Chapter Thirteen
Bram couldn’t believe how beautiful and brave his princess was. The feeling of her little hands stroking up and down his cock had nearly driven him crazy. And the feel of her hot mouth, sucking at the head, trying to get as much of his precum as she could, had nearly made him shoot.
But he wanted to prolong this pleasure. Indeed, he needed to if he ever wanted to make her bloom. And Goddess, he wanted that more than anything—wanted her to bloom for him.
Once into the warm waters of the bathing pool, Alanah’s thin white gown clung to her even more, making his mouth water, he wanted her so badly. Though he was tempted to take it off her at once so that he could feel her soft, firm breasts and luscious curves, Bram took Alanah in his arms once more and kissed her instead. Gods, she felt so good against him—so right. And the more he kissed her and tasted her mouth, the more open she became to him.
At last, when she was openly moaning and pressing herself against him, he reached for the hem of her gown.
“I think it’s time to take this off now, don’t you?” he murmured.
“Yes…yes, I guess so.” She looked up at him, her gray eyes still a little shy but hot too—needy in the same way he felt needy for her.
Bram helped her pull it over her head and then took her hand and led her to the deep end of the bathing pool where there was a ledge to sit on. Alanah had to cling to him part of the way because the water would have gone over her head but once he was seated, he drew her to him.
“Now what?” she asked, somewhat breathlessly. Her long hair was wet and sleek and her eyes looked huge with uncertainty and desire.
“Now you’re going to sit on my lap so I can wash you,” Bram told her.
“All right.” Alanah perched herself on his knees demurely but he shook his head.
“No, not like that, little one. Like this.”
Lifting her, he placed her so that she straddled him with her back to his front. He made certain his shaft was between her legs so that it stuck out in front of her and her soft little pussy rested against the thick base of it.
“Oh!” Alanah turned her head to look up at him. “Is this…is this all right? I’m not hurting you, am I?”
“By pressing your sweet pussy against my shaft?” He rumbled laughter. “Hardly, little one. “Just try and relax—I put you this way for a purpose. I want your button to feel stimulated and hot while I wash you. So go ahead and rub yourself against me if you want.”
“Oh…all right.” But she sat still, as though she wasn’t certain she really ought to take him up on his offer.
That was all right with Bram—he hoped to make her squirm in just a moment. There was a foaming bathing lotion he’d chosen just for this purpose already laid out near the edge of the pool. Squirting some in one palm, he rubbed his hands together and then began caressing and massaging Alanah’s shoulders.
“Oh! Oh…” Her first gasp was of surprise but the second was bliss. “Oh Bram, that feels amazing!”
“I’m glad you like it, little one,” he murmured as he focused on rubbing the tension out of her muscles. Soon enough, she was much more relaxed—enough to lean back with her shoulder blades against his hard abdomen.
It was then that Bram began moving his hands down her sides and reaching around to cup her breasts. They were soft and smooth and heavy in his hands—perfectly beautiful, even the tiny, undeveloped nipples. Bram loved them but he knew how much Alanah wanted them to be long and ripe and pink.
Gently, he tugged on them, making her moan and writhe on his lap. He thought he could feel her outer pussy lips parting just a little bit as she ground herself against his cock.
“Oh, Bram,” she whispered again, thrusting her breasts more fully into his hands. “I love the feel of you touching me!”
“I’m just washing you, sweetheart,” he murmured, as he continued to stroke and pull at her little pink nubs. “Are you ready for me to wash you lower now?”
She turned her head to look up at him again.
“You mean…you want to wash my flower…my pussy now?”
“Mmm-hmm,” he murmured. “Are you ready to let me? Ready to let me wash that sweet little button of yours?”
“Yes, Bram—please. Please do.” She leaned back against him and spread her legs even wider so that he could feel her little pussy opening more against his cock.
The sensation made him groan deep in his throat and he couldn’t help imagining what it would be like after she bloomed and had some of the bonding fruit. Couldn’t help picturing her soft, sweet little pussy sucking his long thick shaft deep inside…
But they had to take this slowly. He squirted more of the foaming lotion on his fingertips and then reached under the water to stroke up and down her tight little slit.
