First Contact

by S. J. Sanders

  He could get lost in those eyes, as dark and fathomless as a starless space.

  She hesitantly began to move her fingers over the pelt on his chest and he leaned into it eagerly. Her fingers alternately scratched, rubbed, and stroked at him, making his tactile senses go dizzy with desire. He buried his nose into the junction of her neck and shoulder and breathed her into his body, taking in her sweet scent that became richer with the first hints of her arousal. The faint scent grew stronger until he could nearly taste it on his tongue.

  He needed something more.

  He licked her neck over the rapid beat of her pulse and felt it leap in response, her body writhing against him as he stroked her smooth flesh with his hands. Sometimes he extended his claws just for the briefest erotic touch, which had her gasping and moving against him eagerly. For the first time, he was at a complete loss. His only sexual experience had been not only lackluster but also entirely directed by the female. He didn’t know anything about sharing pleasure with a female, and certainly not such a delicate female as Geree.

  As if sensing something was missing in his touch, his female pulled back and looked him in the eye, her brow furrowing with concern. She lacked the subtle cues that the Forad exchanged since she had no fur, flexible ears, or tail with which to convey them. But because he’d been studying the malleable expressions that often flitted across her face, he had become adept at reading them as they passed countless hours together.

  “What’s wrong?” she asked in a husky whisper, and he shuddered in response.

  “I don’t... I don’t know how to do this,” he admitted.

  Her smile lit up her face.

  “I know. You already told me about your lack of experience.”

  He shifted uncomfortably. “Yes, but I do not wish you to think I am completely inept. I know the mechanics of all of it. I am just very nervous.”

  She ran one hand up against his jaw and cheekbone and he purred, his claws extending with pleasure. He was careful to keep them away from her skin to avoid inadvertently hurting his female.

  “Well,” Geree said after a long moment, “what would you like to do?”

  Ehmhy started. He’d expected to receive direction on how to please her. He had not expected his female to ask him what he desired. He was raised to appreciate sharing in a female’s desire if he were so fortunate. That he would derive his pleasure from hers. That hadn’t happened with the Gida, but he was confident it would be different with Geree.

  Twisting a lock of dark curls between his thumb and forefinger, he looked down at her as he drew more of her scent deep into his lungs. His female desired and wanted him. Him! He was nothing more than a trader’s son, unworthy of a female on Forashual, but suddenly he found himself the sole focus of a beautiful female who was equally interested in his pleasure. His mouth felt dry and he wasn’t sure if he could even move his tongue much less produce sensible words.

  “I would like... that is to say... I desire...” He swallowed, his nerves spiking.

  Geree smiled up at him sweetly and wrapped her arms around his neck, drawing him closer. His fur stirred with the soft puffs of her hot breath upon him. He shuddered and her eyes widened and then narrowed with a knowing gleam. She leaned closer and intentionally blew across the fur of his chest, up his cheek until her breath caressed the delicate structure of his ear.

  Pleasure twisted through him, setting him ablaze as his cock threatened to push past the folds that contained it. Ehmhy was certain he never felt anything of the like. He helplessly moaned a low-pitched mating call when her fingers brushed over his balls and sheath. She gasped and lifted her pelvis to push against him as his moans vibrated through her.

  Her hand stilled, and she glanced down at him with curiosity as her hand grazed him again, her lips parting in a familiar expression of delight. He groaned and pushed into her hand as his cock slipped out of its sheath into her warm palm. Her fingers curled around it reflexively as she pumped him a few times. Her eyes slowly heated beneath the thick fringe of those dark eyelashes fanning down low over her eyes. With a groan, he extricated himself from her grip.

  “Geree,” he whispered throatily as he frankly began to lick and suck at her flesh, his textured tongue making her squirm against him with every rasp. She tasted like something wild and forbidden. He could taste the heat of her, and her gasps urged him on; he left no inch of her unexplored. Nothing tasted like his Geree, and when his tongue dropped to her cunt and dipped within the slick folds there, her cry gratified him as much as the rich flavor that dripped across his tongue with every lap and flick.

