The Mating Ritual (5 page)

If Toni had had the right presence of mind,
she would have used the distraction to make her escape while
everyone was focused on Cormac and Malik, but she couldn’t take her
eyes off of them. She’d never seen anything so fearful, so
primeval, as the scene playing out before her. Then, just as
quickly as it had begun, it ended, and the threat of a fight
evaporated.

Malik grabbed another woman and pulled her to
a pelt, where he quickly proceeded to mount her from behind. Toni
couldn’t believe what she was seeing. She barely spared them a
glance, feeling sorry for the woman. Then she noticed Cormac
walking directly toward her, his glittering eyes filled with
intention. What was he going to do? Toni stood her ground, when
every ounce of self-preservation she possessed told her to turn and
run.

She backed up but had nowhere to go. Cormac’s
angry gaze raked down her body and back up again before capturing
hers. He grunted something in his own language. The first thing he
did when his large body covered Toni’s was take her lips in a kiss
filled with rough passion. He forced her mouth open with his
tongue, and once their tongues met Toni was lost, melting into the
kiss.

She didn’t try to understand why he was doing
what he was doing. As their mouths meshed and their tongues
explored, Cormac pressed his body against hers. Toni wasn’t
surprised to feel his strong erection against her. It seemed that
anger and highly intense situations ignited the clan men’s arousal,
and they weren’t shy about appeasing their lust on the nearest
female.

Cormac tore his mouth from hers and began
kissing her neck beneath her ear. What was it with these men?
Toni’s gaze was drawn to Malik and the woman, who were screwing
like there was no tomorrow. The woman seemed to be enjoying his
roughness. Feeling that it would soon be her and Cormac putting on
a show for everyone, Toni braced herself for anything. She tried to
deny what her body wanted, but the truth was that she’d never
wanted anything more.

All of a sudden she didn’t care about the
eyes watching them. Something about Cormac made Toni feel wild
inside, made her want to be reckless. She felt his hand glide down
her body and then her thong was torn away. His large hands went to
her waist, and with ease he lifted her off her feet. Then, without
warning, preparation, or foreplay, his cock entered her body, and
Cormac didn’t stop pushing until his vein-riddled muscle couldn’t
go in any further.

Toni cried out in mild pain, surprised at how
fast her body stretched to accommodate his girth. She gripped his
shoulders for support, losing the battle not to respond to him.
Hearing the other couple lose control in the moment of their
release only made Toni hotter, and her muscles clenched around
Cormac’s pounding cock. Unlike the first time, he seemed intent on
fucking her as fast and as hard as he could. No time for finesse,
just a quick, hot fuck against the cave wall.

Toni knew they were being watched, and was
thankful Cormac kept his body in front of her. His stamina was
amazing, his groans indicating he found as much pleasure in her
body as she did in his. She was filled to capacity, the mushroom
shaped head of his shaft brushing against her very core.

As he continued to thrust into her
uncontrolled, Toni, lost in ecstasy, gave his shoulder a vicious
bite. Under the circumstances, it seemed appropriate to do, and did
the trick. Cormac threw his head back, roaring with gratification
when he climaxed hard. Lost in her own orgasm, Toni tried to hold
on to a measure of control, but in the end, she lost, crying out
for all to hear. The pleasure was so intense that she thought she
might pass out. She felt Cormac’s hand at the back of her head, and
then they were kissing passionately.

As the after affects diminished, Toni grew
limp against Cormac, but his body kept her pinned against the cold
wall. Minutes passed before he finally withdrew, but instead of
letting Toni slide down his form, he picked her up and headed down
another dimly lit passageway.

Toni didn’t care where they were going. She
rested her head against his chest and tried to keep her eyes open,
wondering what he had in store for her now.

Toni heard the sound of running water from
what seemed like inside the cave. Her eyes opened wide when they
entered a small section of the cave with a pool. “Are you angry
with me?” For all she knew he’d brought her there to drown her.

“Yes.” It was practically a grunt. “You tried
to run.”

Oh. Then she had to ask the obvious, hoping
he had a sense of humor. “You aren’t going to drown me, are
you?”

