Kage

I slept poorly. All I could think about was the human female. She felt so good pressed against me. Her naked flesh in my hands, her chest pressed against mine… It was beyond wonderful.

I have never felt so alive before. I wish the race would have never ended. With her in my arms, I could run forever.

Her name is Zoey. A beautiful name that rolls of my tongue easily…

In my mind I keep replaying the end of the race. When I crossed the finish line, her entire body shuddered and trembled. There was lust in her eyes. It took every last ounce of my self-control to stop myself from kissing her right there and then. Zora knows I was as hard as a fucking rock.

However, she then ran away, not even giving me another look. Did I offend her? I don’t understand humans. I don’t understand myself anymore, and that bothers me.

I’m a warrior. A damn good one.

I’m strong. I’m fast.

The one thing I cannot defeat with my muscles is the female’s mind…

That’s a puzzle I need to crack in a different way.

I look in the mirror and adjust the black suit. Torin was right. The tailor did a fine job. I would have preferred armor to this human-dress-suit, but I have to admit, I look good. I’m more skilled at fighting than at dancing, but that is not for me to decide. Not yet.

Torin asked me to represent our clan, and that’s what I will do. Now, I will go downstairs to the ball-room and practice my post-union dance with the human female.

The mating-ritual is tomorrow.

I’m happy to get back to my training, but a part of me also feels like I still have some unresolved feelings…

I push these thoughts away and make my way downstairs. I enter the ballroom, and that’s when I see Zoey.

My cold heart melts instantly. She’s wearing a yellow dress that fits her body perfectly. Every curve, every inch of her body screams perfection. I ball my hands into fists. I want nothing more than to reach up underneath her dress again and touch her naked skin, but I cannot.

I must control myself.

She walks towards me, her eyes focused on the ground.

“Did I offend you?” I ask.

She glances up, surprise registering in her eyes.

“No,” she laughs, her cheeks tinted rosy. “No, you did not.”

Soft, pleasant music starts playing. All around us the Zoran/human couples start their dance, and I know we have to follow suit. I hold my hand open for her.

“Would you like to dance?”

“Yes,” she says, her voice barely a whisper. “I would like that very much.”

I grab her body and pull her close. She lets out a small sigh and already I can feel my erection growing.

This time there is no armor to protect my modesty. If I get a fully-grown hard-on everyone will see it. I must control myself.

I place one hand on the small of her back, the other one holding her hand as we copy the movements of the couples around us.

“You’re quite good at this,” she whispers.

Her warm voice makes me tingle.

“So are you,” I answer.

I spin her around and catch her back into my arms. For a moment we stare into each other’s eyes, and there’s a spark, a moment where I could have easily leaned in and kissed her, right there and then… but then the moments end and we continue our dance.

I don’t understand why this dancing worried me. It’s almost like a battle. You have to move carefully, quickly, gracefully. That’s what I’m good at. That’s what I do.

Zoey also has a good sense of rhythm, and soon I forget we’re here to practice. Instead, we simply dance. Our bodies move as one, as our hands explore each other — modestly, of course. I want nothing more than to grab her ass, but instead I let my hand slide up her back, all the way to her neck. As my fingertips graze her soft skin, she closes her eyes and lets out a wistful sigh.

I promised myself I wouldn’t get an erection, but seeing her tilt her head back and her lips part just a little, seeing those beautiful, kissable lips of hers hang open… that’s more than I can handle.

I can’t stop myself. My cock grows grows and grows, and it presses against the human female. Her eyes fly open, and I try to read her expression.

Is she scared? Shocked?

I’m afraid she’ll storm off, but instead, a mischievous grin forms on her lips. Zoey continues to dance with me as if nothing has changed. The only difference is her cheeks are a little bit more flushed, and my mind is a little more crowded with wanton thoughts.

Any moment now. Any moment I’ll lean down and kiss her and we can end this charade….

Suddenly, I realize the music has stopped. I look up to see all the couples are staring at us.

“You’re a natural!” Torin says.

This time, it is me who storms off. I have to leave before I do something I regret.

I don’t get very far.

“What’s gotten into you?”

My uncle grabs my shoulder and forces me to turn around and face him. I’m at the bottom of the stairs, and my heart is still racing.

“What do you mean?” I curse, struggling to slow down my breathing.

“What happened back there?”

“Nothing,” I growl.

Torin looks at me with… compassion. It’s enough to make my blood boil. I don’t want his fucking sympathy. I don’t like feeling like my attraction to the human female is written all over my damn face. I try my hardest to keep my composure, and what happens? All my elders can read me like a damn book.

“Sure,” Torin says. “Sure. Nothing happened. That’s why you stormed off, looking all hot and bothered.”

My throat constricts with anger.

“I am not h—”

“Forget I said that. All I want you to know, young one, is that the love of a human female can be a wonderful thing. If you let it into your heart, that is.”

I glare at him like a moody teenager who has yet to grow into his muscles. That’s what the human female does to me, that’s what I resent most.

I’m not in the mood for a sappy speech. I’m in the mood for slaying a Nezdek with my bare hands. I’m in the mood for unloading myself deep within Zoey’s womb. Preferable the latter, actually, but right now, I’d take anything that’ll take the pressure off.

“I’m trying to help you, Kage.”

“I don’t need your help.”

I’m already painfully aware that I’m the youngest and least accomplished Zoran in attendance. I don’t need him to rub it in my face that he is mated an I am not. My own mind is good enough at that already.

Torin grabs my hand and places a key in it.

“This is for the bridal suite. Top floor. There’s a private sauna there. Go, fire it up, let the warmth sooth you, and you will find the answers you seek. Don’t try to force the thoughts from your mind — it won’t work. Trust me, I speak from experience.”

“I don’t need no human bath.”

“Just try it, Kage. For me.”

“Fine,” I growl. If it’ll shut him up, if he’ll let this embarrassing conversation come to a close, I will use this damn sauna — whatever it is.

“You won’t regret it.”

I mutter a half-hearted thank you and depart, glad that shameful conversation is over. To a warrior like me, my pride is the most important thing I have. The look all the other warriors gave me as I stormed off, the little speech my uncle just laid on me — I feel like sinking into the ground.

As I climb the stairs, I contemplate moving to one of the moons on Kriut V and spending the rest of my life in solitude like a monk. However, with every step I take, my anxiety dies down. Maybe this ‘sauna’ won’t be so bad. Maybe the other groomsmen won’t spread the word. Perhaps I’ll look back at this in the future and laugh at how young and naive I was.

Perhaps…