Chapter 13 #2
I sit with Nator’ax and a few others, holding a piece of cooked meat that’s tougher than anything I’m used to, but rich enough that I don’t really care. I’m hungry, and that helps, and for a little while I can pretend that this is just a strange, uncomfortable version of normal.
Conversation moves around me, not always including me, but no longer avoiding me either, and a few questions come my way.
They’re simple, careful, like they’re still trying to figure out what I am and where I fit, and I answer just as carefully, giving them enough without giving them anything that could turn against me later.
At one point, one of the younger boys tries to imitate the hunt, acting out how Nator’ax stood in front of the charging dondar, and it’s so exaggerated that I can’t help it when I laugh.
The sound feels strange coming out of me in a place like this, but it breaks some of the tension, and a few of the men laugh with me.
“That’s good,” Nator’ax rumbles to the boy, whose cheeks are red with excitement. “That is exactly how it was. You’ll be a leading hunter for your tribe. Just make sure you exchange that stick for a spear before you leave the village.”
The men around us chuckle at the mild joke. It’s as clear a sign of approval as any.
For a moment, everything almost feels normal, as if I’m back in the Borok tribe with the mostly well-meaning cavemen.
Which is exactly what makes the next part worse. I still catch the looks.
They’re still there, sliding over me when they think I won’t notice, lingering just long enough to make my skin prickle. Every time it happens, I become more aware of Nator’ax beside me, of the heat of him, and of the quiet way his presence shifts the space around us.
At one point, his hand settles briefly against my back when someone passes a little too close, and the touch is deliberate in a way that makes my breath catch for a completely different reason.
It doesn’t stop the looks entirely, but it changes how I feel about them, and suddenly I’m not just exposed; I’m standing next to someone who makes people think twice.
The thought that follows is unexpected and a little dangerous, but I don’t push it away.
By the time the meal winds down and people start drifting back to their shelters, I can feel the exhaustion of the day settling in. I stand and brush my hands against the fur at my sides, aware of how much I want to be somewhere else.
“I think I’m ready for the cave,” I say, glancing at Nator’ax.
He looks at me in a way that makes it very clear he understands exactly what I mean.
“That’s a wise decision,” he replies, his voice steady, but carrying something under it that feels very different from the way he spoke earlier.
We walk back toward the cave at a normal pace, side by side but not touching, as if this is nothing more than the end of a long day. We attract enough attention as it is, if we’re not going to run back there. I feel every step of that walk.
I feel the space between us like something physical, something that keeps brushing against me even though we’re not actually touching. By the time we reach the cave, the tension has built to the point where I’m not sure I can keep pretending much longer.
The moment we step inside, everything changes.
The noise from outside dulls immediately, replaced by the quiet crackle of the small torch we left burning, and the air feels warmer, held in by the stone around us.
For a second, we just stand there, facing each other, and I can feel it in the way he looks at me that Nator’ax has stopped pretending too.
His hand comes up to my face, rough and warm, and he pulls me in without hesitation, kissing me hard enough that it steals my breath. I react instantly, my hands gripping his shoulders, pulling him closer even though there’s nowhere left to go.
He tastes like smoke, dinosaur blood, and something deeper that makes my pulse jump, and the heat that’s been building in me all day flares up all at once.
“My hunter is back,” I breathe against his mouth.
“They tried nothing bad,” he says, and his voice is lower now, stripped of the control he kept outside. “And if they had, I would have returned alone.”
I slide my hands up into his hair, holding him there as I kiss him again, slower this time but just as intense. “I didn’t like you leaving,” I admit, because there’s no point pretending otherwise now.
“I didn’t like leaving you,” he answers. “But it was necessary.”
“I know,” I say, even though knowing it doesn’t make it easier.
His hands move down my back, pulling me fully against him, and the contact sends another wave of heat through me, stronger now that there’s nothing holding it back.
I can feel the strength in him, the solid certainty of his body against mine, and it makes everything inside me tighten in a way that has nothing to do with fear.
“They keep looking at you,” he says, and there’s an edge to his voice now.
“They were,” I agree. “I noticed. But I’m new. The Borok also stared.”
His grip shifts, not painful, but more possessive, more deliberate, and I feel it everywhere he touches me. “It’s the way it must be on Xren. Any tribe would be like that. This one is no worse.”
“I know,” I tell him, pulling back just enough to look at his face. “But they respect you now.”
“It may not be enough.”
“Maybe not,” I agree. “But it’s something, and right now I’ll take something.”
