I have no doubt that won’t be the case for long.
Raahosh sags against me, his head falling back as he takes a deep breath. He shudders, and then lifts his hand from where he’s covering mine. “I came on your hands.”
“I noticed.” I press a kiss to his back again. “I liked it. It was dirty and hot and I liked watching you lose control. I love watching you come.”
Laughter rumbles in his chest. “I love watching you come, as well.” He moves forward, the motion making his tail slick through my folds and I suck in a breath. Mama like. But then Raahosh is wiping my fingers free of his release with a soft fur and tending to himself.
I remain where I am, drowsy with contentment, my cheek pressed against his broad, rippling back. “I love you.”
“I love you as well, my Liz.”
“You know what I love best, though?”
“What is that?”
“I love that I can be me around you. I love you for who you are. I don’t want you to be anyone but Raahosh—my Raahosh. You can be as grumpy as you want, because I know I can be a pain in the ass.” I ignore his snort and continue, because I’m having a sappy moment, dammit. “I know I can go on far too long about Star Wars and I’ve never met a cussword I didn’t like, and I know I can be bossy. But I feel like that’s all okay with you and I love that. I don’t have to try to be someone else.” I snuggle up against him from behind, pleased. “And I’m not alone. You have no idea how alone I felt for so, so long.”
He wraps his arms around mine, as if hugging me in that small way. “I no longer feel alone, either. It is the best feeling. Thank you, my mate. You know you have my heart.”
“You have mine, too,” I tell him…and then add, “But not my butthole. That’s off limits without prior discussion.”
He snorts with amusement.
8
RAAHOSH
Liz sleeps next to me, curled up. Her bottom is pressed against my groin and my tail is between her legs, the tufted end gripped in her hand. Her head is propped up on my upper arm and her mouth is open, which means she is drooling a small river, but I do not wake her. Instead, I pull her closer to me and press my mouth to her pale shoulder.
My fierce, determined mate.
When I felt foolish, she did not let me retreat. She will not let us walk away from each other in anger, but keeps talking until I must acknowledge why I am angry or upset. When I first met Liz, I thought she would never cease her endless conversations, and it annoyed me. Now, I am glad for it. I kiss her skin again, thinking of all the bold things she said to me as she sat and rode my tail and stroked my cock from behind.
I worried I would not be interesting enough for her. Now I am starting to think there is no one that can keep up with her wild, creative mind, and that pleases me.
She can be the bold one. I will be the rock, the protector, the shield. She can be the arrow, launching itself forward. I will be the bow—the brace, the stability that the arrow needs to speed ahead.
In this, we are a good pair.
Liz smacks her lips and rolls onto her belly, releasing my numb, drool-covered arm and presenting me with her backside. I ease out of bed, though I am reluctant to leave her side. I want to curl up in the furs with her forever, but that will not stoke the fire or make warm tea for my frequently cold, thin-skinned female who needs heat. It will not put food in our bellies, and so I get up and tend to the fire, putting on a pouch of fresh snow to melt and heating cubes of frozen meat on a skewer until they sizzle and blacken at the edges, the way Liz likes them. She does not mind raw, but her favorite is the crispy bits, so I make sure she has the best bites of food.
Once it is all ready and prepared, I pour a cup of tea, put the food in a bowl, and approach my mate where she is still curled in the furs of the storage area. She did not leave my side after I retreated last night, and we spent the nighttime hours mating with all the feverish intensity of first resonance.
I move quietly into the storage area and then crouch by her side. I flick my tail against her hand to wake her, and she blinks up at me with a sleepy expression.
“I made you food.” I set it down next to her and wait, feeling awkward. She is beaming up at me as if I am all good things in the world and it is…pleasurable. I do not know how to handle that.