I finally stop in my stride, drop the furs to the ground, and grab Beh by her arm. She halts in her tracks as I pull her beside me. I take my hand and place it over her mouth firmly as she looks at me with wide eyes. I growl low in my chest as I stare straight into her eyes. When I release her, her eyes narrow at me, and she huffs through her nose as she turns and starts back down the path to the cave. She is thankfully silent the remainder of the journey.
When we get to the cave, I drape all the furs that are still a little damp where they can dry before I tend to the fire. Once the fire is burning brightly, I sit in front of it to warm up and eat some of the grain and nut concoction Beh made for breakfast along with some of the dried antelope meat. I hold out some of the meat for Beh, but she doesn’t take it from me or look at my hand.
Actually, she turns away from me a little, tightening the fur wrapped around her shoulders.
“Beh.”
She doesn’t look at me. In fact, she turns away a little more. I call out to her again, but she doesn’t respond at all. I crawl over to her and hold the meat right in front of her face, and she shifts to the side again, nearly turning her back to the fire…and me.
Maybe she just isn’t hungry.
I bring her water, but I get the same reaction from her. I bring her the wood carving for her hair, and she jerks away from me. Confused, I shift back on the dirt floor of the cave and away from her. I glance back up, and Beh opens her mouth briefly but then snaps it shut before she turns her back to me again without making any sounds at all.
I sit back on my heels and try to figure out just what is wrong, but I can’t think of anything. I reach out with one finger and poke her arm, and her eyes finally meet mine. They are blazing with anger. I quickly look back down and sit on the dirt floor. I pull my knees up to my chest, wrap my arms around them, and duck my head a little behind my legs.
I watch my mate, but she doesn’t move for a long time.
“Beh?”
Nothing.
My legs bounce up and down a little, and I try to hold them still, but it isn’t really working. Why is she not acknowledging me? I don’t understand what I have done wrong. I went in the cold water and washed off like she wanted me to, and I carried the wet furs back to the cave.
I didn’t hunt today—was she upset all we had was dried meat to eat? I had not hunted or fished since before her bleeding time. Maybe she was tired of dried meat. I bring some of the grains to her; there is no meat in it at all, just some fat from the boar.
She still doesn’t look at me, so I sit back down and hug my legs again.
Is she upset I haven’t put a baby in her yet? Maybe if she put her mouth on mine, I can rub her with my fingers, and she will start getting wet. Once she is wet, I can make her feel good with my hands before I try to put a baby inside of her again.
“Beh, khhisz?” I look to her as her head swivels around, and I am met with another icy stare.
This one fades quickly as she looks me over, though. Her shoulders move up and down as she takes a deep breath and drops her face into her hands. Soft sounds come from her mouth as she rubs the heels of her hands into her eyes. Without looking up, she reaches one hand out toward me.
I look at it and then back to her, but her face is still covered with her other hand. Tentatively, I reach out and touch the ends of her fingers with mine. When she doesn’t pull back, I move a little closer and take her hand. She pulls at it, bringing me to her side before she wraps her arm around my head.
I sigh in relief as I lay my forehead on her shoulder, glad that whatever it was that upset her has passed and hope she will now let me take her to our furs and hold her hips while my penis is inside of her. I am still feeling the tension of not mating with her for so many days, but Beh has made it obvious that she doesn’t want to be touched there during her bleeding time.
For a while, I stay close to her, trying to gauge what she will do next, but we end up just sitting there. Thinking about putting a baby inside her has made my penis hard. Cautiously, I run my nose over the edge of her shoulder, not knowing how she will react. I glance quickly to her eyes, making sure she is still over her anger, and I see her softened expression. Her hand slips over my cheek and soft sounds come from her mouth.
“Khiz?”
“Kiss.” She smiles and leans toward me, our mouths joining together and our tongues quickly following. She strokes her fingers down my arms, and I bring myself up onto my knees to get a better angle to taste her mouth. I cup her face with my hands, and her palms move to my chest and shoulders, pushing the fur wrap away from me so she can touch my bare skin. It makes my entire body shiver, but I’m no longer cold.
I can’t wait any more.