Chapter 36
Szhe’ka
On an unspoken agreement, we move inside the hut, her small palm clasped in one of my lower hands. A glance around lets me know it is sparse, the scent of chemicals reminding me that they have done everything they can to remove anything that would transform Ani in a way she would not choose.
A fire lights the inside in gentle tones.
I look at her fully black eye, then to the one that I caused, part of me thrilled to see my imprint on her features, even as another part feels guilty. They were too late.
I bend my frame, sitting so we are of a more equal height and pull her onto my legs.
She is visibly uncomfortable, shifting her weight around where she sits on my legs.
I start the song, hoping she joins me, pleased when she does and our harmony settles her.
It makes me more bold and I move my upper limbs to stroke her head.
As my hands extend from her threads and trace along her neck and clothed shoulders, she shivers.
This reaction is very welcome so I let my hands explore some more.
All four hands slowly roam over the surface of her silky skin as she whimpers and squirms in my embrace while I continue to sing to her.
The harmonies remind me that it is a song about the beauty of intertwining bodies.
I always used to think it was a simple lullaby to calm me as a hatchling and I never really went back to it after leaving my first aerie but now, years later, as I sing it to Ani, I realize what it is.
My thoughts scatter as I look at her, mouth parted with her song, as if it is the first time I am seeing her and my body reacts in ways that I can not fully put into a melody.
I am inexorably drawn to her now; I have never felt as complete as I have standing by her side as her protector.
I know at this point I live for her and would gladly die for her.
She always smells so lovely and I cannot help it when my song ends with my face nuzzled in her neck.
A labored breath leaves her mouth but she does not complain, letting herself fall deeper into me.
I place a hand on her thighs, and she opens them up just a little, as if giving me permission to go further.
I obey and the mouthwatering scent of her arousal thickens the air when she opens her legs even wider. I need her, but I will have to ask if she is comfortable with the things I would like to do to her.
“Make new feathers,” I sing, “together.”
She hums out her agreement, her yellow lips slightly parted but no words leaving. The orange flame dances in her black eye, a perfect representation of the blaze in my chest for her, the throbbing between my legs and all of the ways I intend to consume her if she will let me.
She presses her face against mine and shuts her eyes tightly. “Don’t know how.” She admits and a laugh leaves her, like she is relieved to be able to express the thought. “Not sure how we fit.”
I don’t either, but I know we will find a way. She doesn’t realize that she is a song I want to sing for the rest of my life if I can, a tale I will always tell with joy and a feeling that I never want to get rid of.
“What you want, show me.” I croon, meaning every note in my song.
I want her in her entirety, and we will figure out a way. So what if things are not the way they are supposed to be? So what if we differ in species? She is my Ani. I will always find a way to be with her in the way that she needs me.
Her mouth pressing against mine still takes me by surprise but I follow her lead, pressing gently to her with my more rigid lips, careful not to cut her with my teeth. She sighs, relaxing into me a little more.
Kiss is what she called the strange mouthing action and I decide that it is my new favorite thing. I lift her up in my arms and move both of us to the bed of leaves, placing her on it and laying beside her.
She kisses me again, this time with fervor and nothing like the first time she did it. One of her hands is holding onto my face and the second finds one of my hands and places it between the welcoming heat of her thighs.
I want to be shocked at the fact that she is bare but I remember that her clothing works with her mind.
I squeeze the skin of her thighs and she gasps softly into the kiss, pushing her body closer to mine.
It is a good sign and I slide two fingers higher up, tucking my claws toward my palm and making good use of my knuckles, stopping when they graze against a fold of wetness.
“Szhe’ka,” she moans out my name, letting me know that I have reached her most sensitive spot.
I gently explore this part of her, careful to watch her every movement so I know what she likes best.
She is barely able to kiss me back now, her eyes tightly shut and her chest heaving up and down with every labored breath that escapes.
“Tell me,” I coax, “what you want, tell me.”
“Y-your tongue, your touch, t-there.” she sputters and I move into action.
Still, I want to take my time exploring her body. I adjust myself so that my body covers her entire frame and she looks up at me with a gaze that briefly distracts me, threads fanning out around her face like a garden of red with blue flowers planted to draw me in.
I let my tongue travel down her neck when she arches it to the side, invitation clear.
Her hands rise to my brow ridges and she pushes me lower until my tongue rasps against a soft mound with a pebbled center.
I elicit another whine when my tongue darts out to lick her chest, concentrating on the center.
“Oh,” she gasps, her hands coming up to grab at the feathers on my head.
“That’s so good. I thought I lost feeling there forever,” she says between gasps.
“What called?” I ask, my coil twitching with each shift of her lower body against my chest.
“Breasts,” she says, breath labored as I lick her again.
After several more long licks, I pull back, eager to see all of her again, and how she reacts to my touch.
I pull her hand away from my plume before she does damage and pin both of them above her with my left upper arm, letting the talons of the other three move against her skin while I concentrate on her beautiful breasts with my left lower arm and my right upper one, testing how she likes the slow graze of my rougher skin against the tight peaks.
From the sharpness of her breathing, I know she likes what I am doing, and so I continue my movements at her breasts, then use my remaining arm to keep exploring.
My lower right palm starts wandering. Down her side, along her hip, from her outer to inner thigh and I find that her wetness has leaked even lower. I follow the trail up as I trace patterns on her thigh and then I reach the heat between her legs.
I touch her there with a knuckle, keeping my talons carefully away from such a tender area, then move away again, back to making patterns on her skin.
She lets out a grunt of complaint but it is soon stopped by a sharp intake of breath when I move my head back down to her chest, eager to taste her again.