Chapter 5
After leaving Jain, Kesuk plunged into the icy sea to cool his blood. He sucked in a breath as the freezing water met with his semi-erect cock. The water swirled around his chest as he walked deeper, hoping the frigid temperature would cool his ardor. He couldn’t believe he’d lost control over the woman and almost shifted while still inside her. He hadn’t lost control during sex since…ever.
What would have happened if he had changed inside of her? Such a thing was not practiced among his people. Jain was a tiny woman—hurting her would be too easy. A good lover, a good man, a good leader should be able to maintain control at all times. Tonight he had failed in that.
He still wanted her. The woman was addicting. Her smooth, soft skin and Sitka-green eyes drove him mad. Touching her had been a bad idea. He needed to stay away from her until the weretigers took her off his hands.
He rolled his shoulders, trying to work out the tension.
My lord?
Flaring his nostrils, he caught the scent of Jain’s young guard as his large white bulk maneuvered down the tunnel and into the sea entrance. “Imnek.”
My rotation is complete, my lord. You wished for my nightly report on the Earthan. The Arctic bear dipped his head in salute, not meeting his eyes. Imnek had been standing outside Jain’s door all night—the young guard knew what had happened. Kesuk’s respect for the boy increased that he would do his duty even though he’d have to deal with his lord’s sour disposition.
He returned the nod. “Report.”
She is bored and needs stimulus. We need to set her to a task.
“She tried to escape you, I’ve heard.”
The bear shifted from paw to paw. She…may have tried, but I handled the situation, my lord.
“When I ask you to report on her activities, I expect a complete report. Am I understood?” Irritation whipped through him, and he knew he spoke unfairly to the boy, but his reaction to the human had him rattled. He attempted to rein in his ill humor without much success.
Yes, my lord.
“Is there anything else you’d like to tell me?”
A long pause ensued while the young guard obviously raked his mind for any small detail he’d missed. She is beautiful, and all the clansmen stare at her.
Kesuk growled, slapped the surface of the water, his jaw clenching. They would dare to ogle her?
Imnek hurried on. I believe she is unaccustomed and uncomfortable with male attention. Or nudity.
Impressed with the boy’s sense of observation, Kesuk found himself nodding in approval. “Well done. Report again tomorrow.”
The young bear straightened, snapped a crisp nod, and turned in the direction he had come.
“But Imnek? I expect to be apprised of all her movements.”
Very good, my lord. Bowing again, Imnek left, his claws scraping against the stone floor as he went.
Digging his toes in the soft sandy bottom of the pool, Kesuk considered the situation. He couldn’t let anyone else deal with her. She was his problem, and he wouldn’t push her off onto anyone else. Especially any of his men. They might get ideas about sampling her sweetness, and he had to protect her.
Tonight was a mistake he wouldn’t repeat. He simply had to maintain control and do his duty. Touching her again was not an option.
But now that he’d thrust inside her, not even the cold water could dull his lust for her slim body. His cock twitched in fevered memory and he groaned. This did not bode well.
“I can walk by myself.” Jain’s irritated voice echoed down the long corridor. Kesuk had insisted on continuing her tour of the caves, but she didn’t have to be nice about it.
She hated being carried and not having any say about where she went or how fast she got there. After what had happened the last time she’d been helpless in his arms, she didn’t want to repeat the experience.
Or maybe she did, but without the part where he dumped her into bed and ran like hell. Her luck with men was holding strong. Damn.
Heaving a long suffering sigh, Kesuk set her down and steadied her until she gained her balance. Her feet were encased in supple leather boots, double-layered in fur for cushioning. Her long dress fluttered down to cover her legs. The gown was almost medieval in cut and style, with a tight bodice and belled sleeves, only it was made from butter-soft leather and lined in the same gray-striped fur that covered her bed.
“This is the main entrance of Sea Den.”
The tunnel twisted down at a sharp angle to a wide mouth. It overlooked a breathtaking view of a frozen ocean. Sentries stood on either side of the entrance, and she nodded to them in greeting. They stared at her for a moment before nodding back. She walked quickly to escape their stare and nearly stepped off the edge of a cliff. Kesuk reached out and caught her before she went over.
“Oh, my God!” She clung to the arm he wrapped around her waist, her heart pounding. Her limbs started to shake from the close call, and she slumped back against him.
“Careful, little bear. It’s dangerous.”
“Why is the main entrance so hard to get to?”
“To keep out enemies and predators.”
A huge black and white whale leaped from the ocean beyond the ice shelf. She gasped. “A killer whale!”
“An orca.”
“Oh, that’s what we called them on Earth, too. How did they get here?” She turned and grinned up at him.
“Our ancestors brought them. Sea life is abundant here, and the water makes them safe from the predators. The land animals have had a harder time surviving. As have we.”
“Why didn’t they have merpeople here, then?”
“They may have intended to. The sun failed before anything more than the basic settlements were in place.” He shrugged, his shoulder moving against her back.
She shivered as an icy blast of wind scoured the sea cliff. Glancing up, she noticed a narrow path winding far up the rock face. Snow spun in whirling gusts from the sheared-off edge of the mountain. He lifted the edges of his cloak and drew them around her. She snuggled back into his warmth.
“Is the entire planet covered in ice?”
“No, but the high reaches are the areas least inhabited by predators, so the clans settled here. The original Earthans were in the southern hemisphere. Dangerous there.”
“How many other dens are there?”
“Two. One for the Browns—High Den—and one for the Blacks—Meadow Den.”
“Are they near here?”
“The Arctic lands form a large triangle. The Brown lands border us to the south, the Blacks to the north. Their lands extend beyond ours into the mountains and eventually meet.”
“Do they like each other?”
