12. Chapter 12

Chapter 12

Tarrian

Before meeting the humans, Tarrian never thought pressing lips with someone could be so wonderful. The scent glands in his cheeks started aching as Aubrey’s soft lips moved over his, urging him to open his mouth. He never refused his human anything, so he parted his lips and let her deepen the kiss.

Although Aubrey was from a much smaller and weaker species that didn’t have a cohesive government or even a homeworld, she had absolute dominion over him. Even before he’d scent-bonded with her, he would’ve sacrificed everything if it meant he could stay with her. He never told the other men, but if they hadn’t gotten permission to bring the humans back to Talarian, he would’ve found someplace outside of the Talin Empire to take the humans.

He would’ve probably ended up working as a mercenary, but he would’ve done everything in his power to give Aubrey everything that made her happy.

In the end it all worked out, but he didn’t think she ever truly understood her importance. She scoffed sometimes when he spoke of her significance and said something demeaning about her anxiety or smaller stature.

He saw this trip as a way to make her finally understand that she was the sun he revolved around.

“You’re the best kisser,” she whispered, pulling away.

“Only for you,” he answered. She smiled and dropped back down on her heels. Tarrian watched as she slipped off the covering on her slippers then started toeing off one nano-infused, faux-fur slipper. Alarm went through him and he sounded a negative rattle that echoed in the cave. “Aubrey, your feet are too soft for this rocky ground.”

She held up a hand with one finger extended up. “First thing, no more rattling. This place is way too enclosed for that kind of noise.” She popped a second finger up. “Second thing, it's all sand and smooth rocks, I’m not going to cut myself. You said the water was warm, and I want to wade in.”

“I brought food and drinks,” he said. “I thought we could have a picnic in here and let you warm up. I never thought you’d want to get into the water!”

Aubrey chuckled. “We humans love water! Don’t worry, I’ll dip a toe in first to test.”

“I don’t think you should dip anything!” he countered as she finished shedding her footwear. Then she pulled the omnie off and let it fall to the cave floor. Finally her nimble little fingers untied the wrap. Completely naked, she waded in knee deep.

Realizing she wasn’t going to stop, he quickly stripped down and made his way into the water. “You said you would only place a single toe in the water first!”

Knee deep in the water, Aubrey stopped moving and laughed. “I did, and the temperature is perfect. Like a hot bath.”

Talarian only had one small ocean and a few lakes. Most of its liquid water was underground. The colony he’d grown up on had several massive bodies of water but because Talins weren’t a water species, he’d never bothered to visit any of them let alone submerge himself.

In truth, this was the first time he’d even been in a body of water substantial enough to cover most of him. It was both frightening and exhilarating.

“Don’t go any deeper,” he warned Aubrey as he approached her.

“I grew up with Ari in New Rico. We were surrounded by water, so I learned to swim before I could walk,” she said and then did the unthinkable, she bent her knees and dove into the water.

In his haste to get to her, Tarrian tripped and fell face first into the water with a huge splash. He immediately sank straight to the bottom. It was hard not to panic as water invaded his mouth and nose slits. Gathering his legs under him, he stood, relieved to find the water was at his waist level.

“Tarrian!” Little hands patted his chest and face. “Are you okay? Did you hurt yourself?”

He spat water out of his mouth and blew his nose slits clear. After pulling in a deep lung full of sweet, scentless air, he turned his attention to Aubrey.

“This isn’t natural,” he grumbled.

“You mean being in water?” Aubrey asked.

He sounded an affirmative rumble. “We’re terrestrial animals.”

“I’m sorry. It didn’t occur to me that you might be afraid. We can get out,” Aubrey said, taking his hand and trying to lead him to shore.

Tarrian refused to move. He drew her back until she was facing him. “I didn’t say I’m scared of water!”

“Maybe not scared but definitely uncomfortable. I wouldn’t want to get into water if I didn’t know how to swim either. Maybe I could teach you.” Her eyes lit up with excitement. “It’ll be fun!”

“Talins can’t swim, we have negative buoyancy,” he explained. “When I fell, I sank straight to the bottom. If this water was deep, my only hope would be to walk to where I could stand up and get air.”

Aubrey covered her mouth with both hands as she gasped. “I didn’t know! No wonder you don’t like water. This was a bad idea, I’m so sorry. Let’s get out and dry off.”

Again, he refused to move. “You wanted the water, so we will enjoy the water. I checked on the water depth before coming here, and it shouldn’t be higher than my shoulders in any spot.”

Those numbers were from last solar; he could only hope the water level didn’t change rapidly or by much.

“But I don’t want to stress you out,” Aubrey argued. “I already feel super guilty!”

“There is no need for guilt,” he assured her, drawing her against him in a hug. Warm water swirled around them, lapping as his armor plating and teasing the edge of his mating pouch. It was a pleasant sensation, and he could see why humans enjoyed the water so much.

Aubrey nestled against him. “Are you sure?”

He started purring. “Now that I’m growing accustomed to this environment, it’s not as startling or worrisome.”

