by Ruby Dixon
“Mock…me?”
“Because of your odd tongue.”
She chuckles into my ear again. “Oh, I like you, mon ami. You are adorable.”
I know that word, and I can feel the base of my horns flushing with heat. I deliberately slow my steps so we can be at the back of the group, so no others will see my erection and wonder what things she says to me with her unusual tongue.
“I tried to give you my name,” she continues when I do not speak up. “It is Marlene.”
“Mar-lennnn,” I echo, trying to pronounce it like she does. “I am called Zennek.”
“It is a pleasure to meet you, Zennek,” she whispers against my neck, her breath tickling my skin, and it sends a shiver right to my groin. Even the way she says my name is…enticing.
She makes me wonder, this Mar-lenn. I grow bold enough to ask her a question. “May I ask you something?”
“Of course.”
“You do not scream and cry like the others. Are you not afraid?”
She is silent for a moment, as if contemplating my words. “Would you prefer that I squeal and cling to you in terror so you can feel brave?”
I think for a moment. “No. I would rather you not be afraid. We mean you no harm.” I want to tell her that I like her smiles, but that feels too bold, and I am not yet that bold around such a strange female.
“I am worried, oui, because I would be a fool to not have worry. This is a new place and it is very cold and strange. But I am not scared, non. Look.” She points at the ground.
I see nothing but footprints, and wait for her to indicate what I am supposed to be seeing.
“Those two boot prints have come together at the heel. Like a heart.” She says it softly, full of wonder. “That tells me I am safe here.”
She thinks boot prints will keep her safe? I worry that her brain is just as strange as her tongue, but I say nothing. I do not wish to hurt her feelings.
Perhaps I have already said too much.
5
MARLENE
Zennek is skittish around me.
He is a gentleman, of course. All of the grands hommes bleus are. They are careful with us right down to the last crying female, and when they hunt down the large creature they call a sa-kohtsk, they make sure we are safely hidden out of the way so no harm can come to us. Then, we are given the khui—the parasite. I do not remember much of that, just of one of the men holding a knife to my neck and nicking me. Something cool slithered against my throat.
Then…sleep.
When I woke up, there was a campfire. I moved toward it and counted heads. Two of the women seem to be missing, which is strange. I realize that one is Georgie…and perhaps it is not so strange after all. I do not know who the other missing one is. I touch my neck as I slowly wake up, but I do not hurt. In fact, I feel…nice. Comfortable. The air no longer shocks me with the bitterness of it. It will never be pleasant, but now the discomfort is mild and my furs make up for it. I move closer to the fire and sit next to the other women, watching as they chatter and talk to one another, sharing introductions. I am the only Frenchwoman, and I feel very different from the others. I continue to rub my neck thoughtfully as I look around, searching blue faces for a familiar one with a tight braid and a bashful expression.
Sure enough, there is Zennek, watching me from the far side of the encampment. He immediately ducks his head at the sight of me.
I cannot help but smile. Là, but he is shy. Georgie said they did not have many females, which seemed to be odd to me. But now that I have met Zennek? I believe it. I have never met one so very shy and yet so very masculine. He bulges with muscle but will not look me in the eye as if it is too difficult for him.
It’s…surprisingly endearing. Sweet. There is something pure about his reactions to me…and my reaction to him is very much not pure.
I want to filthy him up.
I want to see if he will blush even with kisses.
I want to see if he blushes if I touch his cock, or take him into my mouth. I want to see his reaction when he touches me. Or when I touch him. Or when we try a variety of sexual positions…
My thoughts are positively scorching. I fan my face, my thoughts making my body heat.
“Are you too warm?” someone asks beside me. Nora, I think.
I shake my head. “Just…thinking about stuff.”
“I understand.” She rubs her chest, her own expression one of distraction as she gazes into the fire. “I’m having a hard time concentrating on much of anything.”
