AllFreeNovel
Share Us
?? CHAPTER 9 ??
Ryle
I almost lost her! What a pathetic excuse for a mate and a protector that I’ve turned out to be. So foolish, to leave her alone for even a moment in this mysterious place. Thinking with my cock instead of my brain.
She drives me so wild, though.
I enjoy holding the tiny female’s hand. I savored the taste of her skin once I was satisfied that she had no venom flowing through her veins. It would have felled her very quickly. She remained conscious and there’s no fever, no pain. I’m mostly sure she’s okay. Mostly. Either I was fast enough or the insect wasn’t venomous at all.
I may have licked her once or twice more than necessary. Once more, just to be sure. Again because she shivered so sweetly. I don’t know what her kind like, but I’m learning, and I’m determined to learn more. She may not want to accept me as her mate yet, but I can be patient. I can win her over.
We kneel by the water at the back of our first cave. She leans over the pool to drink through her filter straw, and I hover close in case she starts to slip. I know she is weary, but I won’t let her be harmed. Not again. Tsekis insect. I run my thumb over the spot on her neck again. It’s red, slightly inflamed, but that could just be because of me.
“Oh!” she exclaims, and she pulls up the top half of her flight suit as if she’s just realized that she left it down. She babbles fast words as she shoves her arms through the sleeves and zips up the front. I don’t understand this behavior at all. It isn’t cold in here. Maybe it is to her? I’ll have to figure out what temperature she prefers.
Either way, it feels like a door closing. Pushing me away, shutting me out. I don’t think I did anything wrong, but maybe in her world, I did. I don’t know her words for apologies, though, so all I can do is sit back on my heels and keep my hands to myself. Easier said than done.
“Rain?” she asks.
Right, the rain! It was slowing when I last inspected the outdoors. I gesture for her to follow and I lean sideways through the crack that leads back out. It’s still a heavy downpour, but nothing like the punishing deluge that chased us here. It’s night, now, but if it continues to slow, we should be able to leave as soon as one of the suns rise.
Leave and return to our separate camps. I frown. Now that I have her, I don’t want to be separated from her.
When I squeeze back inside, she shows me her tablet and gestures back towards the deeper caverns.
“No!” I bark.
She scowls. It’s too dangerous to allow her to continue her work, though. What if there are other creatures waiting in the ceiling? Larger ones, deadly ones? “No.” I snatch the tablet from her hands.
Her eyes narrow and glint with mischief. I don’t take the warning. I stand there like a fool, and she jumps and tries to grab the device back. This creature is crazy! She grips the edge and tries to yank it from my hands. I could easily detach her fingers, but I don’t want to hurt her. She yanks and pulls and tugs, her hair flying every which way. I’m certain those are curse words coming out of her mouth, “Brute, bastard, fucker,” and I commit them all to memory.
“Insane female!” She won’t understand my words, but she will hear my tone, for sure. “Are you in such a rush to get eaten by a swarm of insects? Use your brains! I thought you had some!”
I show her my teeth. She bares hers! Tiny thing that she is! I bark a laugh in her face. The amusement drains from her expression and morphs into rage. She plants one of her feet on my thigh for more leverage and really puts her weight into trying to pull her device free.
This has to stop. I wrap an arm around her waist and lift her up to eye level. “NO.”
“Mine!” Her grip tightens.
What has gotten into her?
I pry her fingers loose, hold the device above my head, and place her back on the ground. She huffs and crosses her arms. “Bossy,” she says through clenched teeth.
I sigh. I hold the tablet out of reach and scribble a quick drawing. It’s sloppy, but it will get the point across.
She scowls and then she laughs when I show it to her - a giant insect, with her in its mouth.
That laugh will undo me. She continues giggling, and when she reaches for the tablet, I cautiously hand it over. It isn’t as though she can outrun me, anyway. She grins as she draws a response, and when she passes it back, she covers her mouth with her arm and laughs into it.
She’s drawn a picture of me standing with one foot on the insect, with blood coming out of its mouth. I swell beneath my kilt again. Is that how she sees me? A conqueror? She may laugh, but my chest fills with pride.
I would draw what I would do to her if she’d allow it, but I’m afraid she’ll just erase it again.
“Please?” she asks, and bites her lip. The word is an obvious plea. She wants me to guard her. To defeat any insects that dare try to bite her again.
I can do that. I will.
We return to where I found her after she was bitten. She climbs the bunks’ legs, frames the pictures and scrawlings on the large stones on her screen, and copies each image. Aha, I see what she’s been up to now. She wants to be able to study these words and images once we’ve returned to our camps. Who knows what secrets these stones hold? Wise little creature. Wise and volatile and foolhardy. Such a strange mate that fate and this planet has chosen for me.
The room grows darker, but the device has its own flashlight. She’s yawning, though, and I’m about to try to steer her back to the front cave, but she finally drops her arms and says, “All done.” We’ve reached the end of the furthest row. She’s covered the entire area.
“You are very determined, aren’t you?” I say. “And stubborn. Damn stubborn.”
She sighs and shrugs at my words, and says, “Water. Sleep.” This time, she reaches for my hand first.
After drinking from the pond and eating one of her pocket rations, she tries to settle sitting up against the rock wall again. I need to learn why she is so insistent on trying to keep space between us. I sit next to her and pull her over onto my lap. She’s worn out now and easy to maneuver, though she protests and tries to squirm away. That wiggling around will not do me any favors. “Risho! Sleep!” I command, leaning down close to her face. I bend a leg and cushion her head in the crook of my knee. She scowls, and I repeat myself more gently. “Sleep.”
Finally, she settles, though she continues grumbling about it, until I stop looking down at her and shift my attention to her tablet. Her species seems to need more frequent food and rest than my kind. A fact that benefits me right now. She can shut her eyes and shut her mouth, and I can use her device to learn more of her language.
If only my cock would calm beneath my kilt, it could almost be a pleasant way to spend the night. I can think of better ways to pass the time. Maybe I’ll draw them for her. She may erase them again, but I suspect it will make her laugh. And I’d rather hear her laugh than anything else at all.
