by Lily Thomas
“Let go of me!” Ezi screamed as she began beating him with her fists.
Tor held on to her waist, not wanting to let her go, but also not wanting to tear into her delicate flesh with his sharp nails. One of her fists flew through the air and connected with his nose.
Thankfully, he didn’t hear a snap, but the pain rocked his head back as he let go of her waist. She didn’t wait for him to recover.
In a flash, she’d shifted into her pronghorn form.
“Ezi. Wait. I can control myself.” He held out a hand, but she was gone. Her hooves kicked up patches of dirt and grass before she disappeared into the night.
Tor roared at the blinking stars above him. If he wasn’t a sabertooth, he’d have his mate by now. He was sure of that. Every time he got close to her, his other side would push her away.
Running a clawed hand through his hair, he sucked in several deep breaths trying to calm himself, but the predator inside wasn’t about to let his prey get away, not when he could smell her need in the air. She’d been just aroused as himself.
Ezi fled. Her heart thundered inside her massive pronghorn ribcage, and she wasn’t sure it was because she was running or because of how close she’d been to opening her thighs to a sabertooth shifter. So close.
A roar ripped through the night air, and she stumbled over her long hooved legs, caught herself before she went down and continued to tearing through the woods. It would take her several minutes of running before she got back to the village and the safety of his hut… assuming he wouldn’t follow her right inside.
Twisting her head side to side, she searched for a place to escape. Blood roared in her ears as her hooves pounded over the ground. Tor was a fierce hunter and her mate, and she had no doubt he would find her no matter where she fled.
With every hoof beat a whiff of crushed grass would drift up to her pronghorn nose. It was the one scent that stayed with her as she flew through the forest. Every other scent zipped past her as the wind whipped through her short fur.
Another loud roar from behind had her heart skittering in her chest as it seemed to cause the branches above her tremble in fear.
Tor was hunting.
Hunting her.
A thrill sped through her. She did her best to quell the anticipation coursing through her veins. This should scare her, not cause her body to heat. Even her pronghorn was quivering in need and expectancy. They were both crazy. This was a sabertooth shifter chasing them down.
In a split-second decision that she knew she would regret, she zigged, veering away from the village. She was about to play a tricky game with a dangerous adversary. He would want more, and she… she was just looking for a way to release some pent-up emotions.
Then Ezi heard the snap of a twig behind her. Her ears flicked back, and then she flew through the air as a large paw landed against her flank, sending her reeling, she shifted mid-air into her human form and prepared herself to hit the ground… but she landed against a bare chest as Tor took the brunt of the fall.
“Mate.” He growled, the words guttural and barely understandable.
Before she could utter a word, he flipped over her until he was above her, and then he stood up on his knees. His blue eyes flashed with the speckles of gold she’d noticed earlier. She almost wanted to say the gold glowed like a hot coal. Then her eyes noticed the tips of his canines peeping out from behind his upper lips.
His sabertooth was sitting right under his skin.
A thrill pierced her, and she wasn’t sure whether it was fear or exhilaration that flowed through her veins.
His chest moved in and out as he sucked in deep breaths, and she did the same as they both recovered after the wild dash through the forest.
“Tor.”
“Stop.” He growled.
Ezi snapped her mouth shut as she waited in silence. He looked like he was warring with his inner sabertooth, trying to regain control of the beast within. She should end this, end this now before it went any further.
“Touch me,” Tor commanded her.
Ezi hesitated. She could end this… but they were hidden in the darkness of the night, and she did find Tor to be an attractive man who could ease the itch within her.
Decision made.
Ezi’s hand grabbed a firm hold of his cock. Her eyes never left his as she slowly stroked his length, before rubbing her thumb across the head where she encountered a bead of wetness. She spread it around in lazy circles as she explored his length.
Then her hand ventured lower to his balls. She cupped them, feeling their weight in her palm. Lightly, she played with them, exploring them to her heart’s content.
“Stroke my member,” Tor growled above her.
