Primal Encounter

by Rebecca Airies

  “Oh, yes, I like the way your hands feel,” she whispered. His fingers dipped lower and stroked the sensitive skin around her entrance.

  Her hips bucked and he felt the rush of moisture that slipped from her. He stroked a finger into her tight sheath. Her head tossed against the blankets and she looked so beautiful, so sexy. He spread kisses over her stomach. She was ready. Excitement slammed through him. As he pushed two fingers into her, her hips rose, meeting his hand.

  “Say my name!” He moved between her thighs, remaining poised there. He needed to hear her say it. The slick liquid of her desire coated the head of his cock, tempting him but he held back.

  “Rygar!” Her hands stroked down his side and her nails sank into his buttocks.

  Satisfaction rushed through him. His hips rolled forward slowly. Holding back was almost killing him. He wanted to thrust deep but was determined not to hurt her. Her sheath felt so tight as it closed around him. His shaft pushed slowly into her. He wanted to sink deep inside her and holding back felt like sheer torture. Her hips arched up and the wet walls completely surrounded his cock. His hips pressed hers into the mattress. Her thighs tightened around his hips.

  The feel of those inner muscles tightening around his shaft sent ripples of fire up his back and over his body. He wanted to withdraw and drive into her until he found his pleasure. Giving her everything she needed gave him the control he needed. He pulled out and pushed back into her, setting a slow rhythm.

  She met each stroke, her hips lifting. Her body moved against his. He could see the desire rising in her eyes, hear it in her soft cries. He felt the first contractions of her climax and drove against her hard. Her breath caught and her body tensed. She cried out, her hips pushing up against his. Her nails sank into his arms. The rippling clasp of her inner muscles and the sharp pain of her nails sinking into his arms broke the last of his control.

  His hips pumped against her. His muscles tightened. The urge to change her, to bite her and begin the change from Zarain to ShadataiZarain, grew as he drew closer to his climax. He lowered his mouth to her shoulder and bit. She stiffened beneath him, her breath catching on a sharp gasp. A moment later, he came. His hips pumped and his semen spurted into her. He felt her body tense and shake beneath him as the re’kai hit her.

  He collapsed on top of her for a moment before moving his upper body to the side. He didn’t want to do it just yet but he slowly separated their bodies. They couldn’t stay like this. If it was possible, he’d stay this close to her all night. But this wasn’t a private room. He moved to the side and pulled her against him, relishing the closeness for a few moments.

  Her shirt brushed against his chest as she leaned into him. A smile curved his lips. He’d been in a rush. It was almost a miracle he hadn’t torn it in his rush to get it off her. The feel of the fabric drew his attention now. He reached between them and caught a bit of the fabric between his fingers. The weave felt tight and he already knew the color was bright and clear. The shirt felt like it was made of quality strong cloth. Where did she get cloth of that quality when she didn’t have a pack? Did she steal it? It was just one of many questions he had now that he could think beyond claiming her. He drew his hand down to her bare thigh.

  “If we don’t get dressed, we’re going to be fucking again. I have questions to ask you. I’d like to get a few answers before we’re rescued,” Rygar said. He lapped at the slight trickle of blood from the bite on her shoulder. Raising his mouth to her ear, he whispered the binding words, A’haina col tol’estal. Enalac, etal meal toralis retal.

  Her head moved giving him more access to her neck. She moaned and rolled closer to him as if she couldn’t resist. Her hand trailed up his ribs. When her thumb brushed over the flat nipple, he knew he had to act fast or lose control. If she continued her explorations, he’d forget all of his questions. Her fingers felt too good on him. By the Gods, he wanted to drive his cock into her and ride her until they were both exhausted. He shook his head and drew in a deep breath. He had more self-control than this.

  He pulled back and rolled out of bed before she could grab him again. He moved away from the bed and hastily dressed. He picked up her pants and put them on the bed. As much as he wanted to touch her, he couldn’t do it without wanting to have her again. She smiled and sat up slowly. Her red shirt slid down her arms before catching at her elbows, for a moment, she just looked at him through dark brown eyes, a sultry temptress. Her braid hung over her shoulder. Looking at her, he regretted not taking the time to free her golden hair from its confinement. He wanted to see it spread, flowing wildly around her, to feel it beneath his fingers, tickling his chest. After a long look, she apparently decided he wasn’t going to change his mind. She slowly dressed.

  “Come on. We’ll go back out into the main room and talk.” He drew her to her feet as soon as she’d pulled on her boots.

  Dari glared over at her chalon, her mate. She’d never have thought that when she found a mate she’d be sitting across a table from him only moments after their first lovemaking. It was supposed to be several long sessions before they got around to the specifics as far as she knew. She wondered if he felt the pulsing need that was building inside her.

  Hell, she wanted to take the man down right here. She might even be able to ignore all the witnesses if he’d just cooperate. Her fingers tightened around the cup he’d pushed into her hands. She narrowed her eyes at him. Getting him to cooperate was the problem. She’d kissed him just as they’d walked into the room. He’d responded at first but soon held her away from him. His frown might have given her pause if she hadn’t had a definite goal in mind. The man had a stern look down to an art.

