Page 109 of Rok's Captive
My female.
The claiming still pulses through my blood, a satisfaction so deep it feels carved into my bones. The memory of being inside her makes my stem harden yet again, an urgency I never knew before she fell from the sky.
When I first coupled with her against the cave wall, it was like the universe clicked into place. Like every breath before had been shallow, and suddenly I could fill my lungs completely. Her body welcomed mine, tight and wet and perfect, as if the great Ain had crafted her specifically for me.
She’d taken me again after we rested, guiding me to taste the sweet water between her legs. The sounds she made—soft cries that built to desperate screams—are branded in my memory. And when she’d mounted me afterward, her soft body sliding down over my hardness, her watery eyes locked with mine…I’d nearly lost myself completely.
I shift closer to the fire, adding more fuel to keep her warm. She shivers even in sleep, her small form vulnerable to the cold of the cave. My Jus-teen is delicate in ways I never expected. Strong in spirit but fragile in body. She needs protection. Nourishment. Warmth.
She needs me.
The possessiveness that floods through me is like nothing I’ve ever felt. Mine to protect. Mine to feed. Mine to please. The thought of her living with me in the clan cave shoots through my mind, and my chest rumbles with satisfaction.
My clan will welcome her—a blessing from the sky, a gift from Ain herself. They will see her value, just as I have. They will help me protect her and find the others of her kind.
I have already gathered water while she slept, filling the gourd from a small spring deeper in the cave system. And now I will hunt. My female needs meat to strengthen her, especially after our coupling.
I touch her face gently, careful not to wake her with my claws, and ease away toward the cave entrance. I slip out into the twilight, my vision sharpening as I adjust to the dimness. The pesky dust serpent that had been after us is now gone, leaving the sands peacefully still.
The hunt is quick. A rock-jumper has made its burrow nearby, foolishly close to the cave. I catch it easily, snapping its neck with one clean motion. It’s not much—barely a mouthful for a warrior of my size—but it will nourish my Jus-teen.
When I return, she’s still sleeping. I set about preparing the meat, using my claw to skin and clean it before spearing it on a sharpened rock to warm over the fire. Because my female likes her food this way. So I will do it for her. The scent fills the small chamber as I turn the meat, and Jus-teen stirs, her eyelids fluttering. When she opens them fully, her gaze finds mine immediately, and the smile that spreads across her face makes my chest tighten in the strangest way.
“You made food,” she says, her soft voice still heavy with sleep. She sits up, drawing her legs beneath her, and I notice her wince slightly.
I move to her side immediately, concern flooding through me. “Hurt?” I push through mindspeak. I reach for her, my hand hovering over her thigh, uncertain where the pain is.
Her cheeks darken in that fascinating way, and she shakes her head. “I’m fine, just a little sore. From, um, you know.” She glances down at my stem, which responds immediately to her attention, hardening once more.
If she will have me, I will sink deep inside her once more. But not before she has eaten.
Her eyes widen, and she laughs—a sound that makes my blood heat. “Already? Seriously?”
I don’t understand her words, but the images flashing through her mind are clear enough. She’s thinking of our coupling, of my size inside her, of the slight discomfort and overwhelming pleasure.
My stem jerks at the intensity of those thoughts.
“For you,” I project, gesturing to the roasting creature. “Eat. Strength.”
She shifts toward the fire, reaching for the gourd of water I’ve placed nearby. “Thank you.” She drinks deeply, then turns her attention to the meat. “This smells amazing. I’m starving.”
I watch with satisfaction as she tears into the meat, making small sounds of pleasure that have my stem twitching beneath my hide coverings. Loincloth, that is what she calls it, though I do not know why she wants me to hide myself. She seems quite happy when it is on display and I would rather she not hide herself, either. I would put all these hide coverings into the fire to burn, but I do not.
This is a gift from my female. I will treasure it forever.
She eats with an appetite that pleases me, licking the juices from her fingers in a way that makes me want to claim her again immediately.
“This is so good,” she says between bites. She pauses, looking up at me with her head tilted in that way I’ve come to recognize means she’s curious about something. “Do you want some?”
I shake my head. “For you,” I project. “I hunt more later.”
She smiles at me, and then her expression shifts to something more mischievous. “Thank God you don’t understand everything I say or you’d know I’m thinking about jumping your bones again.”
I can’t suppress the grunt of laughter that escapes me. The image in her mind is clear—her body pressed against mine, her mouth on my stem, her legs wrapped around my waist as I thrust into her.
Her eyes widen, the meat forgotten in her hand. “Wait. Did you just…understand what I said?”
“Yes,” I reply, both with my voice and my thoughts. And then, in the old tongue: “I see your thoughts. Clear. Like when we touch heads, but…no touching needed now.”