“Mmm…Bram!” she whispered breathlessly when his fingertip found her hot little button. He was certain it had grown plumper since the night before when he’d first teased it out from between her pussy lips. Gently he stroked it, circling it with one fingertip, sliding around and around, feeling it throb with need.
“Do you like that, little one?” he murmured in her ear. “Do you like it when I pet your sweet pussy? When I stroke your hot little clit?”
“Yes…” Alanah was moaning now, rubbing against his fingers shamelessly, really letting herself go. “Yes, please, Bram—I love it! And I feel…feel like I’m getting close again. Close to…to feeling like I did last night.”
“Close to coming, you mean?” He kept up a steady rhythm as he spoke. “That’s good, little one. You need to come—need to have plenty of orgasms tonight. Besides, I want to feel you coming against my cock.”
She was still pressed against him as he rubbed her and he thought he could feel her opening, just a little. He wished he could slip one finger down and test her entrance to see if it had widened at all, but he didn’t want to ruin the moment if it hadn’t. Better just to make her come so she would feel warm and relaxed for the next part of their ritual.
“Oh…” Alanah’s slippery little body was grinding against him now as she worked her hips, seeking more of the pleasure he was giving her. “Oh Bram, I’m so close.”
“Come for me then, sweetheart,” he growled softly, using one hand to caress her soft breasts as he stroked her clit with the other. “Come for me now.”
His words seemed to release something inside her and Alanah went stiff against him, a low, ragged moan tearing from her throat.
Coming, gods, she’s coming so hard! Unable to help himself, he slipped his middle finger lower and stoked the quivering entrance of her sex with it. His cock surged when he was able to slip the tip inside her and feel her sweet little sex sucking and milking at it. Gods, he wished it was the tip of his cock instead!
Well, maybe by the end of the night it will be—if the ritual goes as planned, he told himself.
Alanah moaned and rubbed harder, trying to push more of his finger into her tight entrance.
“Bram,” she moaned. “I…I think I’m more open than I was last night.”
“I think so too, little one,” he remarked, withdrawing his finger reluctantly. “Which means its time to perform our fertility ritual.”
“Is it?” She stopped writhing and looked up at him, panting, her gray eyes solemn. “And…you really think it will work?”
“I know it will,” Bram said, hoping he was right. But he made his voice firm and certain. “Come on, sweetheart,” he told her. “Let’s get dried off so I can anoint you with the sacred oils.”
* * * * *
Alanah’s whole body still felt boneless with pleasure. She was more than happy to let Bram scoop her up in his arms and carry her out of the bathing pool. He wrapped a long red towel around his narrow waist and then knelt in front of her and dried her with another one, tenderly as though she was a precious, breakable thing.
Alanah couldn’t help thinking that no one who saw him for the first time would guess how gentle he could be. He was so huge and muscular but he was always so careful of her—so tender.
With him on his knees, she was able to take his face in her hands and kiss him.
“Bram,” she murmured. “Thank you for being so sweet and patient with me. I…I know it must be frustrating, waiting for me to bloom.”
“Never,” he swore softly. “I care for you, little one. I love you. I’ll wait a thousand years if I have to but I’m never letting you go.”
“Oh Bram, I love you too!”
His sweet words made Alanah want him even more. She kissed him again, darting her tongue between his lips to taste him even more deeply. Gods, how she needed him!
At last she pulled back and looked into his glowing, sapphire eyes.
“Work the ritual,” she begged softly. “Help me bloom for you.”
“As you wish, little one.” With a growl of pure need, he swung her into his arms again and carried her into the bedroom.
To Alanah’s surprise, there were candles lit and glowing softly on the nightstands and the vast bed was draped in a white, silken sheet and covered all over with small, red things.
“Oh—flower petals,” she exclaimed, when Bram laid her down in the middle of them. “You used flower petals!”
“It’s part of the ritual,” he said gravely. “What better way to help my little one bloom than to use the petals of flowers that have bloomed already?”
“They’re beautiful!” Alanah rubbed one between her fingers, marveling at the crimson color and the sweet scent it gave off when crushed.
