by Jessica Sims
Now that Hugh would touch me wherever? I wanted everything.
He seemed willing, too. His mouth turned and I felt it, hot against my skin, the graze of his teeth against my flesh. Then, he sought the tip of one breast and brushed his teeth against it.
Heat flooded my body, and I gasped. I was incredibly sensitive everywhere, but my nipples seemed to be the most sensitive of all. They ached, hard points of attention, and when his tongue rasped against one, I whimpered all over again. “Hugh. God, Hugh. Your mouth.”
“Do I frighten you?”
“Not at all,” I said, pressing my breast toward his mouth once more. “I need your mouth all over me.”
He groaned as well, digging his hands into my back, and I felt his claws against my scales. Didn’t hurt. His mouth sought my nipple, rolling it against his lips, then latching on and sucking hard.
I cried out. It felt so incredibly good that it made me dazed with need.
“Ryder,” he said, his voice ragged. He pressed his mouth to the curve of my breast, pushing rapid kisses against my skin. “Ryder, we must be quieter. The others will hear—”
I tore out of his arms, my eyes going wide. Any excitement I felt died in a heartbeat. “Oh, my God. They can hear us, can’t they?” I knew Hugh’s hearing was supersharp, but I hadn’t realized how keen. I glanced at the entrance to the cave, but it was wide open. It wasn’t as if anyone could peer in unless they were hiding in a nearby treetop. Which . . . yikes. I pulled away from Hugh.
“What is it?”
“I can’t do this here,” I told him. “Not with the others close and listening. I . . . it’s cruel. And weird. Can’t we go someplace where we’d have some privacy?”
“This is my home,” he said. “No one will disturb us here.”
“Well, that’s great and all, but I can’t do this with others listening to our every move, Hugh.” I reached out and caressed his cheek, feeling the bristly brush of his sideburns. “Don’t you have someplace . . . someplace special that we could go, just the two of us? Someplace we could be alone and not have to worry about being quiet? Or disturbing the others?”
He was silent for so long that I thought he’d disagree. Then he pressed another kiss to my flesh. “I know the place. Come.”
Hugh got to his feet so abruptly that I felt dizzy, unbalanced by the low light of the cave, where I could see nothing beyond the entrance. Hugh grasped my hand in his and led me out to the ledge again.
“Oh, no,” I said, peering over the edge. “Not this again.”
“I will have you,” he told me.
And before I could protest, he swung me over his shoulder once more.
This time, I knew the deal. I squeezed my eyes shut and waited as he climbed, anchoring my body to him as best I could. It didn’t take long before he landed again and that nauseating swaying stopped. I opened one eye tentatively and saw the ground mere feet below my gaze. I lifted my head and saw that the trees were in the distance. We were atop the cliff, and the thick greenery here was interspersed with jagged rock. This was why Hugh was still carrying me. He seemed to know instinctively where to step, bounding between boulders and over stone, dodging ferns and moving rapidly. I settled in for the ride.
Sometime later, I could hear the sound of rushing water. I lifted my head again, looking around. “Are we heading to a waterfall?”
“Yes, but it is not our destination,” he told me.
“No?” I wouldn’t have minded a nice shower. “But waterfalls are pretty.”
“This one also has fish with very big teeth swimming in the pool.”
Eeek. “On second thought, let’s avoid the waterfall.”
He chuckled. “I thought so.”
“So where are we going?”
“You will see,” he said.
I wanted to grumble at all the mystery, but I couldn’t complain. At least this way I wouldn’t have to worry about what the others were thinking as Hugh and I figured out how to get the round peg into the, ahem, round hole. It occurred to me that I wasn’t the only virgin here. Would Hugh instinctively know what to do? I’d read some romances and watched some movies, and Hugh had watched, well, porn. Our combined experience wasn’t exactly setting the world on fire. If it wasn’t very good this time, I decided, we could just chalk it up to our newness to things and we’d just have to work on improving. I steeled myself for the reality that I might not get an orgasm the first or second time. I’d be happy just to have sex with a man I loved, really. Demanding an orgasm to boot seemed a bit like luxury. I’d take what I could get and be happy about it, as long as Hugh’s skin was pressed against mine and we both enjoyed ourselves.
