“I know,” she said, only noticing how cold her hand was now that the wind was blowing over her wet skin. “But it’s just so good.”
“And it’s not going anywhere. There’ll be plenty to drink later.” He released her arm and glanced skyward as he stood up, lips downturned and a troubled crease between his brows. “We need to find shelter.”
Yuri wiped her hand on her thigh and looked up. The clouds, which had been that dark gray all day, were closer to black now. The static charge in the air seemed even stronger than before; she could almost feel it tingling across her skin, like her little hairs were about to stand on end. Dread pooled in her stomach.
She’d always enjoyed rainstorms back on Earth, but she’d never been stuck outside in one. And this was an alien world. Who knew how intense or unforgiving the weather here could be?
As if her thoughts summoned it, the sky lit up in a flash of white-violet. Yuri flinched, looking down and blinking rapidly to clear the blurred white afterimage from her eyes. A prolonged, crackling boom tore through the sky, rumbling the ground, making the very air around her vibrate.
Now, her little hairs did stand up.
The smugglers, the skeks, the uncertainty of having food and water, the prospect of never getting home—all those were frightening things, but they weren’t insurmountable. There was hope of overcoming them.
This impending storm felt different. That taste of power, that brief demonstration, shook her on a primal level. It couldn’t be overcome, couldn’t be fought or reasoned with. And it certainly didn’t care about a wild vorgal and his little terran.
Thargen grasped her arm and hauled her to her feet. “Time to go, terran.”
Before she could respond, he scooped her up in his arms, clutching her against his chest, and hurried away from the river. Yuri threw her arms around his neck. Another flash lit up the sky, briefly turning the branches and needles overhead—most of which were thrashing in the strengthening wind—into dark silhouettes.
“I can run,” she said, her fingers curling to dig her nails into his skin as another peal of thunder shook this alien world.
“I know.” He didn’t relinquish his hold, didn’t slow his pace—not even as the gentle upward slope he’d been traversing steepened and became more irregular. After leaping up onto a large boulder, he paused and scanned their surroundings.
The rain started in that moment, a torrential downpour so immediate and intense that it made Mortannis’s punishing hose seem like an eyedropper in comparison. The trees offered little protection from the rain; Yuri was soaked within a second or two, as thoroughly as though she’d jumped into the river.
It was just as cold, too.
Thargen released a huff of air that sprayed water from his lips, bared his teeth, and glared up at the sky, seemingly unaffected by the rain pelting his face. There was a wild gleam in his eyes for a moment, and his body heat intensified despite the cold engulfing them.
Yuri swept her wet hair back from her face and wiped her eyes. The chill was already sinking straight into her bones. She returned her arm to its place around Thargen’s neck and held tight.
He swung his gaze to her, and the menacing light in his eyes faded. His grip on her strengthened infinitesimally. Everything he might’ve said, everything he could’ve said, everything that mattered, was conveyed by his expression and that little action—I have you, Yuri. You’re mine, and I have you.
She couldn’t shake her deep-seated unease, couldn’t silence the primal part of her brain that was screaming about the danger, but she knew Thargen would keep her safe. They’d survived the crash and had managed to evade the smugglers. This was just one more obstacle to overcome.
“Fuck this storm,” Thargen growled. He ran forward, his heavy footfalls jolting through his body and into hers as though in defiance of the wind and thunder. “I’ve been in public toilets more dangerous than this.”
Despite everything, the corners of Yuri’s mouth tilted up. “Well, we needed a shower, right?”
He laughed. It was a guttural but genuine sound, as savage, raw, and good-humored as Thargen had proven himself to be—but a hint of tension and strife flowed through its core. Though he’d not shown any signs of it during the day, she knew he was still caught in that internal struggle that had made him so restless and irritable in the cage.
Yuri’s backpack jostled as Thargen ran, its straps pulling at her shoulders; she just squeezed him tighter and ducked her head to keep the harsh rain from hitting her face. When she glanced over his shoulder, the river—which couldn’t have been that far behind them—was already out of sight thanks to the heavy rain and the mist it was creating.
