by Ruby Dixon
Until then, I will have to wait. She can talk with the humans around her, sharing stories and reassuring each other that all is well. I remind myself that this is new to them. They lean on one another because that is what is familiar. I give my mate space, going to her side occasionally to push a bowl of food into her hands to ensure she is well-fed, or to take her bone needles when the tips need sharpening.
Mar-lenn smiles at me and gives me gentle touches as I do, but does not get up from her spot with the human females, so I busy myself with other tasks. There are more hides to be scraped, and more kills brought in by the hunters. There are no signs of Pashov or Dagesh and their humans, which means their resonance has not yet been fulfilled, so we will all wait here in the spacious Elders’ cave for them to return.
Zolaya squats next to me as I scrape a hide and watch my mate. “What is your female’s name?”
A possessive blast rushes through me and I rock back on my heels, baring my teeth at him. “Why do you wish to know?” She is my mate.
He rubs his chest, and I realize he is resonating, and quite loudly. “Because she has been kind to my mate.” He gives me a crooked smile. “Air-ee is very frightened and most of the females are impatient with her, but your mate is very kind and I can tell that it makes her comfortable. Will you thank her for me?”
I glance over, where my mate has been sitting with the same female. Their heads are together and Mar-lenn shows her the stitches in the leather she is sewing. She has sat by the same female all night, and I did not realize the weepy one was Zolaya’s mate. “You resonated?”
He nods, his grin growing wider. “My heart overflows with joy. I did not know such happiness could exist.” He touches his chest, rubbing over his khui. “I feel very lucky this day.”
I sit back on my haunches and look over at my mate. I know just how he feels.
Mar-lenn looks up and her lips curl into a tiny, sly smile. Then, she raises an arm over her head and yawns widely.
I snort to myself, because my mate is not good at being subtle. I wipe my hands clean, giving her a challenging look.
She yawns again, putting away her sewing, and then toys with the neck of her tunic.
I know that hint, and my cock responds, growing hard instantly and pressing against the front of my loincloth. I rinse my hands with soapy water in a nearby bowl, and then wipe them clean once more as I rise to my feet. “I think my mate is tired.”
“Tired of waiting, perhaps,” Zolaya teases. “Go and find a quiet spot for the evening.”
I can feel my face heat, but I think Zolaya is right. Mar-lenn rises to her feet as I move to her side, and I reach for her. “Come,” I say, leaning in to whisper in her ear. “I know just the place.”
“Someplace private?” She moves to my side, slipping her hand in mine.
I lead her toward where all the furs are laid out for sleeping. The female with the bad leg is already occupying one nest and Haeden lies in another on his back, pretending to relax. I move to one of the nests and roll all of the blankets up, then tuck it under my arm. “Oui, très privée.”
Mar-lenn stops, her eyes going wide. She stares at me for a moment, and then moves closer to me. “Est ce-que tu parles francais?” You speak French?
“I had the cave give me your words,” I tell her in her language. “I wanted to be able to hear everything you say.”
Her hand flutters to her neck, and her eyes are curiously shiny. “I have never wanted a man as much as I want you in this moment,” she says, her voice loud. “If you want me to drop to my knees right here and suck your cock, I will do so happily.”
By the ancestors. Surely she jests.
I try not to look at my mate, glancing around the cave to see if anyone else has noticed Mar-lenn’s bold speech. But they only look at us, puzzled. No one understood her.
No one except me.
I swallow the knot in my throat and speak up, using her language. “I plan on licking your cunt until you scream again. And again. At least twice, maybe three times. It depends on how good you are. And then I will mate you so hard that you will not be able to walk in the morning.”
Mar-lenn gasps, and then gives a throaty little laugh. “I am so turned on right now.”
“Then follow me,” I say, ignoring the confused looks of the rest of the tribe as we speak nonsense words they cannot understand. I take my mate’s hand and drag her after me, heading deeper into the Elders’ Cave. “When I was a new hunter barely old enough to hold a spear, there was a place I would go to in here, hidden in the back. We will have privacy there.”
