The Fractured World, page 8
“I meant collect some dry wood we can use to get a fire going,” I said.
“You should have said,” Faris complained.
“I did say. I’m surprised you didn’t understand.”
That’s when Faris pulled something unexpected out of her locker. She, of all people, pouted.
It wasn’t as prominent as Casella’s own bouts of petulance, but it couldn’t escape my all-seeing eye. Faris was sulking.
Well, I did just get one over on her.
Finally, a win for me. It would have felt so good to rub it in, but I managed to contain myself. Faris’s pout disarmed me. It was surprisingly cute. Much better than seeing her glare all the time.
If only she’d pull this face more often.
More than just disarming, it swayed me into retreat. “I guess it’s only natural some things might get lost in translation,” I said, still having no clue how we all understood each other. “There’s still a little sunlight left. I’m sure we can gather something.”
The sky was orange. Little was an understatement.
“I’ll do it,” Faris said before marching off like a woman possessed.
I’ve got a feeling I should jump in here.
After dropping off the bowls of water, and my mate, at the cave, I chased after Faris. She was hacking away at a tree with a knife.
I sighed and rubbed my head.
Looks like my gut was right.
“What are you doing?” I said.
“Collecting wood,” she replied. The tree she’d chosen was on the thin side, yet she’d barely made a scratch on it.
“That’s not going to work.”
“Says who?”
“Common sense. You’re not getting through that without an ax.”
She blatantly ignored me and kept going.
Okay, maybe her sulking isn’t cute after all.
“You’re supposed to collect dry sticks and the like,” I informed her. Not that I was sure where we were supposed to get those sticks. The blanket of snow knew no mercy. Any fallen wood had already been gobbled up by its insatiable appetite.
“I know what I’m doing,” she insisted.
“No, you don’t.” I had to knock some sense into that stubborn head of hers. I rooted through the snow until I found a decent rock. The sort you could mistake for an ax head if you squinted hard enough and by touch if you had no clue what an ax actually was. The thing was dull as they came. It would still do for a demonstration.
“Look. It’s not coming down,” I said as I gave the tree a whack.
There was a loud crack and a huge gash appeared in the trunk.
My jaw dropped as I gawked at my rock-made cut. I’d damn near split the thing in half.
Faris stumbled back and stared. “What… what did you do?”
“I just hit it!”
“Impossible.”
“You saw me! Did it look like I did anything funny?”
She wanted to argue but couldn’t. Not that it shut her up. “Again.”
I yanked the stone free and delivered another whack.
The slit widened with a groan.
Faris pushed me aside. She wrested out the rock and landed a blow of her own
The stone blade made no progress.
“Now you,” she ordered.
While I didn’t like taking commands from her, this was one I was eager to follow. My attempt produced a very different result to hers. It snapped another chunk from the trunk.
“This makes no sense,” Faris said. She crouched and found another stone, handing it to me. “Throw this.”
“What?”
“Throw it. As hard as you can.”
I launched it at the snow-covered hillock that our shelter was but a small part of.
The rock smashed into the mound like an asteroid falling from space.
A startled Casella burst from the cave. “Whatever was that?!”
We were just as stunned as she was. My baseball-sized stone sat in a snowless crater and showed no intention of rolling back down.
“How did I do that?” I said, looking at my hands. They were as ordinary and unassuming as always.
“It has to be that,” Faris muttered.
“What?”
“My Brandon,” Casella said as she bound through the snow. “You caused that bang?”
“Sorry about that,” I said.
Her big yellow eyes widened. “How wondrous! You’re finally making use of my gift.”
“Your gift,” I repeated as I looked at all the damage I’d caused. “This is the power you were talking about?”
“There is no doubt. You did not have such strength before, yes?”
“That’s an understatement.” I was neither strong nor athletic by nature. I’d rather be grinding for loot than lifting weights.
She giggled. “Then you’ve finally tapped into my gift.”
It still sounded outrageous. Getting this much power thanks to one night of passion? Insanity! But the results spoke for themselves. I’d almost sliced down a tree with a rock.
And that wasn’t all.
“When I was out getting water, I ran into some trouble,” I confessed. I’d been intending to keep quiet, to stop Casella from worrying, but circumstances had changed. “I was attacked by this monster. It was even bigger than the one we fought off together and yet I managed to scare it off on my own. When I hit it, it went flying.”
“It sounds like my boon kept you safe,” a radiant Casella said.
On instinct, I wanted to deny it. But I couldn’t. Not only did she sound so sure, I couldn’t think of a better explanation.
It wasn’t luck that saved me. It was her power.
I seriously kicked that bear’s ass!
“This really happened?” Faris asked.
I nodded. “Every word.”
“Incredible,” Faris uttered.
“Tell me about it.” I grabbed Casella’s shoulders and pulled her in for a sudden kiss. Not a small peck or a fleeting smooch. A nice long embrace.
By the time I was finished, Casella needed to catch her breath. A heavy flush complimented her always gorgeous features. “What was that for?” she asked, very much with an eager glint in her eyes.
