His cock had engorged completely. It was hard as a rock and pressing into the female’s belly. An all-consuming sensation gripped him. He wanted everything about this female. To know her in every way. To probe her most intimate places and to fuck her until they touched minds like Dranark mates did.
But he wanted to see her again, too, and not just her backside. He wanted to gaze on those two large breasts, touch them and knead them and own them. Rolling her off his lap, he set her standing two lengths ahead of him and stared into her eyes.
She couldn’t hold his gaze. Her eyes wavered, then drifted lower to stare at the ground. Her cheeks were nearly as red as her rear.
He growled. “To you I am ‘Master.’”
Her eyes darted side to side.
Thanred balked at her impudence in not replying immediately. A Dranark female would have been put in stocks for not greeting her mate correctly. This, too, needed to be corrected. He stood, grabbed a fistful of her flaxen hair and pulled it back, jerking her head back so her eyes met his. With his other hand he smacked her ass again. Twice on each cheek.
She winced. A tear rolled down her cheek.
“To you I am ‘Master,’” Thanred repeated, growling more fiercely this time.
Her lips trembled as she opened them. She sniffled, then spoke. “You are Master.”
His muscle jumped between his legs. How sweet her voice was! A soft ache began in his belly. He couldn’t bring himself to look away from her wide, frightened eyes.
“I am Royla.”
Thanred raised an eyebrow at her whispered introduction. What a bold creature, speaking to him as if she were an equal. His hand fell on her ass again, the sounds sailing through the clearing and disappearing into the forest. Four in all. “Speak when spoken to,” Thanred explained.
Her body was tight, lips still trembling, eyes darting side to side. She made an attempt to nod but could barely move her head for his fist wrapped in her hair. “Y-yes,” she stammered.
Thanred searched her eyes and her expression. What was it about her that was... twisting his insides so?
He decided he would have plenty of time to contemplate it later. After they’d found food and shelter for the night. For the time being, there were more important things to take care of. He released her hair and took a step back, his eyes roaming down her body again. “You are mine now. You belong to me. You will do as I say. And you will obey. Or I will correct you again and this time not just with my hand,” he stated.
Royla’s eyes darted between the ground and his. She nodded again. “Yes,” she whispered.
Thanred’s cock ached with need, pressing against his mind. He did his best to ignore the sensation. He would have her again later.
Turning to look toward the sun, Thanred closed his eyes and stilled his mind. The gift came quickly, painting a bird’s-eye view of where they were in his imagination.
There, a day’s march behind him, were the caves. The thought of them made his heart heavy again. He ignored that, too. To the east lay Mother Mountain, a storm brewing at her peak. To the west, the long plains of Quagrath that led to the furious sea.
To the north he could see the puny palisade the humans had built. Memories of the raids the Dranark had run flashed through his mind. Before the truce. Before the yearly offering. That direction would not be safe.
But to the south lay more forest. Virgin and unexplored, that would be the best direction. No Dranark would come stalking them there, away from the safety of the caves. Hopefully the humans didn’t roam there, either.
He opened his eyes to find Royla still trembling before him. Despite her obedient replies, Thanred wasunconvinced that she wouldn’t try to escape again. He couldn’t allow that. “Stay there,” he commanded.
He stalked across the clearing, to the very center where the tallest grasses grew. Plucking a dozen or so fronds, he began braiding them together, the way his mother had shown him. By the time he returned to where Royla was standing, he had fashioned a very usable, if somewhat short rope.
He tied a small knot in one end. Looping the other through it, he placed it over Royla’s head and around her neck. Gripping it, he tightened it around her tender flesh. Releasing it caused it to slacken, just enough that it wasn’t cutting off her breath.
She would be comfortable this way. And he would be assured that she wouldn’t bolt again. Chasing her through the woods would be far more trouble than running her down in the clearing had been.
He gave the rope a sharp tug, then began walking in the direction of the wind. “This way,” he grunted.
After tripping a few steps, Royla fell into line behind him, her head bowed low.
Chapter Three
Royla had never felt so humiliated, or so scared. With her loincloth thrown away into the bushes, her sex was exposed, visible to the large creature whenever he chose to glance her way.
As they walked out of the sunny clearing back into the forest, Royla let her eyes dance up and gaze along the creature’s well-muscled back.
