by Ruby Dixon
I am back…but I am not me. I am not who I used to be. I do not like having no sense of who Teva is. It makes me sad. I curl my legs up and hug them to my chest, even though the night air is warm. I want to remember, but when I look for memories, there is nothing there.
“Be patient with yourself, baby girl.” Gabe gets to his feet and reaches for me, indicating I should join him on his nest of blankets he just laid out in one of the flimsy dome things he calls a “tent.” “It’s only been a day. Maybe these things take time.”
That is another thing that bothers me, I grumble even as I get to my feet and cross the small encampment to join him. Why do you call to me as if I am a child?
He laughs, and the sound seems to trap itself against the strange material of the tent. I like his laugh, though. So much. It fills some of the dark spaces in my spirit. “It’s just an affectionate nickname for a female. Human men sometimes call their woman their ‘baby.’”
Because they wish to feel as if they are mating an infant? My lip curls.
Gabe takes my hand and pulls me in with him. “Not at all. If you don’t like it, I won’t call you that. What would you prefer?”
I consider for a minute. Strongest warrior. She with the fiercest claws. Render of wings, severer of necks.
He lies down on the blankets, and I move next to him. He smells like the clear paste—aloe—he’s been putting on his skin all day, but underneath that is the Gabe smell, and I like that very much. He grins again as our eyes meet. “Are you saying you need a new nickname? Something we both can agree on?”
Yes. Girl destroyer, I think.
Gabe throws his head back and laughs. “I’m not sure if that’s sexy enough to suit you.”
I love his delight. His warm laughter fills the air and I cannot help but smile in response. So he thinks I am sexy? I like this thought. I lie down next to him, basking in his amusement. Is that not an appropriate name amongst humans, then?
“Not really.” He starts to zip up the tent, but one of the cats comes slinking in to join us.
To my surprise, it moves onto the bedding and then curls up next to my side, hind quarters pushing against my hip. I touch it gently, rubbing the soft fur as I have seen Gabe do, and it makes a thrumming noise of pleasure in its chest.
“Looks like Professor Plum likes you.” Gabe smiles and leans on his elbow, turning to look at me as I pet the cat. A moment later, another cat joins us, and then before Gabe can say anything else, the third one approaches. The other two pass him and move to my side. “You must be a lot warmer than I am. Or you smell better.”
Or they want to tease me with their enticing meat scent.
He chuckles. “Should I kick them out?”
Are we going to mate? When he shakes his head, I scowl. Then they can stay.
“I don’t think my sunburn could handle it, baby girl,” Gabe says in a low, husky voice.
Girl destroyer, I correct.
Girl destroyer, he agrees, lips twitching with amusement.
You say that name is not a good one, but it makes me ache, I tell him. And yet you will leave my cunt empty and my womb sad.
He brushes a lock of my hair away from my face as he gazes down at me. “More than my sunburn, Teva…I don’t want you to feel like I’m using you for sex.”
We are mates. I want you to touch me.
“But why? Is it because you want me, or because I was the one that bested you?” Gabe’s expression is impossible to read.
Why can it not be both?
Because what if I bested you and I was not a nice man, Teva? What if you didn’t like who I was?
Then I would take pride in your strength and the strong young we would make…and just fly away when you annoyed me.
He laughs again. “It’s all very simple for you, isn’t it?”
Why would it not be?
“Why indeed,” he muses, but I can tell he will not change his mind. So I pet the cats, mindful of the sharp curl of my talons, and watch as Gabe settles into the blankets. He is exhausted, my mate. I can tell by the heaviness in his eyelids and the way his movements slow with time. He wants to sleep, but instead he keeps watching me, his thoughts protective.
One of the cats—a pale one—curls up on my chest and begins to knead, her paws moving gently against my breast. I look over at Gabe, the dark lashes of his eyes casting shadows on his cheeks. You should sleep, I say to him. There will be time enough to talk in the morning.
“Will you stay?”
With you? In the nest?
Until morning? You won’t leave during the night?
