Sarai

hefting Jamie easily to his feet as he rose.
It was timehis sarai understood his place. “Sarai—”
“Stop calling me that!” Jamieroared. “I’m not your bloody sarai; I’m not anything toyou —
Alekyn’spatience was rapidly expiring. “Enough — enough, sarai. You willlisten to me!”
He shookJamie slightly, his massive hands tightening around Jamie’s biceps.His residual claws extended; he saw Jamie flinch as they penetratedthe skin of his upper arms. He forced himself to back down. Hissarai was in shock and needed reassurance and comforting. He beganto softly croon a calming song his own bearer had sung to him whenhe was a pardling.
It seemed towork. His sarai’s breathing slowed; he could feel the rapid tattooof his heartbeat becoming more regular. Without being aware of it,he found himself nuzzling the soft skin of his sarai’s throat. Ah,so delectable, so sweetly scented, and all his. He mouthed upwards,found Jamie’s soft lips and kissed him, deep and penetrating. Hissarai seemed to go limp in his arms. He stared down into huge greeneyes and the pressure at his groin grew, a throbbing demand to takehis sarai, to fill him with his essence, mark him as Alekyn’s forall Naferi to see.
JAMIESTILLED, suddenly aware of Alekyn’s strength and size compared tohis own. His heart began a rapid tattoo-beat of sheer disbelief. Hesuddenly felt breathless and — god, he couldn’t understand this,any of it — he felt frightened, scared like a littlekid…
He shook hishead. He had to calm down, use his intelligence. There had to be away out of this, surely? Then something else registered — Alekynwas crooning a soft little purring song. Jamie’s heart rate beganto slow — it was like kangaroo-cuddling a premature baby, herealised — slow soft heartbeats regulating the staccato thumping ofhis own heart rate, settling his anxieties. He sighed and wasstruck by a sudden need to lean against his captor and beg him toset things right.
It seemedAlekyn understood. Claws now retracted, he gently stoked Jamie’scheek.
“It’s allright, Jamie,” he murmured. “I know this must be frightening foryou, but you see, my dearest one, I need you more than you couldever imagine —”
A dam burstinside Jamie, words pouring out in a torrent of confusion andpanic. “But I need to go home — my brothers, this place — the house— it burned down!”
He wasn’tmaking sense, he knew it, but he couldn’t help himself. “And babies— you think I can give you babies, and I can’t!”
Alekynwrapped him tightly in his arms, pressing his face against hismate’s soft hair. “All will be well, my sarai. Trust me,please.”
“I have to,”Jamie whispered brokenly. “I have no choice, but I want to go hometo see my brothers — please, Alekyn, please — they have to know I’mall right.”
Tears werenow streaming down his cheeks — tears, Jamie thought, incredulous —tears, when he never cried, hadn’t since he was ten years old andhis pet dog was killed by a kick from a horse. But he couldn’t seemto stop himself, a welter of feelings and fears ripping throughhim, leaving him bewildered and lost.
He couldn’timagine never seeing his brothers again, couldn’t imagine neverwalking the fields near his home again or feeling the light fromthe sun he was born under warming his flesh.
Everythinghe’d thought his future would be was gone — changed irrevocably onone weird night by creatures he’d never thought could possiblyexist. But what the hell could he do? He was so confused; histhoughts skittering and scattering like marbles spilled on thefloor. It was all too much to think about now.
He sigheddeeply as Alekyn eased him away, although still holding him withinthe circle of his massive arms.
“My sarai,”he said, his voice deep and compelling. “My beloved little one, Iwill do all I can to make you happy. I promise, you will see yourpardmates again.”
“Mybrothers,” Jamie rasped, and Alekyn grunted, his gaze fixedintently on Jamie’s face, pressing his body back against hismuscled length.
“Brothers,”Alekyn agreed.
Jamie’s headsettled into the curve of his shoulder, his slender form nestlingagainst Alekyn’s. He sighed deeply. His every instinct wasscreaming at him to trust Alekyn — that the alien would keep hisword, but he couldn’t fathom why he felt this, or where this senseof trust had come from. Mystified by his sudden submission, hetilted his face towards Alekyn like a flower seeking the sun andlifted one hand to stroke the alien’s strong smooth jaw.
Alekyninhaled deeply, sensuously, then nuzzled his mouth against Jamie’scheek, tracking his way to Jamie’s soft lips. Without allowinghimself to think, overcome by feelings he couldn’t explain and adesire that had arisen, it seemed, merely from Alekyn’s presence,Jamie parted his lips, allowing Alekyn’s tongue to invade hismouth.
Headspinning, he found himself clutching Alekyn, hauling himself asclose as possible, feeling the powerful ripple and solidness ofmuscle and bone. His fingers had become wayward beasts twistingmadly in Alekyn’s mass of soft red-gold of hair. He was sucking inAlekyn’s very essence, feeling it penetrate his senses, all thecells of his body attuning themselves to a desire greater than anyhe’d ever known. Someone was moaning and with a shock Jamierealised it was him, and felt his cock, stiff and engorged,thrusting urgently and impudently against Alekyn’sthigh.
That part ofhis brain still capable of thought was shocked stupid, the littleman in his head jumping up and down screaming What the hell?, butwas overridden by the other little man throbbing insanely betweenhis legs.
Nothingmattered but Alekyn’s body against hisown, nothing registered beyond the compulsion driving Jamie to getas close to him as possible.
Hisexcitement was mirrored in the monstrous hardness, long and hot,pushing heavily into his taut abdomen, the stimulus making him rockhis hips forward and suck even more desperately at the tonguetwisting lasciviously with his own.
He felt hismakeshift toga slip to the floor but all he could think about wasthe body pressed against his. In one swift move, Alkyne slid one ofhis arms beneath Jamie’s knees, hoisting him bride-like into hisarms. The world tilted precariously for a moment and then they werelying together on the large bed Jamie had so recentlyleft.
“Goddess,”he heard Alekyn groan. “So sweet, you are so delicious — your scentoverwhelms me. I cannot resist you, my sarai.”
He leanedaway from Jamie, pulling the