TWENTY-EIGHT

- kuvier -

"Enikk," I call, walking a bit further up the path away from the females who are huddled around a small fire, eating and warming their hands.

Enikk leaves his spot where he watches his mate from several feet away and finds his way to me.

"We are close to the cave," I state when he is within hearing range. Even for us, our hearing is impeded by the whistling wind.

"Yes, I know." He looks back at his mate. "I would not like to go ahead this time. My Amari seems strangely on edge today, and I do not wish to leave her in such a mood."

I do not like this. I also would not like to leave my Sedona behind, but fairness is fairness. He has already left once, it is only right that I make the same sacrifice.

I nod in understanding. "Very well. I will tell my mate that I will be walking ahead."

Enikk claps me on the shoulder. "Thank you, clansman."

We break apart, and he returns to watching his mate from afar while I go to my Sedona. She sits huddled closely with the female who knows all of our words. I have practiced her name, Xiomara. My Sedona told me that the other females do not like only being addressed as ‘female.' I do not understand this as, if they simply called me ‘male,' this would be nothing. But, she was adamant that I practice their names. I remember some better than others.

She looks up the moment I am near and moves away from Xiomara to come to me.

"I am going ahead to scout the cave."

"Okay, I'm ready." I shake my head at her.

"No, ti khesi, I am going alone." I shake my head, my voice gentle. "It is better if you stay here and rest. It is cold, and the trek is rough."

She crosses her arms, her jaw set stubbornly. "That's not a good enough reason. I want to stay with you, so I'm going."

I know I cannot convince her to stay without revealing too much about my relationship with the clan and explaining why I worry someone may be in the cave.

"Fine, but I am carrying you."

She does not protest, and I lift her into my arms. We are off, bounding up the path immediately. I do not like that she will be near a cave where any hunter could stumble upon us alone. But, where she nestles against me, despite the cold, I feel a warmth spread through my chest.

The journey takes a bit of time, and at first, Sedona chatters at me about something that she found funny from one of the other females, but after a while, she quiets down. When I hear her breathing steady, I look down; she has fallen asleep in my arms. I smile softly, adjusting my grip to make sure she is comfortable.

She sleeps the entire second half of our walk, and I do my best to keep my footing steady so as not to wake her. But, when we get close to the cave, I gently wake her up and set her on her feet.

I pull my cloak off my shoulders, ignoring the cold that hits me, and put it around her shoulders. "Wait here."

She nods, still half-asleep and moves off the path to sit against a rock wall across from the cave. I move forward quickly, not wanting to leave her out here for long, and step into the cave, my senses on high alert. With relief, I realize that while I do smell a hunter, Ruuq, his scent is old, meaning that he has come and gone and will likely not be back.

I return to Sedona, who is now fully awake and waiting for me. Holding my hand out to her, she slips her palm in mine and I lead us into the cave.

The moment we are inside, Sedona sits around the rocks that signify the fire pit and I get to work starting the fire. When I get a spark going, I add more vifer stalks and the fire blazes a deep red before settling back to orange.

Sedona walks around the cave, chewing on a piece of mala as she inspects our surroundings. I let her explore while I move around the cave to find a place to set up our furs for the night. When I finally unfurl them, I am pleased with our space. The cave has a small divet in the back that allows for just the tiniest bit of privacy.

I cannot help but hope for a repeat of last night when we retire today.

"This is a good place to sleep," Sedona declares, coming up behind me, still holding her mala.

She pulls off another small piece and puts it in her mouth. Feeling playful, I snatch the big piece from her and take a bite, grinning at her. She makes a squeal of outrage and reaches for it. The effort is futile of course. I am nearly three heads taller than her.

"Hey! That's my-nuh." I pause at this as she says a word in her language I have not heard her use. I take a thoughtful, but small, bite, still playing with her.

"What is this ‘my-nuh?'" She harrumphs and puts her hands on her hips.

"It's pronounced ‘mine,' and I'll tell you if you give it back." I smirk but offer her the half piece back. She snatches it from me and shoves the whole thing in her mouth, chewing haughtily.

When she swallows, she speaks, "Mine is like ‘ti' in your language. It's something that belongs to you." I think on this.

Mine. The word sticks in my mind, powerful and primal.

"Mine," I say as I step closer to her, feeling an urge I cannot quite name. My hand reaches out, and I cup her jaw, tilting her head up to look at me. Her breathing shallows as our gazes lock and the temperature in the cave raises.

"What's yours?" The question is breathy and low. I do not answer at first as I toy with her bottom lip.

"You." Her lips part and she takes the pad of my thumb between them, suckling gently before nipping at me.

"Prove it." My grip tightens ever so slightly on her jaw as a fierce stab of desire rips through me.

"Do not test me, ti khesi," I murmur in a low, rough voice. "You may not like what I do to prove it." Her eyes darken in lust, a challenge clear in those dark irises.

