by Lily Thomas
Reaching out, he cupped one of her breasts and caressed her creamy orb. One of his fingers circled her nipple, causing her breath to catch in her throat as she waited in anticipation. He captured her nipple between two fingers and pinched it lightly. A twinge of lust pierced her.
Ezi’s back arched under him, and he sucked in an audibly harsh breath. His blue eyes flashed with hunger, and she could’ve sworn she saw his sabertooth in there. Instead of scaring her, it now comforted her. She’d seen it up close and had even touched it without getting her throat ripped out or her hand bitten off.
Tor couldn’t believe this was happening, and he hadn’t even started it. She’d asked him to take her! She was gorgeous as she arched under him. To him, Ezi was stunning with her jade eyes and long brunette hair, and he loved the width of her hips. She had birthing hips. She was a woman who would fill his hut full of cute chubby-faced children.
“More.” She begged, and he was happy to oblige.
Reaching between their aching bodies, he wrapped a hand around his cock and released it from the loose folds of his pants. Then he undid the leather straps of her pants and pulled them down her legs and kicked them away. Settling between her legs, Tor placed one of his hands on either side of her head. Bracing himself, he stared down at her.
“I love everything about you.” And with that said he slammed his hips forward, entering her fully in one stroke.
His cock throbbed inside her. His sabertooth wanted nothing more than to fill her with his seed and his children.
“Yes,” Ezi panted under him as her hands came up to his shoulders before one of them dug into his thick head of hair.
“You’re mine,” Tor growled, and the words that came out were guttural.
Her hips bucked against him, and he pumped in and out of her in smooth strokes. “You’re so wet.” His cock slid easily in her core, and her warmth welcomed him.
The scent of her lust wafted through the air, and he sucked it in greedily. The scent went straight to his mind, and he clutched at her waist as he pounded into her. Her breasts jiggled wildly in front of his face. They danced and teased him.
Bending over her, he sucked one of her full breasts into his mouth and licked her teat. Her back arched as she met each of his thrusts. Her tight inner walls began to pulse around him, drawing him in with eager and equal pressure. He could feel himself nearing the edge.
“Ezi.” Tor groaned as his fingers dug into the flesh of her hips. His sabertooth tried to show itself wanting to be a part of this, but he shoved it back. This moment was for him and not his animalistic side.
Then she crashed. Her inner walls clamped down around his cock, milking it for everything he had. His seed flowed out of him and filled her with every strong thrust. His groans mixed with her moans as she arched below him and he continued to thrust against her wet center.
And then they both crashed as pleasure rolled over them both.
Ezi cracked her eyes open as Tor nibbled the outer rim of her ear. Ducking her head to the side, she tried to bush him off, but he wouldn’t be deterred that easily and continued his quest at eating her ear.
“We should get back to the group.” He purred in her ear.
“I need to rest.”
Tor chuckled in her ear. “We can rest later. We have to help with the mammoths.”
She sighed. She was comfortable, and she wanted to stay for the rest of the day in his arms. It felt nice and right now, she could even see herself waking up in his arms for the rest of her mornings, but the moment they got back to the others, she knew it would change.
“You’re right. We should go back before they look for us.”
Ezi sat up and began tying the front of her shirt. When Tor stood next to her to tie the leather straps at the front of his pants, she stared openly at his flaccid member. He was impressive, and her tongue darted out to lick her suddenly dry lips.
“Don’t tempt me again.”
Startled by the sound of his voice, she turned her gaze upwards to see a smile dancing in his sky-blue eyes. Then her gaze fell back to his waist where his cock was twitching back to life.
Quickly, Ezi glanced away, not wanting to entice him. They really did need to get back to the others before people began to wonder about them. She finished with the ties on her shirt and then stood and tugged her pants back over her legs.
Tor motioned her forward, and she took the lead heading straight towards the canyon.
