Ice Planet Barbarians: Barbarian's Redemption Part 20

"Better?"

At my smile, he leans in and kisses me again, and s.h.i.+fts his hips, rocking them against me. It feels...interesting.

"Put your legs around me," he murmurs against my mouth.

I nod and do so, and he slides a hand under my a.s.s, tilting me against him. He pulls back and then strokes into me. I smother my gasp, because that feels unlike anything I've ever felt before. And I think I want to feel it again.

"You are frowning," Bek tells me, going still over me. "Hurts?"

"Just figuring it out."

"Then tell me if you wish for me to stop," he murmurs, and thrusts again. My hips move with the force of his body, and he pumps into me again and then begins a slow, steady rhythm. And it's, oh, it's different. It feels like he's pus.h.i.+ng and moving against me in ways I've never felt before. He s.h.i.+fts his body again and moves my hips, tilting them just a little more with his next thrust- And then I feel everything.

I suck in a breath, shocked at the spiral of pleasure that surges deep within my core.

"Like that?" At my jerky nod, he grins and begins to move again. I'm liking this now. I raise my hips with his, transfixed by the glide of his c.o.c.k inside of me. In, out, in out, and how each time he thrusts into me it feels better than the last.

I claw at his shoulders, urgency rising with every movement. "Bek-I need-"

He takes my mouth in a hard kiss, and my pleasure ratchets up another notch. Yes. I need that. I need all of this.

As our mouths lock, he thrusts into me, harder and deeper, until I can't control myself. I'm making little noises with every push into my body, every rock of our hips, every delicious slam of his c.o.c.k inside me. I'm so full of need I feel like I'm about to crawl out of my own skin, and still I can't quite reach the peak to get there. I'm panting his name, over and over, and he's moving faster over me, our khuis singing so loudly that it's nothing but an endless buzz in my ears.

"My Ell-ee," Bek grits out, one hand going to cup the side of my face. His eyes lock with mine, his thrusts becoming rougher, less controlled. "My mate."

It's when we lock eyes that I come again. I can feel my walls clench and grip him tight, my body locking around him, and I cry out his name. He presses his forehead to mine, a low growl in his throat as his hips jerk against mine, and I think he's coming, too. Then the pleasure takes over, and there's no more thinking, only feeling. It's the most incredible thing ever.

I'm Bek's and he's mine.

Later on, when we've slid apart, I rest my cheek on his chest and gaze up at the stars. They look the same as they did earlier, which seems funny to me, because I feel like my world has changed again. This time, for the better, of course, but still a change. My cootie's still purring, but it's a little muted, and I press a hand to my chest. "I thought this was supposed to stop when we had s.e.x?"

Bek pulls me against him like I'm a doll and cradles my body against him. He buries his face in my neck and begins to kiss my skin, making my cootie-and the rest of me-wake up again. "It takes a few times. Once you are carrying my kit, it will stop."

"Oh." I trail a hand through his hair, thinking. "Will the s.e.x still be as good?"

He chuckles. "Always."

"Then I'm good with that." I smile up at the stars as he begins to kiss my b.r.e.a.s.t.s. I'm good with everything, I think.

Epilogue.

BEK.

"Do those two ever stop?" At my side, Ell-ee wrinkles her nose, her hand on her spear. We walk along the edge of one of the high cliffs, avoiding the deep snows in the valley. Nearby, there is a sheet of ice-something that Ell-ee and the humans call a glacier-and we skirt carefully around it in our journey.

"Never," I say, irritated at the sound of Kate and Harrec bickering from behind us. I shake my head. "They both need to be muzzled."

She giggles, the sound light, and it fills me with as much joy now as it did the first time I heard it. My Ell-ee is a quiet one, but around me, she talks. Around me, she smiles. And around me, she laughs. Her joy is slow to unfurl around others, but she trusts me.

It is a precious gift and one I do not take for granted.

She slips her hand into mine, fingers interlocking. She's taken off her glove so she can hold my hand, and I will chide her about it, but later. For now, I enjoy that she wishes to touch me as much as I enjoy touching her.

It has been a full turn of the moon since we fulfilled resonance. My khui has calmed, for the most part, but still sings with joy whenever my mate is near. It did not take us long to finish our resonance-we mated several times that first night, and by the morning, I knew Ell-ee carried my kit. The thought fills me with pleasure and terror all at once, and I hold her hand a little tighter as we walk. The great cold snowstorm came, just as Rokan predicted, and for nearly two hands of days, the world was bitterly, unusually cold. Ell-ee and I bundled up under the roof of our new hut and kept to the furs, learning each other and enjoying the other's company.

