44. Respect

But the bite never happened. She didn’t take it and came anyway under the dual assault of his thumb on her throbbing nub and his frenzied thrusts. The rush of fluids sweeping down his cock combined with the intense pressure of her hot sex pulling at him tripped him over the edge.

Marcus moaned long and loud as he swelled, seed boiling, then shooting up through him to spray deep into her womb. His thumb faltered, slipping against the flood of hot syrup that coated her button. As his thrusts stilled and all the energy went rushing out of him with each thick stream spilled into her, he forced his thumb to move, massaging her clit throughout her entire orgasm to prolong it as long as much as he could.

The hot seed flowed into her and then onto him as she felt his cock swell inside her. She murmured softly, letting her head tilt back again. She couldn’t look at him at that moment. The temptation was almost overwhelming for her to resist. Her movements slowed until she finally stilled. Only then did she trust herself to look back at him. She looked down into his eyes, studying his features.

“I won’t let you use me to die, Marcus.” She said after a few minutes. It wasn’t the most romantic thing to say, but it was her way. She was direct and to the point.

“It’s not what I wanted,” he whispered defensively, though his words were weak.

Moving his stiff legs back down, he shivered as the cooler air in the cave touched his sweat-soaked skin. Marcus felt the blood throbbing in his swollen knee, but still did not feel the pain from it. He swept his hand away from her mound. He gently gripped her hip; a silent plea for her to stay on him a little while longer.

“I wanted to give you what I thought you wanted. Whether I lived or died, didn’t matter...”

“I won’t want your death. Had I started, I wouldn’t have been able to stop. You don’t know what you ask.” She said, staring down at him. She stayed where she was, giving him what little warmth she had left.

Though she sat there atop him, with his shaft still within her velvet walls, her mind was already elsewhere. If she wanted to keep him alive, she would have to feed and feed him without leaving him here alone for too long. It was too big of a risk to take him back to the city in the storm. Likewise, she would be caught in the dawn and they would both die needlessly.

The whinny of the horse drew her attention. A slight smile touched her lips, though it killed whatever appetite she had for blood to even consider it. She could drink from the horse, and then he could eat the meat it provided. It wasn’t the most appetizing option, but it appeared to be the only one they had.

“Perhaps I didn’t. But I won’t apologize. Had you bitten me, I would have died happily,” he stated firmly, pointedly ignoring the tremor in his voice from the cold.

He was wet, as were the cloak and clothes under him. He had to get dry if he was going to avoid getting sick. And his knee needed to be iced. Though his body did not fully soften, giving away his greed for her, he had to think of his own survival instead of the incredible sex she provided for him. And he wasn’t foolish enough to believe that what she had done had been for her. She fulfilled every one of his requests without hesitation. Reluctantly, he released his grip on her hip, softly patting her thigh to encourage her to move.

“I need some things. If you can find my horse and the saddlebags, there are dry clothes and a dry bedroll inside. I need ice for my leg... please.”

Kinn moved off him slowly, savoring the last few moments he was inside her. She stood by the fire and looked down at him. She didn’t sweat, her body had no need to. But he was right, he needed dry clothes. She knew that the horse they had taken had a pack on it as well as a bedroll, but she doubted they would be lucky enough for it to be his horse.

She walked over to the horse; it tried to move away from her. She didn’t blame it. She could already feel her body cooling down to match her growing hunger. Her hands worked the ties of the pack, opening it up and taking the contents out. Luckily, there was a bit of ration and a waterskin. She took those and the bedroll over to him.

While she tended to the horse, he moved off the wet things and closer to the fire. His nakedness didn’t bother him. There was no room to be self-conscious when his mind was full of the billion and one ways to lure, trap and kill the monsters that preyed on his kind. He was too practical to care about frivolous things.

She handed him the food and water and went about setting up the bedroll. She brought over her own cloak for him to use as a blanket. She wouldn’t need it. Still naked, she grabbed his coat that she had used to get snow with earlier and went to get more. She returned only a short time later with the snow-filled garment. With her scarf, she secured the material and snow to his knee and looked up at him. When she returned with the snow for his leg and her cloak to warn him, he murmured thanks. His hand reached out, softly stroking her calf and thigh while she tied the coat to his knee.

“If I release what I have a hold of in your mind, you will feel the pain. Likely it will be worse for you now after what we have done. If you would like, I will keep that pain from you a while longer, at least until I must sleep.” She offered to him as she looked at him.

“I’m accustomed to pain. Though I appreciate the efforts to let me enjoy what you gave me, woman. Do not tax yourself. I can handle it.”

“Kinn,” she breathed as she looked down at him. “My name is Kinn.” She knelt down, her eyes studying him. “It is not taxing me. I do not understand why you would allow yourself to suffer when you do not have to.” She said, her eyes looking over at him. He was a fine-looking man, she admitted to herself.

“I do not understand you, Marcus. Your mind is full of training to kill me and my kind, as well as the animals. And yet, you asked me to share my body with you… why? Was it only because you think you will die here? Will you use the knife you held at the ready while we rode here to kill me as I still the day?” She asked, motioning to where his knife remained. She hadn’t moved it or hidden it from him.

Marcus only laughed at her accusations and assumptions. They were to be expected. He would have considered the same things had their positions been reversed. But he, like her, was not normal as far as the others like himself. He shook his head and reached up with no fear to stroke her cheek. At first, she didn’t know how to react to his strange behavior. Laughter was the last thing she really expected from him. Anger, perhaps, at her accusations. But not the laughter that poured from him. She couldn’t help but smile, if only a little. It was more than she usually did at any rate.

“I believed I would die, and I wanted to get what I could while I could. If I do not make it from this cave, I will be happy with the life I’ve had and the pleasure you gave me as my last request. But it is not the only reason,” he explained, gently slipping two fingers along her jaw until he gripped her chin. “They trained me to hunt, but I’ve no hatred for what I kill. To be an expert hunter, I must respect what it is I prey upon. I held the knife because I would not underestimate you. I still won’t, but I will not kill you coldly, Kinn.”

“I will get you to the city, Marcus. I gave you my word on that and I meant it. Eat and drink… rest if you can. I will watch over you during the night. We will see what dusk brings tomorrow. Perhaps the storm will have passed.” She hoped it would.

Traveling by horse would be much faster than having to carry him. Not only that, the wolves would likely be out, perhaps to take vengeance for those that had perished by the roadside. She could close her eyes and hear the heartbeats of both the man and beast near her. It caused her own heart to race as she felt the dull ache of thirst. She took a deep breath, still in control for now. If she had to, she would kill the horse before harming him.

His dark eyes watched her; drinking in every expression that passed over her pale face. She was far more lovely than any of the other of her kind that he had seen. Or any of any other species. Wolves were equally perfect, but they did not have whatever magic that Kinn held. His respect for her stemmed from that power she held over him. Lightly grazing her lip, he let his hand drop and held the cloak tighter around himself.

“I’ll try to sleep. When the sun rises, I’ll watch over you. I owe you my life,” he whispered as he adjusted himself carefully onto his back to keep any pressure off his knee. By morning, it would be better. No doubt weak, but not on the verge of popping off.

She nodded a bit. She knew better than to refuse his offer of aid. Marcus would consider it a slap in the face of anyone that held honor in any kind of esteem. He was a warrior, just as she was. It was mutual respect. She had watched his back, he would watch hers.