Chapter 9

CHAPTER NINE

Paying no attention to the stinging sensation in my ear, I hastily gather as much food as the leather bag can accommodate. Once the off-putting extraterrestrial jerky is nearly spilling out the top, I sling it around my body.

My naked body.

"Drohako," I say gently, understanding that my alien barbarian needs a bit of coddling right now.

"Yes?" he asks while strapping what appears to be a sword bigger than my whole body across his back. The amount of steel he's covered himself with gleams like scales in the cave's firelight.

"So, just hear me out—shouldn't I have clothes if we're leaving?" The reality that I've been naked this entire time really hadn't set in. I mean, he hasn't left me much room to breathe between orgasms, let alone be worried about modesty.

Drohako cocks his head, his eyes scanning my body with a keen observation. Retreating to the pile of furs, he digs until he finds what he's looking for. When he comes back, he has two articles in hand.

"Arms up, mate."

As I do, he drapes an oversized poncho over my shoulders, engulfing me. As soon as my head pops through, he's already offering me a pair of worn and rugged-looking bottoms.

"You wear pants?" I arch an eyebrow, realizing I've never seen him in anything but the nude.

"Only while riding."

He lashes the leather cord around the waistband of the bottoms. They are equally large. Fiddling with the volume of fabric gathered around my waist, Drohako steps away to observe his handiwork.

"I like you better naked." He frowns, pulling on a duplicate pair of breeches as he does. The powerful muscles of his legs fill out the pants until they strain at the seams.

"Rude. I like you any way I can get you." I drool at the thick bulge of his cocks as he laces up the front. I place my hand on his hip.

"As much as I desire to do that, we must prioritize more important tasks. If you behave, I will reward you at the hunting caves." His eyes roll only slightly as he shakes off my touch.

"Yeah, got it. So, clothes, meat, what next?"

"We hope Grasyi won't throw you, and we set up a new homecave in the wilds." He pats the rump of the terrifyingly large space cat, which he has already told me likely won't allow me to ride him, with a smile.

"Hope, it's such a fun word." Sarcasm drips from my lips as I sauntering toward the pair. "You said he likes me, right? I mean, it can't be too hard to convince him if he already likes me, can it?"

With a hunk of the jerky in my hand, I cautiously extend my arm toward the beast, watching as it sniffs the air, intrigued by the scent. When he snatches the meat from my hand, I can't help but jump in surprise. I snatch back my fingers instinctively when I catch sight of his oversized canines, a thrill of fear rushing through me.

"Mere morsels of meat will not inspire the bond between rider and mount…it's deeper than that," he says as he grabs the big cat's reins. "You must earn his trust through tolkha."

My translator chip struggles to keep up with the last word.

"Tolkha?" I ask, concerned once again about what my horny desires have gotten me into.

"Tolkha is a test, a challenge. You will mount Grasyi, and he will attempt to throw you…but he will fail, because you are my mate. You are strong enough to carry on my bloodline." He thumps his chest in some masculine display.

Drohako is much more sure of me than I am of myself. I have no desire to ride a giant bucking tiger.

That sounds like literally the last thing I want to do.

"Is this the best idea? I mean, won't that be bad for the baby?" I put a hand over my fur covered stomach.

"Don't be foolish, mate. My bloodline will be strong enough to handle this," he scoffs at the implication that the fetus I carry is weak.

"If you say so, big boy," I squeak out nervously.

"Follow me." He leads me through the cave's entrance. "We'll be at our new home in the wilds before the moons rise."

I follow, and my eyes struggle to adjust. Although the cave's fires kept me out of the dark, I haven't left the rocky home since my arrival. The blazing sun and humidity of the Volkroth planet blast me in the face as I go outside for the first time in weeks.

I raise my palm to shield my eyes. Drohako stands, Grasyi's halter in one hand, waiting for me.

When I finally catch up to them, my barbarian grips me under the armpits, lifting me up.

"Grip him tighter than your cunt grips my cocks," he whispers as my head passes his own.

"Not the time for sexy thoughts, my ass," I mutter, more than a little terrified, as I spread my legs and grab the reins from his purple hands. While keeping the strip of leather in my grip, I wrap my arms around the beast's neck. My thighs and toes dig into his sides.

"So what happens if he throws me off? Do we have to walk?"

"He will be given the chance to eat you if he so chooses. Hold strong mate! Your reward will be a pleasurable one," he says almost sweetly before taking his hands off Grasyi's yellow fur and jumping back.

EAT ME?

