She’d already untied her sarong when a strange sensation washed over her, like a flash of heat, almost like ants crawling over her skin, making the fine hairs on her body prickle. Directly behind that, she felt a barely discernible wave of dizziness and then she detected a faint, completely unidentifiable scent. Lifting her head, she sniffed curiously. She realized then that it wasn’t something she smelled. It was internal, a chemical reaction within her body, rather like when the metallic taste of blood floods one’s senses, except this was pleasant.
It was more than pleasant. It was intoxicating. The heat that flooded through her was as internal as the chemical she’d thought she had smelled. Her body quickened. Blood rushed into even the tiniest of vessels. This time, however, it didn’t feel like ants swarming over her. It was as stimulating as a touch, making her heart struggle harder, making it difficult to draw a deep breath into her lungs.
She was so focused upon that internal quickening she might not have even noticed the creature that rose from the water and moved purposefully toward her, except that the moment he emerged, the sensations increased tenfold. Like the concussion of an exploding bomb, it moved over her in a wave, draining the strength from her.
He caught her to him as if he more than half suspected that she would try to run, but running was the furthest thing from her mind. She wanted him to touch her, needed it, needed a lot more than that.
Scooping her into his arms, he began to jog rapidly through the jungle.
Elise was only vaguely aware of it. She’d looped her arms around his neck when he hoisted her against his chest.
She stroked a curious hand over him, fascinated with the silky feel of his flesh. Dimly, she realized it wasn’t skin like her own, but skin covered in an almost microscopic fuzz--like peach fuzz, her mind supplied. He glanced at her almost curiously as she ran a hand over his head.
She liked his eyes. They were beautiful, golden, cat-like.
She liked his smell.
She loved the way he felt, his body taut, his flesh silky against her palm and her fingers.
His ears were interesting, too. They lay flat against the sides of his head, but instead of a rounded shell as her ears were, his came to a very definite point. She traced the swirls of his ears.
A shudder went through him that delighted her.
She tightened her arms, moving close enough to nuzzle his neck and then his ear. “Make love to me,” she murmured.
He made a strangled sound in his throat that was almost like a growl and moved faster until he was almost running.
The jogging gait made it impossible for Elise to examine him as she would’ve liked, but then it occurred to her that he must be looking for a place to make love to her. Impatience moved through her.
She really didn’t want to wait. She was so hot now, she felt as if she was going to come without him if he didn’t hurry and she didn’t want that.
Relief flooded her when they emerged from the jungle and she saw a wreck of a space craft sitting in a clearing. He raced toward it and up the gang plank, setting her on her feet at last.
She curled around him as he worked the lever to raise the gang plank, stroking his arms, his back, reaching down in search of his member.
Delightful heat flashed through her, making her belly clench as her fingers closed around this turgid flesh. He stiffened, pushed her roughly against one wall.
Elise groaned, rubbing her mound against his hard thigh, wishing she was just a little taller so that she could envelop his hard cock in her cleft.
Chapter Three
Some primal instinct guided Ja-rael, for he had long since lost the ability for rational thought. His brain was wrapped in a heated, red haze that prevented any sort of recognizable thought pattern. Despite that, he was aware of a trace of both surprise and confusion.
The female should have screamed. She should have fought him tooth and nail when he grabbed her and hauled her off.
Instead, she caressed him, examining him with a curiosity and desire that seemed equal to his own and only further decimated his ability to think.
He had no idea how he found his way back to his ship. He hadn’t been able to focus on anything beyond the warm body he clutched so desperately-- and her touch. He was reluctant even to release her long enough to retract the gang plank and close the hatch, fearful she would come to her senses and flee, but he couldn’t hold her and manage it, and he was just as fearful that, by now, a pride of males were in hot pursuit and would wrest her from him before he could make his getaway.
The moment he released her, however, she curled around him, rubbing her body against him in a way that almost made him spill his seed when he hadn’t even entered her yet. Frantically, he worked the levers to lock the ship down. The moment he heard the grinding whir that signaled the closing of the hatch, he grabbed her and shoved her against the bulkhead.
He couldn’t think beyond mating--that very instant. If he hadn’t feared pursuit, he would’ve thrown her down on the grass and mated with her before they ever reached the ship.
As it was, he was in no condition to consider the undesirability of trying to mate with her standing. He knew the mechanics of mating, of course, but naturally enough he’d never actually done so or he might have realized that he would regret not seeking a soft pallet to lie upon.
She wrapped her arms around him, hoisted herself up his body and then wrapped her legs around his waist, however, and the instant she did, he grabbed his cock and began struggling to force it inside her.
* * * *
Elise thought she was going to die if he didn’t get his cock inside of her. Her heart was pounding so hard it felt like it would rupture at any moment and she’d gasped for breath until she was holding onto consciousness by a thread. Almost the instant she felt his cock spreading her, entering her, her body began to quake with release. She groaned, squeezing her eyes closed as it ripped through her. The convulsions of her release only made it that much harder for him to claim her fully. By the time he’d managed to sink deeply inside of her, she’d climaxed again and felt herself climbing upward toward a third.
