?? CHAPTER 22 ??
Macie
I’m not really outraged. I actually don’t mind letting him watch. Hell, if I’m honest, I love the way he looks at me. Like I’m the best thing he’s ever seen and he can hardly believe it. That kind of admiration isn’t something I’ve ever experienced before. Usually, eyes glide right past me. I’m nothing special by human standards.
I’m still a shy person, though. I turn my back to him as I strip beside the pool and I cover my chest as I step into the water. The drop-off is steep and before I can stop myself, I slide down and dunk my head beneath the surface.
Ryle is in the water before I’ve kicked my way back up. He hauls me to the edge where I can rest my arms and hold myself up.
“You are okay?” he asks.
“I’m fine!” I laugh. The water is cool, but not as cold as I expected. It’s refreshing after spending so many hours beneath the warm suns and in this somewhat humid cave. I dunk my head again and listen to the rushing water from the falls. That water is colder when I kick my toes beneath the gentle flow.
Ryle lounges at the edge of the pool and watches me as I let myself drift about. His tail sways lazily back and forth behind him, out of the water.
Small fish appear when I let myself remain still for a time. They surround me, their scales reflecting yellow and red in the orange light. They nip toothlessly at my fingertips before darting away with disinterest. Where did they come from? How deep does this pool go? Does it connect to another body of water somewhere? It must, otherwise the waterfall would have it overflowing. We packed our ship with supplies for many scenarios, but somehow I doubt scuba diving was one of them.
I float back to Ryle. His hand is beneath the water, lazily moving back and forth, and I only need one guess at what he’s doing. “You do this to me, rey lurou. My mate.” His eyes lock on mine, dark and intense, and he growls softly with his slow upstroke.
I float closer. Treading water before him, I watch his motions until he offers his other arm. I grab it and he pulls me in for a kiss. His lips slide against mine gently as he turns us around, trapping me between his arms, my back against the pool’s wall. The heat of his body warms the surrounding water. I let my fingers explore the pattern on his chest. Those blues and grays meet in sharp definition but feel so seamless. Even when I kiss him there, right below his collarbone. Even when I lick him.
His head leans back for a moment. “Rey lurou,” he says again. He pulls me tight against him, one arm around my waist and the other snaking up my back, into my hair. His lips find mine. The hot drag of our tongues meeting is all the language we need now. Those raised bumps will drive me wild, I swear. His grip tightens. He pushes his hips closer and I feel it, then, the whole thick, throbbing length of him, pressing against the squeeze of my thighs and demanding access. Fuck, he’s so big, I can’t comprehend how this will work.
But dammit, I’m going to try. He’s claimed I’m his mate since the start. It took me longer to get here. And maybe I don’t know all the implications of that word, lurou, mate, but right now I don’t care. My core throbs with a need too strong to resist.
The hard tip of his tail nudges my knees, too. As if he needs to clarify his intention. I crook one knee, widening my stance, opening for him. The head of his cock nudges against my slick pink flesh. He guides himself and teases me, running the entire textured shaft through my folds.
I gasp and throw my head back when he shifts back and slides his cock across my clit. The heat, the rumbling sensation created by the raised nubs, is indescribable. And then another sensation - his cock throbs hard, repeating a slow rhythm as he presses it against me. Much more of that and I’m going to come so fast.
“What is that?” I ask.
His heavy-lidded eyes regard me for a long moment before he registers the question. “What is what?”
“That throbbing. The pulse,” I say. “Humans can’t do that with their… parts.” I clear my throat. “Their cocks.” I close my fist around his thumb and imitate the rhythm.
“Lurous parrl. Pulse for mate. Mate only.” His gaze wavers as he slips his cock over my clit again. “Feels good to you? Re, nosk gaow.” He grunts and rubs harder.
“So good,” I say, shifting my hips with his touch. “So so good,” I chant.
“Shurs.” He slides a thick finger inside of me. I clench around him and gasp. Then I press my nose to his neck. “Please,” I breathe. He thrusts once, twice, then adds a second finger. “My tiny mate,” he grates. “I will take care.” He grunts as he presses his two digits deeper. I’m so turned on, so desperate for this. My toes curl. I buck my hips, needing him to give me more, to stop teasing, start moving.
He doesn’t let me have it so fast, though. He lifts me onto the ledge of the pool and follows me out of the water. Before I can even scramble to my feet, he picks me up and walks us to the largest of the nearby moss patches. Wordlessly, he lays me down on top of it and kisses me. He’s rougher this time, his own need beginning to overwhelm him. Groans of pleasure rumble in his chest as he drapes himself over me. He settles on his knees between my legs and sits back to look at me.
“Beautiful,” he says. “Very beautiful. I need more words.”
“We don’t need any words,” I say, shaking my head.
“I like words.” He runs his hands down my body, grazing my breasts, then brushing my throbbing center. A stream of words pour out of him, sounds I cannot imitate, too strange, too alien, for my simple human tongue to learn. But how he says them, with his eyes locked on mine? So full of wonderment? I may not understand what he means, but my heart does. It stutters and it warms, and tears prick the corners of my eyes. “Happy,” I assure him as he wipes them away. “Now, Ryle. I want you.” I shift my hips, enticing him, pressing my needy flesh into his exploring hands.
He rubs the head of his cock between my folds, finding me hot and wet and so very ready. His eyes narrow, heavy-lidded. Mutters in his language pour from his lips. He shifts forward, just a bare inch inside of me that stretches me to the edge of pain. I hook my feet behind him, just over his ass and beneath the base of his tail, and I tug him forward. No more hesitation. No more teasing. I just want him.
“Maysee.” He surges forward, once, twice, stretching me beyond what I’ve ever experienced. Those nubs rub deliciously through my lips and over every sensitive spot inside of me, and as he roots deep and pauses for a breath, the burn morphs into a sensual heat. I catch my breath and gasp his name. He leans down on his forearms, kisses the top of my head. His cock throbs inside of me. I can feel each and every pulse. It’s an odd sensation, one that sends one thrill after another up to my head and down to my toes.
Is this that “mating pulse” he’s mentioned? It feels amazing. So amazing, I can hardly think. I squirm beneath him with a wordless whine.
He rests his chin on my forehead for a moment. Poor guy. He’s so damn sweet and so careful all the time, but that isn’t what we need right now. “Ryle. I’m okay.” I shift my hips. The growl in his chest deepens. With a shudder, he pulls back and surges into me, hard.
Oh. Oh, shit. Every nerve in my body is wide awake now. I’m on the edge so fast that my head spins. His anatomy is too perfectly effective.