drawn to her, knew she consumed his thoughts, but he had not realized he imprinted already.
Despite, or perhaps because of, his shock,
he found himself bending his body over hers, bowing over her until he could rest his cheek against her head fur. He was exceedingly careful as he tightened his arms and held her to him, but he needed to be as close to her as possible and touch her down-less skin.
He worried his taking liberties would cause her to step away, but that still wasn’t enough to halt him from stroking his fingers along her back. She felt softer than the softest flower petal, and he was instantly addicted to the feel of her.
He could hear her heart beating a fast rhythm against him, could almost scent her arousal on the air, and knew she was just as affected by his touch as he was hers.
The small noise of pleasure she made at his caress, just a whisper of sound, sent heat raging through his blood and made his mangled tail lift into the air, almost beginning the mating dance of its own accord before he managed to stop its movement. He took deep, shuddering breaths to try and bring himself back under control, but only just barely succeeded.
Drrak felt his brothers join their embrace but didn’t open his eyes or move to make room for them. He was too lost in the unfamiliar pleasure of her touch, the maddening effect her closeness had on him, and the opposing but equal sensation of utter contentment that made his mind feel quiet and calm for the first time in as long as he could remember, even as his body ached with the need to be mounted by her.
He wanted to Present properly right then, but held himself back, worried pushing too hard too soon would make her retreat, and he would lose his chance altogether.
It felt like he was tearing off a limb as he slowly retracted his four arms from around her, sliding his fingers and palms along her skin and covering to touch as much of her as possible before he broke their connection.
Drrak felt her shiver and heard her gasp as he unintentionally brushed his fingers along the undersides of her mounds. His eyes widened in curiosity and confusion. He was unsure why the small touch had caused such a reaction but immediately wanted to do it again.
He might have done just that, regardless of whether it was a wise decision or not, if he hadn’t picked up the sound of the kit panting and growling its frustration as it climbed the small platforms he’d built so it could get up to his nest.
Lily’s knees almost buckled when Drrak touched her breasts. She was sure it was an accidental caress, knew their people didn’t have the same sexualized view of them as hers, and he had only brushed the fingertips of his upper hands along the undersides, but her senses were heightened to the point that she felt he’d touched her much more intimately .
She was ridiculously aroused, could feel the slickness of excitement wetting her panties and her hard nipples rubbed against the fabric of her dress.
Lily had to physically stop herself from holding him to her so he couldn’t break their hug, had an almost unbearable urge to encourage him to touch her further. At that moment her confusion, doubts, and hesitation were forgotten. The fact that Arruk and Tor were both standing at her back, embracing her with Drrak and giving her their wordless approval and encouragement only made the urge stronger, harder to fight.
She wanted to kiss and lick his scars, wanted his big hands on her, wanted to feel the wildness she sensed in him surging against her, inside her.
How can he affect me so much?
She managed to behave herself, for the most part. She let him step back but didn’t really release him—sliding her hands down his back and stroking her fingertips over the base of his tail. He groaned and froze long enough for her to skim her hands around his sides, over his hips, and down his thighs.
When they’d broken contact completely, she slowly lifted her eyes, lingering on his ridiculously defined abs, his thick chest rising and falling with deep breaths, up to his impossibly wide shoulders, all covered in vicious scars that no longer frightened her but were just an added layer to his appeal.
She met his stare. The barely leashed passion flaring in their blue-green depths was intense enough to make her cheeks burn and another flush of arousal to slick her thighs until they felt slippery when she pressed them together.
From the corner of her eye she saw something climbing up over the edge of the nest, breaking the moment completely and sending her heart into overdrive as panic immediately shot through her.
Arruk had her snatched up, cradled against his chest, and had his back to the trunk of the tree before she could do more than gasp. Without prompting, Tor positioned himself in front of them, blocking her view to stand between her and danger while Drrak… rumbled? In laughter?
Huh?
Tor huffed and re-sheathed his knife before an amused rumble came from him as well. Stretching her neck up, she tried to climb higher on Arruk to see over Tor’s bulk but only managed to hoist herself a couple of inches before she slid back down to the cradle of his arms.
Grumbling about not being able to see anything, Lily tipped her top half forward onto Tor’s back, latching onto him and pulling herself up so she could peek over his shoulder.
Her gaze landed on the pantari cub standing shakily on the edge of the nest, panting as if it had just run ten miles. Its black eyes were a little too wide and its six legs were wobbling and outspread as if to balance itself.
