Each Step Like Knives Read online

  She huffed, but didn't look entirely angry. "You really are a man."

  It pleased him to have her accept him as such. "And you are my woman."

  She let him pull her into his arms with little protest. "I could swear you just called me your woman."

  "I did."

  "I'm not anybody's woman." She peered up at him as he snugged her closer. His hands caressed her plump rear portion. "Just so you know."

  "I thought humans mated one to one?" He had to let go of her curves to speak, but even that could not distract him from how luscious she felt against him. "One man to one woman? So you would be my woman...no?"

  Her eyes had gone a little dazed as his hands caressed her body during his speech. "I have no idea what you're saying, but damn, it feels good."

  That invitation was enough for him. He kissed her, then lifted her off her feet and carried her to the low bench she'd told him was called a couch. He settled her there amongst the soft cushions, parted her thighs, and bent to lick the tender flesh there.

  She gasped, but did not stop him. "Again...oh, my God...."

  Human mals must have very inadequate equipment, Jeenai thought, if his advances surprised her. During a revel, fems and mals could mate and climax hundreds of times if they did not share seed. So far, though he'd not kept careful count, he and Helena had made love far fewer times than a hundred.

  He slipped off the garment she wore around her hips and held them up.

  "They're called panties."

  He tossed them aside. "Panties are an unnecessary garment, Helena."

  Hearing him say her name seemed to please her, because she lifted her hips at the sound. He bent to her fragrant center and parted her soft folds, then dove to find her already gleaming pearl. So much like a fem, yet different. So easy to access, so delightful to kiss her here as well. He licked her and enjoyed the way she writhed.

  Her hand came down to caress his head. He was pleasing her. That thought made his penis surge to life more than anything else. He was pleasing his Helena.

  He could feel her soft flesh swell with her arousal, and adjusted his movements to accommodate her needs. In moments, she was gasping his name. Her pearl vibrated beneath his lips as her first climax overtook her.

  He sat back on his heels to allow her some time to relax after her orgasm. Helena sat up and looked down at him. "You're incredible."

  "Has no mal ever done such for you before?"

  "Not like that."

  "You have been with the wrong mals."

  "If you're telling me I've met the wrong men, you're absolutely right." She reached out as though to caress his hair, but pulled back as though she'd thought better of it. Then she bit her lip, firmed her expression, and did run her fingers through his hair.

  He caught her hand and held it against his cheek. They sat that way for a few moments. He could see she was struggling with something and reminded himself she had not known him as long as he'd known her. She had not loved him for as long. If he had to be patient with her, he would, so long as it meant she would love him in the end.

  All at once a look of determination crossed her features. "Sit up here."

  "On the bench? The couch?"

  "Up here on the couch." She tugged his hand until he obeyed. She turned and knelt between his legs, a look of mischief on her face. "Turn about's fair play, Johnny."

  She gripped the sides of his garment and tugged them down over his hips. His erection, which had been resting half-turgid the entire time, now sprang to full life. She grasped it gently, then stroked it.

  His breath hissed from his lips. When she bent her head and took him into her mouth, he groaned. Pleasure overtook him as her lips slid along his penis and paid special attention to the round head. She sucked him harder and took him deep into her throat.

  "You are accomplished in the fuck."

  She glanced up at his waving hands and laughed. The vibration sent a thrill of pleasure coursing through him. She slid from his cock to reply. "No talking. Just sit back and enjoy this."

  He used his hands to caress her hair instead. The silky lengths entwined around his fingers as she moved her head up and down on his shaft. His first orgasm beckoned and his buttocks tensed. She put her hands beneath them to pull him deeper into her, and Jeenai gave himself up to her with another groan.

  His body shook, then calmed. "Helena."

  She gently took herself away from his cock and moved up his body to find his mouth. "I just can't get over how you can come without...coming."

  She didn't seem to expect a reply, so Jeenai just allowed himself to enjoy the way her mouth traveled all over his face before making its way back to his lips. Helena sat on his lap and took his face between her hands. She held him still while she stared into his eyes.

  "You're still ready to go, aren't you?"

  He nodded.

  She shifted against his erection. "Amazing."

  He cupped her buttocks and nestled her closer to him. She rested her head on his shoulder, her mouth next to his ear. Her whisper tickled.

  "Would you mind if we took a break? I have to confess, I'm exhausted. I didn't sleep well last night, and honestly, I'm not used to so much activity."

  She did not want to continue the fuck? She was sated after only one climax? Jeenai knew many fems who would bite a mal who left them without providing further stimulus. Still, if that was what Helena wanted, that was what he'd give her.

  He nodded. She snuggled closer to him, opened her mouth wide and took in a deep, long breath. "I could really just go to sleep right now."

  In his realm, the passing of time was measured by the tide, the current, the hungers of the body. He rested when he was tired and woke when he no longer needed rest. "If you need to rest, then you must do such."

  She nodded, but made no move to rise. Jeenai scooped her into his arms and stood, knees stiff to combat the pain slicing through his feet. Helena clung to him for a moment and made a noise of surprise, then relaxed. Jeenai took her to the place she rested... The bedroom, he reminded himself. He laid her down on the bed and pulled the covers around her. Then he kissed her on the forehead.

  She gazed up at him. "You're unreal."

  "I'm real, Helena."

  She wiggled against her pillow, her eyes already closing. "Too perfect," she mumbled. In the next moment, she slept.

  Jeenai watched her for a while, soothed by the steady rhythm of her breathing. It reminded him of the constant noise of the ocean. He bent to kiss her forehead again, then left her to her rest.

  His body hungered for sustenance, and he pulled a loaf of bread from a drawer, some cheese from the... What was it again? The fridge. He made what Helena had called a sandwich, and consumed it heartily. Remembering how she had placed the soiled plate in the washer of dishes machine, he did, then wiped down the table with a damp cloth.

  Jeenai looked around, satisfied he had left the kitchen the way he'd found it. Living above was more work than in his realm, where the sea took care of messes such as those.

  Stomach full, he wandered out to the deck that surrounded the house. Night had fallen at last, and the dark sky sparkled with the stars he'd so often admired. He lifted his nose to the air and took in a breath of salt-scented air. Beyond the sand, the water glistened and beckoned in the moonlight.

  The low roar of the waves called to him, but Jeenai knew better than to try and walk along the sand. Every step would be torment, and he couldn't risk getting close to the water. Something splashed close to shore and caught his attention. He looked more closely.

  It could have been a pod of his closemates. Porpoises often liked to leap and play so close to the beach. He looked again, and recognized the figures in the water.

  Krall. Persis. Gile. Moral. Tyde. Offren. All his brothers...come to visit him? They jumped from the water with powerful sprays, their bodies twisting in the air before they reentered the ocean. Did they know he was standing there?

  Just beyond Helena's house, a battere