Sam's Secret (Icehome)

Hate surges through me. I scuttle backward again another step and reach my tunic. Success. I grab it in my hand—

And Kvasaht immediately snatches it back out of my grip again. "I told you to wash up. You reek of mating, and I don't want to touch you until I'm sure I won't get his seed on me." He palms his cock through the layers of fur he's wearing. "Listening to you two made me very aware of what I've been missing out on."

"Fuck you," I hiss at him. "You're not touching me."

I have to find Sessah. I have to get to him. Frantically, I think of my knives, where I've got them stashed around the cave. Several are up above, but there's a few down here. Sessah had a spear he kept in the furs, but I don't see it anywhere, which means Kvasaht has taken it. That's fine. I'll find another weapon. I'll fucking drown this asshole if I have to. Sweat trickles down my face, and I brush it aside, only to notice that it's not sweat at all, but blood. He's scraped my face with those nasty claws of his.

Kvasaht taps the tip of his blade against my naked shoulder. "I'm not going to tell you twice, female. Go and bathe—"

I slap my hand against his, the jagged metal “knife” scraping against my skin as it goes flying. The moment it does, I surge to my feet, racing away. I'll find something I can use as a weapon, anything—

A rough hand grabs me by the back of my neck. I snarl furiously, fighting against Kvasaht, but he kicks one leg out from under me and I fall heavily to the pavers at the edge of the pool. Pain shoots up my leg from my knee, and I let out a scream of anger as he jerks at his belt. "You want to play like that, female? You want to play games? Here's a game—it's called choke on my cock—"

I punch at his crotch instead, slamming my fist into it.

He bellows in anger, then slams me to the stone floor. The world tilts and I struggle to get up, only to have that heavy hand land on my throat again. This time, he hauls me to the edge of the water and before I can draw a breath, Kvasaht shoves me under. I scream, but my mouth fills with water. When he doesn't lift me up, I realize he's got no intention of letting me up after all. He's going to drown me.

I thrash, desperate to get my head above the surface, but he holds me under, saying something I can't make out. Probably cussing at me. I struggle against him, but his grip is tight and I'm weakening by the moment. Sessah, I cry out in my head. Sessah, Sessah.

If Kvasaht kills me, I hope he goes back to the beach village and gets a hunting party together to kill this asshole. Letting him out was my mistake, and now he's going to kill me. A gray fog takes over my mind and I grow strangely, eerily calm. I stop fighting, because everything's getting peaceful and lovely. My poor, handsome, loyal Sessah. He's too young to be widowed. It's not fair to him.

He deserves better, my handsome mate. Maybe Tia will comfort him after I'm gone…

The hand holding me under surges, and I gasp for air as I resurface. Kvasaht holds me by the neck in a punishing grip as I cough and sputter, desperate for air. "Best behave, human," he tells me. "I've no patience for any more games."

Fuck Tia, I decide. And fuck this guy. I'm going to kill him and then I'm going to save my man. So I flutter my lashes and give him a helpless look. "I'll do whatever you say," I whine. "Just don't kill me!"

He flings me to the ground. "That's better. Now, wash up."

My head is throbbing and I'm dizzy. Even though I never want to look at water again, I crawl to the edge of the pool and ease myself inside. "Just don't kill me," I say again, hoping I sound as pathetic as I feel.

New game plan. Get Kvasaht off-guard, kick his ass, save the day.

I survived Brad and his bullshit. I traveled a billion miles across the galaxy, got a parasite, and fell in love with the best guy ever. I did not come this far to get taken out by an asshole with a cat-face and a nasty attitude.

So I put on my best scared face and splash at myself, pretending to bathe. I hope I fucking reek of Sessah's cum and it makes Kvasaht want to vomit.

24

SESSAH

My head throbs angrily, rousing me out of a terrible sleep. Scattered thoughts drift through my mind, and it is hard to focus. Slowly, the darkness fades from my eyes and I realize I am pressed onto my side, my cheek crushed to the rock. My arms are twisted behind me and ache terribly. In fact, all of me aches terribly.