Ezi wiped the sweat off her brow as she stood and looked at the giant carcass in front of her. The hunters had taken down two mammoths, and now they had to break the animals down so they could be transported back to the village.
“Look at these tusks!” One woman exclaimed as she motioned to the ginormous ivory tusks. “We can create so many statues for the gods with these.”
“Eron will be a happy shaman.” Another agreed.
Aiyre stood and wiped some sweat off her brow and ended up smearing a large line of blood across her forehead. “We might need to come back to get all this back to the village.”
“Then we should leave some hunters to guard the carcasses.” Daerk strode up to them with a bone knife clutched in one of his hands and blood covering his arms all the way up to his elbows.
The women nodded. Then one of them raised their hand. “I will stay to guard the mammoths.”
“Now we just need a couple more. These mammoths will attract a lot of predators tonight.” Daerk smiled at Aiyre, pulled her into his arms, and planted a deep kiss on her lips before breaking away with a loud smack. Then he walked away, and Aiyre gazed after him with lust-filled eyes.
“I never thought I would love a sabertooth, but I do.” Aiyre smiled at all the women around them, and they smiled back.
“You both are perfect for each other.” Ezi smiled at her friend glad to see she and Daerk were doing so well. She knew they were both worried about creating offspring and she really hoped the gods would bless them soon. Aiyre and Daerk would make wonderful parents. She had no doubt about that.
Aiyre bent back over the mammoth and carved away at the red meat. Ezi scooted closer to her friend so she could speak without anyone overhearing her.
“Tor and I have been together… in each other’s furs.”
Aiyre paused mid-swipe. Glancing up, Aiyre’s mouth popped open. “When?”
“A few times now, and once today.” A blush crept up her neck and cheeks as she cast her friend a shy smile. It felt good to admit it out loud.
“Ezi!” Aiyre whispered. “Will you accept him?”
“I’m not sure what I am doing,” Ezi confessed. It felt good to have this off her chest. She’d been wanting to tell someone how she felt for so long.
“And Tor?”
Ezi shrugged not sure what the question meant.
“Does he know what this,” Aiyre waved at her, “means?”
Blinking dumbly, Ezi’s mind raced back to all their moments together to figure out how to answer her friend. “I think he knows I’m not sure.”
“You think?” Aiyre shook her head. “You can’t tease him, Ezi. If you don’t want him as a mate, you shouldn’t be with him. You’ll…” Her friend faded off as she looked over Ezi’s shoulder.
“What?”
“Ezi.” A deep voice caressed her. It stroked her from the inside out.
Spinning around, Ezi wondered if Tor had heard any of their conversation, but there was no evidence that he had, and a sigh of relief left her. “Tor?”
“I brought you some water.” He held out an animal stomach that slowly leaked a couple of drops of water. “I thought you might need some with this heat.”
She accepted the gift, unplugged it, and took a few swallows before handing the stomach back to him. “Thank you.”
“Let me know if you need anything else.” And then he strode away, a little hop to his step that even she could spot. Providing for her pleased him, and it pulled at her heart with little tugs of delight.
“Don
’t hurt him,” Aiyre whispered. “We aren’t sure he could take it without losing his mind.”
Ezi’s jaw dropped as she turned to stare at Aiyre. She blinked and then blinked again. “Me? Hurt him? He’s a sabertooth.”
“A kind man.” Aiyre corrected her.
“I don’t want to hurt him.” And she really didn’t. He was a kind man who was being patient, but maybe Aiyre was right. Was she even going to consider the mate hood he was offering?
“Please be careful, Ezi.” Aiyre’s brown eyes begged her.
“I will.” Ezi bent over the mammoth and hacked and sliced at the beast under her. She wasn’t sure she wanted to talk about this anymore. The conversation hadn’t gone in the direction she would have thought.
Once she had a slab of red juicy meat cut, she hefted it into her hands and then dropped it onto a sled they’d created out of leather straps and wood. Then she walked back to her position and began cutting another slab. This was a lot of hard work, but it would fill their meat hut and relieve the massive amounts of stress everyone felt. The mammoths had come, and the gods hadn’t abandoned them.