  “Now we’re going to talk. Your clothing, especially that shirt, is made of good cloth. How did you get it? What do you do?” Rygar’s eyes locked on her face as if he wanted to see her every expression.

  She’d known earlier that he’d thought she was lying when she said she had a pack. That he hadn’t realized yet that she was telling the truth made her angry. She had no reason to lie to him now. He should realize that she wasn’t pushing him away or trying to put distance between them. What would she have to do to get him to see she’d accepted him?

  “My pack made this cloth. I do what’s needed to help in the pack. I can weave, sometimes I help in the fields and I can cook.” She shrugged. She folded her arms and frowned at him, determined to keep her temper. So she wasn’t the greatest cook but she could make breads. She kept that information to herself.

  Rygar scowled. “I can’t see or smell any deception so you must truly believe what you say. It’s obvious you don’t have any strong males around your pack. You wouldn’t have been taken from that market if you did.”

  Dari gritted her teeth. She was almost tempted to let him believe that. Part of her insisted that it was his beliefs and he should suffer the consequences. It would serve him right if he found out the hard way that there were strong males in her pack. Just the thought of seeing his expression when her pack did find her provided incentive. She’d really enjoy proving him wrong. But it wasn’t the right thing to do. Even though she knew he probably wouldn’t believe her, she still felt she had to try to start this relationship off honestly.

  “I have an Achan and as it stands there are more males than females in my pack. Don’t make the mistake that they won’t or can’t take care of what’s theirs. I don’t know what happened once I got to that stall but I know it wasn’t their fault I was taken.” She leaned forward, bracing her hands on the table, wanting him to know that she wasn’t lying. There shouldn’t have been any harm in going that relatively short distance away from the group.

  “If they could watch over and protect you, they wouldn’t have let you be taken.” He raised an eyebrow at her and smiled, all male confidence.

  He looked so arrogant she wanted to hit him or even better rip that eyebrow right off. Dari curbed that impulse. He was a warrior. That came with a certain amount of arrogance. She’d have t
o work around that.

  “You don’t have very many females in your pack, do you?” she asked. She already knew his answer. It was obvious in his every word that he didn’t really have much experience with female Zarain.

  “Not many but females are females,” he assured her.

  She wanted to show him what females are. And if he kept raising that eyebrow in that doubting, condescending way, she just might. “Just don’t say I didn’t warn you. Men from my pack will come after me.”

  “I’m sure we can handle the men from your pack.” He folded his arms across his broad chest, looking content and confident.

  She rolled her eyes. He definitely wasn’t what she’d thought her mate would be like. Too much of the alpha existed in him. He thought he was always right. That arrogance would probably make their relationship a bit rocky at the start. She already wanted to push back. And she would. He wouldn’t be able to totally intimidate her as the other men obviously did their women.

  She slid a glance at him through her lashes. His silver hair hung around his shoulders in a long straight fall. A satisfied smile curved his lips. She did wonder about what position he held in his pack. He obviously led in some way. The men here respected him but she knew he wasn’t the Achan. That wasn’t a title that would have been left off the introduction once they knew she was Zarain. Maybe a Terchal. He certainly had the commanding attitude and warriors didn’t seem to have any problems taking orders from him. She doubted he’d tell her while they were here. There was too much chance it would be overheard.

  “Come over here and sit with me. We’ll stay together and wait for the Zarain you felt to come. It shouldn’t be too much after dark before they make an appearance.” He held out his hand in invitation.

  That wasn’t an invitation she was going to refuse just because she was a little irritated with him. She put her hand in his and let him pull her into his lap. “Do you have any idea how long it’s going to be until sundown? It was barely midday when they marched me through the streets.”

  His arm tightened around her. “No. We’ll just have to talk and occupy ourselves until they get here. Any ideas?”

  Dari grinned and briefly brushed her lips across his. She knew he thought she was going to suggest another romp. In spite of the phrase “occupy ourselves”, she knew they wouldn’t be getting near a bed. He’d hold her and probably kiss her but little else. The man was annoyingly stubborn. She intended to do a little pushing of her own.

  “Oh yeah, I have some questions about you and the others here. How did such capable men get captured and why haven’t you escaped?” She relished asking him that.

  He’d made such an issue of the fact that she’d been taken out of a market while the men from Oroyai pack were there. He and the other men obviously hadn’t fared any better.

  His eyes narrowed. “We were drugged. As to escape, there hasn’t been a good opportunity for all of us to escape. I wasn’t leaving anyone here.”

  She shook her head at his words. “These men took you, yet you fault the men of my group because I was taken. They weren’t anywhere near me. Most of them were trading and the others knew that that the women didn’t need to be constantly watched. I was born Zarain. I know how to take care of myself.”

  His hand smoothed up her thigh. “We don’t take chances with our women.”

  She grabbed his wrist and tightened her fingers around it. “Don’t take chances… If you try treating me like a cub as you obviously do to every other woman in your pack, you’ll find out what’s chancy.”

  “You’ll adjust to our way of doing things.” His hand gently squeezed her thigh.