Do you truly think I would? I brush my knuckles over his face, still reddened from the touch of the sun. You and I are mated. We are joined in the spirit.
Then I look forward to seeing you in the morning, beautiful Teva. No, strong Teva. Warrior Teva. You like that better, don’t you?
I do. Beauty can be had by any fool. True strength is far more elusive.
Then sleep, baby girl.
Destroyer, I correct again, amused.
He drifts off within moments, and I feel the touch of dreams in his thoughts. He’s exhausted, and I did not realize how fatigued he was until this moment. I stroke the cats piled atop my body, listening to him breathe and drinking in his scent.
A mate. I have a mate. A human mate.
I listen to his thoughts, curious about his dreams, and I am pleased when my face flashes through his mind. He should dream about me, I decide, but I am puzzled when in his dream, I am wearing a flowing robe like a Salorian. Hmm. In the next moment, the dream Gabe pulls me against him and strips the robe off, so he must not like it, either. He bares my skin and instead of throwing me down to the earth and fucking me, he pulls my face towards his and captures my mouth.
It looks as if he is…eating the dream Teva.
I frown, pulling my thoughts from his. Dreams can be strange, this much I know. Perhaps this is just another oddity. But I touch my lips and wonder.
* * *
I do not sleep much that night. The animals are content to crawl over me, making their satisfied humming noises and pressing against my skin. Gabe is restless, though, his dreams chaotic, and they bother me enough that I get out of the tent nest and leave his side. The small beasts follow me as I do, making plaintive “meow” sounds and watching me expectantly. I think of Gabe and the meal he gave them. Perhaps they wish to be fed.
My stomach growls, too, and I stretch my arms, thinking how good the early morning air will feel on my wings. Perhaps I should hunt something for my Gabe, too. I touch my mate’s mind, but he still sleeps.
Very well, then. I will greet him with a fine morning feast.
I pet one of the creatures absently as it follows me, and as I leave Gabe’s nest—the “parking garage”—I see one of the beasts watching me, the one he has tried so hard to retrieve. It sits atop one of the cars and stares at me with unblinking eyes.
I scowl at it. That small creature is the reason my Gabe waits here instead of taking me…somewhere else.
I frown, trying to recall why we are leaving this place, but my mind is empty. That emptiness frightens me. To calm myself, I try to think of the things Gabe told me last night, but all I can remember is the laughter in his eyes, the warmth of his smile, and the scent of him.
His words are gone…just like my seven years.
The weight of that loss hits me hard. I panic, sucking in several deep breaths. I don’t want to be lost again. I don’t. I want to stay me. To stay Teva. To stay Gabe’s new mate. What if things keep slipping out of my mind never to return? Frantic at the thought, I reach out for Gabe’s mind—
And I am immediately enveloped in the calm of his thoughts. He is dreaming, sometimes his thoughts are of me, sometimes of nothing particular at all. I sink into these dreams, calming myself…and then I shift forms to go hunting.
The moment I do, the flurry of madness creeps at the edges of my mind.
Hello, Teva. My belly fires greet me a
gain.
I push them away, focusing on Gabe and his calm mind. He is thinking of me now, and I cling to those thoughts, letting my mate be my focus. I need to fly. I need to feed him. Everything is for Gabe.
It takes a moment for me to fully regain control, but the madness ebbs once more, and I can finally fly away to go hunting.
10
GABE
When I wake in the morning, Teva is gone. The tent is empty, the air still. “Teva?” I call out. “Are you out there?”
There’s no response, and I close my eyes, trying to somehow find her in my sleepy thoughts.
I am here. You sleep very heavily.
Do I? I didn’t realize. I scrub a hand down my face. What time is it?
Time?
Oh. I guess her people don’t know hours like we do. Early still?
Early enough. I am returning with a meal for you.
She is? I quickly dress, hauling on my jeans and shirt, and shove on my work boots without lacing them. I’m surprised to hear she’s been hunting, but I’m even more surprised when I emerge from my tent to see my delicate-looking female heft a bloody deer carcass over her shoulder. Her smile brightens when she sees me and she slings it down in front of my now-cold fire barrel.
