The cold water rushes over me, momentarily dulling my senses before I come up gasping for air. Cavek gives me a concerned look but I wave him off.
“I’m fine,” I mutter in response to his silent question.
His lips thin with worry, but he reluctantly nods as I reposition myself over the viciously struggling fish. I have no doubt that he doesn’t need my help, but that isn’t the point of this little exercise. If he did it himself, it wouldn’t serve the purpose of this particular courting task. Being submerged seems to have knocked a bit of clarity into me.
Whether he’s strong enough to take it on himself isn’t the point. We’re supposed to work together.
He grins at me , confident shining through.
“Come on, love. The fish is going to expire of old age before you spear it.”
I squint at the damned fish, determined that I won’t be beat as I thrust once more. I’m so surprised when the spear lodges in the fish that I nearly lose my footing again. My dignity is salvaged as I catch my balance and beam up at Cavek.
His face fills with pride and he leans forward, ignoring the desperate attempts of the fish as it thrashes. I can feel the strain on my arms and back as it struggles to get free. I watch with interest as he pulls out his dagger and, with a bulge of his bicep, plunges it deep into the base of the fish’s head, promptly halting all of its efforts to escape.
I try and lean, unsuccessfully, against my flimsy spear; the thing practically bows under the slightest weight, much to my consternation. Exhausted, my entire body shivers as blood slowly curls through the water. Cavek grins up at me as he fills the basket with water and pulls the fish inside of it. I’m impressed to see that it doesn’t leak when he pulls it free from the river.
“Marsh weed,” he explains as I stare at the basket. “Many females gather it in mid-summer to make water-tight baskets.”
I walk up onto the banks and turn to watch him pack the fish. I stare at the way the muscles in his back and asscheeks flex as he bends to rinse his hands and forearms clean in the river. I instantly forget the chill from the water as my temperature shoots up and warm heat dampens my thighs further.
Cavek slowly stands and turns his head, his nostrils flaring as he scents me. I know it’s me he smells by the way his eyes enflame as he looks at me. He ascends the banks. It takes no more than a few steps until he’s right in front of me, his arms sweeping me up as he backs me into a thick tree.
Without preamble, he thrusts his hand between our bodies and drags his fingers delicately over the slick folds of my sex as his tongue plunders my mouth in a sweeping kiss. My brain short circuits at this sensual attack. I retain just enough presence of mind to wage my own onslaught against him. My tongue slides against his in an erotic battle as I gyrate my hips in a mating dance as old as time.
When his fingers gently rub at my labia with two digits while his thumb and forefinger pluck at my clit, I jerk my hips with so much force that he chuckles into my mouth. He repeats the motion over and over again until my body thrums and dances on the edge of climax. I shudder and shoot over the edge when he pushes two fingers deep within me, thrusting at a vigorous tempo to ride me through my orgasm. I fall against his chest, crying out with pleasure.
His fingers gently slide out of me, and then seconds later his hands grip my thighs, lifting me high against him, my pussy level with his hard, bare length. He moves away and leans down until my back makes contact with the soft grass. Tiny, bright butterflies suddenly wing up all around us from the butterfly-weed and wildflowers mixed within the long grassy turf.
I wrap my legs around him and eagerly accept him as the pierced head of his wide cock slowly pushes into my channel. He groans into my neck as he enters me, stopping when our pelvises meet. He holds me there against him for several minutes while he pants and regains control of himself, allowing me time to become accustomed once again to his size.
I tighten my legs around him, my feet digging into his ass as I push my hips forward. If he isn’t going to hurry up and move, I’m going to get this party started. Cavek groans, growls, and nips my neck, leaving an erotic sting. A completely sensual reprimand.
“I’m in control, love,” he grunts. “I will bring you pleasure when I am ready to do so.”
