The Barbarian Before Christmas: A SciFi Alien Romance Novella (Ice Planet Barbarians Book 17)

by Ruby Dixon

  She sobs as she runs toward me, her arms outstretched, and I drop my packs on the ground. I do not care if the delicate shells inside are crushed—all that matters is getting my arms around my sweet mate and holding her close.

  Ell-ee slams into me with all of the weight of her slight form, and her arms go around my neck. “Bek!” she cries, and buries her face against my neck. She sobs my name over and over, her body shaking even as she wraps her thin legs around my waist, as if she is terrified I will leave again.

  My mate.

  The hollow parts inside me suddenly feel full once more. The bitterness I carried for these long days without her is gone, and I touch her hair, her back, her leg, petting her and reassuring myself that it is her after all. “My Ell-ee,” I murmur, and my voice is husky with emotion. “How I have missed you.”

  “Never leave me again,” she weeps against my throat, her hands tangling in my hair. “You’re not allowed.”

  “Never,” I agree. Even if I must go on the trails hunting, I will take her with me. The thought of leaving her again is unbearable.

  She lifts her face and her cheeks are streaked with half-frozen tears, but she is smiling. She is so lovely that it steals the breath from my throat. Our khuis sing loud at our reunion, and I feel a surge of lust at the sight of her.

  Mine. My mate.

  I press my mouth to hers. It has been far too long since I’ve tasted her. To my delight, my normally shy Ell-ee responds with a hungry little moan, clutching my face as she kisses me with ferocious intent. There is nothing better than a mate eager for my touch, and I return her kiss with equal intensity, our mouths hungry as they lock together. There is nothing that exists beyond Ell-ee’s slight form pressed against me, her tongue slicking against mine.

  I have waited too long to claim her again, and I will wait no longer. I ignore the happy cries of those around us reuniting with family. Nearby, I hear Aehako laugh as he swings his daughter into his arms, and Vektal calls out for Shorshie. Others crowd around, wanting to know about family members and greet the newcomers, but I care for none of this. With my Ell-ee in my arms, I push through the crowd, heading for our hut.

  I am going to claim my mate and fill her body with my seed. Greeting the rest of the tribe can wait.

  She makes hungry little noises as I carry her away, her legs tight around my hips. I have missed this—missed her—so much that it makes my spirit ache. It is like I have become whole once more and must take my fill of her to wipe away the memories of those endless nights and days without her at my side.

  We make it to our hut, and I kick aside the privacy screen. The fire inside is nothing but banked coals, and our furs remain in the same spot as they always are. I move to the bed of furs and gently lay my mate down amongst them.

  Ell-ee whimpers when I let her go, clinging to me. “No,” she whispers, urgent. “Stay.”

  I groan when she slicks her little tongue against the seam of my mouth. There is nothing I want more than to stay. “I must put the privacy screen back up so we will be undisturbed.” Even for a moment, the idea of leaving the warmth of her arms seems like a poor choice. But then I think of the others coming in and disturbing us when I am cock-deep into my mate, and I growl at the thought. I wish to see no one but her until dawn tomorrow, at the very least. I force myself to get up from the furs, ignoring the tempting brush of her fingers down my arm, and cross the hut with haste. I slap the screen over the entrance, shove a basket behind it so it cannot budge, and then return to my mate’s waiting arms.

  “I’ve missed you so much,” Ell-ee breathes. Her eyes glimmer with unshed tears. “I feel like we’ve been apart more than we’ve been together.”

  “That changes this day,” I vow to her. “I will not leave you alone again. This I swear.” I take her hand and press my mouth to her palm. “Being without you made every day difficult.”

  She nods, her eyes so full of sadness. “It was hard to get out of bed sometimes, knowing that you wouldn’t be there. I had to force myself to eat, too.”

  The thought brings me pain. I picture her, thin and miserable, and pull her close to me. “You must be strong for our kit, my Ell-ee. For me and for him.”

  “I know,” she says in a soft voice, and her fingers flutter along my jaw. “But sometimes it’s really hard.”

