Page 11 of Gentle Giant

What life?a small voice whispered.

I stared at the glowing berries as I tried to ignore my rumbling stomach. Okay, so maybe I didn’t have much of a life to return to, but I had planned to start over in the small town of Newhalem after a nice long three-month vacation in the mountains.

I’d planned to spend those months hiking, reading, and relaxing as I tried to forget about Nick. We’d known one another for years before we’d started dating. The first year of our relationship had been wonderful, almost like a dream. He’d wined and dined me, showered me with presents, and proclaimed his love for me on a daily basis. It wasn’t long before we’d moved in together and he’d popped the question.

I rubbed my naked left hand. It still felt strange not wearing the massive engagement ring he’d given me, a ring that had been passed down through his family for five generations. I’d removed it after he’d hurled the first wine bottle against the wall, quietly setting it on the coffee table as he’d screamed about how his cheating was all my fault.

My chest constricted. Once upon a time, I’d thought he was The One. We’d been so happy together and his family had welcomed me with open arms. But after the violence in Seattle worsened, he’d started to become paranoid. He’d talked about joining a resistance group and would sometimes leave the apartment in the middle of the night. If I asked where he’d gone,or if I asked about the illegal Vaxxlian blasters he sometimes kept hidden in our closet, he would tell me to mind my business.

Maybe I wasn’t the only one who’d become distant. He’d slowly changed before my eyes. He’d become someone else, a man I barely recognized. I wasn’t sorry it was over, but I mourned the years I’d spent with him. What a waste.

“Hailey?” Brutus said. “Do you not like berries? Would you prefer I get you a fish or some nuts? We also have a store of edible roots.” He shifted awkwardly in front of the room’s exit. “I would even hunt an animal if you preferred. I know humans like to hunt deer and bear, among other creatures, though my people do not usually consume such game.”

I glanced at the glowing berries and my stomach gave another growl. “What are these called? I have never seen anything like them before. Are you sure they aren’t poisonous?”

“They are pokklam berries. They grow in our cavern in the light of the sun-moss. Try one. I promise they are sweet, and I swear to you they are not poisonous. I would never wish to cause you harm, sweet human. For the rest of our lives, it will be my great honor to protect you.”

I cautiously reached for a berry and popped it into my mouth. The sweet tanginess exploded across my tastebuds, and I soon reached for another. I’d never tasted anything so delicious. It reminded me of strawberries, only sweeter and with a hint of smokiness that somehow only added to the flavor.

A pleased look entered Brutus’s eyes as he watched me eat. “Delicious, aren’t they? My cousin’s lifemate, Harmonn, blesses the pokklam bushes daily. Her healing energy helps them thrive even during the height of winter when the glow of the sun-moss becomes dimmer.”

“Healing energy?” I asked, the back of my neck prickling. I glanced around the cavern. Although we were on Earth, this place felt otherworldly, as though magic rippled over everysurface. And Brutus… the glow of his pale blue eyes wasn’t natural either.

He nodded. “Every member of the Starblessed tribe has unique abilities that help our settlement thrive.” He pressed his hands to the ground, closed his eyes, and suddenly the sun-moss glowed brighter… and it also started growing, becoming thicker as it spread over areas of the walls that weren’t previously covered.

The berry I was holding fell out of my hand. I stared at Brutus in shock as I tried to wrap my mind around everything that had happened since he’d knocked on my door last night.

Sasquatches were real, they lived in large groups, and they possessed supernatural powers.

Alrighty then.

“So, you help food grow as well?” I asked.

He nodded. “Sometimes, though usually that task is left to others in my tribe. I focus on healing the lands on which we live. I try to keep the rivers and lakes fresh and clear, uncontaminated by…” His voice trailed off and a contemplative look came over him as he tapped at his chin, as though trying to remember a specific word. “Pollution,” he finally said.

“I see.” Not for the first time, I found myself admiring his huge muscular form. His face was humanlike, though his features were so large, and his eyes were most definitely not human. He wore no clothing, and it took all my willpower not to stare openly at the massive appendage that jutted out from his crotch.

But he noticed my secretive glances and peered down at his cock, which was suddenly growing in size. My heart fluttered and heat panged in my womanly core. The Sasquatch’s cock was getting hard, and while his body was covered in thick fur, his cock was smooth and hairless, the same gray shade as his face, hands, and feet.

White light radiated from his eyes, and he slowly stood up and took a few steps closer to me, his huge hard cock sticking straight out. I set the basket of berries aside and stared at him, a little frightened, very nervous, but also incredibly aroused. My breaths became ragged and the heat undulating in my center wouldn’t cease.

He inhaled deeply and a low growl rumbled from his chest. “I am pleased that you desire to mate with me, Hailey, especially so soon.” He nodded at the bed. “Remove your clothing, then turn on your hands and knees and take up the mating position. Offer yourself to me.” He boldly stroked his engorged shaft and walked even closer. “I am eager to claim you as my lifemate, sweet human.”

Chapter 7

BRUTUS

Why wasn’tHailey removing her clothes? She was staring at me with wide eyes, as though she were surprised by what was about to happen between us, but the scent of her arousal kept increasing. She desired me, and she kept glancing at my cock. Her breathing had also become irregular, and her face was beautifully flushed.

She rushed to the head of bed and put her hands in the air in a defensive manner. “No,” she said. “I can’t.”

Understanding dawned, and I sat next to her and placed a gentle hand upon her thigh. She jolted at my touch as her eyes filled with fear. From speaking with other males in my tribe, I knew that females sometimes became nervous during their first mating session with their lifemate. I hoped to calm Hailey’s worries and make her more comfortable with me.

“You have nothing to fear from me, sweet human,” I said softly as I stroked my fingers through her hair. She’d started trembling and some of the color was leaving her face. In fact, shewas beginning to look dangerously pale. “I promise to be gentle as I claim you. I realize I am much larger than you, but it smells as though your body is ready to accept me. You are growing wet between your thighs, are you not?”

She gasped and moved away from me. I remained where I was sitting, deciding to give her the extra space she needed.

“You-you can smell me?” she asked, her voice pitched higher than usual.

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