  GERRY FELT LIKE SHE was dying as his mouth teased her until it finally lit an orgasm that rocked through her with all the brutality of the thunder booming overhead. Fire licked over her skin in the exact places his tongue had traced only moments before, as if lightning was bearing down on her and snapping over her with its tempest currents. She shrieked as it stole over her, certain that her entire being was going up in flames as he pushed her ruthlessly to a second shattering climax. Her fingers tangled in his long braid, holding on to him for all she was worth.

  Eventually her body eased, and Gerry whimpered when he withdrew, but it wasn’t for long. The brush of fur and the pressure of his hips alerted her to the change in position. She opened her eyes and found herself looking into Ehmhy’s crystalline gaze. His eyes looked like molten silver in that moment and his chest heaved with his ragged pants.

  “Geree, I can’t... I need...”

  Understanding flared to life inside her and she pulled him against the cradle of her hips. A sense of rightness filled her being as his cock fit comfortably against her sex, the tip of it nudging against her clit, making her shudder. He shifted his pelvis, making his member slide against her folds, and she swallowed a gasp. He made another eerie moaning sound and her pussy instantly drenched with a fresh wave of arousal.

  On his next pass, the thick, swollen length of him pushed inside her and her hips jerked in response. He was large, not insanely so, but it was enough that her recent dry spell made her body sit up and take notice as the knobs of his cock slipped inside of her. When he fully seated himself, his massive body shuddered, and he growled so deeply she could feel it through her bones. She looked up at him as burning need mingled with wide-eyed anxiety. Ehmhy met her eyes and purred in such a lulling manner she found herself beginning to relax, and her body began to ease its death grip around him.

  He rocked against her, his pelvis at first brushing against hers with each shift deep inside of her. That sweetness gave way to something untamed. At first it was his pelvis grinding against hers with every thrust. That drove her wild. She began to lift her bottom to meet him, and the more she did that, the rougher he became, his body seeking to meet hers and dominate. And she gave all to him. Her fingers clawed against his back and shoulders, eliciting deep growls of pleasure.

  He not only gave her pleasure but took it eagerly for himself, stoking her own fire in the process. Even when he bent her back so he could lick and suck her nipples as he pounded into her, his hands tangled in her hair, she couldn’t object to that sting of pain. She relished those infrequent light touches of his claws against her skin. For a moment, she wondered what it would be like if he applied more pressure and marked her with them. But he was always careful. Even when Ehmhy’s hips slapped against her in a steady rhythm, he was careful not to hurt her. He provided only a modest sting of pain to sharpen her pleasure.

  That sting grew more intense as he worked himself within her and she felt a hardening edge of flesh at the tip of his phallus. It rubbed against her in all the right spots. With a snarl, Ehmhy pushed against her, the thick length of his cock pushing deeper. Maybe a shade too far, as Gerry felt a slight pinch, but the dull pain was forgotten as she was suddenly flooded with a rush of intense pleasure. She moaned and pushed against him as he ground down against her.

  He was no longer drawing out and thrusting but moving his pelvis to grind deep within her. The hea
d of his cock twitched, stimulating some hidden area inside of her, and it intensified each time he bore down on her until she flew apart. Her fingers clenched in his fur as she angled her hips up, arched her back, and screamed out her release. Ehmhy came right after her as her pussy squeezed around him. He pulsated and his heat spurted against the entrance of her womb. Her eyes rolled back in her head and she came again until her body fell limp beneath him as she panted for breath.

  The low purr in the air brought her back to awareness, coupled with the gentle stroke of his hands along her sides and his tail flicking against her thigh. She blinked up at him and smiled.

  “Hey,” she whispered, her voice roughened from her passion.

  He rubbed his broad nose against her and resumed purring. She wiggled beneath him and felt a sharp pinch. She squeaked in alarm even as his arms went rigid around her. He didn’t stop purring. If anything, it kicked up a notch.

