Page 34 of Simon

“Lucy touch?” I reached my hand out, almost touching her. As soon as she motioned her head to the first nod, I swept her off her feet and took the few steps over the path.

She didn’t scream, but she wrapped her arms around my neck. Within seconds, we were on the other side. When I put her feet to the soil, she let out a breath and kept her hands on my forearms to hold her steady.

“We can’t do that again.”

She would have to if she wanted shelter. This area was barren, only tall hay and a tree that grew on the other side of the cliff that swayed in the breeze. There wasn’t much room to do anything here but stare up at the stars, but enough where she could relieve herself.

“Alright, turn around.” She wiped her hands on her dress. “You can’t watch; don’t be pervy.”

Pervy?

“I watch. Dang-er.”

She scoffed. “It won’t take me that long. You can’t watch! And great job using your words. Have to say, you are doing better than I thought. Maybe you have been lying the whole time.”

I frowned. Does she want me to talk or not!? I knew my speaking has improved, a lot better than I imagined, but when the motivation is a mate in my nest, who wouldn’t want to speak.

Lucy moved away, her footsteps were muffled by the soft earth as she vanished into the thick brush.

I remember Calliope spoke to her orc about not watching her use the bathroom. I understood what the orc felt like now; I did not want to lose her.

“Faaaaast!” I yelled, turning away while I crossed my arms.

When I heard the stream finish, I turned and she squealed in surprise. I came up next to her, pulled my shaft out of my pouch, and urinated right where she had been.

“Ew, gross!” She stepped away. “What are you doing? Why are you urinating right where I was!?” She turned away to give me privacy.

Once finished, I turned and kicked dried grass behind me. “To cover your ss-scent. Dang-er.”

“And what, you have alpha urine?”

A low, guttural growl rumbled in my chest, the vibrations traveling up into my face as my lip curled into a snarl. “I am not an alpha. I am a f-aun. I protect Lucy. No one will s-smell you but me.”

I took my hand and rubbed it over my mouth to soothe the aching muscles. I would rather place them on her slit to massage her scent on my face.

I still had much work to do, but I was a stubborn goat.

“Interesting,” she whispered under her breath. “So, would you urinate on another female’s spot if she was ready to become pregnant?”

I blinked at her several times. What was she talking about?

“You know, if they were”-she tapped her finger to her lip-“in heat. Like how animals get when they are ready to have a cub or pup. Shifters and mammals, they go through heats, right? A prime time to get pregnant. Say there was another female with us. Would you pee on their pee-pee puddle, too?”

Where was she going with this?

I stepped up to her. Taking a long, deep breath of air, I could smell her arousal. She may say she did not like the idea of mecovering her scent, but perhaps she was more animal than she realized.

“I ooonly protect what is mine. You are my femaale. Iurinateto hide your scent. No others.” I leaned into her ear, but not touching her. “Do you like that I protect you? Only you?”

Her lips, soft and inviting, parted slightly, revealing a glistening sheen that beckoned me closer. I could almost taste the sweetness in the air, as my eyes fixated on them with an insatiable hunger, and the sound of her panting breath filled the silence.

Then, an idea.

“Or, are you in a hu-man heeat, Lucy? Is thaat why you smell so good?”

A blush of pink spread across Lucy's face, giving her a rosy glow. I inhaled deeply, the crisp air filling my lungs, and in that moment, understanding dawned.

I stepped closer, not touching because I did not ask, but my breath fanned her cheek. “You want my s-scent?” Her whimper sent a shiver down my spine, and the muscles in my back tightened, like a bowstring. “To be protected from other males, I mark you with my scent.”

---