Chapter 20
Chapter
Twenty
REM’EB
T ia tucks blankets around myself and Noj’me as we move outside. It is dark and, impossibly, the wind is even colder than before. The above is strange, cold and open and endless, with the air pushing against my face constantly. The cozy warmth from below is gone, and this place is covered with white fluff that melts when it touches my skin.
Ice, Noj’me had told me earlier. Frozen water. I tasted some of it on my tongue and it seems to be so. I knew it was cold above, and that the world was covered with a chilly white substance, but I did not realize it was water. More than that, I do not know how it falls from the sky when there is no cavern ceiling above us.
But none of that matters right now because I am resonating to Tia.
It is the thing I had hoped for most…and feared the most. Now we are united. Now I cannot separate myself from her easily, no matter how much my people need me. Even thinking about parting from her causes me physical pain, as if my khui seizes up at the mere consideration. The moment I was untied, I wanted to leap upon Tia. To rub my face all over her soft skin and push between her thighs, unfurling my frill deep inside her.
I do not, of course. I control myself, even though sweat coats my chilled skin at the strain of not touching her. Her scent was lovely before—it is addictive now. All the while my heart pounds, my khui sings, and my cock surges. My frill threatens to spread and I pant, hard.
I do not know how Tia’s old suitor – the stranger R’jaal can stand it. He hovers over his yellow-maned female, who now has a khui, much to my relief, but they do not seem as frantic as I feel. Are they just better at hiding it? Or does resonance strike them differently? Is it because R'jaal’s female did not have a khui until recently?
Resonance is maddening to me , at least.
And when Tia suggests we move to talk outside, it is a relief.
Yes. Outside. Where we can be alone together. Where I can touch her and cover her, even in the freezing snows. Where I can bear her to the ground and…
…and Noj’me comes with us to interpret.
Never have I resented another person so much for so little reason.
It is wise for her to join us, of course. She will translate. Yet the things I want to do to Tia require no words at all. I want to press my mouth to hers again. I want to taste her tongue moving against mine. I want to touch her between her thighs to see where she will receive me. I want her to grind up against me like she did before, when she took her pleasure, but this time I want my hands everywhere so I can feel it with her.
I scrub a hand over my eyes. How am I possibly going to concentrate while Noj’me the Attendant speaks our words for us?
We head outside and the cold air slaps us in the face. Noj’me reels and Tia mumbles more of her strange, fluid words and heads back inside the cave, where the others huddle out of the moving air. She returns a moment later with heaps of furs in her arms and takes great care to tuck each one around us, ensuring that we are warm.
My cock is entirely stiff at this point, and I want to reach for her, but I do not dare. If I do, I will lose all semblance of control. So I clench two of my fists under the furs and grit my teeth, and watch my new mate, my khui throbbing in my chest.
Tia takes a step back and regards me, her expression changing to one of proud defiance. “Haimgonnabe awnest, ifurspecting han poloshee from may, yergonnabee waitinhawile.”
Her words are fluid nonsense. I look to Noj’me for interpretation.
“She says she will be honest, and she apologizes,” Noj’me says in a sage tone.
Tia sputters. “ Dafuk? Snotwutteye say tatall!”
I frown, because Tia does not seem happy with Noj’me’s declaration. I shake my head. “Why is there an apology? It is resonance. We knew it would be.”
She rattles off a string of words again, gesticulating with her two small hands. “ Haimnawtgonna palloshies fur hittinyew because yewbelonk wifmehanna dohithagain.”
“She says she will hit you in the head again,” Noj’me interprets. “Perhaps it is a mating ritual of her kind.”
Tia makes a sound of pure frustration and buries her head in her hands. She takes a deep, clarifying breath, and then sinks to her knees in front of me. She gestures at me, then at herself. “ Less tri dis hagain. Yuew belonk wif mee, Rem’eb .”
“She says you belong with her.”
I can tell that from her hand motions. Guilt and yearning both rise up in me. “Do not think I did not want this, my lovely Tia. This is the greatest thing that has happened to me. But my people need me. I am the Chief’s Fist and my duty is to my people. I cannot abandon them, especially when our village is struggling. Do you understand?”
Her expression falls and she grabs my hands in her cold ones, speaking again.
“She wants to know why you would not choose her, pick her first.” Noj’me gives me a look of reproach. “Let our people sort their own battles. You cannot save anyone if they are determined to act as fools.”
There are fools, but I also think of Cas’zor and his brother. I think of So’ran, who wants nothing more than a mate, and Wa’duk who simply wants to be with his. Of Am’ar the Lonely, who has given his mate three daughters and has seen none of them. Of my father, in his lonely house, alone by the fire, waiting to die. They need me, too. “Please do not ask me to choose.”