“This is an old ship,” Mar-lenn says as I lead her deeper into the cave. “Are these crew quarters?”
“I do not know what that is.”
“Mmm. I suppose it doesn’t matter. The only thing that matters is getting alone with you so I can rip that tiny loincloth off your magnificent cock and take it into my mouth.”
I stagger, the furs spilling from my arms as her words paint a picture in my mind. Again she says such a thing. I look around, flushed, and then lean in, my voice dropping to a whisper. “You would take my cock into your mouth?”
She licks her lips, blatant. “You don’t like that idea? But you licked my pussy last night. Several times.”
“Of course. You are my mate. It is my pleasure to have the taste of your sweetness on my tongue.” Even now, my mouth is watering to think about it. I am tempted to drop to my knees here in the long cave passageway and do so in this very moment, but I do not want someone else seeing.
“So I can do the same for you.” She takes my hand again and picks up one of the furs, holding it back out to me. “It’ll be fun.”
Fun.
I cannot stop thinking of her suggestion. Of the hot feel of her mouth and tongue when she kisses me…what will that feel like if she sucks on me…a shudder ripples up my spine and my sac is tight, as if I am already dangerously close to spilling my release. I tug her hand and storm toward the cave I have in mind. It is one of the caves in the very back of the long corridor, with no flashing lights or anything inside it. It is just an empty cave, but the thing I have always liked about it is that the privacy screen built into the wall still slides forward if pushed hard enough, and I pull my mate into the room and tug the screen over the portal.
“A door,” she says, delighted. “Marvelous.”
“Yes, a door.” I recognize the word in her language. I finish pushing it closed, leaving only a small gap wide enough for a finger to squeeze in, because once I closed myself in as a kit and only managed to work the screen—the door—back open again the next day. Ever since then, I have been careful in the Elders’ Cave, but tonight, I do not much care about careful. All I care about is Mar-lenn and the hot promises she speaks of.
I toss the furs down on the hard floor and unfurl them, then look at my mate. She curls one lock of hair around her finger and bites her lip, smiling at me. So beautiful, my Mar-lenn…and so naughty. I point at the furs. “Lie down so I can taste your cunt.”
“Mmm, so bold now that we are alone. I like it.” She chuckles even as she completely ignores me. Instead, she moves to my front and puts her hands on my belt, tugging at the firm leather. “You didn’t like my suggestion?” Mar-lenn looks up at me and licks her pink, pink lips. “I thought it would be fun.”
“Mar-lenn,” I pant, wanting to fling her down on the furs and rip her leathers off of her—again. “What you suggest…do mated couples do that?”
Her dark brows furrow. “Why would they not? You do it to me.”
Why not, indeed. In all of my dreams of having a mate, of tasting her, holding her close…I never imagined such a thing. It feels like too much. “You truly want this?”
She licks her shiny mouth again and gives me a sultry smile, then pulls apart the knot that holds my belt in place. It slithers down my hips, my loincloth fluttering after it, and then I stand in front of her in nothing but my boots. My cock is already hard and aching, thrusting between u
s, and when I look down, I can see the head is beaded with droplets of seed.
Then, my wicked, naughty mate drops to her knees in front of me.
I groan, planting a hand on the cold, flat walls of the Elders’ cave to steady myself.
“Look at this, you are too tall,” she tells me, pouting up at me. She gestures at the distance between her face and my erection. “I need your cock at the level of my mouth. We shall have to think of something else.”
Before I can even think, I drop to my knees in front of her. “Better?” I ask, voice husky.
She giggles, her pleased smile beautiful to see. One small hand pressed against my chest and she leans in. “Maybe you should lie on your back, my mate, so you can watch me better.”
A sound of need rips from my throat, but I do as she commands—I am helpless to do otherwise. She could command me to run off of a cliff and I would gladly do so if she would only lick her pretty pink mouth again. I fling myself down on the furs and lie flat on my back, my cock pushing into the air as Mar-lenn watches me, undoing the laces at the neck of her tunic.
