And I was one of them.
He shoved everything aside, clearing a path to the back corner of the den. The sunlight didn’t reach the stone here, and it was even colder. I shivered, hugging myself. Freezing was also a boner-killer. Now that I was no longer horny, all I could think about was how cold, hungry and tired I was. Homesickness seeped into me.
“Prey-pet Paz,” Kur’tok said gruffly. “What’s wrong with your face?”
I lifted my head. I must’ve frowned and looked upset. I tried forcing a smile. “I’m just cold... and hungry. And tired.”
Kur’tok grunted. “You are fragile.” He stated it as a fact, not an insult. “Stay here. Do not even consider running.”
“I won’t,” I promised. I was way too exhausted to bother, anyway.
To my shock, Kur’tok dropped my rope leash and left the den. Either he was utterly convinced I was too weak to escape, or he trusted me to stay put. Maybe both.
I sat on the icy stone floor and hugged my knees to my chest. My breath came out shakily from the cold. Looking around the den, I noticed there was no thick sleeping branch. Didn’t Maeleons usually cling to those while they slept? Did Kur’tok sleep on the freezing floor? No wonder he was so grumpy.
My mind wandered back to the Maeleon village. Did anyone notice I was gone? Was anyone looking for me? Did anybody have a clue I was trapped in the clutches of a rogue bad-boy Maeleon?
Heavy footsteps alerted me to Kur’tok’s return. He dumped an armful of items unceremoniously on the floor.
“Why are you balled up like a pill-insectoid?” he asked.
I hugged myself tighter. “I’m freezing.”
Kur’tok hesitated. “I don’t like cold food.”
Suddenly, he was on the floor beside me, his thigh touching mine. I sucked in a breath. I hadn’t expected him to get so close to me. I wasn’t scared, though—more pleasantly surprised.
He snatched a couple items with his tentacles and dragged them towards us. One was a big fuzzy blanket the size of a tablecloth. He draped it over my shoulders. It was heavy and carried a thick animal scent, but it instantly warmed my frigid bones.
“It’s made of shed pandar fur,” Kur’tok explained gruffly. “You will stay warm.”
I blinked gratefully at him. “Thanks, Kur’tok.”
He grunted like a caveman, then shoved the second item in my face. It was one of the pink fruits I’d seen earlier. The fruit-bearing trees must’ve grown all around the area.
“I have no meat to feed you,” he grumbled.
That confirmed my suspicion. Kur’tokwasa carnivore, or at least omnivorous. Why was he so different than the other Maeleons?
“Eat,” he commanded, pressing the fruit to my mouth. Of all the things I expected him to shove against my lips, a fruit wasn’t one of them.
“Okay, okay, I’m eating.” I opened my mouth to take a bite, then paused. “By the way, is this one of those aphrodisiac fruits?”
Kur’tok scoffed. “No, prey-pet. You are lecherous enough.”
A startled laugh bubbled out of me. “What? Lecherous? You’re the one who’s got me captured, collared, and tied up like I’m the heroine of a smutty romance book.”
Kur’tok’s eyes momentarily flickered to my neck, flashing with intrigue. Then his long snout inched closer as he growled, “Eat.”
His warm breath ghosted across my face, making my heart leap. One bite from those fangs and I’d be toast. I was grateful Kur’tok liked me enough to keep me as a pet... for now.
My stomach rumbled. As I bit into the fruit, hunger took over. Its juices ran down my chin, but I didn’t care. I scarfed the whole thing down until only the pit remained.
“You are messy, human,” Kur’tok complained.
Before I could apologize or ask for a napkin, Kur’tok’s long tongue shot out of his mouth and lapped up the fruit juice staining my face.
I stopped breathing and went still. My temperature skyrocketed. My limp cock bolted back to life.
