Page 38 of The VaDorok's Unexpected Mate
The male grinned broadly but thankfully did not elaborate. Kull had no interest in knowing exactly what Torok did in the furs with the tiny female, either, though he recalled her small stature and understood Katie’s curiosity. On the other side of the room, Ren made a face of disgust before disappearing down thehall to hide in his own room. Torok did not miss it, however, and chuckled as he headed back toward the entrance.
Kull followed him. “I would appreciate it if you did not mention to my mother anything about Katie or that we will be there. It is better if I can avoid where she will be socializing with the other elders.”
Torok glanced at him curiously, but he nodded before slipping out into the snow. Of all the tribe, Torok knew what Kull had gone through. He would be sure to do as Kull asked. He had no doubt that his mother would be thrilled about Katie, but he just wanted to get through the gathering without any potential catastrophes.
“What’s going on with your mom?” Katie whispered as she watched the male leave.
Kull sighed heavily. “Our relationship is... strained. As young as I was, and as little time as I had with my mate, my mother thought that, when she died, I should try to encourage ulukskinon to form with another female. It seldom works, but she was hopeful. When I refused...”
He grimaced but she caught on quickly enough.
“She tried to force it,” she filled in.
He nodded. “She attempted to trap me during a storm with a female of her choosing. She did not anticipate that my desperation to flee would force me into a position where I would be exposed to the storm. I fell sick afterwards, and when I recovered, I was unable to even look at her.”
“So, operation avoid mom—you got it,” she said so easily that Kull instinctively turned and hugged her.
It surprised both of them, and yet it was that easy... and shockingly, he discovered that it was something that he wanted to repeat again in the future. Katie was warm and soft in his arms, if small, but she smelled wonderful and made the ulukskinon sing in a pleasant hum that went beyond desire andneed and filled him with such contentment that he never wanted to let her go. So he held her as they stood before the banked fire, a rusty purr vibrating through him until Gremlin came barreling for her legs with little squeaking demands to be held.
Curling his lip at the durwa, he released his ulukska so that she could stoop and pick up the little beast. He continued to purr, however, as the sound of her laughter filled the den. He did not want to let her go at all, he realized. He wanted the ulukskinon... he wanted her. But how was he going to keep a female who did not wish to be kept? How could he even hope to fulfil the ulukskinon?
But, by the blessing of Udula, he wanted to try. It seemed that Zalla would get what she wanted. If only he could keep the entire matter far away from her.
Chapter 29
Kull peered at Katie over his shoulder as ambivalently as possible as they adjusted and fluffed the bedding in the nest. The heat from earlier had not abated in the least, and now his imagination was filled with salacious thoughts that he had, until recently, been moderately successful in keeping at bay. Her eyes lifted and met his, and a pink color filled her cheeks, her fingers twitching nervously on the fur she still held until she finally smoothed into place. Clearing her throat, she stepped back from the nest and shifted her gaze back to it. Kull straightened, his eyes following her.
His nostrils flared, and he drew in a small taste of her sweet fragrance. He could smell the rising heat within her, pheromones drenching her natural scent as the ulukskinon pulsed its fire throughout her body.
It had been like that for days now. Even before Torok arrived, he had been tasting more of it as the days passed. And the more he relaxed and not only accepted it but embraced it, the more it grew within her proportionally. In this, the ulukskinon seemed to be different for her than what he understood was normal. In VaDorok females, the heat of ulukskinon was potent, blazing to life quickly from the first spark. With Katie, he had recognized the first pull and first scent, but it had remained a subtle sweetness teasing him during the time that he had rejected the ulukskinon between them and had never bloomed into fullness. Now that it was, it had a dizzying effect on him and made his flesh quiver with the hot need that sang through his veins.
Without even making a conscious decision, he felt his body move as he took a step forward, closing the space between them. His tail slid up her leg and around her hip in a long stroke that visibly sent a shiver rushing through her. The scent of herdesire thickened in response, and he swallowed back a groan of primal need as he lifted a hand and cupped her jaw. His instinct clamored at him to drag her up into his arms and complete the circle of the ulukskinon’s fire. Once the circle was closed, the fire would flare brighter and hotter through them, sending desire awakening within them that he had not felt in many revolutions. Despite all of his previous caution, he was suddenly eager for it. He gritted his teeth as he trembled with the heightened need rolling through him.