“Well, hurry up and get on with the pleasuring,” I moan, twisting my hips and squeezing myself around his length to get my point across. I take delight in the way his eyes momentarily seem to cross until he pulls back and slams into me, and I’m pretty certain that mine cross then too. His tongue laves my shoulder and trails up and down my neck as he pounds into me. I lift my hips as his snap forward, desperate to draw him deep within me.
Our tempo builds to a frenzy as we fight for dominance. Our bodies crash together, moans rising up like primal cries into the dim atmosphere around us. My pussy flutters with yet another orgasm as I feel him expand within me, his cock pulsating and the tiny ring pierced through the tip nearly vibrating deep within me.
I cry out as he buries himself deep within me one final time and stays there, his teeth grazing my shoulder, pinning me, as his heat spurts and pours within me. That familiar tingling quality that I thought had been a trick of my imagination before sweeps through me as his hot cum hits the walls of my pussy, sending me into a screaming orgasm.
His body curls around mine and he bellows again, his body releasing another hot spurt. His protective posture both keeps the chill of the air off me. His body is stiff and seemingly aware of everything around us until he finally slips free of my body. He rolls into the grass beside me with a content sigh, his arm drawing me up onto his chest as he strokes a hand through my hair.
I swear I see a pixie hover and giggle before darting away as my eyes drift closed, the warm sun and the heat of his body a dual comfort easing me into brief slumber.
Chapter 13
Cavek
I look down at the basket we carry between us, unable to help smiling the entire way home. Kate casts amused glances at me from time to time, but her eyes sparkle with her own happiness. We are returning home exhausted but sated.
“You do realize that we probably have the most dismal catch in all of recent memory,” I say thoughtfully. Most troll pairs will fish zealously through this stage of their courting in an attempt to secure bragging rights, but I don’t mind at all.
The courting ritual not only satisfied its purpose, but it also finally gave my mate over to me once again. Touching and tasting my female is far better than any other reward. I will never admit as much, but days of lying in celibacy next to Kate have been torture. But seeing the passion mixed with budding new love in her eyes as she drew me into her has been worth it. Kate is worth everything.
“Fine by me,” Kate chuckles. “Being happy with just one fish is a perfectly acceptable trade-off for four orgasms.”
I hum in agreement as my cock, despite recently sated, surges with desire at the memory of the feel of her around me. I am looking forward to repeating our joining many times over. Perhaps as soon as we arrive home.
My arousal dies quickly when we step through the trees and I see my brother waiting for us in front of our den. He raises a hand in greeting the moment he spots us, but it’s nothing compared with the wide smile on Boukie’s mud smeared face.
The mud on her face only matches the layers of mud caking her tiny body from the top of her head down to her feet. Her muddy curls stick out at odd angles with bits of straw and twigs protruding from them. Kate sucks in a breath beside me, but I don’t think it’s entirely due to Boukie’s state of complete filth. No, I have no doubt it is due to the wiggling, and equally muddy mawu pup licking at her with its long-forked tongue.
“Boukie! Drop that thing right now!” Kate yells with such alarm that Serus’s eyes widen at her and even I nearly jump.
“But Mommy...” Boukie whines, her lower lip poking out as she clutches the pup even tighter to her chest. Its tiny barbed tail wags with joy as it yips in a tiny squeaking voice.
> “But Mommy nothing. Put that monster down right now before it bites you. What were you thinking letting her carry that thing?” she snaps at Serus.
“Kate, it is a mawu pup, not a monster,” Serus flounders helplessly, his eyes darting as if seeking a quick escape before landing on me with a silent plea for help.
“A what?”
“It’s a puppy,” Boukie says happily, thrusting the little beast toward her mother with delight. “Uncle Serus took me.”
Kate reels back from the wriggling mawu. “I thought you were talking about dogs! No dog I’ve ever seen is covered with blue scales and has four eyes and six legs!”
I shrug helplessly and retrieve my son from Serus. Cradling Cavekji against my chest, I cut an annoyed look at my brother. He was supposed to show her the pups, not bring her home covered in mud with the runt of the litter. I don’t enjoy the hunt the way many members of my family do. I have no use for a mawu. Even if I did, this one is half the size of a pup its age. It never would have been accepted into a hunt-pack.
