by Cherie Denis
Let and Tre headed out of the cave and climbed the rock wall to the cliffs above their cave Many tasty flying animals lived in the cliffs. It was not easy to bring them down with a spear, but Let was an expert with stone throwing and within a short time brought down two plump flying things. Cia called them birds. Let didn’t care what they were called, he just thought they tasted good roasted over the home fire.
He and Tre continued to hunt silently while Let prayed to Tec to keep his beautiful Cia safe.
* * * *
Cia set out before Tec had climbed over the cliff. The sky was still dark, but the fires of Tec’s sons were disappearing one by one. She grasped her spear in one hand and her club in the other. Her water bladder and the pack with food in it dug into her shoulder. They bounced against her back and annoyed her greatly.
She had kissed Let goodbye before she left, but she had worn him out and he hadn’t stirred. He had continued to sleep like a baby. She couldn’t bring herself to wake him. He was so beautiful lying there with a soft smile on his full lips. His eyes were closed, but she remembered how his deep, dark eyes sparkled when he was happy and how she could read sadness in them when he was worried. He’d been very worried when he had finally fallen asleep.
It was chilly and damp. Wet, tall grasses slapped against her and made her feel chilly all the way through her body. When Tec reached over the cliffs, it would warm up, and soon, she would be wishing it was night again.
Cia set a steady pace and covered ground swiftly. So far, she had seen no sign of the massive, hairy mammoth. She slipped through an opening in a wall of rock and ended up in a new valley. She stood silently. Nose in the air, Cia took a deep breath. The animal she searched for was here somewhere.
This valley was full of trees, tall bushes, and high grasses. Everything was very green. Not only did she smell the filthy animal, she could also smell water. She walked silently through the tall grasses, the scent of water and mammoth becoming stronger and stronger.
The moment she spied the water through the trees, she also saw the beast. It was much larger than she remembered. Of course, the last time she’d seen one, she had been on a cliff quite far from the animal. Now, she was within a tree-length of the mammoth, and it was gigantic.
She was going to have to stab it in the throat. It was the only way to get it down. She’d listened to the men around the fire and had learned it was the only way to bring down a mammoth.
She crept silently through the grass. She was well trained in the hunt. Nothing stirred the foliage. What little breeze there was blew past the beast toward her. As long as the wind stayed in that direction, she would be safe, for the animal would not catch her scent.
Silent moments passed. Cia crept forward slowly, staying low to the ground. It seemed to take forever, but when she looked up, she was startled to find she was under the huge head and horns of the beast.
She had to do this right, or she would be dead. She took a deep breath and let it out. She clutched the spear so tight her fingers ached. With one mighty upward shove, she speared the hairy beast in the throat. The polished, sharpened obsidian slid smoothly into the animal, but the blade struck something in its neck, and the spear slipped sideways, taking Cia with it.
The mammoth screamed and lifted a giant front foot. The next thing Cia knew, she was flying backward. Her body arched over grass and bushes before she landed with a horrible thump and rolled over several times.
Oh, Tec. She was hurt. Badly.
She had ended up lying on her left arm in a bed of sharp rocks. She’d seen enough injuries to other hunters to know she was seriously injured. Her left arm wouldn’t move without the help of her free one. Her stomach and side hurt, and one leg was twisted strangely.
The animal screamed once again, and Cia covered her head with her good arm. She was going to die. “I love you, Let,” she whispered before the world went dark.
* * * *
Og rushed past Cia before the beast could step on her, and with his hunting shaft held firmly between his hands, he killed the animal with one blow. He jumped back when the beast fell to the ground with a terrible rumble.
Now, he had a problem—how to get Cia back to the cave and the beast also. He built a fire, made a thick mat of grass, and picked up Cia with great care. He laid her on the grass bed. There wasn’t much he could do for her injuries until he’d started skinning the dead beast.
He found two slender trees, cut them down with his obsidian knife, and trimmed off the leaves. Next, he took his knife and made a slash as long as he was tall from the animal’s cock to below its front legs. With practiced, hurried strokes, he skinned the animal around the middle. He cut long, thin strips of skin and tied each end to the two trees. He then sliced a large piece of the skin to fit over the travois, poked holes in it, and tied it to the trees.
He chopped off hunks of meat and put them to cook over the fire using slim, green branches to keep the meat from falling in the fire. While the meat cooked, Cia moaned but did not cry. She was a brave woman. Let would be very proud of her.
Og made a second travois and attached it to the first with strips of animal skin. He hacked huge hunks of meat off the animal and piled them on the second travois until it was so heavy he wasn’t sure he could move it. Last he slipped his knife carefully around the massive curved tusks, and small fuzzy ears and piled them on top of the heap of meat. He tied it securely.
He heated water, put some cooked meat in it, and fed it to Cia. She only moaned but drank the life-giving broth. Og fed her through the night and tried to keep her comfortable. Sometimes, she cried out for Let, but most of the time she simply stared at the sky with tears in her eyes.
Og knew why she cried and continued to assure her the elders would never know he had been the one to drive in the death blow. Cia deserved the kill. Her shaft had struck the animal correctly, and eventually it would have bled to death, but Og hadn’t had time to wait for it to die. He’d had to get Cia out of the way.
