by Ruby Dixon
“You’re jealous over me, too?” she gasps, delighted. “Oh my god, that’s so cute. I love it.” Her hands glide up and down my shaft, and I bite back a groan. Suh-mer seems so very pleased. “Something like that deserves a reward.”
“You are my reward,” I pant. “I want nothing else.”
“Seriously, I am going to eat you with a spoon.” Her hands tug at my loincloth. “You’re making my heart race with all this talk.”
Her heart is racing as well? Mine seems to be going faster and faster with every moment that passes. It thunders in my ears, and my world seems to be shrinking to her hands on my cock and the pounding in my chest.
But then…I hear it.
A low, throbbing hum coming from my breast.
Resonance.
23
SUMMER
Touching Warrek is making me absolutely crazy this day. Maybe it’s something about him being tied up and helpless in my arms. Maybe it’s the fact that I’m “kidnapping” him. Maybe it’s his sweet, sweet words that are making me melt quicker than ice cream in the desert, but I swear I’m about to come out of my skin if he says one more sexy thing to me. I’m already pressing my thighs tightly together, and my nipples are hard under my tunic.
I feel flustered and wild and…throbbing. It’s the strangest thing ever.
“Resonance,” Warrek says in a hushed voice. “Such a gift.”
I don’t understand what he’s saying. Is he…is he sad he won’t get the gift of resonance if he doesn’t go? “What do you mean? You want to go so you can resonate?” And me with my hands on his cock?
He laughs, twisting in his bonds. “No. Suh-mer. Listen to your chest. Listen to your khui. Listen to mine if you do not hear it.”
What…oh.
Oh.
I’m not feeling antsy or nervous. I’m not throbbing…my cootie is. We’re resonating. “Oh, Warrek! It happened for us!”
“Yes. My heart sings along with my khui.” He twists in the bonds again and then growls, baring his teeth. “Take these off me. I wish to touch you.”
I put my hands on the leather bindings, intending to do just as he says, but I’m all flustered and hot with the realization of what this means. Resonance. Us.
Babies.
Us. Together. Forever.
Babies.
My babies with Warrek. We’re going to be a family.
I give a little happy squeal and bounce, holding on to his front. “Warrek! We resonated!”
He chuckles at my happiness. “I know, my heart. Now take these bonds off of me so I can claim you as mine.” His laughter dies, and his look grows strangely intense. “I want to fill you with my seed.”
Oh, wow. I press my thighs tight together, but I’m totally slippery between them. A breathless moan escapes me, and I forget all about anything except touching him. “You’re supposed to be my captive,” I tell him. “Why would I free you? I’m having such fun.” My cootie purrs up a storm, making me feel all flustered and breathless inside…and aroused. Is this how everyone feels when their cootie kicks in? This intense need paired with jitters, like you’re going to fall apart unless you touch the other person right now now now?
If so, no wonder there’s such a huge fuss over resonance. No wonder it’s so devastating when it’s with the wrong person. No wonder it’s so terrifying. I feel like I’ve lost all control of who I am, because in the space of a minute, I’ve gone from Summer to Warrek’s forever mate and a mother to be. I’ve also gone from playfully turned on by touching him to wildly aroused and full of need. My pulse has started pounding squarely between my thighs, and I feel like if we don’t have sex in the next few minutes, I might lose it.
He growls, clearly of the same mindset, and shifts in the bonds again. “Let me go.”
“Let you go?” Dear lord, is that husky, sensual voice mine? “I’m tempted to just throw you down and have my wicked way with you.”
He freezes in place, and I swear I can see his eyes darken with lust. Oh wow, he likes that idea.
Oh man, I do, too.
“Lean down and kiss me,” I whisper.
He does, his lips brushing over mine. As they do, I grab the front of his leggings and undo the laces on his loincloth, pulling it free. His cock surges free, and I gasp to touch his scorching hot flesh. I drag my fingers down the ridges, endlessly fascinated by them. I never thought something like that would make a big difference, but when he pumps into me, I can feel every bit of him, and it’s mind-blowing.
