by Cara Carnes
Pryna halted and turned around. “No utterances from you, for I wish to enjoy my night in the village before we must return to the shanties,” she said.
Shanties? Melinda cast another look across the water at the dilapidated huts as a sense of dread overcame her. That was where they lived. “Why are all the dead things over there?”
Pryna laughed. “Truly addled. Many of the tribesmen honor us meager tainted ones by giving us the remains of their kills. It is our source of meat and it is an honor few of the men give.”
Bile rose in her stomach at the thought of eating rotting meat and having to savor the taste. Oh hell no. “Why are you tainted? Did you not mate?”
Pryna’s lips pursed. “Aye, but my hunter passed and was unable to provide for me. I had the right to remain as an honored tribeswoman, but when your primaries passed, I chose to let you live. Clearly that was a folly.”
Melinda nodded. “I appreciate it nonetheless.”
She fell silent as they neared the village type area and watched Pryna set the fur bag of assorted items in the middle of a large pile of similar goods. A band of women gathered quickly and perused the contents, their smiles showing their content.
“We see she failed to find a mavera of any type. Surely she understands her meager looks and many cycles prevent a tribesman from selecting her without it,” one of the women said.
“Perhaps she’d rather remain in the shanties instead of enjoying a man between her thighs,” another woman said.
Hardly. Melinda’s body still ached for Djar and his touch. Was he truly here? Would she recognize him? Looking around the village, there were few men visible. Those who were standing around were either children or older men. “Where are the tribesmen?”
Pryna glared at her. “You know they are hunting djunkas and will celebrate with their kin when they return. Many moons have passed since they have been allowed to return to us, but they are a fine lot of young tribesmen.” The old woman stopped and smiled over at a couple of the women in the group. “They do their primaries proud.”
Two of the women beamed in delight and Melinda knew they had to be mothers. Piecing all of it together was taxing on her mind, but she suspected many of the tribesmen spent most of their time away from their families. Which was Djar’s mother?
For that matter, where were all the women Pryna had spoken of? Her glance around the village showed no one close to her age. She wasn’t about to ask, though, because the look of warning she got from the older woman beside her told her to remain quiet.
“We must depart. There is much to do to prepare for tonight,” Pryna said. Melinda looked over her shoulder at the women as she was dragged away toward a small makeshift tent at the edge of the village.
Pryna shoved her into the opening and closed the fur flap as she entered. “We have much to discuss. You remain silent for the duration of this evening, Minda. Say nothing. A woman as lowly as you should never inquire about the tribesmen. You are beneath their gaze and the most you can possibly hope for is to mate with one of the mismated or lesser hunters.”
“Mismated?” Melinda asked.
Pryna sat across from Melinda and stared at her. The look of shock was almost amusing. “I know not what game you are playing, but I must assist you if I am to salvage anything of you for tonight. The mismated are those whose mates died while doing their duty and giving them offspring. If the woman is not a true mate, she will die during birthing.”
How antiquated. Djar had to have been away from his true homeland for many years to have changed his speech pattern and adopted a new belief system. The man she had fallen in love with didn’t regard women in that manner. Either that or he did a remarkable job hiding it.
“And the lesser hunters are…?”
Pryna sighed loudly and Melinda covered her mouth to hide her grin. She shouldn’t find this amusing, but the old woman truly was outraged she knew nothing. “Lessers are tribesmen injured while hunting the djunkas for the annual celebration. If the gods do not think they are worthy to be a protector for us, they will give the djunka added strength and cause permanent harm to the hunter.”
Melinda shook her head but chose to remain silent. The so-called gods were responsible for any and every mishap, it seemed, and there was no such thing as a second chance. Did the mismated and lessers have to live in the shanties or were those reserved strictly for women like her?
“What now?” Melinda asked.
“Go and wash these and spread them out on the ledge so that the heat may dry them quickly. We have no furs to trade for maiden attire for you, so we must make do with this. And the gods certainly cursed you with those features. No amount of paint will detract from those eyes,” Pryna commented.
What the hell did she look like? Melinda stood up and took the garment. She assumed washing them meant in the water beside the huts. At least it would give her some time to think about what to do.
This adventure was going to be much harder than she expected.
Chapter Five
“I do not know whether I pity that garment or envy it, for I have never seen anyone attack a task with such vigor.”
Melinda spun, flinging water on herself as she did.
Djar.
Her heart slammed in her chest and her pulse quickened hearing his voice. He wore nothing to cover his massive chest and she found herself unable to stop staring. The visible bulge in the front of his pants made her wet with a need she knew only he could satisfy.
She looked away, not sure what to say. Relief flooded her. She looked back at him and slowly perused his chest and body with her gaze, making sure he had suffered no damage from the dungeon. What had they done to him there? At least he could not remember it, even if the cost had been him not remembering her.
The smile on his face made her heart soar. He was happy with his life here, even if she was not a part of it. It had been worth it to spin time, even if she had to live in the shanties and watch him with another.