And it saved me from Finian.
I wanted to weep with joy. It seemed like everything was suddenly in my favor and the other primordials were the ones getting the short end of the stick. I felt incredibly guilty, but if it meant I got my happy ever after and Hugh to boot? I couldn’t feel too bad for them. It was either them or me, and I was going to be selfish and pick me.
A mist began to sprinkle my backside, interrupting my thoughts, and I noticed we’d gotten closer than ever to the waterfall. It was a heavy spray of water coming down from the rocky cliff above. No Niagara Falls, of course, but it was enough that the water at the bottom could fill a decent-sized lake. It was pretty, though. I tried not to think of the big-toothed fish at the bottom that Hugh had mentioned.
To my surprise, Hugh took to the rocks at the side of the falls and began to climb up.
“Where are we going?” I asked again.
“You’ll see,” he told me and continued to climb.
“Okay, well, I’m just going to close my eyes,” I told him as the ground began to drop away and my stomach dropped queasily. For a girl with wings, I wasn’t a big fan of heights. “Yell when we’re there.”
“You’ll know,” he said, a chuckle in his voice.
A few moments later, he paused in his rock climbing, and I felt him shuffle to the side. That was the only warning I got before I was drenched with icy-cold water. A startled yelp escaped me, and I sputtered, shivering. “What the heck! Hugh! A little warning, please?”
“I told you that you would know,” he said, and I could hear the laughter in his voice.
I pushed sopping wet hair off my face and peered out from under it. We’d gone through part of the waterfall and, judging from the liquid cascade just beyond my one shoulder, were now under it. It was dark behind here, the only light coming from the blue of the waterfall. I raised a hand in front of my face and could barely make out the outline. “Where are we?”
“It is a cave I come to when I need to be alone and think,” Hugh said. He gently shrugged, setting me down on the floor.
I wiggled my feet, the rocks wet underneath them. My hair was dripping on my back, so I pulled it into a ponytail and wrung it out as I glanced around in the darkness. I could see nothing, and that unnerved me. I raised a hand up, trying to feel for the ceiling of the cave, but nothing hit my fingers but air. “Please tell me that this isn’t the home of the local prehistoric bear?”
“The water keeps out most. Just not me. I have been known to be more curious than is sensible from time to time.”
I smiled into the darkness at that and crossed my arms over my damp skin. “As long as you say this place is safe.”
“It is,” he said, and I felt his hand brush against mine. “Come with me.”
I raised a hand in front of me and gave him my other, and we walked deeper into the cave. I nearly screamed when my foot encountered something furry a moment later.
Hugh must have heard my intake of breath. “It is a sleeping fur, I promise.”
“Boy, am I glad to hear you say that,” I told him and knelt down to pat my hand on it. Sure enough, a sleeping fur. “I hope it’s not covered in mutant bugs.”
“No
mutant bugs. You forget I can see as well in the dark as I can in the daytime,” Hugh said, clearly amused at my antics.
“And you forget I’m totally blind,” I said cheerfully. “But I’m glad one of us can see.” I pushed wet, dripping hair off my face. “Though you might prefer not to see me if we’re going to do this.”
“I see you. I see all of you. And you are so beautiful that you make my body ache with want,” he said softly.
A thrill of delight shot through me at his words. I put a hand out. “I’d like to know where you are right about now, because I really want to kiss you, Hugh.”
He laughed. “The feeling is mutual, Ryder. Do you want to see, or do you prefer the dark?”
Oh. “I want to see.” I wanted to see everything. Hugh was gorgeously attractive, and I couldn’t wait to look my fill at him.
