by Anny Cook
“You’re absolutely correct,” Bish agreed gravely. “Where I come from you would be my nephew.”
“Okay. Are you finally ready? Everyone’s waiting to eat. And tonight is country fried steak. It’s my favorite,” Cougar confided.
“Oh, well. In that case, we must go at once.”
When they reached the kitchen, Bishop found them patiently waiting for his arrival. It shamed him that he had taken his bad temper out on the family. Merlyn and Jade were missing but Dai was supervising the well-behaved group with an air of longtime experience. Bish was still sorting out who was who but he easily recognized Llyon and Tyger and after his conversation with Wolfe, he was able to separate him from his older twin brothers, Arano and Arturo. There were still many of the children that he couldn’t put names and faces together.
Cougar led him to a chair at one end of the enormous kitchen table. “Sit here, Uncle.” Then Cougar scampered down to the other end where he scooted onto a bench next to a small girl.
In passing Bish noted the boys outnumbered the girls by far. Once he was seated, two of the middling boys began the serving process which was efficient and fast. Serving dishes were started at the far end of the table, one for each side. When they reached Bish, a youngster was there waiting to take the dish away as soon Bish served himself. In a remarkably short time, everyone was served and eating with silent gusto.
After observing the smooth flowing muscles his nephews sported under their pale blue skin, Bish decided that their dedication to their dinners was easy to understand. Clearly they all worked hard doing something that expended energy. Llyon still looked a little pale for a blue guy but it seemed that his nap after his healing session with Trav had helped a little.
As though he’d read Bish’s thoughts, Tyger asked, “Are you feeling better after your nap, Uncle?”
“Actually,” Bish realized with surprise, “I am.”
“Dancer also found the first day very difficult.” Llyon’s quiet observation reminded Bishop that Dancer and—Eppie?—were also missing from the table.
“Speaking of Dancer, where is he?”
“Eppie and Dancer have returned to their bonding cottage,” Dai replied. Something about his tone told Bishop that there would be no more discussion about Dancer and Eppie at this time.
“And Bar—Merlyn and Jade?”
“Also have retired to a bonding cottage.”
“I see.” What Bishop saw was that he would have to buttonhole Dai later and demand a clearer explanation. Whatever a bonding cottage was, its purpose was clear and familiar to the family as none of them seemed in the least concerned. He thought about demanding answers for some of his other questions but a quick glance around the table was enough of a reminder that this probably wasn’t the appropriate place for that either.
“How is Traveller?”
Llyon shot him a reassuring smile. “Traveller is doing well. He will sleep most of the time for the next few days as his body heals. There was a lot of damage, Uncle. How did this happen? What could cause so many injuries?” He frowned at Bishop. “He will take many eight-days to heal completely.”
“There was an explosion. He was thrown across the cave.” Clearly, from their blank looks they had no experience with explosions. He racked his brain for a way to explain the unfamiliar term. Groping for something that would be familiar, he remembered the platter of sliced tomatoes that was served with dinner. “Have you ever seen what happens to a tomato if you throw it at something solid?”
That elicited some very strange looks and tentative nods.
“The contents, the inside of the tomato, bursts from the force, right?”
“Like a woolie bomb.” Several of their faces registered enlightenment at the quiet observation from a young man with flaming red hair. “That would be an explosion, though not a big enough one to damage Traveller, I think.”
“Exactly.” Bishop was nodding his head quickly. “Only the explosion that hurt Trav was big enough to destroy one of your smaller domes.”
Dead silence greeted that statement. Then Dai said, “Yet he lived. Remarkable. It would appear that he is a very strong-willed man. As Hawke said, the devices we are familiar with would not cause that much damage.”
The oldest girl looked at him with great pity. “What a terrible place it must be out-valley.”
Bishop thought of the last twenty-four hours and reluctantly agreed. No wonder they couldn’t understand his eagerness to return to his home.