  “Just give it a moment for my barb to retract,” he gasped around a purr as she twitched again.

  “Your penis has a barb?” Her tone conveyed every bit of horror she felt over that little piece of news.

  “It does not hurt,” he murmured, kissing her shoulder and neck. “Only if we try to fight against its hold does it hurt either of us.”

  Gerry froze. “It hurts you?”

  He smoothed her hair back with his warm hand. “A little when you pull away against it. But like this I am fine, and it feels good.”

  “This would’ve been a good piece of information to know before we did the horizontal mambo,” she muttered. The offense in his eyes was clear when he looked at her.

  “You would have rejected me?”

  Gerry shook her head and laughed at herself. “Most likely not. It just would have been good to be prepared is all.”

  He seemed to give that some thought and then nodded.

  She groaned as she tried to stay still under him. “So how long are we stuck like this?”

  “A few more minutes,” he said, and Gerry was relieved. At least it wasn’t going to be some sort of nightmare mating lock out of a horror scenario where the female was locked to the male for hours on end. Gerry liked Ehmhy, was fond of him even, but hours of waiting for his dick to die down would have been a no-go on any future encounters. Having to wait a few minutes? She could live with that.

  Eventually, his barb loosened and his cock slipped free. Gerry looked at the limp length lying flaccid against his thigh. At the tip stood a stiff hook-like tissue, rising out of the head of his cock. In contrast, the entire length was pebbled with small knobs. She watched with interest as the barb softened and shrunk back down into the rounded head, and his cock slipped back into its fuzzy sheath.

  Ehmhy’s breath fanned her neck as he chuckled at her obvious fascination. She grinned up at him.

  “Hands down, you’ve got the most interesting dick I’ve ever seen.”

  “Thank you... I think,” he laughed.

  She curled into his side, snuggling into his fur as his tail wrapped once more around her. Gerry sighed. She’d been so cold earlier but completely forgot about it while they were having sex, and now she was toasty warm. Granted, she was practically lying on top of Ehmhy. She listened for any sign of protest from him, but he merely purred as he fell asleep. Only then did she relax enough to follow him into slumber.

  Chapter 9

  Ferikal was burning up. Suzee had kept him entertained through the worst of the storm with songs and stories, distracting him from his terror. It was still raining and there was a strong wind, but the hurricane had passed by. He’d hoped that his fears would abate with the passing of the storm, but it was supplanted with a new horror.

  He was trapped and the worst possible thing that could have occurred had happened.

  He was in his heat.

  Pushing his head against the bars of his cage, he panted miserably. The annoying itch that had started earlier in the evening had fanned into a burning flame under his fur. One that he couldn’t outrun. Tears sprung to his eyes. This wasn’t how his heat was supposed to happen. He was supposed to be on Forashual like his father wished, surrounded by his relatives, his uncles, grandfather, and cousins who would honor this time and keep him soothed. Instead, he was alone, save for the company of one small human female who his body suddenly craved and demanded.

  He was embarrassed. Ferikal had never before felt even the slightest stir of lust. That was not a thing of fashi-mu. The stirring of desire was a part of heat and the bridge to adulthood via fashi-afar. He was still considered too young for sexual bonding, but his body didn’t care about social custom. It made him suffer with every bit of its terrible yearning.

  On the other side of the bars, Suzee leaned in with worry clear on her strange furless, flat face. She set her hands on the metal as if to reach for him, but he recoiled. Hurt flooded her features and he felt regret for it. He didn’t want to make her sad. He yearned for her touch, but he did not trust himself. He did not know what he could do with a cage separating them, but he did not want to find out what he might do in his maddened state.

  “I am sorry,” he whimpered. “I don’t want to hurt you. Please don’t look at me that way, Suzee. I just can’t.”

  “What’s wrong with you? You look terrible,” she observed bluntly, and he managed a humorless laugh.

