10. Morning Wood

TEN

MORNING WOOD

Faktil quo Laus

Faktil yawned, then smiled when Naomi's sweet floral scent filled his nostrils. Sharing quarters with males for the last decade, he'd awoken to entirely different and not always pleasant smells.

This is a much better way to wake up. Nicer company, too.

He was about to stretch then paused, recalling yesterday's wake-up call. Faktil cracked one eye open and looked around. Thankfully, Bandit was nowhere to be seen this morning. He freely stretched but quickly froze when his tail tugged on something.

What am I wrapped around? He gaped as he followed his tail up and over the edge of the bed.

The sensation of warm, pliant flesh and Naomi's small hand were unmistakable. He sat up to confirm his suspicion. Yearning struck at the sight of his tail coiled around her thigh, her hand clasping it in return. It was such an intimate scene, something that spoke to a deep part of his psyche. Then shock set in at how he'd overstepped his bounds.

I can't believe I latched onto her thigh. He glared at his wayward appendage.

It wasn't entirely his fault. His kind often held onto each other this way, but doing so with an unrelated female was making a statement. His heart sped up. He was fond of Naomi.

Too fond. He told her he wouldn't be able to resist touching her if they slept in the same bed. He couldn't believe he'd been so blunt. But apparently, I can't even resist when not in the same bed.

Faktil's jaw tightened, reminded of what she'd mumbled after he'd made the admission. Maybe I don't want you to, he repeated her words. Even the recollection felt like a slap in the face. Naomi was kind enough to heal him and even share her bed, though she clearly didn't want him touching her. That hurt.

But she let me console her yesterday. His brow furrowed in confusion.

None of this matters. Faktil shook his head. I'm supposed to keep my hands and tail to myself. He'd already concluded acting on his attraction to Naomi would be taking advantage.

Faktil gently eased his tail out of Naomi's grasp and from around her leg. He rose and tiptoed across the cabin, so he didn't wake her, then headed outside. Faktil opted to head into the forest rather than using the little shack, since he only needed to make water.

Gorgeous. He admired the lush green growth as he took care of his business.

On his way back out of the woods, something stringy yet invisible attached to his face. It felt like a snare or net of some sort. He stumbled back, but it was still attached to him. This was ridiculous. He'd retraced his steps going into the woods and nothing had been there. Faktil batted at his face and whatever was crawling in his hair. He darted into the clearing, not sure if there were more of these invisible traps, and nearly trod through the firepit as he tried to knock off the insidious little creature.

"Are you okay?" Naomi called to him from the porch.

Faktil froze at the sound of her voice, then slowly looked at her. Her eyes were impossibly wide with surprise.

"Goddess of Creation," he groaned, picturing what she must've just witnessed.

The way I was flailing around I looked like a parma with its head cut off. He replayed darting into the clearing.

"I'm fine." His hands swiftly dropped to his sides. His embarrassment overshadowed the nagging stringy sensation lingering on his face and in his hair.

Between being injured and all these incidents, Naomi must think I'm an utter moron. He always prided himself in his survival skills, but apparently, he was a blithering idiot when it came to surviving on an alien planet.

"Okay," Naomi replied, her pinched expression screaming that she didn't believe him. "I'm tossing some breakfast together whenever you're ready to come in."

This is why she is uninterested in me touching her. He groaned as she quickly pivoted and went back inside the cabin.

"Ow," he barked when something bit his forehead.

Faktil reached up and swatted it. When he pulled his hand away there was a dark little creature with way too many legs squashed on his palm. He frowned as he shook off the remnant of the insect.

A cackle that sounded like laughter captured his attention. Faktil followed it to the cabin roof where Bandit sat squawking maniacally.

And Naomi thought I was the evil being.

Faktil scowled at Bandit for a moment, before incredulously shaking his head and going inside.

"Are you sure you're okay?" Naomi said over her shoulder as she finished peeling some fruit. She paused, then turned toward him, her brow furrowing as she stared at his head. "You've got white crap in your hair."

"Torment! I thought I got it all." He swiped repeatedly at his hair, trying to dislodge the frustrating little tendrils. "What is this stuff? I was coming out of the woods and this invisible snare wrapped around my head."

Naomi's lips twitched as he described what happened, then turned into a full-blown grin.

"I think it was home to a creature with way too many legs," he slowly added then abandoned his story.

The tickled expression on Naomi's face screamed that she knew exactly what happened to him.

"I wondered what you were doing when you came sprinting out of the forest," she giggled as she waved her arms, mimicking him.

"Great," he mumbled, feeling the full weight of the embarrassing moment. He'd hoped she hadn't witnessed that supremely flattering behavior, but she apparently had.

