Barbarian's Beloved
Page 9
I will not let that happen to Air-ee. As long as she talks to me and lets me help her, we will take on her avalanche as a team. I will not let it conquer her. Already she has shown how brave she is to me. She might not think so, but I saw the fear in her eyes as she got the sa-khui words in her brain. She was afraid and yet she did it anyhow. Tonight while around the fire, she talked to Zennek's new mate, who tosses her long mane and looks at my young friend as if she would devour him. I worried I should take her away from the tribe for a bit, let her get adjusted to the khui and to this world, but perhaps being around others is the best thing to ease her worry. Already she seems happier. And with every day that passes, she grows bolder. She merely held my hand the first night. Tonight, I hold her tight in my arms and my thigh between hers. Our tongues mated for so long that her mouth grew swollen at my attentions.
Who knows what tomorrow night will bring? I look forward to it. My cock aches and my khui's song grows more insistent with every moment that passes, but I can wait. It strains my self-control, but my Air-ee is worth a few sleepless nights if it means she is at ease.
12
ARIANA
The next few days are days of rest.
I'm glad. After the whirlwind last few days—being kidnapped by aliens, getting dumped on a wintry planet, and resonating—I could use a little while where absolutely nothing life-shattering happens. It's good for my anxiety, because with the tea pouch around my neck and Zolaya to talk to, I find that I'm spinning out of control less and less, and when I feel like I'm about to panic, I'm able to push it aside and focus on the present instead of worrying over the future.
And really, the present isn't so bad. The sa-khui people are, despite the fact that they arrived here in a spaceship, a Paleolithic culture. I notice more about them now that I'm out of the freakout zone. Everything is put to use hunting-wise, and bones, hooves, horns, and everything else from a kill is harvested and saved for later. Fire is made from dung chips since most of the plants here tend to be scrubby. They also bend too much to be useful as weapons, which means that bone is the primary choice for tools, household goods, knives and spears. Bone is easily shaped, but it also dulls just as quickly, so most of the hunters seem to spend a lot of time maintaining their weapons. Every morning when I wake up, Zolaya has a sharp-edged rock that he uses to work the edges of his spear, moving over it back and forth in a manner that tells me he does this so often he doesn't even think about it.
The anthropologist in me is going to love learning all the fascinating aspects of their culture. The modern girl in me hates that I'm having to learn it by living it, because there are things I'm not ashamed to say that I miss. Coffee, for one. Chocolate. Hand lotion. ChapStick. Toilet paper. Underwear. It's the small things that you feel the lack of the most.
Of course, clothing-wise, that's one of the things that's easiest to fix. While Zolaya and the other hunters maintain their weapons, the women sit near the fire and talk. Some nap—Josie with her bad leg sleeps more than most. Some chit-chat. Some get to work. Tiffany and Megan have started braiding belts for themselves. Marlene sewed a bra and is now working on panties. Zolaya made me an awl and a bunch of sinew-like thread, and I'm working on a supportive bra-top of a sort. I don't have as much up front as Marlene does, but just having some sort of support for my B-cups would be nice.
This particular morning, Marlene sits on one side of me and Nora on the other, and we all sew together and chit-chat. Nora and her mate Dagesh returned the second night here at the ship, and ever since, she's been glued to either him, or me and Marlene. It's nice to have another friend. Marlene was right—those of us that resonated right away have a weird sort of bond, because we're all experiencing the same thing together. We know what it's like to be immediately tied to an alien stranger and be turned on the moment he walks in the room. We know what it's like to have your body act like you're in heat twenty-four seven. And we know what it's like to mate with one of them.
Well, sort of.
I don't know yet. All Zolaya and I have done is kiss. Lots and lots of kissing, to the point that I'm addicted to it. His hands roam over my tunic while we kiss every night, but he never tries to undress me. It's very chaste as far as relationships go.