He snorted, his lips softening. Mesmerized,
Toni reached up and ran her thumb over his bottom lip. She couldn’t
help feeling as if she were living a dream, that she would wake up
any moment and her Viking would be gone.

“What did you say to Malik?”

His gaze touched hers briefly. “That I will
kill him if he touches you.”

Toni was glad Cormac wanted her for himself.
“I thought your way of life allowed other men to have me until the
mating ritual.”

Cormac’s jaw clenched before he said, “Yes.
Malik can take you, but it will be the last pleasure he will
know.”

She didn’t want to think about what that
meant, recalling how rapidly and sufficiently he’d taken care of
the men who’d been chasing her. “What about the others?”

“They will not touch you. As their chief they
honor my right to claim you.”

“But not Malik,” Toni reminded him.

“Malik is young and headstrong,” he replied
as if that explained everything.

Toni watched as they neared a small pool.
Without hesitation, Cormac removed the hide from around his waist,
and walked down a rocky formation that looked like a crude set of
stairs. As he stepped into the water he kept Toni close to his
chest, soon she felt the heat of the water on her bottom, and the
knowledge that it was a hot spring thrilled her. She moaned as he
lowered them up to their necks.

His arms slipped away from Toni, and she
found that her feet didn’t touch the bottom as his did. She reached
for the side and held on, letting the heat soothe away the grime,
dried cum, and achiness of a rough loving. A couple of times she
ducked beneath the surface, scrubbing her scalp and hair, before
finding a flat enough rock to cross her arms and lay her head.

She closed her eyes. This is heaven. She felt
like she had entered another world. So much had happened in such a
short time, and there was so much she wanted to ask Cormac, but
there would be time for that later when he was taking her home.

Toni could hear him swimming behind her, and
she gasped when his body touched her backside and his hands came
around and covered her breasts. She sighed and let her head drop
back as he tweaked her nipples until they burned. Pain and pleasure
racked Toni’s body at the same time, and she responded by bumping
her ass against his hard-on.

Oh. My. God!
Toni was the one who paid
the price for her little move. Cormac’s cock slipped between her
legs, gliding over her pussy with a teasing sweep. The friction
caused a shiver down her body and then his hand was there, his
fingers tugging on her pubic hair. He was making Toni want him all
over again!

His low grunt was against her ear, which he
tugged on with his teeth. Toni turned so that she could reach his
jaw with her mouth; giving him a sharp enough bite to convey her
need for him. He in turn kissed her roughly, thrusting his erect
member against her backside, at the same time burying his finger
inside her. Sweet God, Toni didn’t realize how aroused she was
until he brushed against her clit. She’d reached that plateau fast;
amazed that he could get her there so fast.

“Cormac!”

Toni’s eyes bolted open when she realized
she’d spoken out loud. His cock was moving hungrily against her, as
though seeking entrance to her straining body. His low groans
revealed he was highly aroused, they were both breathing heavily.
Just when she thought he might turn her around and fuck her, he
lifted her slightly out of the pool until she was on her belly.

What was he going to do? With her pussy close
to the edge of the spring, Toni tensed when she felt Cormac’s head
between her legs, and then his tongue where his finger had been a
few seconds ago. She relaxed immediately, quivering with wild
abandon and moaning every time his tongue burrowed deeply into her.
She felt his hands spread the cheeks of her butt, and then nearly
lost it when his tongue left her cunt to tease the opening to her
anus.

Shit!
Toni jerked forward when his
tongue moved back and forth, teasing the two openings.
Is he
trying to kill me?
She was certain that’s what he had in mind,
because she couldn’t take much more. The pleasure building inside
of her was nearing the breaking point, and she was almost past the
point of no return. As Cormac pushed against her G-spot, Toni felt
her orgasm burst through the dam, and then it was all she could do
to remain conscious.

She cried out, shaking violently with her
release.
Oh, my God! Oh, my God!
She chanted to herself,
gasping for air, amazed at the intensity. As the tremors weakened,
she became aware of Cormac’s warm breath against the inside of her
thighs, and his tender kisses. How had he learned the secrets of
her body so fast?

