Disclaimer: See Chapter 1. Thank you so much to Caren Rose, 2redbird, Fameanon (and the usual suspects), mvw, Ahlysha, and Scarlettbrandi for reviewing!

A/N: Again, fair warning: This chapter is M.

Kuvak knew Tawny was awake when he heard a soft groan and a nose lightly nuzzling into his shoulder. It was evening, nearly time for the end meal, and he gave her a rare smile as he looked down at her.

"My a'duna," he purred, stroking her hair. Her presence was strong in his mind, and he felt her hunger before he even heard her stomach growling. "You're hungry."

"Mm," she moaned in agreement, nuzzling further into him. He felt her take a deep inhalation of his scent and closed his eyes, relishing in the simple pleasure of letting her do that.

"You always smell so good," she said, her voice still slow and heavy with sleep.

"I am pleased you like my scent," he replied, shifting her in his arms. "Dinner will be brought shortly. You can eat here." He pressed his nose into her hair and sniffed. "I'll feed you."

Her next groan was much more suggestive, and he breathed in slowly, bringing his bio controls back to normal. The little giggle at the end of that groan was affecting him in ways he had never understood until now, and he recognized it: an urge to mate outside of fever. He wanted to take her. He wanted to claim her fully as his, tonight.

She seemed to catch a glimpse of his thoughts (the bond was wide open), and she shifted in his arms, kissing up his jawline to his ear. He shivered in anticipation, and she giggled again, inches from his ear now.

"Oh, does that excite you, Kuvak?"

"Are you toying with me, a'duna?"

She trailed her tongue up the shell of his ear, then sucked gently at the tip. He fought to control his breathing, which was getting out of hand.

"Not as much as you've toyed with me. Sehlat and prey, remember?"

"Toyed with you?" he growled in protest. "In what way have I toyed with you?"

"You know very well, mister," she replied, pulling away. He stared into her warm wintergreen eyes and gave her another soft grin, and she returned the gesture in kind, stroking his hair.

"No wedding," she murmured, her eyes shifting down to his lips. "I think I like it better this way."

"If it's a wedding you want, a wedding you'll get."

"No...no, I really don't want one." She looked into his eyes and smiled. "You're all I want."

He pulled her forward to kiss her, but he stopped abruptly when she put her hand on his mouth.

"I've been sick as a dog," she said. "I don't think you want to kiss me right now."

He shoved her hand away and pulled her inches from his face. "It matters not what happened. I still want to kiss you."

"Let me at least brush my teeth, ok?"

He sighed and let her go, watching her fetch her toothbrush out of her bag and walk into the bathroom. He waited a few minutes, then reached out across the space between them and started to toy with the bond.

Tawny, I have waited long enough.

He felt a burst of surprise and let her see his amusement, then tried again. I know this may be disconcerting. Respond to me, ashaya.

How? How can you...

We are linked telepathically, ashal-veh. We can communicate with our bond. I have wanted to speak to you this way for the longest time.

It's only been a few months...

He chose to ignore the logic of her statement and sent his pleasure through the bond that she was able to respond. Do you enjoy this method of speaking as much as I do?

This is...

She paused, and he felt a sudden jolt of arousal from her. He raised an eyebrow and tugged on the bond.

What arouses you so, Tawny?

I'm going to take a shower.

This arouses you?

I'll be naked! And you're right there!

He chuckled in his mind and sent her more amusement, but it was drowned out by the growing need he felt for her. He eagerly anticipated when he could strip her of her garments and take her as his own, but a knock at the door made him pause his thoughts.

Tawny, delay your shower for a little while. Come out and eat.

He took the tray from the servant and sat on the bed, waiting for her to come out of the bathroom. She exited in a soft downy robe that he had bought for her, and he eyed the way the blue contrasted with her hair with a burst of pleasure. He let her see this pleasure and tugged her forward.

"Come here, Tawny," he purred, gesturing his hand over the food. It was an assortment of fruit and soft bread, along with some simple broth. "Come eat."

She sauntered slowly up to him, seemingly letting him observe her slender form, and he felt a surge of unchaste delight at the sight of her form, so thinly veiled from his sight...

She set herself on his lap, and he speared a piece of fruit on the utensil and held it to her lips. "Eat, Tawny," he purred, suddenly aware of how sensuous food could be. He had never realized it until now...

She took it between her lips and chewed, never taking her eyes from him, and he watched in fascination and growing arousal as she leaned forward and kissed him on the lips, letting him share the taste of the sweet fruit he offered her.

"Do you like the taste?" she whispered in his ear, and he growled, offering her another bite.

For nearly fifteen minutes this continued, and he watched, tortured, aching with anticipation. He wanted to toss the tray aside and rip off the robe, reveal the nubile skin hidden by the soft cloth. He contented himself with running his hands up and down her sides as she chewed her last bit of fruit, and she offered him a passionate kiss in return. He groaned.

Now I'm going to take a shower, she said in his mind, and he let her go, his eyes drifting down to her beautifully rounded posterior. He felt another jolt of arousal as she slipped the robe from her shoulders just as she slipped into the bathroom, and he closed his eyes.

He set the tray on the table outside her door and settled himself down for meditation. He had to bring himself under control...arousal, rampant desire for his mate was tugging at his consciousness, begging him to storm the bathroom and join her in her bathing.

Finally, after several minutes of listening to her movements in the sonic shower unit, he managed to center himself and focus on some simple trigonometry equations. They helped distract him from the fact that his new wife was bare behind that door...nothing to hide her pearly skin from his eyes...nothing between his hands and her soft, pliant body...