Her gaze dipped to his erect member as she wrapped her fingers around it. It pulsed and a slow smile curved her lips as she pumped it. When she heard Tor suck in a deep breath, the smile on her lips grew even larger. Glancing up, she noticed his eyelids had sunk closed, and his lips had parted in pleasure.
His hips bucked eagerly under her ministrations, and soon they were both pumping his cock in her hand.
Tor abruptly yanked back, and her hand slid away from his cock, but she didn’t have to wait long to find out what he wanted to do next. Tor reached between them and knocked her thighs apart with his hands.
The cool night air rushed up to brush her sex, and then Tor’s hot mouth covered her. Ezi startled as she pushed at Tor’s head. “Tor!” What was he doing? Drakk had never done this. Did anyone do this?
Pulling away slightly, he growled at her, “Let me taste you. Let me pleasure you.”
“I don’t think”
Tor sucked against her flesh as his teeth scraped her nub. Sensation rolled through her, and her hips bucked, shoving her sex into Tor’s face. Ezi’s head rolled on her shoulders as she moaned in ecstasy.
His tongue leisurely licked from her nub down to her entrance, where he stuck the tip in her. Then he trailed his way back up to her nub, where he rubbed with the tip of his tongue. Sizzles of pleasure coursed through her, and her hands fisted in the grass next to her body.
Tor’s hands pressed against the soft flesh of her thighs, opening her up to him more fully. He pressed a couple of fingers into her entrance, spreading her as he thrust them inside. His tongue danced across her nub as his fingers hit every sensitive spot within her. Her hips bucked wildly as the pressure built inside her frame.
Glancing down her abdomen, she saw his dark head of hair between her legs, which were raised around him like a couple of mountains. His beard tickled her skin, but it only added to the pleasure racing through her.
Ezi’s hips jerked as the pressure inside her built to an unbearable amount. She was going to crash.
“Tor.” She pleaded as she thrashed around on the ground.
“I want to hear you.” He growled against her sensitive flesh, and it was all she needed to push her over the cliff. “Scream my name.”
“Tor! Yes!” Ezi’s eyes slid shut as her hips bucked. His hand pressed into her flesh as he drove his fingers in and out of her in a harsh rhythm. She hissed in much needed air as her body heated. And then she crashed. Her entrance clamped down around his fingers, and her legs pressed against his head.
As the pleasure dimmed, her body spasmed as he slowly stopped thrusting his fingers into her.
Opening her eyes, she watched him lean back up onto his knees, a smile plastered all over his face, his canines still showing, but they’d receded a bit.
“You’re beautiful, Ezi.”
She flushed at the compliment. What they were doing was scratching an itch. After tonight, she planned on things going back to the same, her avoiding eye contact with him and Tor pursuing her relentlessly.
One of his rough-skinned hands ran over her soft thigh in a gentle caress. Then his eyes fell to her leg, and he bent closer.
“From your wound?” A finger ran over the scar she’d forgotten.
Glancing down, she nodded her head.
“From the injury, I suffered when the sabertooth shifters attacked.”
“One of them bit you?”
Glancing up, Ezi saw the spark of rage exploding in his blue eyes. Before his fury consumed him, she rushed to say, “I haven’t seen or scented the same sabertooth here. He either died that night or left with Brog.”
The fury slowly eased out of his eyes. “Good.” And then he laid down over her. His chest pressed her back against the ground as his lips found hers. She melted under his tender caresses. Raising her hands, she dug them into his black hair and pressed him against her.
Tor chuckled.
She felt him reach between their hot bodies, and then the head of his cock prodded her soaking wet entrance.
Tor broke the kiss and grinned down at her. “Feels so good.”
Ezi’s hips bucked, thrusting his cock into her slick entrance. With a groan above her, Tor took over. His hands gripped her hips, his claws digging into her skin as he pumped into her. His thrusts were wild and deep.
“Feels so good.” He groaned above her. The muscles in his arms strained in the flickering moonlight.
Tor was huge, and he stretched her to the point that she thought he might break her. It was like nothing she’d ever experienced before. They fit perfectly.
