Steph's Outcast

They must think her glorious.

Perhaps that is why she hides them. She does not wish to make the other females feel like they are less. This makes sense to me. Steff strikes me as the type that would downplay her most appealing features in order to make the other females comfortable. She is kind and thoughtful. But since she is here, naked, I can feast on the sight of her bare, enticing teats as much as I like.

Well, perhaps not too much, I realize, as my sac begins to tighten and draw up with arousal. Perhaps I should stare at other things instead. I try to, but she makes it difficult. "Fi-yurr?"

I frown in her direction, deliberately keeping my gaze on her face. "Eh?"

She rubs her hands together, and her loose teats bob and jiggle in a very distracting way. Then, she holds her hands out as if warming them. "Fi-yurr?"

Oh. She wants a fire. I shake my head. "It is forbidden. Only elders make fire."

She shivers again, crossing her arms over her chest and rubbing them to indicate she is cold.

My lips tighten with frustration. I know if I go share my warmth with her, I am going to become painfully erect. Even thinking about it right now is making things…rise. I set my son down. "Go and share heat with her, Pak. I will get water."

I snatch the waterskin and head out of the cave before my cock can get fully erect. I skirt the beach once more, sticking close to the cliffs as I wait for the ache in my cock to subside. By the time I drink my share and refill the skin for them, the throbbing in my blood has calmed. I wanted to stroke my aching length, but that would just make me think about her even more, so I forced myself to stare at the creatures on the beach until my need shriveled. Eyeing enormous tentacle-driven shelled creatures half-buried in the sand that have chased away all the fish? It does a lot to end my need. I return to the cave to see Pak cuddled against Steff's teats, and she looks uncomfortable.

My son immediately perks up at the sight of me. "Papa! You're back. I am keeping Steff warm." He pats Steff on one teat. "Her teats are so big though. Do you think she has kits?"

Steff makes a choked sound in her throat and I go still.

I have been thinking mating thoughts about Steff and it never occurred to me that she might already have a mate and kits. I stare at her teats, at the darker tips, and think about how she rubbed them against me, and adjust my cock. So much for leaving to gain control of myself again. "If she has a mate, he will come after her."

"Nomayt," Steff says, shaking her head. "Nomayt." Her hands creep to her teats and she cups them, as if hiding them from my gaze. "Kinnahaf miklothes?"

"I think she says she does not have a mate," I tell Pak, and I am…strangely glad? Not that I should care. Outcasts take no mate unless resonance happens. If we did resonate, her clan would be furious.

I hate that I like the thought of that very much. I glance over at Steff, but her face is averted and her cheeks oddly pink. She looks embarrassed, though. Because she has no mate? I squat next to her, focusing on her ankle. It is bound tight and a bit of bruised skin peeks out from under the makeshift bandages. I want to touch it to see how it is healing, but I do not like the thought of causing her pain. "How is this?" I ask, gesturing. "Does it hurt?"

She nods, biting her lip.

I gently touch her knee. "Do not put pressure on it. We will stay here for a few more days. There is no need to rush. The creatures outside go nowhere."

Steff gives me a worried look. "Mye trybe. Dey gawna be wurrid."

"You can sit here as long as you need," I reassure her, touching her knee again. Why am I so fascinated with touching her? Is it because she is soft? Because she seems soft all over and I am drawn to that? Because I think about the arousal-scent she had last night when she was lost in the pain-leaves and I want more of that? Reluctantly, I pull my hand away.

Even without a mate, she is not mine to touch. I am Outcast.

Her stomach growls.

It is a good distraction. I jump to my feet and open the basket, pulling out one of the dried fish that she brought. Pak is immediately at my side, his little tail fluttering. "Is it time to eat, Papa?"

"Can you split this fish with Steff?" I ask, holding one out to him.