She was going to die, she thought as he began pounding into her with a desperation that matched hers.
She clung to him tightly, riding the wave upward once more. This time when it caught her the rapture was so explosive she screamed with the hard jolts that wracked her body.
He growled, low in his throat and his body began to convulse as he found his own release.
Elise hung limply against him, gasping for breath, barely conscious.
Abruptly, the cock inside of her, instead of deflating, seemed almost to double in size, pressing outward against the walls of her sex uncomfortably. The sensation brought Elise back from the edge of consciousness. “What the hell is that?”
The man--male whateverthehellhewas that was holding her was still gasping for breath. He lifted his head weakly and stared at her blankly.
Belatedly, Elise realized that there was probably about a one in a trillion chance that he would understand English.
He wasn’t Torrine--she didn’t think, unless there were other races she hadn’t seen. She cast about in her mind for the little she knew of the Torrine language, however, figuring he wouldn’t be here, near the Torrine city, unless he’d come to trade, which meant he would have to have some grasp of the language.
“Get that damned thing out of me,” she growled.
He blinked at her stupidly.
Maybe he didn’t understand Torrine after all?
Elise tried to push him away, tried to get her feet on the deck below her. His arms tightened, pinning her in place.
“You know I can’t,” he said through gritted teeth, more as if he was in pain, however, than as a response to her own furious demand.
“What do you mean you can’t?”
He gave her a curious look. “I’ve spilled my seed inside of you. My phallus has sealed the cavity to prevent the loss of my seed.”
&nb
sp; Fury washed through Elise then. “Jesus fucking Christ!” she growled angrily. “Are you saying you’ve impregnated me?”
He blinked. “We mated,” he said a little weakly, obviously thoroughly confused by her attitude.
“Let me go. NOW!”
Her anger finally stirred his. “I can not,” he growled, demonstrating the truth by tugging a couple of times.
Oh god! They were fucking stuck! “This can’t be happening,” Elise muttered. “It’s a nightmare. Any minute I’m going to wake up. I must have eaten one of those damned shrooms.”
She fumed for a few moments. She could tell the guy was beginning to suffer from the strain of holding them both upright in such an awkward position, however, and his suffering mollified her a little.
When she glanced at him again, she saw that he was studying her, not surprisingly, as if he’d never seen anything like her.
She hadn’t seen anything like him either.
He looked almost human--except for the stripes, the cat eyes, the pointed ears, the fuzz covered flesh and--let us not forget-- the post coital expanding cock!
In a dark alley, she mentally amended, she might have mistaken him for a human--or if she’d been wearing a blindfold. Except for the fuzz, he didn’t have a hair on him, though. She couldn’t exactly call him bald--his head was covered with the same fine down as the rest of his body--but it didn’t look as if it grew like human hair--as if it had been cut, or shaved close to his head. His features, except for those cat eyes and the pointed ears, looked very human.
Actually, as much as she hated to admit it, he was really a very handsome alien being. She couldn’t think of a single human male in the colony that was even half as easy on the eyes. She didn’t know what it was that made her think so. His features were regular and well proportioned, like his body, appealingly shaped, but taken individually not especially lovely. Taken as a whole, his features formed a very nice face, though.
Now that the heat was gone, and his eyes weren’t glazed with ecstasy, she noticed there was intelligence in his eyes, as well.
“Why did you grab me?” she asked almost mildly.
His gaze flickered to her face. “You were unguarded. I … couldn’t resist.”
Unguarded. Maybe he was one of the Torrine races? That sounded as if his customs were very much the same, anyway.
“You can’t just … steal me away!” she said indignantly.
His jaw set, but she could see that he was embarrassed by his impulsiveness. She didn’t know how she knew, but she did.
“I can pay,” he ground out.
If he’d slapped her she wouldn’t have been any more insulted. “Pay!”
“I have the mate price.”
Elise stared at him blankly for several moments. “What are you talking about?”
He looked uncomfortable. “I brought trade goods to barter for a mate. I can pay your sire.”
These people bought their brides? “You don’t have enough money to buy me,” she growled threateningly.
His eyes narrowed. “That is for your sire to decide,” he retorted arrogantly.
Chapter Four
It was a hell of a conversation to be having while they were stuck together like Siamese twins--sort of. She supposed, however, that discussing the weather wouldn’t have made it any better.
The thought had scarcely occurred to her when, to her immense relief, she felt a loosening inside of her.
He looked as relieved as she felt, pulling away from her and allowing her to slide to the deck as he adjusted the loincloth he wore.
Elise had to lock her knees to keep from sliding right on down to the floor.
She studied him warily while she watched him adjust his clothing, what little there was.
She didn’t even have that much. Dimly, she recalled taking her sarong off to bathe in the river--and not a hell of a lot after that. The only thing that was really clear in her mind was an absolute desperation to scratch the itch that was driving her out of her mind. What had he done to her, she wondered?
She knew it had to have been him.
She thought it must have been.