  All the more reason to never leave her again. Perhaps she is not as independent as Leezh, or as outgoing as Mah-dee, but it does not matter. She is strong in different ways, and she needs me to feel whole. I understand this—how many mornings did I wake up and feel as if I was hollow without her at my side? “From now on,” I tell her, “when I go to hunt, you will come with me. If I must return to the Icehome shores, we will go together.”

  “You promise?” Her thumb skims over my mouth.

  “I vow it.” I nip the tip of her finger. “I need you as much as you need me.”

  “Good.” She strokes a lock of hair back from my brow. “And when the kit comes…?”

  “We will stay wherever we must until you can travel again. I mean it when I say I will never leave your side again.” I undo the knotted band holding her first layer of furs wrapped around her torso. “We are together, always. The others will have to accept this.”

  “We can go back to the other tribe—the Ice home, you called them? —if you are needed.” She bites her lip, uncertain.

  “No one needs me as much as you, my mate,” I tell her. “And the same holds true for me. I need you more than anything.”

  With a happy sigh, Ell-ee caresses my face as I pull at her layers of clothing. Like all the humans, she covers herself in heavy wraps of fur to keep warm, and finding her soft skin underneath is a challenge. She helps me with the clothing, sitting up and watching me with eager eyes as I pull her boots off and then remove her leggings. Next, her tunic goes, and then the band that covers her slight teats. When she is bare and laid out before me, I breathe out a sigh of pure joy. I am a fool for ever leaving her side.

  Ell-ee reaches for me, tugging at the heavy wrap I wear over my shoulders. “You’re all covered up,” she whispers. “I want to touch you.”

  I strip off my layers, casting them aside until I am in nothing but my loincloth and my boots. She sits up in bed and tugs at the knot at my waist that keeps my loincloth in place, and her hands skim over my hard, aching cock. A groan escapes my throat. “Do not,” I murmur, catching her hand in mine. “It has been too long since I have touched you. I must keep my control or else I will not make this very good for you.”

  For some reason, that makes Ell-ee give a throaty laugh. “Is that supposed to discourage me? I like the thought of making you crazy, Bek. I dream about it all day long.”

  “You do?” I am astonished. I think about new and exciting ways to touch her constantly, but I did not realize she did the same.

  She nods and gives me an excited look, squirming on the blankets with enthusiasm. “I think about when I put my hands on you and you make that noise in your throat.” She lays her palms against my chest, and I suck in a breath. “Like that,” she murmurs. “And I think about what noises you’d make if I put my mouth on you.”

  Is she suggesting…I groan at the thought. “Ell-ee.”

  “I want to do it,” she tells me. “Can I? Will you let me?”

  Will I let her? I can think of nothing else but that, now that she has called my attention to it. “Only if you wish to.”

  “Being with you makes me wish to do a great many things,” she says, and she pulls my loincloth free, exposing my cock to the air.

  She looks at my cock with such hungry eyes that it makes my entire body twitch in response. Her small, soft hands curl around my length, her odd-colored skin so vibrant against my dark blue. I love the sight of her fingers against my skin…almost as much as I love her touch. "I always forget how big you are," she murmurs in that soft, shy voice of hers. "And when I see you, it always surprises me. In a good way, of course." She flicks her gaze up to me and gives me a bash
ful smile.

  "I feel the same when I look at you, my Ell-ee," I tell her. "I forget how lovely you are, and then when I look at you, you take the air from my lungs."

  Her cheeks go pink with pleasure and she licks her lips. "I love you," she whispers. "I'm so glad you're home."

  I want to tell her of all the days I missed her, of how hard it was to be separated from her after I've found her, of what torture the long nights were, of how I worried over her, hating that she was here alone and that she might need me—but everything flies from my mind when she leans forward, her rounded bottom going into the air even as her mouth descends on my cock.

  I…have never felt something as good as this. The hot, wet suction of her mouth as she closes over the head of my cock…it is an indescribable pleasure. I make a noise that is neither sigh nor gasp, but something garbled in between. Her soft mane falls over my lap, caressing my thighs even as she works her mouth over my length, exploring me with her lips.

