Savage Seed by Ivy Sparks
13
Leslie
Apparently,the claiming ritual didn’t end once the sex was over. I expected us to escape into the privacy of a tent. But Kade quietly explained to me that the claimed woman was meant to sleep outside with her man, on the rock in the sacred grounds, for the entire night.
The people of the tribe had quieted down substantially, but it seemed their part in all of this wasn’t over quite yet. While Kade and I were still catching our breath, men from his tribe brought weapons to lie beside the stone pedestal. The women brought blankets, water, and food, and laid them down as well.
Kade and I sat up on the stone, and I couldn’t help but notice how warm it was against my skin. I’d spent a lot of time working underground and had never known any natural stone to behave in such a way. I ran my hands across the top of it while Kade ran his fingers up and down my shoulder.
I would have preferred to bury my face into his chest after the show we’d just put on for these people, but Kade continued his ongoing explanation of the claiming ritual, telling me that presenting myself openly and without shame was a way to show my comfort with him.
He had hesitated when he used the word “comfort.” I suspected the word he really wanted to use was submission. I didn’t like that word, and had no intention of “submitting.” Not to Kade, not to anyone. But the fact that he had avoided using the word showed the respect he had for me, and that his expectations for me were different from those of his tribe’s people.
And, maybe, that he was feeling the same things I felt?
So I sat, bare-chested and naked as the day I was born, in perfect view of the entire village. As they slowly began drifting away—off to bed, I assumed—I could still see the smirks on their faces as they leaned in to whisper to each other.
A furious blush rose to my cheeks as I looked away. I could bare all for Kade if I had to, but that didn’t mean I had to suffer their stares as well.
Kade reached over the edge of the rock and grabbed a container of water and a blanket. The water was in a large shell, so I knew it was locally sourced, but the blanket was softer than any fiber I’d ever seen on this planet. Was it, like the rock we sat on, made from another material unique to this world? Or was it something they’d received in trade?
How active were Kade’s people in trading? Would that be my way back to the star port? Join a trading caravan, or maybe hitch a ride with a traveling merchant? Or was Kade’s plan to lead me through the desert on his own?
Kade took a mighty swig of water before offering me the shell. As I drank, he wrapped the blanket around his shoulders and draped it across my chest.
I looked up at him and raised an eyebrow. “I thought I had to be all naked and stuff?”
“It gets cold at night,” he said simply.
But there was an edge in his voice, and his eyes weren’t on me. I followed his gaze and saw that he was looking directly at Trag, who was still watching us. And still looking pissed.
Kade huffed behind me, and I leaned against him, enjoying his warmth despite the harshness in Trag’s stare. A boldness overcame me and I shot Trag the dirtiest, nastiest look I could muster. I couldn’t keep him from watching as Kade and I made love, but I could damn well let him know how I felt about it.
I pulled the blanket tighter around me and yawned, satisfied when Trag turned and walked away. There had been much chanting and cheering once Kade had finished inside me, but now that the showier parts of our display were over, the looks and attention given to us were lessening by the minute. The crowd was dispersing. The thick of night was upon us, and at last we were alone.
Despite my growing feelings for Kade, I couldn’t help but feel a little awkward. There was no way I’d have ever, not in a million years, imagined having sex with an alien. Or that I would enjoy it so much.
In front of an entire village, at that.
A shiver ran down my spine, and Kade rested his head on my shoulder, nipping at my ear. That small touch sent a jolt of electricity down my spine, surprising me. I’d never felt so connected to anyone before. Not even close.
I could feel his cock twitching against my thigh and another blush crept onto my cheeks. I was struggling with something, and I didn’t know how to put it into words. The sex we’d just had was mind-blowing… and not just because of how perfectly he had filled me with his cock. That was enough to make me salivate for another taste. But something else was different…
I’d expected my body to ache after the trauma it had just gone through. I’d expected my mind to break or some other horrible thing to happen. But instead, I was strangely comforted by Kade’s presence and the sea breeze washing over us. The sound of the waves lapping against the shore was soothing, and Kade’s gentle touch lulled me toward sleep even faster.
Before I realized it, I was leaning against his chest. My eyelids felt so heavy that I could barely keep them open. The last thing I saw before sleep overtook me was Kade’s smile as he leaned in close. And the last thing I felt was his lips pressed against mine in the softest, sweetest kiss I’d ever known.