As Thargen finally slowed, Yuri turned her attention forward. It took a moment for her brain to decipher the large, dark shape in front of them, which was made indistinct by the gloom and mist.
She was looking at a huge tree—an ancient tree, she had the sense—that had fallen over. Many of its upturned roots were jutting into the air like gnarled, skeletal fingers, and the exposed wood was almost entirely blanketed by reddish mossy growths. The dirt around those roots had settled in a mound that bulged off the slope—a mound with a wide, low opening. Water dripped from the top of the mound and flowed in little streams around it, but the hollow was facing downslope, and seemed to be spared the wet.
Thargen stopped a few paces away from the natural shelter and set her on her feet. “Wait here.”
Yuri crossed her arms over her chest, trying to hold in some of her body heat, as he took one of his axes in hand and stalked forward. Without the protection of Thargen’s body, the freezing rain and wind blasted her anew, making her shiver and her teeth chatter. Lightning flashed overhead, briefly illuminating the nearby trees. Even though she was expecting it, she still jumped when thunder boomed a few seconds later.
Thargen crouched at the entrance to the mound, braced his free hand on one of the exposed roots nearby, and leaned into the darkness. He remained like that for several seconds—during which Yuri’s imagination suggested all sorts of terrifying beasts and monsters that might’ve been dwelling in that darkness.
Finally, he drew back, turned, and waved her over. She hurried toward him, and he placed his hand on her back to guide her through the opening. Yuri ducked inside. The sound of falling rain was thankfully muted within the hollow. After a few moments, her eyes had adjusted to the meager light just enough for her to make out some of what lay before her.
Though the ceiling was low, the inside of the hollow was open and spacious. Exposed roots ran in tangles through the dirt overhead and poked out in a few places along the walls. The floor was a combination of bare dirt and wide patches of pale moss, scattered with what looked like dead vegetation, pine needles, sticks, and tiny bones; it was too dark to tell for sure, and she found herself not really wanting to know if she was right.
Thunder rolled outside, making Yuri start; the hollow definitely didn’t dull that sound.
Shivering, Yuri shrugged off her backpack and caught it with numb fingers before dropping it on the ground. It landed with a dull thump. She drew her hands up close to her chest.
That pathetic light coming in through the opening was snuffed out for a second as Thargen entered the hollow. He had to keep his shoulders hunched and his knees bent to fit inside. He placed his backpack, which he’d already taken off, on the floor beside hers and swept his hand up his face and back across his hair, shedding a small spray of water in the process.
“Clothes off,” he said as he swept aside the debris on the floor with his foot.
For a few moments, Yuri stood there with cold, wet clothing plastered to her body, unable to keep her teeth from chattering. His words repeated meaninglessly in her head. Was he…? Now? He’d seen all of her already, that wasn’t the issue, but her foggy mind could only come up with one reason for him wanting her naked.
Not that she didn’t want to do that with him. She really wanted to. And the authority in his tone sparked a
heat in her core.
“Happy to do it for you if you want.” Thargen kicked aside the last of the little bones and turned to face her, managing to look imposing, powerful, and sexy even while he was bent to fit in this hole.
Apparently, he’d already spread some clothes on the floor to create a pallet; how long had she been standing there, dumbfounded?
“Okay,” she said, the words coming out quickly and little breathlessly.
Thargen tossed his weapons onto the ground near the bags, unclasped his pants, and pushed them down, keeping his eyes on her. “Okay you’re gonna, or you want me to?”
Naturally, Yuri’s eyes dropped to his erect cock the instant it sprang free. The piercings along the top glinted faintly as he moved, reflecting the dim light at the opening. She grinned; despite the chill that had seeped into her, she was heating up quite nicely between her legs. “Y-You.”