Sympathy and amusement came in equal measures as she simultaneously cooed and snickered.
The orphaned cub’s big, wedge-shaped head jerked up at her noise. As soon as it set eyes on her, it trilled and crouched down until its belly brushed the leaves of the nest. It did a weird sort of crawl towards her, clearly afraid of heights and trying to stay as low to the nest as possible, while excited warbles came from its throat. Lily bit her lips to hold in a laugh and wiggled, prompting Arruk to set her down.
Sidestepping Tor, she dropped to her knees and opened her arms but the cub, instead of stopping, continued to crawl forward and up her body until its upper set of legs were hooked over her shoulders and its weight tipped her backwards.
She went down with a shout, collapsing under the giant-sized baby predator. It proceeded to snuffle at her face and hair before it reared back, opened its hinged mouth terrifyingly wide, stuck out its long black tongue, and dove at her.
Caught between trying to fend off its exuberant kisses, giggling at the absurdity of being lick-attacked by an alien puppy-cat, and struggling to breathe under its mass, Lily tussled with the cub until she finally managed to heave it off of her.
Sitting up, she gave it a half-hearted look of disapproval, ruining the effect with her lingering smile, and used the hem of her cardigan dress to wipe the saliva from her face.
Hearing them behind her, she glanced at the guys. Drrak and Tor were leaning against each other like drunken frat boys, rumbling so hard with laughter they looked close to falling over. At least Arruk, standing over her with his arms stretched out as if he’d been in the process of trying to rescue her, was laughing quietly and had made an attempt to help.
“ Oversized brats, the both of you,” she huffed, climbing unsteadily to her feet .
Turning, she kissed Arruk on his chest in thanks while side-eyeing Tor and Drrak before facing the cub again with her hands on her hips.
“We’ve got to give you a name, buddy. We can’t keep calling you the cub or the kit,” she announced, smiling when it warbled happily in reply.
“Hellion?” she chuckled. “It definitely fits.”
The cub tilted its head in a way that clearly communicated its lacking opinion of the name, or maybe it just didn’t like the sound of the word.
“Hmm… Arruk, what’s the word for hunt?” she asked suddenly.
“Trrak ,” Arruk replied.
“Is it really? Sounds like track… which is actually pretty damn appropriate for a predator. What do you think, buddy? Trrak ?”
At the name, its pointy white ears perked up and swiveled toward her, its head tilting to the side in an adorably puppy-like manner. Laughing, she bent slightly and scratched its head, its thin white fur soft as a bunny’s.
L ily, Arruk, and Tor
went to Drrak’s nest every morning over the next few days while Frrar had his daily meeting with Akksha, still trying unsuccessfully to convince her to spill her secrets.
They spent that time trying to teach Trrak how to do basic commands such as sit, stay, speak, and roll over. She quickly found out he had the attention span of a squirrel and only listened to her when she used food as a motivator. Drrak, however, had a real talent with training. He had amazing success with Trrak where she failed, managing to teach him complicated commands .
Focusing on the cub let her spend more time with Drrak, learning more about him and becoming increasingly comfortable with him, while taking away some of the awkwardness she would have had at how much these morning hangouts felt like dates.
It was late afternoon, the sun heating the forest to an uncomfortable degree even as high in the trees as they were, telling her they were moving into summer on the planet. The heat made the threadbare cardigan she was wearing as a dress feel too heavy, sticking to her sweaty skin. That meant she’d been there for the winter flood season, spring, and was now starting on summer. Lily didn’t know how many months that equated to here but it felt like at least four, if she counted by using her periods, if not longer. She knew stress and a complete change of diet could delay a woman’s menstrual cycle so that wasn’t the most reliable method, but it was what she had.
Drrak seemed both worried and fascinated that she leaked water, as they put it, from her skin. He kept trying to hand her water balloons, wanting her to drink almost constantly even after she and the guys told him it was normal for her people.
She hid her smile when she heard him come to stand at her side, glancing over to see a water balloon predictably held in his lower hand. Lily thought his concern was adorable, especially coming from someone so fearsome looking.
Laughing lightly, she brushed her fingertips over his arm, lingering longer than she probably should have as she subtly traced one of his scars, then looked over her shoulder when Tor said her name. He waved at the pile of food he and Arruk had set out in the middle of the nest.
