Chapter 16

Ashley

"If you don't want to explore the village today, what should we do instead?" I asked as we ate lunch.

"We can work that clay." He pointed to the container that held the ball of clay I'd cleaned earlier.

"Oh, I'd love that." I immediately got up to grab the clay. Axon was hesitant to let go of my hand, but after a moment he did so.

Ever since he got back and was able to take my hand in his without any issues, he seemed much more relaxed. He still insisted that we hold hands for "desensitization purposes," but he was able to let go without that same fear in his eyes that he'd had the first time.

"Where should we do this?" I asked with the large ball of clay in my hands.

"Over here by the entrance. We can easily get water to work the clay by sticking our hands out and gathering rain water.

"Good idea," I agreed. "You grab the crystals and I'll meet you over there."

Axon did as I asked and together we sat by the entrance where the rain was trickling down from the sky.

"I'll take half and you can have half." I attempted to split the clay with my bare hands and struggled quite a bit.

"Let me have a try," Axon held out his hand and I gave him the clay.

He easily split the clay into two halves and handed me one of them.

"Thank you."

"What do you think you'll make?" He asked as he worked the clay between his big blue hands.

"I was thinking of making a crystal encrusted goblet, which is basically a large cup."

"That sounds nice. Do you have all the crystals you need for it? Should I get some more?" He asked, always eager to provide me with every little request I might have. I could feel my resolve to wait for luminescence wearing thin with each passing day. There was no denying that I wanted to be with Axon. I'd known that for a long time, but was it worth the risk?

"No, I'm good. Thanks though," I acquiesced.

"What about you? What are you going to make?" "I'm going to make a textured ball for Tarak and Gab-bae's sietling. I remember having one as a child and it brought me a lot of joy."

"That's thoughtful of you. "

Axon shrugged his shoulders. "It's tradition to present gifts to the newborn a few days after they've entered the world."

"We have a tradition like that too, but we give gifts to the mother a month before the baby is born."

Axon nodded his head as he softened his clay between his palms. We were both getting messy with wet clay working its way up our arms.

It didn't take Axon very long at all to get the clay to a workable texture and start forming the toy he had described. I, on the other hand, couldn't get the clay to soften at all. I was starting to lose hope when Axon noticed I was struggling.

"It tends to be easier if you work the clay under one palm and then the other. Here, let me show you."

I thought he would show me by taking my clay and working it himself, but instead he walked behind me and sat down with his chest barely a hair away from my back. I could feel his warmth and longed to lean back against him.

My heart raced as I waited to see what he'd do next. On one hand, this could end disastrously with Axon accidentally touching more of me than he can handle and having to back away, or this could end up with us being as close to cuddling as we've ever been.

With Axon's chest close to my back, he reached out from behind me and placed his hands on top of mine.

"Together?" he asked, his voice sounding far more husky than usual. Did I have that much of an effect on him? Was it me, or just the closeness of our bodies that he liked?

"Together," I agreed.

He kneaded the clay with his hands on top of mine. It was easy work with him doing it with me. As we moved, the clay made its way further and further up our arms until I was sure we were completely covered from fingertip to elbow.

As the clay got softer, Axon's hand slipped and his arm brushed against mine. I prepared myself for him to pull away from the pain, but that moment never came.

Instead, he slowly pressed his arm to mine. His breath hitched but that was the only sign that he was being affected at all by my touch.

"Does it hurt?"

"No, it feels good. I think the grit of the clay on our arms is helping."

"Can I keep going?" he asked in a quiet voice full of anticipation.

"Yes," I breathed. I wanted more.

He slowly moved his hand up my wrist to my arm, then gently ran his fingers up and down my skin, sending warm tingles down my spine.

"You're so soft Ashley, so, so soft," he marveled.

Once he was done tracing circles up and down my skin, he pressed his arms to mine until I was fully encased by him.

Then he did something I never thought he'd be able to do. He pulled me to his chest and he wrapped his arms around me. Even his tail wrapped around my thigh.

