by Dixon, Ruby
My cock is so stiff at the thought that it makes it difficult to walk. I sling my pack over my shoulder and discreetly settle it in front of my rigid cock before heading towards the main encampment.
Several of the humans are awake, drinking the beverage they call “shrimp tea” and chatting quietly. I immediately spot Nadine, her wild, curly hair pulled into a charming tuft atop her head. Her friend Penny is not out, but she sits with Bridget and they talk in low voices, smiles on their faces as they hold their cups. I want to immediately go to Nadine's side, to push to the front of the others so she can see me and smile in my direction…but just then, someone hands her a bowl and she begins to eat.
Hmm. She is small like the other humans. I should let her fill her belly before asking her to go hunt with me. Maybe we will run instead. She liked running, until I ruined it. This time I have learned, though. I will not push Nadine for anything except her company. When she is used to my presence and no longer runs away from the idea of hunting with me, then I will ask her for more kisses.
After all, she did not say no yesterday when I asked her. She only laughed and said it was complicated.
As far as I am concerned, if it is not a no, it is a yes.
But I watch her as she eats, and pretend to pay attention to a conversation Ashtar is having with Raahosh and R'jaal nearby. S’bren hurries past the group, heading back into the women’s cave with a steaming bowl and a cup balanced in his hands. I have heard the tale of how he rescued Nadine’s friend Penny, and how she looks at him with new eyes now. I hope for poor S’bren’s sake that he does not mess this up for himself. The male has been completely besotted with the bland Penny ever since the games.
Penny is a pleasant enough female, I suppose. Her teats seem to be large and bouncy and her smile is nice, and I suppose those are appealing things. Her skin is wan, though, and I find I prefer Nadine’s robust hue. I prefer Nadine’s wild curls and athletic build. I prefer Nadine’s smile and her strength and her wit. I prefer her mouth.
I push the pack against my aching cock, trying to get it to go down. Just thinking about Nadine’s mouth makes me worry I will spill. Then I will have to return to my hut and change my leathers, just like when baby Glory makes a mess in hers. That is a shameful enough mental image that my cock goes down, to my relief.
I watch Nadine out of the corner of my eye as she eats, half-listening to the cluster of warriors nearby.
"I have seen no signs of him," Ashtar tells R'jaal.
"He is wily, Old Grandfather," R'jaal says, unsurprised. "Even on the island, he was a legend amongst our people. He is good at hiding himself."
"From above, one canyon looks much like another," Ashtar continues. "And these mountains are riddled with canyons. It is not so inconceivable that he should hide."
"Foolishness." Raahosh's voice is sharp. I glance over and see his arms are crossed, a scowl on his face. "He is a skyclaw. They are massive. How hard can it be to find a massive skyclaw? Does he not leave a trail of some kind? Droppings? Half-eaten creatures?"
"Not Old Grandfather," R'jaal replies. "He is cleverer than most."
"Or he hides in the mountains and knows to avoid me when I fly through," Ashtar muses. "I am bigger and stronger, so he is smart enough to get out of my way."
"He is a problem," Raahosh says. "Our hunters will not be entirely safe until he is gone from this area. I do not feel comfortable sending the females out alone to hunt, no matter how capable. Even Farli must bring her mate with her. I do not want anyone going out alone, for that matter. Male or female."
"I will continue to look for him," Ashtar says. "But not this day. My mate is tired from healing and she carries my young. I do not want to leave her side."
The look Raahosh gives him is impatient, but he nods. He turns to R'jaal. "Are all your hunters out?"
"Not all."
"Send two of them to look for signs he is still near the fruit cave. The cat clan has a good sense of smell, yes? Tell them to go."
R'jaal bares his teeth in a grimace. "I will suggest to I'rec and perhaps U'dron that they should go out. Suggest," he emphasizes again. "Shadow Cat clan does not appreciate it when Tall Horn demands anything."