"Sit," Naomi chuckled.

It was a good thing Naomi was adorable, especially when she laughed. It made the incident almost worth it. He cast her a lopsided grin as he dutifully sat in the nearby chair.

"It's a spider's web." Naomi started picking the webbing out of his hair.

"Spider. So that's what that creature was. It had way too many legs." He blanched .

"Agreed. Nothing needs eight legs." Naomi stuck out her tongue in disgust. "I'm guessing you don't have spiders on your world."

"Not in the region I am from." Faktil shook his head.

"The spiders build their webs to catch flying insects, about like a fishing net. And they are damn near invisible. I once ran into one like you did. My sister thought it was the funniest thing ever until I flung the spider at her," Naomi giggled.

He loved the way her eyes danced, even though it was at his expense.

"Bandit thought it was pretty funny, too. He was sitting on the roof, mocking me," he chuckled.

"Sorry. I think I've been a bad influence on that bird." Naomi rolled her eyes toward the ceiling.

He shrugged. Bandit's mockery was preferable to a peck in the eye.

"Your story reminds me of when I was six," he relayed. "I tormented my older sister by putting a nest of anura in her bed. They are a slimy, water-dwelling, jumping creature. I got into trouble and had to hunt down all the anura after they scattered in our dwelling, but it was worth it." He grinned, recalling how Asbjorn angrily screeched his name.

"I imagine neither of our siblings would find these memories nearly as amusing. But I don't feel sorry for Kiana, she more than got me back as we were growing up." Naomi grinned.

"Agreed. Usually, my sisters joined forces to torment me, like cutting my hair while I slept. It stood straight up all over my head." He shook his head.

Naomi let out a little laugh and resumed picking the spider's web out of his hair. He enjoyed her combing her fingers through his locks more than expected. The feel of her soft skin brushing against him, her sweet scent filling his nostrils, the random little tune she hummed as she worked were both soothing and inciting at the same time. He closed his eyes and soaked up the attention, feeling indulgent.

"All done," Naomi announced too soon for his liking.

When she attempted to back up to discard the webbing in the ash bucket, they both discovered his tail had wrapped around her ankle. His eyes widened. He'd been utterly oblivious of what it was up to. Though with Naomi standing there in only her swimsuit and the white shirt that barely covered her thighs, he could hardly blame his wayward tail.

"That thing has a mind of its own, doesn't it?" Naomi chuckled as he unwound the appendage from her ankle.

"I'm sorry. It really does." He nodded and smiled, relieved she wasn't offended.

"No worries." She patted his shoulder and disposed of the web. "Help yourself." She pointed to the platter of fruit then proceeded to wash her hands in the basin of water she kept on the table.

"Thank you for your help and the food." He grabbed the banana she hadn't peeled and started stripping off its covering.

He'd just taken a bite of the fruit when Naomi knelt in front of him. Suddenly he recalled a rumor he'd heard, that humans often performed a sexual custom called fellatio. Faktil choked on the bite of banana. Fellatio wasn't something Cadi females did, and he was rather certain human females didn't either. How would she breathe? It just didn't make sense. Yet, now he couldn't get the taboo notion out of his head. It didn't help that Naomi was half dressed or that he had a good view of her ample cleavage.

"Oh. Are you okay?" Naomi frowned.

He nodded as he swallowed. "What are you doing?" he managed to say after clearing his throat, while silently begging his shaft to behave.

"Sorry. I've been in my head too much being by myself on this island. I was going to take a look at your injured leg," she explained.

He nodded consent, then shoved another bite in his mouth, to keep from saying something awkward. He was already behaving weirdly enough. Naomi's delicate fingers touched his calf, just below his knee and he wanted to groan. He couldn't seem to rein in his wayward thoughts as he stared at her pink lips. They were slightly parted and he imagined her tongue peeking out to take a swipe at the head of his shaft.

Stop it. You swore you'd keep your hands off her , he reminded himself. After what happened to his mother and almost befell his sisters, he wouldn't dream of taking advantage of Naomi.

Regardless, his shaft jerked, refusing to be honorable.

"I think I can handle it!" He abruptly pulled back, toppling the chair as he stood.

He couldn't have her hands on him another moment or he'd do something regrettable, like pin her to the floor and rut atop her, or tent his vestment then spurt in her face, possibly all of the above.

Naomi's eyes widened.

"Thank you," he swiftly added and righted the chair before backing away from her.

Her eyes got even wider, which didn't seem possible. He glanced down at his shaft.

Son of a metcor! Sure enough, he was standing at attention.