Their moans of pleasure mixed together in the night air as he stroked in and out of her tight entrance. Her hips bucked against him until she felt his balls bouncing against her. He wasn’t able to get any further into her body.
Ezi felt like she was soaring through the night sky among the glittering lights high above. Her breasts bounced wildly, and the scent of crushed grass assaulted her nose. When they were done, she would have grass stains all across her back, she was sure.
“Oh gods! Tor!” Her hands gripped his arms, her nails digging into his flesh as her body began to clamp down around him. Then Tor’s roar joined her moans as he shot deep inside her.
Chapter 14
Since Ezi’s night in the woods with Tor, she’d hidden herself away until the mammoth hunt. There was no way she’d be able to face him after such a passionate night of kissing… and… she shook her head driving the memories away.
What had she been thinking? The answer was, she hadn’t been thinking. She should have run straight into the village and into her hut, but instead, she’d veered off course. She was insane! Tor was causing her to lose her mind.
A shiver spread through her… but she wasn’t sure whether it was a shiver of excitement or disgust.
Flosa cried out in a piercing shriek that had Ezi wincing as the baby demanded food.
“Here I am.” Ezi strode over to the small fur bed that held her child, bent down, and picked up Flosa. Peeling back one side of her shirt, she guided Flosa’s small head to her nipple, and without any help, the baby latched on eagerly.
A shuffling noise at the other side of the hut had Ezi spinning around. Her heart rate spiked as she expected to see Tor coming for her, but when she finished spinning around, she found Aiyre standing just inside the hut.
“How is Flosa?” Aiyre stepped closer. Her eyes focused on the baby in Ezi’s arms. Longing shone bright in the other woman’s eyes.
Ezi sighed. “She’s been restless and cranky.” She rotated her head, stretching out the muscles in her neck. “I’m not sure I can leave her with Inde and go on the mammoth hunt.”
Aiyre smiled kindly as she shrugged. “It’s your decision, but you might regret missing it. From what I’ve heard, the herd is one of the largest any of the hunters have seen.”
“I haven’t decided. I’m just not sure.” Ezi glanced down at Flosa’s brown hair that covered her head. She still didn’t feel as close to her child as she wanted. There was still a barrier that she hadn’t been able to push past. Every time she glanced down at Flosa, she saw streaks of Drakk… and it hurt.
“The hunters and women who are coming to the hunt are gathering in the center of the village.” Aiyre walked towards the entrance of the hut. “If you don’t come, we will leave without you, so make sure you decide quickly. The women will leave before the men, so we can get a camp set up.”
And then her friend and clanmate left. The hut flap waved behind Aiyre.
“You won’t hate me if I go, will you?”
Flosa fussed as she pulled away from Ezi’s breast. Her small little eyes looked up at her and then a smile spread across Flosa’s face like she was beginning to realize Ezi was her mother.
Something warm and fuzzy entered Ezi’s heart, and she smiled down at Flosa. “You won’t even notice I’m gone. I’ll be back for you in no time, and you seemed to enjoy being with Inde. Just don’t her crazy with your fussing.”
Flosa cooed, as she raised her tiny chubby hands into the air.
Smiling, Ezi gave Flosa a finger to clutch in her tiny hand. It wasn’t a firm grip, she was still too young for that, but her hand did curl around Ezi’s finger. Another spark of warmth entered her heart.
Perhaps all Ezi needed was some patience and then this motherly love would come to her.
With hope blossoming inside her chest, Ezi tucked her breast back into her shirt, hugged Flosa close and pushed through the flap of the hut. The outside world greeted her with bright rays of sunshine.
She felt as though the gods were giving her the push she needed to go on the mammoth hunt. Nothing could go wrong when the world around her was so cheery and bright.
As Ezi weaved her way through the village, she caught sight of a large group gathering in the middle of the village. That must be a part of the women and men who would go on the mammoth hunt.
Quickening her footsteps, Ezi approached Inde’s hut. Shoving a shoulder against the entrance flap, she entered the hut, her eyes needing to adjust to the darker light levels inside. The thick furs they used on the huts weren’t good at letting light, but they did keep the cold of the winter and night out.