“Did I alarm you?” he asked.
“No, I am just trying to think of something to say.”
He laughed. “Your honesty is refreshing to this weary hunter.”
“How did it go?” she asked.
He nodded his head and smiled as he stepped closer to her. “We will have a fine feast, for we killed the biggest djunka ever.”
Melinda smiled at him. “You honor us with your catch.”
The way he looked at her made her nipples harden and her thighs clench together. “How is it that I do not know you?” he asked.
Melinda stammered for a response. What do you tell the man who had made love to you in another dimension, but could not be told? “I live in the shanties and never venture to this side of the water except for the annual ceremony.”
Or so she had been told by Pryna. Based on the other people’s reaction to the shanties she had expected him to depart immediately, but he did not. “I should have still seen you around.”
“Surely the more comely women keep your attention when you are not training. It has been a while since you have been here,” she said. She tried to draw on what the others had said, but had very little to add beyond that.
“Aye, many moons have passed but the training area is only a few thousand paces to the north and many of us come here and ensure our families are taken care of, even if we are not supposed to,” Djar said.
“You are true tribesmen of great worth then and your mothers are bound to be proud of you,” she said.
“Mothers?” Djar asked. “You speak as if the gods have touched you.”
Melinda looked away. “No, I am merely daft. That is why I remain in the shanties and will most likely remain there for my duration.” Old-fashioned speech seemed to be accepted the best and she tried to mimic the speech of Pryna and the others. She had been crazy to speak at all.
“I am Djar. What is your name?”
She laughed and spread the wet dress out on the ledge, positioning it so that the sun would hit it.
“I believe it to be Minda, but you may call me whatever you wish.”
Djar had the same charismatic smile. Warm, sensuous and inviting. She wanted to taste those lips.
“Your humor is quite refreshing. What fury were you dispelling on that poor garment?”
She looked down at the garment and over at the rocks she had lashed it up against. She had been thinking about that vile god Terel at the time, but she couldn’t exactly say that. “None.”
Djar laughed. “Your blush tells me otherwise. Someone perhaps?”
“Perhaps no one at all, but a mere circumstance beyond my control angered me.”
“And what might that be?” he asked curiously as he sat on the ledge closest to her.
Melinda could not think with him staring at her, his skin beckoning her touch. How much trouble would she get into if she straddled him right here? “I was merely frustrated this will be my last ceremony.”
“Oh really? Do you not plan to participate next year? I am sure you will have more than one tribesman to choose from tonight, but that should please you,” he said.
Melinda laughed. “I have been told that will not happen.”
“You know many tribesmen then?”
Melinda turned surprised to think she heard a tinge of jealousy in his voice. “Whatever do you mean?”
Djar cleared his throat and looked around. “I know many of them visit the girls in the shanties to entertain themselves. I would hate to think you are one of those women they enjoy,” he said.
She should be angry, but the thought sent a shiver of anticipation down her spine. That would mean he found her sexually attractive in some way, or at least attractive enough for some men to find pleasurable. Maybe. “They? I guess a strong hunter of your station would have his choice of the women from the village and not have to go to the shanties.”
He smiled as her gaze roamed over his body once again and she stepped closer. She couldn’t resist looking at him and wanted to run her hands across his sun-kissed skin to make sure he was real.
Djar laughed and looked around again. “Those glances are going to make you a very popular woman tonight if you look at all the hunters that way.”
“I can’t help it,” she confessed. “For some reason I am drawn to you.”
He grinned. “Then perhaps I should demand the right to inspect you?”
Melinda’s mind reeled. Inspect her? What did that mean? “What did you have in mind?”
The look on his face softened as his hand swept across her cheek. “Has a hunter never inspected you, Minda?”
She shook her head and her body responded to his groan. “What is an inspection?”
“You were not told?” he asked.
“No,” she confessed as his thumb ran across her lips.
“Well when an available maiden looks at a hunter with lust in her eyes, he has the right to demand her to remove her dress. If she is found to be ready for mounting, then he may do as he wishes with her and she may not stop it.”
Moisture pooled between her legs at the mere thought of him touching her. “You consider me worthy of inspecting then?”
“Yes. I want to know what you have managed to hide from all the other hunters,” he said. “And I think it best to inspect you in a secluded spot where I will have time to do it properly.”
Melinda looked around, the laughter of the villagers getting closer. “Where would that be?” she asked nervously.
“One of the caves.” The sound of his voice as he said it implied it carried significance. Her nipples hardened thinking of him seeing her naked again. This was her chance.
She nodded and he grinned.
“Have you heard of the caves then?” he asked.
“No, not really.”
He stood and grasped her upper arm. “Good. I must warn you I will be rough with you should you be found to be ready.”
Melinda’s pussy throbbed as she remembered the way if felt to have him thrusting into her fiercely. She laughed and smiled at him. “I doubt you would be rough with a maiden.”