His breath hisses out between his teeth, and he leans in and nips on my lip this time. “Free me,” he murmurs.
“I’ve got a better idea,” I tell him. I hook my fingers in his leggings and drag them down his big, muscled thighs. “How about you sit down and I crawl into your lap?”
His muffled groan tells me he likes that idea almost as much as I do. Gracefully, he drops to his knees and then falls back onto the furs I have spread on the floor for such an occasion. He tilts his head and leans forward, pulling his hair free from where it was trapped under him, and then he’s sitting on his butt in the furs, legs crossed in front of him. His cock thrusts up from his lap, ready and gleaming with precum.
All the while, my cootie’s thrumming and singing as if it wants the entire tribe to hear what’s happening between us. And Warrek’s is just as loud, his song a little lower-pitched than mine but no less urgent.
Breathless, I peel my leathers off, enjoying the way he watches me. He looks ravenous, as if he’d eat me alive if I got any closer. Then again, I know what his mouth can do, so maybe that’s not an inaccurate statement. For a moment, I consider pushing him onto his back and sitting on his face like a wanton hussy, but the cootie’s demanding dick, and who am I to disappoint? I toss the last of my leathers aside and step forward, naked. He’s still seated upright in the furs, upper body all bound in my ties and his lower body naked except for his boots. It’d be kind of funny if I wasn’t so aroused right now. Nothing matters but getting him inside me. Nothing.
“I love you,” I tell him breathlessly as I drop to my knees and move closer, putting my arms around his neck.
“My heart,” he murmurs, gaze intense. “My mate.”
“All yours,” I tell him, and I mean it. It feels like everything that’s happened was meant to bring us together. Like we’re the two people most right for each other in the whole world—in several worlds. Maybe I did have to leave Earth and come to the far ends of the galaxy just to meet him. It’s a fair trade-off.
He nips at my mouth. “Climb onto my cock, my heart.”
Oh, were ever such dirty words so sexy? I moan, holding on to him and doing just as he asks. It’s a little awkward to put my legs over his hips, but he knows my body intimately, and he’s had his face—and tongue—all over every inch of it. There’s no need to be embarrassed, not when it’s just us. And the way he looks at me? I’m the sexiest thing in the world and he’s letting me know it. So I take him in hand and guide him to my opening, pushing the head of his cock against my core. Then slowly, slowly, I sink down on him.
We’re both breathless as I move over him. All the tension in my body is building so quickly I feel as if I’m going to come before I even get him fully inside me.
But then I’m seated fully on his length, and his spur is pushing against my clit. We’re face to face, my breasts pressing to his chest, and this easily feels like the most intimate embrace we’ve ever had.
This moment is special. Amazing. Intense.
Perfect.
He kisses me again. “You will have to move for both of us,” Warrek murmurs.
I nod. It makes sense. He’s using his core to hold himself steady, but he won’t be able to lift his hips up without knocking both of us to the ground. So I hold on to him and experimentally lift up and then sink back down onto him.
Both of us groan as I do. It’s the most incredible thing, and my cootie is purring so hard it feels like my entire body is vibrating. It’s doing fascinati
ng things to my insides, and when I slide down onto him, it almost feels like he’s vibrating, too.
I whimper and do it again, then again, my movements jerky and frantic. I’m full of need, and I don’t care if this is the shortest round of sex we ever have, as long as I come and come soon. His breathing is raspy and quick, and I know he’s thinking the same thing.
Then his hips shift, and he’s thrusting with me somehow, even though I’m the one on top. I bury my hands in his hair and frantically move up and down on him, rocking my hips wildly in my need to come.
I explode a scant moment later, my body shattering, and my cry of release almost feels as if it’s been drowned out by the constant song emanating from our khuis. Warrek breathes my name and leans in, burying his face against my shoulder, and then I can feel his body tremble with his own release. We practically came together.