“Oh damn,” Toni whispered weakly, turning to
face Cormac with his assistance. But she shouldn’t have worried,
because he apparently had the same idea. Before she could guess his
intentions, he pulled her hips forward, impaling her on his
cock.

Groaning low, Toni’s head fell back as the
feeling of being filled by Cormac’s massive shaft was almost too
good to bear. Still extremely sensitive and weak, all she could do
was hold onto his shoulders and let him control their movements.
His powerful hands dug into her hips as he guided her back and
forth onto his sex.

The water churned around them, and it was
clear Cormac wanted another quick, hot fuck. His expression was
taut with desire, his grunts escalating every time he entered
Toni’s body. Their eyes met and clung when he picked up speed, and
then he was coming with a roar of satisfaction. He arched, forcing
Toni tightly against his groin.

Toni marveled at the thick, corded muscles of
his arched neck, and the defined power of his shoulders and chest.
There was nothing soft or weak about Cormac. As his convulsions
wound down, and he straightened, he pulled Toni against him for a
passionate kiss.

Toni liked kissing Cormac. She willingly
opened her mouth to his tongue, letting it mate with hers. His
hands smoothed up her sides to her breasts, where he caressed them
vigorously. Another squirt of cum gushed inside her cunt, causing
her to moan loudly beneath his masterful mouth. She was amazed at
the amount of semen he released every time they fucked and the
force of it when it exploded from his shaft.

She moaned when his cock glided out of her
sex.

“Come. Wash again.”

He didn’t have to ask her twice. Toni sank
back into the hot water, watching him wash off his lower body.
Lord, she was in trouble, even that turned her on. She glanced up
to see that he was watching her, too.
What’s he thinking?
Toni knew he was a passionate, sexual man, but his expression
wasn’t always easy to read. When he left the pool, she followed
suit.

He picked up the pelt he’d discarded earlier
and fixed it around his hips.

Toni saw something fall to the ground and
realized it was her ruined thong. She bent, picked it up, and
arranged it over her mound as best she could. It wouldn’t make it
through another ripping off.

“Do I get something to cover up in now?”

“No.”

Toni’s eyes grew round, recalling what Lila
had told her earlier. “But I thought once I was, ah, mated in front
of your people I would be allowed─”

“I must take you in the way of Oh-Mah
tradition,” he explained. “And claim you before the whole
clan.”

Toni wondered where the rest of his people
were, and what was going to happen next. “What if I don’t want to
be your mate?”

The briefest hint of a smile covered his
sensual lips. “Too late.”

It’s never too late.
“I want to return
home to my own people, will you take me?”

“No.” He turned to leave.

“Then I’ll find my own way.”

Cormac swung around and towered over Toni,
his eyes snapping like the flames in a fire. “You are mine
now.”

If he’d been anything like the last man she’d
been involved with, Toni would have given him a piece of her mind,
but Cormac wasn’t a normal man, and just because they’d had sex
several times didn’t mean that she had any power over him. Until
she knew him better, and knew how far she could push him, she would
be wise to tread carefully. When the time was right, she would make
a run for it. She couldn’t see giving up her normal life to live in
the mountains with descendants’ of Bigfoot, no matter how attracted
she was to their leader.

Toni decided to change the subject, calm
Cormac down, and continue to plan her escape. “Where are the rest
of your people?”

“In the mountains.” He began to walk again,
and Toni had no choice but to follow him.

They were in the mountains, so she could only
assume that he meant further up the mountain. North Carolina had an
abundance of unexplored forests, mountains, and caves. She
remembered walking into a convenience store once and overhearing
two of the locals talking about the few who ventured in and were
never seen again. She understood now what they’d been talking
about.

She dreaded rejoining the others and steeled
herself for her reception from the men, but when they stepped into
the main cave Toni was glad to see that they were all engrossed in
eating. That didn’t keep them from following her with their gazes,
and she was careful not to make eye contact with any of them for
very long, especially Malik. The sounds of grunts and groans from
within the cavern warned her that not everyone was eating.
Apparently, these people were highly sexual in nature and not
afraid to grab someone and fuck wherever, and whenever, they
wanted.