He tugged on her hair and led her to the overgrown thicket. The beating of her heart drowned out her heavy breathing as he said nothing. This Djar was certainly dominant and her body couldn’t wait to see what he had in mind for her. He led them into a cave and she stood there watching him light torches mounted on the side of the cave.
Melinda saw the hunger in his eyes when he turned around. “Remove your garment, Minda.”
Her fingers trembled as she removed the soft fur dress. She watched him nod in approval as his gaze fell on her hardened nipples. When he walked up to her she wanted to lean against him. “Spread your legs.”
“Why?” she asked, her legs already moving to comply with the demand.
“I intend to fill you with my seed over and over again if you are even a little moist,” he said.
Melinda moaned as his fingers grazed her wet slit and she arched into the palm of his hand. She cried out when she felt him delve them into her.
“You should not be here, Minda. You are not prepared for what I will do to you, are you?”
She sighed. “Yes, I am.”
“I intend to tie you down and rut between your legs hard until I have spilled as much seed into you as I can. My teeth will bite and mark this sweet flesh of yours as mine so if any hunter inspects you he will smell my scent on you and see my marks.”
She ran her hands across his chest and grinned. “There is no need to tie me.”
He laughed. “Oh but there is because I suspect you think I will choose you tonight for the ceremony. I cannot do that, but I fully intend to fill you with my seed and make you unavailable to the others,” he said.
Melinda stared up at him in shock. Why would he do that? “That would be cruel.”
“You will want for nothing, Minda. I cannot let another hunter have you.”
“Why not?” she asked, trying to shove him away as he grabbed her hands.
“Because I have never seen a woman look at a man with such passion and I refuse to give it up,” he said as he placed her against a flat rock behind her. He lifted her onto it as she struggled to get away. “That’s it. I love that spirit, Minda.”
She moaned as he restrained her, binding her wrists to stakes barely visible at the edge of the rock’s surface. The thin leather-like straps were soft against her skin. He grinned down at her as he backed away and admired the straps holding her arms above her head and her thighs spread. Her slit got wetter as he began removing his pants and she couldn’t suppress the moan of desire when she saw his erect cock.
“I see the hunger in your eyes. How have you managed to remain hidden from all of us for so long, Minda?” His mouth came down onto hers and she moaned into it, savoring the contact.
Her nipples hardened more when he drew them into the heat of his mouth. Damn him for binding her hands. She thrust herself closer to him, but his hands pushed at her waist and kept her against the flat surface of the cold rock.
“Don’t worry, Minda. I do not intend to spend long teasing this lovely body, for my need to be inside you is too great,” Djar said.
“Oh, Djar.”
“Should I mark you as mine?” he asked. “Would you like that?”
“I am yours already,” she confessed.
He laughed against the valley of her breasts. “You do not know me, yet you profess you desire my heart. I should have known you were the same as all of them.”
She cried out when he plunged his cock deep inside her and began moving in a fast rhythm that made her moan in delight, yet tore at her soul. He was angered by what she had said, but she couldn’t care when the same agonizing emotion was running through her veins. How could he dismiss what she said so easily? “Just because you do not know me does not mean I did not know you and already desire you.”
She tugged against the restraints as his groans echoed through the cave and mixed with her heavy breathing. There were no tender caresses or soft licks and nibbles, jus
t the plunging of his cock inside her. “Djar, please don’t do what you will regret later. Release me so I may show you how I want to touch you,” she pleaded.
He laughed. “I will regret naught from this, except that I did not bring some other hunters to pleasure themselves with you after I had expended my seed.”
Melinda felt the tears well up in her eyes. How had it spun out of control so quickly? Somehow having Djar with her again was bittersweet. She had hoped for more, but even this was something to cherish.
She tried to fight the waves of pleasure that poured through her body, not wanting him to see her in the heights of her orgasm when he clearly thought so little of her. It was a moment of weakness she did not want to share with him, but it hit her too hard to stop the spasms and the soft moans she heard.
By the time she snapped back into reality, he had climaxed and withdrawn from her. A dull ache radiated in her heart when he pulled away immediately. There was no cuddling or softly uttered confessions, just a blank look on his face as he pulled his pants back on and released her from the ties that had bound her into place.
“See you at the ceremony. Don’t bother to offer for me because I do not care for what you have to say,” he said.
She stood up, her legs wobbling under her as she watched him begin to walk away. “Djar, please. What I said was true. I care for you in a way I cannot explain to you. It would make no sense.”
Djar turned and sneered. “Tell it to another hunter foolish enough to believe it possible.”
Melinda shook her head. “I know you believe love can pierce a soul faster than you can blink. I know you know that, Djar.”
Anguish filled her as he walked away. She had been foolish to confess her feelings so quickly and now it could be too late to mend the harm she had done. Time was wasting. There had to be a way to show him she spoke the truth.
She dressed quickly and made her way back to the village. Pryna would have many bad things to say for her delay, surely, but nothing could hurt her more than seeing Djar walk away from her in anger.
