Cock blocked by the wildlife. Was the goddess playing a joke on him?
As the day went on, he thought himself doomed to that single night with Belle when she suddenly said, “I think I need more swimming lessons. Will you teach me?” She stripped until she stood naked, and then she winked.
He’d never undressed so fast in his life.
Ralph steered clear of the water, meaning when she kissed Thyos, he could kiss her back. His tail provided the cushion against the rock when he slid into her, the water making her tight. She clung to him, her fingers digging into his shoulders, her breath panting in his ear. When she came, she bit his lobe, and he climaxed with her.
And still the bond didn’t snap into place. She’d accepted him as coital partner, but nothing else yet.
They came together again at twilight when her pet went off to hunt. They were snuggled when it returned, rumbling its discontent.
Thyos held her all night and got to feel her hands on him, greedy and demanding, in the morning.
They spent three glorious days of exploration together. Harmonious days. Perfect nights. She showed off her prowess not only as a hunter but a fighter, too, sparring with him, and when he knocked her on her posterior, rather than be angry, she smiled and demanded they go again.
Less impressed was Ralph, who, at one point, getting tired of being left out, pounced Thyos and sat on his chest growling and slobbering. He could have tossed the animal or done it damage, but she laughed. Laughed deeply and richly, which meant Ralph got its own puegla for dinner—raw of course.
They talked, her of her life on Earth and how hard it became when her father died. “My mom tried, she really did, but she had to work two jobs, and I wasn’t the easiest kid,” Belle admitted. “Sometimes I wonder if she was better off with me gone.”
“Doubtful,” was his reply.
“What about you?” she asked, which led to him divulging some of his past.
He’d been lucky to have his father for most of his life, losing him only a few seasons ago to some raiders. She’d met his mother and sister, so he told her about the other two. All of them younger than him but acting as if they could boss him around.
He’d never felt more at ease with or intrigued by a person. She had a sharp wit, dry sense of humor, and a laugh that made him want to smile. The more they conversed and spent time together, the less sense it made that the bond hadn’t snapped into place. He didn’t recall it usually taking this long. Something must be missing, but what?
It became obvious she liked him, and he most certainly liked her. Surely she wasn’t still thinking of leaving? Then again, she’d not once said she planned to stay.
Should he ask her? He glanced at her rubbing Ralph behind his ears and held his tongue. Not yet.
Later that day, he realized just how precarious his situation with Belle was.
It happened when her pet monster wandered off and Thyos was prepping a spit for dinner. Belle had gone to the forest to gather some wood. It took her longer than it should have, and he worried when she failed to appear. She could take care of herself, but at the same time, she didn’t know these woods like he did.
Concerned, he followed her tracks and came across her facing off against a wolmoth, but not the one she’d befriended. This one acted as expected, snarling and snapping, its giant paws tipped with claws swiping.
“This is not a nice doggy!” she griped as she ducked under a paw and rolled before popping to her feet.
“I tried to tell you.”
“Maybe if we tossed it a treat?”
“Like what? We’re its treat of choice.”
The beast went after her again, and she dodged, only to trip and hit the ground. She rolled but couldn’t get to her feet, and the monster coiled to pounce.
Thyos didn’t think; he acted. He roared and unleashed his warrior side. His muscles thickened, his skin hardened, and claws shot out of his fingers. He raced for the wolmoth and slammed it with blows. Thud. Thud. Their roars filled the air, as did the grunts and heavy breathing of exertion.
The battle proved tough and messy, slippery with blood from the many scratches he scored. Thyos didn’t suffer as much injury due to his tougher battle skin.
In the end, he won. The beast died with a screech of rage that rattled into silence.
But in that silence, something screamed.
Repulsion.
Belle’s wide eyes said it all. She looked upon his shifted warrior form in all its serpentine glory and recoiled. In that moment, she forgot the man she’d lain with. She saw the alien.
It hurt.
He could have argued once he shifted back. He certainly came up with speeches in his head about the fact he was the same person still. As they returned to camp, him once more as the male she knew, he remained silent.
He shouldn’t have to apologize for what he was. Either she accepted him, or she didn’t.
To his surprise, she did return to his bed that night, and the sex was good, but something was missing. She’d withdrawn into herself, and he noticed her eyeing him differently, which was why the next morning he had them packing up their camp.
“Where are we going?” she asked.
“Home.” Because he had less than three days for her to come to the realization that, despite their differences, they did belong together. He just didn’t know how to make her see it and, given he had only a little time left to figure it out, wasn’t too proud to admit he needed help. The kind only a meddling family could provide.
Upon arriving, they separated. She went for a hot shower—that she told Ralph, “Will make your fur smell like flowers.”—and Thyos to hunt down his mother rather than indulge in the jealousy that the beast got to be wet with her.
He found his mother in the kitchen with the yellow-eyed Zonian, baking pastries of all things.
“You’ve returned already?” His mother opened the massive oven and released a wave of heat.
“There was an incident.”
“Does this incident explain why a wolmoth is currently inside our home?”
“No. That’s Ralph. She’s decided to have him as a pet.”
“One does not decide to take a wolmoth as a pet.”
He shrugged. “It likes her.”
“It might like her, but who says it won’t eat the rest of us?” his mother asked with an arch of her brow.
“I couldn’t exactly tell her to leave it behind,” he grumbled.
“A pet? A waste of a creature. Either you eat it or you use it,” Ishtara declared. “She better not think she’s bringing it on the ship. I don’t need it pissing on something important.”
He eyed Ishtara. “What makes you think she’s leaving?”
The Zonian snorted. “If things were going well between you two, then you wouldn’t be here yapping with us.”
“Things were progressing decently, I thought, until the incident.” He’d have to admit to the problem if he expected help.
“Did you pass gas in her vicinity? The little humans can be delicate about smells.” Ishtara clacked her beak.
“No!” The very idea.
His mother had her own theory. “Do you require some instruction on pleasuring her? Perhaps some documentation on human mating rituals?”
For the first time in a long time, he felt heat rising in his cheeks. “I do not need help in that respect. We were fine until she saw me in warrior mode.”