He quickly turned around and went the last few steps across the cabin. He didn't want his aroused state to freak Naomi out, yet the way he was acting was just as pathetic.

I'm being an absolute knob! You'd think I was brand new.

He cast Naomi a half smile, trying to look normal as he plopped onto her bed, at the same time angling his hips away.

"Sorry if you're ticklish." Naomi smiled at him.

"Yes, ticklish." He latched onto the excuse she provided. "That's all right. You didn't know."

"I'm going to go use the bathroom and check on some things. Holler if you need anything. Okay?" She grabbed the other banana.

"Okay." The human word burst out as a relieved gasp.

Naomi was headed out the door, but as she reached the threshold her smile changed to something impish. She paused and looked him square in the eye.

"I'm ticklish there, too." Her gaze dropped to his waist, lingering long enough that there was no mistaking it, then she continued out the door.

Naomi knew he was aroused, and instead of being disturbed she'd saucily told him her sex was ticklish, too. A hungry growl burst past his lips. He had to grip the metal bedframe just to keep from chasing after her. His resolve to not touch Naomi was eroding fast.

Naomi

Naomi grinned the whole time she was doing her business and washing up. She was cheesing so hard her cheeks hurt. On first impression Faktil was a tattooed, battle-hardened demon, but that wasn't the case at all. He was proving to be a bit goofy and so damn cute she was melting inside. She'd been awake this morning from the moment he yawned, and she'd felt him pause when his tail tugged on her leg. It warmed her insides that he was comfortable enough with her that his tail inadvertently wrapped around her. It happened again while she was picking the cobwebs out of his hair, so it wasn't simply her imagination.

Oh god, the spider. She snorted, recalling Faktil darting out of the woods waving his arms, trying to shake off the web.

Her grin widened, her cheeks cramping as she circled back to the state she'd left him in.

And he's got a hard-on. A big hard-on. She wagged her brows for no one's benefit, unless the trees counted.

Sadly, she'd been concentrating on untying the bandage on his leg and didn't catch sight of it before he leapt away. But there was no mistaking his kilt standing straight out as he crossed the room. Warmth filled her from her head to her toes and she blushed, picturing the impressive display that rivaled a curtain rod.

He wants me, but he's too honorable to let his dick anywhere near me. Her brow furrowed at the conundrum as she entered the tool shed. She'd have to find a way to change that.

But I can't push him too hard. Men weren't the only ones who could be creepy with overeager, super stalker behavior. That's why she'd attempted to take the high road. That's why she created the ticklish excuse and pretended not to notice his dick. Except, her inner evil slut came out to play, making the rowdy comment about being ticklish, too, before exiting.

Well, if he doesn't get that I'm interested now, I don't know what'll prove it.

Rather than making her frustrated or anxious, today's confusing dynamic had her smiling. Just a few days ago, there wasn't another person here to have communication hiccups with, so she wasn't about to be ungrateful .

Naomi focused on what she'd entered the shed for. She surveyed the wires, inverter and other equipment connected to the solar panels on the shed roof. She didn't know much about how it worked, but she confirmed weekly that nothing was loose or corroded. As she was finishing her inspection, she heard Faktil.

"Naomi," he called again.

Act normal, she coached herself. Interested, but not a pervy creep.

She emerged from the shed.

"What's up?" she asked. It was unintentionally the worst choice of words. To make matters worse, her gaze reflexively darted to his crotch.

Dammit! That's the exact opposite of normal. Her eyes quickly shot back to his face, while she mentally kicked her own ass.

Faktil wore an amused expression as he considered her for a moment.

"Nothing is up," he finally said. "At least not any longer."

"That was not what I meant," she groaned and looked at the ground, her cheeks growing warm. "It means what's going on," she mumbled, ready to climb into a hole.

"Naomi. Look at me, please," Faktil said, his tone serious.

She looked up at him, her embarrassment replaced by concern. When she met his gaze it wasn't worry she saw, but intense interest bordering on hunger, though Faktil swiftly masked it.

"I am very attracted to you, as you may have noticed." He cast her a disarming grin and took two steps toward her before abruptly halting himself. "I don't think it would be wise to act on my desire. You have been here a very long time and it would be taking advantage. I think you are an exceptional female and I refuse to dishonor you that way." He clenched his fists by his side.

Her eyes widened and yet again she got hung up on the fact that he was attracted to her. She inwardly did a little happy dance. He didn't even have a problem putting it into words. His upfront approach was both surprising and appreciated. They were both adults. There was no reason they couldn't be honest. There was no sense in foolishly dancing around their emotions.

"I'm also very attracted to you. I think you're sweet and honorable, but that excuse is a load of bullshit!" she replied, not beating around the bush.