Page 51 of Caveman Alien's Bride

When we step inside, it takes a moment for my eyes to adjust to the dimness. Sunlight slants in through small gaps in the logs. The air is heavy with the scent of exotic wood smoke and drying herbs, as well as the earthy musk of damp dirt and rotting leaves, like anywhere in the jungle.

A thick wooden pillar stands in the middle, holding up the second floor. It’s made from a single tree trunk that’s been cut in several pieces of the same length and then put together in a cluster, with the thickest log in the middle. Ever thinner logs spiral around it, and the effect is both artful and elegant.

Figures and dinosaurs have been cut into the wood by carvers who knew what they were doing. The skull of a not-raptor has been hung on the wall, terrible teeth on display.

As in Korr'ax’s penthouse, there are weapons and skins hanging on the wall, lamps and a fireplace. A dark wood table is the focus of the room. There are long benches around it, covered with thick dinosaur skins. I can imagine the chief’s closest men having meetings here.

I stroke the carvings on the pillar. “This is nice. The Tretter tribe can do great things.”

Korr'ax puts his hands on his hips. “Exactly. It can be a great tribe, as once it was. Some of the men saw it and asked me to take over. And I shall make this tribe as strong as the Borok tribe.”

A solid staircase leads to the upper floor. Going up there, I have to lift my feet high for each caveman-sized step.

The upper floor feels smaller than the lower, because the roof angles in on all sides. The central pillar continues here, but without carvings. While the downstairs is clearly meant for representation, this floor is more private. There are two small windows with panes of some kind of translucent rock, and along one wall there’s a raised platform with heaps of furs on it. Baskets and pots line the other walls. Here, the focus is a spot on the wall where someone has used dinosaur teeth and claws to make a picture of one of those flying irox dinosaurs that attacked Korr'ax and me.

It looks a lot like a pterodactyl from Earth, with bat-like wings and that long snout filled with teeth. Other parts are different, and I doubt the ones on Earth were ever this big.

The floor creaks under Korr'ax’s feet.

“It’s a wonderful hut,” I tell him, taking a clay pot from a shelf and inspecting it. “The Tretter are good at making things. Look how thin this pot is! Look at the fine decorations! And the basket is so finely woven, it may almost hold water.”

“Some of my men are good with their hands,” Korr'ax says with pride. “These are all old items, but I don’t think the men have forgotten their skills.”

I sashay up to him and put my hand on his chest. “Have you forgotten yours?”

He casually reaches around and puts his hand on my butt. “I think I have. You may have to remind me.”

I glance to the window. “Maybe they will hear.”

He chuckles. “Right now, there’s fifty tribesmen gathered around this house with the hope that they will hear us Mate. Let’s not disappoint them.”

I stop to listen. There’s definitely some whispering going on outside. “They won’t come in here, will they?”

Korr'ax marches down the stairs. I hear him talk to someone and then firmly close the door.

“Some wanted toseeit, too,” he says when he comes back up. “But that, I think, is going too far.”

“But now they can’t come in?” I ask to be sure. Iseriouslydon’t want to be watched.

Korr'ax puts a lit oil lamp on the floor. “If they really want to get in, they can. But they don’t want to see me furious, so they won’t. But they dowantto. It’s started to rain.”

Indeed there’s a soft drumming on the roof.

I grab the hem of Korr'ax’s kilt and pull him to me. “So they not be outside listening or they be wet.”

He puts his hands on my butt, as usual. “Do we care what the tribesmen do right now?”

We kiss, and then I pull at his drawstring. His kilt would fall, if it weren’t held up by that tent he’s pitching. “Lie down.”

He raises his eyebrow at this unusual turn, but he’s man enough to not be threatened by his woman taking charge for a while. Rearranging the furs, he lies down with a content sigh.

Sending a quick glance to the stairs, I strip off completely and join him on the furs. Running my hands through his thick hair, I kiss and lick his lips.

I’ve been turned on all day. Just being close to Korr'ax does that to me. And while it’s a weird thing to say or even think, I kind of like that he’s being respected and deferred to here, too. I absolutely get why these guys wanted him to be their chief. He has a way of giving commands that make them want to obey, he talks to them all by name, and he knows their strengths.

When we first arrived, he had some issues, but that’s because these guys need him.

Now,Ineed him.

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