His rough fingers stroke over my cheek, caressing me, and then he brushes his lips over mine again. I lean into the kiss, pressing my mouth to his eagerly. He kisses my upper lip, his mouth clinging to mine ever so slightly, and then nips at my lower one with those fangs of his. That bare scrape of his teeth sends a shiver skittering through my body, and my breath catches in my throat.
Then he pauses again. “At what point do I use my tongue—”
“Now,” I blurt. “Now, please.”
He leans in again and I slide a hand to the back of his neck, holding him to me so he doesn’t pull away again. O’jek’s mouth moves over mine in another gentle kiss, and it seems like forever until his lips part and his tongue brushes against the seam of my lips. I moan again. I’ve had a couple of playful kisses from before I was kidnapped by aliens, but it’s been so long—and I was so much younger—that they don’t count. It feels like this is my first real kiss, and I’m overwhelmed at how good it is. I can taste the spices of dinner on O’jek’s mouth, and instead of repulsing me, I’m fascinated by it. His tongue brushes against mine, and the contact sends heat zinging through my body.
Oh. Oh wow.
I kiss him back, clinging to his neck as I stroke my tongue against his. The kiss grows deeper, more fervent, and it’s like both of us have entirely forgotten that we’re virgins and we need to take it slow. He’s devouring me with his lips, his mouth hungry on mine, and I meet every stroke of his tongue with a teasing one of my own. I’m lost in the kiss, and nothing exists outside of the feel of his body against mine and that delicious dip of his tongue into my mouth.
When he finally pulls back, I’m panting and breathless.
“Are you pleased with that?” he asks, sounding far more composed than I am.
I touch my tingling mouth, nodding. “That was…better than I expected.”
“Then you wish to continue with this? With me?”
Why does he keep asking if I’m sure that I want to do this with him? I wouldn’t want to do it with anyone else. “I’m sure.”
O’jek grunts and then straightens, tapping my shoulder. “Then I will leave and get my things.”
Leave? Get his things?
My confusion must show on my face, because he explains himself. “My gear and spare clothes are in I’rec’s hut. I will bring them here, and then we will mate.”
Oh. “Tonight?”
He tilts his head, gazing down at me. “Is tonight bad? You wished to practice before we call in the healer, yes? And tomorrow we will start your lessons on how to be a hunter. You said you wished for matings every night, and thus I will give you matings.”
Right. I did say that. It’s just… “It’s a big move. That’s all. I guess I’m surprised we’re starting so quickly.”
Part of me is a little terrified to move forward. I want to change my mind and go back to the way things were. I’ve been a virgin all my life. I spent ten years of slavery as a virgin, and then when I came here, I decided to continue to wait for resonance. It feels weird and a little wrong to shuck it all in the space of a day.
O’jek touches my chin again. “D’see, you want this. I want this. If we are truly going to grab our lives, why wait any longer? We cannot live in fear, and we do not hold back for the perfect moment. If we wait for the waves to calm, we will be waiting forever. We must learn to live our lives in the midst of the storm, yes?”
“That’s…very poetic of you.” And it does make me feel better. He’s right. If I keep waiting for the perfect moment, I might be waiting forever. So I nod. “Thank you. And…hurry back.”
To my surprise, he lowers his mouth on mine in another quick, fervent kiss. “I will.”
CHAPTER 6
O’JEK
D’see is a little hesitant now that we have kissed, as if she is realizing what she truly is asking.
I am no longer hesitant. After tasting her mouth with a tongue-mating, I want her more than ever. I must return before she changes her mind, and claim her as my mate. Once we get past the initial first mating, there will no longer be hesitation, I suspect. For some reason, she is obsessed with the fact that she has never mated, as if it increases her value to her future mate somehow.
Me, I just want to touch her.
Even now, my hands shake with the need to caress her soft skin. To hear those little moans she makes when my teeth brush over her lips. My cock is hard and throbbing in my loincloth, and I imagine sinking deep into her welcoming body, and then quickly press the heel of my hand against my shaft as I stagger back to I’rec’s hut. I cannot think of those things right now, or else I will spill and tonight will be over before it starts.