Page 35 of Horns & Heart
Chapter13
Sex was amazing, despite Inkiri’s barb, but at the same time, my ass was sore.I didn’t feel too bad, though it was noticeable.No part of me was untouched anymore, and my body had taken note, marking the occasion with this soreness.Well, my mouth was mostly untouched.I wasn’t going to take that monster cock and its barbs into my mouth, though; a bit of sweet pain was one thing, a bloody tongue another.
Inkiri was syrupy sweet with me afterward, going so far as to wrap me in a big, fluffy towel and almost beg me to let him pick me up.Which I agreed to.I told myself it was because I didn’t want to walk down that hallway and through the armory with bare feet.
Back in the bedroom we’d already shared, I changed into a fresh set of clothes.I didn’t own much clothing, just two pairs of pants and a couple of T-shirts, along with some underwear.I picked the pants I’d washed in a house I’d stayed in for a few nights and a cute tee with a smiling cartoon cupcake on the front.
Inkiri watched me get changed in all his naked glory.When I sat on his mattress pile to pull on yet another pair of the cute cat socks, I most definitely felt what we’d done and grimaced.Sitting down after you’d taken a barbed monster cock was bound to leave some soreness behind.
Inkiri clicked and came over.He whisked the socks out of my fingers and knelt in front of me.
“Back home, we call it pleasure pain.”He put the socks on me, extremely carefully, as if he thought I’d break.“It’ll fade soon enough.But if you feel too uncomfortable, Fellisse will be happy to give you something to soothe it.”
I turned millet bean red.I had not been prepared for that sort of discussion.Laying bare my virgin status had been bad enough.Talking about what it required to finally get that status changed wasn’t better.Didn’t people normally ignore that kind of thing?
I tucked a strand of hair back behind my left ear.“I’m fine.But seriously, who has fucking barbs in their penis?”
Inkiri had the audacity to chuckle.“All hangu-naga.”
“Gosh, you’re a weird species, the lot of you.”He looked up at me as if he were wondering how serious I was about that.“But the tongue is definitely nice,” I added quickly.
He held my gaze, which made my toes curl.In response, he ran his thumb over my instep, gentle but firm.Something odd happened in that moment, with him kneeling there while we stared at one another.My heart seemed to speed up, and a fuzzy warmth settled in my belly.I’d only known Inkiri for a day, but it didn’t feel like it at all.It was like there’d been a place at my side for forever, and it had been empty until he was finally there.It was the oddest thing.
Inkiri’s nostrils flared.“Rory.You will tell me when you don’t understand something we do or say, or when you want something from me that I don’t know to do for you, yes?Earth has always interested me, and I’ve studied it more than most.But this is still my first time coming here, and Donna was the first human I got to have a conversation with.I’m scared I might mistreat you out of ignorance.”
I snorted.“I’ve got to meet this Donna person.”
I reached up to cup his cheek, the move feeling natural and so very right.His skin was warm under my palm, and he smiled.
“You will.She’s a biologist, and she said she wants to live a quiet life, grow her own food.I suppose we could stop by her place on our way back from the Stone.”He paused, then cupped my knees with his hands.“That aside, will you promise?”
Voice my needs.It shouldn’t be too hard, should it?And yet, the one good thing about the last two years had been all the time that had opened up on my calendar for introspection.I’d done more of that than was strictly comfortable.
I had a general idea that I’d always had trouble telling people what I wanted.Ever since I was little, the au pair du jour had been the one to take care of my needs, or whoever had been doing the parenting while my parents were off doing their own thing.I’d quickly found that every au pair would pay me more attention if I was nice and made no trouble, so when I was sad about only being cast as a tree, I’d cried about it by myself.That way, I’d been able to pretend I was just happy to be in the play when I told the au pair, and she’d told me how proud she was of me.
While all of that had been the kind of thing that would’ve cost some good money to realize with the help of a therapist pre-apocalypse, it didn’t help me here.Knowing something about yourself doesn’t mean you can fix it.
But Inkiri seemed to really want to know.Maybe I had to figure out how to communicate meaningfully with him in order to keep him happy.My parents mostly communicated via email, which seemed to work for them.I didn’t see that as a viable way forward for me and him.
“Uhm, I’ll try, okay?It’s the best you’re going to get.”
Inkiri tilted his head and clicked a few times.“All right, sweet thing.”He smiled.“I like a challenge, and your happiness seems a worthy one.”
Oh, this guy.So sappy, yet so horned and fierce looking.He could’ve passed for a barbarian who’d be content with dragging me off to a cave, but no, I was getting…this.Someone who helped me put on my socks and took long, soothing baths with me.My cheeks flamed red.
“Cool.”
He grunted.“You should rest here.Or downstairs.Fellisse, Vergis, and I need to prepare to leave.”
I didn’t like the idea of leaving.I’d only just gotten here, and I liked the place.The religious compound had set off my alarm bells early on, but I’d been so tired and scared, plus that monster eating a person outside a pub had happened the same day I’d met the crazies.I’d hoped for the best.I’d hoped for an effing break.Now that it looked like I was actually getting my break, I didn’t want it to end so soon.
Inkiri turned his head so he could press a soft kiss to my wrist, then he stood, unfolding that gorgeous, yummy body.
“Maybe Donna has a point about a quiet life.”I scratched my head as I watched Inkiri get dressed.Noticeably in a shirt that buttoned up at the side so he didn’t have to pull it on over his head.
“You want a quiet life?”He pulled on pants.This clothing was also black, and while the shirt had ornate buttons, the pants came with a wrap-around tie.He finished all of it with a thin sash, then a belt on top of that.“You want, what’s that word…homesteading?”
“Uh, no.That doesn’t sound right.I just want something uneventful, you know?”I stood and went to my backpack to grab my phone and charging cable, although it still had about a day’s worth of battery life.
