“And your family stayed here?”
“Yes. It is quiet on our mountain - or at least it was until you arrived.” Her melancholy seemed to vanish as she smiled at him. “And they needed us the most. The other settlements have grown and prospered.”
The village did not deserve her. The knowledge only renewed his determination to remove her and the children from this primitive place. He considered broaching the subject, then realized that her eyes were drooping and her body had slumped lower against the wall.
“I should not have asked you so many questions,” he apologized as he stood and gathered her up in his arms. “You are injured and exhausted.”
“I was supposed to be asking you questions.” Her soft, sleepy smile made his chest ache.
“You can ask as many as you like. But perhaps, tomorrow?”
He didn’t want to put her down. When he placed her gently in the bed, and she smiled up at him again, he had to force himself to step back. He wanted to join her in the soft sheets, to curl around her even softer body. The intensity of his own desire shocked him. The Tandroki had put the urges of the flesh behind them so many years ago. And yet, her people did not seem to have the same restrictions. Perhaps…
“I wish to kiss you.” His voice was stiff, and he waited for her to react with shock or even worse, horror.
Instead, she only looked up at him, the deep blue of her eyes mysterious and enchanting as she considered his request.
“Why?” she asked at last.
“It is not an act in which the Tandroki engage.”
“And you’re curious?”
Her voice was absolutely neutral but he thought he detected an underlying note of disapproval. He rushed to explain.
“No, that is not it. Well, perhaps it is a portion, but only a small portion,” he added hastily. Greatly daring, he reached out and traced his finger across the silky smoothness of her lower lip. “I have never entertained the idea before. The thought of performing such an act with anyone else…” He shuddered. “But with you… I suspect I would find great pleasure.”
Her face had softened while he talked and now she put her hand over his. “I don’t know that I can promise great pleasure, but I’m willing to try.”
She kissed his exploratory finger and the soft, wet brush of her mouth sent a spike of excitement down his spine as his cock jerked in response.
“Just a kiss,” she whispered as he lowered his head.
Her lips were still half parted as he pressed his mouth against hers and some hidden primal urge had him forcing them wider, opening her to the possession of his tongue. He had thought it would be pleasurable? By the Horns, he’d had no idea of the raw exquisite ecstasy of a kiss. He explored her mouth eagerly, frantically. Soft and wet and delicious.
He growled against her lips, his whole body on fire with longing and desire. His hand clenched in the silken waves of her hair, holding her in place for his desperate need. She met him just as eagerly, the fragile claws on one hand digging into his shoulder while her other hand clasped the base of one of his horns. He groaned as her grip tightened on the sensitive area. Dampness covered the head of his cock and he knew he was seconds away from exploding. Only the shame of that thought finally penetrated his urgency and he forced himself to lift his head. But he could not bring himself to move more than a breath away from the heady delights of her mouth.
“Oh my,” she whispered, her sweet breath tantalizing his lips. “You’re sure you’ve never done that before?”
More shame swept over him at the reminder of how quickly he had forgotten generations of Tandroki training. He started to sit up but her hands were still clinging to his shoulder and his horn, and he couldn’t bring himself to break that grip.
“I told you. It is forbidden.”
“That’s not exactly what you said,” she said, her look of dreamy pleasure beginning to fade. “Why is it forbidden?”
“We were once a very violent people. We fought many wars. Moroz was one of our ancient kings. He was skilled in battle and won many, but he came to realize that his path could only lead to further destruction. He came up with a list of guidelines to lead us away from that fate.” He couldn’t resist stroking his finger across her damp swollen lower lip again. “One of those guidelines was to abjure the pleasures of the flesh because they lead to possessiveness and violence.”
Her eyes widened. “You mean you don’t even have sex?”
“It is no longer necessary. We have artificial ways of reproducing now.”
She frowned thoughtfully. “Do you think Moroz intended for it to go that far?”
Her question startled him. He had always accepted the Tandroki ways without questioning. “Perhaps not,” he said finally. “They say he had a very beautiful queen who he kept locked away.”
“Maybe he just didn’t want anyone else thinking about her that way.” She shook her head and smiled at him. “Male logic can’t be trusted. That’s why my family has only ever had daughters.”
He wanted to protest, but he couldn’t deny that the thought of locking Jaelle away so that only he could experience the pleasure of her company was surprisingly appealing. But then he remembered her with the children, even with the villagers as she did her best to help them. She would not be happy locked away and he would never ask that of her.
“I should let you rest now.” Despite his words, he didn’t move. She was still looking up at him, her eyes dark and mysterious once more.
“Probably. But maybe… One more kiss?”
His mouth was over hers before she completed the last syllable. The kiss was even better this time, now that he knew what to expect. He explored her even more hungrily and she rose to meet him, her tiny little tongue dancing along his, soft, sweet, and unbearably tempting. Her body rubbed against him, the soft lushness of her breasts cushioning his hard muscles. The memory of her naked in her bath swept over him and he wanted more, to truly feel what he had seen.