Now that the weather has cleared again, we are taking the long hike across the land to where the Elders' Cave is. The s.h.i.+p rests on its belly once more, and Har-loh and Mardok have been working there through the entire bitter season to get things working as they did before. We are escorting the new humans there so they can get the sa-khui language put into their minds by the com-pew-tor. I did not like the idea of taking my delicate Ell-ee on such a long walk, but she was excited about the prospect of seeing so much of the world.

And I can deny her nothing.

Now I see my fears were for nothing. My Ell-ee is a fierce spirit, and she handles the endless hiking better than the other humans. Ahead of us, Vaza carries Chail on his back like a child. Taushen and Warrek take turns pulling the sled with the two chattering humans Brooke and Suh-mer. Sessah scouts ahead for our small group, and Harrec and Kate take up the rear behind myself and Ell-ee.

And they bicker.

And bicker.

And bicker.

I do not know why Harrec needles the female so much. He has confessed to me by the fire that he likes her, even if she does not return the affection. "I will wear her down," he told me with a grin last night. "She will like me eventually. She just needs to realize I am the right hunter for her. If you see that we have fallen behind the group, do not bother to come looking for us. I will leave behind a boot so you know it was on purpose, and then I will entice Kate into my furs. I will bring her back once her heart is mine."

I just rolled my eyes at that and ignored it. He cannot carry that one off, I think. Kate would plant a fist in his jaw and fight him every step of the way, and she is the only human female close in size to a sa-khui female. Harrec does not seem to mind that he has not resonated to any of the females, deciding that he will woo the strong-willed Kate even if she dislikes him. The other males are less easy to understand. Taushen, once cheerful and upbeat, has become more moody and withdrawn. Warrek is Warrek, always calm and quiet, thoughts kept to himself.

Resonance will decide at some point for them, I hope. If not, it is as my Ell-ee says. I cannot make it happen for them.

I take one of the travel cakes out of my pocket and take an absent bite out of it, then hand it to my mate. "Tired?"

She takes the food from my hand and begins to eat. "Not at all. The suns are still high in the sky. Plenty of hours to travel yet."

"Mm. And your stomach?" I am waiting for her to get ill. No-rah is already sick to her stomach with her new kit, sending poor Dagesh scrambling for more stomach-soothing tea leaves at every opportunity. My Ell-ee has shown no signs of such illness, but I watch her closely just in case.

"Fine." She finishes the cake and licks her fingers. Behind us, the argument between Kate and Harrec grows to a fever pitch. It seems that the more Kate protests, the more Harrec laughs at her, which just makes her angrier.

I shake my head at their nonsense. If Harrec thinks this is how he woos a female, he needs lessons.

We continue walking for a time, and I am lost in thought. I taste another cake and give it to Ell-ee. I want to keep my mate-and my kit-well-fed. "How many more days until we get to the s.p.a.ces.h.i.+p?" she asks. Ell-ee's eyes are bright with enthusiasm.

"Another hand of days. You should pace yourself." I put a hand on her light pack-because I will not let her carry more-and nudge it. "I can carry this."

She rolls her eyes at me, full of fire. "You can carry it tomorrow. Maybe." She tilts her head and gives me a teasing look. "Depends on how tired I am tonight."

There is a promise in those words, and I imagine another night by the fire, touching furtively under the furs so as not to get the attention of the others. I do not think we are good at hiding what we do. I also do not think my Ell-ee cares, not when I touch her between her thighs. She is insatiable, my mate. I grin at her. "I will make you very tired."

"Then tomorrow," she promises, and her brows draw together in a little crease as she gazes forward.

I look, and the others walking along the ridge have paused. Warrek moves toward us in lanky, graceful motions, his long mane fluttering in the wind.

"What is it?" I ask as he approaches.

He nods at us, and Ell-ee falls silent. She is still quiet around others, though she occasionally speaks now to Chail or Claire. In time, she will perhaps speak more with the others. Perhaps not. As long as she is content with her silence, I do not mind if I am the only recipient of her words.

"They are gone," Warrek says, and gestures behind us.

I glance backward. Kate and Harrec are gone indeed, no trace of them veering off of our path behind us. I do not know how I managed to ignore their endless screeching, but it seems I have. "Fools."

"Should we look for them?" Warrek asks, concern on his face. "Could they be injured?"

