by Dixon, Ruby
“I didn’t want to slow us down.” She yawns.
“Liz,” I say, frustrated. “We are in no hurry. We will be exiled for a long time. There is no rush to go anywhere. I do not want you to walk until you are so tired that your eyes cannot stay open.” I stroke her soft cheek. All my thoughts of tonight and mating with her as I describe it in great detail are gone. She is tired and needs her feet rubbed and to be tucked into warm furs by the fire. “Come,” I say, and lean in to press a kiss to the tip of her cold red nose. “I will make a fire and warm you up.”
She just gives me a tired smile, her eyes soft. “Idiots think it’s some sort of punishment to send us away together. Big dummies. Little do they know I love being with you like this.”
My heart squeezes painfully. My perfect mate. I want to clutch her to my chest and fight the world to keep her safe. I caress her cheek again and then go first into the cave to make sure that it is unoccupied. When all is well, Liz enters and then gasps.
“This cave is so big! And warm!” She frowns, confused. “Why is it warm?”
I kneel beside the firepit. “There is a hot pool in the back of the cave. If you want to bathe, we can.”
“Oh my god, a hot bath? Can we make this our new home?” Her eyes light up with enthusiasm.
I snort. “The roof of the cave is low and the floor uneven to walk upon. You would get tired of it after a few days, but it will serve well enough for tonight.”
“Party pooper,” she teases, saying human words that make no sense but still carry affection. “Fine, we’ll enjoy the bath tonight and then move on in the morning, then?”
I nod and finish making the fire, then put on a pouch of clean snow and sprinkle herbs in for hot tea. Liz unrolls the bedding and makes a nest of furs for us while I am busy, but her movements are slow and lethargic, and when the bed is unrolled, she flops down onto her back and closes her eyes.
I move over to her and begin to take her boots off. “You should sleep.”
“Fuck that,” she says sleepily. “I want a bath first.”
“Then come and bathe.” I pull her boots off and then help her to her feet, stripping her tunic and leggings off of her slender human body. She is small and lean everywhere except her teats, which are quite large and jiggly for one her size. The sight of them always makes my breathing quicken and my cock harden. She has nipples like a sa-khui female, but hers are soft even when taut and such a pale pink that they astound me.
I want to lick these.
The words spring to my mind but I push them back. Liz wants a bath and then she needs to sleep. I will not push my mate—my pregnant mate—into mating, even if it is all I thought about all day long. My needs can wait.
The ceiling of the cave lowers as we approach the back and the air thickens with moisture. The pool itself is not much larger than a few handspans across, but steamy and clear, and Liz lets out a moan of sheer pleasure at the sight of it. Her hand squeezes mine. “I got soap in my bag, babe. We can wash our hair and everything.”
I grunt and take her hand. “You bathe. I will get your soap.”
“You’ll join me when you come back?” she asks hopefully.
As if I could stay away. I help her into the water, and then go to retrieve her soap. When I return, I slide carefully into the pool next to her, and then pull her into my lap. The water is not deep, and I have to fold my legs to sink down to my shoulders, but there is just enough room for me to hold my mate against me.
She relaxes against my body, closing her eyes and sighing with bliss. “This is now my new favorite cave.”
I smile at that. There is a large heated pool for bathing at the main tribal cave, but it is also crowded…and we are exiled anyhow. “Then I am glad we are here.”
“I’m happy to be wherever you are,” Liz says softly, tucking her head against my neck. “So far? Not hating exile.”
Me either. Having her with me makes this all bearable. When I first heard my fate, I thought I would end up as my father, miserable and alone…but Liz has surprised me. She has fought for me every step of the way and now she wishes to be at my side constantly. Truly, I am the luckiest of males to have such a fierce, beautiful mate.
I wet the soap and lift her arm, then rub the cake of it down her soft skin, bathing her. “You must tell me when you grow tired, though. We are in no hurry and I will not have you wearing yourself out.”
