So I carefully lift one foot and pull my boot off, then the other. I toss them aside, my gaze locked with his. Can he not see how much I want him? How ready I am for him to claim me as his? I straighten and pull my leggings off next, kicking them aside until I am naked in front of him. Still he does not reach for me, though his gaze is heated and he flexes his hands as if he is dying to touch me.
Very well, I will continue to take the lead. It is not that he is shy, I know. It is that he thinks touching me might be a mistake he will regret. So I must show him otherwise. I take his hand and guide it to my teat, like I did when we first met. “Will you not touch me?”
The groan that erupts from him is pained. He jumps to his feet, and before I can ask what is wrong, his mouth is on mine and he’s claiming me. I moan with pleasure as his tongue drags against my own, and he takes over, kissing me with abandon. Over and over, his lips swoop over mine, and I am breathless with delight. His arms go around me, and then my chest is mashed against his crinkly, thick tunic.
“I want to feel your skin,” I whisper between kisses. “Please, Mardok. Let me touch you, too.”
He picks me up in his arms, and I gasp, clinging to his neck. I did not realize he was so much taller than the males in my tribe until just now. I normally stand head to head with them, but with Mardok, I reach his chin. I…like it. It makes me feel small and dainty next to him, almost like a human. The thought makes me giggle.
“What’s so funny?” he asks as he carries me over to my furs.
“I was just thinking you make me feel small in your arms, like a human.”
He makes a face. “You are far more beautiful than any of those.”
I sigh with pleasure. Such a simple compliment, but it makes me feel warm.
Mardok kicks open my furs and gently lays me down in them. I stretch out, feeling sensual, and am pleased when he begins to strip off his layers. “Brr. It’s keffing freezing,” he says as he tosses aside his thick suit. He is wearing nothing but an ultra-thin layer of a strange type of leather that outlines his body. I can see the shape of his cock and spur even through the fabric. Fascinated, I reach out to trace my fingers along his length. He closes his eyes. “You are the most distracting female I have ever met.”
“I know.” I cup my teats with my hands, teasing my hard nipples with my fingers. “It is because I enjoy distracting you so.”
“Gods, I noticed.” He pulls off his last layer of clothing in a hurry, and then he is naked in front of me.
I sit up, because I want to study him. His strange markings that go up one side of his face in perfectly drawn patterns continue all down one arm and leg, narrowly missing his groin. The other side of his body has scars on it, from thigh to shoulder, most of them small tracings of silver against blue skin. Some of his flesh looks to be a different shade than the rest of it, which is surprising. As he crawls into the furs with me, I place my hand on one patch on his belly. “Why is your skin lighter here?”
“You didn’t know? It’s artificial. I guess I should have saidsomething.”
“Art-ee-fish-ul?”
“Not real. It was replaced when I was injured in war. Part of my hip,” he says, bringing my hand down to one taut buttock, and then moving it back to his stomach. “My belly, and my arm.” He gestures, and now that he has said that, I can see a strange line along one elbow, as if his entire arm was dipped in a lighter shade of blue.
“It looks very real,” I say, awed. I poke him experimentally.
He chuckles. “It’s part of me now. The flesh was grafted to mine, and the nerve endings all feel the same. Which, I’m guessing, doesn’t mean much to you. Let’s just say that I had holes in me and they fixed me up.” His fingers brush a lock of mane off my face. “Do you find it strange?”
I cannot help but frown. “Why did you have holes in you?”
“War. It’s…it’s not a good thing. It’s when…” He pauses, thinking. “Well, I guess it’s when one tribe sends out their hunters to attack the other tribe’s hunters.”
Attack another tribe’s hunters? “But why?”
“You don’t like what that other tribe is doing.” He shrugs.
“But are they not your kin?”
“Not always.” His tone is growing remote, cold. This is part of the thing he does not like, the thing that hurts him deep inside. “It’s complicated, Farli.”
“Then let us save it for some other time,” I tell him, and fling my arms around his neck so we can kiss some more. I bear him down to the blankets and press my teats against his bare chest. Now he feels good and warm against me, and I moan again because I like the sensation of my skin against his, our bony plates rubbing up against one another. “This is much better than before, do you not agree?”
“You’re so soft,” Mardok murmurs. “Funny how you’re so soft and yet such a badass at the same time.”
“Bad-ass?”
“Never mind. We can leave that for some other time, too.” His hand slides down to my flank and he caresses my buttock. “I have to admit, this is a lot warmer.”
“Is it not? And we can explore each other,” I tell him happily. “I want to touch all of you.”
He leans in and nudges my nose with his. “Farli…this is a strange question, but how much do you know about sex? Mating?”