She made a happy humming sound and started swaying a little. At first, he thought she was growing faint, but then he realized there was a rhythm to her movements. He matched her sway, and they moved in a slow circle with the warm water streaming around them.

He’d been too panicked to notice before, but the lights he brought reflected off the water’s surface to make dancing patterns on the ceiling of the cave. The way the light interacted with the mineral formations even furthered the aesthetic appeal.

Because Aubrey enjoyed the warmth of the water and wasn’t bothered by the depth, he let her guide their swaying further toward the middle. The water reached to the tops of her shoulders, and she sighed with happiness.

“This is so nice! I wish we had some music.”

“What’s music?” he asked.

Aubrey looked up at him, her mouth hanging open. “You guys don’t do music?”

“Perhaps we do, but the word isn’t translating. Describe music to me.”

“Describe music? Yeah, don’t ask me any easy questions,” she muttered before speaking up. “It’s when you make pleasant sounds with instruments or your voice. There’s a lot of different styles and ways to do it.” She opened her mouth and started to speak in a way that blended her words together in a set cadence.

“That was a song, or a part of one,” she said. “I’m not really a singer. I think Liz is pretty good, you should ask her to sing something for you.”

“We don’t have this music, but I know some other species do, such as the Leemron. I’ll have to add this knowledge to the Unibase.”

“You do that,” she murmured, resting her head against his chest.

That’s when he became aware that Aubrey’s body was pressed close to his and her soft flesh was rubbing gently against the front of his mating pouch. Earlier he’d been too fearful to become aroused, and then he’d needed time to acclimate to being in water. With both issues behind him, his body was reacting to Aubrey’s beauty with the usual fervor.

He debated saying something when one of her little hands slid down and glided across the edge of his mating pouch, making him lose his rhythm and come to a stop.

“I think you’re getting hard for me,” she murmured.

Her words send blood rushing to his mating shaft. His hardening member pressed against the inside of his mating pouch, making him suck in a breath. It wasn’t painful, but it was uncomfortable.

“One of my favorite parts is when you first start to get really hard,” she continued. He couldn't help it, his rumble of soothing started to slow and deepen to one of arousal.

“Aubrey,” he rumbled out, his tone pleading. “Are you sure you wish to do this here? There are no soft places to lay down.”

“Then I guess we’ll have to get creative,” she said, placing both palms flat on his chest. She pressed, urging him to back up until his groin was above the water level. Once he was in the spot she wanted, she sank to her knees and licked at the growing gap at the top of his mating pouch.

Tarrian gasped and reached out to a nearby rock face to steady himself. More blood pushed into his mating shaft and the bulbous head started to poke out. Aubrey made a happy sound and put her lips on the exposed flesh.

Mating pouches were tough, thick skin covered in hard round keratin beads to protect the sensitive organs within. They were so well shielded that the Talin sex organs were intensely sensitive, and the slightest touch by Aubrey was brutally delicious.

His entire body shook as she sucked on him, pleasure shooting up his spine. Without warning, his mating shaft pulsed large and forced the pouch to snap down, exposing his mating shaft and seed sack to Aubrey’s sweet torture.

“There you are!” she exclaimed happily and grabbed him with both hands. Her fingers circled his shaft and squeezed, making him almost explode right then.

No, he refused to climax before his Aubrey! Grabbing her hands, he pulled them away.

“Hey!” Aubrey objected, looking up at him with a pout.

“Let me rumble for you first,” he demanded, putting his hands under her arms and lifting her up. Understanding his intention, she wrapped her legs around his torso with an eager sound.

They’d found out by accident not long ago that pressing Aubrey’s sex to his sternum, right over his chestbox, gave her a great deal of pleasure. They were shallow enough that he could sit and the water didn’t go past her ribcage. She gasped a little as he started rumbling, the water around them rippling a little from the vibrations.

“Best date ever!” she moaned, tightening her legs around him.

“Every rotation with you is the best date ever,” he agreed. “You make the entire calendar nothing but good dates.”

Aubrey

Aubrey almost giggled at the misunderstanding of date versus date but didn’t bother explaining. She didn’t want to get into a discussion on translations and the quirks of human language; she wanted to come!

The smell of peppermint was strong, and she could see oil starting to trickle from Tarrian’s scent glands. Reaching up, she rubbed her fingers over it then brought them to her lips. He moaned as he watched her rub the viscous liquid over her mouth.

“You’re so beautiful,” he breathed, his arms tightening around her. He wasn’t rumbling at full power yet, so she only felt a pleasant tingling against her clit, not the full-on vibration that would send her over. Although she knew he’d build up to the more intense rumbles that made everything feel so good, it was hard to be patient.

“Please, Tarrian,” she begged, rubbing her sex against his smooth keratin plating. “Rumble the way I need!”

“Soon,” he promised, then angled his head to start rubbing his scent glands into her damp hair. Most of it was still in the loose braid she’d plaited that morning, making it easy for him to empty one scent gland, and then the other. Oil soaked into her waterlogged hair, quickly reaching her scalp and dripping down the back of her neck and sides of her face. She didn’t mind, the oil felt luxurious, like some expensive skin care product from back on Old Earth.