“I won’t slow you down,” she promises me with another sleepy yawn, lifting her other arm so I can wash it. Her eyelids are so heavy that it looks as if she struggles to stay awake. “That was part of the deal, you know? I go with you, but I have to keep up.”
I grunt. I made no such deal. I just wanted my mate at my side. And she wanted a honey moon but now she is too tired for anything but sleeping. Even now, she makes no effort to bathe herself, letting me take care of her. Not that I mind. I run the soap over her front, gently rubbing her teats and belly and she makes a soft noise of pleasure in her throat that sends a jolt through my cock.
Not tonight, I tell it. No honeymoon this eve. My mate is too tired.
“Sit up,” I say gently, and she leans forward. I run a few handfuls of water over her mane and then soap it, burying my fingers in the soft yellow strands. She moans, and I stiffen but do not stop what I am doing. Tired, I remind myself. She is tired. She always makes noises when she is tired.
“Where are we going?” Liz asks, drowsy.
I continue to work the soap through her tangled mane, making sure to get all of it clean. I know she likes her mane to smell nice, so I do my best for her. “To bed.”
“No, I mean in general. We’re going hunting, yes? Where to? Anywhere in particular?” She turns to look at me over her shoulder.
“Ah.” I think for a moment, then rub her scalp. “We are going very far into the mountains. We will work on filling some of the farther-flung caches, since we must be out and others would rather stay home with their mates.”
“Lazy bastards.” A tired smile curls her mouth. She does not sound upset, though, just amused.
I grunt. “Perhaps. Let us rinse your mane and get you to the furs. You need to rest.”
“You act like I’m so fragile.”
I lean in and rub my mouth against her ear. “To me, you are.”
She shivers.
Once my Liz is clean, I help her back out of the water. I would carry her to the furs but the ceiling is so low in this cave that I cannot stand properly. I keep my hands on her hips, even so, and she shuffles towards the furs, yawning. “I hate that I’m so tired for the first night of our honeymoon.”
I can hear the disappointment in her voice. “Why?”
“I don’t know. I wanted to make this special.” She rubs a drying-fur on her wet mane to dry it and then tosses it aside. Once she slides her legs under the blankets, she lies down and then looks up at me. “I wanted to make you think ‘hot damn’ when I touched you.”
I quickly dry the dripping water off of my body, noticing that she watches me as I do. I slide into the furs next to her, and put a hand to her waist, pulling her close. I lie on my side so she is tucked half-under me, and our gazes meet. “Every day is special with you, my Liz. Every day is ‘hot damn.’”
She smiles, her arms going lazily around my neck. “Do you even know what hot damn means?”
“It means I have the most beautiful, gorgeous mate in the entire cave. It means that she is insatiable. It means that even though she has an ugly male for a mate, she makes him feel as if he is a chief in the furs.” I nip lightly at her chin, her cheek, her nose, her brow, her ear.
“A chief in the furs,” she giggles. “What exactly does a chief in the furs do?”
“Whatever he wants,” I mock-growl and move lower, pressing my mouth down her smooth skin, past her prominent teats and down the slim length of her belly.
A sleepy moan escapes her throat and her hands brush over my mane. “I like where this is going.”
“Do you?” I li
ck her navel, then lower, and lower still. I lick the tuft of fur between her thighs, and when she drags her legs apart, I move between them and settle in. This is my favorite place to be, I have decided. I love to bury my mouth between my mate’s thighs and lick her until she coats my tongue with her arousal, until her cunt is clenching and needy, and she claws at my mane as if she will come apart. I put my hands on her hips and take a long, slow taste, savoring her.
“Oh,” she moans, and for once, sharp words do not fall from her lips. She is soft and open, as soft and open as her cunt before my tongue. “Oh, baby, you’re so good at that.”
I growl with pleasure, teasing the third nipple that peeks out from between her folds. I love when she gets breathless, when her hips buck against my mouth as if she can encourage my tongue even more. I love her whimpers of distress when I lift my mouth, and I love the way my khui hums and sings low in my chest, pleased that I am claiming my mate.
