The full moon shown overhead, glaring down like a headlight. It hung low and massive in the sky. Lex smiled up at its familiar face. A warm breeze ruffled her thick, curly hair; she hadn't bothered relaxing it in a long time. Once, this same moon had brought her dread. Many months earlier it had born silent witness to the horrors that unfolded in Antarctica, an impassive spectator to the brutality that left its indelible marks, both physical and mental, on Lex. She occasionally wondered what kind of woman she'd been before that time. It was a strange, secondhand recollection, like listening to someone else talk about their childhood. It didn't matter. She was more now than what she had been. She was a survivor. A warrior. She skimmed her fingers over the twin marks on her cheek. The movements were reflexive, a well-worn habit. They'd soothed her on countless terror-filled nights, when she saw serpents grinning at her from every shadow. They reminded her that she had won. That she was strong and she deserved to live.
They reminded her that she wasn't alone.
Scar, her nightmare savior, had endured alongside her. That they'd survived together had been miraculous enough. That she would see Scar again was more than Lex had allowed herself to hope for, no matter how much she wished for it. But not long after she'd settled into her tiny, remote cabin, he'd returned when the moon was full. Every month since then, Scar came to Lex. He listened to and understood the things she could never share with another human and, in time, she came to realize that the trauma of that pyramid affected him just as deeply. She'd learned that the two others of his kind, killed by serpents in the pyramid, had been his brothers. He was no more able to share with his own kind than she was with other humans, not for fear of being classified insane but for fear of appearing weak and unworthy.
By now Lex couldn't recall which of them had initiated the first experimental touches. They had quickly grown purposeful and Lex had found herself astride Scar's lap, hands buried in his ropey hair-like tendrils, moaning against his mandibles as she rode him. Perhaps she should have found it odd, the way she craved the touch of a being who wasn't human, but she'd already shared everything with him: from the depths of her despair to courage she never knew she possessed.
It was because of him that Lex no longer feared the darkness, or this moon. She wandered through the woods by herself, following no path. She wasn't searching because she knew she would be found. Leaves rustled, and she froze. It could have been a small animal or another tickle of breeze. But she knew it wasn't. Scar was near, watching her. She always knew. The goosebumps, the tightness in her stomach that had at first betrayed fear, then anticipation and excitement. Scar could move in complete silence, but he'd chosen to announce his presence. He'd always had that sense of gallows humor, a strangely playful side that seemed out of place on a being so monstrous. A twig snapped, closer now. Lex's heart pounded.
"Nice to see you too, Scar", she called out into the darkness, a touch of laughter in her voice. In response, that unmistakeable clicking purr filled the air, seeming to come from everywhere at once. Lex shivered and closed her eyes. She loved that sound; it was like nothing on earth.
Moments later clawtips scraped over Lex's shoulder blades, the skin there left exposed by the light camisole she wore. She gasped and whirled to face him but was met with empty air. She peered into the darkness around her, scanning futilely for some visual trace of him amidst the tree silhouettes. It was pointless. He was cloaked, no doubt, and if he weren't he could hide easily enough.
"No fair!" Lex huffed at him, hands on her hips. A game of hide and seek with Scar was rather one-sided, given that his vision wasn't constrained by the extremely narrow spectrum of light human eyes could see.
A deep, rattling trill sounded directly behind her, a sound she'd learned meant his amusement. Powerful arms melted out of the darkness and snaked around her. A long, shaky sigh escaped her lips as she pressed her back against Scar's solid, broad chest. Heat radiated from him like a furnace. Something inside him thumped, rhythmic and heart-like, but it came from two different places in his body. He was massive against her; the lower edges of his mandibles barely brushed the top of her head, and Lex was a tall woman. Even now, relaxed, his body seemed tightly coiled with ferocious potential. Lex knew what he was capable of, and though she trusted him completely she could never banish that tinge of visceral fear and awe of him. It somehow made her feel both small and humbled and immensely powerful, as if his nearness made her something more than herself. Her head fell back against his chest and she ran her hands up the front of his thick thighs, re-acquainting herself with his leathery, fever-hot skin. His hand splayed out on her abdomen, spanning the full distance from her breasts to her hips. He began purring again, a deep rumble that vibrated through her body. His head lowered to nuzzle her cheek, cat-like, and she kissed the lower edge of one mandible, just visible underneath his mask.
"Hey, hot stuff," Lex said, smiling cheekily up at him. She grasped one of the long tendrils growing from his head. They were smooth like human skin and, she had discovered, sensitive. She tugged on it and he hissed softly as his hand flexed against her belly. He tossed his head, sending the tendrils back over his shoulder and out of her reach. Before she could turn around, he slid his hands up to cup her breasts. She stiffened and arched into his touch, nipples hardening through the thin fabric of her top.
