Page 19 of Savage Giant

We ate cold cereal for dinner using a powdered milk mix. Darkness came early, and we sat at the coffee table in the living room enjoying our informal meal, basking in the heat that radiated from the woodstove.

My thoughts kept straying to the night to come. Would Gorran wish to sleep in the same room as me? He wouldn’t fit in any of the beds in the house and would have to make do on the floor. While the second level of the cabin was sufficiently warm, it was far warmer in the living room, so I thought perhaps we ought to sleep there. I could take the couch, and he could take the rug. But the more I considered it, I didn’t particularly like that idea.

The truth was, I wanted to sleep next to him. Our bodies close. Touching. Snuggling. I wanted to drift to sleep with his minty breath tickling my neck, his large furry arm draped over me. Would he think I was being too forward if I suggested such an arrangement? Would he refuse me out of fear that we might become tempted to mate?

When I glanced up from my bowl of cereal, he was staring at me. His pale eyes glowing with affection, his nostrils flared wide as he took deep breaths. I didn’t need to glance at his crotch to know he’d become rock hard again.

“I should probably shower or take a bath before bed,” I said. The desires he elicited within me had left me drenched between my thighs. I really ought to clean up and get a fresh pair of panties. “The, um, shower is upstairs. I’ll be back soon.”I hurried upstairs before he could reply, though I felt one of his low, sexy growls rumbling through me when I hit the landing.

Chapter 12

GORRAN

“Ahh! Fuck fuck fuck!”

When I heard Cari’s sudden, pained cry coming from upstairs, I shot to my feet and bolted up the narrow staircase. Following the sounds of running water, I entered a bedroom and headed for the closed door that I supposed contained the bathing area.

Praying my female wasn’t hurt badly, I gripped the doorknob and made to enter the bathing area. But the door wouldn’t open. The knob wouldn’t turn. Ignoring my displeasure over the fact that she’d locked it, I twisted the knob until it broke off and pushed the door forward.

“Cari!” I called out as I squeezed myself through the small door frame. “Cari! Are you all right?”

“Gorran! What are you doing?Get out, get out, get out!” She peeked at me from behind a thin white curtain that surrounded the shower, her hair wet and sleek, droplets of water clinging to her eyelashes. I wanted to lick them away.

“I heard you scream and curse, pretty human.” I wished she would move the curtain aside so I could see for myself that she wasn’t hurt, though she was clutching it so hard her knuckles had turned white, and I supposed she wasn’t ready to reveal her unclothed body to me.

Her eyes widened. “Um, yeah. The water was icy cold when it came out of the shower head. So I gasped, or maybe I screamed, I can’t remember. And I guess I said a few curse words too. But I assure you that I’m fine. Now, please leave. I’m naked in here.” A pretty blush bloomed on her cheeks, and I felt her emotions clearly—surprise mingling with mild annoyance and embarrassment.

Complying with her wishes, I backed out of the room and closed the broken door as best I could. I was glad my soon-to-be mate hadn’t gotten hurt, and I was starting to feel mildly foolish over my brash reaction. I’d broken down a door and barged in on her when nothing had been wrong. But at least I hadn’t felt any anger radiating from her. She’d understood my blunder.

With a sigh, I started to depart the room, only for an intoxicating smell to freeze me in place. Following the delicious scent, I walked to the other side of the bed, where I saw the clothing Cari had been wearing today in a pile on the floor.

Kneeling before the clothes, I sifted through the long black pants and shirt to find the source of the aroma that called to me, and I soon found a small white scrap of fabric that I realized she must wear over her privates. I vaguely recalled Axxon once talking about human undergarments. He’d claimed that human females wore coverings over their breasts called bras, as well as a covering over their privates called panties.

Panties. I was holding Cari’s worn panties.

I immediately brought the item to my nose and took a deep inhale. Then another one. I couldn’t seem to stop. I couldn’t getenough of the delectable scent of my beautiful soon-to-be mate. My sweet human female.

The panties were damp with the slickness I’d been smelling all day—the arousal she’d frequently experienced as she admired my body. Pride swelled within me that I’d managed to cause my female to become so wet with excitement.

I suddenly found myself wishing that I wore clothing myself, just so I would have a pocket I could store her panties in and keep forever. As I continued studying the undergarment and sniffing it, my balls tensed with sensation and my cock hardened. Desire heated my blood and my breaths became shaky as passionate urges consumed me.

A steady growl left my throat as I took deep inhale after deep inhale, the panties pressed firmly to my nose, sucking in the sweet, pungent feminine aroma that made me ravenous to mount my female for the first time.

Would we be able to wait until we reached my people’s cavern? Would the Great Spirit truly not bless our union if no one heard my mating call? I’d always put great faith in the teachings about the Great Spirit, had always participated enthusiastically in the mating celebrations.

But I knew for a fact that my own brother—Brutus, the leader of our tribe—had been fully prepared to mate with his female a good distance from the cavern. I’d heard him tell Mastorr that he’d tried to coax Hailey into offering herself to him while they were spending the night in a cabin, though in the end, she hadn’t offered herself until they’d returned to our cavern. But if she had, he would’ve claimed her fully.

I considered breaking with my people’s mating customs, and though I ached to claim Cari at this very moment, I also longed to follow tradition.

Savage. Beast. Monster. Soulless.

If I followed Montikaan mating customs, perhaps I could reclaim some of my decency.

And if there was even a slight chance that following tradition would invite additional blessings upon my mating union with Cari, I would gladly do whatever it took to ensure our union was a happy one. Perhaps if I followed tradition, a heart-bond would one day develop between us.

I glanced at the window and growled. Damn the snowstorm. I would probably survive the journey to the cavern, but I doubted a human would manage the distance safely in such frigid weather.

Even if I bundled Cari in every item of clothing she owned and carried her over the mountain myself, there was still a chance she might freeze. At this time of year, it wasn’t uncommon to find deceased hunters with rifles frozen in their hands. I’d come across such scenes before, and I knew my brothers had as well.

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