Rebel Kato (Shifters of the Primus Book 1) (6 page)

I
had heard
Kato speaking with someone outside and snuck to the front room to get an idea of what the conversation was about. When I saw Kato begin fighting the men, I ran to look for a weapon to help him. The thought of him alone fighting those men was too much for me to bear. I had just found a dagger when a green-skinned Umani male burst through the bedroom door. I managed to jam the dagger in his eye before he grabbed me.

The rest was a blur.

When Kato had finally finished throwing the bodies over the side of the platform, he let me examine his wounds.

“They will heal,” he says.

“I don’t care. I am not going to let you walk around with fucking gashes big enough to fit my fist inside.” I sit him down on the bed and go to find something to clean them with. I find a rag and get it wet in the washroom.

He sits still while I clean the wounds and the blood from his body. To my surprise, the wounds have already stopped bleeding and have begun to crust over with scabs. It even seems like his skin is pulling back together near the edges of the gashes. He doesn’t flinch, even when I touch the meat of his wounds with the towel.

“What was that about?” I ask.

He meets my eye but doesn’t speak.

“All this talk about protecting me and me being your mate and you’re going to just close me out?”

His jaw flexes, but he still doesn’t speak.

“Well if you’re not going to talk, I will.” I feel the confusion of emotion in me bubbling up and I can’t stop it from spilling out. “I’ve been fighting something since the moment I met you. It’s not normal for humans to meet someone and decide to spend the rest of their life with them after just a day or two. It’s not even normal for them to sleep in the same room the first night they meet. I’ve never even been outside my ship and now I’m sleeping in the trees next to, well, you. So I’ve been dealing with a lot of strangeness. On top of that, it feels like I don’t have a choice in all this. I mean, what am I supposed to do? Tell you that I don’t want to be your mate and watch your people wipe mine out?”

Kato shifts, still holding my gaze.

“So,” I continue, feeling tears building in my eyes even though I don’t know why. “So I didn’t want to just tell you what you wanted to hear if I didn’t mean it. I didn’t want what was between us to be something cheap and meaningless. I didn’t want to use you. Because I can’t stand the thought of hurting you.”

Kato closes his eyes for a long moment, and the moment stretches until I think he still won’t speak. “I cannot be with you.”

I feel something in my stomach clench, like it’s shriveling and dying. The tears fall freely and I grasp the fabric of my fatigues tight between my fingers. “So that’s it? You bring me here and fill my head with promises and hope, and then just rip it away? Why didn’t you just let that guard kill me then? Because that would have hurt a lot less.”

“It’s not so simple,” says Kato.

“I’m a smart girl. Try me.”

He sighs. “For my people, it is not customary to—”

“Fuck your customs. If you don’t start making sense, you’re going to see what human women customarily do when men don’t treat them right.”

He seems to relax a bit, the cocksure grin I know returning. “Who am I to deny such fire and spirit? Very well. The visitor was my father. He has threatened to have you and your sister captured and tortured if I do not send you away.”

“That’s it?” I ask. “You were going to just give him what he wanted? Even if it meant my people would still be killed anyway?”

“No. I was going to secure a safe place for you and your sister to live. Then I would seek a good death defending your honor. I would challenge my father to combat and strike him down. I would continue to fight until I drowned in the blood of my enemies.”

“Oh,” I say, feeling a little embarrassed. “That is a stupid plan, but it’s sweet.”

“What is sweet? This word you keep using has no meaning to my people.”

“It’s like. . . When something is nice and thoughtful. Something that makes a girl feel appreciated and. . . Did I just use several more words that have no meaning to you?”

He spreads his hands apologetically. “Forget I asked.”

“So what now?” I ask.

“We get your sister and go somewhere safe.”

* * *

W
e manage
to get a message to
The Hope
and have Mira sent down to us in a shuttle. We use a smaller port in a poorer section of the city to avoid drawing attention. She wraps me in a tight hug when she sees me.

“I’ve been so worried about you,” she says. Then she looks at my clothes and her eyebrows raise.

Kato had a man loyal to him bring them. It was a tight-fitting dress that looked like it was made of metal leaves, but it felt as soft as silk. I felt that it showed too much cleavage, but the smile on Kato’s face when he saw it on me washed away any doubts I had. He had already grabbed my ass several times since we left his house. He even pulled me into a darkened alley and grinded against me, his cock hot and hard against me until I cummed. The whole exchange had taken less than three minutes. My hair was still a little disheveled, and I was a little worried my sister could tell what we had done while we waited for her.

She notices my hair and then looks at Kato, who shows no shame in the erection that bulges against his leathers. She blushes and then nudges me in the ribs. “Nice,” she whispers.

I swat at her but can’t help from smiling. Despite everything at stake, it is nice to be wanted, to be the one who is protected. And seeing Kato’s huge form beside me and my sister reminds me that I don’t need to worry. He will protect us.

Kato leads us into a hangar on the far edge of the Jektan. We board a shuttle and he makes sure I’m strapped in tight before tearing out of the bay. Once we take off, he flies so quickly that I don’t know how he avoids slamming into buildings or trees. The forest rushes by us in a blur. At some point, I think we have left the city because the trees are no longer filled with lights and buildings. I see only the lonely stems rising and rising into the atmosphere.

Eventually, the windows of our shuttle begin to glaze over with frost. The air outside looks faintly blue, and the trees are different now. They are more twisted and wider, to the point where even Kato is forced to slow down to navigate the treacherous tangle of branches. When we finally come to a stop, it’s on a branch as wide as
The Hope
is long. Kato puts us down and helps me from my seat. He guides me down the ramp and onto the slippery trunk. Mira follows close behind us.

“Where are we?” I ask.

“Njordem. The Frozen Tinewood.”

“Are we safe here?”