Are you not pleased with your destroyer? she asks, her thoughts sultry. There is blood on her cheeks and lower arms, but somehow she’s still incredibly beautiful.
“You’re amazing,” I tell her, and mean it. “I’ll start a fire—”
She snorts, a lick of flame erupting from her nostrils. Why?
That makes me laugh. “Good point. Okay, you are in charge of a fire. Think you can roast some of the deer for me? I’ll go get some water so we can drink up and wash.”
Very well.
Teva hesitates, watching me, and it feels strange to greet her and not try to be affectionate somehow. I almost want to kiss her, but I think of her sharp teeth. Will she be irritated if I try it?
Putting your mouth on mine? This is a thing with humans, then?
I look at her in surprise. “How did you know?”
You dreamed of doing it to me last night. She touches bloody fingers to her lips, her thoughts flashing through my own, thoughts of our mouths caressing. Will you do that to me, then? Is that how a human male greets his mate?
It’s how the decent ones should greet their mates, yes.
Well, then I would like for you to be a decent mate.
I approach her, stripping off my shirt. She looks at me, curious, until I lift it up and wipe the blood away from her mouth gently.
Teva is amused by this. The blood will be in the deer when you eat it. But you do not want it on my lips?
“It’s the first time I’m kissing my mate,” I explain. “I want to taste her and not breakfast.”
Her eyes soften and I can tell it’s the right thing to say. She stands still while I carefully wash her face, and then I toss my shirt aside and cup her cheek. Her mouth is slightly redder and swollen from my ministrations, but that only makes her more beautiful. I run my thumb over her lower lip. Soft and full and so damned kissable.
I lean down and lightly brush my mouth over hers. Teva goes still, but she’s not panicky or afraid—rather, I pick up from her thoughts that she wants this so much that she holds herself still to study my movements. It’s achingly sweet, and so is my quick taste of her. I want more.
Then take more.
I groan, cupping her neck and burying my hands into the thick fall of her hair. It doesn’t feel like human hair, wiry and thick, the strands almost cordlike. But it carries her scent and her heat, and I love touching it—and her. I hold her against me, gazing down into her lovely face. There’s no fear there, only eagerness. She wants more of whatever I want to give her.
I brush my lips over her mouth lightly again, and feel a spark of disappointment in her. She wants more than just a gentle caress.
So impatient, I tease even as I nip at her full lower lip. Did I say I was done?
She sucks in a breath, her thoughts flashing with heat and lust. No…
I bite and tug at her lower lip, and I can feel the sultry pleasure rolling through her thoughts. Her claws go to my shoulders, touching hesitantly, and then gripping my arms tighter when I slant my mouth over hers. I decide to throw caution to the wind and kiss her how she should be kissed—with tongue, and with abandon. I slick my tongue into the well of her hot mouth, licking at her, determined to give her pleasure. I want to hear her moan. I want to feel her arousal in her thoughts and feel it in the body that presses against me. I slant my mouth over and over hers, the only determination in my mind to please her. To make her lose control.
To make her hungry for more.
Teva holds perfectly still, as if afraid of interrupting, and when I pause, she lets out a hungry groan and holds me tight against her. More.
Now I’m the one that’s groaning, and my hands slide feverishly through her hair as I kiss her again. This time, her tongue meets mine and then we’re tangling and mating mouths, mindful of her teeth, but fuck, I’ve never kissed anyone like Teva. Kissing her is like playing with an open flame. She’s dangerous, yes, but the burn is so fucking good. Her thoughts fill my head, how much she likes my mouth, how aroused she is, and I want to fling her down over the nearest car hood and claim her.
Yes, she moans against my mouth. Yes, Gabe. I want that, too.
Just like that, all my damn willpower goes out the window. I grab her by the waist and haul her against me, lifting her into my arms. Her eyes flare with excitement when I pull her body against mine. She’s strangely heavy for her delicate form, as if she’s somehow more solid, denser than a regular human.
More powerful, she purrs at me.