He lowered his brows and pressed his lips together. Fire flashed in his eyes for a moment before he braced a hand on the ceiling and tugged the pants off his ankles, tossing the garment aside after it was off. His nostrils flared as he moved toward her. Somehow, his hunched posture made him seem even larger once he was standing before her—it gave her the sense that he was too big for this space, that he could burst right out of it if he chose to stand up.
“Fuck, terran,” he groaned, sinking onto one knee. He bent forward and lifted her feet one at a time to peel off the wet cloth strips. When he was done, he straightened, and a crease formed between his eyebrows—she wasn’t sure if it was concentration, torment, or restraint—as he placed his hands on her thighs. He slid them up under the hem of her soaked shirt until they reached the top of her pants.
Thargen’s fingers were like branding irons against her skin when he hooked them under her waistband. He drew her pants down, his palms sliding over her outer thighs with his thumbs coming precariously close to where she ached for him most. Once the pants were past her knees, the weight of the waterlogged material dragged them down the rest of the way, allowing her to step out of them and kick them aside.
His hands reversed direction, smoothing over her hips, spanning her waist, catching the hem of her shirt as they continued up her body. He stood up as his fingers crept higher. His thumbs grazed her hardened nipples for an instant. She drew in a sharp breath, her core clenching in need, before raising her arms.
Thargen pulled the shirt off over her head and tossed it aside. It landed amongst the other discarded clothing with a wet plop. He lingered in front of her, eyes heated, shoulders rising and falling with ragged breaths. Yuri’s skin tingled in anticipation of his touch, of his hands returning to her body to spread his sweet warmth all over. Little droplets of water were beaded on his skin, catching tiny reflections of the light; she wanted to lick every one of them off him.
He stepped back, moving onto the large patch of that velvety moss where he’d arranged the pallet of dry clothing, and lowered himself onto his knees. His cock jutted out from between his thighs, hard and throbbing. “Come here, terran.”
Eagerness and arousal thrummed through Yuri. Despite the cold, despite her body quaking, she yearned. So damned badly. His fingers touching her the night before had only been a taste of what he could do for her, and she wanted more. She wanted all of him.
Keeping her eyes on his, she closed the distance between them, reaching out to place her hands on his shoulders. Even on his knees, he was several centimeters taller than she was.
Thargen moved his hands to her waist and guided her to turn around. It wasn’t what she’d expected, but she could go along with this if he liked to do it from behind. She backed up until her back was flush with his body, and his cock brushed the insides of her thighs. His heat, intensifying by the second, baked into her, and she moaned.
He tensed, leaning his forehead against the back of her head, and let out a slow breath that flowed through Yuri’s wet hair to caress her neck. It triggered a thrill that ran down her spine. He removed his hands from her hips and wrapped his right arm around her, tucking it beneath her breasts. Yuri’s tight nipples ached for his touch, ached for his strong, calloused fingers to stoke them, to pinch them.
She could feel his heart beating through his chest, could feel his cock’s tiny twitches in time with that steady, unrelenting pulse.
This was it. This was finally it. Yuri caught her lower lip between her teeth and placed her right arm atop his.
Thargen leaned to the left, bracing his hand on the ground, and eased Yuri to lay down on the pallet. Once again, she was the little spoon—not that she minded. She really liked being the little spoon, as long as it was his body tucked against hers.
He shifted his left arm beneath her head and pressed his thighs to the backs of hers. His cock was now tucked along the curve of her ass, so damned close to where she wanted it. She arched, pushing her backside against him.
Thargen groaned and moved his right hand to her lower abdomen, spanning his fingers over it and pinning her in place. It, too, was a tease—his fingertips were only centimeters from the top of her sex, but they might as well have been a kilometer away.
Yuri’s brows furrowed as seconds passed and they lay there, unmoving, except for her shivering, the rise and fall of his chest with his ragged breaths, and the thumping of his heart. His body cocooned hers, blanketing her with his heat, swiftly chasing away the cold, but leaving a heavy, unfilled emptiness behind.
“Um, Thargen?” she asked.
“Hmm?”
