Mari's Mistake - Ruby Dixon Page 0,13

dark soon. We should return to shelter." Just the thought of that makes my cock throb with anticipation, and it rises at the thought of her touching me, stiff and erect within a breath's time. My khui drums louder in my chest, urging and insistent. It wants me to join, to bring new life to Tall Horn.

But M'rsl whimpers and grabs my hand, her eyes wild and searching. "T'chai," she breathes. "MfrndLoorn s'missng. Hafto finder." She squeezes my fingers. "Pls. S'importnt."

"I cannot understand you, my mate," I say gently. "Are you hungry? Perhaps the others have brought back more food. If not, we will sleep and hope for better hunting tomorrow. Come." I gesture at the jungle. "The kaari come out at night. It is safest to avoid them. Come."

Her eyes leak with tears and she swipes at them angrily, muttering something under her breath.

I hate this. I hate that I have made her cry. So I point at the trees. "T'chai will bring M'rsl back here tomorrow." I point at the sky, and then make a gesture of the suns going down over the horizon, then point where they will appear in the morning. "Tomorrow."

She gets excited. "M'rsl T'chai tmoro?" She garbles my words, but I understand it well enough when she points at the trees. "Tmoro?"

I nod.

M'rsl lets out a heaving breath and flings her arms around me in a hug, babbling excited words. Her bouncy teats press against my chest, and her warm belly pushes against my cock, and I groan.

I am no longer thinking of kaari or the jungle. I am thinking of my mate, and resonance.

And when she pulls back and looks up at me with soft, hungry eyes, I suspect I am not the only one thinking such things.

I want her with such ferocious hunger that it steals my breath away. I consider our surroundings—too close to the jungle. First and foremost, I must keep my mate safe. I glance back at the nearby beach, but we will be open for anyone to look at, and my clansmates are far too curious about my M'rsl right now. I do not want to take her in front of their prying eyes. Our first time—my first time—should be in private.

So I grab M'rsl's hand and lead her away from the trees, heading back toward the huts that my clan brothers and I have claimed ever since the death of the Great Smoking Mountain. My hut is private, and no one will bother us there…I hope.

It seems to take forever to walk back to the hut, but M'rsl is silent, and I am filled with determination, my steps quick. S'bren sees us as we approach the huts, takes one look at my face, and immediately heads in the other direction. Good.

Once we are inside my hut and alone, I grab M'rsl and press her warm body against mine again. It felt so good earlier that I crave the sensation again. She sucks in a sharp breath, her hands moving over me. I hold still, fascinated by her softness. My mate is small against me, her head barely reaching my pectorals, but she feels perfect in my arms. Her hands move up and down on my skin, tracing muscles, and she clucks under her tongue when she feels my ribs.

I burn with shame at that. I know I am lean—we all are. Food is increasingly hard to come by. I hope she does not hate the sight of my body.

She looks up at me, her eyes hot, and scrapes the tips of her teats against my chest deliberately.

I groan and nearly lose control. That is it. Time to claim my mate and fulfill resonance.

I get on my knees and pull M'rsl down with me. She follows, but when I push her onto her back, a little furrow of concern crosses her face. I rub my knuckles against her cheek to comfort her. "It is my first time as well," I say. "It will be good. I hope."

She smiles at me, leaning into my touch.

I push her thighs apart and my cock is so stiff and aching I feel as if I will burst if I do not get inside her soon.

"T'chai—"

I push the head of my cock against her folds, groaning at how good it feels. Now to just sink inside her—

M'rsl puts a hand against my chest and pushes hard. "No."

MARI

What the hell?

T'chai has clearly not heard of the word “foreplay.” We were rubbing up against each