Chapter Seven
Bishop meets Samara
Over the next two days, Bishop alternately trailed after Dai or explored the village on his own. Among stranger-than-fiction facts he uncovered was the news that Jade’s sister Rebaccah and her husband, Hamilton, were living in the valley. In fact the woman who had caught his eye was their daughter, Samara.
Stranger yet was the fact that Ham’s partner from out-valley, Nathan Taylor, and his wife Morgana had also found their way to the valley. Bishop wondered if anyone knew that Dancer was Morgana’s nephew. By all accounts, Dancer had arrived in the valley, bonded with Eppie and immediately went into seclusion.
Bish still wasn’t clear about what a couple did while in seclusion at a bonding cottage—other than the obvious—but surely that wasn’t enough to dedicate three full months to the process.
The second afternoon he knew he had to get away. For a man used to solitary living, the bustling Llewellyn domes were more than he could tolerate. He struck off in a totally new direction, intending to walk out to the cabin that Llyon and Tyger were going to share. One of the older boys had mentioned there was a large meadow and a trail down to Goodspeed’s Delight and the small settlement of Broken Pine.
When he reached the cabin it was clear no one was around. He took a few minutes to walk around the yard and peer in the windows. Across the clearing he spied a golden dome nearly hidden in the dark woods. Curious about who would live in such a secluded location, he covered the ground quickly until he reached the small yard which was enclosed by a low stone wall. It never occurred to him that he was invading the homeowner’s privacy.
He heard a woman singing in the backyard and followed the sound around the perimeter of the dome until he found her stretched out on her belly on a blanket in the fragrant grass. Stark naked. There was a butterfly tattoo on the fleshy part of her right butt cheek. He stopped in the shadow of a huge silver-leaved tree and just stared, drinking in the vision. After years of exposure to skinny, bony, buff women, it was a shock to find himself in the presence of a Rubens’ model.
No, she wasn’t fat but it was clear that she was all lush woman. He willed her to turn over so that he could see her breasts and belly…maybe even her pussy.
And then she turned her head, looked directly at him and asked, “Are you going to just stand there in the shadows?”
Samara was aware of him the moment he walked through her garden. She couldn’t say what alerted her to his presence but she knew he was there, standing beneath the tree watching her. When she challenged him, he flushed in delayed embarrassment at being caught staring at her.
“Perhaps it would be best if I just went.”
Then she smiled. Clearly, that wasn’t what he really wanted to do. As she continued to watch him in turn, his cock poked at the front of his sharda, indicating more than a passing interest. A strange desire to display her body for him crept over her. Impulsively following the odd urge, she twisted until she was facing him, stretched on her side with her head supported on her bent arm. “Is this what you wanted?” Slowly she bent her top leg so that her nearly bare mons was revealed.
He caught a glimpse of swollen, wet folds.
He inhaled sharply and fought the urge to haul his cock out of the heavy folds of fabric and stroke it while she watched. As though she read his very thoughts, she gestured toward his sharda. “You have seen me. May I see you?”
“If you will explain something to me?” He lifted an eyebrow in query.
“
What would you like to know?”
“What does it mean when someone says you’re ineligible?”
A flash of pain crossed her face and then it was gone as she calmly replied, “I was raped when I was younger. Since I am no longer a virgin, I may not pledge or take the bond mate vows…and I will not have children.”
He went to her then, not thinking about any consequences, only intent on expressing comfort and outrage at the injustice. Already, though his time in the valley had been short, he understood the importance of childbearing to the valley inhabitants. “Why would that make any difference?”
“It is the law in the valley,” she said, sitting up as he stood next to the blanket. “Only virgins may pledge. Without the pledge there are no children.”
“Then what is left for one such as yourself?”
She shrugged. “If I find a man I wish to be with and he is not interested in children, then perhaps I will be fortunate enough to have a covenant bond. It is just as binding but there is no pledge—no mind bond. That is not likely to happen.”