  “It is my heat. It is making me sick. I am too far from home to take care of it properly.”

  Her eyes raked over him with worry. He leaned against the furthest bars, panting with misery but meeting her eyes, sharing his vulnerability. Her eyes widened slightly before she thrust her pointed chin out and her pink mouth set in a determined line.

  “Well, if you’re sick, we’d best get you better then. What do you need?”

  He cleared his roughened throat, emotion tightening it. “I need something cold to draw the heat from my body, and then just distraction until I can get through this.”

  Nodding her head slowly, Suzee tightened her lips. “All right, no problem. I’ll fetch some cold rainwater that’s been collecting and a rag. No one will miss either. And I’m fair at talking up a storm. I know I can distract you well enough.”

  Despite his pain, he managed a small smile. “Thank you,” he whispered.

  “Don’t be thanking me yet. I suspect this ain’t going to be pleasant for a minute,” she said as she got up and slipped out the door into the rain.

  Ferikal watched anxiously for a sign of her return. His skin itched and burned but all he could think of was the young female returning to him. She wouldn’t abandon him to suffer alone. Several minutes passed by, enough that his faith started to waiver, when her head poked in seconds before she crept inside. She held a large bowl. Draped over the edge of it was a threadbare rag.

  “Sorry, it ain’t much, but it’s the best I could do. Ruth would notice if one of her better rags went missing. But there’s plenty of cold water for you. Now come closer so I can help you, and just you relax. Ruth and her boys won’t even come out onto their porch until the rain lets up,” she said with a giggle.

  Ferikal slid over to the place he’d abandoned by the bars, his body taut as his nerves shrieked in warning of her nearness. His heat demanded—no! Ferikal shook his head. He was now fashi-afar; he was a Forad male, not a beast. He would control his heat. His eyes focused on her movements as she wet the rag and reached between the bars to stroke it down his fur.

  The cool moisture permeated his fur, soothing his inflamed skin. The relief was instantaneous. Well, as close to relief as he was going to get until the heat cycle finished, he acknowledged. He leaned against the bars and allowed his eyes to drift closed to the drone of Suzee’s gentle voice jumping from one subject to another as she wet the cloth once more and continued to stroke it down his pelt.

  WHEN EHMHY WOKE, THE rain still beat down on the hull of the engine room, but he could already tell the difference. The lingering wind and rain were no longer dangerous on their own, but he worried about taking his female o
ut for a lengthy period where she was liable to get soaked and could easily fall ill. She did not have the thick fur of a Forad to protect her from the elements. He couldn’t bring himself to risk her health when their progress would be no quicker over the wet ground with scents muddled from the rain than it would be if they waited for the storm to pass.

  Yet he couldn’t bear the idea of lingering another day when Ferikal needed him. His eyes tracked Geree as she came from the cleansing unit at the furthest corner of the engine room. Although it had no running water or cleansing powders, it was their most sanitary option for disposing of their waste. As he watched her hips sway, his fur puffed out with interest and he could barely hold back the tiny trill that tickled the back of his throat. As it was, he was unable to control the rapid swish of his tail betraying his arousal. Geree was no fool. She glanced down at his tail and her lips immediately quirked up. He shuddered when her hand reached back to grip his tail as it slid the length from root to tip.

  “What are you over here thinking so seriously about, huh?” she murmured, her dark eyes soft with what he was surprised to find to be tenderness.

  His ears went flat against his head. He did not want Geree to think that he valued her wellbeing less than that of his nephew. She tugged on his tail, stirring his groin, but he got the message. She wasn’t going to let him ignore her question.

  “I am at an uncomfortable impasse,” he admitted. “I do not wish to endanger your health in the foul weather, but the storm has let up enough for safe travel and I cannot bear the thought of leaving my nephew in the hands of his captors any longer than I must. I want to stay here to wait out the rain for your sake, but I want to rush to his side too. I do not know which is the right decision.”