CHAPTER 4 #2
But this is bothering me. If I had freckles all over my kitty, I'd for sure know about that. "How can you not know?"
"The same reason Natalie doesn't know her own name?" He snarls, glaring at me even as he frantically works his cock. "Do you have all of your memories?"
I wince. "Good point."
"Now, quit talking." He scowls at me as if I'm the problem, hand moving faster. His khui is singing at an urgent rate, mine matching it.
I hate that I'm turned on even as he's rude to me. I hate that I want him to keep going. I hate that I want to invite him in, because I can't stand the guy. But my khui doesn't care, and it's doing its best to override all rational thought. I need to shut this down.
And because I have a mean streak, I lean in and gently blow on his cock.
With a bitten curse, Valmir's release explodes out of him.
"Kef." Hot seed sprays all over the side of the hut, rope after rope of it steaming in the bitterly cold air.
He paints it all over the side of the hut, and there's more cum than I'd expected.
He milks his cock, determined to squeeze every drop of his load onto the stonework, and I remain there, so close I can smell his semen, and yet untouched by all of it.
He gives the head of his cock one final squeeze, and I could swear he starts purring.
I am so turned on right now that I can't think straight. Squeezing my thighs tightly together to muffle the throbbing between them, I give him a patronizing smile. "All better now, pussycat?"
"Getting there," he says with a grunt, stuffing himself back into his pants. His bruised hand is covered with his load, and he eyes it and then wipes it on the other side of the door. "Don't wash this off."
"So bossy. You don't get to tell me what to do."
"Yes, I do. You're mine. This thing decided." He taps his chest.
I scoff. "You think punching Chalath once earns you the right into my pants? Dream on."
He goes still, triangular ears pricking. "More tasks?"
"Dozens of them," I lie. "Human courting rituals involve long task lists."
This seems to excite him. Valmir straightens, rolling his shoulders and neck as if settling in. "Perfect. Give me your tasks. I welcome your rules."
Not the answer I expected. It takes me a moment to think, and my brain function isn't helped by the fact that I'm desperately horny and ready to race to my bunk to rub one out myself. "I need the fur of...a creature. A complete, perfect white fur with all four paws on it. And the tail."
Normally I'd feel bad about requesting the skin of another animal, but everyone at camp will eat the meat, and the bones will be used for a variety of tools. Nothing is wasted.
But an intact fur is a big ask, especially from someone who normally hunts with a spear.
"And if I get that for you?" He eyes me coolly, unruffled.
"Then I'll let you have another favor. One that's mutually decided upon."
His eyes gleam, and I wonder if I've just backed myself into a corner. "I'll get you that skin."
"Good." I think. Either way, I've just bought myself some time while I get used to this whole "resonating to a person you didn't choose" situation.
Valmir's gaze flicks over my body, and it's almost like he's waiting for something.
I tilt my head at him. "What is it?"
"Are you going to touch yourself? I can smell your arousal." He lifts his head in a half-nod. "I want to watch like you did."
"You haven't earned that right yet," I say in a lofty voice, and let the flap fall closed.
I brace myself, waiting for him to bust his way in, to demand that I show him.
Because I'm absolutely going to touch myself.
I don't think I can last another ten minutes without getting off, and I'm not into edging.
But I want to maintain a semblance of control, so I'm going to make ridiculous demands and just hope he honors his side of the bargain.
My ears strain as I wait, listening. After a long moment, I hear a low chuckle and then the crunch of the pebbled beach as Valmir strides away. I peek out of the hut, and sure enough, he's walked away.
My hand immediately goes into my pants. I'll think about what the hell I'm going to do tomorrow. For tonight, I need some relief.
By the time Dawn returns from the wedding feast, it's super late at night. I've made myself come four times with my hand, and I'm airing out the hut with the door-hide pulled open so it doesn't reek of pussy when she comes in. I sit up when she does, giving her a miserable wave. "Welcome back."
"Everything okay, April?" she asks in a quiet voice. "I worry about you."
"I'm just overheated," I lie, hoping she doesn't ask about the blankets I have piled on my legs. "How was the feast?"
"Oh, it was really good. I'rec and Flor are so happy. They're just radiating joy. It was really sweet. You could tell the feast meant a lot to her, and it was so thoughtful of him. He really listens to everything she says. May we all be so lucky."
"Mm," I say, thinking of my lack of luck in this particular area. Flor gets an attentive guy she adores, and I get a prickly cat gladiator who wants to jizz on my doorway for "reasons."
"How are you doing?" Dawn asks, sinking down onto her pallet across from mine. "You don't seem like yourself. Do you need me to leave?"
I run a hand over my face. How do I tell my well-meaning friend that I'm exhausted because I've made myself come until I'm sore with rubbing, and yet I don't feel sated?
That I've been working hard to figure out how to move forward into this new life only to find it being completely changed on me all over again?
That I'm being drawn to the most unlikeable person in the universe against my will and it makes me feel helpless?
"I don't know what to do. I'm miserable. "
Dawn clears her throat delicately. "Not to be a jerk, but you do know what to do. Resonance is clear. You just...don't want to do it."
I glare at her, eyes glowing in the darkness of the hut. "Would you fuck him?"
"Absolutely not."
"Hence my dilemma." I throw my hands up in the air. "I'm still figuring out how to survive here as a single person. A clone. A person who needs their background history filled in. I could be glitching, just like my language chip is."
"Your translator is glitching?" Dawn looks concerned.
"It's either the translator or my brain.
Feels like half the words in my head don't make sense to it.
" I shrug. "My point is…how am I supposed to just about-face and set up house with a stranger when everything that was familiar — even my brain — is wiped away?
Resonance feels like a curveball I didn't ask for. "
Dawn's glowing eyes blink in the darkness.
"Everyone has had to figure out the same thing.
I know it doesn't sound sympathetic, but I promise you, it is.
None of the humans are native to this place, so every person we meet has gone through the same thing or knows someone who has.
Maybe go make some friends? Talk to someone who's been here a long time and went through the exact same thing? "
Talk to someone with more experience? "Like...Liz?"
She snorts. "Only if you want her to make you feel like an idiot. She's good at giving orders but not great at empathy. I was thinking more along the lines of Steph, or even Veronica. Better yet, ask around and find out who hated their guy when they first got together and how they handled that."
It's good advice. "I can do that."
"Do it in the morning," she says with a yawn. "Everyone's drunk on sah-sah tonight, and you'll probably feel better if you sleep on things anyhow. Who knows, maybe you'll wake up in the morning with a new appreciation for Valmir?"
I narrow my eyes at her. "No one sleeps that hard."