Well, almost. The timing wasn’t perfect, but I’m sure it’s something we can work on. We have forever to perfect this kind of thing. And as I kiss his sweaty face and rock my hips over him, I can’t help but smile.
Forever with Warrek sounds like heaven.
“My brave, perfect mate,” he murmurs. In his eyes, maybe I am all those things.
I don’t care as long as I’m his.
Epilogue
BROOKE
“Buh-brukh, are you all right?” Farli gives me a curious look over her shoulder. “You seem angry this day.”
I grit my teeth. I don’t bother correcting her that my name isn’t “Buh-brukh” but “Brooke.” They never say my name right anyhow, and thanks to my stutter when someone first asked my name, Buh-brukh has stuck. Everyone calls me that, and at this point, I usually don’t mind.
Of course, Taushen calls me Brooke, but Taushen can also jump off a cliff for all I care.
I shrug, braiding her hair a little tighter. I may not be a great huntress, and I’m not terrific with electronics, but being a hairdresser means I can make a fierce braid, and Farli likes my efforts, so I make it a point to do her hair every day. Today I’m doing a starburst coronet of braids—not so easy with someone that has a pair of horns. But her hair’s so thick it’s going to look downright magnificent when I’m done. “Just thinking.”
“Are you…what is the word.” She pauses for a moment. “Like Ell-ee? Your head hurts after what we endured?”
Is she asking if I’m traumatized? It’s sweet of her to worry. Truth be told, the alien hijack and almost-kidnapping was scary, but it had a good ending. We’re still here on the ice planet. It was actually less traumatic than my last experience. No one stripped me naked and prodded me or checked my teeth. No one pinched my flanks or sniffed my hair or groped me. No one stole me away from everything I’ve ever known.
Except for one particular incident, it actually went much better than expected when one’s captured by slavers. “I’m okay,” I tell her, glancing up when someone comes into the space ship. It’s only Rukh, though, and I concentrate on braiding again. “I’m not going to go all Elly and not bathe for months if that’s what you’re asking.”
She chuckles. “I was merely curious. You have been less…friendly with Taushen. I wondered if he said something cruel.”
Oh, did she notice the chill between us? I grab another section of her thick hair and weave it into her thick braid. “It wasn’t anything he said,” I edge.
It was definitely something he did, though. The dick.
As if our thoughts have summoned him, Taushen enters the spaceship hold next. We’re seated just inside the Tranquil Lady, at the top of the ramp, because Farli’s pet llama-thing is pawing at the snow below and nipping at frozen roots underneath. She wants him to stay close, but since he was pooping all over the deck, we decided to set up here so I could do her hair.
Of course, that means we’re in a high traffic area. And that means the hunters are coming through, and that means Taushen has wandered near. He’s got a spear in hand, a hopper corpse in the other. He nods at Farli and gives me a cold look. “Buh-brukh,” he murmurs, then saunters past.
Oh, burn. That ass. I know very well that he knows how to say my name correctly. He said it just fucking fine when he was balls deep inside me.
But I suppose that’s my fault, too, since I’m the one that seduced him.
Farli hisses, pulling away. “You are making my mane a very tight cord today.”
Oops. “Sorry. I’ll pay more attention.” I pat her shoulder and try to forget all about Taushen, or that night in the ship. It didn’t mean anything, just like I told him then.
No idea why he’s continuing to be a huge dick about it. I’m pretty sure these people are familiar with the concept of ‘one and done’. And I’m pretty sure that the situation we were in was an obvious one that meant no strings attached. And the sex was good. Really good.
But for some reason, Taushen’s had a burr up his butt ever since.
And if he’s expecting me to go to him and apologize for seducing him to save both of our lives? He’s going to be waiting a long, long damn time.
Author’s Note
Hello again!