“Just like you,” Bram told her. He went to the nightstand and took out a delicate blue glass bottle. “And now for the sacred oil…and the ritual,” he murmured.
“Oh…” Alanah watched him with wide eyes. “What should I do?”
“Say the poem—the verses of the ritual you overheard when you were a child,” Bram instructed. “But slowly, all right?”
“All right,” Alanah whispered.
She watched as he poured a drizzle of the sacred oil onto one broad palm and then rubbed his hands together. He was sitting on the side of the bed, leaning over her and she thought she had never felt so small…yet so protected and loved. Slowly, she began to recite.
“With your hands, you mold her flesh…”
As she spoke, Bram lowered his hands and, starting at her shoulders, began to stroke down the length of her body. Alanah moaned in enjoyment as his warm palms and fingers traced over arms and sides and legs, all the way down to her ankles. He slid his hands up again and cupped the full curves of her breasts, stopping to tease her nipples some more as he had in the bathing pool, and then ran one big hand down her trembling belly.
“Open your legs for me now, little one,” he murmured. “I need to spread the sacred oil everywhere you need to bloom.”
Heart beating hard against her ribs, Alanah obeyed, parting her thighs for his seeking fingers and moaning as he teased the tiny nub of her clit yet again. The sacred oil seemed to warm on contact with her skin and she gasped in surprise as she felt its heat penetrate her clit and tease her to pleasure once more.
Was the warming oil magic…or science? Alanah didn’t know and at this point, she didn’t care. She just wanted to never stop feeling the gentle caress of his fingertip around and around her throbbing button. But after a while, Bram withdrew.
“The Goddess knows I love giving you pleasure little one,” he said. “But the next time you come I want it to be on my tongue.”
“On…on your tongue?” Alanah asked breathlessly. “But…but the next part of the ritual says, ‘Lay your mouth upon her breast.’ It doesn’t say anything about, uh, putting your mouth lower down.”
“I’m changing it a little,” Bram growled softly. “I want to lick your sweet pussy. Want to spread your pussy lips and tease your little clit with my tongue. But don’t worry…” He gave her a sleepy, amused grin, full of desire. “I won’t neglect your nipples either.”
Leaning over her, he let his tongue trail over her tiny right nipple, making Alanah gasp with pleasure. Gods, she wished her nipples were long and pink and ripe for him but Bram didn’t seem to mind that they weren’t. He sucked her little nubs into his mouth, teasing very gently with his teeth and then nursing hard before bathing them with his tongue again to ease the little stinging pain he’d caused.
“Oh!” Alanah felt as though her whole body was throbbing and coming alive. She moaned and gripped his head, tugging at his thick black hair and pushing her breasts up to his mouth, wanting to get more of the addictive pleasure he was giving her.
At last Bram looked up, his eyes heavy-lidded with lust.
“Mmm…I could suck your sweet nipples all night, little one,” he growled softly. “But that would mean neglecting your pussy.”
“Oh…” Alanah whispered. “Does that mean you want to…want to taste me now?”
He nodded. “So damn much. Kindred males need to taste their mates. I’ve been thinking about this moment from the first time we started dream-sharing.”
Alanah bit her lip. “But I bet you thought my pussy was already ripe and bloomed for you when you, um, imagined that, didn’t you?”
Bram cupped her cheek and looked into her eyes.
“Your pussy is beautiful, sweetheart,” he murmured. “Bloomed or unbloomed. I just want to taste you.”
“All right.” She nodded, feeling her whole body surge at the thought. “But how…”
“Like this.” Taking her by the ankles, he pulled her down to the end of the high bed so that her knees and calves dangled off the end of it. Then he took one of the long pillows from the end of the bed and tucked it under her bottom. “The perfect height,” he murmured as he knelt and settled himself between her knees. “And it’s good because you can see me licking you too.”
Alanah looked down at her body and realized something she hadn’t noticed before.
“Bram,” she said excitedly. “My nipples…do you think they’re bigger?”
“Hmm…” He had been about to lean over her but now he looked up, frowning a little. “You know, I think they are.”
