She felt her pulse quicken. “I’ll try,” she said, hesitating a moment before reaching out, her hand brushing his cock and balls as she grabbed the leech that had attached itself on his upper inner thigh.
Maureen pulled, the leech resisting as she did, making the back of her hand press even more firmly against his manhood. She felt his length grow warmer against her skin, then the leech abruptly pulled free, her hand sliding away from him.
Bodok squatted down in front of her, his cock dangling still, but ever so slightly hard. It seemed she wasn’t the only one affected by their contact. He gazed at her with a curious little look in his eye, then took the leech from her hand, tossing it into the pile with the others.
“Thank you.”
“My pleasure,” she said, a warm ball growing in her belly.
He held her gaze, studying her with those beautiful silver eyes. “I will cook them,” he finally said, breaking the moment. “They are not particularly tasty, but the protein will serve us well. Additionally, the enzymes released when they are digested will act as a natural antidote to their saliva.”
With that, he stood up, providing her one last look at his cock, then turned and walked off into the brush, nude but unperturbed.
Maureen watched him with fascination, dressing herself as he walked slowly away. His cobalt-blue skin was beautiful, and the lines of ink connecting his rune tattoos flowed with his musculature as if he had been born with them. But there were breaks. Gaps in the pigment. Healed skin where some terrible injury had clearly broken them.
She wondered what exactly had been done to him to result in such damage. And more than that, how he had recovered with barely a scar.
Ten minutes later he returned with an armload of wood. He dropped it and donned his clothing, then set to work skewering the leeches on long, thin sticks. He piled the wood in a little teepee shape and began striking pieces of flint. It was slow going.
“Can I help?” she asked, moving closer.
“I can do this. It is just frustrating. With my runes damaged I can no longer coax fire to life.”
“You could summon fire? Like a magician or something?”
“It is not magic. It is the innate power contained in the pigments that form the runes all citizens living in the Dotharian Conglomerate wear on their bodies.”
Maureen looked at his skin, noting the runes connected by the flowing tattoos. Amazingly, looking closely she could see the pigment actually moving within his skin, soaking up the sun’s rays like a sponge.
“That ink. What is it?”
“Pigment,” he replied. “A symbiotic plant extract that provides us a means to tap into the power it naturally absorbs and channels.”
“So, itislike magic.”
“It is the power of the galaxy. Nothing more.”
“And these designs?”
“The runes. They provide enhancements to our bodies. This one gives my arm greater strength. And this helps channel my energy to my hands.”
“And this one?” she asked, gently touching the rune visible on his chest where his shirt hung open.
He pulled back, his demeanor growing colder. “That is my Infala.”
“Your what?”
Bodok took a breath and sighed. “I am sorry. You do not know our ways. You do not intend to cause anguish.”
“Anguish? I don’t understand.”
“The Infala is the bonding rune. It is what ties us to our mates. When you find your fated one, your Infalas will change, merging into the bonded rune.”
“You mean, it tells you who you’re supposed to be with?”
“Yes. And once the bond is made, there is no breaking it, save death.”
Maureen traced the design with her fingertip, following the lines of the rune, feeling a strange tingle of power flowing from it. Then she reached an abrupt end of it where scar tissue ran where the pigment should have been.
