“I do…I was just thinking about the rut and the changes.”
“You’re worried?”
“A little. It’s permanent.”
“I know…that’s why I asked if you wanted more time before we mate.”
I smile. She is the one who is kind and caring. “I will be alright. Besides, I suspect some changes are already happening.”
“Oh. What does it feel like?”
“Like…a need, but it’s different from the desire I’ve felt before. It’s sharper. Almost like a charge running over my skin.” I kiss a little higher. I don’t want to be consumed by the rut—from what I’ve heard that is not pleasant—but sinking into it is.
“You’re sure?”
“Yes.” I draw in a breath, then kiss solitary pleasure bump that human women have. I’m glad I’m not the first one to find out if our kinds fit together, and that my brothers were able to tell me a little. My tongue traces the slick folds that form the entrance to her channel, before pressing in. The taste of her fills my mouth and sparks in my blood.
My meq throbs, and the markings on my arms flare blue.
“Ooh.” She reaches out to run her fingers over the back of my hand, tracing the lines. “Does it hurt?”
“It tingles.” That isn’t where I want to feel her touch. I lick her bump and slide two fingers into her channel. She’s wet and tight and for a few moments I’m not sure if we will fit together, even though Edilk swears that human women can take a meq.
She groans, hips lifting with each touch. The sweet taste of her fills my mouth, and I want more. I thrust my tongue into her as my thumb rubs over her pleasure bump. Her hands fist the blanket as she comes, clenching around my fingers.
She’s breathing hard, eyes closed, sprawled on the blanket like an offering.
My heart gives a little flip as though I’ve been shocked by someone else’s charge. She has no kam with which to make one, yet I can’t deny the feeling which must be part of the mating process. The need to protect her.
The need to claim her and make her mine.
I strip off my shirt and unlace my pants, moving over her as her legs hook around my hips. My meq rubs against the slick heat of her channel, and as much as I don’t want to rush, I want to be in her, feeding and soothing the hunger within me.
The head of my meq finds her entrance and she arches, opening to me. I press in to her channel, knowing that the line has already been crossed. That she is my mate and without her, I risk being destroyed by the rut.
She sucks in a breath as I sink deeper.
“Too much?”
“It’s been a while.”
Even though I want to take her in one rough thrust, I move slowly, not wanting to hurt her. It doesn’t take long for her to start moving, meeting my thrusts.
I claim her lips, kissing her as we move.
Her channel grips my sensitive meq. My own pleasure bumps will swell and become more pronounced. I’m sure they’re already bigger because I have never felt anything like this before.
I swallow her moan as she comes again, squeezing me hard. I give in to the pleasure coiling through my blood, and it’s all I can do to breathe.
But I’m aware of the way the shelter is illuminated by my markings and the way that even though I’ve just come, I’m not sated.
The rut has begun.
17
ORIK
Ilie on the beach, wrapped in the blanket that smells of Vari, and stare up at the stars. Next to me the others are sleeping, having finished the gol. I had a few swallows, but it isn’t what I want.