“The ritual—it’s working!” Alanah felt a wave of excitement. Her nipples, while still a little small, where definitely riper and rosier than before. She just hoped she could experience the same effect between her legs. “Go on,” she begged Bram. “You’re making me bloom, my giant—please, do more!”
“With pleasure, little one.” His voice was a low, hungry growl as he parted her legs and leaned down to lap at her narrow slit.
Alanah gasped and bucked her hips when she felt his big, warm tongue start at the very bottom, at her entrance, and then slide upward, over her throbbing clit.
“Oh, Bram!’ she exclaimed. Gods, his mouth was so hot and the feeling of him licking her there, in such a forbidden place, was much more exciting than she’d even anticipated. Though she’d heard the married women of the court whisper about how their husbands expected them to lick and suck their shafts at great length, no one had ever said the reverse might be possible. Alanah had never dreamed of having a man who would hunger to lick and kiss between her legs, to explore the petals of her flower with his tongue.
And Bram seemed to be truly hungry for her. He kissed her tenderly at first, then lapped and sucked her. Alanah moaned to watch the erotic sight of her giant spreading her legs even wider as he used his thumbs to open her outer pussy lips and then carefully traced every inch of her slippery pink petals with the tip of his tongue. It was almost as though he was giving her a tongue bath, the way a mother catkin might bathe a kitkin—as though he wanted to be certain every bit of her was thoroughly tasted and licked.
“Bram…Bram!” Alanah heard herself wailing. Gods, it felt amazing the way he was lapping her. And the area between her legs seemed to be throbbing, getting even hotter than it had when he’d rubbed the sacred, warming oil into it.
I wonder if that means it’s working? she thought deliriously. I wonder if my pussy is blooming under his tongue?
But the thought was soon pushed out of her head by the rising tide of pleasure. Close…she was getting close to that peak again and she wanted so desperately to reach it!
She became aware that she was pulling Bram’s hair, tugging on his long, dark braids as she thrust her hips up to meet his mouth. Was she hurting him? Reluctantly, she uncurled her fists from his hair, not wanting to cause him pain.
Immediately, Bram looked up.
“Why did you stop, little one?” he growled. “Why did you stop pulling my hair?”
“Oh, I…I didn’t want to hurt you.” Alanah was panting now, still moving her hips with pleasure because Bram hadn’t stopped. When he’d looked up to talk to her, he had replaced his tongue with one long finger which was currently slipping lazily back and forth over her throbbing bud again and again and again.
“You’re not hurting me, sweetheart,” he assured her. “Or if you are, it’s a good kind of pain. Go ahead—pull on me. I like to know you’re enjoying yourself when I spread your sweet little pussy with my tongue.”
Then he bent his head once more and began swirling the tip of his hot tongue over her aching clit.
“Bram!” she gasped, grabbing his hair again. “Oh Gods, please…please…”
She was getting closer and closer to the peak and this time she knew her pleasure was going to be more intense than ever before.
In response to her moaning and writhing under his tongue, Bram lifted her legs and put them over his broad shoulders. Then he pressed his face deeper between her thighs and sucked her clit into his mouth, teasing the tender little button mercilessly and finally sending her over the edge.
Alanah cried out as the pleasure broke over her like a warm wave. Had she thought her pussy was heating up before? Well, the orgasm Bram had given her increased the sensation tenfold. Suddenly she felt as though her entire sex was throbbing like a second heartbeat between her legs. The sensation increased her pleasure even more, making her cry out and curl her toes as Bram continued to lap and suck as though he couldn’t get enough of her.
“Oh…oh!” Alanah moaned, at last going limp in his arms. “Oh Gods, Bram!”
“Was that good, little one?” He looked up at her and Alanah saw that his lips and jaw were shiny and wet. She frowned hazily—how had that happened?
“So good,” she assured him. “Even better than last night and in the bathing pool. But Bram, your mouth…your lips are all wet.”
“Hmm…” He wiped at his face with his fingers and then looked down at her. “I think I can tell why, sweetheart.”
“What? Why?” Alanah asked uncertainly.