Of course, everyone else in the cave thinks we're shagging like minxes. I haven't told anyone that we're not. Even Marlene thinks that since we've been taking one of the private rooms at night, we're doing it. I'm not entirely sure what the etiquette is for the aliens when it comes to resonance. I don't want to point out that we haven't done it yet because what if it causes Zolaya embarrassment? That's the last thing I want, so I just smile serenely when Marlene makes a coy joke or Nora confesses something new about sex with Dagesh.
Actually, Nora's pretty chatty about sex, and it takes everything I have not to show reactions when she surprises me.
Because a lot of what she says is pretty surprising.
I mean, not the fact that she likes spanking. She and Dagesh found a cubby down the hall next to the room Zolaya and I have staked out, and last night we couldn't help but hear them. A lot.
Like, a lot.
It's normal. So she likes a little kinky butt slap here and there. No big deal.
But then she also confesses that she's pretty sure that Dagesh made her pregnant on their first night and they just stayed out longer because they were too busy to leave bed.
Then she talks about the fact that Dagesh had never had a blow job before and when she went down on him it blew his mind.
Then she mentions that he was also shocked about taking her doggy-style, which is now her favorite because his spur goes into her butt and teases it when he thrusts.
It’s clear the girl’s a freak in bed.
And of course, it takes everything I have not to ask what the hell a spur is. I think of Zolaya's ridged tongue and get flustered. I mean, maybe it's like that.
Marlene's no help. She just chuckles and gives Nora a teasing wink of solidarity. If I'm going to find out what a spur is, I guess I'll need to ask Zolaya.
Of course, the thought makes me shy…and excited both.
I think of how awkward it was last night, curled up against Zolaya after a passionate round of kissing, listening to our cooties hum together…only to hear Nora’s ass being slapped and her cries of pleasure. I could feel Zolaya stiffen, and I’m pretty sure I couldn’t think of anything else while that was going on.
I’m also pretty sure it turned me on.
I’m just afraid to make the first move. I know Zolaya’s as aroused as I am when we kiss. When I rub up against him or straddle his thigh, I can feel the hard bulge of his cock pushing against my body. But he never indicates that he wants to go further than we have. He’s content to let me set the pace.
Well, maybe “content” is the wrong word. I’m pretty sure our last few kissing sessions have been anything but relaxing. Frantic, maybe. Intense, definitely. Content, no.
But I’m just not sure I’m ready to move forward yet. Hearing that there’s something called a “spur” involved makes me really, really want to ask, but I can’t. Because then Marlene and Nora will know that I haven’t done the deed with Zolaya, and they’re sure to tell their mates. One thing I’ve noticed is that with such a small group, word gets around quick. At least with Nora’s ass-slapping proclivities, people have something to talk about other than my crying.
“Here comes your mate,” Nora murmurs, leaning toward me as I sew a strap onto my bra-band. She gives me a wicked look. “Don’t do anything I wouldn’t do.”
“Does not leave much, non?” Marlene teases, and Nora just laughs.
I look up and sure enough, Zolaya is heading over to the cluster of women near the fire. His spear’s in his hand and he’s got a leather sack slung crosswise over one shoulder. When our eyes meet, he nods, lifting his chin and indicating he wants to talk to me. My cootie immediately fires up, loud and blatant, and Nora giggles all over again.
Blushing, I drop my sewing and
He immediately puts his spear aside and pulls me against him, kissing me so deeply that my toes curl. My murmur of surprise is stolen by his lips and turns into a moan when his tongue slicks against mine. God, in only a few short days, he’s gotten really, really good at kissing. I’m breathless by the time he lets me up, and heat is pulsing between my thighs in time to my cootie’s song.
“I missed you,” he tells me.
And now I feel on fire just hearing those three little words. “You did?”
“Yes. I heard you laughing and grew envious that I was not the one that made it so.” He gives me a crooked, wry little smile.
“So you thought you’d come kiss a few more laughs out of me?” I ask, breathless.