That too, baby girl.
Destroyer.
Laughing, I don’t correct her. I find the closest car and Teva hops up on it, then hooks one foot around my hip and tugs me forward. Her legs go around me, her arms encircling my waist, and then her hot mouth is on mine once more.
Take off your coverings, she demands. I want to feel all of you.
I strip off my clothes, noticing that yesterday’s sunburn is nearly gone—not that it matters. The ache in my cock is ten times worse than any sunburn. I want to be buried inside of Teva’s tight cunt, want her heated walls gripping me tight.
And she wants it too, so desperately.
I palm one of her breasts, teasing the nipple even as my mouth claims hers. She gasps in surprise, but her thoughts are speared with pleasure. Oh, I like that.
Has no one ever played with these pretty tits, Teva?
No one, she tells me, fascinated. I was wise to let a human win my mating challenge. You are creative, my Gabe. I like this.
I toy with the hard bud of her nipple, running my thumb underneath it as I release her mouth and then move lower. I’m going to taste this, I tell her, pinching the nipple lightly between finger and thumb, and I feel the hot skitter of her excitement.
With your mouth?
My mouth, my lips, my teeth.
A little moan rises from her throat. Yes. Give me all of that.
I do. I clasp her breast in my other hand and squeeze it slightly, feeding the tip into my mouth. Teva sucks in a breath, and I can tell she’s just as fascinated by the sight of my mouth on her there as she is by the sensations. My girl’s visual, that much is obvious.
All right, then. Every time we fuck, I’ll make sure she gets all the visuals she could ever want. Because while I initially saved Teva because I wanted to help her, it’s turning into something far hungrier than that.
I want Teva for myself, in all those selfish ways. I want her in my bed, in my arms. I want her fascinating thoughts flitting through my own. I want to claim her like no one else has ever claimed her. I shouldn’t, but damn, it’s been a day and I’m already obsessed.
Then it is good we are mated, she tells me breathlessly as she watches me tease her nipple. I like obsessed.
I should have just le
t you go, I tell her, even as I nip at the tip of her breast. Even as I press hot kisses to her belly. You don’t have to be tied to me. You’re free.
Tied? You act as if I do not want to be here. And she boldly spreads her legs wide, inviting me to touch her cunt, gleaming with wetness, her folds flushed and dark. Do you not want to caress me? To fill me with your cock?
I groan, because no man has ever been so damn tempted. I snag one of her thighs with my arm, hooking her hip over my shoulder as I kneel on the asphalt. I bury my face in the sweetness between her thighs, and love the little gasp of delight she makes. A low, sultry purr starts in her throat and then she puts a hand on the top of my head, her claws lightly scraping at my scalp as I tease her folds. Teva’s unlike anyone I’ve ever been with before—there’s a ruthless boldness to her that is fascinating. Once upon a time, I might have gone for a woman that was a little more fragile, a little more needy.
In an apocalypse? A woman that knows what she wants and isn’t afraid to demand it? That’s everything.
I find the nub of her clit and coax it with tongue and mouth. She lets out another hiss, but I can feel the need ramping up inside her. I work her with my mouth, giving her everything I’ve got, and when I can feel her close to her climax, I get to my feet and line my cock up at the entrance to her cunt. Her arms go around me, her gaze dazed with lust, and I can feel the surprise in her face as I thrust deep, claiming her face to face once more.
Why? she asks. Why do you like looking at me as we mate?
Because I want to watch you come. It might be selfish, but I love the pleasure that spreads over her beautiful red features. The hungry need replaced by a sharper excitement, and then the tension as she edges closer and closer to her climax. I need more of that. I grip her hips, holding her tightly as I move faster, pumping deeper, harder.
I can feel her excitement, but…she doesn’t come.
I change the angle of my thrusts, play with her pretty tits, and still, Teva is no closer to her orgasm. It’s like now that I’m inside her, everything’s going wrong. The worst thing about our minds being linked is I can feel her growing disappointment. The sensation that there’s something wrong, and that her pleasure is evaporating.