“No more than we like them. The Browns don’t coexist well with anyone, and the Blacks are thieves and scavengers who’d pick the bones of their dead.”
“That’s disgusting.”
“Indeed.”
An icy blast of wind whipped the cloak around them. “Well, are there seasons in the high reaches or is it always cold?”
“Cold? This is warm. Thaw is only a few weeks away.”
“Warmer weather. Oh, thank God.”
“Thaw is when the predators venture north to hunt.”
She didn’t want to ask. “Hunt what?”
“Us.”
“There’s always a catch.” She sighed.
His chest rumbled in a quiet laugh.
“How do you survive?”
“Hibernation begins at Thaw and lasts during the summer. We stay in the den until the first snowfall.”
“We can’t leave at all?”
“Hunting-and-gathering parties go out to collect food stores, but no one else. It is too dangerous.”
Then she should put in her request before Thaw came. “Where’d my ship crash?”
“Southwest of here.” He tensed against her back.
She twisted to look him in the eye. “I want to see it.”
He sighed. “Jain.”
“Please, Kesuk.”
“It’s nothing but a charred hull. You were the only survivor.”
“I know, but—”
“My warriors scouted the area thoroughly after I returned with you. No one could be found.”
“I believe you, but I need some closure. It’s important to me. I…I didn’t know anyone on board really well, but they were the last humans like me.” She laid a hand along his jaw.
He sighed, his dark eyes showing resigned affection. “As you wish.”
“Thank you.” She placed a soft kiss on his lips.
He went rigid against her for a moment, then groaned and tilted his jaw down to deepen their contact. She sucked his tongue as it pushed past her lips.
Thank me properly, slave. His growl echoed in her mind.
Spinning quickly, he swept her into his arm, fingers quickly working her long skirt up around her hips. The cold air hit her naked skin, and she shivered as he cupped the backs of her thighs and drew her legs around his waist. He freed himself from his pants in a few seconds. Her back hit the cliff wall as he shoved his hard cock deep inside her.
“Yes!” The abruptness of his thrust made her back bow at the intense pleasure-pain, her pussy stretching to the limit. She dug her nails into his shoulders as she wrapped her legs tight around him, clamping her knees on his flanks to ride him. Needing to touch his skin, she slid her hands under his shirt, splaying her fingers on the flexing muscles of his back.
You dreamed of us in the snow, did you not?
He scooped a handful of snow from the rocks beside them, rubbing it against the back of her thigh. She gasped and arched in shock, the cold making her hotter for him, her moisture coating his cock with each push. He rotated his hips as he plunged into her, deepening his thrust, changing his rhythm. She stayed with him, their mouths fused, tongues dueling. She sucked his bottom lip into her mouth, bit down, and scraped the soft flesh as she pulled back. He groaned and dipped his tongue back into her mouth. The coppery taste of his blood excited her more, spurring her on. Her nails bit into his back, raking over his flesh. He grunted, his hips slamming harder into hers. His hand pulled back and slapped her thigh. She peaked into orgasm, fisting hard around his cock, milking him.
He filled his hands with her ass, pulling the cheeks apart. He stimulated her anus with a finger before pushing in.
She drew in a sharp breath. “Kesuk!”
Chuckling, he buried his finger in her ass again and again, rocking her on his cock. He worked in a second finger, and the sensation was more than she could take. She was so full, so hot. Grinding against his dick and fingers, her pussy clenched tight before she shuddered again, coming hard and fast.
He pulled his cock from her soaking pussy, lifting her higher on the wall. His fingers spread her ass cheeks farther.
“Oh, God.” She moaned into his mouth as the head of his penis pressed against her hole.
He sank in deeply, one slow inch at a time. She gasped, her ass flexing around him. Too full. It was too much. She wanted more. Using his shoulders for leverage, she lifted off his cock, letting gravity sink him back in. He groaned, burying his face in her neck.
He thrust deep and hard, moving them at a punishing speed, their ragged breath and slap of skin on skin echoing off the cliffs. He slid a hand over her hip and between them, working her clit with a finger. She cried out, the sensation more than she could take. When he sank his teeth into her neck, she convulsed into hot orgasm again. Moments later, he groaned his own completion, pumping hot fluid inside of her.
She panted, her forehead resting against his shoulder as she came down from the high. The pleasured fog that settled over her mind gradually receded as her heartbeat slowed and her muscles relaxed. What had he done to her? She had never had sex in public before. Embarrassed heat raced through her when she remembered the way she’d cried out. Then a horrifying thought occurred to her.
“What about the guards?”
“Hmm?” He licked a lazy line from her neck along her collarbone, making her shiver as the cold touched her wet skin.
“The guards. They must have heard us. I’m so humiliated.”
“I told them to withdraw when we first came out. Did you not notice them leave?” He pulled back to frown at her.
“No. Telling them to leave is just as bad. They’re going to know what we did.”
“Would you have preferred they stayed nearby and heard us? I prefer my sex a bit more private than that. If you have other ideas…” A wicked grin spread over his handsome face.
“No! Jesus, Kesuk. That’s gross.”
He shook his head. “Half of the time, I don’t understand the way your mind works, and the other half I am certain I don’t want to. Why are we talking about my soldiers?”
“Let me down. I can walk on my own.”
He snorted. “Where have I heard that before?”
“I have no idea. You must have a nasty habit of hauling people around.”
She moaned at the slow slide of his flesh inside of hers as he pulled his cock out. God, he still had a semi. She gave serious consideration to shoving him up against the mountain and going at it again, but then she really might not be able to walk on her own. Wouldn’t that just give him all kinds of ammunition for carrying her around everywhere? Nope, not happening.
She turned toward the cave, ignoring the throb of want in her wet pussy and the sight of his cock disappearing inside his pants as he fastened the fly.