“My lips are wet with your pussy honey. Just look at yourself.” He nodded down between her thighs. “Can you see? Let’s get a little more light.” Raising his voice he said commandingly, “Lights higher.”
At once the lights in the corners of the room came up, augmenting the golden candlelight with their glow.
In the increased illumination, Alanah was able to see something that made her gasp with joy.
Between her legs was no longer a flat mound and a tight, colorless slit. Instead, her pussy lips had become plump—almost puffy—and her mound was rounded and rosy and full.
“Oh, Bram!” she exclaimed. “It worked! I really think it worked!”
“I think so too, sweetheart. Watch,” he murmured. Spreading her thighs a little wider, he swirled one long finger around the entrance to her pussy and then slowly, pushed inside her.
“Oh!” Alanah gasped and tightened her muscles involuntarily. Her people had no maidenhead—they didn’t need one since a female couldn’t be entered before her flower bloomed. But it was still strange to feel something inside her.
“Did I hurt you?” Bram asked anxiously. “I’m sorry, little one.”
“No—no it’s all right. I just…just need to get used to it.” Alanah wriggled her hips a little, feeling the pleasure of being filled for the first time. “Can…” She looked at Bram shyly. “Can you try putting two fingers inside me?”
“If you think you can handle it, sweetheart,” he murmured. “Two of my fingers together are going to be as thick as a regular male’s shaft.”
“Just try it,” Alanah begged. “I want to feel more of you in me—please Bram!”
“As you wish, little one. Very well, spread your pussy wide for me so I can touch you deep inside,” he murmured.
Obediently, Alanah spread her legs even wider and watched as he withdrew his first finger, only to press into her again, this time with two thick digits.
“Oh…Oh, Bram!” she gasped when she felt him reach the end of her channel. “Oh, that feels so good.”
“You like this, little one?” he murmured, sliding his fingers out slowly only to thrust them into her again. “You like it when I fuck your hot little pussy like this?”
The forbidden words made Alanah’s inner muscles clench with desire and she moaned and whimpered, writhing on the invading fingers as he pumped slowly into her newly opened pussy.
“That’s right, little one,” Bram murmured, his eyes half-lidded with lust. “That’s right—ride my fingers, fuck yourself on them. Gods, look how ripe and wet your little pussy is now. Look how you’ve bloomed, Alanah.”
“There’s…there’s only one problem,” Alanah gasped as she rocked her hips in time with his motion. “I still…still don’t have any curls on my mound.”
“Well, we’re not done with the ritual yet,” Bram reminded her. “Do you remember the next line?”
It took Alanah a moment to dredge the words of the fertility ritual up—it was very distracting to have her giant’s thick fingers pumping so deeply into her newly ripened pussy—but at last she moaned,
“With your shaft your part her thighs
The seed shall flow, the shaft shall rise.”
Her eyes widened as she realized what she had just said. “Bram,” she whispered breathlessly. “Does that mean that you’re going to…going to put yourself in me now? Your, uh, shaft I mean?”
“Not all of it,” he said firmly. “Mostly I need to rub it against you. And to complete the ritual, I think it would be good if I filled you with my seed.”
“Filled me?” Alanah’s eyes widened. “But how can you fill me if you don’t, uh put your shaft inside me?”
“Don’t worry, little one—I can fit the head of my shaft to the entrance of your pussy,” he murmured, still stroking inside her. “That way I can shoot my seed deep in your sweet little slit. Right here.” He demonstrated by pressing his fingertips against the end of her channel, making Alanah moan.
“Of…of course,” she murmured. “All right, Bram.”
“Are you ready?” he asked.
“Yes, Bram—more than ready,” Alanah promised.
“Good.” He withdrew his fingers slowly and held them up for a moment, as though admiring how her pussy juices coated them. Then he sucked them into his mouth, lapping away her honey with his eyes fixed on hers.
“Gods, you taste so sweet, little one,” he growled hoarsely. “Let’s begin.”
He positioned Alanah at the head of the bed, with both her head and her bottom propped up on pillows this time. Then he knelt over her, his large, naked, muscular body like a mountain on the bed before her.