Cia sent Og to find a certain tree and strip the bark. He brought it back, boiled it, and gave the brew to her to drink. It seemed to ease her pain, and before she dropped off to sleep, she asked him to be sure to brew enough for the trip back to the cave.
At the dawning of Tec, Og made sure Cia was as comfortable as he could make her. He secured her to the first travois and lifted the end. His muscles bulged and quivered, but once he got the two sleds moving, it became easier. He headed toward the opening to their valley. He would not be able to get her through the narrow opening, but he could call for help. Let would be waiting for the call. So would the rest of the clan. It wouldn’t take long for the men to get her back to her mother’s home fire.
Cia was silent. Og became frightened. If she went to join Tec in the sky, Let would never forgive him, and neither would Og’s mate, Gem. He checked, and she was asleep. The bark brew was helping her rest. Og stopped once more to give Cia more of the sleeping brew. He drank deeply from his water bladder and set off again toward the opening that marked their valley.
* * * *
The tribe was more than willing to believe Og’s story of coming upon the injured Cia after she had killed the mighty beast. Let waited until he was alone with Og to find out the truth and to thank his brother-friend for saving his mate’s life.
“I have talked to her mother, and she said Cia will recover soon. Most of her injuries are minor. Her leg is broken, and her arm is full of rocks and dirt. Fa has scrubbed the wounds with a mixture Gem made, and they have put a paste of healing herbs on all the cuts. Fa bound Cia around the middle to ease her pain and gave her some other herbs to drink. Cia will sleep for a long time,” Let explained to Og.
“I have no words to tell you how glad I am you were there to save my mate.”
“Do not worry, Let. We are brother-friends. You would do the same for me, yes?”
“Yes.”
“Go to your mate and sit with her. Lie with her and keep her warm. Whisper words of love to h
er, and she will be well very soon.”
Let nodded, looking toward his mate who lay so silent and still at her mother’s home fire.
“Go, my brother-friend. Soon, she will need your big cock to keep her company.”
Let punched Og in the upper arm and laughed. “I hope so, because I miss her hot cunt wrapped around me.”
Og put an understanding hand on Let’s shoulder. They had been trying to keep their fear from showing, but now, Og said, “She will need you, Let. She is frightened and hurt. She’s afraid she will not be made head of her own clan. You must make her believe.”
* * * *
Let spent every hour he was allowed to with his mate, and soon, Cia was alert and talking. Her pain was better thanks to Gem and Fa. She was healing on the outside, but Let knew she still was bothered by something.
One night, when the cave was silent, except for a few cracklings of branches in fire pits and snorts of the sleeping men, Let curled up next to Cia. “I love you, my mate.”
“Oh, Let,” she whispered. “I love you.”
“You are so sad. Is it because of me?”
“Only because you do not fuck me anymore. Am I ugly? Are you ashamed because I did not kill the beast with one blow?”
Let blew in her ear, and Cia shivered. “Mmm. Good.”
“I have been forbidden to fuck you by your mother. She said I would hurt you.”
Cia snuggled closer to her mate. Her arm was healed and no longer hurt. Her leg was still strapped between several knee-length, small branches Let had shaved until they were smooth as obsidian. Fa said they would release her leg in a few more passings of Tec. “I only hurt because you do not fuck me.”
She smoothed her hand along his burnished back, enjoying the play of muscles under skin. He was so beautiful, and she had missed his body next to hers. Even more, she missed the closeness she felt in her heart when they fucked.
“Let, fuck me?”
“I have been thinking...”
“No fucking?”
Let chuckled quietly. “No. I have thought of new words while you have been hurt.”
“Tell me.”
“We do not fuck.”
Tears welled up in her eyes. Warrior women did not let their eyes water, but she couldn’t stop it. “Never?”
“Never.”
Cia’s body started to shake, and the tears ran like rain down her face.
Let held her closer. “No. We will make love. Making love is better than fucking. It is...special.”
“It is?”
His large hand cupped her breast. “It is very special. Do you want me to show you?”
Cia wiped away her tears. “Oh, yes. I think I understand. We make love to each other because we love each other?”
Let rubbed her nose and kissed her very softly. “Yes. We will make love.”
Cia wished the night would never end. Let kissed her body from her toes to her forehead and then down her back to her feet. He kissed her in places she had never been kissed before. He licked her nipples until she was begging for his cock, but he put her hands over her head and stilled her begging with more kisses.
He licked her cunt and sucked the hard nub of her clit into his mouth. Her body arched off the bearskin they lay on, and she whimpered. It hurt her leg, but she didn’t care. All she wanted was her mate inside her body. Finally, he eased his large cock into her, and for the first time in days, she felt soothed and loved.
“Enough," Let said after they had exploded. "You need to rest. I’m sure making love has hurt your leg. Rest. We will do it again tomorrow.”
She wrapped her arms around his upper body and pulled him up to kiss him. "I love you, Let. Love me now? I need your cock inside me.”
“Soon.” Let smoothed her hair off her face and put his hands on both sides of her cheeks. “You are mine. I love you. I’m sorry you were hurt and I was not there.”
