by Atlas Kane
And Gemma, sweet and somehow innocent Gemma, moved in between them all. Her movements were subtle, mostly her shoulders and neck taking on the task of always seeking the rhythm. She made her hands flutter at her sides like two birds mirroring one another, and when Cade’s eye found her face, he saw that Gemma was staring at him intently. He swallowed, feeling a pressure build behind the scar on his chest she shared with him.
Then, of his own accord, he decided to join them all. Cade was no dancer, knew his skill would be found lacking, yet the fact remained, none of them cared a bit, and all they wanted was to spend a little time with him.
So he moved toward the women, snapping his fingers and dipping into the rhythm. A few times in his life he’d been to clubs, and usually, Cade had to be half blind with drink to get in the mood to dance. But here were four gorgeous women, all who had feelings for him. There was even an inter-dimensional demon DJ. What more could he ask for?
The girls trilled, opening up their little group to invite him in. His body hummed with a strong buzz, and he grew bold, dancing with each woman one at a time. He wasn’t sure what he was doing, but he tried to make them feel special, to let them know just a little of what was going on in his mind. Beginning with Ketzal, who stood closest, Cade stamped and moved around her. She surprised them all when she threw back her head and released an ethereal and shapeless moan. It was a song without words, a pure expression of joy that had his skin dancing with goosebumps. The demoness had a voice that easily matched Pablo’s. Demons apparently knew music and knew it well.
He singled out Minda next, holding out his hands toward her as if to call attention to her great beauty. The other women instinctively picked up on what he was going for and cheered. Minda redoubled her efforts and even spun nimbly. She looked like a ballerina unchained from form or tradition.
Satemi was next, and rather than display her skill or entice him with the way her body moved, she chose humor. She was the kind of girl who’d plow through a dance floor with you, knocking into people while performing the world’s worst tango. She turned round and backed her hindquarters into his, bumping into his a-rhythmically. Satemi fluttered her eyes and threw up her hands in mock reverie. It was too much. Cade laughed until his gut hurt, the woman still blasting into his thigh with her buns every time Pablo hit a bass note.
When everyone had recovered, and the dancing resumed, Gemma stood there waiting. She knew it was her turn. She was the last to be invited into this intimate group, and despite that, the woman was not the least among them.
Her hands rose, still fluttering, and her eyes burned into his. She bit her bottom lip, her fangs protruding slightly. Is there anything more amazing than this? Cade wondered, nodding closer to the woman, both of them somehow gravitating toward a melody only they could hear. The other girls grew quieter, feeling the sacred tension that was building, respecting it implicitly.
Gemma wove closer, then when she was less than a foot away, the heat of her body charging his skin, she swooped in and landed a kiss on the tip of his nose.
The group laughed, especially when she darted away, giggling like a child.
It was a short party, though the time passed blessedly slow. More wine flowed, and eventually Sholl stood and announced his departure. “I have had too much to drink too soon after an injury. Please excuse me. Just know that though my head swims about in a pond all its own, I feel better than I have since Vormer took me. Thank you all and good night.”
The women each gave the lizard man a strong embrace, all sharing in the joy of his recovery.
Then it was Cade and four amazing women. The demon, satisfied he’d proven his peerless talent as a musician, left as well, and the night sung only with insect songs and the faint moaning of the wind across the cliff face above.
“It is time for the ceremony!” Minda announced.
Gemma dropped her eyes to the ground, but her smile was evident.
“What ceremony? I’ll have no more surprises, okay? I care for you, Gemma, which is surprising given how little time we’ve known each other, but I had no idea you were going to brand me last time. Out with it!” Cade demanded, not exaggerating in the slightest.
Minda bowed sagely. “Do not worry, Cade. I’ve gotten the details, and we have adapted the Neemashi marriage ritual to fit our own capabilities and desires.” When he stared at her, expecting a better answer, she added, “You’ll enjoy it. Don’t worry.”
“To the waterfall! The chosen ones shall be purified in water!” Satemi cried, showing she too knew whatever plans they’d made for him.