Alanah knew she would have been frightened to death to be in this position with anyone else—especially someone as big as Bram. But she felt only eagerness and love—and a deep desire to feel him enter her, even if it was only a tiny bit.
“Gods, sweetheart,” he groaned as he fisted his massive shaft. “Been wanting you for so long…wanting to spread your sweet little pussy with my cock.”
“Do it then,” Alanah whispered breathlessly. “I want…want to feel it too. I want to feel you in me, Bram—even if it’s just a little.”
“I will but we need to go slowly,” he said, his deep voice hoarse. “Don’t want to hurt you, little one.”
Reaching down, he parted her plump, swollen pussy lips with thumb and fingers, exposing her ripe, aching pink clit which was throbbing as though Alanah needed to come again. With the other hand, he fisted his thick shaft and aimed the broad head, now leaking copious amounts of the clear essence he’d called “precum” at her spread pussy.
Alanah moaned as he rubbed the warm, slippery head of his shaft over her open folds. Since she’d started blooming, she was much more sensitive down there, she thought. More sensitive and more needy too. Gods, she wanted her giant inside her! She wished she could take him now—all of him.
“Please, Bram,” she begged as he slowly slid the head of his shaft up and down her aching furrow. “Please, put it in me! Even if it’s just a little bit, put it in!”
“Gods, little one—I am getting close to coming,” he admitted hoarsely. “But you’re still too little to take the whole thing. I’ll just put the very tip in your hot little pussy.”
Carefully, he slid down until the broad, plum-shaped head was just at the entrance of her channel and Alanah moaned when she felt him press forward, breaching her only the tiniest bit.
But as good as it felt, she wanted more—needed more, she told herself. Wriggling beneath his muscular bulk, she pressed against him, trying to get more of him inside her.
“Little one…” His deep voice was stern. “What are you doing?”
“Trying to get a little more of you in me,” Alanah admitted. “Please, Bram, couldn’t you just put the head in me before…before you come in my pussy?”
He frowned. “Well…it’s less rigid than the rest of my shaft…and I suppose it would help my seed reach the end of your channel better.”
“Please,” Alanah begged again. “I promise to tell you if it hurts. Please, Bram!”
He sighed. “I can deny you nothing, little one. All right, if you really want me to, then spread your pussy as wide as you can.”
Alanah did as she was told, opening her thighs wide for her giant’s shaft and even reaching down to spread her newly plump pussy lips for his invasion.
“Gods your pink little pussy looks so hot. Can’t wait to fill you with my come, little one,” Bram groaned. And then, carefully and slowly, he pushed forward so that the broad, thick head of his shaft slid deeply into Alanah’s tight channel.
She moaned as she felt him enter her. Even though, as he said, the head of his shaft wasn’t as rigid as the rest, it was still a lot to take in her inexperienced, virgin pussy. But it felt right to be opened by him like this—right to spread herself for her giant and take as much of his shaft as she could deep in her tight little slit.
“Bram,” she moaned. “Bram that feels so good.”
“Feels good to me too, little one. And gods, it’s so hot to see your pink little pussy all stretched out around my cock,” he growled. “Are you sure it isn’t hurting?”
“I can feel it stretching me,” Alanah admitted breathlessly. “And I know I can’t take any more of you—not right now anyway. But it doesn’t hurt—it feels right.” She looked up at him, pleading with her eyes. “Please Bram, do it now—finish the ritual and come in me. Shoot…shoot your seed deep in my pussy.”
“Gods little one, hearing you talk like that and feeling your sweet pussy sucking my cock, I can’t help it,” he groaned. “Going to come now—going to flood your hot little channel with my seed and finish the ritual.”
He pumped his long, thick shaft and then Alanah felt him flex and the wide head inside her grew even thicker for a moment. At the same time, the broad pad of Bram’s thumb found her button and began to rub as he pulsed inside her.
The combination of pleasurable sensations was too much for Alanah, who was already on the edge. With a low cry, she felt herself coming once more, felt her pussy contracting around her giant’s broad head, sucking and milking him as though she was trying to get every bit of his seed deep inside her pussy and not spill a single drop.