* * *
When I woke up,dawn was fast approaching and Kade’s arm locked me against his chest. I took a deep breath and glanced up at the village, happy to see that the only people awake were a couple of guards on patrol.
After slipping out of Kade’s hold, I stretched as much as possible and felt him stir behind me. He breathed deeply and planted a series of soft kisses across the back of my neck.
If it weren’t for the sound of the ocean and the stars fading in the sky as the sun rose, I would have believed that Kade and I were back home in bed. It would have been wonderful to stay in that fantasy longer, but it was important that I not lose sight of things.
I needed to get back to my father and my crew. Let them know I was safe. Alive.
Kade’s lips persisted on my skin, and I instinctively pressed my ass against his hips. He moaned softly in my ear, and his cock stiffened against me as he awakened further.
It was tempting—so tempting—to grind my ass further against him, to encourage him, and his cock, to pick up where we left off the night before. But I had questions. Questions that were nagging at me, and that I needed answers to.
“Kade,” I said, turning in his arms to face him. “I still don’t understand.”
He opened his beautiful emerald eyes and fixed them on me. “What do you need, Leslie?”
The question was simple to ask, but not as easy to answer. I sighed and tried to scoot away from him. His grip loosened around my waist, allowing me some room to breathe.
“I need to know,” I began, my voice unsteady. “I need to know… Did you feel anything when we were together?”
“Together?” he asked, the hint of a sly smile crossing his face.
“You know what I mean.” I blushed. “Did it feel… different to you?”
I felt dumb for asking. It was like I was asking him to compare me to every other person he’d ever had sex with… but wasn’t I doing just that?
My chest ached as I waited for his response. I needed to know. Because for me, everything was different. Not only was he an alien native, but ever since we’d met, his touch had been doing things to me that I didn’t understand. My skin tingled everywhere he touched; my heart beat faster every time he looked at me. The blood in my veins felt like white hot fire, because all I seemed to want was him. All of him.
And now that I had him, it was like I couldn’t breathe without him. And I didn’t want that to stop.
Was this what being addicted felt like?
Kade considered my question for a moment before his lips parted to answer. “Yes,” he said with a nod. “You feel different to me, Leslie. Different, but in the best way possible. I was drawn to you the instant I laid eyes on you.” His hands glided up and down my back. “More than with any other.”
I felt a tiny flare of jealousy ignite within me. “More than with any other,” he’d said. But that was silly. It wasn’t like I was a virgin, either. Maybe it was just another sign that our growing bond was somehow special.
“It’s the same for me,” I told him. “You feel… different. In a good way.”
We quieted, and he continued to caress my skin. I leaned into his touch, our eyes meeting, and I felt that his answers had been enough. It was time to get back to the kissing. But before I could bridge the distance between my lips and his, he spoke.
“The sand tiger brought us together.” He said it so quietly that if I wasn’t so close to his face, I might have missed it. “If she had not roared in your direction, I would have never found you.”
I tilted my head back to look into his eyes, and his wandering hands settled on the back of my neck.
“Strange that the creature I was hunting brought us together,” he finished.
Pursing my lips, I hummed softly and considered his words. “I’m not sure that’s what happened,” I whispered, placing my hand on his thigh. “That’d be quite the coincidence. Like fate. And I’m not sure fate is something I really believe in.”
My thoughts went back to my mother and the ridiculous excuse she had used to desert my father and destroy our family. “Fate,” she had said calmly, confidently. “I was fated to be with him, and he with me.” There was more, of course. But at the heart of it all, there had simply been that: her alien “fated mate.”
I loved my mother, and always would. But her decision to be with someone else had been something I didn’t think I’d ever be able to understand. Or forgive. Whether she thought he was her fated mate or not.
Was she not fated to be my mother?
And yet… as I lay here, in this alien’s arms, feeling these things I had never felt before…
More questions began to rise and nag at me. If it hadn’t been fate, might I have died alone out there in the desert, a tasty treat for a ravenous sand beast? If the sand tiger hadn’t roared in my direction, would Kade have even bothered to look my way?
Kade’s palm cupped my cheek, and he brushed his thumb across it. As if reading my mind, he said, “Fate is a real thing, Leslie. And it doesn’t care if you believe in it or not. It simply… is.”