“As safe as one can be on this planet. But you are with me. No harm will come to you.”

I hug tightly to his side and follow him deeper into the woods, glancing back occasionally to make sure Mira is still with us. When we reach the city, I can see it is a series of platforms connected by long bridges and staircases carved into trees and branches. The ice-coated bark would make me feel as if I was about to slip off at any moment, but Kato’s presence reassures me. I just make sure I am close enough to grab Mira’s hand if she slips, though Kato would probably beat me to it.

We reach a hollowed-out section of tree with a door in it. Inside, the room is cozy and lit by a fire in the center. A blue-skinned warrior sits inside. He stands to greet Kato and bows respectfully to my sister and I.

“This is Davoso, he will watch over your sister. I trust him as I would trust my own hands.”

I look over the man. He’s an impressive specimen. His frozen blue eyes and rogue-like features would normally not comfort me, but in this place. . . I’ll take dangerous if it means my sister is safe. I notice Mira is inspecting the man closely as well. I also notice she is fiddling with her fingers. For a moment I have second thoughts, but decide that Kato knows what he is doing. If he trusts the man, so do I. Besides, Mira is a big girl. If she wants to—okay, yuck. Nevermind, not picturing that.

Once we have Mira situated, Kato leads me to a nearby area that is similar to Davoso’s home.

We are alone in a small home, seated on a soft rug beside a warm fire. I lie down, stretching my legs and kneading the muscles of my thighs, wincing.

Kato moves to me, his steps silent as always and his movements fluid. His hands slide over my legs and I feel his now-familiar warmth seep into me. I sigh. He repositions me so my head rests on his lap and his long arms stretch over me to work the muscles of my thighs. I smile up at him but see a far-away look on his face.

“What’s on your mind?” I ask.

He looks down into my eyes, wiping the distracted look from his face. “I was only thinking of you.”

I smile, letting him change the subject. Something is bothering him. I can sense it. But I will let him tell me when he’s ready. Unless he takes
too
long. I only have so much patience, after all.

“Maybe you should be thinking about how you’re going to get us through this mess,” I say.

“It is good that you have fight in you. I do not like when prey is too timid.”

“
Prey
,” I say, sitting up to glare at him.

He laughs.
Laughs.
I really need to train him to fear a woman’s wrath.

“Yes. Life is a game of predators and prey. Some hunt, others run. But,” he says, voice deepening to a soft rasp. “Some prey are different. In the Jungles of the West, there is a creature we call a
kouva
. It means something like jungle kitten. It is small, soft, and appears harmless. Many young hunters mark
kouva
for an easy kill. But the
kouva
is clever. It sets traps—bites through the underside of branches so they appear sturdy but will break with the smallest footfall. They even cast nets of webbing beneath them to catch and eat those they trick.”

“I like the sound of these jungle kittens.”

“You should. Because I think you are like them. You are my jungle kitten. My
kouva
.”

He whispers the last in my ear, hot breath against my face. His hands have begun exploring more than my thighs. I reach up to kiss him but he waves a finger in my face.

I frown.

“You will kiss me here,” he says, pointing to his cock.

I straighten, putting my hands on my hips. “How do you know I won’t bite it off? Maybe this has all been part of my little
kouva
trap?”

He unties his pants. “If you were pretending to enjoy the last time we paired, I will be honored to lose my cock to such an actress. To lose consciousness on command. . .” The corners of his lips barely pull into a grin. He’s teasing me.

I try to slap him but he catches my hand and nibbles at my fingertips. Then he pushes one of my fingers into his mouth and sucks on it, teasing my skin with his nimble tongue. He takes my other hand and pushes it down until it is against his cock. I slide my fingers around it, unable to encircle it. The hair at its base is softer than silk. I let him suck on my fingertips while I squeeze the base of his cock and begin to slide up and down, moving my hand in semi-circles as I stroke.

I meet his eye and see him wince with pleasure. Without looking away, I kiss my way down his chest, biting his nipple hard enough to make him grunt. I lick the crease beneath his pecs and the line of his abs, still stroking his cock. Then I take it all in with my eyes. It must be ten inches long. It’s as gold as the rest of his skin, and there are ridges every few inches along its length. I feel my mouth watering. His cock is vibrating against my hands as he purrs. My pussy is so wet that my panties are already sticky with my juices.

I kiss the base of his dick, lapping at his shaft with my tongue. I trace the major vein up, kissing and licking as I go. My hand works with my mouth, milking the shaft and sliding down to his balls, caressing but not squeezing.

When my mouth slides over the tip of his cock, he grunts.

I look up, mouth still locked around the tip of his cock and he meets my eye. I tease him with a slight clamping of my teeth and feel him tense, but he only laughs.

“My
kouva,”
he says, his voice thick with pleasure.

I begin rhythmically stroking and sucking, my hand moving down as my mouth moves up. I tease the rim of his cock with my tongue and suck along the shaft. I kiss my way down his length and take one of his balls into my mouth. He grunts and I can feel him tense. His balls start to retract against his body. I quickly work my way back to the head of his cock and increase my pace.

He is grunting with each pump of my fist and mouth now, his hips thrusting against me with each motion. I moan against his cock. I wonder what his cum will taste like. I feel a deep blush mark my cheeks when I think of swallowing his seed, but I want to please him. It’s more than just survival or logic. I want Kato to make me his and I want to
be
his.

To my surprise, he pulls himself free of my mouth and pushes me down until I am lying on my back. He tears my dress off and straddles me. His cock glistens with my spit and is still at full length. He reaches down and teases my pussy with his fingers, then he grabs the shaft of his cock and rubs it against the lips of my pussy, spreading my cream. He slides his length in a few inches and then slides out, using the tip of his still-vibrating cock against my clit.