Episode Thirty-Eight Honored to Relieve You

L ylah

I continue to face forward, glad I can hide my shock. Up Above, most males use their first paycheck to buy a female. I doubt there's an untouched male over the age of sixteen anywhere in the Up Above.

Perhaps it's that there are so few females Down Below. Somehow, knowing he's never been with a female softens my heart toward Eldar.

"The tips of my breasts," I whisper.

Although he's been plastered against my back, he snugs impossibly closer and asks, "I didn't hear you."

"My nipples," I say, no louder than before.

His hands leave their perch midway up my thighs, slide under my fur tunic, and cup the undersides of my breasts. Only after he holds the weight of my bouncing breasts for a moment as Zoron picks his way through the underbrush, do his thumbs meander to the stiff peaks and give a soft, swift strum.

Perhaps it's because I've been aching for him for long minutes that I moan softly.

"Zoron's nipples aren't sensitive," he breathes into my ear. "I had no idea. I want to make you moan again."

For a moment, I wonder if the centaur knows what we're doing back here. Then I realize it doesn't matter. It's a foregone conclusion that within a matter of days we're all going to be sharing the furs together—naked. I push my shyness away and allow myself to enjoy my new mate's attentions.

As if Zoron could sense my discomfort, he reaches back and runs his hands up and down my calves, giving my ankles a squeeze and then releasing them. He then does the same to Eldar's legs. After giving his unspoken blessing, he releases Eldar so he can continue running, pumping his muscular arms like pistons.

I squeeze my arms tighter around his waist in gratitude just as Eldar reaches past me and strokes his hand lovingly down Zoron's shoulder.

Eldar tips his head farther forward so his ear is near my mouth. "I want to hear every jagged breath, every time you suck air between your teeth, and be able to feel when I make you shiver."

His hands explore as he flicks my nipples with the pad of a finger, twists them gently, then tugs.

"You like it hard," he observes without judgment.

I do? Other than Hazlan's quick explorations the other day, no one has tried to arouse me before.

When he flicks the tips with his nail, he feels my buttocks tighten as I loll my head back against his shoulder.

"You're so responsive. My gentlest touches can pull such exquisite arousal from you."

I didn't like this elf. Between his acting as though he hated me and his dismissive attitude, he hurt my feelings. I'm so relieved something changed between us in my old apartment yesterday.

He allowed me to see his vulnerability. It tore down the barriers between us. I need to ask, though, to ensure he's showing me affection right now and not just doing this to spite me somehow.

"Do you feel a connection, Eldar?" I ask, craning my head to better see his face.

He removes his hand from my nipple, drags it down my abdomen and tugs me even closer to his front. To leave no doubt in my mind, he rides my back, his steel-hard cock sliding up and down my spine.

This does nothing to reassure me, though. That a male becomes aroused, that his cock gets hard, means nothing. Less than nothing.

Up Above, unless the males were ancient, their cocks all worked fine. At the same time they were pounding into me, they could also be calling me the foulest names or reminding me how worthless I was.

"A hard cock means nothing, Eldar."

He stills for a moment. If I'm not mistaken, he's recalling things from his own past that confirm my statement.

"You're right," he says. With both hands stilled and his cock no longer pressing against me, he says, "I didn't like you, Lylah."

Instead of hurting my feelings, I'm relieved. Although it's often unpleasant, I respect the truth.

"Zoron and I have a deep connection. Our union has been all either of us has ever needed since we became lovers. We had no desire to bring anyone else into our mating. But here you are. I tried to ice you out, but that didn't last long. How could it? You're a good person. Kind, courageous, strong. You're a pleasure to be with. A gift."

His words light up something inside me. A gift? Zoron referred to me as a gift back at the compound, but I didn't have time to appreciate the sentiment. Hearing this from Eldar brings tears to my eyes.

I consider turning to look at him, to ensure he's telling the truth and not lying with some ulterior motive in mind. But I don't move. I don't have to because something else is coming through our matebond—his affection. I feel it.

"Do you feel that too?" I ask, my voice soft and shy. When he doesn't answer right away, I add, "The emotion, the affection?"

"Aye. Next time we're in the furs, Lylah, I want your bite. I want you to mark me just as Zoron has. Our bond already goes both ways, but I want an indelible mark to proclaim it."

The tears that had been brimming in my eyes are falling now. A few days ago, I was dying in slow increments. When I was thrown into that cage, it was a death sentence. Now, here I am, healed because of this stunningly handsome male, and I have not one but two mates who love me. And I know as surely as I'm riding him that Zoron will be the third.

"Yes, I'll mark you," I say. "I'd be honored."

"And I'd be honored to relieve you, Lylah. I can smell your need."

I nod.