He shakes his head, and then heaves a deep sigh. “I must go hunting.”
“Hunting? But—”
“Not for long,” he reassures me quickly, cupping my cheek and gazing down at me as if he wishes to devour me whole. “Just the afternoon. I told my chief that I would not leave your side for longer than that. But our little group will be here a few days more, because Stay-see and Pashov have not yet returned. There must be food enough for all, and there are plenty of mouths here.” He shrugs his big shoulders in a motion that makes his hair flutter. “The nearby caches where we store food are nearly empty after a few days, so I must set traps and hunt. I will be back at sunset, though.” His eyes gleam as he studies me. “And we will go to bed together.”
“All right,” I tell him, breathless. I love the way he’s looking at me. “I’ll miss you.”
He groans and pulls me tighter against him, and I can feel the bulge of his cock under his loincloth. He strokes my hair, running his fingers through it and staring down at me. “Not nearly as much as I will miss you. At least when I am here in the cave, I can watch you from afar.”
Has he been doing that? Even when I’m sewing with Marlene and Nora? It fills me with all kinds of pleasure to hear that, and all of a sudden, I don’t want him to go either. I want to drag him to our room and ask him about his spur. I want to see for myself.
I think of his tongue and the erotic, maddening ridges on it, and the tall sweep of horns on his head that have become sexier to me by the day. I think of his tail and how it flicks against my thigh when we’re kissing, and that’s become as much of a turn-on as his tongue. I think all of these things and maybe I’m ready to push us past kissing.
But I also won’t keep him from his duty. “You’ll be back quickly though, won’t you?” His fierce nod is reassuring and I smile up at him, thinking of Nora’s constant chatter about sex. “That’s good,” I tell him and give my alien my sultriest smile. “Because I have some things to ask you when we’re alone in bed later.”
Zolaya leans down and kisses me until I’m breathless. I’m pretty sure he’s interpreting my statement to be dirty. I could correct him. Point out that it’s just innocent anatomy questions…but I don’t, because I want him to be thinking all kinds of wicked things while he’s gone.
It makes me feel good when he casts me another heated, longing look and caresses my cheek before he leaves. I’m not the only one that’s going to be excited for tonight, I suspect.
13
ARIANA
Despite my best intentions, though, I’m not able to hold it together too well as the afternoon progresses. At first, it’s just small things. A few of the big blue hunters talking quietly together and glancing over at me, then at the entrance out into the snow.
I dismiss it. It’s nothing.
This afternoon, Georgie’s joined us in our little sewing circle. She’s making a tunic for herself, and I’ve finished my new bra and am on to underwear. They won’t be form-fitting panties, but it feels strange to wear leggings with nothing underneath, so I’m making shorts with a drawstring and hope that it fits the bill. As we sew, Nora, Georgie and Marlene chatter and I mostly listen, trying not to think about how long Zolaya’s been gone. It’s tough to tell time in this new world because the suns (two of them) never seem very bright. Surely a few hours have passed, though. I wonder how long the afternoons get.
“That one seems unpleasant,” Marlene murmurs, busily sewing a fur hem onto a skirt. She pulls her thread taut and shakes her head. “The cave was far more charmant before he returned.”
I look up, surprised. “Who?”
“The frowny one that came back with Nora and her mate.”
Georgie puts a finger to her lips, indicating we should drop our voices. “That’s Haeden.”
I glance around the room and sure enough, the one new hunter that’s returned is indeed quite frowny. He sits with Vektal, talking, and as I look over, he makes eye contact with me and scowls, getting to his feet and stalking away. My anxiety flutters a little.
“Wow, he’s a little rude,” Nora comments, then bites at her thread to cut it.
“Vektal tells me he’s sour with good reason,” Georgie says in a mild tone, frowning at her sewing. “Does anyone have another needle? Mine’s blunt.”
Zolaya made me several so I offer her one. “Good reason?” I can’t help but ask.
