SWNOVELS Ensnared: Chapter 22
Rubbing her palms along her arms, Ivy stared out into the moonlit night. She knew she should’ve been sleeping. On any other night, she would’ve already been asleep, curled up safe, secure, and warm in Ketahn’s arms. But it was now well past nightfall, and he’d yet to return from Takarahl.
Worry gnawed at her. What if something had happened to him? The queen had hurt him before; what would stop her from doing so again?
Ketahn will come home.
Home.
Was this nest she shared with Ketahn her home? Despite the conditions in which she lived, despite having to fight and work for everything in order to survive, Ivy’s time with Ketahn had been the happiest of her life.
Ivy brushed her fingers over the woven branches around the entrance. “Home.”
The word felt true. It felt right.
But it wasn’t really the nest, was it? It was Ketahn. It was he who made this cozy nest a home, it was he who made her feel safe, who made her feel…cared for.
She shook her head and chuckled to herself. “I’m happier in a spider’s nest than I was surrounded by modern conveniences. I’m crazy.”
Rising to her feet, Ivy winced at a sudden cramp in her pelvis. She’d had a few of them since waking up this morning. At first, she’d wondered if she might finally be starting her period—which would really suck since she didn’t have any of those modern conveniences on hand. Though she’d been lucky it hadn’t happened thus far, she knew it was only a matter of time. But Ivy now wondered if she was simply ovulating. Her breasts were tender, as they usually were during that time, and there’d been no spotting to indicate her menstrual cycle had begun.
Cryosleep had many side-effects, most of which were short term. Her disorientation and weakness after waking had been amongst the most common and most fleeting, but the medical techs had told the colonists to expect their bodies to take time to recalibrate. Between the stasis, the drugs that they’d been injected with before going under, and being on a new planet, no one was supposed to feel like themselves right away. Everyone’s hormones would be off for a little while. For the women, that meant potential delays in menstrual cycles—perhaps as long as six months.
Moving to the back of the nest, where they kept their food and water, she grabbed a waterskin and a spare silk cloth. Once the waterskin was open, she dampened the cloth, pressed it to her cheek, and closed her eyes. The coolness was welcome against her heated skin.
The night air was, as usual, muggy. At least during the day, she had the stream to swim in for relief. Nights like tonight made her long for a rainstorm despite her fears, just for the drop in temperature. It was surprisingly cold during those nighttime storms, but she didn’t have to worry about the cold affecting her—at least not with Ketahn holding her.
With nothing to do but wait, Ivy removed her shirt and shorts and ran the cool, wet cloth over her body. It was wonderful to wipe away the sweat and feel clean. As she ran the cloth along her smooth legs, she couldn’t help but smile to herself. She was incredibly thankful for the body hair removal that had been provided to all the colonists during training. She’d never have to worry about shaving her armpits, legs, or grooming between her legs again. All that remained was a small patch of hair above her pussy.
After taking a drink from the waterskin, she closed it and returned it to its place. Unwilling to put her threadbare, sweat dampened garments back on, Ivy nudged them aside with her foot. They could be washed tomorrow. She plucked up the large silk cloth she used as a blanket and wrapped it around her body. She’d just finished tucking the corner in when the nest rocked. Ivy started, a jolt of fear sweeping through her before it was swept away on a flood of elation.
Ketahn was back.
His claws rasped across the exterior of the nest, moving closer and closer to the entrance, until finally his body blocked out the night and he drew himself in though the opening. His markings lit up instantly in the blue glow of the uncovered crystal, and his eyes sparkled like amethysts.
“I was starting to worry you wouldn’t come back tonight,” Ivy said.
“I did not mean to be away for so long,” he said as he swung off his bag, shifting it to his front to grab something from within. “I was…”
His words died, and he lifted his head, drawing in a deep breath through his nose slits. A long, low rumble sounded in his chest. Ketahn’s gaze fell upon Ivy, and his whole body stiffened, his arm stilling in the bag.
Ivy took a step toward him, brow creasing. “Are you okay?”
He inhaled again and squeezed his eyes shut. “That scent…” One of his front legs shifted forward, brushing against her ankle before sliding slowly up and hooking under the blanket. The fine hairs on his leg teased at her calf, the side of her knee, and her outer thigh, sending a thrill through her.
Her sex clenched, and Ivy squeezed her thighs together as though that could assuage the sudden ache permeating her core. She clutched the blanket to keep it from coming loose as she glanced down at his leg, which was partially hidden beneath it.
“What scent?” she asked, taking a step away and sniffing the air. All she could detect was the lush jungle flora, earth, and that spicy, woodsy, mahogany scent that she’d come recognize as Ketahn’s. “I don’t smell anything.”
Ketahn huffed and shook his head sharply, withdrawing his leg. The claspers against his pelvis twitched as he returned his attention to his bag. He withdrew a piece of folded white silk from within. “I have this for you, Ivy.”