Liz is breathless with need, squirming under me and digging her heels into the furs—and my back—as she gets closer to her climax. “Inside me,” she pants. “Want you inside me, Raahosh.”
I can refuse her nothing. I move over her, claiming her mouth in a hot kiss. Her legs go around my hips and I fit my cock at the entrance to her core and then push deep. She moans into my mouth, and I start a slow, steady pace, thrusting into her with languid, teasing movements. I take her slow and gentle, kissing her soft mouth with every thrust even if it means I must hunch my back to make our bodies line up.
She comes quickly, her cunt clenching hard around me, and a little gasp escapes her even as her body tightens, squeezing me. When I release inside her, it is with a growl, and we slowly come down, our bodies twined together.
For a long moment, we do nothing but breathe, content to lie in a tangle of limbs. “So far, I like this honeymoon,” I tell my mate in a low voice.
Liz snores, already asleep.
I bite back a smirk of amusement and press a kiss to my mate’s brow. Humans. So fragile and easily tired, even when they say they are not.
* * *
The next day as we hike through one of the snowy valleys, my thoughts are full of Liz and her honeymoon ideas. Last night she was too tired for play, but tonight I vow that we will make camp early. Perhaps tonight I will tell her about my cock as I put it inside her. I want this honey moon thing to be good for her. I want her to be pleased she is my mate.
“I think I see someone up ahead,” Liz says, shielding her eyes.
“Eh?” Startled—and a little annoyed I was too distracted to notice first—I look up and spot a familiar shape. It is indeed a hunter, heading back to the main tribal cave. He has heavy packs on his shoulders and I study the horns, trying to decipher who it is.
Then I bite back a groan of dismay as I realize it is Vaza.
Vaza is one of the elders in the tribe, a widower whose mate died long ago. Normally Vaza is easygoing, but since the human females arrived, he has been irritating in his eagerness to show what a good provider he is. He wants a human female for himself, and I know he is lonely.
It still irritates me.
It irritates me even more because now we are going to have to talk to him and he is going to stare too hard at my Liz.
I eye his distant form, wondering if it is too late for us to hide when Vaza raises a hand in the air and waves. “Ho!”
Liz looks over at me, and there is far too much amusement in her gaze. “Hey buddy,” she calls cheerily, and then pokes my side. “Smile.”
“Why? It is Vaza.”
She snorts. “Be nice.”
“I am always nice,” I grit out as he jogs toward us.
Vaza beams a smile at us as he approaches, then claps his hands together as if so very pleased to see us. “What a joy to see the two of you out here.”
“Right?” Liz murmurs. “So surprising. How are you, Vaza?”
“Very hearty!” He claps a hand on his stomach, then slaps his arm as if to show off his muscles. “I am bringing back much fresh meat for our fragile new females.”
“Oh boy,” Liz says, and I can hear the slight souring in her tone. “Aren’t you just the biggest chauvinist.”
“A what?”
“A hero,” she amends sweetly. “You must not know that word yet.”
He grins and taps his tongue. “It is because the human language is so ridiculous.”
“So very.”
I bite the inside of my cheek, because I recognize Liz’s accommodating tone. It is a very dangerous tone indeed and Vaza does not realize it.
“We head out to the far reaches,” I say, and put my arm around Liz’s shoulders, squeezing. If I must be polite, she must be, too.
“Freshly mated and off to the far reaches!” Vaza rubs his hands and looks so pleased you would think he was the one who was “freshly mated.” “You will be very alone out there. Of course, that might be exactly what you wish.” And he gives me a knowing look.
“Gosh, you know what? I think I’m going to go see what’s up ahead on that rise,” Liz says, sliding out of my grasp.
“You should stay close,” Vaza adds with a frown. “Humans are fragile—”
“And this one’s about to puke.” She smiles tightly at both of us. “Baby stuff, you know.”
She walks away and makes a face behind his back and a throat cutting motion. I know what that means—end the conversation.
Vaza just gives me a knowing look. “Fragile.”
