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“Quiet,” Tal’nef warns again. “Voices down.”
“Speed is important,” Set’nef says, voice patient. “Do what you need as we rest to ease yourself.” He taps his chest. “But tomorrow we climb, and one of us will carry the female. It is safest. Trust me or not, it is up to you.”
I hate that he makes sense. The thought of clinging to Set’nef or his brother while we scale what looks like an impossibly high wall without a rope is terrifying, but if he’s right, two arms will move slower than four, and R’jaal isn’t as familiar with this territory as they are. I touch R’jaal’s arm. “It’s fine. He can carry me.”
The look R’jaal gives me is one of sheer betrayal. But he grunts, nodding, and walks to a distant mushroom, seating himself at the base.
I feel as if I just messed up somehow and I don’t know what I did wrong. Does he think it’s going to be a picnic for me? I hate that I’m being carried. I hate that I have no panties and nothing but this ill-fitting tunic that barely covers the essentials. But dignity went out the door days ago, and if hitching a ride is what I have to do, then that’s what I have to do. So why is R’jaal so upset?
And what does it have to do with his purring? I think of the little hand gesture that Set’nef made. Do what you need to ease yourself.
Is he in pain with the purring? It never occurred to me, because purring has such a positive connotation back on Earth, but it could be the opposite here. Worried, I head for R’jaal’s side and sit next to him, my feet folded underneath me and my hands in my lap. “Are you okay?”
He gives a brief nod, and then his gaze moves over me. He pitches his voice low so it won’t carry, leaning in close to talk. “Are you hungry? Thirsty?”
“I’m fine. I’m more worried about you.” And I touch his knee.
It’s startling to see the effect my touch has on him, but R’jaal is naked and there’s nowhere for anything to hide. The moment I brush my fingers against his soft, suede-like skin, his cock twitches, and I swear it grows longer and thicker as I watch.
It might just be my imagination, but his purring increases, too.
“I am fine,” he rasps, his body full of tension. “I just do not want you to think me…weak.”
Weak? Is this a macho chauvinist thing or is there a cultural issue I’m missing? “You’ve been protecting me and taking care of me for days now. You’ve carried me the entire time we’ve traveled. Why on Earth would you think that you’re weak?”
And because I’m an utter slut lately, I stroke my thumb against his thigh. I’m sure I’m playing with fire, but watching his cock grow achingly stiff at the mere brush of my fingers on his leg is enticing as hell. As I eye him, a bead of pre-cum appears on the tip of his cock and my mouth waters with the urge to lick it off. This is not who I am, and yet I’m enjoying this new me far too much to complain.
R’jaal’s breathing quickens at my touch. His gaze is locked on mine, and I can feel myself getting aroused just from the eye contact. “It is important to me that you…think highly of me,” he murmurs. “That is all.”
“If I think any higher of you, Set’nef and his brother are going to develop a complex,” I joke.
“Good.”
Okay, that emphatic word should not be as sexy as it is. I keep my hand on his thigh, my other brushing over my collarbone as a flush moves over me. His purring is distracting, and I know I came over here to ask him something specific, but for the life of me, I can’t remember what it is.
R’jaal looks away first, taking a deep, ragged breath as he closes his eyes. “You should sleep, R’slind. You must keep up your strength.”
He’s probably right, but I admit I’m not thinking about sleep right now. “It’s a little cold in here. Would you sleep with me again? Just to share warmth?”
He nods, and I spread the fur kilt beneath me on the stone to act as a blanket, then lie flat on the strange, too-smooth floor of the cave. Doing so is probably a mistake, because at this angle, I can see just how high up the cave wall seems to go. It soars, completely sheer, so high that it disappears into the shadows above. Does everything on this planet have to be oversized but me? It seems grossly unfair.
But then R’jaal settles his big body next to mine, tucking me close against him, and I’m reminded of good oversized things, like his horns…his biceps…his really impressive dick that pushes against my leg…