Axon's warmth seeped through my skin into my bones, into my very soul. I never wanted him to let go. Tears burned behind my eyes both from joy but also because I wanted this to be the beginning of something between us. I didn't want this to be one of three times we cuddled for desensitization purposes so he'd be ready for his mate. I wanted this to be the first of a thousand cuddles. I wanted to be a part of our story and no one else's.

Axon let out a deep sigh as if he'd been holding his breath for a long time. Like he was coming up for air after spending a lifetime under water.

"Is this alright?" he asked, again his voice sounding very husky.

"Yes, please hold me for as long as you like."

This time it was me who was afraid this was just a fluke. I've been wanting to be held like this for so long, and now here we are, doing just that. Was it just because we were covered in clay? Would we be able to do this again once we have been cleaned off?

"Don't tell me that," Axon chuckled.

"Why not?" I asked.

"Because I'd hold you forever if I could."

"You shouldn't say things like that," I retorted.

At least one of us should be cautious about our lack of luminescence .

"Why?"

"We don't know how temporary this is. You might glow for someone else under the next full moon and then where would we be?"

Axon's grip on me tightened as if he were trying to squeeze that reality out of existence.

He didn't agree or disagree with my statement, he only loosened his grip slightly and brought our hands back down to the clay.

"Should we continue? It'd be a shame if you weren't able to make your pretty cup."

"Yeah, let's keep going." I said, doing my best to keep the disappointment out of my voice.

We kneaded the clay for a little longer until I could easily shape it on my own. Then Axon got up and sat down across from me like he had been before. I didn't like it. I wanted him back. I wanted him closer to me.

I formed the base of my cup and then the cup itself. Once it felt sturdy enough, I added some crystal fragments into the clay. Once finished, I had a bonafide bedazzled goblet.

"You seem pretty happy with yourself," Axon commented with a smirk.

"Maybe I am. I like the way it turned out."

"You should, it's very pretty just like you."

"Axon," I sighed.

"I think we should clean up, don't you?" Axon quickly changed the subject before I could chastise him again.

"I'll put the extra clay away if you want to put our pieces near the fire to dry out."

He was walking away before I could even answer.

"Sure," I laughed.

"Do you have a hot spring here? I'd love to take a bath to get all this clay off me."

"Yeah, it's a bit of a walk but I can take you there. Do you mind if I bathe at the same time as you do?"

I swallowed hard. Bathe with Axon? That sounded fun, dangerous but fun.

"Yeah, that'd be fine," I agreed, keeping my tone as even as I could.

"Great, I'll grab a few blankets we can use to dry off with."

"Sounds good," I nodded.

Once we were ready, we headed down the tunnel on the right and walked for what felt like forever before the air turned humid. That's when I knew we were getting close.

"It's in here," Axon pointed at the entrance and his tail thumped the floor as I passed him.

"Thanks," I turned away from him and quickly walked to the other side of the cave so he couldn't see that I was blushing.

"I'll let you get in first and you can tell me when it's safe for me to turn around." Axon called over his shoulder as he stripped off his pants .

"Oh, okay," I agreed and quickly got to work, taking my clothes off as well.

Once all my garments had been discarded, I turned and admired Axon's tight ass. He had the body of a god.

I didn't want to keep him waiting, so I dipped my foot into the warm water and moaned. Mmmm this was going to feel so good!

Axon's tail thumped the floor a few times before he grabbed it and I caught a glimpse of his hard cock. Did I do that? I found the idea flattering.

I liked the idea of sex, I just wasn't interested in the physical act of it very often.

"Ok, you can get in now." I let him know once I was covered in water up to the tops of my breasts.

Axon walked backwards into the hot spring until he was covered up to his waist, then turned around.

His eyes grew wide as soon as he saw me and he ran a hand through his hair.

"You're so beautiful."

He slowly waded toward me and reached out his hand and tucked a lock of hair behind my ear. The air seemed electrified and even though I knew he couldn't kiss me, the possibility seemed to linger between us as if it were as easy as breathing.