“Do you need to be naked for this?” I ask, curious.
“No, but it’s more fun that way.” Mar-lenn teases the neck of her tunic open and slides a finger between the deep valley of her teats, and I see what she means. I pant as I watch her, fascinated as she caresses her teats through the gap at the front of her tunic and then pulls the entire thing off over her head. Then they are revealed to me in their rounded glory, pale and tightly tipped, and I want to have one in my mouth. I groan, reaching for her, and she swats my hand away.
“Non, mon cher. It’s my turn to have some fun. You lie back and tell me if I do anything you don’t like.” As I watch her, she pulls the tie loose from her braid and her soft hair cascades down one bare shoulder.
“I will like all of it,” I blurt out. “You do not even have to touch me and I know that.”
She bites her lip, amused. “Then perhaps you tell me which things you like the most.”
And my beautiful, bold mate abruptly leans over and licks the head of my cock clean.
“That,” I say immediately, my voice strangled. “I like that.”
Mar-lenn giggles, pleased at my reaction. “Are you sure? Shall I do it again?”
I open my mouth to protest that I am positive that I liked it, but then I think of her hot tongue swiping over the head of my cock once more and close my mouth, nodding once. There is nothing that I want in this world more than her tongue on my cock again.
She leans over again, but instead of licking me, she gently blows on the wet head of my cock.
“I like that less,” I point out, trying to be helpful. “Your tongue is better.”
She laughs again, and the sound makes my cock jolt. “It is called being a tease, mon beau.”
“I like your teasing,” I tell her seriously. “I like everything about you.”
My mate sighs, looking over at me. “You really are the sweetest man. That deserves a reward of less teasing, I think.” And she leans in close again, her soft mane spilling onto my thighs as she drags her tongue over the head of my cock once more.
I let out a strangled groan. “I like that,” I whisper. “So much.”
“Bien,” she says in a low purr, and then grasps the root of my cock as if to steady it, then swirls her tongue around the head once more. I watch, fascinated, my body humming with need as she licks the tip, then teases her lips over the head, toying with it, and with me. My bold mate then leans in further and licks me from tip to sac, her tongue moving over my ridges. She makes little sounds of pleasure as she explores my cock with her tongue, her hand going from the base of my cock to tease my sac.
I cannot breathe. She is too much, my mate, and I want nothing more than to watch this for the rest of my days, her pink mouth moving over the vein that runs down one side of my cock. She gives me a little squeeze, then leans over and takes my entire spur into her mouth, sucking and teasing the underside, rubbing it with her tongue.
I let out a fierce cry, my hands clenching into fists as I do my best not to spill into the fingers that tickle the base of my shaft.
“Shhh,” Mar-lenn says as she lifts her mouth. “You will make them come running to see what cruel things the human female does to you.”
“Not cruel,” I whisper, panting. “Amazing.”
She tongues my spur again—something I never thought sensitive until now—and then goes back to my cockhead. With another mischievous little smile, she takes the entire thing into the hot well of her mouth, stretching her lips wide as she sucks me in.
It is obscene.
It is beautiful.
I immediately lose control, grabbing a handful of her mane and holding her there as I pump furiously against her mouth. I shuttle against her tongue, barely pushing into her as I spill my release all over her lips and down her chin. I am both horrified and aroused at the sight of that—horrified that I have come all over her, and aroused at her wearing my release on her face. “Mar-lenn,” I say, my arousal dying to shame as I realize what I have done. I came in her mouth, not her cunt. I got my release all over her face. “I am sorry—”
And then my bold mate licks her lips, her tongue swiping at my release. She tastes me and then wipes more off of her chin, feeding it into her mouth. “I wanted you to come quickly, mon beau. I like that I can make you lose your control like that.” And she smiles sweetly at me, even with the spatters of my release on her face and breasts.