But stripping down and bathing under the light of the moon with these four was no curse to bear. So he took off his clothing along with the others. Gemma giggled when she saw their bodies nude like her own. “Your coverings are still very strange to me. I am sorry.”
“We don’t all have fire to coat ourselves in,” Ketzal replied, and gave the girl a shove toward the trail. Then they were bounding up the slope, the sound of the crashing water guiding them.
Cade stood apart from Gemma, and the other women first washed her body, using handfuls of sand and a gentle touch to clean her from head to toe. He fought to remain calm during the display, but his body betrayed his desires.
It was his turn next, and feeling six hands rub down his sore muscles felt better than anything, and he closed his eyes and enjoyed the rare sensation. They gave him the grace of skipping his more sensitive parts, and when they finished, the girls laughed and splashed in the waterfall a moment. He let his own tension and fears wash away as well, the water crashing over his neck and shoulders.
Finally, they returned from their shower nude and dripping, and Cade was told to stand still, to close his eyes, and place his hands palm out.
A thread of fear welled up within him. “No burns, okay?”
“No more burns,” Gemma said. “At least not the painful kind.”
That comment earned a few hoots from Minda and Satemi who always appreciated a bit of spunk. He trusted them, and so he held up his hands and closed his eyes, feeling a faint breeze weave around his limbs and body.
Then he felt two hands press against his own. It was Minda who spoke in a quiet voice grown thick with emotion. “Cade. I swear to honor this bond and to help you build our tribe.” When she stopped speaking, she grabbed his hands and pulled him into a kiss. It was a gentle thing, soft as a rose pressed to his mouth.
She moved on and Cade heard another approach. He knew it was Ketzal, her fragrance giving her away. She pressed her hands to his and repeated the words. “Cade. I swear to honor this bond and to help you build our tribe.” Again, he was kissed, another sweet gesture that left his heart hammering in his veins.
He sighed, a vast well of emotion surging in his mind and body. What world am I living in? How will I ever be enough to honor these women in return? he asked himself. Yet he knew the only way he could was by trying his best and doing so every day of his life.
Finally, Satemi pressed her hands to his as well. Her voice was the deepest of the women, and the husky tone made Cade shiver. “Cade. I swear to honor this bond… and I will always help you build our tribe.” The warrior kissed his mouth, pressing her face into his and held the gesture. They breathed together for a while before she too pulled away.
“Open your eyes now, Cade,” Minda said. When he obeyed, he blinked a few times and looked around.
“Where’s Gemma?”
“She is waiting for you,” Ketzal answered, and the women led him to a spare shelter they’d built in preparation for when the village might someday grow.
Their one lamp was inside, and Cade could see Gemma sitting up on a pile of furs behind the leather flap. He paused, nervous and feeling incredibly foolish at once. He turned and saw the others retreating, giving the two enough space to sort out whatever form their union required.
Cade joined the woman, the sudden attack of nerves seeming out of place after they’d all celebrated so openly throughout the night. Yet w
hat else are we supposed to feel? This is definitely awkward. I am married now? Or is this all just for Gemma’s sake? A flush of anger made him sigh, but when he looked to the side and saw her, eyes staring up at the ceiling in obvious fright, pity took hold. He couldn’t be angry at the woman. She’d done nothing to harm him. In fact, from her perspective, she’d only bestowed a great blessing upon him.
So he put his hand on her belly and spoke. “Gemma, are you okay? You seem… terrified.”
She laughed, a small tear running down from her eye. “I am, Cade. I was twenty-nine years old when I died, which is almost the age of maturity for my people. In less than a year, on my thirtieth birthday, I was to wed. Yet here I am, excited yet afraid.”
He sighed again, more of his own discomfort dissipating. Taking her hand in his, he asked in a voice as soft as velvet. “Have you been with a man before? Is that part of why you are afraid?”
Gemma shook her head in answer, and another tear fell. “It is forbidden to procreate outside of marriage. To have an unplanned child in a village with so little food and no promise of more… it is a high crime. So no… I have not been with anyone but myself.”