"Prove. It."

My mouth is on hers before the words have fully fallen from her lips. She is immediately receptive to me, her body moldable in my hands. My hold on her jaw slips and my fingers cinch around her throat in a firm, tender grasp. The scent of her arousal sweetens the air, a fruity, smoky musk that I would drink in if I could.

I am in my body, but not the leader of it, as I clutch her to me, my free hand palming at her full ass. I grab and caress her, loving the way she arches her body into my hold. She fits into me so perfectly, there can be no doubt whose she is.

"This mouth is mine," I say as I take her bottom lip gently between my teeth and suck. I pull away with a pop. Moving my attention on, I place soft kisses along her jaw, following it down the curve of her neck.

"This neck is mine, and one day I will put my mark right here." I bite down, not hard enough to break skin, but hard enough to make her moan and leave an imprint.

My fingers find the edge of her tunic and I lift it up, gripping the yellow one as well, pulling them both off of her. She is bare underneath the tunic, gone is the band that had covered them from my eyes the day she bathed. I stare hungrily and cannot resist dropping to my knees, putting my face level with them. My fingers graze the edge of her teat, following the swell down her body.

"These," I say, taking them in my hands and sucking at each of the deep brown nubs, "are mine."

Her head falls back with a deep mewl as I suck and nip at her until she is taut and puckered to a hard point. I move my mouth to the crater between each teat and place sloppy kisses on her chest, following down her body until I get to her soft stomach. I bite it and she jerks with a breathy gasp.

"This is mine, too."

I take her hips, and steer her backwards before slowly pulling her down to her knees on top of the furs. When she is kneeling in front of me, I push her to a seating position and then lay her down on her back. Her chest heaves as she looks at me from beneath her lashes. Slowly, I pull her lower layers off until she is revealed to me completely.

She is too exquisite for words. All curves and soft skin that calls to be gripped while I pump into her. But, today is not the moment for that. When I first take her, I will need more than the time we have before the others get here.

Her knees are up, the bottoms of her feet on the ground, and I keep my eyes on her as I slowly part her legs. I look down and groan. Great Mother, give me strength. Her cunt is a beautiful brownish pink and covered in fur the same color as her mane, but just a bit coarser. It is slick and swollen and I want nothing more than to own it.

I move one hand to part her lips exposing her more to me. Up close, I zero in on the raised bud at the top of her cunt. This is the point that makes her wild. I blow over it, teasing her and she writhes.

"This cunt," I take my clawless finger and rub it between her slick brown folds, "is mine."

I make a few circles around her most sensitive spot and she bucks into my hand rasping out a breath. Gliding my finger down, I thrust my finger into her and her hips leave the ground.

"It is mine to touch." I continue my thrusts, strong and smooth, shifting my body until I am laying in front of her. Her knees fall open, exposing her to me in the most beautiful way.

I pick up speed, my finger pumping in and out of her wetness as her cunt clenches around the digit. "It is mine to pleasure."

"Fuck, Kuvier," she cries out, meeting me thrust for thrust.

"And, it is mine to taste." I flick my tongue out, just skimming over her swollen bud, and I almost lose control at the taste. She whines at my light lick and tries to press her cunt to my mouth.

"Please," she pants, wiggling her hips, trying to find some kind of friction, but I don't allow her to find the satisfaction she craves just yet.

"Are you going to beg your mate, ti khesi?" I make lazy half circles around her with my finger, just enough to pleasure, but not quite what she wants. "You know I love to hear those ‘pleases' fall from those pretty lips. Beg for the pleasure only I can give you."

She makes a wailing sound of frustration, but opens her mouth and says, "Please, Kuvier, I want to feel your mouth."

I lean closer, blowing along her wet, clenching cunt. "Tell me where."

"On my pussy," she rasps out before using a finger to push mine down harder, "on my clit. Just on me. Please, I need you."

With those words, I let myself do what I have wanted to do since the first time I smelt her arousal. Growling, I press my face to her like a mad beast, sucking and lapping at her sweet juices. She cries out, her hips bucking against my mouth, pushing her sweet core further into me. I hold her steady, one hand gripping her thighs and pressing her into the ground, being careful of my claws.

I focus on her pleasure center, her clit as she said. Latching on to it, I suck and her cries rise to a high-pitched vibrato. Her moans grow louder, more desperate, and I can feel her nearing the edge. I do not let up, slipping my clawless finger back into her, thrusting in rhythm with my sucks and licks. I am driving her higher and higher, until she finally shatters, her body arching off the furs as she screams my name. Her whole body quakes, shaking around me and a rush of wetness coats my tongue.

I switch from sucking, to placing gentle kisses along her inner thigh, and pull my finger out of her, not wanting to overwhelm her. Slowly her trembling stops, and her clutch on my mane gives way to affectionate stroking.

"Mine," I repeat one more time, biting her inner thigh and leaving a light imprint.

"Yours."