Maybe it was the shrooms? But she couldn’t remember eating any of them. For that matter, she couldn’t remember anything in the chemical readouts that would indicate the presence of such a drug.
It was one hell of a drug, though. She’d been on fire. She had never felt anything like that before in her life, not even close. This went way beyond desire. It was the aphrodisiac to end all--in more ways than one. She’d thought she was going to die if she couldn’t mount his cock, and quickly. Dimly, and with a good deal of embarrassment, she recalled clawing and scratching at him when he didn’t move fast enough to suit her.
Small wonder he’d looked so confused afterwards when she’d snarled at him.
And she’d climaxed three times, so hard she’d thought she would die from it.
A shiver chased its way through her at the memory and she shied away from it. “I don’t have a sire,” she said tartly. “At least--I suppose I do, but I have no idea of where he is. Anyway, we don’t do this sort of thing.”
She saw that he was frowning.
“Who is your male protector?”
Boy oh boy did he have a one track mind. “Look. Just take me back and we’ll forget this happened, ok?”
He looked at her like she’d lost her mind. “No.”
Elise blinked. “What do you mean, no?”
“No. I have chosen you for my mate. I risked … all to have you. I will pay the mate price, but I will not give you back.”
“Look, Tarzan! I’m not interested in having a damned mate--especially not one that isn’t even the same species. I want to get back to my own people!”
He looked both angry and confused by that, but he focused on the mating thing again. “We did mate. You seemed willing enough.”
Elise blushed to the roots of her hair. That was putting it nicely. She’d been all over him, trying to grab his cock and mount it without his help. She could tell, though, that he wasn’t much more clear on what had happened between them than she was. Most likely that accounted for his diplomacy--the fact that he wasn’t entirely certain she hadn’t been trying to fight him off. “Well, I don’t know what came over me, but that was … it must have been the shrooms. I think I ate something that made me act strange--not myself-- but I’m fine now and I want to go home!”
“Home is with me now.”
Elise’s eyes narrowed. “I’m trying to be civil about this, Tarzan, but enough is enough. I’m not going anywhere with you. I sure as hell am not going off to god knows where to play Jane and live in your tree house.”
He frowned. “My name is Ja-rael, not Tarzan, and I do not live in the trees. I live on Meeri and I have a domicile in the city of Mordun.”
“What’s Meeri?” Elise asked curiously, distracted by the strange name.
“The sister world of Tor.”
There was a sister world?
She was standing in a space craft for god’s sake! Why was it that it hadn’t occurred to her that this was a member of an intelligent, advanced civilization?
Because he looked as if his race had evolved from cat like creatures and therefore he couldn’t possibly be as superior as a human? “So--you’re not from here?”
“No.”
“Ok, well neither am I, and I think there’s just been a little misunderstanding here. I’m from Earth, see, another world a long, long, long way from here, and I’m human, not Torrine.”
A confused frown drew his brows together. He studied her for several moments, his expression changing from confusion to fascination. “You are a maned lioness--so beautiful you take my breath,” he said as he caught a strand of her hair between his fingertips and rubbed it experimentally. “I will cherish you as you deserve, give all that is within my power to provide for you and our young. I am only a healer, but I am a good trapper. I will do well for you. I give you my word.”
&
nbsp; Elise would’ve continued arguing except for the fact that that odd sense of strangeness had begun to creep over her again--flashes of heat, dizziness.
“I have never seen such exquisite, delicate markings on any female,” he murmured, tracing the freckles sprinkled across her cheeks and nose.
Elise closed her eyes, trying to fight off the waves of heat curling inside of her, building until she could scarcely catch her breath. It was useless. Closing her eyes only seemed to make the sensations intensify more rapidly until she felt herself reeling out of control, found that she couldn’t contain the urge to touch him back. In truth, she wasn’t aware of touching him until she felt the silkiness of his flesh beneath her palms and the hard strength of his muscles beneath that. She moved closer, stroking her body along his.
A look that was a mixture of desire, confusion, and desperation crossed his features. Abruptly, he scooped her up and headed down the corridor with her. Elise found it very unsatisfactory. She’d been enjoying rubbing her body all over his. Now all she could reach was his shoulders and neck.
She contented herself with nuzzling his neck and nipping at his ear with her teeth.
He shuddered and moved faster.
They fell together onto a soft pallet, but Elise was beyond caring if they’d landed on the deck. She felt almost sick with desperation. Her sex was throbbing painfully for his possession. If possible, it was even worse than before, as if, now that she’d experienced it, her body had already begun craving him. “Now, Ja-rael! Now!”
He stroked her, almost soothingly. “I want to love you, Jane.”
“Now!” she virtually snarled, groping blindly for his cock for several moments before she managed to grasp it.
He flinched, but he allowed her to guide it home, thrusting into her.
She groaned, shuddering as he entered her and she felt her body begin to quake almost at once in culmination. By the time he’d attained his rhythm, her body was already escalating toward another, harder peak. She stroked the flexing muscles of his arms and back, nuzzled his neck. Blindly, she sought his lips, brushing hers across them.
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