“Yes, well, we cannot stay to talk for long,” I begin lamely.
“Because you wish to spend an early evening with your mate?” He grins, utterly pleased. “I understand this. It is a wonderful feeling, a fresh resonance and an eager mate.” He leans in close. “Do you need…advice?”
“Advice?”
“On how to please a mate? I have much experience in the furs. I can share what I know.” He taps his chest. “This elder has seen much in his day.”
Oh. I hesitate, because I am not sure if Vaza is the one I wish to ask for such things. Yet, he is here, and he is offering, and more than anything, I want to make my Liz wild with need. “I want to surprise her,” I admit, thinking of the bow lessons she has promised to give me. “To do something special, just for her.”
“Ahhh.” He rubs his hands again and looks thrilled. “I know how to do that.”
“You do?”
“Yes. You surprise them in the furs. Do things they do not expect.” He leans in close, grinning. “A finger in the hole, a bit of tail play, that sort of thing.”
“Finger in the hole?” I echo. “Which hole?”
“The last one.”
I stare at him in surprise. “They like that?”
Vaza shrugs. “I do.”
Is this an entirely different area I have not even considered, then? I think of my Liz and how she put her mouth all over my cock in ways that stunned me. Before she did that, it did not occur to me that females would do such things to their males. It stands to reason that perhaps she would like a finger in her back hole. “I will think on this.”
He claps my shoulder. “Trust me. Your mate will be beside herself with excitement.”
Perhaps so. I grunt acknowledgement, but even as I mull Vaza’s advice, I feel…terrible. Are there entire areas of my mate I have not pleasured simply because it did not occur to me?
Am I…lacking as a partner?
The thought is hard to stomach.
7
LIZ
The cave we stop at that evening is in a lovely little valley with a sea of sashrem trees nearby and a burbling hot stream not too far away. It’s perfect. The cave is large and full of supplies, and while it doesn’t have the hot tub that the other one did, it’s comfortable.
“We could stay here for a few days,” I tell Raahosh excitedly. “Maybe start your bow lessons?”
He grunts and picks up a few fallen tree branches to use as firewood, not commenting. He’s been like this all afternoon, and at first I just thou
ght it was him and his usual taciturn self, but whenever I ask him questions, I get monosyllabic responses or no response at all, and that’s wearing thin.
I put my hands on my hips and study him as he picks up another branch and shakes the snow off. “Did something crawl up your ass?”
Raahosh looks surprised and turns as if looking at the back of his pants. His tail flicks over his backside. “No…?”
“I meant that you’re in a bad mood. Is something wrong?”
“Nothing.”
His answer makes me grit my teeth in frustration. Aren’t we too early in our relationship for this passive-aggressive bullshit? It’s not like Raahosh. If he’s unhappy with something, he’s quick to let me know it. He wouldn’t just stew on it to force me to pry it out of him. Therefore…it must be something that’s truly bothering him that he doesn’t want to share. “I can tell it’s something.” I move forward and lightly stroke his arm. “We’re mates, aren’t we? You need to talk to me. Tell me what’s on your mind.”
Raahosh doesn’t look me in the eye. He doesn’t pull away, either, and after a long moment, he admits, “I am…thinking of pleasuring you.” The base of his horns flushes a deep blue.
He’s thinking about sex? Aww. Why does that make my insides all gooey and warm? “Nothing wrong with that,” I tease, leaning forward and lightly nipping at his bare bicep with my teeth. “I think about it a lot, too. So when do we stop for the evening so we can turn our thoughts into deeds?”
The look he gives me is full of a mixture of emotions—relief that I’m not teasing him, need, and amusement. “Whenever you like.”
“I vote the next cave we run across is our evening stop. I don’t care how early it is. We need our strength for our honeymoon.” And I give him the least subtle wink ever.
Raahosh snorts, sounding more like himself. He puts a big hand on my shoulder, his thumb rubbing over my layers of clothing as if he can touch the skin underneath. “There is a cave not too far from here. Not over the next ridge, but the one after that.”