“Bram!” she cried, arching her back to press him as deeply into her pussy as she could. “Bram I love you! Love you so much!”
“Love you too, sweetheart,” he groaned as he continued to pump into her. Alanah moaned as she felt a river of hot seed invade her body, filling her channel which seemed to drink it in like dry ground drinks in water after a rain.
It felt so good—so right and sweet—she almost didn’t notice the other sensation…the slight tingling at the very top of her newly rounded mound. But when her other pleasure began to finally ebb and she looked down, she gave an excited yelp.
“What is it little one? Did I hurt you?” Bram was instantly alert.
“No, look—look!” Alanah pointed down to the place where his massive shaft still barely pieced her, the broad head still stretching her inner pussy tightly.
Bram’s eyes followed hers and then widened in surprise. For there, at the very top of Alanah’s mound, was a small dusting of reddish-brown curls.
“Oh Bram,” she whispered and suddenly her eyes were filled with tears. “Oh, my giant—you did it. You made me bloom for you. Thank you…thank you and I love you so much.”
“I love you too, little one,” he rumbled. Carefully he withdrew and Alanah was surprised at the amount of white, creamy come that leaked from her newly opened pussy.
“Is it…supposed to all run out like that?” she asked worriedly.
Bram laughed, that low soft chuckle she was growing to love.
“It’s all right, sweetheart—there’s more where that came from.”
He stripped the white, flower petal-covered sheet off the bed and then slid them both under the covers. Holding her close to his massive chest, he tucked the top of her head securely under his chin and wrapped her in his arms.
“Mmm…” Alanah snuggled against him. “This is wonderful.” She looked up at Bram. “I’m ready now—we can get married. Or have a ‘joining ceremony’ as your people call it.”
“We’ll go first thing in the morning,” he promised her. “I can’t wait to claim you as my mate before the Goddess.” He looked down at her. “And, you can claim me before your gods as well, of course.”
“Your Goddess will be my Goddess,” Alanah said decisively. “You told me that a Kindred’s mind aligns with a female when they are compatible and he’s searching for a mate, but don’t you think your deity has something to do with it?”
Bram looked at her in apparent surprise.
“Actually, yes—we believe that the Goddess brings the male to the right female. But I didn’t want to explain it to you that way for fear it would sound like magic.”
“Love is magic,” Alanah said sleepily—she was emotionally and physically worn out. “And if it was your Goddess that brought us together, then I will worship her all the days of my life.” She snuggled closer and sighed in contentment. “I’ve never felt so close to anyone, Bram.”
“We’ll feel even closer after you eat the bonding fruit and we can bond,” Bram remarked, stroking her hair.
“Bond?” Alanah looked up, frowning. “What do you mean?”
“It’s something that can’t happen until I can fit my shaft all the way inside you before filling you with my seed,” he explained. “But I don’t think that will be a problem once you have the bonding fruit.”
“What does it mean though, ‘bonding’?” she asked.
“We’ll form a mental link.” Bram looked as though he was trying to find a way to explain it scientifically, then he gave up and shook his head, grinning. “Which means we’ll be able to speak to each other without opening our mouths—we’ll be able to hear each other’s thoughts.” He gave a sigh that turned into a laugh. “It’s going to seem like more magic to you but honestly, it’s just what happens when a Kindred claims a female for his own forever.”
Alanah smiled and yawned again.
“I think…think it sounds wonderful,” she said sleepily. “I want to bond with you, Bram.”
“You will, little one,” he promised. “Ren has told me that the current crop of bonding fruit we’re growing will be ripe very soon—maybe even by tomorrow. Tomorrow night may be our Bonding night.”
“I hope it will be.” Alanah could hardly keep her eyes open. All the amazing pleasure he’d given her and all the changes her body had gone through in such a short time had worn her out. Still, something nagged at her mind—something she felt she ought to remember. Something about why she had come up to the Kindred Mothership with Bram in the first place. But what?
The thought chased her down into sleep but though she tried, she couldn’t bring it into focus.
Oh well, she thought as she finally closed her eyes and gave in to the weariness that was dragging on her eyelids like lead weights. I’m sure it will come to me in the morning.