After she’d cut a few more slabs of meat, she pulled back from the mammoth and glanced around. The massive white bones of the mammoth were finally showing, and soon they could work on breaking down the skeleton so they could use the bones for tools and building more huts within the village.
A knocking sound had her head swinging around to the head of the mammoth she was working on to see another clan mate swinging a club against the mammoth’s jaw.
“What are you doing?” Ezi approached the woman, curious what she might be up to by swinging a club against the mammoth’s face.
“Knocking the teeth loose so we can use them for jewelry and decorations.”
Ezi watched as the woman slammed the club down. After a few more swings, the woman put the club down and opened the mammoth’s mouth to collect the teeth that’d come loose. The woman stood back up and held out her hand so Ezi could see the teeth. Then the woman threw the teeth into a pack, picked up her club and hammered away at the mouth of the mammoth again. The large teeth would make some impressive jewelry.
Ezi arched her back as she pressed her hands against her spine, and she heard a few satisfying cracks. Then her eyes caught on something moving through the tall grass in the distance.
“What’s that?” She raised a hand and pointed at the thing loping through the tall grass.
Everyone stood and looked off into the distance.
Aiyre raised a hand to her forehead, blocking the sun. “It looks like a person.”
“Who could it be?” Another woman asked.
“I think I know who it is.” A woman off to Ezi’s left said. “It looks like Hirt. I would recognize him anywhere.” The woman’s voice turned silky smooth as her knees buckled visibly at the sight of Hirt. It looked like they might have another mate hood ceremony coming.
“Daerk!” Aiyre called out. “We have a warrior from the clan coming!”
Daerk darted past the women, leaping over the mammoth carcass in a smooth stride, landed on the other side and then weaved his way through the tall grass. A couple of other men came forward, ready to assist their leader at a moment’s notice.
“What could it be?”
Ezi had no idea, but it couldn’t be good. Maybe Eron had joined the gods in the Eternal Hunting Grounds. It seemed like a mean thought, but he was older, and it wasn’t completely out of the question.
“Wasn’t Hirt staying with the other women at the camp?”
Ezi’s ears perked up at that tid bit of information. “Could it be about Flosa?” Panic sent her heart rate spiking, and she could hear the roar of blood in her ears.
“Ake is with Flosa.” Aiyre walked over to her and wrapped an arm around her waist. “Nothing has happened to your child.”
Ezi forced herself to suck in deep and even breaths. Aiyre was right. Ake was with her child, and she was just panicking because she was a first-time mother, and there was nothing else for her to worry about.
From this distance, the conversation couldn’t be heard, but in no time Daerk loped back through the grass. When he reached the waiting group, his eyes briefly flickered over her before he turned to Aiyre, put a hand to her lower back, and guided her away from the group.
As their heads bent together, Ezi strained to hear what was being spoken.
“Do we know what’s happening?” Tor strode up beside her.
“Daerk only told Aiyre, but he hasn’t said a word to us yet.” Ezi supplied as she watched Aiyre’s eyes widen, and then they flickered over to Ezi. Her heart rate sped up again. What were they talking about? The anticipation was killing her!
“Ezi?” Aiyre spun around and met her gaze.
“Yes?” Her answer was barely audible.
“I…there…we…” Aiyre shook her head and looked up to Daerk for help. “I can’t.” She muttered.
Daerk placed a comforting hand to Aiyre’s shoulder. “Brog and his men attacked our camp.”
“What?!” Tor stepped forward, and a growl vibrated through the air.
Ezi stared at all the people around her dumbly. She wanted to ask about Flosa, but she couldn’t form the words. She didn’t want to hear the answer to her question. Her stomach plummeted to her feet as her throat closed up.
“Flosa?” Tor growled, and when she glanced up at him, she saw his canines extending. This man was going to kill something… he was going to kill someone.
