Transcendence (32 page)

She shivers under my touch, and I pull her closer to me as I open my own wrap—determined to warm her with my skin. I’m hard, and when her leg brushes against me, I gasp.

Beh’s lips cover mine again, and I reach between her legs with my thumb to rub against the hard little nub I find there. She groans into my mouth as her hands twist in my hair, and her hips push against my hand—looking for more friction. She doesn’t let me touch her there for very long, though.

My mate knows exactly what she wants, and I am grateful.

Beh raises herself up on her knees and shifts so that my thighs are between hers. I feel the tip of my penis graze her opening. I can feel her moisture gather around me before she grips my shaft and positions me at her entrance. Like she does when she climbs on top of me, Beh slowly lowers her body over mine, encompassing me in warmth, her scent, and a feeling of peace and oneness.

My hands grip her hips, and I slowly raise and lower her body over mine, bringing us together slowly as I watch her eyes. Beh hums and wraps her arms around my neck as she moves up and down with me, her eyes partially closed and her mouth turned up in a beautiful smile.

When I feel the pressure collecting in my body focus and explode into hers, my skin is covered in the warmth of her breath, her skin, and her smile. I don’t cry out as I sometimes do but lay my head against her shoulder and moan softly into her skin as Beh utters short, sharp gasps and shudders around me.

My chest rises and falls as I look up at her, mesmerized by her in too many ways to consider. Despite her oddities, she is without a doubt perfect in every way that matters to me. Her hands run over my face, scratching at the short scruffy beard on my jaw before she leans in to capture my mouth with hers. When she leans back again, she is still smiling.

Lifting her body a little, Beh climbs off of me, and I start to turn back to the bowl of food, wondering if it’s still warm at all. Before I get the chance to determine the warmth of the food, Beh grabs my hand and tugs at it. I look over to her and tilt my head to one side. Her smile and blush are back, and she tugs at my hand again until I move toward her. Beh turns immediately and heads for our furs.

Beh is still hungry…but not for food.

The wind outside is loud and cold, but in the firelight of the cave, wrapped up in warm furs and the arms of my mate, everything is warm and comfortable. My arms and legs feel heavy, and I find it difficult to keep my eyes open as I curl my body against Beh’s. I can feel her fingers on my shoulders and in my hair, and it makes me smile.

Beh makes soft sounds as her fingers run along my cheek and jaw. One finger stops at my lips and runs back and forth over the bottom one. I can hear her making the same sounds over and over again, and I take a deep breath and settle against her shoulder. My eyes fall closed again, and it is warm and peaceful here.

Beh’s finger runs across my lips again then over to my ear and back to my nose. It tickles and I suddenly sneeze. Beh begins to laugh as I rub at my nose to get rid of the tickly feeling. Beh covers her mouth with her hand, but I can still hear her snickering and see the sparkle of laughter in her eyes.

She’s so beautiful.

Fully awake now, I roll over on top of Beh and capture her laughing mouth with my lips. We roll to the edge of the furs and back again as Beh’s giggles turn to groans. I can feel her hips pushing up against mine, and I am very glad she no longer bothers to wear the little pink things at night.

Beh’s hands push on my chest, and we roll again—this time with her ending up on top, straddling me. She reaches for my hands and places them over her breasts as she rises up on her knees just far enough to position me at her entrance and drop down with a gasp. Her hips roll as I thrust up into her, both of us quickly panting and sweating despite the chill of the cave. Our furs fall around us, but I barely notice.

She is enough to warm me—inside and out.

Grabbing her hips, I roll us again and end up with her pinned below me as I slowly move on top of her, using deep, hard thrusts until she is crying out for me as I fill her again. I run my nose along the warm blood vessel on the side of her neck and then to her ear before I lay my head against her shoulder. I press my body against hers for a moment before moving to lie beside her.

I look up at her and smile as she looks down with shining eyes and brushes hair away from my face. Beh’s lips move and noises come out—the same sounds repeated again and again. Her eyes look at me intently, and I can see them tighten slightly as the sounds come out softly. Her hand is on the side of my face, and I can feel slight pressure against my skin where she touches me.

Then she makes our name-sounds sounds with another sound in between them. She leans forward a little when she does, and she puts her fingers on my lips. I watch her, not sure what she is going to do next as she takes my hand in hers and places my fingers over her mouth. She usually gets angry when I cover her mouth with my hand, and now she is doing it herself.

My mate is strange.

She makes the sounds again, and I can feel her lips move under my fingertips. She says her own name-sound, then another noise, and then my name-sound, all with my fingers touching her lips.

“
Beh,” I whisper. I feel her mouth turn into a smile.