  Dari growled. She couldn’t hold the angry sound back. Had these men never had any dealings with full Zarain females? She didn’t know how that would happen but it was obvious that he felt coddling women was the normal way a Zarain man behaved. She knew enough now to know that Zarain females didn’t unquestioningly follow orders and stay behind the protection of locked doors all the time. They might not be out fighting battles but the Zarain men she knew respected a woman’s strength and abilities. Women were strong, capable.

  “I’m sure you’ll learn a few things too.” She smiled.

  “Now that sounds like a threat. You won’t turn me into the weak men you’ve known.” He nuzzled her hair aside and nibbled on her ear.

  After a comment like that, she had to know more about why he had so little experience with the females of their species or what had shaped his opinion. She knew that Achan Raven and his men could hardly be described as soft or easily persuaded on their best days. She was curious, of course, but she also wanted to know what kind of obstacles she’d be facing. There had to be a way to make him accept that she could function without a constant male escort. She didn’t try to fool herself that it would be easy. Especially when she told him about her past and the life she’d led. She had a feeling that he wouldn’t believe she knew much about true Zarain life when he found out that her pack had only recently gained an Achan.

  “Why doesn’t your pack have many females and specifically females who were born Zarain? Do you have a home world?” Dari frowned and turned to look up at him. If they didn’t have a home world, it was understandable that they wouldn’t have many females. They should have had experience of Zarain females in the past though.

  He smiled and took the opportunity to drop a kiss on her lips. “We have a home world. Did you think we just roamed from world to world? And your guess about us not having many females is fairly good.”

  “There are groups who roam the worlds. They fight for others and then move on when that battle’s done.” She licked her lips. She could smell his arousal, feel it as his shaft pressed against her hip. The urge to slide her hand down and stroke that ridge through the cloth was almost irresistible. She reminded herself that she’d just be tormenting both of them. He wasn’t going to change his mind.

  “We’ve fought as mercenaries a few times. As to why our pack doesn’t have many females, they all died. When I was younger, while most of the men were away fighting another person’s battle, our Taivain was attacked by a group of Tsitike. All the men who’d remained at the Taivain were killed. The young children were told to hide and we did. Almost everyone they could find died, those who didn’t were hurt badly. There weren’t enough men to guard the holding.” His voice turned rough and his jaw clenched. His entire body tensed.

  She put her hand on his arm. She’d never imagined something like that. “Are the Tsitike a problem for your pack?”

  “No, it was just a group that happened to find our Taivain on their travels. We haven’t even seen a group since. Our father made sure that those who attacked never made it home to report their find.” Rygar frowned.

  That sounded like more than just a coincidence to her. True, most of the Tsitike groups would go out of their way to attack a ZarainTaivain but unless their Taivain was very near a gate, it should have been hard for the men to find it.

  After hearing that most of the females had been killed, it was no wonder he didn’t know what a born Zarain female really acted like. The females who had survived or who had been out of the Taivain would have been closely guarded in the years after that. They wouldn’t have had a normal life.

  “Has your pack had much contact with other Zarain?” Dari asked.

  “A little. Before you ask, no, I haven’t noticed much difference in how they guarded their women and how we guard ours.” His hand roamed up her ribs and cupped over her breast.

  “Then you visited the wrong Taivains. Zarain women are strong and capable. They don’t need to be constantly guarded by men.” She grabbed his wrist and pulled his hand away before he could brush his fingers across the already hard nipple. Just when she thought she could relax, his other hand joined in his game.

  “ShadataiZarain do not leave their women in danger.” He lifted his hand and once again palmed her breast.

  She looked down. It would take more than the slight mound of her breas
ts to fill his large hand. He didn’t seem to notice or care that her curves were far from lush. His entire attention was focused on toying with the nipples visible beneath the cloth of her shirt. Sharp sensation shot through her at his first touch. She squirmed as the delicious arousal curled low in her belly.

  The rising need didn’t blunt her reaction to his announcement. She tensed staring up at him. In a way, it did explain a few things but his attitude still seemed a little strange, a little strong. As uncivilized and overprotective as the big males in her pack were, they still recognized that a female Zarain was far from helpless. Maybe she was reading too much into his attitude. Despite what she’d told him, he believed that the men of her pack had neglected their duty.

  Chapter Three

  Rygar’s arms curved around her. She felt surrounded by warmth and strangely secure. The flickering lamplight danced around them. Dari had no idea how much time had passed since she’d arrived. None of the Zarain had made any move to go to sleep. They waited for the other Zarain males she’d sensed earlier to arrive. She was just as anxious as they were. It seemed like time had slowed. She wanted out of this cage. The men were restless, moving around but always shooting glances toward the gate she’d been pushed through. When she heard the slight scrape of metal on wood from the darkness opposite the table, she didn’t connect it to the arrival of the other Zarain at first.

  Rygar stood and put her behind him. In moments, the other Zarain had formed a solid wall of muscled bodies. She couldn’t see anything beyond them. She didn’t try to go around them, although she was tempted to try it. They’d only push her behind them again. Listening, she waited tensely. Her mind raced at the thought of who had made that noise. It was probably the other Zarain but there was a chance it could be someone else. The men wouldn’t take a chance.