She nods and gives me a grateful look, taking the needle from me. “It feels like gossiping, but it’s also a small tribe so you’re bound to find out anyhow. Vektal says that Haeden hasn’t been the same since he lost his resonance mate in the big plague they had about fifteen years ago. Says they never even fulfilled resonance and seeing so many new happy couples probably hurts him.”
A cold chill moves over me, a sure sign that my anxiety’s starting to return.
“Plague?” Nora whispers, her eyes wide. She leans in. “I thought that the cootie was supposed to stop us from getting sick?”
We all get quiet, listening in to Georgie.
“It does, I think,” Georgie continues. She threads her needle and focuses her gaze on her work, avoiding our curious gazes. “But from what I understand, this was different. A lot of the tribe died because whatever sickness it was overwhelmed their khuis. It’s hard to tell what happened because Vektal and the others describe things differently than we would, but from what I understand, it was very devastating and almost every single family was hit. Their tribe was already small and unbalanced and when that happened, it pretty much signaled the end for them…until we arrived.”
I swallow hard, because having an alien parasite is tough as it is. Having an alien parasite that won’t protect me from plague sounds scary. Is plague common here? One other thing bugs me even more, though. “They…didn’t fulfill resonance?”
Georgie shakes her head. “No. Vektal thinks that the longer you wait to fulfill resonance, the weaker you get. He suspects that might be why Zalah died and why Haeden almost died. Some of the others say that he’s half a person now because his mate died.”
Half a person.
I stare down at my sewing, clutched in my now-trembling hands. I try to imagine what I’d be like if Zolaya died. Would I be half a person, too? Stop it, I chide myself. You’re not going to lose him. He knows what he’s doing. He’s just out hunting.
But I glance up at the entrance to the ship anyhow. Big Aehako stands there, guarding the doorway, but it looks almost dark to me outside. Is Aehako tense? I look over at the other aliens. Vektal and Haeden both look like they’re frowning.
Is it because something happened to Zolaya?
The cold chill sweeps over me again and my chest hurts. My thoughts begin to spin out of control.
It’s fine.
It’s fine.
Really, it’s fine.
He’s strong. Nothing’s going to happen to him.
Unless…unless he got the same plague that Haeden’s mate did.
Unless not fulfilling resonance has made him vulnerable. I might be the cause of his death. He might be out there in the snow, too weak to return. Too weak to fight off a rampaging snow beast. I swallow hard.
“Anyone want some tea?” Nora asks, shivering. “It’s cold in here.”
I shake my head. My stomach hurts. I try to concentrate on my sewing again, but all I can think about is Zolaya, lying in the snow, and that it might all be my fault.
Time passes. The others keep talking, but I can’t concentrate. All I can think about is how it’s getting darker outside and yet Zolaya hasn’t returned. With every moment, I panic a little more until I can’t breathe, can’t function. I don’t want the others to know I’m struggling, though, so I laugh when the others laugh, try to sew, and look at the doorway over and over again.
And yet…the suns keep going down.
And no Zolaya.
He said he would be back by dark. That he wouldn’t leave me. And yet every moment that passes, I panic a little more.
14
ZOLAYA
It is a good afternoon, but a long one.
I set my traps and then find a patch of roots that are used to make up kah, the dry trail rations that my Air-ee enjoys so much. I dig up several, filling my pouch but leaving enough so that this spot will repopulate with more plants. As I get to my feet, I see fresh prints in the snow on a nearby hillock—dvisti. Young, if the depth of the hoofprints are any indication. Possibly lame, because one of the prints is elongated, as if dragged slightly. Interesting. Either it is separated from the herd or following behind. Either way, if I can find it, it will make good eating. I glance up at the sky. Getting late, but there is still time to hunt some fresh meat for my mate. I can show her how tasty fresh, bloody meat is. It will be good for her, help her get stronger. Encouraged by the thought, I shoulder my pack full of roots and follow the trail.
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