I feel that as well. There is something inside me that feels as if it is unfurling, waking up for the first time, and I wonder if we are all supposed to feel this. If it is natural with this nouvel ami, the khui. I don’t know and I’m not sure who to ask. Perhaps Zennek.
Or perhaps I am just looking for excuses to talk to him.
I keep thinking about how soft his skin was, how warm his big, strong body was under mine as he carried me. He hefted me on his back for hours, never tiring, never complaining. It was as if I weighed nothing to him, and the thought is an arousing one. I am drawn to strength, and he has it by the fistful.
I glance over at him again and as I do, heat throbs through my body. My nipples prick and I shift on my seat. I’m sitting on a rock near the fire, which means my backside is cold, but parts of me feel…liquid. Aching. Needy.
This is new.
I slide a hand between my thighs as if that will help the ache rising there.
“Where is Georgie?” someone asks, yawning.
I find it strange they can yawn. Should I be sleepy? I am not. Everything in me is utterly awake, and I steal another glance over at Zennek. He watches me from afar and this time, he doesn’t duck his head or break eye contact. His blue glowing eyes lock with mine and it sends a ripple of…something through me.
“She has gone off to mate with Vektal,” one of the tall blue ones tells her. “It is resonance.”
Ah yes, the hunger for another that does not end until a mate has been claimed.
“What does resonance feel like?” Nora asks, and she is breathless beside me. Her gaze fixes on the male standing near the fire, and I notice his gaze is locked on her. “Does it make you tingle…everywhere?”
The male groans.
Nora jumps to her feet. Then, I hear it. We all hear it—like a drumbeat, Nora’s chest is purring a loud rhythm that is matched by the alien across from her. He puts a hand out to Nora and she takes it, then flings herself into his arms.
With a groan, he grabs her ass, hauls her up against him, and then stalks out of the camp with her pressed to his front.
“Uh, should someone stop them?” asks a red-haired woman.
“It is resonance,” one of the males remaining by the campfire says. “There is no stopping it.” I notice envy in their looks as they watch Nora and her male storm away.
“I think I’m resonating, too,” another woman says, getting to her feet. She is curvy, with a sweet face, and her eyes are wide as she stares at one of the males hovering nearby. For a moment, I think she will snatch up my Zennek, but I am relieved when a tall male approaches the fire and scoops her up into his arms, storming away.
So dramatic.
J’adore.
“Wow, this is crazy,” someone says under their breath. “What’s going on?”
“Resonance,” several people tell her, and more than one sounds annoyed at having to repeat themselves.
The seats near me by the fire are empty, but no one is rushing to fill them. I wonder if Zennek will come sit with me if I wink and pat the stone next to me? Probably not. He is too shy.
I wonder why I am so obsessed with him. I rub between my thighs idly, then realize what I am doing. I am hot between my legs. No, more than that. I am practically dripping with need. Oh. I look across the fire at Zennek once more, and I know why I am so fascinated with him.
He is mine.
6
MARLENE
T he rumble in my
chest starts, deafening. It makes sense now, I think, and I cannot stop smiling as I get to my feet. Resonance. I know who it is, too. It is the shy, handsome one with the thick biceps and sturdy body that makes my mouth water. There are people whispering as I stand up, but I cannot hear their words. I do not care what they think. All I know is that Zennek should be touching me right now, and it is a shame that he is not.
I stride across the camp, holding my fur wraps against me as I approach him. He stands in place, frozen, his bright blue eyes locked on mine. There is no shyness in them now, only a startled expression as if he truly does not believe what he sees.
I reach forward, noticing that he has put on a thick tunic that hides his chest. Oh, I do not like this. I grab the front of the offending thing and then pull him down against me, pressing my mouth to his.
He does not kiss me back. He remains stiff and startled, and that is all right. I can show him how to kiss me. I can show him so many things. “Take me away from here, mon beau.”
His expression dazed, Zennek gently takes me into his arms, then pulls his tunic off his head and drags it over mine. More clothing is…not what I wanted. Before I can sputter a retort, he hauls me into his arms and then strides out of camp with me over his shoulder.