No male is worthy of such a perfect mate. My khui sings contentedly in my chest, as if in agreement, and I grab discarded leather—her tunic—and hastily swipe at the seed I have left dotting her pale skin. “I will get you something new to wear for tomorrow,” I promise her. This tunic has had a rough time of it in the last day. Torn apart, stitched together, and now covered in seed. “Are you…well? Happy?”
She leans in and kisses me, and there is a strange taste on her lips. It is mine. I…am not sure I like tasting myself, but as long as it is on her mouth, I do not mind. She seems so pleased with herself, too. “I liked watching you,” she tells me, no shyness in her at all.
I want to repay her. More than that, I want her taste on my lips. So when she moves to settle in next to me on the furs, I grab her leggings and carefully flip our bodies, rolling until she is on her back and I am over her. Her eyes flare with excitement, and when I tug her clothing down, she wiggles to help me free her. Her clothing gets stuck on her boots, and it feels like a lesson in patience as I take my time and undo lace after lace, until the leathers and the boots and all of the garments fall away from her. And then she is just Mar-lenn, naked and glorious and waiting for my mouth.
I push her thighs apart eagerly and lower my face to her cunt, not surprised to find her sultry with arousal. She enjoyed licking me just as much as I am going to enjoy licking her.
And I am going to wear her release, just like she wore mine. With that pleasant thought, I go to work on my mate’s sweet cunt. Mar-lenn’s cries fill the small cave, and she rocks against my face, holding onto my horns for support as I make her come at least twice before I pin my panting, eager mate under me and thrust home into her once more.
It is a long time before we sleep, but I do not think Mar-lenn minds.
I know I do not.
14
MARLENE
T he next few days are ones of ease and quiet. Now that we are in the ruins of the old ship—what the tribe calls the ‘Elders’ Cave’, we are comfortable and there is plenty of room for all, so we wait here for the others that resonated to return. Nora resonated to a male named Dazhesh or Dayesh. I cannot say his name the same as the sa-khui do. Stacy resonated to Pashov, who is my mate’s brother. And the loud, blonde Liz has been taken away by a sullen male by the name of Raahosh for resonance.
Zennek and I were the first to return, it seems. Once I find that out, I am a little disappointed. We could have stayed out longer? Had more privacy? But it is just as well�
�we have enough privacy in our little room at night in the back hall of the crumbling spaceship, and here we have food and a roof over our heads.
Nora returns the morning after we do, and she is all giggles and delight. She is a pleasant woman, with a sweet personality, and adores her new mate. He has dried all of her worried tears and now she smiles all day long.
I know how she feels, being so ridiculously happy for no reason. I should be miserable like the others that have not resonated. After all, I am on the same wintry planet they are on. I have no route home. I will be living in this caveman culture for the rest of my days like everyone else.
But…I have Zennek. I do not care how much ice is in this world, because I have Zennek’s smiles and his blushes. I have a mate that is bashful around his tribe and turns into an absolute tiger the moment we are alone.
Let it snow all it wants.
Ariana—the nervous girl—resonated to a male named Zolaya, and while she likes him, it is clear she is not very comfortable in this place just yet. Where Nora makes bawdy jokes and giggles every time her new mate passes by, Ariana looks strained and uncomfortable. It is not because of her man, I think, but something else that troubles her. Sometimes she looks miserable and it pulls at my heart.
She needs a friend, and so I will be that friend for her.
Because there is much to be done to feed and clothe so many people, the men of the tribe are very busy. My Zennek gives me a kiss each morning and tells me what he must do that day—sometimes he goes hunting, sometimes he goes out on supply runs to look for herbs for a particular pain-deadening tea, or roots that will be good for the stew the humans eat. There are furs that must be scraped and prepared, more boots and cloaks and mittens to be made, and weapons to be sharpened. All of the tools here seem to be bone, and because bone dulls quickly, it must be sharpened over and over again before being discarded, just like my needles.