“
Ehd.” She makes more noises, pauses, and then takes a deep breath. She makes the one sound again, and I feel the way her lips and tongue move as the sound comes out. At first, her tongue touches the back of her upper front teeth. Her mouth drops open a little more, but finally closes again with her top teeth barely touching her bottom lip as air rushes out, completing the noise.

So much effort for one sound!

She does it again.

“
Llll…” I place my tongue behind my teeth like she does, and her eyes widen. Her head bobs up and down rapidly as she makes the sound again. I open my mouth and round my lips.

“
Aww…” Finally, I watch her teeth tap her lip.

“
Ffff…”

She makes the sound again, and she gives me a glorious smile as well.

“
Llll…ooaawwffff…” The noise doesn’t sound the same at all. I try again. “Luh…awwfff.”

“
Love.” Her sound is quiet and succinct. It takes me longer to repeat it.

“
Luhhff.”

Beh’s eyes become large and round as she quite literally squeals and grabs a hold of my head, laughing and crying as she makes the sound over and over again. Her lips cover one side of my face and then the other and then finally come to rest on mine. I feel her tongue against my mouth and I open to her. When we break apart, I hear her make the sounds again.

“
Beh loves Ehd.”

“
Luhffs!” It kind of sounds like the noise an old wolf makes when trying to clear snow from its nose. I have no idea why Beh is so excited, but I wrap my arms around her anyway—enjoying her heat and the comfort her body brings as it lies next to mine. Outside, the cold wind continues to howl, and the snow continues to fall, but in here, we are safe, warm, and together.

The noise itself doesn’t matter as long as Beh is happy.

The snowstorm has lasted a long, long time. Outside, the sun hasn’t been visible, and the passage of days is impossible to determine. I sleep with winter’s heaviness, enticing me to the depth of the covers and my mate’s warmth, but Beh does not. When I do stir, she is sometimes tending the fire or cooking. Often she is just lying beside me and slowly stroking her fingers over my hair in the dim light of the cave.

This time when I wake, Beh is nestled beside me and breathing slowly. My shoulders are chilled, and I see the furs have fallen from us. I quickly pull them back up and wrap my arms tightly around Beh. The skin of her back is cold, too, but quickly warms when I wrap her back up again.

The cold has stirred me from my deeper sleep, and my eyes stay open as I watch Beh slumber. Remembering other winters in this same place on my own is enough to cause my heart to hurt. Then, when I opened my eyes, there was nothing to see aside from the burning embers of the fire.

Being careful not to dislodge the fur from her again, I get out of the sleeping area and lay logs across the coals. The flames spring immediately to life again. In their light, I can see a round bowl with traces of grain inside as well as a fur lying next to the rocks, wrapped around something.

I unwrap the fur, and inside is the large, deep pot Beh made with a lid over it. When I remove the lid, there is a layer of something at the bottom. I’m not exactly sure what it is, other than it looks like it has some of the acorns and pine nuts on tops of it.

I stick my finger in and poke at the concoction. My finger goes easily through to the bottom of the pot. I curl it around to bring some out, but it doesn’t really stick to my finger at all as I expected. I stick in a couple more fingers and dig some of it out. The consistency is soft and just a little moist, but not wet. It’s just a little bit crumbly, but mostly it feels…fluffy.

I sniff at it, and it smells of cooked grains and nuts. Putting some in my mouth confirms it, but the texture is completely different from anything I have eaten before. I like it though, and it quickly fills my stomach.

I hear Beh’s noises and look over toward the furs. She’s lying on her side, propped up on one elbow. She smiles at me, and I quickly bring the whole pot over near the bed so I can crawl back into the furs with her. We eat; I put my penis inside of her for a while, and then I fall back to sleep.

The warmth and comfort of Beh’s presence have become commonplace but not taken for granted. When I wake, Beh’s heat is the very first thing I notice. I nuzzle against her skin and revel in the feelings that course through my body when I touch her.

I’m wrapped around her with my head on her shoulder, and when I tilt my head, I look up at my mate. She lies on her back with her head tilted toward me and her eyes closed. I snuggle closer to her, and my hand runs slowly up and down her side.

I accidentally brush against her breast.

It’s warm, too.

And soft.

I trace one fingertip around the nipple, but I can’t really see in the dim light of the fire. Her breast is mostly covered with one of our sleeping furs anyway. I can still feel it though, so I do. Beh shifts a little in sleep, and I pause for a moment.

Though I would like to try to put a baby in her again, I don’t want to wake her. I’m not completely sure how long we have been asleep, and I already tried earlier in the night, hoping it would make her feel better.