“I wanna keep him,” Boukie protests, her eyes widening pitifully at us. I almost capitulate then and there but Kate is made of iron and apparently, despite being a warrior for a great many years, I am not.
“Rebecca, I mean it. You can’t keep it,” Kate says firmly, stepping back from the pup as it swipes its serpentine tongue at her.
I watch in horror as Boukie’s face crumbles, big tears rolling down her cheeks as she draws in ragged sobs. I exchange a panicked glance with my brother. I don’t have any idea what to do with this. I will happily let her have the pup and anything else just to make her cease her crying.
“But Mommy, all his brother and sisters got homes. He’s all alone. He didn’t have a family. He needs a family,” she finishes on a long wail. The pup twitches it long ears and tilts its head back to howl in accompaniment.
“I hardly think that’s the end of the world for him,” Kate grits out from between clenched teeth.
Serus widens his eyes earnestly. It’s a ridiculous expression on the face of a grown male troll, especially one who is considerably larger than the average male of our species. He brushes a dark lock of dusky purple hair out of his face which somehow makes him all the more endearing to females. It makes me sick. And I do not appreciate him trying to manipulate my mate in such a way. I growl a low warning and his eyes flicker with consternation.
My fool of an older sibling pushes on anyway, though with slightly less exaggerated sweetness.
“Truly, Kate, Boukie is right. The pup is the runt of his litter and without a hunt-pack or someone to bond with, it would have eventually grown ill and died. Mawu are not meant to be solitary creatures. Now that he is bonding with Boukie, he will be both a companion and a protector for her.”
“He looks dangerous,” Kate states bluntly.
“Not to his family he isn’t,” I grudgingly admit. “There is no better animal than a mawu.”
“I’m not sure how comfortable I feel waking up in the same house with what looks like a demon dog coming to me for its breakfast every morning.”
The mawu’s four electric green eyes fasten on us as it whimpers. I can’t say I blame Kate. Unlike delfass kittens, who at least look cuddly, a mawu is as far from cuddly as one can get.
Kate sighs and looks at me at length. “Do you endorse keeping it?”
I shift uneasily, trying not to look at Boukie’s pleading eyes.
“I am not particularly prepared to have a mawu in the house, but it wouldn’t hurt Boukie to have him. Many families have hunt-packs. You would be hard pressed to find many trollbies without a mawu or two following them around,” I admit.
“When I was a trollbie, having a fully grown trained mawu was considered something of a status symbol,” Serus added. “Royal children are expected to have them. Although he is a runt, she will probably fit in better with him at her side.”
I glare at my brother. He’s not helping. To my surprise, Kate makes a small noise that indicates agreement. I never would have expected to be swayed by that sort of argument.
“She does seem awfully attached to him already... If it’s that normal for a child to have a mawu, I don’t want her to feel singled out by not having one,” she mutters, her brow furrowing. “Just how big is he going to get?”
I arch an eyebrow at Serus. He gets to break the news to her. After all, this was his brilliant idea.
My brother coughs. “A full grown mawu is a little larger than a delfass. They are not only working beasts in the hunt but favored mawu serve as mounts.” As my mate’s eyes widen in horror, he rushes to add, “But Boukie’s mawu will be much smaller than that. Still of a size where she can ride him, but he would never carry the larger, heavier frame of a troll.”
“So he’s a monster,” she breathes.
“Just a little one,” Serus agrees with a snort.
Crossing her arms over her chest, she looks down at Boukie’s hopeful face.
“There will be some ground rules...”
Boukie eagerly nods, a wide smile breaking out over her face.
“He will not terrorize our house...”
“No, Mommy,” Boukie agrees.
“You will feed him...”
“Yes, I promise,” Boukie says excitedly, holding her pup closer to her.