Ah. That is much better.
I smile to myself even as I grab at his tight, fussy braid. Is all of him this tightly wound? I look forward to seeing him unleashed. I look forward to a great many things, actually. I press my cold fingers to my lips, thinking as I bob on his shoulder. He’s silent, but he moves through the snowy night as if he knows where he is going, so I say nothing. I do not think I can talk over the insistent throb of my khui in my chest. It hammers a beat inside my body, and my pulse feels as if it moves in time with it. Heat fills my thighs, and my nipples rub against the leathers, making me crazy with need. I want to talk to Zennek when we arrive at…wherever we are going. I need to know more about resonance, what it means for us, but…it is terribly hard to think with the hunger rushing through my body. Georgie warned us. She said that the aliens told her resonance would mean a great, hungry need for another person that would not cease until mating was finished. I did not pay much attention, and now I wish I had, because the need for Zennek is consuming me. I want him to fling me down into the snow and ravish me. I want him to stop where we are, rip my leather pants off and bury his cock in my aching, liquid heat.
I want to ride him like a rollercoaster. I want to put my mouth all over his beautiful blue body and discover him with my tongue.
I want so, so many things, and I bite back a moan of hunger.
Zennek does not seem to be stopping anytime soon, but I can hear his khui singing in his chest, and his breath rasps in the night air. Before, he did not have trouble carrying me, but now he breathes heavy? Is he as affected as I am? Selfishly, I hope so. I squirm atop his shoulder, wishing he would slide a hand between my thighs and help me out as he walked.
Just thinking that practically makes me come.
“Where…are we going?” I manage, panting as well.
“Cave,” he says, voice thick. “Hunter…cave.”
“Close?” I ask.
He makes a sound that might be agreement. I hope it is close. I have never needed a man as badly as I need this one. I think about the kiss again. He did not kiss me back. Do his people not kiss? Or is it me he does not wish to kiss?
A new thought occurs to me.
If they do not have many females…this will all be new to him. He is the biggest, brawniest, sexiest virgin.
And he is mine.
I practically purr with the realization and drag my nails lightly along his rippling, muscled back. He jerks in response, and I can feel him go stiff under my shoulder. Then, he is panting hard once more even though he has stopped moving.
“Are we alone?” I ask. “Can we stop here, mon beau?” Because I do not want to wait until we are alone in a cave. I want him now. Maintenant.
“Soon,” he manages, and I bite back words that my mother would have disapproved of. Instead, I run my hand down his naked back once more, pleased that all of this soft, velvety skin is right under my hands for the touching…and there it is.
Hard, bony plates trail up his back, and one directly over his tailbone is in the shape of a heart. Of course it is.
Zennek is mine.
I practically purr with the pleasure this thought brings me, and I trace a finger over it. He asked before if I was afraid. I was not, because I knew Maman was watching over me. This heart? I do not care if it is something all his people have—I see it right now, and I know he is mine and we are meant to be. It is almost as if Maman has approved of him.
The thought fills me with joy. It feels good.
Almost as good as the needy heat rushing through my body. It pulses through me in time with my heartbeat and seems to grow stronger with every breath I take. The most frustrating thing is that Zennek does not seem to be stopping anytime soon. He keeps walking through the snow as if we must get somewhere important.
I let this go on for a time, but I grow impatient. I need…something. Relief, certainement. A break? That too. A snack? Answers to where we are going? Yes to all. So I pat my big alien on the back to get his attention. “Where do we go, mon beau?”
“Hunter cave,” he tells me, as if that explains all.
“Is it far?”
“No.”
Well, that is something at least. I look around, lifting my head, but I can no longer see the campfire in the distance where the others are huddled. We have gone far, I think, farther than I realized. How long have we been walking?
No one has stopped Zennek as he stole me away so they must be okay with this. The thought amuses me for some reason. They saved me from the bad aliens only to let this shy, beefy one steal me away so he can ravish me.