For a moment, we just look at each other, and everything that isn’t said presses in around us, heavy and impossible to ignore. I don’t want to think about it, not right now, not when he’s here and we’re both still breathing.
So I don’t. I lean in and kiss him again, first soft, then deeper, letting everything else fall away as I move closer to him without hesitation. “I don’t want to waste time,” I murmur, and I mean it more than anything I’ve said all day.
Something shifts in his expression when I say that, not surprise but recognition, like he’s been thinking the same thing. “And we won’t.”
The furs between us become a problem almost immediately, heavy and in the way, and I let out a quiet, breathless laugh as I start tugging at them. “These have got to go,” I say, already pulling at the layers.
He makes a low sound of agreement and helps me, his hands quick and sure as he frees me from the weight of the furs before shedding his own. The air in the cave is cool against my skin, but it barely registers compared to the heat building between us. My dinosaur skin dress goes, too.
When he pulls me back against him, there’s nothing left in the way, and the contact feels even more intense after a day of distance and restraint. I press closer without thinking, my forehead resting briefly against his chest as I try to steady my breathing.
“This is so much better,” I say softly.
“Better than hunting,” he agrees, voice hoarse. “Better than eating. Better than everything else.”
There’s no frantic rush now, but there is urgency in a different way, in the way every touch feels deliberate, like we both understand exactly how much this moment is worth.
His hands move over my back and my sides, learning me in a way that makes my breath catch.
I do the same to him, tracing the lines of his body, the stripes, the scars, the muscles, committing them to memory.
Every kiss deepens, slows, then builds again, and the outside world disappears completely until there’s nothing left but the warmth of the cave and the quiet sound of our breathing growing heavier together.
When I pull him down with me onto the furs, the cold stays outside where it belongs, and for once I’m not thinking about the tribe or the danger or what comes next. I’m here, he’s here, and right now that’s enough.
He settles between my thighs, heavy and warm, his massive body caging me in the best way.
The simple dinosaur-skin dress slips off my shoulders with one gentle tug from his calloused hands, baring me completely to the firelight.
His glowing eyes drink in every inch of my skin like I’m the most precious thing he’s ever seen.
“You’re safe,” he murmurs against my collarbone, lips brushing softly before his fangs graze lower. “You’re mine to come home to.”
I arch into him with a soft moan, fingers threading through his hair as I pull him closer. “And you came back to me. Strong. Whole.”
His mouth finds my breast, sucking the peaked nipple deep while his large hand palms the other.
The dual sensation draws a needy whimper from me.
Below, both cocks are already hard and eager.
The thick, ridged primary one rests heavy against my belly, warm and hard, while the smaller, softer one nudges between my folds, just nudging my clit in a way that make my hips roll.
I reach down and wrap my fingers around his hard cock, stroking the veined length, feeling every alien feature pulse under my touch. “I need you inside me,” I whisper. “Fill me. Remind me you’re really here.”
He growls low, a sound of pure masculine pleasure, and shifts his hips.
The broad, bulbous head presses against my entrance, stretching me open as he sinks in with one long, careful thrust. I gasp sharply at the stretch.
He’s still so big, still forcing my walls to yield and flutter around each thick ridge.
He pauses when he’s buried to the hilt, letting me adjust, letting my body clutch and ripple around him.
“So good,” he rasps, voice rough with restraint. “The woman from the stars.”
The smaller cock just touches against my clit, stroking lightly in time with his slow, deep thrusts.
Pleasure builds fast as liquid heat gathers where we’re joined.
I wrap my legs around his waist, heels digging into his back as he rocks into me harder.
The bulbs swell inside, locking us tighter with every stroke.
Our bodies move together in a rhythm that feels ancient and new all at once. Skin slaps softly, breaths mingle, soft words in his hard language spill between kisses. “You feel incredible,” I moan, nails raking down his striped back. “Don’t stop… stay deep like that.”
He snarls softly, hips snapping faster, the wet sounds of our coupling filling the warm cave.
The dual stimulation pushes me over the edge first. My orgasm hits hard, pussy clamping down around his thick cock in powerful waves as I cry out, trembling beneath him.
He follows moments later with a deep, guttural groan, burying himself to the hilt as his bigger cock pulses and floods me with hot, thick ropes of cum.
The smaller one twitches rhythmically against my clit, drawing out every last shiver of pleasure.
We stay locked together afterward, panting, his weight a comforting blanket as he presses tender kisses to my neck and shoulder.
“You are mine now,” he whispers against my skin.
“And you are mine,” I breathe back.