Raahosh rolls his eyes. "Suggest or demand, I do not care. I will speak to them if I must."
"I can handle it." R'jaal stiffens with irritation. "Trust me to know what is best for the island clans."
Raahosh's mouth thins into a flat line and he looks as if he will say more, but nods. His gaze settles on me as I listen in and watch Nadine out of the corner of my eye. "You. Vordis—"
"Thrand," I correct. For the first time, I am irritated at being mistaken for my brother a'ani. Normally such a thing does not bother me, but on this day, I do not want to be seen as anyone but Thrand. "There are two of us."
"I know this," Raahosh says, tone sharp. "Thrand, then. Do you go hunting this morning?"
"With a female, yes."
He grimaces. "Stay in the canyons and be mindful of walking on ridges. Keep low to the ground and look for signs of skyclaw. If you see anything, come back immediately and speak to me. Understand?"
I nod. "I will not put Nadine in danger."
R'jaal turns to me with a curious expression. "You go with N'deen?"
That is the plan. Nadine does not know it yet, but I think of how enjoyable yesterday was and hope she will agree to go out with me. "Yes," I tell him baldly. "She is my partner this day."
He studies me for a long moment, and his ears twitch. I realize he is waiting to hear if I am resonating, and when he hears nothing, he simply nods. "She is becoming a fierce huntress. A good choice."
His praise makes me oddly proud for the female, and I look over at her again. She is rinsing her bowl out and drying it off, chatting with another one of the females—the beast gladiator's mate, Willa. They laugh, and then Nadine looks at me, a hint of a smile on her lips.
It is not an invitation, but I do not need one. I push my way to her side before she can leave the encampment. "Will you go hunting with me this day?"
Nadine looks surprised at my boldness, but she nods. "Sure. Let me get my stuff."
I grin, pleased at how easy she is to convince. She will kiss me again soon, I decide. Very soon.
And I am ready for it.
7
THRAND
Nadine and I set off a short time later. She takes the lead, using her spear as a walking stick, and I am content to follow behind her a few steps. I like the view. It allows me to appreciate the sight of her without her noticing. We talk here and there, but I enjoy simply being at her side, watching her move as she picks over icy trails and then points toward a distant canyon. "I have a few traps there," she tells me. "Shall we go check them?"
"I bet we could run there," I say slyly, arching a brow when she looks back at me. "See who gets there first."
She rolls her eyes at me. "You are so full of crap."
"I do not—" I break off as she bolts away, heading toward the canyon as fast as she can. Wicked female. With a laugh, I take off after her, deliberately slowing my steps through the snows so the race can seem close. I pull ahead at the last moment, savoring her cursing as I zip past her. "You thought you could trick me," I call out, triumphant. I turn around and watch as she slowly jogs to my side. I stand at the entrance to the narrow canyon and spread my arms wide in a victory pose. "And yet Thrand is still undefeated."
"Oh, shut up already." She breathes hard, her hands on her hips, and her words are mean but there is a smile on her face. She shakes her head at me. "Do you ever stop competing with people?"
"Never." I grin at her, proud of myself. "If I did not win so often, perhaps it would be less enjoyable. You were a worthy opponent, though. I like your tricky mind."
She swipes at her brow, sweat gleaming on her dark skin and her lips parted as she catches her breath. I like the look of her like this, her hair tangled in the wind, her skin flushed with exertion. It makes me think of things other than running
It takes her a moment to look back at me. Nadine watches the overcast skies and the world around us before glancing over at me. "I bet we scared away all the game."
I shrug. "There will be more."
A smile curves her mouth and I am fascinated by her lips. I watch as she gracefully tucks a coiling strand of hair behind one rounded ear, and then I cannot look away. I want my fingers to be the ones dancing over that small bit of skin, not hers.
"You're staring at me," Nadine murmurs.
"I like the way you look," I admit. "I like the sweat on your skin and the way your cheeks darken with color. It makes me think about kissing you."
