I take another step forward, and she moves backward. "You said you liked to be held down," I murmur. "Are you enjoying this right now?"
A shuddery moan escapes her. "Does it gross you out if I am?"
"No." Perhaps it should bother me, but it does not. I find it fascinating. I move forward and cup her jaw in my free hand. "If I held you down in the snow right now, would you come?"
She whimpers. "It depends. Are you going to touch me?"
"Do you want me to?"
She nods, watching me with big eyes.
"Out here in the open? In the snow?" We have never mated outside of our cave, but now that the idea has crossed my mind, I am fascinated by it.
"W-what if I say no?" she asks.
"It depends." I choose my words carefully. I try to think about what No-rah has told me she wants, and her actions. "Would you…use your word?"
"No," she whispers, and there is such longing on her face.
I skim my thumb over her lower lip, thinking about how she pleasured me with her tongue last night. "What if I pushed you into the snow and took off my loincloth? What if I asked you to take me into your mouth again? What if I held your head against my cock until you put your lips on it?"
"I'd like it," No-rah whispers. "I'd like the sense of losing control. Of you demanding pleasure from me."
A fierce growl rises in my chest. What is it about this female that makes me so wild? The thought of using No-rah like that is both appalling and fascinating. I cannot imagine her liking it…and yet her arousal-scent is so thick in the air I can taste it. "What is your word?"
"Earth," she tells me, her eyes wide. "But I won't need it."
"What if I am too rough?"
"You won't be."
I force my thumb into her mouth, as if I want to prove that I am too much for her. That she is too fragile. "What if I push you down into the snow and take you as hard as I can?"
She shivers. Her tongue strokes against my thumb. "Do it."
I am torn. Part of me is appalled—how can she want me to be cruel to her? Part of me wants to push her, though. To see how much I can do before she uses her word. I do not like that part of myself, either. There has to be a way that can make both of us happy. There has to be something. "I do not think I can ever strike you," I admit. "Is that something you need?"
No-rah shakes her head, her teeth nipping at my thumb. "I like to be held down. I like to feel trapped. It doesn't have to be a beating."
I move my hand back to her hair. "So if I held you down and mated with you…that would be enough?"
"We can try and see?"
I suppose it cannot hurt to try. I have my word, and she has hers. I stroke my mate's pretty, trusting face again. She is so beautiful, my No-rah. So gentle and loving. I skim my thumb over her soft mouth again.
She bites me.
With a growl, I grip her hair. She sucks in a breath, her eyes going wide, an excited look on her face. "You are provoking me, are you not?"
"I am. Is it working?" Her scent is thick in the air. "Do you want me down on my knees?"
Do I? I eye the snow at our feet. Slowly, I get on my knees and never let go of No-rah's hair, dragging her down beside me. "Hands and knees."
No-rah trembles with excitement. Her eyes close and with a look of bliss, she gets on her hands and knees. She is so beautiful like this. I know she wants me to be rough with her, so I push her legs apart with a bit more force than I usually do. She moans and raises her hips in the air.
Even though I am trying to hold back, I am being pulled in. It is wrong to push my mate down in the cold snow instead of a pile of warm, comfortable furs. When No-rah wiggles her hips at me, I grab one of her buttocks and hold it tightly. She squeals under my touch, trying to wriggle away from my hands, but no word comes out of her mouth.
It hits me.
This is not real hurting. This is a game. She needs to play a game to lose herself in the moment. And…I like games.
I release No-rah's hair and pat her flank. "Stand up."
She makes a sound of protest, turning to look at me. "Dagesh, really, I'm fine—"
"Stand up," I say again, my voice soft. I get to my feet and wait for her to do the same. She does, a look of confusion on her face. I gesture at our snowy surroundings. "Run."