I think of Harrec's boasts to me. If he has taken Kate off somewhere, it is because she wished to go. No one could take that female anywhere she did not want to go. And he said he would court her. Perhaps their bickering leads to mating, like Raahosh and his Leezh. "Harrec said that if they left the trail, not to follow them."

"Mm." Warrek crosses his arms over his chest, concerned. "I do not like it. Perhaps we should look for them."

"Or for a boot," I say, remembering Harrec's words from last night.

Our small group scatters and backtracks. It does not take long to find a boot. Ell-ee holds it up, brows wrinkled with concern. I just shake my head. It seems the males in our tribe all want to take a mate the hard way. First Raahosh when he stole Leezh, then Ha.s.sen when he stole both sisters. Me when I forced Ell-ee and her companions to come here. Will no one ever learn?

But as I pull my mate close and press a kiss to her forehead, I think about what I gained. My precious, beautiful Ell-ee.

I suppose they will never learn. Not when the rewards are so magnificent and bring so much happiness. "Let us head on to the Elders' Cave. Harrec and Kate will catch up with us."

AUTHOR'S NOTE.

You guys know Bek was never supposed to have a book, right? ;).

Of course, I never really planned on writing past the first few unless things took off. Boy, have they taken off. Suddenly I'm running out of tribespeople and everyone's resonating and getting stories and...Bek's been waiting this whole time. He's got the biggest fan club and I can't thank my Facebook fans enough for constantly encouraging me to write his book. You guys wanted to see him happy, and I loved writing this book. LOVED.

I know a lot of people out there wanted Bek with a ball-buster, but I think Elly works perfectly for him. Sometimes the strongest ones are the quietest, unbroken ones.

Of course, this means we're setting up for a few more books! We've got new ladies in the tribe, a few single bachelors as of yet, and a whole mess of families to play with. I've had a lot of people ask me if we're done with barbarians.

Not done. Not done unless you guys stop buying them. :) If sales go in the toilet, it tells me that it's time to move on. Until then, I'm just as happy to write them as ever! When we run out of tribespeople, if sales are still strong, we'll maybe revisit some existing couples (I hear a lot of love for Rukh/Harlow, or Josie/Haeden out there) or we'll follow the next generation.

As always, I want to thank my wonderful fans. It's your enthusiasm that keeps me going on bad days, and our mutual love for this tribe that motivates me EVERY day.

Special shoutout to Gabriella, who made a wonderful tribal genealogy chart that I tried to include in this book, but it was so tiny it was unreadable. You can download it on my Facebook page if you haven't yet!

A second special shoutout to readers Becky S. and Julie R. for having my back recently on a hairy little issue that cropped up. All the hearts heading in your direction. <3><3><3 and="" another="" shoutout="" to="" kati="" wilde,="" who="" continues="" to="" blow="" me="" away="" with="" every="" cover.="" i="" love="" this="" one="" so="">

The next book is (of course) Kate and Harrec. Will the tribe goofball win his ladylove? Will she put up with his s.h.i.+t? Will he pa.s.s out at the sight of his own blood again? Their book's going to be a funny one, I think!

Much love, and thank you for reading. <>

Ruby.

ICE PLANET BARBARIANS - THE TRIBE.

As of the end of Barbarian's Redemption (8 years post-human arrival).

Mated Couples and their kits.

________.

Vektal (Vehk-tall) The chief of the sa-khui. Mated to Georgie.

Georgie Human woman (and unofficial leader of the human females). Has taken on a dual-leaders.h.i.+p role with her mate.

Talie (Tah-lee) Their first daughter.

Vekka (Veh-kah) Their second daughter.

_______.

Maylak (May-lack) Tribe healer. Mated to Kashrem.

Kashrem (Cash-rehm) - Her mate, also a leather-worker.

Esha (Esh-uh) Their teenage daughter.

Makash (Muh-cash) - Their younger son.

_______.

Sevvah (Sev-uh) Tribe elder, mother to Aehako, Rokan, and Sessah Oshen (Aw-shen) Tribe elder, her mate Sessah (Ses-uh) - Their youngest son _______.

Ereven (Air-uh-ven) Hunter, mated to Claire Claire Mated to Ereven Erevair (Air-uh-vair) - Their first child, a son Relvi (Rell-vee) Their second child, a daughter _______.

Liz Raahosh's mate and huntress.

Raahosh (Rah-hosh) Her mate. A hunter and brother to Rukh.

Raashel (Rah-shel) Their daughter.