She swallows, and her eyes go soft. Her gaze slides to my lips, and then her eyes meet mine. "You're thinking about kissing?"
"I think about kissing you all the time," I admit. "But only you. I want to play that game again. I want to get a thigh bone and place it in front of us and wait for it to spin in your direction. I will wait a thousand lifetimes for that to happen once more, and it will be worth it."
Her brows furrow. "You'd kiss that many others in the meantime?"
Now it is my turn to frown. "That is the only flaw in my plan. I would prefer for there to be no others." And I absently wipe my mouth, thinking of the female—I cannot even remember her face—who tried to stick her tongue between my lips.
Nadine bursts into laughter, the sound high and sweet. “You want to kiss me, huh?”
“I thought that was obvious.”
“Oh, it’s pretty obvious. You’re not good at hiding anything.” Her pointed gaze drops to my crotch. “And trust me, I do mean anything.”
She has noticed my problem, then. I bite back another grimace and rise to my feet, adjusting my aching cock as I do. “That is another aspect of being a clone—we were kept deliberately sterile through medication. Now that the medication has worked its way out of my system, I find I have a new problem.” I shoot her a troubled look. “If I knew of a way to keep it from constantly rising, I would. I only have this problem around you.”
“That’s flattering.”
“It is the truth.” I shake my head. “It is shameful enough as it is without lying about it.”
“Okay, Thrand, enough of that,” Nadine says, moving toward me. Her hips move in a way that has me entranced, and my cock strains so hard against my loincloth that I feel as if it will burst free. “Nothing about need is shameful, all right? It’s a natural thing. Your masters were awful. They acted like you were less than a person, and that’s not fair to you.” She shakes her head. “Humanity did the same to my people for a long time, and…you know what? I don’t want to go down that road. This is a new world. A fresh start. For both of us.” She looks up at me, her smile brilliant as she casually pulls off a glove. “And if you want a kiss, I will kiss you.”
“Really?” It is that easy to convince her?
I hold myself completely still as she reaches up and caresses my jaw. Her fingers dance along my skin, both cold and yet utterly sweet. I lean into the caress, hungry for more. Aching for more. I’ve never ached so much for anything in this world.
“If I kiss you,” she whispers, gazing up at me with her clever, clever eyes. “You have to realize that all it is is just a kiss. It doesn’t mean we’re mates. It doesn’t mean I’m in love with you or that I’m resonating. It doesn’t mean it’s going to happen again. It just means that I find it pleasurable to give you a kiss. And after I kiss you, you can’t bring it up again or that’s the quickest way to make sure I never kiss you again, understand?”
I open my mouth to speak.
Those delicate fingers clench hard on my jaw, squeezing my cheeks so my mouth is unable to form words. “It wasn’t up for debate, Thrand. If I kiss you, I get to decide when and where I kiss you again, okay? If you hound me for more, it’s over.”
What a fierce female. I love this side of her. Even though she is as fragile in build as the rest of the females, her heart is that of the strongest Praxiian gladiator. I manage to nod.
“Good,” Nadine whispers. “Now lean down so I can do this properly.”
I move in close, dropping my spear to the ground. I want to touch her, so badly my hands are clenching at my sides, but I do not dare. She is in control right now, and she has made it quite clear that if I violate her boundaries, I will never get to kiss her again. Right now she could plant a boot on my neck and tell me to crawl all the way back to camp and if it will end in another caress, I will gladly do so. I breathe hard, my body straining. “Tell me what to do.”
She reaches up and pats my cheek. “Well, for one, calm down.” Her laughter is sweet and erotic all at once. “You look like you’re going to snap.”
“I feel as if I am going to snap,” I confess, not taking my gaze off of her as she casually looks me over. “You do not know how long I have dreamed—”
Her fingers skim over my lips, silencing me. I nearly come in my loincloth, so great is the wave of pleasure that crashes through me. Nadine continues to study me, her expression intense, as if she wants to get this just right as well. Then, she leans forward, closing the distance between us, and her lips brush over mine.
