We’re mated.
I press a kiss to his forehead, loving that it’s not plated like the sa-khui one so I can give him kisses here and have him feel it. “Are you okay?”
He grunts. “I do not know if I am elated or embarrassed.”
I chuckle at that. “You should be elated, not embarrassed. It was fine.”
O’jek sits up and gives me a disgusted look. “Fine? You are my mate. It should be better than fine.”
For some reason, I can’t stop smiling. He looks so annoyed with himself and it really is the cutest. How did I not ever notice just how adorable O’jek is when he’s grumpy? It makes his expressive mouth purse up and the sight makes me want to kiss the heck out of him. “We’re practicing, remember? There’s nothing wrong with practice. We’ll get better as we go along.” I tilt my chin up, trying to lift my mouth to his, and when he doesn’t get the hint, I tap a finger at my lips. “Kiss me?”
His mouth covers mine a moment later, his breathing still ragged, and he gives me a deep, sultry kiss that sends thrilling shocks through my body. I’m deeply, uncomfortably aware that his cock is still wedged halfway inside me, and I clench around him when his tongue brushes against mine. Ooh.
Immediately, O’jek slides out of my body and moves off of me. “Are you sure I did not hurt you?” His fingers brush over my pussy. “You still feel very small to me.”
“It’s fine.” I do my best not to squirm at that touch, because he’s my mate now and we’re still figuring each other out. “There might be some blood because it’s my first time—”
“Blood?” He sounds panicked.
“Normal for a female, I promise,” I reassure him. “Let’s wash up and maybe we can try again later?”
“Wash, yes. Of course.” He moves to the far side of the hut and chips some of the ice off of my water bowl, and I watch his tight ass move in the firelight. His braid flicks against the base of his tail and I’m fascinated by the sight of it. When he returns with the cloth, I have to bite back a squeal of protest as he puts the icy wet towel against my abraded pussy. “But no more tonight,” O’jek says. “We have an early morning.”
“We do?” I ask, oddly disappointed.
“We do,” he says, voice firm as he bathes me between my thighs and then wipes his cock down. “And this cream was useless.”
CHAPTER 8
DAISY
I’m fast asleep when something hard and stinging smacks my ass, jolting me out of my dreams. “Wake up.”
Groaning, I burrow further under the furs. This has to be a mistake, so I ignore it.
The hand smacks my ass again. “D’see, wake up. It is time to get going.”
The man is insane. He must be. I squeeze one eye open and look around the hut. It’s still dark. That means neither of the tepid suns are out yet. It’s probably not even dawn. “Go back to sleep, O’jek. Too early.”
“Our mating began last night, yes? Now you must hold up your end of our bargain, D’see,” O’jek says, and rips the furs off me.
I squeal a protest at the cold chill, wrapping my arms around myself as I squeeze my eyes shut. “Are you serious? O’jek, come on!”
“Out of bed,” he says, voice hard, and in the next moment, something furry with beads is dropped onto my head. My tunic. Ugh. That jerk.
If I’d have known he was going to be this much of an early riser, maybe I’d have reconsidered this bargain. I sit up, rubbing my face and scowling at him. “It’s still dark.”
“Which means we will have breakfast and be out of camp by the time dawn hits.”
Out of…camp? “Where are we going?”
“Hunting,” he says, as if that explains everything.
“Hunting,” I echo.
He nods, looking quite pleased with himself. “I am going to teach you how to follow tracks. If we are lucky, we will spear something for a meal.”
My nose wrinkles at the thought. “You do know I’m not a hunter, right? I’m a sit-around-and-look-pretty sort of girl.”
O’jek gets on hands and knees, and suddenly he’s in my face, his nose inches from mine. “No, D’see,” he says, his gaze locked on mine. “When you were with the other male, you were a sit-around sort of female. Now that you are my mate, you are Shadow Cat. And Shadow Cat pulls their weight.”
He leans in and rubs his nose against mine to take the sting out of his words.
It’s really hard to get mad at that, especially with the nose rub added in. Grumbling, I pull on my tunic, smoothing it down my body.
O’jek grunts. “Too many beads on that. You cannot wear that hunting or you will declare our location with every step.” He moves to my pile of clothing and picks up another tunic, eyeing it critically.