“I wish I could smell,” he lamented.

“You know how it smells,” she reminded him, rubbing her lips across his while talking. “You know what it’s like when your oil soaks into my hair, scalp, and skin. The way my scent changes. This one time you can do without it.”

“All of you is intoxicating,” he said, nuzzling her face. “Your scent is only one part. Your laugh fills my earholes and makes me want to rumble with you. Your smile lights up both your eyes and my soul. Every time you put your hands on me, you show me that there can be gentleness. When you speak of rocks, mountains, and geology, you help me to see the world in a way I’d never considered before. It’s hard to be without your scent, but I'll be content because that is only one part of what makes you so perfect.”

Aubrey almost teared up at his sweet words. “I wish I could be so eloquent,” she whispered. “You have a gift for words, my warrior.”

He kissed her forehead then the bridge of her nose before putting his lips to hers. His sexy purr increased in intensity, making her remember that she was intimately pressed against him.

“Tarrian,” she moaned, her head falling back as his purr vibrated against her clit. He took advantage of her exposed chest to suck a nipple into his mouth. One of his hands slipped down to grab her ass, squeezing and massaging her.

Unable to remain still, she started grinding her sex against him. Little movements that dragged her clit up and down on his smooth, pulsing sternum. Between his hands, mouth, and purring, tension built in her fast. Her movements became more frantic as she got close. Little warm waves lapped against her as her rhythm made the water ripple around them.

Pulling his head back, he let her nipple pop out of his mouth. With a growl, he went to the other one.

She was a creature of sensation. The water felt lukewarm compared to Tarrian’s scalding hands and mouth. Every pull on her nipple caused her to press closer to the edge of orgasm. His hand on her ass, kneading and squeezing, and his hard body pressed against her all combined with delicious intensity.

Before Tarrian, she’d never come easily or quickly. There’d even been times in her past when she’d given up on reaching climax and told her partner to finish so they could go to sleep. But not with Tarrian. He made sex explosive every time.

“I–I–I’m—” she stuttered as her body started to tighten.

After one more tug with his lips, Tarrian let her nipple fall from his mouth. One hand came up to support her head as her body started to quake.

“Come for me,” he demanded.

“Tarrian!” she screamed, his growled words making her climax violently.

Keeping up a constant, intense rumble, he remained still and spoke words of love and adoration to her as she shook and gasped. Only when her body started to relax back against him did he move.

His arms tightened around her, and he gathered his knees under him. He moved toward the edge of the water until there was only a slight amount lapping against them. Then he sat back down on his heels and pressed her body down.

“Take me,” he ordered as the bulbous head of his cock started sliding into her.

“Yes!” she agreed, pressing herself down on him. She was wet and ready for him. His cock pressed into her with little resistance, filling her almost unbearably full.

“There’s nothing like this,” he whispered, voice strained. “Nothing so intimate.”

The smell of peppermint got stronger again, and she slit open her eyes to see his scent glands overfilled and dripping down his face. With trembling arms, she grasped him and pulled her head close to lick a path up one cheek.

“Aubrey,” he moaned, his body trembling as he filled her full of his mating shaft. She licked again, and then moved to the other cheek. Moving his hands to her hips, he held her still as he slowly withdrew. He was still purring the sexy, slow thrumming rumble that made even his dick vibrate. As his hard cock moved, his vibrating flesh slid against her sensitive clit.

“I need more,” she begged and tried to increase the pace, but he was in control this time. She’d gotten to go as fast as she wanted earlier, but not now.

“You will come with me,” he demanded, slowly increasing his pace.

She wanted to tell him to hurry then, but she couldn't get the words out. It was getting hard to do more than pant. His steady strokes slowly increased in speed and ferocity until he was pounding into her.

The sound of flesh slapping against flesh filled the cave, and all Aubrey could do was hold on.

Putting her mouth to his cheek, she kissed right over his scent gland. She didn’t press hard, she didn’t need to. The slight pressure was enough. Crying out, Tarrian came, flooding her.

His climax triggered hers, and she tightened around his throbbing cock. Shaking with pleasure, she gasped as her body squeezed him.

“You grasp me,” he moaned. “Your body holds me tight as though you’ll never let me go.”

Breathing hard, she whimpered as her limbs stopped working. Tarrian had to wrap his arms around her when even her torso seemed to go limp. Aftershocks of her orgasm made her shudder in his arms as he thrust a few more times.

He held her as their breathing slowly returned to normal. With one ear pressed against his chest, she could hear his steady heartbeat. The other ear was filled with the gentle sounds of water dripping in the cave and the occasional burble as cold water and heated rock found equilibrium.

Finally, Tarrian moved her body so he could look down at her face. “Are you satisfied with your honeymoon?”

“One hundred thousand percent satisfied,” she said with a lazy grin. She felt boneless and deeply sated. “I didn’t think sex could get any better. Then you took me up a mountain to look for rocks, led me into a geothermal cave, and made me climax as if I was a block of pure sodium thrown into water. No geologist could ask for more!”