She says more words, all of them fierce.
Noj’me’s tone is full of reproach as she interprets. “If you will not choose her first, she will make you fall in love with her.”
And Tia’s eyes are full of fire and determination.
Even though I have resolved to be strong and return to my people, my heart pricks with longing. She is going to make this difficult for me, and my traitorous khui likes that idea very much. My body aches at the thought, yet I find myself challenging her. “Nothing you say can make me turn my back on my people.”
Noj’me makes a derisive sound. “I do not think she plans on wooing you with words , Rem’eb the Fist.”
Even so. I must be strong. Resolute. I gaze up at Tia’s amused eyes and keep my expression firm. “Just because I must return does not mean I want you less.”
Tia moves forward, closing the distance between the two of us. She cups my face in her hands, gazing down at me, her eyes full of emotion. Then she turns to Noj’me. “ Kinnwi haffa momint.”
Noj’me gets to her feet, spilling furs from her lap. “I am returning inside. It is too cold out here and I have no wish to watch the two of you mate. Some things need no translation.”
On this, we are agreed. Tia watches me with dancing eyes, her thumbs stroking over the tufts of jaw fur that frame my face. Our khuis sing so loudly with joy that it feels as if the entire world is full of song. I could not move from this spot if my life depended on it.
“Rem’eb,” Tia whispers, leaning in to brush her lips lightly over mine.
There is a hint of a smile playing over her mouth, and I love just looking at her. Knowing that she is mine…for however long it will take for resonance to die away. Then I must leave her, and the thought slices into me like a knife.
She pulls my face forward, dragging it into her breasts, and I groan, wrapping my arms around her. Tia is covered in a thick layer of leather to fight the cold, a body wrap that covers her from neck to knee, and so I cannot bare her loveliness to my gaze. I cannot nip at the delightful brown peaks that tip her breasts, the ones that have shown to be so very sensitive.
Tia murmurs more words I cannot understand, but words do not matter in this moment. I run a hand up her flank, caressing her backside through the clothing even as I rub my jaw along the swells of her breasts. “My beautiful one.”
She hums in her throat, a sound of pleasure, and her hand steals under the furs on my lap. Tia goes immediately to my cock, stroking it through the layers of clothing. Even though it is not a direct touch, I feel it all through my body, making my frill engorge.
Tia turns my head and nips my ear with her small teeth, making me gasp. It is as if she has decided to pleasure me right here, and I wonder if she is going to crawl into my lap so we can mate. The thought makes me groan, and I rock my hips against her hand, encouraging her to keep touching me. “My mate. My perfect, lovely mate.”
She moves her mouth to mine, her hand pressing along the ridge of my cock through my clothing. Then, she kisses the tip of my nose.
And straightens. Smiles.
And walks back inside the cave.
I laugh.
Tia is showing her boldness to me. She is showing me that she is no longer my captive, and that she does not bend to my will…or that of my khui. That this will be a game between us—a push and pull to see who gets what they want first. She plans on teasing me until I am obsessed with her.
I’m impressed.
I did not know what to expect from a female, if I am being truthful. I have only seen them in glimpses when one was allowed to stay briefly with a mate if resonance was taking too long to fulfill. I have seen Noj’me the Attendant, of course, but she dwells with the Oracle, not with the village. Being around Tia has taught me that she is just as clever and brave as any male. She knows what she wants and she has a plan to get it.
My esteem for her grows by the day.
Truly, if this is to be a battle between us, then I look forward to it. If Tia plans on teasing me into declaring that I will remain at her side forever before she gives in…I will enjoy myself immensely.
I will also plan on seducing my pretty mate, too. If she gives in before I have made promises of any kind, we can fulfill resonance and then I will be free to return to my people. I do not like the thought of winning this particular battle, but I must. If things are left to the rebels and my father, they will never get any better for anyone. My father needs me at his side, and I need to be the voice of reason before he fractures our people further.
I cannot give in to Tia’s caresses. Enjoy them, yes. Give in, no.
With a heavy sigh, I adjust my aching cock. There will be no resonance fulfillment any time soon. It is just as well. I do not want to claim my mate with the entire cave of people listening to our every grunt. We need to be alone. We need time to come to our senses in regards to each other.
I need time to seduce her into wanting me beyond all reason.
So…I must wait. I have waited this long to resonate. Surely I can wait a few more days before claiming Tia.
The ache in my cock tells me that it is going to feel like a very, very long few days.