“What are we doing?” She knew there was more to it than this. Like touching, licking, stroking, thrusting. Part A being inserted into slot B. She’d seen enough on holos, and a surprising number of the Undercity’s residents didn’t seem very concerned about potential onlookers during their intimate moments.
“Warming you.”
“Warming me?”
He grunted, and the fingers on her lower abdomen flexed. “You were shivering with cold, Yuri.”
Yuri closed her eyes and tilted her pelvis, just begging for those fingers to slip just a little lower. “Mmhmm.”
“Fuck,” Thargen growled through his teeth as he pressed harder on her pelvis, stilling her hips.
“That’s the plan, right?” Yuri asked, lifting one of her knees to spread her thighs. Cold air kissed her sex, sending a wholly different shiver through her.
His laughter was somehow both amused and tortured. He hooked his leg over the top of hers and forced it back down. Still, he made no move to intimately touch her.
“Or…not?” she said with a frown, turning her head to look at him as best she could.
Thargen’s expression was tense, and the lusty fires in his eyes bore a wild edge. “Barely in control, Yuri. Be still.”
Tendons and veins stood out starkly along his neck and on his arm beneath her hand. This was just like when they’d been trapped in the cell ,and he’d been pacing back and forth, a beast bristling with hunger and aggression—but it had taken him days to build to that point. He’d seemed fine a couple minutes ago. Why this sudden change?
Yuri slid her palm along his arm to take hold of his hand; all she needed was for him to lift it away from her pelvis. “But I don’t want you in contr—”
Thargen growled, burying his face in her hair. He shuddered, and his hold on her tightened a fraction more. “Just…talk to me, zoani,” he grated through clenched teeth.
Talk? Why was he wanting to talk? She was basically throwing herself at him.
Yuri’s sex ached, and her nipples were so damn hard they hurt. Was it possible for women to get blue balls? Yuri was pretty certain she was developing a severe case.
“Thargen, not that I don’t enjoy talking to you, but isn’t there something else you’d rather be doing?” She wiggled her bottom against his cock. “Like…me?”
Thargen’s hips bucked, sliding his shaft along her ass. She felt all the little studs of his piercings as they glided over her skin, and felt a hint of moisture unlike the raindrops th
at had pelted her outside—this was warm and slick.
He snarled, the sound more animalistic than any she’d heard from him so far, and his body seized around her, every muscle going rigid. When he moved again, his speed was so explosive that she barely registered what was happening.
Thargen flipped her onto her belly and rolled to position himself over her from behind. One of his hands cupped the back of her head, forcing her cheek onto the moss beneath the rumpled pallet, while the other lifted her ass into the air. His weight came down atop her, caging her in his blazing heat.
Yuri gasped, her fingers curling into the soft moss. Something hard, blunt, and even hotter than the rest of Thargen pressed into the entrance of her sex, something throbbing with his rapid, powerful pulse.
A rumble of thunder rattled the earth beneath her.
He froze again. His breaths were heavy and snarling, as though they were clawing their way out of his lungs.
Yuri’s heart was fluttering, her skin was aflame, and the heat gathered in her core was reaching critical levels. His display of speed, strength, and dominance was frightening—but it aroused her more than anything. She’d never imagined her first time being like this. A little more foreplay would have been nice, but damn it, she wanted him. She was ready.
And he was poised right there.
Her sex clenched around the tip of his cock. She tilted her hips and pushed back, forcing him infinitesimally deeper. His fingers pulled her hair hard enough to produce a sting on her scalp, and his hand on her hip clamped down roughly enough to bruise.
“Fuck,” he growled. “Fuck!”
Thargen shoved himself away from her, breaking all contact between them and pulling a few strands of her hair out in the process. Yuri winced and sat up, bringing a hand to her scalp as she turned her head to look at him. He stalked toward the opening, and the gray light from outside turned his figure into a dark, brooding silhouette.
“Thargen, wait!” she called.
Savage Desire (The Infinite City Book 4) Page 20
