Familiar Pleasures

by Jory Strong

  “So make a meal of me,” Savant said, parting his lips and meeting Sunder’s tongue with his own as his hips bucked upward, grinding their cocks together.

  Sunder grunted and deepened the kiss, his thighs forcing Savant’s apart. His hands reached up and grasped Savant’s wrists before pinning them to the bed of the shallow stream. Wild heat rushed through Sunder. Ferocious and savage. The animal instinct to exert dominance over another male tempered by the human desire to love.

  It was not common for his kind to take same-sex lovers. But even nearly dead, Sunder had been drawn to Savant from the first moment he saw him. Savant’s scent had called to him, had coated his leopard’s tongue and stirred a different kind of hunger. That Savant had rescued him in his leopard form, had nursed him back to health, then transported him to a safe place and offered him freedom without knowing what Sunder truly was, had cemented their bond more surely than the blood-spell making them warlock and familiar.

  Sunder made a soft sound of contentment. His tongue met Savant’s. Rubbed and stroked and tasted. Twined. The need to dominate was momentarily under control as he enjoyed the slide of his cock against Savant’s soft trousers, enjoyed the way Savant moaned underneath him, met his kisses, yielded.

  He wouldn’t be able to play for long. He was too aroused. The edginess he’d felt since first encountering the woman’s scent, the frustration he’d experienced when he’d been unable to follow it to its source had sharpened and made him aggressive.

  Sunder’s hips jerked and lust raged through him when the exposed head of his cock glided over Savant’s trousers. He was already so aroused that his foreskin had pulled back in preparation.

  Sunder lifted his mouth from Savant’s. “You’ve got too many clothes on,” he said, rolling to the side and standing, then offering his hand to Savant.

  Savant took the offered hand though his gaze roamed the body standing above him. The sight of it drove the need higher, made him want to touch every inch, claim every inch with his fingers, his mouth, his tongue.

  Sunder had the sleek, muscled agility of the snow leopard, but despite the cat’s smoky gray coat, Sunder’s skin was deeply tanned, his hair inky black.

  They got as far as a moss-covered place on the bank before stopping. Their fingers worked in concert to get Savant’s clothing removed. Their breathing became sharp as skin encountered skin, as cocks touched, hard and ready, testicles hanging full and heavy underneath them.

  Savant cried out when Sunder’s hand captured them both, his tightened fingers creating a channel. Moving up and down. Up and down.

  “I won’t last,” Savant said, his mouth seeking Sunder’s, his role already defined by the game they played. Sunder’s catching him off guard establishing who would be the more dominant partner, whose will would prevail.

  The need for release curled in Savant’s belly, moved along his skin like hot kisses. He jerked and groaned, leaked as Sunder’s palm reached his cockhead, the firm grip so exquisite that it took every bit of control he had to keep from coating them both with his seed.

  His tongue became as submissive as he liked a woman’s to be. Begged and pleaded in the wetness of the kiss for Sunder to finish it. To penetrate him and ride him to orgasm.

  But Sunder didn’t relent. He increased the speed of his strokes as his fingers tightened in Savant’s hair, holding him in place, driving them both nearly to the point of no return.

  They were both panting when Sunder allowed the kiss to end. Their bodies were slick with sweat.

  “You challenged me to make a meal of you,” Sunder said, reminding Savant of his earlier rejoinder.

  “I’ll come if you do.”

  Sunder freed his own penis but continued to hold Savant’s. His grip tightened, became nearly painful. “You don’t think I can make you hard again?” he challenged.

  The savage intensity in his eyes made Savant wonder if they’d been away from home too long and the leopard was nearing the breaking point at being around humans for so many months. “I get hard just looking at you,” Savant said, his hands going to Sunder’s chest in a gesture of supplication, brushing over the tight male nipples before moving up to the other man’s shoulder. “We can return home and take up the search for a woman another time.”

