She rubs the flint with the round thing again and makes a dark mark on the surface of the axe. She does it again and again. Her eyes narrow and the muscles in her arm tense. She lets out a little growling sound, which I find very, very enticing.

In my distraction, I almost miss what she does next.

Her frustration growing, she slams the little round thing against the flint hard, and a tiny spark of light flies into the air before it is quickly extinguished.

Beh lets out a whoop much like the one she made earlier, startling me again. My eyes grow wide as she hits the round thing against the piece of flint again, producing another spark that lands on the bark below with a tiny wisp of smoke.

“Hoh!”

Beh’s eyes turn to mine, and she smiles broadly as I look from her to the things in her hands to the tinder below. I move my face down closer as she strikes the flint again, and when the spark drops to the bark, I blow softly…and the spark goes out.

I look quickly to Beh’s eyes, and the sounds from her mouth are quiet. Her eyes narrow and focus in concentration as she leans over. She moves to strike the flint again, and a spark flies into the air and hits my nose.

“Ahh!”

I jump back in pain and surprise, rubbing at the burned spot.

Beh’s sounds are louder as she drops the flint and round thing and then brushes at my nose. It doesn’t really hurt but does surprise me. I look up at my mate through my lashes as she looks over my face and then runs her thumb over my cheek.

It’s distracting, but as she picks up the flint and round thing again, I remember more pressing issues, and we go back to trying to start a fire. Beh strikes the flint, and after a couple more times the spark hits the tinder directly, and when I blow, a tiny flame arises. Only a few minutes later, I add a few thin sticks and move the burning bark to the stone circle. A few minutes after that, there is a roaring fire blazing.

Leaning back on my heels, I look at the fire. Now that the task is complete, I have no idea what to think of how it was accomplished. I have never seen a fire started so quickly except in a lightning storm like the one that burned the forest and killed my tribe.

Like the hide on a stick, I have no idea how Beh would ever think to do such a thing to make a fire. How can fire come from the little round thing? Is that what her tribe uses to make a fire? Is that why it is part of her leggings?

There are too many questions in my head and no way to get any answers. I drop down to my backside and feel the tension begin to flow out of my body as I breathe deeply. We have fire again, and my mate is awake.

I glance at my mate who is sitting on the grass mat and smiling broadly. Her eyes turn to mine, and they seem to glow in the firelight. I crawl over to her and wrap my arms tightly around her middle, placing my head in her lap and my face against her stomach. I hug her tightly in gratitude and awe as she strokes my hair and makes soft, whispering sounds.

Finally, I know we will be all right.

CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

As the first flakes of snow begin to fall from the sky, I look out across the cold steppes with more comfort than I would usually feel at this time of year. When I work my way around the hide that partially covers the entrance to our cave, I see the reason why and smile.

Beh makes quiet, rhythmic sounds as she stirs cooked grains, cattail roots, and rabbit meat together in one of her clay pots. She has made another one, a larger one, and it lies in the coals of the fire just outside the cave. With the hide on a stick, we dragged back the large pot from the lake, and Beh bathed me, using warm water heated in a clay pot over a fire. That way, Beh can wash both of us off without freezing me half to death in the process. With Beh’s firemaker, it is easy to have a fire anywhere we go, even down by the lake.

I have no idea why my mate likes washing so much or why she pushes me to do it as well, but it seems to make her happy. When my mate is happy, she smiles and lies down in our furs at night with her legs spread as I take her slowly, filling her with my seed to start a child.

Beh calls out to me, and I turn from the darkening sky and move back inside. She holds one of her clay bowls up to show me our food is ready to be eaten. I look around the cave and marvel at how much we have gathered over recent days using the fires by the lake to quickly dry fish and rabbit as well as using the hide on a stick to return far more than we could carry on our own. There are clay containers and wrapped hides full of food, enough to take us through the winter even if we already had a handful of children. There almost isn’t even enough room for it all. The stacks of grains, dried meat, and hides are encroaching on the cave’s living space.

Beh calls me again, bringing me from my thoughts.

My heart beats faster just looking at her.

I go to her and kneel beside her for a moment before I lay down on my side and place my head in her lap. Sometimes I prefer just having her scent all around me to the meals she makes. I roll to look up at her and am graced with her smile and her fingers on my cheek. I also notice that she has discarded the leather ties around her waist and between her legs that catch her blood and again wears the little pink cloth instead.

I hope she has no more bleeding times. I tell myself the reason for my thoughts is because I want her to get round with a baby growing in her, but I also don’t like it when she pushes me away when she has her bleeding time. My mate likes everything to be clean and dry, and putting my penis in her while she is bleeding is clearly not an option.

There are other times, though, even when she is not bleeding, that she still refuses to let me put a baby in her. I think maybe she is tired on those days since we have gotten so much of the work done for winter, but there are other days where the hard work doesn’t seem to bother her. There was also a day when she didn’t let me touch her, and I just kept her inside with me all day and brought her everything she needed.

She still would not let me try to put a baby inside of her. Not even a little bit.

I reach up and run the backs of my fingers over her cheek. I can feel my own heart starting to beat faster in my chest as I wonder if she will receive me tonight—if this would be the time a baby starts growing inside of her. I turn my head to kiss her thigh, eliciting a giggle from my mate.

“Kiss?” Beh smiles down at me.

“Khizz!” I sit up so I can reach her better and place my lips over hers. Placing my hands on either side of her head, I warm her lips with mine. She has definitely been sampling our meal, and I can taste it on her tongue.

Beh’s hands trail up my back and grip my shoulders. I continue to run my lips over hers as my hand slides down her neck and over her breast. When I seek out the opening to her fur, she pushes my hand away and makes some sounds. Reaching around me, she brings back a bowl full of food and places it in my hands.

I sigh and take the bowl with a pout. I am hungry, if I am to admit it to myself, but I would rather hold Beh in my arms and maybe choose to return to the furs early this night—just to avoid the cold, of course. As I tip the bowl into my mouth, I feel Beh’s soft fingers pushing a strand of my hair off my face and around my ear.

It tickles.

I reach over and do the same to her, winding a long strand of her soft hair around the curve of her ear. I follow the strand all the way down her shoulder and back with my fingers until I reach the end. Beh smiles and I can see her cheeks turn red in the firelight as she glances away. I scoot a little closer to her, abandoning the bowl to the side as I reach up and push more of her hair away from her face and off her shoulder.

She reaches out and does the same to me again.

I feel my lips turning up into a smile as we go back and forth, moving closer and closer together each time we reach for one another. Finally, I am close enough that I run my nose over her cheek as she tucks more of my hair off my forehead and behind my ear. My hand moves from its loose position on her waist to a more firm position on her thigh, pushing her fur open so I can touch her skin.

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.