As soon as his hands leave the beast, the cat's muscles tense. It's as if everything was fine until he realized it was me mounted on his back.

A low hiss builds in his throat, and he crouches, his front legs low, shifting his weight to the front. I slide, but only slightly, my grip strong and true. The cat turns his long neck and stares me directly in the eyes, his slitted pupils narrowing. My head is tucked against his shoulder blade, and my arms are wrapped tightly around his neck. My face is mere inches away from his snarling and drooling mouth when he turns to look at me.

I slam my eyes shut as he huffs loudly. His breath, akin to the trash mouth of a house cat, is hot and disgusting. I switch to breathing out of my mouth to avoid the smell. When his threatening growl doesn't unseat me from his back, he bucks. Once at first, but the motion repeats more quickly and violently as he speeds up his motions.

He spins in a tight circle—angry snarls and hisses escaping his wet mouth.

My arms and legs ache with effort, and I really wish he would change directions. He whips his body in concentric circles, roiling my stomach.

"Hold tight!" Drohako's voice settles into the edges of my hearing, through the whirling noise of wind.

The motion goes on forever. I'm sick to my stomach and don't know how much more I can endure.

"Fucking Grasyi, you like me—remember?" I yell, thinking maybe I can soothe the savage beast with just a reminder alone.

Adjusting my hold on the animal, my hand almost slips. I reach up to his fluffy ear and grab the bit of fur just underneath it, digging my nails in tightly against his skin.

Grasyi stops his spinning abruptly, his neck twitching at my new hold. He leans his head toward my hand.

"What's he doing?" I yelp, unsure if this is some part of the tolkha, but I'm just happy the spinning has stopped.

"I…I don't know," Drohako says.

In this momentary stillness, I move my fingers against Grasyi's neck once more. Letting my nails slide down the muscles of his throat, I scratch the giant cat's neck.

I'm shocked as Grasyi purrs.

"Is he trying to nuzzle me?" I ask incredulously. The cat's vibration tickles my skin.

"Grasyi is indeed being affectionate with you…but that's not how tolkha is supposed to go. You're supposed to have your will win over his." Drohako seems confused but impressed.

"There's more than one way to skin a cat—if petting this big, stinky kitty makes it stop spinning, I'll keep doing it," I say through gritted teeth, willing my nausea to pass.

"Technically, it's working." Drohako almost seems disappointed that I've cuddled my way out of what is supposed to be some ultimate test.

"Yeah, great, can you, um, get me down from here?" I ask, the world still spinning.

Drohako rushes to my side and lifts me gingerly from the cat, setting me right on my own two feet.

"I'll set up our supplies bags, and you...you can wait for me to finish." He sets to work and starts talking about the wilds and the location of the hunting cave, but I can't hear him.

I'm still lost in some motion sickness haze.

"...do you agree?" His voice booms back into focus.

"Sure," I mutter before the watering in my mouth is too intense to fight any longer.

I lean over and spill my dried meat lunch on the dusty red sands of the planet. When I stand back up, Drohako winces.

"Are you going to do that again, or can we be on our way, human?"

"Wow, love the concern for my wellbeing," I say sarcastically.

He huffs through his nostrils, and a look of disgust passes over him.

"I only ask because..." He pauses, unsure if he wants to admit something.

"Spit it out." I gesture a circling motion with my hands.

"Because I am"—he scowls as the next word leaves his lips—"sensitive to the odor. I would prefer to keep my food inside my stomach on our journey."

"You have a sensitive stomach?" I laugh, the thought a wild one.

"It is not funny," he pouts.

"I mean, it's a little funny. You, a big bad barbarian Volkroth, can't handle the smell of puke?"

Despite the great and dramatic escape we have planned, I can't stop giggling at the thought of Drohako having a delicate constitution.

Before I'm able to stop laughing, his gigantic hands set me roughly onto Grasyi, and he mounts behind me.

I look up and see his scowl. "It's okay to have, like, one weakness, you know." I try to comfort the brooding alien through my stifled chuckling.

"It is not. The Volkroth kill the weak," he says solemnly.

"I'm weaker than you. Do I have no place with your people, then?" I pose the question to him, realizing that if I'm staying here for good, it might need to be addressed.

"As my mate, you are my people. My son, in your belly, is our people." Drohako wraps an arm around me, settling his hand over my womb.

"A son?" How does he know what the gender of our baby is?

"Without a Volkroth female, only males are born. He is strong because you are strong. If you were weak, you could not accept my seed. We are together. Nothing else matters."