“For saving my life,” I said.
“You flatter me too much. It was you who saved yourself.”
“It was your power and you know it. I was only along for the ride.” I stole another kiss which Casella eagerly returned.
I’d prayed for this sort of strength for a very long time: the power to help others. It was really mine and it was all thanks to her.
Casella didn’t realize how much I owed her or that I was the kind of guy who paid back in excess.
Faris escorted the breathless Casella back to the safety of our cave while I finished chopping wood. If you could even call it that. It was closer to a demolition. Every strike smashed another lump out of the tree.
After a half dozen mate-powered hits, the entire thing toppled over.
I hoisted it over my shoulder without a care. It didn’t seem to weigh a thing. My sudden power boost was insane. How hadn’t I noticed this earlier? I was like a new man, one who could truly provide for his mate.
I’ll let the ‘mate’ stuff slide for now. She’s earned it.
I returned to the cave a conquering hero, carrying all the firewood we could need. Splitting it open before a willing audience only added to the sensation.
Minutes later we had a pile of wood nestled in a ring of stone. A single breath from Faris turned it into a crackling campfire.
It took no time at all for the warmth to spread across the entire cave. The difference was ridiculous. It was like we’d moved our camp from a fridge into an industrial oven.
“Warm,” Casella moaned as she practically leaped into the fire.
I took my gloves off and baked my hands over the open flame. Sharing Casella’s body heat was heavenly, but this was true living.
“Don’t forget this,” Faris said, heaving up a full bowl.
Just seeing water made me feel more refreshed.
Thanks to the fire, we had fresh drinking water within minutes. Casella had the first honors. She gulped it down like it was the first drink she’d had in years. “Wondrous! My throat feels so relieved,” she announced with a scintillating sigh.
Providing for my mate felt amazing.
We let Casella have that bowl while Faris and I shared the other.
“Here,” I said, handing it to her. “You first.”
She looked at me as if I was trying to pull a fast one. “I don’t need your pity.”
“What pity? Never heard of ladies first?”
“That’s a saying on your world?”
“It isn’t on yours?”
Faris scoffed. “You really are uncivilized.” She snatched the bowl and had her fill, leaving my promised half untouched.
From a neutral standpoint, it was far from the finest thing I’d ever drunk. After spending an entire day longing for any sort of hydration? It was like consuming the nectar of the gods, a fine wine brewed in the distilleries of Mount Olympus.
“Thank you for providing such a wondrous banquet, my Brandon,” a relieved Casella said.
“This is just the start,” I responded. “We still need food and fresh clothing. I don’t intend to let my mate go without.”
“You plan to go now? It is ever so dark.”
I shook my head. “Tomorrow. Two days without grub won’t kill us.” Although it was less than ideal.
“Does that mean you’re free?” Casella asked as she shuffled to my side and pressed her large breasts into my arm.
My blood rushed. It was hard to resist such alluring softness.
“The mating is complete,” Faris said. “More is unneeded.”
Casella pouted. “But…”
“He has the power. You’ve done enough.”
“Maybe you’re right,” Casella mumbled.
Her sullen expression didn’t sit right with me. It stirred something inside me.
“Hold on,” I said, wrapping an arm around Casella. “Who are you too decide what’s best for my mate?”
“Your mate?” Faris growled.
“Isn’t she? Until we leave, Casella’s mine. She deserves a proper mate, and I’m going to give her one.”
Casella squealed under her breath and pressed closer to me. “Really and truly?”
“Truly and really.”
Faris flashed her fangs. “I warned you.”
“And I haven’t forgotten, but Casella comes first. And right now, there’s something she wants. Isn’t there?”
“Yes,” Casella said. “Very much so.”
“Then allow me to provide,” I said.
Faris snarled. “This is madness. Lord Bogdan would never allow this.”
“Well he’s not here, so I’ll be doing his job for him.”
The seething Faris rose and stomped off to the cave’s entrance, leaving the two of us as alone as we possibly could be in these conditions.
Casella giggled through a seductive nibble of her bottom lip. “Thank you, my Brandon. I’ve never felt so… desired.” She brushed her small hand on my growing hardness.
“Then you’ve not been around the right people,” I said as I pushed Casella onto her back and spread her thick blue thighs open.
An alluring feminine scent wafted over me.
“My Brandon?” Casella squeaked. “Whatever are you doing?”
“You’ll see,” I said as I dipped between her legs and gave her made mound a kiss.
Her shuddering moan was the reaction I’d been looking for.
“What is this?” she squeaked.
“You had tutors, but you don’t know about eating out?” I said into her folds.
“I was only taught how to please.”
“Then you missed out half the fun.” I hiked her hips up, so I had better access to her body, and devoured her.
Casella squealed in enraptured delight as her legs hooked over my shoulders. She convulsed from every lick and suck, be they targeted at her sensitive clit or her drooling honeypot.
I drank down her delicious nectar and focused on any spot that made her moan with particular vigor. It took a matter of minutes until I knew all her weak spots.