Then she looked back at Daerk, trying not to get her hopes up that he had good news for them all.
“After Brog and his men attacked, they stole Flosa.” Daerk said.
Her legs buckled.
“Ezi!” Tor jumped forward, and his arms scooped her up before she could collapse on the ground. “Ezi?” He slapped her face lightly.
“Flosa.” Her voice was barely audible as her heart shattered in her chest. She hadn’t been pleased with the child Drakk had left her, but this clan had made motherhood easier, and then there was Tor. A man who was willing to accept a child that wasn’t even his.
“We will get her back.”
“Do you think she’s alive?” Ezi remembered Brog. That sabertooth had soulless eyes and a crazy temper. The man had tried to burn her and Aiyre alive in the village fire. She didn’t even want to begin to think about what he might do to Flosa, a baby who couldn’t fight back.
Then a thought smacked her in the face. “Can he even feed her?”
“We will get her back,” Tor promised as he looked over at Daerk.
“We will.” Daerk promised, then he turned to Aiyre, “Can you take over with the mammoths and directing our clan?”
Aiyre nodded. “Yes. I will worry about this.” She waved a hand at the mammoths. “You take whatever hunters you need.”
“I’m coming.” Ezi straightened in Tor’s arms.
Everyone stared at her without saying a word. They were stunned… or thought she wouldn’t be able to go after her own daughter.
“I’m going.” Ezi glared at each of them in turn.
“Brog can be violent. You should stay here where he can’t hurt you.” Tor placed a hand on her arm.
Shaking his hand off, she backed away as she continued to glare at him. “He’s already hurt me, Tor.”
“You two figure it out while I gather the hunters we will need.” Daerk had enough of the conversation and stalked off. She could see the steam rising off his shoulders. She wasn’t sure who was more upset, her or Daerk at Brog’s audacity.
“Are you sure you should go with them, Ezi?” Aiyre asked as she stepped a bit closer. “I have to stay here to oversee the clan, and I won’t be there for you.”
“If it were your child, what would you do?” Ezi folded her arms in front of her chest. Why was everyone against her on this?
“I’m a hunter. If you go, Brog might try to kill you as well.”
“I’m going.” She glared at Aiyre and Tor. “You won’t conv
ince me otherwise.” She didn’t wait for an answer. She marched after Daerk, and she heard the clan members behind her erupt into conversation as they crowded Aiyre.
“Ezi!” Tor yelled as he jogged to catch up to her.
She increased her pace as she tried to put distance between them.
“Ezi!” His hand wrapped around her upper arm and yanked her around and into his chest. Then his other hand captured the back of her head and tilted her head.
“I need to go.” Her eyes bored into his as she did her best to communicate her need.
He closed his eyes, and she felt his chest expand and then contract as he steadied himself. Then his eyes opened, “If you go, please do what I say. I don’t want Brog to harm you more than he already has.” She opened her mouth, but one of his hands came up to place a finger over her lips, stopping her. “If you’re in harm’s way, I won’t be able to save Flosa and kill Brog. I’ll be too worried about you.”
She wanted to protest, but when she actually looked into his blue eyes, she could see the worry for her safety swirling through his eyes. “I will be safe.” She would say whatever he needed to hear, as long as it got her there.
He smiled down at her. “Then let’s save Flosa.”
Chapter 21
Tor’s paws ate up the ground as he and the rest of the hunters raced back to the camp. Ezi was beside them in her pronghorn form. Their animal forms were faster than their human forms, and it wasn’t like they would fight Brog in their human forms. This fight would be done sabertooth to sabertooth.
When the camp came into view, some of them skidded to a stop and shifted back into their human forms while others shifted mid-run. Tor raced into the camp, his human feet pounding over the ground.
“Ake?” He asked as he knelt down by the woman who’d been taking care of Flosa. “Are you sure it was Brog?” There was no time to waste.