A surge of emotions swelled inside me, tumultuous and powerful, as I gazed up at Kade. He had been nothing but kind to me from the beginning. He had led me safely through the desert and to his village. Even once we got here, he could have simply stood aside and let that thug Trag have me. But he had stood up for me and saved me from what surely would have been a horrible life, even possibly at the cost of his reputation.
Looking at him now, I couldn’t deny that my attraction to him was partially physical. He was built like a mountain, his hair and stripes giving him a regal, almost lion-like appearance. On top of that, the man had impeccable skills in bed… and I had been lonely for a long time. But even now, as he caressed my cheek, that simple gesture alone was enough to warm my heart in places I hadn’t realized had grown cold.
“I still have to get to my father, though,” I choked out, trying to stay focused. I couldn’t deny the truth; I had a life to return to. I couldn’t just stay here with him and play housewife or sex slave or whatever else he or his tribe might’ve been expecting.
Kade studied my face for a moment. “I will help you, Leslie,” he asserted. “I haven’t forgotten. But in the eyes of my tribe, you belong to me now. We’re bound for life, and because of that, I have sworn to protect you.”
I inhaled sharply, my surprise apparent.
Kade’s eyes burned into mine, and a shiver ran down my back. This wasn’t exactly my idea of happily ever after. But the man did say “bound for life,” and that was kind of the same thing, right? Till death do us part and such?
I should have been running for the hills, getting the hell out of here and away from this entire situation. But the look in Kade’s eyes wasn’t malicious or menacing. He looked content, peaceful. The feeling settled over me and I realized that I, too, was comforted. “I have sworn to protect you,” he’d said. What was so wrong with that?
Kade leaned into me and pressed the barest of kisses to my lips. “I promise to help you return to your father, and your people.” When I opened my eyes, I saw the truth in his. He was going to help me to the end.
“And when I get back…” I whispered. “What happens to us then?”
He shrugged. “That will be entirely up to you, Leslie. As I said, in the eyes of my tribe, you belong to me. And that will protect you from the likes of Trag. But in my eyes, you are free to do as you will.”
My head was spinning. I couldn’t think of how to express my gratitude, but, thankfully, Kade’s lips met mine again, and the thinking stopped. The heat of this kiss was just a little hotter than the last one… and the next one was on fire.
His hands fell down to my lower back, to the magic tension spot he had somehow found and perfectly massaged the night before, and he pressed his fingers deeply and firmly into that same spot. I groaned, then chuckled. He’d somehow found a way to massage that place in a way that not only relieved tension but also turned me on immensely.
And tickled. Just a little.
My eyes were closed, but I could feel his grin as he kissed me deeper. He knew what he was doing to me. And it didn’t seem like he had any plans to stop.
But it seemed like at least one of his tribe-mates had other ideas. An enormous man, one I immediately took to be some kind of guard, approached the rock from behind Kade and stood there looking at us, waiting patiently for Kade to notice him.
Kade—who hadn’t turned to see the guard, but had somehow sensed him just the same—growled low in irritation.
“What is it?” he asked without turning.
“The, uh… the chief will see you now,” the guard said. I was surprised, given his size, at the discomfort clear in his voice. Kade clearly carried a lot of weight here.
Kade sighed and shifted his weight to slide off the rock. Once he was on the ground, he lifted his hand to help me off too. “Come.”
“Are we going to talk to your father?” I asked.
Kade shook his head. “Only I am.”
“Just you?” I asked, worried about being left alone anywhere in this village without him by my side.
Kade clearly sensed this and, with a reassuring smile, said, “I will bring you to someone who can look after you until I return. She will take good care of you. I promise.”
Somehow the fact that it was a “she” was a huge relief.
“Okay,” I simply said. I mean, what the heck. If I truly was putting my trust in this man, then that would have to extend to where—and with whom—he was leading me next.
I took his hand, keeping the blanket around my shoulders. The desert was warming fast, but I was still a long way from being comfortable walking around naked. Kade seemed a little disappointed with the blanket, but said nothing as he led me toward the village center.
I couldn’t help but be curious about what I’d find there, and for the first time since the shuttle crashed days ago, I wondered if I wasn’t actually stranded out here… but was instead on the grandest adventure of my life.