His hand curved over her breast, soft and full, the hard peak of her nipple an intriguing contrast. He explored the taut nub, rolling it between his thumb and finger, and she gasped in his mouth. He pressed it more firmly and her whole body shuddered. The sweet scent of her arousal filled his head and his hips thrust forward instinctively as his cock jerked in response.
When she had pleasured herself, her hand had moved from her breast to between her legs and he mimicked her action, impatiently tearing away the cloth so he could reach the deliciously wet, swollen folds. She cried out as he touched a small hardened pearl of flesh and he remembered that she had lingered there. He circled it carefully and heard her whisper his name, both hands on his shoulders now, the tiny sting of her claws driving him on. Her body tensed as he pressed more firmly, and then he felt her explode, felt the convulsions sweeping through her as liquid flooded his hand. His own body responded helplessly, instinctively, as desire roared through him and he too erupted, his seed leaving him in pulse after quivering pulse.
He collapsed against her, drained, satisfied, and… horrified as the realization of what he had done swept over him. She had only asked for a kiss but he had done far more and disgraced himself in the process.
“I apologize,” he said as he drew himself hastily to his feet. “I must… clean up.”
Afraid to look at her and see the condemnation on her face, he headed for the bathroom without another word.
Chapter Eleven
Jaelle stared after Krampasarian, too shocked by both his abrupt departure and the intensity of the orgasm that had swept over her to speak. She had touched herself before, of course, but she had never come close to the pleasure of this experience. The closest had been when she had been remembering the stranger in her dreams.
Of course. It hadn’t been a dream. It had been him. She shook her head. No wonder she had experienced so little desire towards the men of the village. It turned out her ideal man – male – was a massive alien with ivory horns and a ridiculously long and agile tong
ue. A quiver went through her still sensitive body at the thought of what that tongue could do to other parts of her anatomy.
But it was more than just his physical appeal. When he looked at her, she felt as if he really saw her. There could be no future between them but perhaps, just for now, she could have someone who she truly wanted. Someone who would remember her.
Unfortunately, he seemed to have some fairly restrictive ideas about sex. The way he had leapt out of bed indicated that her reaction had made him uncomfortable. She sighed and reached down to pull his tunic back into place. As she did, her fingers encountered a small, hot pool of liquid where he had been lying. Oh. Perhaps there was another reason for his hasty departure.
He didn’t look at her when he returned, simply turning off the lights as he headed for one of the living area chairs. His face was set in a stern mask but she saw the flush of color on his cheekbones before he plunged the room into darkness.
“Why did you say that you were sorry?” she asked softly as silence filled the room.
“You asked for a kiss. I went too far.” His voice was strained.
“No you didn’t. What you did felt wonderful.”
“But you didn’t ask me to touch you like that.”
Despite his denial, she heard a note of hope in his words.
“Maybe not verbally, but my body was certainly saying yes.” When he didn’t respond, she added, “I didn’t ask you to stop, Krampasarian.”
“Then I am glad that you enjoyed our encounter.”
His voice was still stiff but she was beginning to suspect that it was as much from embarrassment as anything else.
“Didn’t you enjoy yourself?”
“By the Horns of Moroz, I never dreamed that a physical sensation could be so overwhelming,” he burst out. “But I disgraced myself.”
“I don’t think it’s disgraceful,” she said firmly. “It’s… flattering that you want me that much.”
“Truly?”
“Cross my heart and hope to die.”
“What?”
He sounded so horrified that she had to bite back a laugh. “It’s just an expression. It means I swear that it’s true.”
The whirling snow outside had paused momentarily and enough light reflected off of the fallen snow that she could make out his figure as he shifted uncomfortably in the chair. Even though it was a comfortable chair, it was clearly not designed for sleeping.
“Do you want to sleep in the bed with me?” she asked impulsively and saw his body freeze. “Just to sleep,” she added.
As much as he tempted her, she needed to think about what she was doing. And if she did choose to succumb to her attraction, she needed to make sure that there would be no consequences. A momentary vision of a baby with Krampasarian’s silvery blonde hair flashed through her mind and her heart ached, even as she firmly pushed it aside. The village was hard enough on its fellow humans. They would never accept a half alien child.
“You are sure?” he asked. “Whit told me that it is not acceptable behavior.”
Ah yes. The village morality had devolved to that of their medieval lifestyle. Not that it stopped them from indulging in either premarital or extramarital activities, but they did their best to keep them hidden.
“We aren’t in the village,” she said lightly. “But if you would rather not –”
He was across the room and settling down next to her before she finished speaking.
“I guess you would rather,” she laughed.
“I always want to be close to you.”
There was no laughter in his voice and her heart skipped a beat. She could think of nothing to say but she reached across the space between them and put her hand in his. She fell asleep still holding on to him.
Krampasarian awoke to an arm full of soft fragrant woman and a cock that was so hard it felt like a metal bar. It was wedged between the lush curves of her ass and he couldn’t resist a small thrust of his hips. Just the tiniest motion really. Skef. Sliding between that lush warm flesh was an irresistible temptation. He rocked his hips again, a little harder this time, and almost groaned as the pleasure swept over him.