I heard a whistle of air, and light bloomed. I watched, entranced, as Hugh blew on a bit of moss hanging from the ceiling and it lit up like fire.
“Pretty,” I breathed. “What is that?”
“I do not know what it is called, only what it does.” He looked over at me, all grinning fangs, and blew on the moss a bit more until the cave was full of light.
“How long will that last?”
“Long enough,” he said and turned back toward me, easing down into the furs at my feet. The cave was no longer dark, the moss providing a glow for me to see him by. It was almost like having a romantic, candlelit evening.
He patted the furs. “Come and sit with me.”
I sat down across from him, feeling a little nervous about what we were going to do. I’d have to get over it fast, though, if we were going to get rid of my virginity. And then I paused. “I just thought about something. Do we need condoms?” It had never even occurred to me that I’d soon be having sex. I was totally unprepared.
“I do not understand this word.”
“Condoms are, um, sheaths that a man wears over his penis to catch his semen and prevent him from getting her pregnant.”
“Are you in heat, Ryder?”
“I don’t know?”
“I think you would know. Also, you will not go into heat as long as I take your virginity prior to your twenty-fifth birthday. If you are not in heat, I cannot get you pregnant.”
“That’s good, at least. We’ll go bareback, then.”
“Bare . . . back?”
“Never mind,” I told him and waved a hand in the air. “I’m just spouting things because I’m nervous. I’ve never had sex before and it’s making me anxious. I love you, and I want you, but it doesn’t mean I’m not freaking out a little about it. I have no idea what to do, after all.”
“Ryder . . . remember, I have never had sex, either.” He shifted on the furs, his face solemn. He looked rather unhappy about the fact. “I do not wish to disappoint you.”
“I know,” I breathed, gazing at him shyly. “You can’t disappoint me. Somehow, I kind of like that we’re both new to this. We’re not going to judge the other’s performance, because neither of us has had sex before. We can just figure things out as we go. Explore.”
“I like the thought of exploring you,” he said, his voice low and practically humming with tension. His eyes gleamed in the low light.
And oh, mercy, I liked that thought, too. “Well, then,” I said. “Can I start first?”
“I am yours, Ryder.” He sounded so breathless that it made me breathless, too. My pulse began to speed up as I scooted closer and reached for him.
My hands landed on warm chest. I peeked up at his face, even as my hands slid over his pectorals. His eyes were closed with ecstasy, and his fangs had grown so long that they distended from his upper lip. Oh. I glanced down, admiring his body where I touched him. His chest was lightly furred with hair, his skin slightly damp. I grazed nails over his skin, seeking his nipples. I heard his sharp intake of breath, and it excited me. I ran my blunted claws over the hard tips, feeling and enjoying his groan of reaction. “Tell me what you like.”
“I like everything so far.” His voice was full of tension and anticipation, his face tense.
“Good.” I wanted to do more to him, too. Licking my lips, I ran my fingers higher and felt along the lines of his neck muscles. I could feel the strain in them, the tension in his body. I smoothed my fingers down his arms, enjoying the light furring on his forearms. Hugh had a bit more body hair than most men, but I didn’t mind it. He had a bit more everything than most men.
Which led me to the next place I wanted to explore. Feeling daring, I moved my hands back to his chest and trailed them down his stomach.
He sucked in, his stomach flexing.
Mmm, fun. I scratched my pale little claws down the length of his stomach, enjoying the feel of his flat abdomen. It was all hard muscle, and I could trace the ridgelines with my fingers. I did, feeling each breath that he pulled in, noticing that his breathing was becoming rapid . . . as was mine.
He jerked as I touched his belly button, and his cock brushed against my hand, leaving a slightly damp trail against my scales.
I drew back hesitantly. “Are you okay?”
“I am sorry,” Hugh said immediately, leaning backward. His eyes were open, and they were entirely cat at this point, a transformation I found fascinating. “I . . . your fingers felt . . .”
“Ticklish?” I suggested.
“Perhaps that is the word.” He looked embarrassed.