  Ell-ee's hand curls around my shaft, her other resting on my thigh. She kisses the head of my cock and then moves her mouth, trailing it up and down my skin, her tongue flicking at a thick vein on the underside. I try to remain still so I do not interrupt, but I cannot help but twitch in response every time her tongue touches against my skin. "Your skin is very soft here," she whispers to me. "And it smells like you." She sighs and rubs her face against my length, and I nearly spill my seed all over her face and mane at that small gesture.

  A groan escapes me and I reach out to brush her mane back from her cheeks, because I want to look at her as she touches me. I want to see if she finds this as pleasurable as I do. No matter how good it feels, if she does not look pleased, we will stop and I will put my mouth between her legs, because I know she likes that. But her eyes are closed and there is an expression of soft joy on her face as she touches me. Her fingers skim up and down my length in fluttering caresses, and when a drop of my seed crowns on the head of my cock, she leans in and tastes it with her tongue.

  And I must clench my fists so I do not lose control. My breath rasps in my throat, hard and rough. "Ell-ee," I growl. "Your mouth…it is too good. Let me pleasure you instead."

  "No," she insists, her stubborn streak showing. "I want to do this for you. I like this. Aren't you enjoying it?" She looks up at me, worried. "Am I doing it wrong?"

  "I do not think there is a wrong, my mate. If it feels good, that is all that matters." I reach out and caress her cheek. "And it feels very, very good."

  She smiles up at me, pleased.

  "Perhaps too good. I would give you pleasure instead." It is difficult to say the words, because she is already leaning over me once more, taking my cock into her mouth. Just that small motion is terribly distracting, and when her tongue glides along my shaft, I clench my fists and try to concentrate on less pleasing things so I do not spill my seed too soon and ruin her fun.

  "You can," she says after a moment. "When I'm done with you. It doesn't have to be either-or." Ell-ee chuckles, her breath whispering over my skin. "We can do both."

  I groan. She is too much, my sweet mate. I touch my hand to her mane, and when she makes an eager noise and takes me into her mouth again, I resist the urge to guide her head, to pump into the hot well of her mouth with my cock, to claim it like I do her cunt. The thought is a starkly appealing one, but my Ell-ee is fragile. I cannot—

  But then her fingers glide up to my spur and I lose control. She teases it, rubbing the length gently with her fingers, and the breath explodes from my body. I growl again, my hand twisting in her silky mane, and I cannot resist rocking forward, thrusting into her mouth. She makes a little sound of eager pleasure, looking up at me with hot eyes. She likes it, and she wants more. I will give her more, then. I groan as she clasps one hand around my shaft and sucks me back into her mouth. She increases the sensation, using her tongue and licking me eagerly, making little pleasure noises as she does. I cannot help myself; I push into her mouth again, and when she encourages me to do so again, I thrust back into her mouth. It feels incredible, and the realization that she enjoys it as much as I do doubles the pleasure I feel. I pump into the soft, wet heat of her mouth again, and it feels like I am stroking into her cunt. My people do not do this, but I have heard humans have no such problem, and the realization that my Ell-ee wishes to take me every way possible is a heady one. I am gentle as I stroke into her eager mouth, but as she caresses my spur and touches my sac, my movements become shaky, my motions less gentle. She encourages me, and then I am thrusting into her mouth, on the verge of my release, even as she whimpers and makes delighted sounds, ready for my seed. I want to come inside her, but she is so frantic with her mouth, so ready, so willing, that I cannot pull myself away from the delicious sensation, even for a moment. I thrust in again, and again, and when she rubs her tongue along the underside of my cockhead once more, I lose all control.

  I come inside her mouth, spilling on her tongue and lips. She gasps even as I groan, and when I try to pull free to finish my release, she grabs my tail and holds me in place, and I give her every last drop of my seed. It paints her mouth and chin, and she swallows, then licks her lips. "Oh, Bek," she whispers as she uses her tongue and fingers to lap up my spend. "I liked that so much."

  "You did?" I am fascinated by this, by how giving my mate is. I came in her mouth. It seems…wrong, but I liked it far too much for it to be something bad. Nothing is bad between us. "It is not the sa-khui way."