Following impulse, Bish undid the tabs that fastened his sharda and cast it down on the edge of the blanket. He stood still as she stared in amazement at his genitals. Under her watchful eyes, his cock lengthened until it speared up from the black nest of curls at his groin. Her eyes widened and sparkled. Unable to resist, he stroked his cock with one hand while he cupped his heavy balls with the other, proudly displaying himself for her pleasure.
Samara slowly licked her lips and then reached out, touching the flushed wet head with a gentle fingertip. “Are all out-valley men as generously endowed as you?”
“I suspect some more so, some less,” he admitted gravely.
“Your skin is such a beautiful color.” She moved to her knees in front of him. “May I hold you? I’ve never touched a man before.”
Bishop inhaled sharply. “There’s been no one since the rape?”
“No. When I was much younger, I couldn’t bear the idea of a man touching me.” She leaned forward and planted a kiss on the fat head of his cock. “And then, when I was old enough to consider it, no one was interested in me.”
“Why the hell not?” he burst out.
“Oh, partly because my parents were overprotective. And partly because I’m not eligible.” Though she answered him calmly enough, her eyes never left his cock. She licked her lips again, her tongue trailing across her bottom lip as though she still tasted him. “May I?”
“What, Samara? Tell me what you want,” Bish said quietly. “I want no misunderstandings between us.”
When her tongue flickered across her lips again his cock pulsed, releasing another drop of clear fluid. “I want to taste you,” she declared in a sudden rush. “Can I taste you?”
“If you allow me to return the favor.”
“You wish to kiss me?”
“I wish to lick and suck your pussy until you have an orgasm. You know what that word is here in the valley?”
Samara bent her head over his cock and licked him with lush abandon, curling her tongue around him, sampling his textures and tastes. A low hum in her throat vibrated against the sensitive underside as she lavished more kisses and luxurious forays with that wicked flickering tongue.
Bishop speared his fingers in her tumbled golden brown hair and held her still. “Samara.”
“Hmmm?”
“If we continue with this, I will not leave until I bring you to orgasm many times. Is that what you want?”
Samara was silent as she thought about that.
“Look at me,” he commanded. When her eyes met his, he asked, “Is that what you want?”
After a moment she nodded. “Yes.”
“If we begin this, I will come back to you. Over and over. The day will come when I will fuck you—stick my cock in your pussy and fuck you until we can fuck no more. Do you understand?”
She sat back on her heels and cocked her head as she considered the man before her. “I have twenty-seven years, Bishop. I am a woman. Inexperienced I might be, but a child I am not. My childhood was taken from me. Do you understand?”
He squatted in front of her and took her hands. “I have no knowledge about your valley customs. I would not damage your reputation.”
“I am already outcast,” she pointed out gently. “There is nothing left to damage.”
“Not with me. What happened to you was beyond your control. I would not punish you for someone else’s crime.” His eyes twinkled as he grinned at her. “Let us go inside. I plan to make you come many, many times and I quite suspect that you will be very noisy.”
“There is no one to hear. And I have waited long enough.” Samara grasped his cock and bent down until her head was buried between his legs. “I love the way you taste.”
His knees hit the blanket when her mouth slipped over the dark swollen head of his cock. “Uh, Samara?”
“Mmmm.”
“We’re outside!”
She ignored him, sucking and tonguing the underside of his cock while she gently cradled his heavy balls. When her tongue slid across the sensitive ridge below the fat head of his cock, he inhaled sharply with a deep groan. “You’re gonna kill me, woman!”
She glanced up at his face as her lashes fluttered. Then deliberately, she slipped her tongue completely around the ridge before sliding her lips down until the entire head was inside her snug, warm mouth. With a small smile, she sucked him to the back of her throat. When she had his complete attention, she hiked her ass a little higher and wiggled it from side to side.
Bish cursed and tapped her cheek. “My turn. I want to taste your pussy.”