"'...hot stuff'", he played back a recording of her own voice. He gave her breasts a hard squeeze and let go of her entirely, vanishing back into the shadows. Without his steadying weight behind her, Lex swayed on her feet. He'd always had that dizzying effect on her; at first it had been fear, but when they'd escaped the pyramid and faced each other on the Antarctic ice, alone, she trembled before him for an entirely different reason.
"Teasing bastard," she muttered. Another clicking purr was the only response she got. Huffing in frustration, she arbitrarily picked a direction and wandered, compelled to search despite the futility of it. Scar could never be found; he chose when to be seen. Stomping through the underbrush, she swore inwardly at him. Many of his visits had been spent in cathartic conversation and silent comfort, but that wasn't what she needed from him this time. She needed him.
And he wasn't here. Lex's annoyance cooled to worry, even though it was absurd to think that anything in this forest, or anything on this entire planet for that matter, could be a serious threat to him. Perhaps he had been called away, perhaps he couldn't stay this time. Perhaps there had been some sort of strife among his own kind. Her mind reeled in a tangle of emotions and her body burned from the inside out. She started to run, propelled on by pent-up energy. Her practical mind scolded her for it. Running through the woods after dark wasn't the safest activity, but her legs refused to listen.
Lex had barely settled into a steady jogging pace when she heard him again. His clicking reverberated at a lower register, more a growl than a purr. It sent something icy and primal down her spine and stirred her basest instincts. Without conscious thought she ran faster until she was sprinting and panting. Heart pounding, she noticed that he was pursuing her and closing fast. She didn't stop. Despite her certainty that he wouldn't harm her, adrenaline surged through her nerves in a reckless mixture of fear and excitement.
Lex's toes snagged a root and she stumbled, catching herself on her hands in soft earth and leaves. She gasped for breath and scrambled to regain her footing, but it was too late. Scar was on her with a thundering roar. He pushed her the rest of the way to the ground and roughly flipped her over. A breathy scream forced its way out of her as his hand closed on her throat and for all her adoration of him, she was truly terrified in that moment. His thigh wedged between her legs, and he purred at the heat there, the way her hips involuntarily twitched against him. With his other hand he easily pinned her wrists above her head. He was perfectly still then, observing her. Lex stared up at his impassive mask with wide, dilated dark eyes. Moonlight rippled over his well-muscled body. The hand encircling her neck didn't tighten, rather simply held her in place. She tugged against his grip on her wrists but he didn't let her go. His thigh was a maddening pressure against her sex and when she moved to grind against him he moved back ever so slightly, denying her the friction she sought.
"Jesus, Scar," Lex rasped. Mind clearing somewhat, she began to realize that he had wanted to pursue her all along, like a wild animal whose hunting instinct was activated at the sight of fleeing prey. The thought was inexplicably and intensely arousing to her. Now that he'd caught her, however, his intentions were less clear. She'd been expecting, and desperately wanting, for him to immediately pull her clothes out of the way and fuck her until she screamed. Instead, he studied her. The alienness of his facial features made his expressions difficult to read to begin with and now his mask hid them entirely. Lex made a small noise of frustration. Whatever game they were playing, it was clearly by his rules.
Gradually, as he remained still and patient, Lex's breathing returned to normal. She began to relax in a concession to her powerlessness under him. Pleased, he shifted his hand from her neck to rub the pad of his thumb against the mark on her cheek; his mark, that he'd left with his own hand. Lex leaned into the surprisingly gentle touch. She turned her head to brush her lips over his thumb and he carefully slipped its clawed tip between her lips.
He withdrew a moment later and, making sure she was looking, pulled a knife from its sheath at his thigh.
"What are you doing-" Lex began, swallowing hard. He purred long and low and pressed the flat of the blade to her cheek. While the coolness of the metal was a relief, fear sparked in her nerves again. Tender as he could be with her, Lex knew Scar had gleefully butchered other humans for sport. He leaned closer to her, tendrils falling over his shoulders to curtain her head. Still purring, he dragged the tip of the knife across her cheek, the movement so light it was almost a tickle. He moved it along the line of her jaw and pricked at the hollow of her throat. Lex was tense and didn't dare move, but she couldn't contain a soft, ragged moan. His prowess with weapons had always been mesmerizing to her; even in the pyramid, when she feared for her life, a part of her had relished watching him fight. His control and discipline were unparalleled, a crystalline surface to the seething fury and passion he was capable of- and that Lex found herself increasingly hungry for.