“For me?” She closed the distance between them and accepted the silk. It unfurled. Tilting her head, she took hold of the other strap and gasped.
Ivy turned toward the glowing crystal and held the dress up. The material, while not transparent, was delicate and sheer enough to allow some light through, which accentuated the web-like patterns stitched into the fabric. She stroked her thumb over the soft material. It was sleeveless, with the straps running down to cross at the center, where they’d cover her breasts, and the skirt looked as though it would hang to midthigh.
“You made this? For me?” Ivy asked, though the answer was obvious. What vrix would wear something clearly made for a human body?
Ketahn’s front legs extended, coming down to either side of her, and he eased toward her. “Yes, Ivy. Only for you.”
Tears stung her eyes, but she refused to cry, even if they would’ve been happy tears. “It’s beautiful.” She looked at him over her shoulder. “Thank you.”
He gathered her hair in one hand, drawing it aside to bare her neck, and leaned closer to take in another deep breath.
Ivy chuckled. “Do you think I stink?”
“No,” he rumbled, meeting her gaze.
“Good. You had me worried for a second.” Her smile widened, and she turned her face toward the dress again, taking a step away from him. “I’m going to try it on.”
Untucking the blanket, she let it fall to pool at her feet before bending down to step into the dress. She drew the silky material up over her legs and hips and slipped her arms through the straps, adjusting the coverings over her breasts. It fit perfectly. Like it had been made for her. Ivy smiled—it was made for her. The silk was cool to the touch but quickly warmed against her skin, and the delicate hem tickled her thighs.
“I love it, Ketahn,” she said, running her hands down the skirt.
She felt him move up behind her again just before his hands settled over her shoulders. His rough palms were warm, their touch gentle and soothing, exactly what she needed after a long day spent alone in this place.
Slowly, he smoothed his hands down her arms. “I am glad, Ivy.”
He lowered his head so it was beside hers and turned his face into her hair. When he inhaled, a sound rolled in his chest—one part purr, one part growl, one part chirrup.
Ivy arched a brow. “Ketahn?”
He placed his other set of hands on her hips, and they, too, trekked downward, brushing over the fabric of her skirt. They did not stop at the hem; his fingers dipped lower, to the bare skin of her thighs. They remained against her skin as he drew them up again, lifting the dress along with them. Ivy’s heart quickened as he raised the skirt higher, his palms rasping over her skin.
His upper hands moved back up her arms, but they didn’t return to her shoulders—they drifted to her chest, each covering one of her breasts and squeezing them. Her nipples hardened against his palms.
She sighed, her lips parting and eyes fluttering shut. His hands were hot against her breasts, swiftly heating up the silk between them, and her blood heated just as quickly, pooling fire low in her belly. She covered his hands with her own, pressing them more firmly against her breasts, delighting in the feel of silk stroking her nipples. A soft moan escaped Ivy as her head fell back against his shoulder. It had been so long since she’d been touched, so long…
But she’d never been touched like this, not by someone like Ketahn, not even in her wildest imaginings. Ketahn’s caresses were infused with care, longing, desperation…with affection.
His lower hands bunched her skirt over her hips, baring her to the open air, which now felt cool compared to his heated touch. The hands upon her breasts kneaded harder, and his fingers caught her pearled nipples and pinched them. She gasped. Pleasure raced through her, spearing her clit, making it throb with desire.
Ivy’s grip on his hands tightened. “Ketahn…”
He moved even closer to her, until his chest was against her back. Something thick, hard, and slick pressed along her ass and probed her thighs.
Ivy instinctively arched against it, needing more; she tilted her hips and moaned as it glided between her thighs and along her slick folds.
Ketahn growled. The sound pulsed into her and raced to her core, its thrill enhanced by the strengthening of his grip and the prick of his claws on her hips and breasts. His claspers crept around her waist, encircling it fully, and bent down to brush across the patch of hair on her pelvis. The tip of one grazed her clit. The delicious sensation it wrought was nearly strong enough to make her knees give out.
Ivy’s breath caught, and her eyes snapped open. It was only then that she realized what they were doing. What she was doing. Everything felt so…so good, and she hadn’t wanted it to stop, hadn’t wanted those sensations to end. But this… Oh God, wasn’t this wrong?
Was it?
She dragged his hands from her breasts and jerked forward, tearing herself out of his hold. Chest heaving, skin flushed, and sex pulsing in arousal with her essence dripping down her inner thighs, Ivy turned to face Ketahn.
“Ketahn, what are you—” Her eyes widened.
His cock glistened in the crystal’s blue glow.
It protruded from his slit, long and thick, with two bulges on either side of its base. The shaft widened as it curved up toward the tapered tip, where there was a two-inch slit. Its skin was the same purple as his markings.
Nothing about it was human, and yet it aroused Ivy all the same.
Her core pulsed. She released a shuddering breath and rubbed her thighs together, which were coated in her slick.
That was what she had felt against her ass. That…that was what her body craved.
What Ivy craved.