“But you sent Og. You did the right thing, Let. You saved my life.”
She opened her legs, offering herself to him. He knelt between her knees and stroked the insides of her legs. “You are so soft. So warm. So beautiful.”
“Please, Let. Please come into me.”
Let grasped his large cock in both his hands and eased himself into her. He put his mouth over hers when she opened her mouth to scream her excitement.
Let was large and heavily muscled. Without losing his place deep inside her, he sat up, bringing her with him until she was straddling his lap. He’d even managed the maneuver without hurting her leg. He continued to kiss her. He wrapped his long-fingered hands around her waist so he could lift her and slide her up and down on his rock-hard shaft. Many times, he lifted her high enough to suckle her nipples, and every time, her internal muscles tightened around his hot, dark pole. “You will be mine. My Cia. My love,” he exclaimed.
“Yes, yes, yes. More, Let. More.” Her insides were trembling, and her explosion was near. She bit her lip to keep from screaming when his hand slipped between them and rubbed her clit.
They both shuddered and shook as they fell together into the heat of Tec.
A short time later, Let gathered her close to his body, and they drifted off to sleep. Before she dozed off, Cia grinned. Her mother was not going to be happy to find them together in the morning. She didn’t think Cia was well enough to be with her mate. For once, Fa was wrong.
* * * *
“I have called you all together,” Cia said to the members of their cave. “It has taken me a long time to recover from my injuries, but I am now strong, and it is time for me to start my own tribe. My mate, Let, and I are ready to go out on our own. I am wondering if there are any of you who want to come with us?”
Lia stood to the side and signed Cia’s words for the old people.
Many of the older men frowned. They did not like change. Their mates had no say in the matter, so they sat silently in the background.
Og turned to his mate and smiled. Gem nodded. “We will,” Og said loudly. He held up his spear so there was no doubt who was speaking.
“Thank you, my friend-brother,” Let said.
“Any others?” Cia asked.
Two or three more spears were raised. Most were young couples who were ready to leave the boundaries set by the old ones.
“Good,” Cia said, smiling at them all. “Let and I welcome you into our clan. Come join us by our fire pit, and we will talk.”
Once everyone was seated, Cia served their guests hot brown brew in rock bowls and then seated herself in front of the fire.
“Have you found a cave yet?” Og asked.
“Let and I have been looking. We have found something in the next valley. The cave is not perfect, but it will work after we all do some digging and cleaning. It will be ready before the cold white begins to cover the land, but we must work hard together. There will be wood to bring in to dry and the black rocks of coal.” She sipped from her cup.
“We will all help,” the new clan agreed in one voice.
Mac held his mate Wen’s hand and said, “The men can find the wood and cut it while the women gather the coal. We will all dig out our own sheltering cove in the main cave. The work will go fast if we work together.”
The group nodded.
“Let and I will hunt for food and meat. Our mates can dry what we gather and fill the food cove with as much as we will need for the cold time,” Og added.
Cia and Gem agreed.
“It will be very hard work,” Cia said, wringing her hands. “Are you sure you want to do this? Because unless we work together, we will freeze or starve.”
Mac held up a hand. “We understand our lives depend on how hard we must work. It can be done.”
Again, the new clan nodded.
“Wait,” Tog spoke from his seat on the highest rock ledge.
Silence reigned.
Cia knew Tog was going to stop them before the new clan could even try to leave the cave.
Let took her hand. “It will be all r
ight,” he assured Cia in a whisper.
She smiled. “I love you.” He stared in her eyes and smiled.
“You know the rules for leaving the cave,” Tog growled.
Cia nodded and remained silent. If the elders were happy with her kill of the hairy mammoth, Tog would let them leave without too much anger, but if they were not happy, she would be forced to fight the strongest, largest man in the cave using her obsidian knife as her only weapon. It would be her last chance to prove how strong and brave she was or die trying.
“Tonight, the elders will make their final decision.” Tog’s fierce face usually frightened even the bravest of men, but Cia was not intimidated. The fact that he seldom used his voice made him even more intimidating. She stared hard into his eyes. Tog would never know the fear in her heart.
“Leave us,” Tog demanded. “We will call you back when we have an answer.”
Let took Cia’s hand and led her out of the cave. Running down the trail, Let took Cia to their favorite pool. “A swim and some fucking will help to make you forget what is going on in the cave, my mate,” Let said and helped Cia loosen her leather skirt. He quickly stripped off his and jumped in the warm water. He held up his arms to catch her.
Cia laughed and jumped. He pretended to drop her, but he caught her and held her tight against his body.
“I can feel your cock.” Cia smiled and reached between them to caress his shaft and balls.
“Enough, woman. I will fuck you in a few minutes. First, I want to rub you all over with the oils Gem made for you.”
The rock bowls were kept near the edge of the pool with a flat piece of rock on top to keep out the water that sometimes fell from the sky.
Someone had been there before them, and there were petals of flowers floating on the water, filling the heated air with the same scent as the oils Let would be using.
He put Cia on a rock bench and got out of the pool. He spread a large, soft skin on the ground and gestured for her to get out and join him. She scrambled up the rock steps.