Barbarian Mine (Ice Planet Barbarians #4)(10)

But she takes my hand and guides it again, to a little bump between her folds. And she uses my finger to gently circle around it, then stops.

Is she…showing me what she likes? I mimic the motion. Immediately, her nails dig into my shoulders, and she cries out. “Rukh!”

I growl, because the sound of her is making me wild all over again. My cock throbs and fills with blood, hardening again. I touch her bump again, but it doesn’t get the same reaction. I try a few different touches before I realize that she likes it when I circle it gently. I do that, and she jerks against me, crying out.

I want more of those responses from her. So I keep touching and stroking her just the way she likes, and a few moments later, she shudders against me, her leg locking around my thigh, and I feel a surge of wetness coat my hand. She has had her release, too. I’m fascinated. I was too young when my father died for him to tell me of men and their mates, but I have vague memories of his stories, and how things should be.

Her scent coats my hand and I raise it to my nose and inhale deeply. It’s sweet and musky at the same time, and it makes my mouth water. I lick my fingers—

She pushes my hand aside. “Dundoodat.”

I growl at her. Why is she depriving me of this? Of her sweetness?

But she only pats my chest. “Tmorrohwetakeabaf.”





Chapter Three




HARLOW


In the morning, I can’t even be mad at my cootie. Oh sure, I just spent the night curled around the world’s dirtiest alien barbarian, but I was warm and slept better than the night before.

Plus, you know, I taught him about petting. It’s weird that I feel proud of that, but I’m starting to figure out a few things about Rukh. He doesn’t really grasp what clothes are. He doesn’t grasp a lot of his own language, and he sure doesn’t know what I am. I’m not even sure he understands what it means that we are both resonating to each other. He might not even know about sex.

It’s clear to me that he’s been alone for a long, long time. And because of that, I’m starting to understand him a bit more, and why he reacts the way he does. He carried me off and tied me up because he doesn’t want me to leave. Whether that’s the cootie and the resonance or if it’s simple loneliness, it doesn’t matter.

I can’t change things. I can’t make my khui stop vibrating when he’s around. I can’t turn back time and bring Kira, Aehako, and Haeden back to life. I’m here with Rukh, and I’m going to make the best of things.

And that means some changes. It means I start making the cave into a home. It means teaching him more language so we can talk. It means bedding and more clothing and figuring out how to store food and so many things that my head spins. A tiny part of me wants to go back to the elders’ cave and get Rukh lasered so we can talk, but I think about Aehako and Haeden’s dead bodies just outside. I can’t go back. We’ll just do things the hard way.

But first…I have to figure out how to slow down my cootie. It’s been a few days since I started to resonate to Rukh. I’m not unattracted to him – well, provided that under the layers of grime and the tumbleweed of hair, there’s a normal alien guy under there. But I’m not sure I’m ready to jump right into making a family. The cootie, of course, has other ideas; the longer we spend fighting our urges, the more powerful it makes them. Already this morning I feel a bit more aroused and sensitive than before. Last night’s heavy petting felt good. Really good. We’ll have to continue that, I decide.

Of course, while Rukh is out finding something to eat for breakfast, I make a fire and masturbate quietly. I give myself a quick bath with some melted snow, I have the fire roaring, and I’ve even cleaned off the dried cum on the corner of my skirt from last night.

Rukh returns, carrying an entire dvisti over his shoulders. He throws it down near the fire and then looks at me for approval.

I clap my hands, excited. “That is awesome! Thank you, Rukh!” Dvisti are furry and shaggy and will make a small but warm blanket.

He bares his teeth at me, imitating my grin. Then he moves to the creature to start carving it up.

I stop him, because if it’s anything like yesterday’s butcher-fest, there’s not going to be a skin left to treat. “No! Wait!”

“No?” Rukh frowns and looks up at me.

Through gesturing and a lot of demonstrating of my clothing, I get him to understand that I want the hide. I sit down next to him, and over the next hour, we figure out how to skin the creature. We’re both bloody and smelly by the time we eat, but I’m pleased because I have a big, mostly-whole skin to work on. I don’t know what I’m going to stretch it over yet, but I’ll figure something out.

Instead of tossing the extra meat, I spit it over the fire on a few of the longer bones and smoke it. Rukh watches me, and then offers his waterskin.

I smile at him and take a sip. I’m tired and I feel like the day’s just begun. There’s so much to do, I’m overwhelmed with it.

“Fire,” Rukh says, pointing at my fire. Then he points at me. “Har-loh.” Then he points at the skin.

“Water,” I tell him. I pour a little onto my hand and wash my fingertips. “Water.”

“Water,” he repeats.

It’s progress, and I smile broadly at him. We can do this. We just have to learn what the other wants.