Go slow, he reminded himself.
Katie had never experienced pleasure at the hands of a male from a species other than her own, only terror and pain. He would need to introduce her to the pleasure of the ulukskinon slowly.
He brushed his fingers in a slow caress along her cheek, enjoying the way her pupils dilated and her eyes slitted faintly with pleasure. She didn’t pull away or resist it in the least but rather appeared to lean into his touch, much to his surprise and pleasure. A soft purr rumbled in his chest, and he leaned forward—
“Kull, I was thinking, if we are going to—” Ren began as the fur over the entrance was thrown back. His brother came to an abrupt stop, his eyes growing wide as Kull turned his head to peer over at him patiently. A look of mortification swept over the younger male’s face. “Oh, I did not realize... that is... maybe... ah... I am going to go clean out my eyes and pray to die now,” he muttered as he hastily stepped back out and let the leather flap drop back in place behind him.
Kull shook his head, both amused at the male’s terrible lack of timing, and annoyed by it. It seemed that his hopes of closing the circle of the ulukskinon were entirely in vain for this night. Sighing heavily, he dropped his hand and stepped back only to suddenly be engulfed in feminine warmth as Katie flung herselfinto her arms. His tail slashed the air with surprise, and he nearly stumbled backwards, caught off guard as he was, but then the softness of her body against his and the sweetness of her heat filling his senses stabilized his world and brought his focus in entirely on her.
Or perhaps it was the way her hands were rapidly sliding up his chest to his neck. He instinctively lowered his head so that her fingers could trail up the sides of neck without obstruction, but a moan was startled out of him when her fingers suddenly grasped the pair of horns that sprung from his brow plate just above his ears. She dragged his head down so that he was forced to bend down to her level so that she could look into his eyes. A thoughtful look briefly crossed her face.
“I wonder,” she whispered. “I wonder how good this can be when it’s something that I want.”
His heart broke a little for her in that moment but also warmed with the trust that she was putting in him. She did not wait for him to prove his abilities to please her.
“Then take what you want and find out,” he replied.
The corners of her mouth lifted in a smile as genuine delight filled her blue eyes. Rising onto her toes, she pressed her mouth against his, stealing his sanity in that one fatal touch. The touching of lips was so exquisitely carnal and alien to him that it both shocked him and drew him helplessly in as his hunger consumed him.
The ulukskinon closed and merged, and the fire grew within him, blooming with its full ferocity. His cock, already hard and swollen just below the barrier of his coital folds. With the full force of the ulukskinon feeding through it, it was nearly fully engorged already and pressing through with a speed that felt excruciating slow as the barrier gave way the softening and reluctant parting of the genital folds to press against her warmth as her lips and tongue eagerly explored his mouth with tiny,sweet brushes of lips and the slick playful flicks of her tongue when it slipped into his mouth.
Growling, his arms circled around, drawing her snugly against his body as he clung to her, elation filling him. The rekindled ulukskinon no longer felt like a curse and sentence for pain to come, but it was a blazing brand that indescribable joy through him. Not just because he once again possessed the incredible bond of the ulukskinon—though many would find that enviable—but that it was with Katie, a female of incredible tenacity and fortitude who not only fought for and earned his respect but every bit of tenderness in his heart without even realizing it. It was because it was with Katie that the closing of the ulukskinon’s circle between them brought him such joy.
His claws scraped a gentle path across her back, the material of her top snagging every slightly. Katie gasped against his mouth for a second before her lips slicked more urgently against his, tormenting him with the wet heat of her soft little mouth. Her tongue danced against his, luring his own tongue to parry with it and become trapped within the heat of her sucking lips. Need jolted through him, and the ulukskinon roared, scorching him. He was so hard with want that it tormented him rapturously, offering him no relief until Katie stepped back, breaking his hold on her and the touch of their lips. She smiled up at him with reddened lips and, before his eyes, slowly shed her clothing, revealing the blushed softness of her human skin.