Kate sighs and for a moment I can imagine how my mother felt when my brothers and I brought baby ciroons home and begged to keep them. The long-eared flying rodents ravaged our mother’s gardens for years during their nominally short lifespans. Faced with this now, I think I owe my mother a huge apology. Despite being a runt, the mawu is going to turn our den upside-down until he outgrows his pup phase.
“Okay,” Kate finally concedes and shakes her head as Boukie and Serus slap palms together. I am confused by this gesture, but it must have some celebratory meaning among humans that Boukie taught him. I growl as I feel the barest stir of jealousy that my brother is bonding with my daughter more than I am at this moment. I know I must focus on my mate, but I don’t want another male stepping in my place with my children either.
With Cavekji tucked in close to me, I crouch down beside Boukie and lean forward, evading the whip-like tongue to scratch the beast behind the ears.
“What will you call him? Vor? Emu? Ora?” I suggest helpfully, drawing on the names of some of the finest mawu males I have heard of.
Boukie frowns and shakes her head.
“No...” she says thoughtfully. “He looks like Stitch to me. I’m gonna call him Stitch.”
Kate suddenly giggles. When I raise my eyebrows, she laughs harder.
“Sorry, Cavek,” she snickers as she wipes tears from her eyes. “She’s naming him after her favorite cartoon alien who’s not much bigger than Lucy’s chihuahua.”
The irony catches me so off guard that I begin to laugh as well. The only one in the dark is Serus, but even he wears a content grin, pleased that everything worked out well.
When Kate finally regains control over herself, she levels a firm glare at Serus and points at him in such dire warning that it makes my brother’s smile falter. I feel a bloom of lust rise in me at the ferocity of my female. She is exquisite, and she is all mine.
“Now for you. Since you were generous enough to offload a puppy on me, just keep in mind that someday when you least expect it, I will get you back. Come on, Boukie. Let’s get you cleaned up.”
Boukie sets the pup on the ground and calls, “Come on, Stitch. Let’s go inside!”
“Hold it!” Kate shouts, making the child and her pup tumble to halt.
“You and Stitch are going to stand right out here while Cavek and I fetch water to rinse you off. I’m not having you bring an entire mud pit inside.”
It is with much laughter and some outraged squealing—especially when due to some slip of the hand Kate is accidentally doused with a bucket of water, which results in an immediate attack on my person with her own supply—that we finally get both pup and child clean enough to
go indoors and throw the pair into the bath.
Boukie sits in the tub, blowing bubbles at Stitch who snaps his teeth happily at them from where he sits across from her in the water. Kate and I work together to scrub the pair of them down with soap. Somehow, I got stuck with the mawu, which turned its head to lap at me every half minute. Its tail agitated the water the entire time as I attempted to clean all the folds and scales of the slippery beast, much to Boukie’s delight.
The sight of them curled together on her bed, one slender arm wrapped around Stitch, fills me with a strange sort of contentment. Just maybe this is another step to becoming a family. A smelly and generally unpleasant one, but still sweet in its own way.
Chapter 14
Cavek
I wake up in the darkness again. It’s all around me. There is nothing but the fetid stench of my cell and the half-rotten bits of food they try to feed me. I scrape off the little that is edible and do my best to sustain myself. I can hear my guard’s taunting laughter. Every day passes much like the last. I have no sense of time apart from the one time a week they drag me out of my hole and torture me.
He whispers through the cell bars that he is looking forward to it. He always looks forward to my pain and humiliation.
My body shudders with dread as I hear him come closer and closer.
He whispers promises of what he is going to do to me. I can smell his excitement on him and my stomach heaves, desperate to empty itself of what little nutrition that sustains it.
I shake my head. No, this isn’t right. I cannot be here again. I shout out. Where is my son? Where is my mate? The guard laughs. I have no one here, he reminds me. My mate and my son are nothing but a dream, he says, as he reaches through the bars and drags his claws against my hip. Agony of the like I have never felt rises in my heart and I howl with rage and despair as he laughs at my misery.
The Troll Bride Page 10