“No, it’s okay,” I told him. “Don’t be shy. It’s just me.”
“What do you think makes me shy?” Hugh panted.
“Oh.” I giggled a little at that, feeling giddy with excitement and desire. “Do you mind if I keep touching you?” I wanted to explore him some more, especially in that particular area.
“I do not mind,” he said, voice strained. His face had shifted toward his saber-tooth form, the bones in his face more pronounced, more feral, more wild. “But I . . . I am . . .”
“You are . . . what?”
“When I get . . . aroused . . .” He exhaled sharply, and I could practically hear the struggle in his mind to say the words. “The tip of my cock . . .”
He trailed off again.
I decided to find out for myself. I reached for him, ignoring the sharp inhalation of his breath, and my fingers brushed against the head of his cock again. I glanced at his face, but his jaw was clenched, as if he’d been in agony—or feeling something intense. He wasn’t brushing me away, though, so I returned to exploring. The head of his cock was slightly damp with a slick, almost sticky liquid. Pre-cum, I told myself. I’d read about that. I brushed my fingers through it, then lifted one to my mouth to taste it.
Salty. It had a bite that wasn’t altogether pleasant, but not bad, either. Hugh’s reaction was even better. He gave a groan, as if in pain, his head tilting back.
Oooh. I licked my fingers again, the taste growing on me, especially since it got that type of response. Hugh’s panting became rapid, and he gave another low groan when I reached for him again. He looked for all the world as if he wanted to hiss at me.
“Do you mind if I put my hands on you here?” I asked permission even as I curved all of my fingers around his thick length.
Hugh was big. Thick. Girthy. I’d expected this, since he was a large man, but staring at it and feeling it between my fingers were two different things. This hot, long rod of flesh was going to go inside my body.
I was pretty sure that was going to be an awkwardly tight fit.
And for the first time since we’d come to the cave, I pulled back a little. I released Hugh.
“Is something wrong?”
There was concern in his voice, along with disappointment. His green eyes shone at me, pupils dilated, and I felt like a jerk. He was worried that his body was displeasing or that I’d drawn away because he’d done something wrong.
And that was selfish of me. Of course he was just as nervous as I was. Maybe more so.
So I put my hands back on his cock and stroked the fine, velvety skin. “Nothing’s wrong. You’re just bigger than I thought.”
“Is . . . that is bad, is it not? You are small, Ryder.”
“You’re fine,” I told him, keeping the sultry purr in my voice. When he tried to pull backward, I tightened my fingers around his length. “I’m still exploring, Hugh. Don’t go anywhere.”
His choked gasp and wide eyes told me that he liked my hands squeezing around him. Encouraged, I did it again, one hand atop the other, like holding a baseball bat. The analogy was an apt one, I thought wryly.
Hugh’s big hand suddenly covered mine. “Not too tight, Ryder.”
“Oh. Oops, I’m sorry.” I released him again, chagrined.
“No, it’s all right. I liked it. I just . . .” He let his words trail off.
Hugh was . . . shy about discussing sex? That was charmingly endearing and made me love him all the more. Maybe we were going about this all wrong. I moved my hands to a safer place—his broad, taut thighs—and rested them there, then looked up at him. “Hugh, baby, can I ask you a question?”
“You may ask me anything, of course.” He gazed down at me, his hand brushing my bony, scaled cheek in affection. “I am yours to command.”
“Do you ever touch yourself? Like when you get . . . too lonely?” My claws idly scratched at his thighs in what was hopefully a soothing, yet enticing, motion. “Or when you watched the movies I gave you?”
He was silent for so long that I wondered if he didn’t understand the question. Then he gave a ragged sigh. “It is . . . not something discussed.”
“Not even with me?”
He held his breath for a long moment, as if debating, then quietly admitted, “Yes, I have touched myself before.”
Now we were getting somewhere. I dug my claws in, loving the way his muscles clenched in reaction. “Ever thought about me while doing it?”
