Taming the Queen of Beasts

GAR

Gar had chosen the campsite for their first night very carefully. Very selfishly. But it worked practically, too.

The moment the birds set him down, he'd thrown off the tall sides of the hammock and rushed to where Rika's team had just landed, though she was having a little more trouble getting free of the heavy canvas.

He lifted one of the sides back to help her, and she stumbled up and into his arms. They stood together, breathing, their hearts thudding in time, while the weary birds ambled off to eat, then rest.

Supplies had been left by unburdened birds the day before, but they were simple. There would be no fires. Sleeping through the day meant the warmth wasn't needed, and they wouldn't give the humans—or anything else—any opportunity to find them.

When they finally broke the embrace and stepped back, Rika looked around, then her mouth dropped open.

"Wait… this is…"

Gar fought a smile, nodding. He'd arranged for the campsite to be in the fairly small, hollowed arc of the mountainside. The same arc that contained his old cave. His safe space. The place they had first met, and where they'd met later, too.

When she looked like she'd say more, Gar put a finger to her lips. "Tarkyn knows, but the others don't. I don't want to be interrupted unless it's absolutely necessary."

Rika's brows rose, but her lips turned up on one side, and she followed him to pick up their bags and rations, then slip away up the trail to the cave mouth.

When they walked in, Rika took a deep breath and he could feel the tension sliding out of her shoulders. She remarked, disappointed about the mess at the opening of the cave. No one had been there for a while, clearly. It was littered with dry leaves and dirt, even a few small bones from a predator that must have taken a meal out of the rain. But she smiled and turned in a circle as she walked through, past the cold fire pit, and dropped her bag near the furs at the back.

Her eyes caught and held on to his and Gar almost growled with approval, but they needed to eat. And clear this place a little, make it clean so they could relax.

He hurried to shake out the furs and pull out the food they'd need, placing it on a clean square of cotton, beckoning Rika over to sit with him.

They barely spoke as they worked through the fruits and dried meat. There was a hunk of cheese too, but Gar put it aside to give her for the flying tonight. He hadn't thought through how long they'd be in the air. She was starving. He didn't want her weakened before they reached the Great Plain tomorrow.

But soon they were done, and as she hurriedly cleaned up the crumbs and got rid of the fruit cores, Gar raced out to speak with Tarkyn and make sure there was nothing pressing happening. The guards had been set to watch, and the Protectors were all bedding down under trees and the lee of rocks, trying to keep the sun from their faces so they could sleep. The birds had already found the perches they needed.

Tarkyn smiled at him. "You're fine. Go. Get some… rest." He snorted.

Gar almost growled, but thanked the captain, then hurried back up the cave, where Rika was already half-undressed and leaning over her bag, searching for something.

Gar rushed up behind her, pressing himself into her backside and stroking up the sides of her thighs, then her waist when she straightened.

"Hello," she said, her voice husky with weariness. "Is everything okay out there?"

"Everything's fine," he said, leaning down to nip at her ear. "Do you remember the safe word?"

Rika snorted. "I'm not going to forget it, I promise," she whispered and started to turn. But Gar growled playfully and held her hips so she remained with her back to him. "Let me help you," he rasped as he leaned over her.

She hummed and pressed herself into his chest.

She'd already taken off her jacket and blouse in preparation to sleep but still wore her leathers. Gar slid his fingers forward from her hips to find the buttons. From behind her like this, he made short work of them. His breath already puffing because Rika leaned back into him with a sigh, her hands playing down his arms, stroking and trailing her fingertips up and down his forearms as he got her naked.

But of course, he was still fully clothed.

When she stepped out of her leathers, she turned in his arms and pulled him down into a kiss, her hands sliding down his neck to his jacket and beginning on his buttons.

He sped things up by working on his leathers while she stripped his jacket, then he stepped back just far enough to grab his shirt by the hem and pull it up and over his head.

Rika's eyes lit up as his body was revealed.

It never failed to make him feel like a fucking god, the way she looked at him. But he couldn't wait.

Burying one hand in her hair and the other at her waist, he pulled her close again. He could smell her desire peak and it made his own surge until he was groaning into the kiss. For several minutes he sank into the delicious feeling of his skin tingling everywhere they touched—and her skin rippling under his palms and fingers.

Then Rika whispered his name and stepped aside, pulling him towards the furs. "I don't want to wait."

He followed her willingly, then tumbled to the newly shaken furs with her, covering her, exploring the dips and valleys of her back and body while she gripped his back, already writhing against him.

He never ceased to be amazed by his appetite for her, the way even the smallest touch lit on his skin like fireworks, fizzing and sparkling—and that twist in his gut that drove him forward, forward with need. It was as if when she touched him, the rest of the world just faded away.

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