  A breeze stirred the air, bringing the woman’s subtle scent to Sunder and the snow leopard’s aggression with it. The leopard had recognized her for what she would be for them. A mate. And now the man knew as well. But while Sunder was willing to share with another male, the leopard needed to be convinced. It needed assurance that it wouldn’t have to battle another dominant male each time it wanted to mount their female.

  “After this village, our search will end,” Sunder said. He released Savant’s penis and stepped into him. Used his hands and the closeness of his body to urge Savant to the ground, then followed, mimicking their earlier positions in the stream, only this time flesh to flesh.

  It wouldn’t end this way. The leopard was too close to the surface. But the man desired this intimacy, this reaffirmation of love. Their lips met again, their tongues immediately seeking, finding, communicating caring as well as passion.

  For long moments Sunder was able to hold off the need to dominate. But each time he caught a hint of the woman’s elusive scent, he had to fight the urge to claw and bite. To dominate beyond what either he or Savant would want.

  They’d had rough sex before. But this was different. More dangerous.

  “We’ll have a wife soon,” Sunder said for his benefit as well as Savant’s. “She’ll take us both in her body at the same time and we’ll know an even greater ecstasy.”

  Savant’s buttocks clenched. His thighs widened and his knees bent, tilting his pelvis in a silent invitation. “I’m not sure anything is better than this,” he panted against Sunder’s lips.

  The words and the gesture found the snow leopard and fed some of its hunger. But it needed more in order to be appeased.

  With a growl Sunder rose above Savant. Glad that after years of being together they knew each other well. That the games they enjoyed had rules worked out in advance, when neither the leopard nor lust controlled.

  Savant rolled to his hands and knees with practiced ease and Sunder’s cock jerked in reaction as more pre-cum escaped. He took himself in hand and stroked once, twice, knowing it was dangerous in his heightened state of arousal, but the additional moisture that gathered on the head of penis made the risk worth taking. He stopped when his balls pulled tight against his body and an icy-hot warning rippled along his spine. Sunder gathered the pre-cum on his fingers and worked it into Savant’s back entrance.

  Savant shuddered as Sunder prepared him. He rocked back, welcoming the pressure in anticipation of the incredible pleasure to come. Moaned when fingers were replaced by a cock.

  There was no holding back when Sunder began moving, his cock pistoning in and out. Slowly at first. Each thrust bringing the leopard’s need to dominate closer to the surface.

  Something was different, but Savant couldn’t hold the thought. He couldn’t follow it as Sunder glided over a spot deep inside him and the intensity of the pleasure caused Savant’s back to hunch and his cock to weep. Made him pant and cry out.

  The prey-animal sound tipped Sunder over the edge as it always did. Savant moaned and closed his eyes, breathed deeply of the musky scent that was Sunder and him and leopard combined. He welcomed the feel of Sunder’s weight and skin against his back as Sunder adjusted his position, yielded to the leopard’s instinct though it was Sunder’s human hand that took Savant’s cock.

  Sunder’s teeth found Savant’s shoulder. Went to the place he’d bitten repeatedly over the years, and Savant would have come from that alone if Sunder’s fingers hadn’t tightened on his cock and kept him from release.

  “Please,” Savant said, not afraid to beg as he sometimes made Sunder beg. As one day they hoped to make a wife beg.

  Sunder’s hand moved up and down on Savant’s shaft in concert with
each thrust. The strokes growing harder and faster as pleasure built to where there was no containing it, no denying it. No holding it back. Release came in a lava-hot wash that coated Savant’s belly and chest and filled his anus with liquid fire.

  They collapsed onto the moss-covered ground, both of them quiet except for the harsh sounds of their breathing. Both of them content to remain close together, limbs entangled.

  “Maybe next time you won’t get so lost in your plants,” Sunder teased, the leopard completely submerged for the moment.

  Savant laughed. “What makes you think I didn’t let you take me by surprise?”

  Sunder growled in response and pressed a kiss to the bite scar on Savant’s shoulder before rolling away and getting to his feet. He once again offered Savant a hand so they could step back into the stream and wash.