I am ready for my ravishment, though. Very ready.
I squirm on his shoulder, shifting my bottom and hoping he’ll put a hand on it. “Are we there yet?”
“Not yet. Close.”
Mais alors, this man misses all of my signals. I grab his braid and bring it to my face, brushing the tail of it against my cheek as I ride slung over his shoulder. His hair is thick and not soft like his skin—it feels more like cords than silk, but I like the texture of it all the same. I rub it against my lips and then breathe in its almost fruity scent. His hair smells like berries, which is odd, but I like it. I soon grow tired of toying with his hair and think as I run the tail of his braid over my face. I want his attention and I am not afraid to be bratty to get it. Cold hands down his tiny loincloth, perhaps? I let go of his braid and use my teeth to pull my gloves off my hands. Sneakily, I reach down just as his tail flicks back and forth, like a cat’s. Oooh, interesting. I wonder if he will notice if I touch his tail.
Curious, I gently run a finger along the base of it.
Zennek makes a strange gargling sound and the world tips over. Astonished, it takes me a moment to realize what is happening, but then I hit the snow and flop onto my back. Did he…drop me?
I sit up, spitting snow and swiping it off of my face. I look over at him and mon beau lies entirely on his back, flat, his hands cupped in front of his loincloth. His brow is flushed—something I can see even in the dark—and he is breathing hard, his khui humming furiously.
And even though his hands are big, I can see that Zennek cannot entirely hide his…gifts under them.
Là. Now that is interesting.
“Did you trip?” I ask, amused. I lean closer to him and walk my fingers up one veiny bicep.
Skittish, he immediately rolls away and gets to his feet, not quite willing to face me. “Do not…no…tail…” he manages. “Not yet.”
Ah. Tails are far more sensitive than I imagined, then. Feeling naughty, I smile into the darkness. “I will save it for later, then. Have we arrived?”
“Just over the next ridge,” he tells me, gaze averted.
I get to my feet and dust off my furs.
“Bon, let us go then.”
No sooner do I stoop to scoop up my gloves than I am back in his arms again, this time carried like a bride toward the threshold. I fling my arms around his neck, but he won’t look at me. His expression is…constipated. I want to giggle at how stoic he is trying to be. The more awkward and charming he is, the more playful it makes me.
“Is this a nice cave?” I ask him, sliding my hand down to his bare chest. Oh, I like being held in front of him much better than slung over his shoulder. Now I can caress him however I want…and I will have warning if he accidentally flings me into the snow again.
His mouth purses, practically in a frown. “Nice?”
“Oui. Is that why we go to it instead of making love in the snow right here? Because it is nice and romantic?” I roll the “r” in romantic dramatically even as I reach up to caress his jaw. Part of this is me being flirty and playful and having fun, and part of this is just blatant need for this big, sexy alien thanks to the khui humming insistently in my chest. I just want to touch him all over.
No, I amend silently. I need to touch him all over. It is worse than a craving, it is need. I feel as if I must, or this intense ache throbbing through me will never go away.
Zennek spares a look in my direction. “It is…a cave?”
Well, I knew that much. “I can mate in the snow if you promise to keep my derriere warm,” I tell him, tracing my finger along his collarbone. My, but he’s brawny.
He makes another strangled sound and then stares straight ahead, his footsteps seemingly quicker than before. “The cave…it has furs. Fuel. Food.”
“The three Fs,” I say, pretending to be solemn. “Very important. But you forgot F number four.”
“Number four?”
“Fucking.” I trace a finger around his nipple. Ooh, it’s hard as a rock. “Though I suppose we will be bringing the fucking.”
7
MARLENE
His arms jerk around me and his breath sucks in even as his khui sings louder. For a moment, I think he’s going to drop me—all because of a not-so-innocent nipple touch—but he recovers and keeps walking forward with grim determination. I smile to myself, because he is adorable in his virginal shyness.