“Is this your version of a wake-up call?” Jaelle said sleepily as she rolled over to face him.
He wanted to protest the loss of her flesh surrounding him, but looking down at her smiling face more than made up for it.
“I apologize. I did not mean to wake you.”
“You didn’t wake me. That large and demanding appendage between your legs did.”
“Large?” He couldn’t resist a proud smile and she laughed.
“Don’t Tandroki boys compare themselves?”
“We compare the size of our horns. Mine were the largest in my squad.”
“Maybe large horns mean a large cock,” she whispered, and he felt her fingers skate across him. “Very large.”
Her voice was breathless as she drew her hand away and he – or rather his demanding appendage – was about to pull it back when a disapproving voice interrupted.
“You said you were gonna sleep in the chair.” Whit scowled at him from the doorway, his hair sticking up in ten different directions.
Cinna was at her side, her eyes still heavy with sleep, but she didn’t seem to have any objections to the fact that they were sharing a bed. She drifted across the room and climbed up next to him, nestling down with a contented sigh.
“It ain’t proper. You’re gonna have to marry her now.” Whit said belligerently. “I heard the mayor tell Nyssa that she would have to marry the miller now because of something about a bed.”
Marriage? Longing rushed through him so quickly he felt dizzy. What an impossible, delightful thought. But was it impossible?
“Krampasarian was just staying close by in case I needed him,” Jaelle said soothingly. She gave him a rueful look. “It doesn’t count when one person is injured.”
Whit still looked suspicious but he gave a reluctant nod.
“What are you doing up so early anyway?” Krampasarian asked.
“Puppy wants to go out,” Cinna said, her eyes wide and innocent.
At the thought of what the cub could be doing to his ship, he jumped hastily out of bed. Fortunately the conversation had softened his rampant cock. As he raced through the door, Whit turned to join him.
“I woulda taken him but the door’s locked.” The boy scowled up at him, obviously still annoyed. “Why did you lock us in?”
“I was not locking you in. I was locking the rest of this planet out. It is for your protection.”
Unfortunately it had backfired where the cub was concerned. By the time he had let it out, cleaned up its mess, cleaned himself, and returned to his cabin, his earlier encounter with Jaelle was only a tantalizing memory.
He frowned when he found her sitting on the window bench once more, Cinna curled on her lap and his drone perched on her shoulder as they all looked out at the wintry woods. “You should not be walking.”
“Cinna brought me my cane.” She shrugged a little wryly. “I never expected to be using it for real but it definitely helped. I could probably make my way down the mountain…”
He looked out the window as well and saw, to his relief, that the snow was falling heavily once more. “You should not attempt it in the storm.”
“All right,” she said, smiling at him. He smiled back at her and it took longer than it should have before he realized that Whit was tugging on his sleeve.
“Isn’t it time for breakfast? I’m hungry.” The boy shrugged when they all laughed, his own grin flickering across his face at last. “Well I am.”
After breakfast, Jaelle sorted through the bag of belongings that he had brought her, smiling happily when she encountered the books. “Thank you for bringing these. And this.” She held up the electronic device. “It doesn’t work anymore but it belongs to that first ancestor I was telling you about.”
“I cannot promise but I may be able to get it working.”
“
Really? That would be wonderful.” She pulled out the smaller bag containing her medicines and gave him an odd look. “Do you have a laboratory? Or at least some type of measuring instruments?”
“Yes. Why?”
“I wanted to mix up an additional potion,” she said lightly but he had the uneasy feeling she was not telling him the entire truth. Still, he could refuse her nothing, especially if it kept her happy and close at hand.
Rather than have her walk to his small science lab, he brought her the measuring instruments she requested, and watched in fascination as she carefully measured and combined three types of powdered leaves.
“How did you learn to do this?”
“From my grandmother. She learned from her mother and her mother before her. My family knew that the medicines we had brought with us would not last forever. They used an… analyzer to study the chemical composition of the native plants and came up with substitutes.”
“That is very clever,” he said sincerely. How much effort her family had put into saving the settlers who, in his estimation, showed little sign of deserving their efforts. Well, perhaps not all of them, he amended as Cinna climbed up on his lap. The children deserved everything, and he longed to give them more than what this limited planet could provide.
“I think someone is getting sleepy,” Jaelle said. “Why don’t we have lunch and then I’ll read Cinna a story before her nap.”
“I ain’t taking a nap.” Whit scowled at them from the rug where he had been wrestling with Puppy.
“Did I suggest one for you?” Jaelle raised an eyebrow at the boy and he gave her a reluctant grin.
Despite Whit’s protests, when Krampasarian carried a sleepy Cinna back to their cabin, the boy accompanied him. Jaelle had given him one of her books and he had decided to look at it while he kept his sister company. By the time Krampasarian returned Puppy after another outdoor excursion, both children were sound asleep.
“You are a devious female,” he said when he returned to Jaelle. “You knew he would fall asleep.”
“I didn’t know, but I hoped he would. That horrible man works him so hard and he never has time to rest.”
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