“Look at me, Gemma. Come here,” he urged, and when she rolled over, he gripped her behind the neck and pulled her close until their heads touched. He stared at her in the dim tent, her eyes glowing softly, and he comforted her as best he could. “This is a simple act performed by people across the cosmos. You are skilled enough to hunt badass creatures. You will be more than proficient at this. Also, we do not have to do a thing.”
When he finished, she moved in for a kiss, pressing herself into his body. Naked as he was, he delighted in the burning embers of her skin. They held each other for a long minute, faces touching, and not moving at all.
Gods this girl is sweet, he thought, holding her as gently as he could.
Then she grew bold, pushing him to his back and straddling him. Gemma placed her hand in the scar upon his chest and it fit perfectly. It was an odd sensation, and yet, it felt right. He reached up and let his fingers explore the scar she wore as well, the soft skin between her breasts somehow improved by the damaged tissue. It was what it stood for. It was a physical display of their union, and suddenly, Cade understood a great deal more about Gemma and her people. Their weird-ass ritual of branding was a beautiful thing, and given their nature as flame tigers, it also seemed natural.
She leaned down, her breasts touching his skin as they hung sweetly above him. They kissed once more, a long and experimental gesture. He could tell she was learning as fast as she could. Her tongue was timid at first, but she grew bolder, and spent a good deal of time sucking and biting his lips. He enjoyed her efforts, hesitant as they were, and though she was inexperienced, her movements were deft and precise.
Then Gemma sat up, reaching back between them and grasping his manhood in her hand. She shivered, fear and excitement sparking within her. Pressing him against her, she froze. It was weird to see the brave huntress pause. It made a gout of empathy burst from his chest. “Gemma, you don’t need to be in charge of this. I can—”
“I am huntress. I must, Cade,” she said, cutting him off.
He sat up, pushing her off of him. “Quiet. No more of the needs or the shoulds, Gemma.” Cade kissed her again, and she returned the embrace more easily than before. He eased her onto her back, and then whispered above her, “I can help you. And we can try it many different ways. I know you are huntress, Gemma. I see you.”
She shivered as he parted her lips, just the tip of him pressing within. Her body was so hot, so scalding inside and out that if not for his new fire resistance, he might not have been able to stand it, let alone enjoy the feeling. But now, it excited him. Cade kissed her neck and let himself drift further in. Then his own mouth parted, echoing her gasp as he felt himself scalded in pure pleasure.
Rather than push and pull, crush and roll, he allowed his body weight to ease the two together. Her legs wrapped around his hips, and they lay there, joined physically and emotionally. Looking into her orange eyes from a few inches away, he asked her, “It isn’t so scary at all. Is it?”
Gemma laughed, her belly shaking with the expression, and he knew the others had heard her. And why shouldn’t they, he thought. They knew this was a good thing, and now it’s going well. No better sound than pure and merry laughter ever came from beneath a bedroom door.
When her humor had passed, Gemma’s eyes grew fierce and began to burn from within. The same display of arousal took hold in the roots of her hair and extended outward until every fiber of the tigress’ mane was writhing in its own orange and red flame.
She pushed him off and onto his back, then once more, climbed atop him. Sheathing herself over him, Gemma pressed her body into his. She found a simple and elegant rhythm as she moved above his body. Cade let his fingers explore the silken strands of her hair. Each was as thick as a shoestring and as dense and smooth as graphite, and they glowed in his hand.
Her leonine features were elegant and graceful, yet unlike Minda, the woman didn’t have a hair on her body. Nothing could withstand her flames.
Gemma sat up taller, her breasts jostling gracefully, small and lovely. He took a nipple between thumb and forefinger, pinching gently. The woman moaned slightly, her body temperature increasing once more. It was nearing the point where pain would interrupt Cade’s pleasure. Noticing the worry in his eyes, Gemma pressed her hand in his chest scar once more, and opening her eyes, she breathed out a cloud of concentrated mana.
