Episode Thirty-Seven Where Do You Feel It?

L ylah

I'm once again on Zoron's back, snugged against him in front, with Eldar behind me. We're going as fast as we can with Hazlan jogging at our sides.

"You three go ahead," he says a few minutes later. "I want her as far from the Works as possible."

"No! I don't want to leave you. Besides, how will you find us?"

"I can sense you through the matebond. Can't you feel me?"

I've been paying attention to a million things since he bit me. I hadn't paid attention to what he's calling our bond.

"He bit you on your right shoulder," Eldar murmurs into my ear. "Focus on that. Feel the slight tug?"

He's right. I feel a connection. It's almost as if there's a string between us.

"See?" Hazlan says. "I'll find you. Perhaps Zoron will slow in a few hours, but right now, get some distance from this hellhole. Don't worry, I'll be able to keep up enough to prevent the pain of matebond separation."

I nod and say, "Okay."

Zoron takes off at a gallop and I try not to feel guilty for leaving my mate behind.

"He did the right thing," Eldar says. "We all want to keep you safe."

"Too bad his wings are clipped," I say. "So cruel."

"Everything they did was cruel."

Perhaps to keep my mind from spinning with memories, Eldar asks, "What happens when you focus on your left shoulder?"

Not only do I feel a pull, a connection toward Eldar, I feel a tug between my legs. Although I'd hoped he hadn't heard my little gasp, his tightened grip on my waist hints otherwise.

He snugs even closer, his pelvis nudging against me. Who am I kidding? Pelvis is a nice word, but it's the hard length of his cock I feel pressing against my ass.

"What do you feel?" His voice is seductive, soft, and honeyed in my left ear.

How did he describe it a moment ago? "A slight tug," I say.

"Hmm," is all he says as he moves his hands from my waist to just above my knees.

There's not much to do when riding a centaur. It's not as if I need to give him directions. I'm simply a passenger. The only things to pay attention to are the gorgeous male I'm riding, and the handsome male behind me, his cock rubbing against me with every step we take, and those hands that aren't close enough to my core.

Leaning close, he puts his mouth around my shoulder. His teeth must be directly over his initial bite. My insides quiver. This time, my gasp is not quiet.

After releasing his mouth, he says, "Interesting things, these mate-marks. Sometimes I forget mine is there. At others, it pulses and makes my cock hard. Sometimes it throbs so badly I have to tackle him and have sex with him right where we're standing."

He bites me again. His canines, slightly longer than my human ones, toy with the skin above my mark.

When he releases me again, he asks, "How about you, Lylah? What does my bite do to you?"

I want to say "nothing," but all Down Below species seem to have an acute sense of smell. Certainly, he scents my growing sexual interest. If that weren't enough, his palms are sliding up the inside of my thigh. They're unhurried, only inching up when Zoron takes a leap and we jostle on his back. If I wasn't paying close attention, it would seem like an accidental response to the centaur's movement. It's intentional, though, because his hands continue to slide upward, never down.

I've been contemplating his question for so long without answering, perhaps he's forgotten he asked it, except his soft, deep voice repeats the question, "What does my bite do to you, Lylah? If it does nothing, maybe I should bite you again, refresh it."

I've been used sexually since I was deemed "old enough" by the Up Above laws. That allowed my father to loan or sell me to increase his bank account or his status. Luckily, Joseph was too jealous to let his friends use me. I always considered that a blessing.

I hadn't felt true arousal until Haz and I coupled by the stream. This is different. In some ways, it feels even more compelling. Maybe it's that I know there's no hope of being fulfilled—how could it happen on Zoron's back as we gallop through the countryside?

Maybe it's Eldar's slow hands or the almost-innocent tone of his voice as if he's simply making interested inquiries. Perhaps it's his voice, filled with honey and gravel as he whispers his questions in my ear. Certainly, his toying with our mate-mark has something to do with it.

I need to answer before he asks a third time. He's not going to believe me if I deny his bite affects me. He can smell the evidence to the contrary.

"It reminds me we're mates," I say, hoping that puts an end to the discussion.

"How? How does it remind you?" he asks, as if the question is completely innocent.

"I feel a connection," I hedge.

"Where, pretty human? Where do you feel the connection?"

He's not going to stop. The male knows full well what he's doing to me. He's making every effort to seduce me. I might as well answer.

"In my sex."

"Really? You're my first female, Lylah. Tell me more. Teach me."