His eyebrows sink low, and he snorts. He finishes his climb, studies the shield I made to keep back the thorny briars, and then he takes hold of it and ushers me into the small clearingnear the entrance to my cave, which he’s side-eyeing. I guess his expectations from my drawing of a house may have been a little grander than reality.
“Home,” I say, pointing at the mouth of the cave. “It’s not exactly the kind of house people usually live in, but I’ve found this one to be safer, and I’ve made it quite cozy inside. You’ll see.” I wave him over.
3
HORDAN
She lives in a cave.
It’s a surprise to me, and yet it makes so much sense it should hardly be a surprise at all. She is wild, this human. A knife-wielding warrior-woman with untamed hair, who draws pictures in mud, scales cliffs with ease, and uses her sharp mind to keep herself safe.
I look around the small clearing. There are flowers and food plants growing everywhere, and she absently breaks off leaves to nibble on her way past the rambling vegetation. The mix of pleasant floral scents is almost overwhelming, but through them all, I smellher.
The scent of her skin, her hair, and the tantalizing fragrance of her arousal makes my mouth water with every step she takes. I’ve never felt such hunger or desire, but I’ve known about it. As part of our soul contracts here on earth, the universe has deemed our reward for liberating the meek from their aggressors is to never be lonely again. Each monster is destined to find at least one forever-companion — a pet — among the survivors, and there isn’t a doubt in my mind that this woman is to be mine.
Everything about her pleases me, and while she frequently masks her emotions to make it harder for me to read her energyeasily, I have picked up on enough to know what matters. She is kind and clever, and she wants to trust me despite it being very evident from her isolation and defensiveness that she dare not trust any other.
For some reason, I am already special to her, and she to me. I believe this meeting to be fated. The urge to protect and care for her is so strong I can barely stand the thought of leaving her to return to my duties, though I know I must, soon enough. Until then, I will soak in as much of her as I can before I go. My yearning can fuel my determination to end this war once and for all, so I can spend uninterrupted time with this female.
She is to be my pet. I know it. Just as I know that I will have no desire for another. She isit. The universe has spoken, and I am in full agreement.
As soon as I confirm that download from the infinite intelligence, my end of the connection bursts wide open inside me. My heart swells with love for this little human, and she takes on a radiant, halo-like aura so bright it’s a miracle I feel no need to shield my eyes. If she were to set foot in the monster realm, she would banish all darkness with her luminous glow. She is my sun, and I will revolve around her, doing all I must to remain in her heavenly orbit.
I must know her name.
“Beautiful human?” I reach for her, sliding my fingertips down the soft skin of her arm. “How may I address you, sweet creature?”
She shivers a little, and I catch a brief, unguarded moment of longing from her soul before she blocks it out. She may not want me to know it, but she aches to be touched. To be treasured.
And I will do just that.
I bring my hand up and tap my fingers against my chest. “Hordan,” I say with all the strength I can muster when I feel suddenly weak in her presence. I want my name to feel strongand honest to her. I want her to understand that I’m a male of honor, who is worthy of a female of her caliber.
I gently press my hand to her chest, enjoying her soft gasp and her racing heartbeat beneath my palm. I tap my fingers on the seam of her dress where the open collar meets her warm skin. “And you are?”
Her breaths are quiet and shallow, and she says her name in a whisper. “Dodie.”
“Doe-dee,” I repeat with a smile. Her name fits my mouth to perfection and rolls off my tongue with a flavorful ease I may never tire of. “Doe-dee,” I whisper again, widening my grin when she gives a delighted shiver.
I stroke her chin, noting a strange sort of vibration between us that sets my spine tingling and my cock twitching.
Doe-dee leans into my touch, stares into my eyes, and speaks human words to me that sound like magic. I gaze back at her in wonder. “I have no idea what you just said, beautiful pet, but if there’s anything you want, my answer is yes.”
She reaches up and tentatively slides her hand down my chest. It feels wonderful, and I think it must feel good for her too, because her eyelids flicker shut, the corners of her mouth curl into a sensual smile, and she utters a subtle moan.
I want her to touch me more.
I want to touch her too.
I want tomorethan touch her.
An image of me bending to her so our lips may meet enters my mind, and I know I didn’t put it there, because my mind has gone far beyond that, to where I’ve thrust her legs apart to lap at the sweet arousal I can almost taste on my tongue already. But ifI’mnot the source of that desire to lip-kiss, then… she is.
I slowly and gently cradle the side of her face with one hand and tilt her chin upward, so I can search her pretty eyes more deeply. I run the tip of my thumb gently over her lower lip,thrilled by its plump softness. “Would you have me taste this smile, sweet Doe-dee?”
Her brow furrows at my words, but her eyes yearn, and the image comes again. I’ll take that as ayes, but does this telepathic kind of communication she’s using work both ways?
I focus my mind and ask her what kind of kiss she’d like best, by imagining a gentle little peck and then a hungry, needy ravaging.