Her eyes flared, and so did the lines of orange pattern along her skin. Cade felt her get closer to igniting, and he moaned, for rather than pain taking hold of him, the mana she’d granted him suddenly suffused his body.
Wordlessly, she took what she’d asked from him. Growing bolder, she moved her feet up under her and rode their pleasure sure-footed and strong. Cade pressed his pelvis up into hers and clutched her hips as she danced. A rope of tension tugged at his guts, and he was forced to concentrate, to delay the inevitable expression of his love.
But Gemma felt his excitement and responded in kind. Hand still on his chest, he felt her claws extend slightly, pressing into his flesh. More mana flowed from her mouth. He breathed it in, and felt himself come alive with an inner flame. Her eyes and the lines of her body glowed furiously, and her sex gripped his with an eager tenderness.
Gemma moaned, her body tensing, and her body ignited. The flames consumed him as well as his spine arched and the floodgates shattered. They burned together for the longest moment, and then everything cooled, and she was looking down at him, and they remained linked in more ways than one.
At last, she rolled off beside him and rested her head on his shoulder. He tugged her closer, hands running through her hair. And though they didn’t speak a word to one another, it seemed to Cade he knew the woman deeply, and knew she had come to know him.
All sense of fear or anxiety was gone from the both of them. A union had been made, and it was good. Cade closed his eyes and felt no need to pull a fur over his warm body.
21
Strike the Snake as it Coils
Breakfast was awkward and broken only by stifled giggles. Cade let the women have their fun though. In such a short time, he was already growing accustomed to the complete lack of privacy that huts and hide tents provided.
Gemma, at least, seemed quite satisfied. She sat down near Minda and said in a proud voice, “Did you hear? I had my first orgasm with a partner last night. It was everything I expected and more.”
Satemi lost all sense of composure as Cade just sighed. Yet another part of him was pleased that Gemma felt comfortable enough to discuss such matters with her… what? Freaking sister wives? This whole situation has gotten very strange, he said to himself while swallowing the last of his meal. At least Sholl isn’t vying to get into the mix. Him and Pablo will have to be my back up.
“What are your plans today, Satemi? Any new structures planned out?” he asked, r
elying on the woman’s pragmatism to put an end to the subtle teasing.
Sure enough, though she kept wearing her shit-eating grin, she answered. “Perhaps, but I was hoping to do something with the Silver Guard’s armor. We have a pile of useful steel in the storage hut and no way to use them. I had some ideas on how to change that.”
Cade’s brows perked up. “Really? How so? I don’t think we could get our fire hot enough even if we burned down half our grove of trees. Although, maybe I could mix enough combustible powder and somehow feed it into the flames? Seems risky though.”
“Actually, I thought your wife might be of use. Gemma, I am very curious to know, how hot can you make your flames?”
Gemma grew quiet, her lips pursed and eyes pensive. “I can increase the rate at which I burn away my ether… my mana I mean. By doing so, my flames will burn brighter. Why do you ask?”
Cade laughed, shaking his head, impressed by Satemi’s idea even though it hadn’t been fully explained. He looked to Gemma, beating Satemi to the punch. “Let’s hope it is hot enough to melt Tanrial-forged steel. If so, I think Satemi is going to make us all some shiny new toys.”
They began cleaning up the meal, depositing a few bones into the fire pit and rinsing their mouths, when a familiar poof of purple demon appeared.
“Everyone, gather about. I have an official announcement for Camp Casmeer!”
Sholl rushed back to the dwindling fire, having already made it halfway up the hill to the waterfall. Minda and Gemma stopped their chatter and turned to listen. And Satemi fetched Ketzal who had walked down the hill to check on the boar.
When they were all attending, Pablo looked at them all, and Cade knew the topic would not be pleasant. The demon was nervous.
“As you know, I’ve been keeping an eye on Tanrial. With Aten’s influence, I haven’t been able to enter or view anything within the city itself. But, as of late last night, I have noticed effects, ripples if you will, of some arcane activity. I have no proof, but my suspicion is that Vormer is tampering with the portal once more. If I am correct, he is summoning the army you’ve all been so worried about.”