Children of all ages were gathered inside, amusing themselves with games or wooden toys, and younger ones were sitting in fur-lined beds. It looked like several of her clanmates were taking advantage of Inde’s services.
“Ezi!” Inde looked up from where she was breastfeeding another child, who would soon not need breastfeeding. Pulling the child off her teat, she placed the baby in a fur-lined bed and then walked over to Ezi. Her top half was bared to the world, but that was common place in their world. Clothing was more than optional. It wasn’t needed sometimes, especially with shifters when it would only get torn to shreds.
“I’m here to give you Flosa. I’ve decided to join the women in the mammoth hunt.” Ezi held out Flosa who was smiling and watching the world around her with interest.
“She’s a joyful little baby, and I’m happy to have her in my hut.”
Ezi snorted as she rolled her eyes. “Then she hasn’t woken you up in the middle of the night too many times.”
Inde gave a bark of laughter. “You’re right. I’m sure she will show her fussy side if I have her for long enough. You will be gone for a few days, so maybe I’ll see her at her worst.”
Inde reached out, put a hand under Flosa’s head and another under her tiny body, and lifted the child into her arms. Then she lightly jiggled the baby a little in her arms. Turning, she placed Flosa near another baby and then walked back over to Ezi.
“It’s good I don’t have a mate.” Inde smiled. “What man could stay sane while living here with all this noise?”
Ezi hadn’t noticed the noise until Inde pointed it out. There was crying, laughing, gurgling, and a whole assortment of other noises coming from the children within the hut. She raised an eyebrow. “You’re right. It might be a little too much.”
And that had her thinking of Tor. Could he tolerate the noises Flosa made when it wasn’t his own child? Some of the child’s screams could annoy Ezi, and it was her child. It wouldn’t surprise her if he demanded she get rid of the child. Humans did that all the time, from what she’d heard. Sabertooths could be the same way. Why would he wa
nt to waste his time on a child that wasn’t his own?
“Do sabertooths accept another’s child as their own?” The words were out of Ezi’s mouth before she could halt herself. Inde wasn’t a friend, just a sabertooth clan mate, and this question held a lot of implications.
Inde cocked her head to the side, her ear nearly touching the shoulder of her shirt as she studied Ezi, and Ezi shifted her moccasin feet over the ground uncomfortably.
“Each man is different,” Inde started slowly, “but if you’re speaking about Tor?” Inde sent her a kind smile. “You couldn’t find a nicer man. I think he would be happy to take any child into his hut.”
Ezi would be the judge of that, but it was a relief to hear Inde didn’t think he would ever try to get rid of Flosa. When he’d been showering her with kisses the other night, his thoughts hadn’t been of nice things. He’d wanted to win her over, but it wasn’t just her she had to consider. She also had to think about Flosa.
She was still displeased with her pronghorn form. Wasn’t it supposed to flee from danger? Sense danger? How could a sabertooth shifter not be dangerous?
“There you are.”
Ezi and Inde both turned to find Ake standing in the open entrance of the hut. One of her arms was held out straight as she kept the flap entrance open.
“Ake. What brings you to my hut?” Inde asked.
“Aiyre asked me to come with the women, so Ezi can bring her baby.” Ake walked forward, her arms outstretched for Flosa.
Inde bent down, picked up the child, and handed her over after seeing Ezi nod.
“I would love to bring her with me.” Ezi smiled, and relief consumed her. She’d been leaving Flosa in anyone’s hands but her own. “I’m glad Aiyre thought of you.”
“As am I. It gives me a reason to join the women. I would hate to miss a mammoth hunt.” Ake handed Flosa over to Ezi when she motioned for her child.
“Thank you.” Ezi bowed her head slightly before turning on a heel, with Flosa clasped tightly against her chest, and left the hut with Ake following close behind. It didn’t matter if Tor was the nicest sabertooth shifter in the land, he was still a predator who could kill her at a moment’s notice. She and Flosa needed time away from him.