This is embarrassing. “Ah.”
“Do not be ashamed.” I’rec puts a hand on my shoulder and squeezes it. “As far as we are concerned, you are Shadow Cat clan, even if O’jek is being a stubborn kaari. We are your family. You are ours now.”
My lower lip threatens to wobble. That’s…surprisingly sweet for I’rec. “Thank you.”
He gestures at the skin. “Will you read it to me again? I want to memorize her thoughts so I can ponder them.”
I suspect he’ll have Flor reading this to him over and over again in the next while, too. The bitter season will be over in the next month or so, and then the long, awfully cold brutal season will be upon us once more. That means Tia will be arriving soon. I sincerely do hope it means good things for I’rec. He’s been alone for just as long as me, and I know how much it can wear on your heart. “Of course I’ll read it again.”
CHAPTER 27
O’JEK
Not every hunt is a successful one, but the failures always sour my mood. I hate returning to the village with empty hands.
I hate even more when I see D’see ducking out of I’rec’s hut. I frown to myself at the sight, and I head in that direction, my spear clenched in hand, my tail twitching. I am not jealous, I tell myself. I am merely…curious. So I do not stop by the fire pit and greet those that call out to me. I race to D’see’s side, and when she sees me, her face flushes.
I’rec’s scent is upon her.
Something hot boils through my mind. It is not jealousy, I remind myself again. It is not. I do not know why the scent of another male upon her fills me with such…emotion. I do not know why it makes me lean forward, listening for resonance. When there is no frantic music in her chest, the relief is only momentary. The need to cover her with my scent all over again strikes me.
I hold my hand out to her.
She looks at me in surprise, but her hand automatically goes to mine. “Are you all right, O’jek? You look strange.”
“I need you to come with me.”
Her expression is puzzled, but when I do not let go of her hand and march toward the hut we yet share, she trots after me. I do not stop to listen for I’rec or any of the others in the tribe. My pulse pounds in my ears and all I can think of is covering her with my scent and drowning out I’rec’s.
The moment I step inside the hut, I do not bother with taking off my boots as I normally would. I toss my spear aside, turn, and grab D’see by the waist.
She makes a startled squeaking sound, her arms flying around my neck. “O’jek! What are you doing?”
“I am going to put my scent upon you,” I explain, as if that is the most natural thing in the world, and not the actions of an obsessed hunter. I know I am being strange and possessive. Yet I cannot seem to help myself. I carry her over to the furs and gently set her upon her back. She gazes up at me, her expression thoughtful.
My hand goes between her thighs and I rip away her leggings.
D’see gasps, her hands flying between her legs. “Don’t—don’t rip my clothes, O’jek. Seriously! Do you know how hard it is to mend them?”
Mending? Who can think of mending with I’rec’s scent on her skin? I reach for the shreds of her leggings.
She plants a foot on my chest and frowns up at me. “If you want me willing, you’re not going to tear anything else.”
My nostrils flare. But…of course I want her willing. Why would she ever think otherwise? “Then undress, and quickly.”
D’see hmphs, but she gets to her feet. She turns her back to me, kicking off her boots and sliding the remnants of her torn clothing down her pale legs. The moment I see her bared backside, the cleft of it torments me.
I groan with the need that overtakes me, grabbing her by the hips and burying my face in the round warmth of her buttocks. She makes another squeaking sound, dropping to her knees. It presents her bottom to me, in the air, and I push her gently forward so the angle presents her flushed folds to me. With a hungry growl, I swipe my tongue over her.
She moans, her body twitching in response to my touch. She does not try to get away. Instead, she spreads her thighs wider, inviting me to lick her deepest, wettest parts.
As if I need encouraging.
Ravenous, I lick her cunt, tracing every fold with my tongue. I lap at her core, until she is squirming against my mouth, making the soft cries of pleasure that I love so much. I find her clit and rub it even as I thrust into her channel with my tongue, using it like I would my cock, until she contracts against me, her body shuddering with a fierce, sudden release. The taste of her on my lips is maddening, and I shove my leggings down, freeing my cock so I can stroke myself to my own climax. When I come, it is with a rough cry, and the heat of my seed boils from my body. I watch, fascinated, as my thick spend sprays across her pretty backside and drips down her thighs.