Scar plucked the knife against the upper edge of her top, between her breasts. He tugged pointedly at the fabric with the blade and tilted his head in inquisition. It was an oddly endearing mannerism of his that never failed to make Lex smile. She understood what he wanted then: her total surrender to him. He wanted her life in his hands, and her trust to not take it.
Lex closed her eyes for a long moment. Her life had been Scar's to take from the first moment he'd laid eyes on her. In the pyramid and ever since, he'd been her steadfast ally instead. Steeling herself, she opened her eyes, looked him in the face and nodded.
A long tremor ran through Scar's body and he trilled in pleasure. He spoke in a series of clicks and short, guttural sounds of varying inflection and Lex wished more than ever that she could understand his words as well as he could hers. Releasing her wrists, Scar took hold of her chin and tilted her head back, exposing the full length of her throat. He pressed the knife point against the pulse under her jaw, not quite hard enough to break skin, before dragging it downward with agonizing slowness and precision. Lex quickly realized that he was tracing the path of her jugular vein and went rigidly still. One twitch, one slip of his hand... Her heart was pounding again and she feared that that her own pulse would push too hard against the knife. Lex whimpered, still afraid, still wanting more. Once he reached her collarbone, she lifted her hands to touch him. He gave a sharp, displeased snarl at this and instantly seized her wrists in a crushing grip. Ignoring her grunt of pain, he slammed them back to the ground and held them there. She didn't need words to know the meaning of his command.
Satisfied that she understood, he let go of her wrists and took a firm grip on the edge of her top. He sliced it in two with one decisive knife slash. Lex shuddered as the tip of the blade grazed her fabric parted easily and he pushed it aside to expose her breasts. She gasped as the night breeze touched her, then moaned as his massive hand wandered unhurriedly over her body. He squeezed her breasts, one after the other, digging his claws into the soft flesh until she cried out and arched into his grasp. He ran the backs of his fingers over the marks he'd left and hefted the knife again. Lex watched wide-eyed as he lowered the blade to one hard nipple. The edge ghosted across it and her entire body thrashed in response. Scar swiftly pulled the knife back to avoid an accidental cut, giving his dry, rattling equivalent of laughter at her responsiveness. He placed a hand on her chest in another wordless command to be still.
Obedience was difficult. This torment had Lex on fire, her body wet and ready and aching for him. Scar had given her plenty of say in the pacing of their previous encounters, and the fact that she currently had none at all was as frustrating as it was exhilarating.
"Scar," she panted, "Don't stop- More-"
He answered with another deep purr and moved the knife lower, to her belly. He began to trace symbols there; Lex knew they were characters of his own written language. He didn't draw blood, but pressed hard enough to leave angry, stinging scratches in his wake. Lex hissed and fought to keep still. When he finished, he drew back to admire his handiwork and smoothed his palm over the scratches. This act finally seemed to try Scar's patience as well, as his breath now came in fast, shallow rasps. The small loincloth he wore stretched and bugled under the force of his erection behind it.
With no warning he roughly grabbed her pants and tore the knife through them, upper hem to crotch. Growling, he yanked the two halves apart, tearing the fabric. Lex squirmed, wishing he had cut through her damp panties as well. She was about to tell him to get on with it when he pressed a finger between her legs and began rubbing her. Her words faded into a moan. She bent her knees up and spread her legs wide in invitation. Scar inhaled deeply to savor the scent of her arousal; wet and exposed as she was, it was intoxicating to him. Lex was his equal, a true warrior who had proven her strength and bravery. Saved his life, even. That she would submit so eagerly to him, let him mark her, obey him, offer herself... It was almost enough to shatter his iron self-control. Scar slowed his breathing and willed his trembling hands to steadiness. Lex didn't make it easy for him as she ground against his hand, wishing her panties were off so she could feel his skin and claws on her swollen clit.
"Scar!" she snapped at him, thoroughly pent up, "Get on with it!"
Scar ceded to her demand, but in his own way. He cut her panties apart with another deft flick of the knife, and repeated the same tease he'd performed on her throat- this time on the femoral artery at the junction of her hip and thigh. Lex gave a strangled groan and grit her teeth. Her entire body felt keyed up and over-sensitized from his attention. She bent the rules, wiggling her hips in an attempt to get his fingers where she wanted them. He huffed in amusement and slapped the inside of her thigh with the flat of blade, drawing a startled yelp from her. Before she could recover, he slid a finger between her labia. The tip of his claw found her clit and she gasped, eyelids fluttering. He didn't linger and instead pushed his finger inside her. He purred at that slick heat drawing him in, the way Lex's hips surged against his hand, the cries spilling from her lips telling him to please fuck me.
