Page 29 of Prison Moon
As it had the night before, heat filled her, scorching along her vaginal walls until it felt as if something alive had dug in and settled. The heat rode her limbs and into her bones and she wasn’t sure what caused the sensation. Toren’s flesh felt hotter than normal but neither moved as they clung to each other. She wasn’t sure he was able to. She certainly wasn’t capable of it. He was breathing heavily, his face buried against her shoulder, his hips still pressed against her as if he were trying to push in deeper and his arms felt like steel bands around her.
Her hold on him tightened, her legs clamping down harder against him and as their bodies slowly calmed, the sex-induced fog in her head clearing enough to think properly, she realized Toren was shaking. The heat from his body was near scorching now and it wasn’t normal by any human standard but maybe for him, it was. The same thing had happened the night before and she’d not thought much of it. Now she did. His forehead was on her shoulder, both his arms wrapped tight around her body. “Toren?”
He didn’t speak, instead buried his face against the side of her neck, his hot breath heating her skin. She held him and realized for the first time in her life, the man she’d slept with hadn’t rolled over the moment he was done, then ignored her as he went to sleep. Instead, he clung to her as if she’d get away if he let go and—she liked it. She liked it a lot.
She smiled, hung on tighter and closed her eyes as that heat coursing through her body warmed every inch of her soul.
* * *
By weeks end, Toren was still trying to make up for what happened with that creature. When he wasn’t feeding her, he was fucking her silly. Not that she was complaining. It wasn’t every day a girl was pampered, fed as if she were royalty, and loved so thoroughly even now her legs felt shaky. She was seriously beginning to wonder if you could die of pleasure.
Toren was outside the cave entrance banging on something. For once, the huge rock blocking the cave was pushed away and bright sunlight flooded inside. She crawled to her feet—testing her legs for strength—and grinned. Still wobbly but strong enough to hold her weight.
She slipped on one of the shirts from the pile of clothing near the wall and crossed the cave, squinting into the sun when she stepped outside.
The trees seemed to go on forever. In the distance, she could make out a body of water, its surface sleek, black glass from here. The mountains ran for miles and unlike the tallest mountains back on Earth, these towering peaks weren’t covered in snow but rings of red and black, the great summits of rock sitting beneath the pinkish-blue sky.
To the right, she could make out lush, green vegetation. Was that the jungle she and Marcy had run through? The moment she thought of her, she wondered where she was. Had something grabbed her? Had she gotten away and made it back to the ruins?
Movement toward her left drew her attention. Toren was surrounded by nets and baskets. She crossed to where he was, her stomach flipping over itself when he gave her a look that said he wanted to eat her alive. Moisture dampened her thighs at the thought. She’d yet to wake from sleep and not found him between her legs. It was certainly a better wake up call than that annoying alarm clock her dorm mate let blare half the morning back on Earth.
Toren stood and kissed the end of her nose. “There are fish in the stream. Want to come help me catch some?”
The question was just him being polite. She had no doubt whatsoever, had she said no, he would have gone back inside the cave with her without another word. He’d not left her side since that thing that walked in and attacked her. If he did, she didn’t know about it.
They collected the water pouches and one of the baskets and Toren carried the net he’d been messing with as they headed to the stream. He pointed out the sidra roots and showed her how to dig down to get to them. The nosha leaves he’d chewed into a paste for her cuts weren’t easy to find. They grew near the mossy underside of rocks, most times hidden by leaves and sticks.
The blue critter she and Marcy had startled out of the underbrush, and Marcy wanted to keep as a pet, was called a thaper. As cute as it was, she could only close her eyes and pretend it wasn’t as Toren threw a rock at it so hard, it had tumbled when hit. How he managed to hit it as it ran would forever be a mystery. His hand-eye coordination was much better than her own. More amazing than his aim was the fact he’d killed it with nothing more than a rock. Of course, if he had strength enough to push what amounted to a huge boulder in front of the cave entrance, why did she doubt he could throw a rock with enough force to kill an animal as small as that thaper?
The stream was a lot more serene looking than the river the dragon had dropped her near had been. Here, the trees looked a lot like those at home did. Had she not known better, she’d think she was on some mountain ridge on the Blue Ridge Parkway the way the water gurgled over rocks and fallen limbs. The air was cool and the scent on the air was clean and fresh and she inhaled deeply to take it all in.
Toren tossed the net he’d taken from the others into the water and pulled it back before walking deeper into the stream and doing it again. She watched him for a few moments then waded in calf deep. The rocks here were red and black, much like the mountains were and small fish that were as unusual looking as the aliens she’d seen swam in small clusters. She didn’t think to wonder if anything in there would bite her until she saw something swim by with what looked as if its entire face was made of teeth. She looked at Toren. He didn’t seem concerned about anything in the water. The tooth-faced fish swam by as if she wasn’t even standing there. If that thing didn’t want to take a bite out of her, she doubted anything else did.
Sara walked across the stream, stooping to pick up small shiny rocks she saw, until a rustling in the trees drew her attention. She looked up the bank on the other side and scanned the forest. A small movement behind one of the trees next to the stream made her freeze. There was something there. Or more than likely, someone.
She took a step back, then another, her heart starting to race a bit. “Toren…” The word was barely a whisper, her throat tight with sudden fear. A splash of water, then a rumbling growl filled the air. Was that Toren or the thing hiding in the trees?
Toren stepped in front of her an instant later. The muscles on his back were knotted and taut. His hands were fisted and that growl she’d heard was definitely coming from him.
“Show yourself!”
The shape she’d seen earlier still hovered behind the tree. A head peeked out a few minutes later before it ducked back out of the way.
“If I come to you, it will not end well.”
It stepped out from behind the tree a moment later and Sara couldn’t tell if it was male or female. It stood on two legs and its skin was so pink it looked almost translucent. Tall, wide ears stuck up from the side of its head. Round sunken eyes were framed with boney protrusions and its nose was somewhat flat but flared on the end in a half circle. It looked a bit like a pale, man-sized—wingless bat. It wore nothing but pants. Snow white hair hung nearly to its waist and it had no breasts but something about the shape of its mouth made her think it was female, but when it spoke, the voice was a deep baritone that clearly said it was male.
“No harm intended. Passing by is all. Didn’t mean to startle.” It looked through the trees behind it, then back to the water and held up some sort of pouch sitting near its hip. “I fill with water and move on?”
“No. I’ll not have you near my mate.”
Sara could hear that rumbling growl in Toren’s chest again. He didn’t trust easily. Seeing how something had already attacked her twice, she could understand why.
Grabbing his hand, she tugged on his arm. “Let him go, Toren. I don’t think it means us any harm.”
“I do not.” It bowed its head a bit in her direction. “In no shape to fight. Injured days ago.”
He answered her. She grinned and said, “You understand me?”