  Savant studied Sunder for a moment as water splashed and glistened on a body he knew as well as his own. His cock stirred with the possibility of more intimacy and his heart warmed at seeing Sunder relaxed.

  Curiosity edged its way into Savant’s thoughts, temporarily replacing carnal images and intentions with questions. They’d spoken of a shared wife before, but never when they’d been in the middle of sex. And never before had Sunder seemed so positive about finding one. Even when they’d first set out, Sunder had been braced for failure though the leopard demanded he search for a mate.

  “You think our search will end at this village?” Savant asked, wondering now if Sunder had spoken in the heat of passion and had merely been fantasizing about finding a woman.

  Sunder lifted his head and met Savant’s gaze. The snow leopard’s presence flickered in Sunder’s eyes like a heartbeat. “We’ll find what we’re looking for here, and then we’ll go home.”

  Savant’s eyebrows arched, surprise and hope mingling with amusement. He was the warlock after all and he’d seen no signs that their quest was near its end. “You’ve been playing with my crystal ball again?”

  Sunder’s laugh was immediate. Masculine. Fully human. “You know better. If I’d been playing with one of your balls, you’d be begging me to handle the other.”

  Savant grinned and closed the distance between them. His hand went to Sunder’s cock then slid under to capture the testicles. “So how can you be so sure we’ll find her?”

  “Her scent is here.”

  The answer startled Savant into freeing Sunder’s sac and stepping back in order to glance around. His thoughts went immediately to a long ago conversation and Sunder’s revelation that he’d chosen to stay with Savant as both familiar and lover because he was drawn to his scent. Because there was rightness to it that left no room for doubt. “She’s been here recently?”

  “Yes. She comes from the village near the foot of the mountain and returns there.” Sunder’s gaze met Savant’s again and all humor was gone. “You’ll accept the leopard’s choice?”

  “Yes.”

  “You’ll use your magic if necessary?”

  “If she’s right for us, we won’t need it.” Savant’s head tilted in challenge. “You don’t think we can win her using our natural charm?”

  The leopard flickered in Sunder’s gray-green eyes. “I believe we can claim her.”

  Savant looked at the position of the sun. “We’ll leave at daybreak tomorrow?”

  “Yes.”

  Savant nodded and left the stream. “I’m going to return to the cave since someone has ensured my clothing is too wet to wear.”

  “Be glad I didn’t rip it,” Sunder said, following him out of the water, his form wavering for an instant before shifting to the snow leopard’s.

  I’ll be back in a little while, he said, breaking the mind-silence now that he wasn’t stalking Savant.

  Stay out of trouble.

  Sunder made a chuffing sound and padded away.

  Chapter Three

  The moment Aysa stepped into the hidden valley, she heard the falcon’s cry and her confidence soared. This was where she would find her familiar and transition from girl to woman.

  She smiled and then laughed out loud, feeling curiously free. Why had she waited so long to do this?

  The falcon’s cry came again and she scanned the skies and then the cliff faces. Disappointment passed through her when she saw no sign of bird or nest, but she rallied quickly. If she had been willing to accept only what would be easy, then she would have claimed one of the many village cats that greeted her with purrs whenever they saw her.

  Aysa straightened her spine and moved into the valley, finally stopping when she got to the place where the stream was at its deepest. It had been a hard climb and she’d been in such a hurry to get here that she’d pushed herself. Now she was hot and sticky and wanted to sink into the cool water.

  The familiar meant for her would come. She just needed to be patient. To believe it would be so.

  Claiming a familiar was different for each woman, but two things remained the same for all. First, a familiar had to willingly accept the magic contained in the charm. And second, as soon as the magic flowed into the familiar there was an easily felt bond which would strengthen and deepen over time.

  Aysa glanced around to ensure she was alone before shedding her clothing. She braided her hair and knotted it at the base of her neck so it wouldn’t get wet, then stepped into the water, stifling a small yelp at the coolness against her skin. She waded deeper as she became accustomed to the temperature and stopped toward the center where the height of the stream reached the undersides of her breasts.