  "Maybe it should be." The tip of her tongue slicks along her upper lip. "I loved it. I loved watching you get so turned on, and when you put your hand in my hair…" She gives a little shiver of delight.

  I groan again, because even though I have just finished, she makes me hard with need once more. My cock stirs just as my khui does, and this time, I wish to pleasure her. With a low growl, I grab her by the waist and bear her back to the furs, trailing my mouth down her belly. She is thinner than I remember, my Ell-ee, and I resolve I will never leave her side again. I will make sure she eats all the time, until she is as round and plump as Mah-dee. I like that thought very much. I press kisses to the soft, pale skin of her belly, moving lower until I brush my lips over the curls of her cunt. Her scent is sweetest here, and I know her curls hide the pink flush of her folds, the wet, rich flavor of her. My mouth waters for a taste, and when she moans and her hands go to my horns, her thighs trembling, I understand why she enjoyed giving me pleasure with her mouth. When I do the same for her, there is nothing better in the world.

  And then I place my mouth on the soft flesh of her cunt, and she cries out, her body arching underneath me. A burst of wetness touches my tongue, telling me that she enjoys this as much as I enjoy her responses. There is a saying amongst the hunters—that there is no taste better than that of a resonance mate on your tongue, and I know this to be true. I have missed the taste of my sweet Ell-ee these long days apart. I have missed the taste of her, the scent of her need, the clench of her thighs as she presses against the sides of my face and horns. I glide one hand down her flank, caressing her. She has no tail for me to grasp onto, but I wind my tail around her ankle, clasping her against me. Her legs tremble and quiver as my tongue glides over her folds, and I can hear her breathing quickening with nervous anticipation. Ell-ee sucks in a breath when I explore her, teasing my mouth all along her cunt, but avoiding the best part—that sensitive third nipple at the top of her folds that she loves to be touched so much. I want to savor her first, to make her wild with need.

  "Bek," she pants, her teats heaving. "Please. Come inside me. I want you to fill me up."

  "Patience," I tell her, pleased that she is so needy. My khui rumbles with pleasure at the sight of her sprawled below me, her thighs clasping against my face. My mate. My perfect female, full of my kit and so wonderfully responsive to my touch. Resonance has chosen wisely for me, and I feel a burst of pride just looking at her. Ah, my sweet Ell-ee. So utterly perfect.

  Mine. All mine.

  With a g
rin of pure joy, I lower my head and go back to kissing and licking her cunt. I explore her with my mouth, though I have been between her thighs many times since we first mated. It does not matter. Every time is a delicious journey, and I love to feel her squirming underneath me, lifting her hips in silent guidance of where she wants my mouth most. I tease my tongue at the entrance to her core, where she is wettest, and when she moans my name, I give her a lick and then move away again, delighting in her whimper. I will pleasure her there, but in time. My cock already aches and grows hard with need once more, but I ignore it. It has been too long since I pleasured my Ell-ee, and I want to enjoy my time between her thighs.

  I could spend all night here and never grow tired of her little sighs, her whimpers, her moans. I glance up at her even as I trace one finger up and down her wet seam, and her head is thrown back in the furs, her eyes closed. Her teats thrust into the air, nipples tight and pink, and as I watch, she rolls her hips, a silent request for more.

  How can a male refuse such a pretty thing? I lower my head and press a kiss to the little nub of her third nipple, and she gives a little cry that makes my sac tighten in response. Ah, how I love that sound. I slide my finger back and forth along her folds, teasing her even as I tongue her nipple, making wet circles around it. She cries out, hips undulating underneath me, pressing up against my finger as I stroke nearer to her core. She wants to be pierced by it—by my body. She wants to be speared on my length, to have me fill her up.

  By the snows, I want that, too. But I want the taste of her release on my tongue first, like she gave to me. I picture her mouth, shiny and painted with my seed, and groan deep. It renews my fever for her, and I apply myself with ferocity, tonguing her nipple with rapid, repeated strokes even as I pump a finger into her warmth.