Samara shook her head, refusing to release his cock. When he tried to pull away, she gently closed her teeth around him, warning him that she wasn’t ready to give up her prize yet.
“Shit! I tell you what. If we lie down, I’ll show you a way that we can both play.”
Her eyebrows lifted in query, though she continued to suck his cock like it was a delicious treat. He knew if she kept up the suction with the same enthusiasm, he wouldn’t last much longer. She tickled the tender skin behind his balls and he rapidly began to implore her to slow down. “Dammit, Samara! Hold on! Come on—just try it my way!”
Reluctantly, she released him and sat up.
“Where did you learn to suck cock like that?” he demanded as he stretched out on his back on the blanket. His cock, dark dusky rose with arousal, stuck up enticingly. He noted the determination in Samara’s glittering brown eyes. “Never mind. Straddle my waist facing my feet.”
She frowned at him. “Why?”
“I promised to show you a way we could both play,” he reminded her patiently.
She followed his directions, straddling his waist, and stood over him awaiting further instructions. “Now sit down on my face.”
“What?” She twisted to stare down at him in consternation.
Bishop folded his arms under his head and waited for her to comply. “Trust me. I wouldn’t do anything that would hurt you.”
Awkwardly, she tried to follow his directions, feeling vaguely embarrassed. He helped her move into position. It wasn’t until he suggested that she lean forward that she realized the advantages. The new arrangement placed her eye to eye with Bishop’s cock. With renewed enthusiasm, she bobbed forward, capturing his cock. While she sucked with increasing eagerness, she explored the bounty spread out for her delectation.
His plump testicles hung between his spread legs. Curious, she cradled them in one hand, lifting them up so she could see what was behind them. Tentatively, she rubbed the small patch of skin there and was immediately rewarded when Bishop tilted his hips, thrusting his cock deeper in her mouth.
With delight, she prepared to explore farther afield when he shocked her by dragging his tongue from her clit to her anus. Her shriek was muffled by the cock filling her mouth as she frantically tried to move away. He wrapped his arm around her hips, planted his lips over her clit and sucked. Electri
fied, she wasn’t sure whether to press closer or back away.
He dipped his finger in the slick fluid that coated her pussy and gently swirled it around her anus. Samara froze. Then she lifted her head, reluctantly releasing his cock, and peeked over her shoulder. “Bishop?”
“Right here.”
“What are you doing?”
“Playing.” He poked his tongue in her vaginal opening and sucked. When she pressed down in response, he slipped one of his fingers in her tight rosette. A hush seemed to fall over the backyard. The bird chatter was quiet. The humming insects went silent.
Then she whimpered, unsure where to move. “Does it bother you that much, Samara?” he asked.
“I don’t know,” she admitted finally.
“Well, why don’t we just give it some time? You go back to sucking my cock and I’ll go back to what I’m doing. Okay?”
With her legs trembling, Samara bent once again to her self-appointed task. A thought occurred to her as she cuddled his balls in her hand. Tilting her head so that she could peer down between his legs, she spied his puckered anus.
She lifted her head long enough to wet her finger. Taking his cock back in her mouth, she gave it a hearty suck. Then while he was distracted, she poked her damp fingertip in his ass.
“What the hell are you doing?” he roared.
With a naughty grin, she lifted her head. Innocently, she asked, “Does it bother you that much, Bishop? Why don’t we just give it some time?”
“You witch!”
“Well, what shall we do?” she inquired.
“I can handle it,” Bish declared. “Can you?”
“Of course. I’m a woman.” She went back to her business, sucking his cock and wriggling her finger deeper inside him until she encountered a small lumpy protrusion. When she curiously brushed it with her finger, his reaction was all she could wish for.
“Samara!” he yelled. “Do that again!”
More than happy she complied while she took time to lick his penis and nibble at the wrinkled skin on his balls. She nipped at the underside of his cock, especially the dark vein running from his groin to the velvety head. On each pass near the tip, she slurped up the clear fluid that was dribbling from the small slit.