I nearly fall to my knees with the sweetness of it. She tastes faintly of tea and female, of sweat and fresh air and so many things that make me ache. Her lips are soft, her breath warm, and I will treasure this moment for the rest of my life.
I expect her to pull away immediately, like she did in the game. Instead, Nadine’s lips move gently over mine, caressing without hands. Her lips brush against my mouth and she gives me another kiss. And then another. I remain perfectly still, knowing this was not part of the bargain. My mind races, and I want to savor every kiss, every caress as her perfect, sweet mouth touches mine over and over again. Three kisses. Four. Five.
At six, her tongue brushes against the seam of my lips.
It is different from the last time. When the female did it to me before, I was shocked and repulsed at such an action. Now, I am shocked again, but my body is hungry for more. I ache with the realization that humans do use their tongues when they kiss, and a thousand scorching fantasies suddenly flood my mind.
Then, she nips at my lower lip.
I groan aloud.
Nadine pulls away, a soft chuckle on her mouth. Her rosy, beautiful mouth that was just on mine. “That was just a baby kiss,” she whispers to me. “I might show you more some other time, but you can’t ask.”
My cock is never, ever going to stop aching, and I do not even care. “I will not ask,” I promise.
I will jerk my aching cock to these things a dozen times a day, but I will never, ever ask.
* * *
NADINE
I can’t believe I did that. I smile to myself for the rest of the day, pleased with the utterly dazed expression on Thrand’s face. I just rocked that man’s world and he hasn’t said a peep about it. I want to laugh, but I have to admit I’m not completely unaffected by that kiss, either. The moment our lips touched, everything in me just lit up. It felt so good, so right.
I’m definitely going to kiss him again, I decide…but I’m going to leave him guessing for a while. He likes games, after all, and it’s fun to tease him.
Teasing Thrand might be my new favorite thing ever.
8
THRAND
The female Hannah—J’shel’s bossy mate—waves a scrap of hide in front of the group near the fire. “Before anyone goes out today, I have a laundry list of herbs that are needed to replenish our stores. We’re running low on several medicinal varieties and I could use the help gathering them. Do I have any takers? Anyone? Bueller?”
I ignore her, as do most of the people gathered for the early meal, the ones the humans call ‘break-fast.’ She has an annoying voice, but her mate is a fine hunter. She can get him to retrieve herbs for her, I decide. If I leave camp, it will be for fresh meat, not to go gather twigs.
“I can help,” Nadine says, moving toward Hannah’s side. “What is it you need?”
At my side, Taushen elbows me, amused. It is no secret amongst the others that I have been going out hunting with Nadine over the last handful of days. We invite others, such as Bridget and Penny, but for a variety of reasons, it usually ends up only being us. I do not mind this in the slightest, because it means I get to spend time alone with my beautiful female and hope that she will kiss me again.
I have not brought it up again since that day.
She has not kissed me again since that day, either.
The wait is killing me slowly. I am not the most patient of hunters.
I ignore Taushen’s shove and his laugh, glaring at him. His mate’s hands are in his thick hair, braiding it back from his face. “I was going to ask if you wanted company on your hunt this day,” Taushen says, his voice full of amusement. “But if you are just hunting roots, Brooke and I will find someone else to bother.”
I give him a sour look. “Funny.”
“He’s just being a prick,” Brooke says as she twines his hair. “I mean, I’m totally sure a few of the roots will put up a fight.”
Taushen chortles.
I give him a light shove, earning the laughter of the pair as I get up and approach Nadine. She talks with Hannah, their heads bent together as they go over the scribbles written down on the hide.
Nadine jumps as I come to her side, her cheeks flushing darker as I stand next to her. “Oh! Thrand! Are you busy today? I wanted to go check trap lines and Hannah needs some of these roots, which means I’ll need an escort.”
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