Deciding he'd had enough of his own game, Scar withdrew his hand and re-sheathed the knife. He unclipped the fastening that held his loincloth in place and let it fall to the ground. He exhaled a long sigh of relief as his hard cock sprang free. Lex's eyes widened at the sight of it; she had a feeling that, no matter how many times she had sex with Scar, she'd always have that little tremor of intimidation at the sheer thickness of him. Veins laced the shaft and the engorged head was tinted with the green of his blood pulsing through it. Enjoying her reaction, he pumped his fist up and down the length a few times.
Finally, he leaned down and hooked her knees over his arms, lifting her legs and spreading her wider. The only warning Lex got was his painfully tight grip on her hips. The head of his cock was pressing into her moments later. Lex cried out and tried to relax, but he gave her no time to adjust as he forced his way in with quick, powerful thrusts. Lex nearly screamed at the sudden, painful stretch of her inner muscles. Fully seated inside her, Scar gave her only an instant's reprieve before setting a harsh, brutal pace. His hips slapped against hers as he slammed her back onto him. Lex completely forgot his order to keep her hands still; in that moment she forgot everything except the sensation of his huge, throbbing cock pounding into her, that exquisite, agonizing stretch and fullness. She shifted in his grasp, perfecting the angle of his thrusts, and clawed helplessly at the ground. He was relentless, giving no quarter as he pushed her hard, her pleasure spiraling higher. She loved watching him like this; his body bowed forward, tendrils rustling with his movement, his sculpted abdominal muscles flexing with every thrust, arms tight and straining as he held her. He was snarling and groaning above her, uttering more of his clicking alien words. Lex had a sneaking suspicion that whatever he was saying was obscene, and that only made her hotter.
Scar began to falter in his thrusts, his movements growing increasingly sharp and erratic. He leaned forward over her, pushing himself deeper, and ground hard against her. His entire body was shaking and his cock throbbed and twitched inside her. His breath came in harsh, staccato gusts, punctuated by strange growling whimpers. Lex knew he was as close as she was, and licked her lips in anticipation.
"Oh god, Scar, yes, yes-!" she chanted, feeling that delicious tingling heat tightening in her belly. He moved faster, harder, and Lex screamed unabashedly as he tore the orgasm from her, her body convulsing as tidal waves of pleasure crashed through her. Her vaginal walls clamped down on him and he snarled, nearly losing his grip on her as his hips jerked mindlessly. His head whipped back as he came with a deafening roar, his seed quickly filling her and dripping back out around the base of his cock. Lex moaned loudly, her own orgasm prolonged by the inhuman sensation of his scalding hot come inside her; she felt it pour into her and its heat suffused through her with the aftershocks.
For long minutes they were both still. The only sound was their combined heavy breathing mingling with the occasional rustle of breeze. Scar pulled out of Lex slowly and gathered her in his arms. She nestled against him with a sleepy sigh, utterly relaxed. Remains of clothing dangled haphazard from her limbs, not worth her concern at that moment. Clothing was easily replaceable and wasn't something she'd ever been terribly precious about; it was more a functional covering to her than anything else.
Lex kissed across his chest, feeling more than hearing the deep, rumbling purr emanating from him. Stealing a glance up at the night sky, Lex saw that the moon was already too low. He would have to leave soon. Not wanting to think about it, she traced her fingers across the lower edge of his mandibles, staring at the mark on the front of his mask- the twin of the one burnt onto her cheek. His hand came to rest on the side of her face and she placed one of her own hands over it, marveling at how small hers was by comparison and the contrast between her own brown skin and his mottled yellow-tan.
"So tell me," Lex said, tugging one of his tendrils, "What'd you write on me a minute ago? With your knife."
Scar only cocked his head again, feigning innocence and ignorance. Lex pulled harder.
"Don't play coy with me, mister," she laughed, "Just because I can't read that much of your language- yet- doesn't mean I don't know it when I see it."
Trilling his own curious brand of laughter, he re-traced the marks with a claw, then gestured to himself. Lex snorted at the implication; had he really?
"It's... your name?" she asked. He nodded.
"Careful. I might try to return the favor next time," she scoffed at him in mock irritation. Her threat seemed to have the opposite effect on him, as he nuzzled her cheek and traced the marks a second time.
"Into that, are you?" she smirked, "Yeah, well, I'll have to work on my knife handling. Practice on some potatoes or something."
He nodded again and wrapped his arms around her. Smiling, she leaned against him, enjoying the feel of his uniquely textured body bare against her own. She brushed a hand against the new marks he'd left on her, inwardly thrilling at the possessiveness and devotion of the gesture. For a moment she wished that these marks were as permanent as the one on her cheek. That his presence would always be immediate as it was now: powerful and deadly and holding her, more than just something to look forward to. Maybe someday, she thought, somehow. For now, though, she curled more tightly against him and dreaded the sunrise.