his shoulder, her heel clocked him in the jaw, the other foot smashed his neck.
He recovered fast, but his grasping hands only caught air as she seized the rope he’d left for himself and scaled upward, a dirt-streaked blur of fur and tangled striped hair. She was fast. Faster than he would have expected from such a tiny thing.
With a roar, he launched himself after her. Bare, dirty feet flashed just out of reach as he stretched to close the gap, biceps flexing.
She disappeared over the edge.
He threw himself upward, ignoring the protest of his recent injury.
His hand locked around a delicate ankle.
With a shriek, she kicked back.
A rush of air breezed by his cheekbone.
With a snarl, he used the rope to leverage himself the rest of the way out of the pit. He landed on top of a squirming mass. Hard. The stink of tigos and a surprising fresh water scent mixing in his lungs as he pressed down, using his weight to immobilize her. “Got ya.”
She bucked. Hissed. The soft fur of her pelt rubbed against his bare chest. Her toes dug into the dirt for leverage. As wild as an outraged newborn furball.
But he was a wily, Old Earth panther in comparison, too big and mean to even be winded by a kothi kitten’s puny efforts. He pressed down harder, doing his best to ignore the friction of her perfect round ass against his groin. “Calm the fuck down. You’re not going anywhere.”
The strange trilling sounds out of her mouth were shrill and sharp, and incomprehensible.
He stored that information away for a calmer moment.
She clawed at the ground. Bucked once more.
“Quiet.” He knew she understood New English. 223’s guards had spoken it to her. His free hand patted her down, looking for more unusual weapons. He wasn’t about to be taken by surprise again.
Her head slammed back. Dodging the hit, he reared upward and deliberately let her slither out from under him, her fur covering clutched in his hands.
Nice as it was having her stretched beneath him, he wanted a look at the rest of her. Plus, there was always the possibility that she had another weapon hidden somewhere on her body.
She popped up an arm’s-length away, bared to him without the pelt, her form bathed in the strengthening light from the two suns.
Beneath the dirty pelt, his captive wore nothing.
His lungs stuttered.
Golden skin shimmered in the suns’ light. Golden. Skin.
Not a trick of light, after all. Her unusual skin color made her appear even more pixie-like.
No weapons in sight, either.
Just amber-tipped nipples crowning full breasts, while her belly gleamed bare and firm and a sweet honey-colored pussy peeked out at him between firm, supple thighs.
As far as he could tell the only hair she had was the striped tangle of chocolate and gold on her head. No fucking wonder she’d worn that covering in the camp. The sight of her would have caused a full-scale riot.
Glowing golden symbols snaked across her navel and up her arms and thighs. Her curves were lean and strong. Her concave belly and gaunt cheekbones hinted at hardship and hunger, the kind he was likely responsible for, but she still held her spine straight, her head high.
He could already imagine how amazing she’d look, elbows and wrists bound, his ropes coiled like a spiderweb harness around her tits and hips, the knots pressing tight against her golden flesh.
Even too-thin and covered in dirt, her hair a tangled, wild mess, she was gorgeous. Hands down, the most stunning female he’d ever seen. She looked like a warrior princess or some kind of nubile young priestess. One blessed by the gods and insanely angelic looking, aside from those tiny fangs, of course.
He knew the truth.
Running his hands along the bite marks, he welcomed the reminder.
“On your knees.” He freed his rope from where he’d looped it around the rock.
He placed her at around twenty-four planetary rotations. Old enough to know better and to shoulder the consequences when she didn’t.
“N-no look.” She spoke New English in a lyrical accent that sounded like a song.
Her arms wrapped around her breasts and belly in an attempt to shield herself as she backed up another step. Without her glowing spear, she clearly knew she was no match for him.
“Do as you’re told.” He snapped his rope in warning. “I don’t want to bring you to ground again, but I will hog-tie you if I have to.”
She whirled. Ran.
Not unexpected.
He had to admit, she was fast and graceful