  Her nipples were tight puckers from the coldness of the water. But even so, they tingled, as did the folds between her legs and the stiff woman’s knob that could be a source of such great pleasure.

  She closed her eyes and touched her nipples. Tweaking, tugging, pinching as she imagined what it be like to have a man at her breasts instead of her own fingers.

  The pouch containing the familiar charm lay lightly against her chest and its presence made her womb flutter in anticipation. Once she gained a familiar, she would be able to take a lover.

  One hand slid down in a slow dance over her belly. Even before they’d lost their home and had to move into her aunt’s tiny house, it had been nearly impossible to find moments when she could touch herself like this. She was rarely alone and when she was, there were always chores to be done.

  Her breath hitched as her fingers reached her clit. She shivered with heat instead of cold.

  It felt so good. So good.

  She stroked her swollen knob, jerking each time her fingertips slid over the tiny head. Her face grew flushed, her breathing fast and she wished she was on the bank, lying down with the sun’s rays kissing her woman’s flesh.

  The sun’s heated kiss became a man’s in Aysa’s thoughts and a small whimper escaped. The warlock had not touched the dairyman’s daughter in such a way, but Aysa had witnessed the courtship of animals and seen both males and females licking and exploring each other’s most private places.

  A shudder went through her. The place between her thighs ached so desperately that the fingers of her other hand left her breast in order to press into her channel. She wanted them to be a man’s cock. Wanted it with a hunger that had been building since the day she’d witnessed a stallion cover a mare and been old enough to think of what she was seeing in human terms.

  Her breath came in pants as she gave herself over to the imaginary lover she’d known for years. Her fingers became his cock, plunging in and out of her slit, striking her clit faster and harder as her body tightened and fought and finally reached that place where only pleasure existed.

  * * * * *

  The snow leopard crouched in the thickets. Every muscle in his body urged him to leave his cover and pounce on the human female. She was not his kind in this form. On some level he knew it. And yet the scent of her, the small whimpers she made as she played in the water struck at his core. They were not the sounds of prey, but the sounds of a mate ready to be bred.

  T
he heat of her rolled across his tongue and the taste of it made his body ache to cover her, to thrust into her. The leopard desired it but the man wouldn’t allow it.

  It was forbidden. Dangerous. Even the shapeshifters who paired with others of their kind rarely coupled in their animal forms for fear that the male leopard would lose control and kill the female.

  A falcon’s cry sounded and the woman looked up. The snow leopard’s ear swiveled but he knew they were still alone. With a thought his mind brushed against Savant’s and found him still in the shallow cave where they’d made camp.

  He could easily summon the warlock but the leopard withheld the woman’s presence from him. At the moment it was a delicate dance they engaged in. Man and beast and man. All trying to find a balance.

  Once the leopard and Sunder had been almost perfectly integrated. They had existed with the same desires, the same instincts. But since leaving their homeland and traveling among the humans they’d changed so the strengths of one overcame the weaknesses of the other. They’d adapted so thought became as important as action and reason balanced instinct. All of it made more complicated by the man’s love for Savant and the leopard’s familiar bond to the warlock.

  With a soft chuffing sound the leopard yielded slightly to the part of him named Sunder. The huge cat’s body settled more heavily on the ground in a waiting pose instead of a crouching one.

  The falcon called again, a shrill sound which brought a smile to the woman’s lips. She waded out of the water. Her hand went to the small cloth sack hanging from a piece of leather around her neck.

  Curiosity gripped both man and beast. Carnal hunger followed as the water slid away to reveal her naked body and swamp them with the scent of her arousal.

  The man rose to the surface of the leopard’s body but not close enough to trigger a change in form. They both watched as she opened the cloth pouch and removed something, her eyes never leaving the falcon which flew above the valley.

  She placed the object on a smooth flat rock near where her clothing lay then retreated to the water. This time she found a shallow place and sat, as though she was waiting for the falcon to notice her gift.