She was such a good girl letting me read her like an open book.
Her blissed out voice kept escaping. She chanted my name between moans and toe-curling shudders. However much I was enjoying this, she was loving it ten times more. It was only a matter of time until it became too much for her to handle. Until she could take no more.
I pushed her to that brink.
The moment she reached her limit, I knew about it. She clamped her thighs around my head and cried out. Her hips bucked into my mouth as her liquid euphoria gushed out.
It was so hot, so wet, so ingrained with her man-hypnotizing pheromones. I couldn’t help drinking down every drop.
When she was done reaching the giddy heights of ecstasy, she fell limp against me. “My Brandon,” her breathy voice moaned. “That was absolutely wondrous.”
“No problem, sweetheart,” I said, giving her clit a quick kiss.
She shuddered. “Is this ‘eating out’ common on your world?”
“Not from what I know.” Seemed I was a rare breed. I’d always liked going down on a girl. There was something so appealing about having their pleasure in your hands. Hearing them moan, feeling them pulse, watching how their eyes rolled back.
Casella nibbled her bottom lip. “Would I seem ever so selfish if I asked to possibly feel this again sometime?”
“How about right now?”
“Pardon?”
Before she knew what was going on, I squeezed her thighs and went back to work.
Her moans filled the cave and they kept doing so for the next couple of hours until she was begging me to mate with her again. A request I obviously granted.
A part of me tried to kid myself that all this was just a means of thanking her for the power. It was bullshit and I knew it. I was doing this to be with her. It didn’t matter where we were, I was already addicted to the alien beauty known as Casella.
This particular time, I allowed that addiction to keep me up for most of the night.
Chapter 10
“Here,” I said as I handed Casella a bowl of freshly sanitized water.
“Thank you, my Brandon,” my giggling, glowing mate said before gulping down the entire thing.
I caught myself absently watching. There shouldn’t be anything attractive about such a simple act and yet Casella made it possible just by being her.
A simple bead of water escaped from the corner of her lips and dribbled down her blue skin.
It was one of the most seductive sights I’d ever seen. Our night of passion had rubbed off on me.
And what a night. I feel like a new man.
If they’re all like that, maybe staying here won’t be so bad.
I shook that dangerous notion away. What sort of deviant gets comfortable living in squalor just because the sex is good? I hadn’t regressed to a caveman just yet.
A pervert, maybe, but not a caveman.
“Any problems?” Faris asked as she watched over our second boiling pot.
“Not this time,” I said. “It was quiet. Everyone’s probably enjoying a lie in.”
Faris didn’t seem to enjoy my joke. At least she enjoyed the fresh water.
I couldn’t blame her. It was delicious. Not quite as tasty as Casella but not too far behind.
Speaking of my very tasty mate, her stomach growled. She tried her best to silence it with her hands, but her appetite was tenacious.
I laughed. “Don’t worry, I haven’t forgotten.”
Casella blushed. “It’s not as if I mean to be a bother…”
“You’re not. You’re my mate. It’s only natural I provide for you.” Under the weight of Faris’s burrowing stare, I made a quick amendment. “Temporary mate. Besides, you’re not the only one who’s peckish. I could eat a horse. How about you, Faris?”
“I’m used to fasting,” she said moments before her stomach betrayed her. It summoned up a blush of her own.
“Three horses it is,” I announced.
Faris grumbled. “I can catch my own food.”
“You’re supposed to be protecting Casella.”
“I can do both. I’ll make some snares,” Faris said.
“We’ve got rope?”
“Using leaves.”
“Huh?” I said.
“There’s a tree with long leaves. Them.”
“Ah! I think I know the one you’re talking about.” I left out the part where I’d hid under one to escape a ferocious docile deer.
“So, I don’t need your help,” Faris said.
“This isn’t a contest. More food can only be a good thing. Which is why I’m going to go and catch us a main course.”
“Should I attempt to catch something too?” Casella asked.
I rubbed her head. “You stay here and stay safe. Your mate won’t let you down.” I gave her a parting kiss and went about my duties.
Since we’d gotten a fire, I needed that little lift me up to be able to face the frigid world outside. Having something in contrast highlighted how goddamn awful the wannabe-arctic was.
Rubbing my arms as I went, I wandered through the falling snow in search of anything we could eat.
There was a wide variety of trees and yet an annoying lack of fruit. Most of the color came from alien leaves spitting in the face of photosynthesis. But I knew I’d seen something on my travels that fit the bill.
Over there!
On one of the snow-kissed bushes were small red berries. They looked lovely, vivid, and succulent. Just their appearance was enough to get the mouth drooling. And their scent? So sweet. Like fresh jam. But would they be safe to eat? I couldn’t tell real berries apart. Some secondhand knowledge didn’t make me an expert forager. And they were growing on an alien bush on an alien planet. So much for the ‘berry rule’. For all I knew, they weren’t even berries; they were the eggs of a dangerous parasite that liked to trick foolish hikers into gobbling them down.
When I squeezed one, it squelched and pooped red juice down my gloves.
