“I, what? No! I just meant—“ I break off, flustered. “You know what? Never mind. I was just bringing it up because you’re here and I’m here and—“
“And you are eager,” he interrupts again, looking pleased. “This is good. We shall come very hard together, Tee-fah-nee.”
Oh lord, the mouth on this man. “If you say so,” I reply faintly.
“Today is not good,” he says.
“It’s not?” Why do I feel weirdly disappointed by that?
“You have a kit to care for,” he says, and pulls a piece of leather fringe out of the biting little dvisti’s mouth. “He is hungry. And I must take this to my mother’s cave so she may prepare it.” He gestures at the carcass lying at his feet.
“Oh. Of course.” Duh, Tiffany. Where’s your brain? I know where my brain is, though. It’s all wrapped up in the thought of YOU’RE GOING TO HAVE SEX WITH THIS BIG GUY. And I’m utterly terrified and kind of curiously aroused at the same time.
“When shall we meet so I may give you pleasure?”
I blink. He’s leaving it up to me? That makes things…trickier. Because I have to basically say I can squeeze in an orgasm by noon if that’s good for you. Provided I orgasm, of course. Provided I don’t run away screaming. Provided I don’t chicken out of things entirely.
Putting it on me kind of scares me. It makes things entirely my choice. It means I’m asking for everything that happens. Which is a good thing, of course, but also terrifying. What if it’s awful and I freak out? What if I just can’t get aroused at all? I tense, and peek up at Salukh. He’s watching me with heavy-lidded eyes, that fierce, consuming look on his face.
Somehow I doubt boredom would be a problem with this guy.
“Tomorrow I guess? Somewhere private.” I don’t want to have our make-out parties in the main cave. That would be weird. “Is there somewhere we can go that isn’t out in the open?” The only place I know of that’s close by and not frequented by many people is the leather curing cave, and the stench in there isn’t exactly conducive to sexytimes.
“I know of a cave about an hour’s hike from here. It’s small but it will suit our needs. I will bring furs.” He nods solemnly. “You must be kept warm.”
Well, there’s no way to back out now, is there? Not with this big male looking down at me so intently and making all these plans to please me. “I don’t want to tell anyone what we’re doing, all right?”
His brows draw down. “You do not wish for them to know I am pleasuring you?”
I shake my head. “Among my people, taking someone to your furs for fun is…private.” I’ve heard that the sa-khui aren’t the same as us, that fur-hopping amongst single unmated women is no big deal, but the single women are few and far between and I’m not built that way. Plus, I have four other guys watching my every move and I don’t want one of them flipping out or getting super possessive. That would be bad. “If anyone asks, we’re going herb gathering, all right? That can be our code word for it.”
“Coad-werd,” he repeats. “I do not know what this is.”
“It’s a secret term you use. So when I say I want to go herb gathering with you….”
Realization dawns. “You wish to be pleasured.”
All this ‘pleasure’ talk is making me super flustered. “Sure. We’ll go with that.”
“Are there other human customs I should know? Other coad-werds?”
Well, there are condoms, but he can’t make me pregnant if we’re not resonating, so that doesn’t matter. And there’s nothing on this planet that I know of that would pass for lube – and nothing I’d be comfortable sticking up in unmentionable places anyhow. “I can’t think of anything.”
He nods solemnly, still devouring me with his eyes. “I will bring the furs tonight, so none will question why we bring them for a plant-gathering trip.”
“Good idea.” I wipe a stray bit of blood off his arm and then feel weird for reaching out and touching the guy. “You should probably bathe as well.”
He nods in recognition. “It will be part of my herb-gathering preparation.”
“Great.” I gesture at the cave. “I should, um, probably go back.” The thing in my arms wiggles, trying to escape.
“I shall too.” He nods at me again. “Then, tomorrow?”
“Tomorrow.” I feel myself blushing again.
Tomorrow, everything changes.
• • •
It’s a good thing I have the baby dvisti to distract me from tomorrow’s upcoming make out session. I’m a nervous wreck, but the tribe’s reaction to my new pet means I don’t have a lot of time to spend thinking about Salukh. Farli is utterly enchanted. It only takes about five minutes before she declares she wants one, much to her mother’s dismay. The other sa-khui are just puzzled as to why I’d want to keep one.