It takes me a moment to understand what she means. She’s the least dirty thing I’ve ever seen. Then I get it: she wants to take a bath.
“The boys often swim here,” I tell her. “I did it myself, many years ago. It’s safe from all the krais and other dangers that the Deep sends us to keep us alert.”
“Nobody will come?” she asks, hand still at her neck. “No monsters?”
“The Bigs can’t reach you in the water. If men come, they will see me and I will chase them away.” I lift my spear.
“Then I swim. You too?” She glances at my loincloth.
“Me too,” I confirm with a dry mouth. I think she’s about to get undressed, and my cock twitches in anticipation.
She turns her back and her garment drops off her like last night.
The sight of her bare back and behind in the sunlight makes the breath stick in my throat. It’s the most incredible thing I’ve everseen, and I have seen some remarkable things these past couple of days.
Callie quickly steps down into the water and pushes herself off the shore, swimming a few strokes while her hair streams behind her. Then she turns onto her back. “It is really w-w-warm! C-c-come on and j-j-jump in!”
I’ve never heard more persuasive words, so I discard my loincloth and free my manhood, insistently pointing to the sky.
I dive in without hesitation and swim over to Callie, pushing my hair out of my face and scanning the edge of the jungle for men and the sky for irox. But there’s nothing threatening us.
“You said it was warm,” I accuse. “But this is the opposite of warm.”
She gives me a wicked little grin. “Oh, big w-w-warrior not like w-w-water? While small woman s-s-swims and does not c-c-complain?”
“I like the water,” I counter. “Just not that it’s c-c-cold.”
“This is not cold,” Callie informs me. “But maybe this?” She splashes my face with a small drop or two.
I wipe the water out of my face. “Still cold. How about this?” I splash her back, using much more water than she did.
“It is nice,” she splutters. “Warm water, very pleasant. How about this?” She splashes me again, much more vigorously than the first time.
I pretend that the water pushes me back, coughing and gargling. “That’s the coldest water yet. Now how is this?” I wind up andsend a massive wave her way. It washes over her and pushes her under.
She emerges spluttering. “So warm! Wonderful. I will stay here now.”
Cold water drips from her hair as she turns around and swims to the bank and finds the bottom with her feet. I wade after her.
When she turns, her eyes are bright and her skin is flushed from play, chill, and something else that excites me. I can feel it in my chest, in the tight awareness of her body near mine, in the way the air itself seems to hold still.
She stops an arm’s length away, close enough that I can smell her: clean water, sun-warmed skin, a faint trace of smoke that still clings to us both. Her gaze drops, then lifts again, slow and deliberate, as if she is deciding something important.
She puts one hand on my waist and the other on the grass of the island. “Can you lift me up?”
14
- Callie-
The sun beats down warm and golden on our little island, turning every droplet on my skin into a tiny prism. We’re both dripping from the pond, and water sluices off Crat'ax’s muscled shoulders, setting off his glowing stripes that pulsate slowly, like usual when he’s ready.
The alien bushes around us rustle softly in the breeze. Beyond the narrow strip of grass and sand, the jungle presses in thick and dark, alive with distant calls and the constant roar of life. And yet it feels like we’re the only two beings in the universe right now.
I don’t want to wait until we’re dry. I don’t want to wait at all.
“Crat'ax,” I say, voice low and rough from wanting. “Let’s do it here.”
I reach between us, fingers curling around his larger cock. It’s so thick my hand can’t close fully; those spiraling ridges pulseunder my palm, violet swirls brightening with his arousal. I feel the same way. I’m so ready I can hardly breathe.