Oh, my sweet barbarians, how I’ve missed you! Maybe it’s just the way that my schedule has fallen, but it feels like this book has been waiting forever to come out. Between dragons, Prison Planet Barbarian, and my secret NY stuff, I’ve been away from our tribe for far too long. I’ll try not to let that happen again. As a result, though, I think you’ll notice this book packs a bit of a punch. There’s a romance (of course, this is me we’re talking about here) and a lot of shenanigans going on over on our favorite ice planet.
I’ll never mess up a happy ever after for a couple, but that doesn’t mean that strange and exciting things won’t happen to our tribe!
Still, I hope this book makes you as happy as it made me. I’ve got plans for the future coming out the wazoo (sounds painful) and you can look forward to many, many more books with our tribe. I’ve thought about going forward in time, going backward…but I think we’re going to stay right here for now and see what happens. I hope that’s all right with all of you.
I’ve gotten feedback about how people were unhappy with Georgie and how she’s acted in the more recent books, so I’ve tried to show a bit of her perspective on things. While we might not always agree with what she decides, her heart is in the right place, and I hope even if you don’t like her decisions, you understand them a little better. And if you still don’t like her…that’s allowed, too! I’ve always felt that a tribe is going to have people that annoy us at times but we still love them - just like family.
I’ve also heard that some readers were unhappy that there was less ‘guy’ point of view in the more recent books. I try to go with whoever feels natural for the scene, but you’ll see in this one that Warrek stars just as heavily as Summer…though he might say a little (okay a lot) less than she does. I’ll try to keep this in mind for future books, too.
I get a lot of questions about audio - there’s still no audio (yet) for barbarians, but dragons will be coming out this summer. If there’s another question I’m missing and you’re dying to have answered, feel free to hit me up on my Facebook author page.
I’m sure you’re wondering what’s next - I’ve already started Brooke’s book. It doesn’t have a title yet. My working title is Barbarian’s Pink, just because I’m drawing a blank. Maybe I’ll take suggestions over on Facebook!
(But please, not in email, because I never check the darn thing…)
After Brooke’s book, we’ll swap back to dragons and Emma’s story. Still to come in the future: Gail’s story, more dragons, Kivian’s story (Jutari’s brother!), and I’ve even got a story brewing for poor, almost-forgotten (not really!) Ariana. No word on Marlene yet. She’s a cagey one to pin down.
All in all, it’s going to be a busy next few months. I’m looking forward to it.
<3
Ruby
The People of Ice Planet Barbarians
As of the end of Barbarian’s
Rescue (8 years post-human arrival)
Mated Couples and their kits
________
Vektal (Vehk-tall) – The chief of the sa-khui. Mated to Georgie.
Georgie – Human woman (and unofficial leader of the human females). Has taken on a dual-leadership role with her mate. Currently pregnant with her third kit.
Talie (Tah-lee) – Their first daughter.
Vekka (Veh-kah) – Their second daughter.
_______
Maylak (May-lack) – Tribe healer. Mated to Kashrem.
Kashrem (Cash-rehm) - Her mate, also a leather-worker.
Esha (Esh-uh) – Their teenage daughter.
Makash (Muh-cash) — Their younger son.
_______
Sevvah (Sev-uh) – Tribe elder, mother to Aehako, Rokan, and Sessah
Oshen (Aw-shen) – Tribe elder, her mate
Sessah (Ses-uh) - Their youngest son
_______
Ereven (Air-uh-ven) Hunter, mated to Claire
Claire – Mated to Ereven
Erevair (Air-uh-vair) - Their first child, a son
Relvi (Rell-vee) – Their second child, a daughter
_______
Liz – Raahosh’s mate and huntress.
Raahosh (Rah-hosh) – Her mate. A hunter and brother to Rukh.
Raashel (Rah-shel) – Their daughter.
Aayla (Ay-lah) – Their second daughter
_______
Stacy – Mated to Pashov. Unofficial tribe cook.
Pashov (Pah-showv) – son of Kemli and Borran, brother to Farli, Zennek, and Salukh. Mate of Stacy.
Pacy (Pay-see) – Their first son.
Tash (Tash) – Their second son.