He felt his member twitch to life at the thought, but he opened his eyes at the sound of the bathroom door and stood, ready to have her for himself at last.

…

Tawny frantically washed her body and hair, no longer playful or teasing. The minutes were ticking by, and there was no way she could escape him tonight. There was no way she could shove away her own desires for another day, not now, not when they were finally married. She vowed to let him do what he wished, to put aside her timid nature and show him that her hunger for him was ravenous, perhaps insatiable. She wanted him to see how much of an animal she could be for him, so his worries over his coming fever would fade.

She could feel his presence clearly in her mind now, like tendrils of a plant, searching, sneaking through her synapses. She sighed into the vibrations of the shower unit and tried to ignore the throbbing between her legs. If she ever doubted that he desired her, her doubts were fading now; she could almost hear his thoughts, how they lingered incessantly on her, on her body, on her mind...it was frightening and exhilarating at the same time.

She stepped out of the unit and spent two minutes staring at herself in the mirror, her hair clean and curling around her shoulders, her breasts bare, her green eyes wide, yet darkening.

She felt a tug in her mind, a summons, a demand. He was growing impatient. Come to me...

She put on her discarded undergarments and the robe, and finally decided to tie it shut before hurrying out the door. She could no longer deny him or his desire. She could no longer ignore her own hunger. It was time.

He took off his shirt when she came out, slowly undoing the clasps that held it closed. She watched, transfixed by the work of his clever fingers, and soon his strong, broad chest was bare. She lavished her gaze on it, taking in the smooth lines of his pectorals, the spread of hair over his flesh, his strong biceps...she knew he was strong, but for a man his age, he was remarkably in shape, toned, yet slender. She felt her mouth turn dry.

Her gaze drifted still downward to the obvious bulge in his pants, and she swallowed thickly. It looked large...her breathing increased to a slight pant, and her nerves tripled as he began prowling around her, like a wolf circling its prey before devouring it.

"Are you nervous?" his voice was dark, gravelly, rough from arousal. It made the coil sitting in her stomach tighten further, and she closed her eyes.

"I will not hurt you," he assured her, his voice coming from right behind her. She tensed in slight fear and excitement, and he chuckled into her ear as he pressed his chest to her. The bulge in his pants grew impossibly bigger, and she melted against him as he brushed her hair and her robe out of his way.

"Now," he purred, planting an open-mouthed kiss on her neck. "Relax."

His thumb hooked into the fold of her robe, and he trailed his hand slowly down to the tie around her waist, splitting the robe as he went. She shivered in delight and gasped when he took her earlobe gently in his mouth, sucking very gently.

"Kuvak," she whimpered, but he simply chuckled.

"Shh." He kissed the rounded tip of her ear. "Are you still nervous?"

"A little."

"Too nervous to allow me to disrobe you?"

She inhaled sharply and trembled in his arms. "Take it off me...slowly..."

"As you wish," he purred, and she took in raspy, shaking breaths as he slowly pushed her robe off her shoulders and down her arms. He growled when he touched her bra strap, but she exhaled in one slow breath.

"That too..."

She felt a burst of his approval, and the bra strap came off, more quickly than the robe, she noted. His manhood was digging into her backside, and she pushed back against it. Another surge of approval accompanied her actions, and she felt his pants grow even tighter.

However, her attention was brought sharply back to the matter at hand when his fingers deftly unlatched her bra, and her breasts fell free, her nubs already hardened. He took one in between his fingers and rubbed gently, and she moaned, convulsing slightly in pleasure.

His hand cupped her breast, squeezing it, massaging it, and she moaned, her thighs tingling in desire. She pressed back against him again, rubbing herself over his tightness, and he hissed into her neck.

"I appreciate your enthusiasm, ashaya," he growled, licking at her flesh right beneath her ear, "and that does feel exquisite...but tonight is for you. Focus on the pleasure I'm bringing to you."

She moaned an affirmative and melted further into him, and she grinned when he inhaled her scent again.

"Aroused...wet...ready to be mated...perhaps not yet..." He seemed to be talking to himself, but all her thoughts were brought to a screeching halt when his finger slipped between her nether lips.

She gasped and moaned loudly, bucking into his finger, and she heard him chuckle near her shoulder.

"Too tight...not aroused enough..." he growled, and she moaned again as he began exploring her. She gasped, her knees growing a little weak, and his other hand abandoned her breasts in favor of holding her steady.

"Shall I add another finger?" he whispered, and she moaned.

"Please," she said, her voice sounding pitifully whorish.

He growled in approval into her neck and inserted a second finger. There was a brief flash of pain, but it was gone as quickly as it came, and she moaned involuntarily as he began pumping her.

"Oh," she squeaked in a small voice. "Oh God..."

"I take it you like this?" he questioned, thrusting his fingers in a little deeper. She cried out.

"Kuvak!"

He purred into her shoulder, licking her, kissing her, but her knees slowly started to buckle. He held her still tighter, the pressure of his member on her backside only driving her on towards whatever end this would have. Would he...would he allow this to come to completion, or would he take her once she was ready?

No, he said in her head, a glimmer of amusement accompanying the words. You will have your completion. Tonight is about you.

He slipped a third finger between her wet folds and she cried out even louder. She bucked into his fingers, suddenly lost in the sensations. She couldn't resist the urges rising inside her, and he purred in pleasure, pressing heated kisses to her shoulder.

"I can feel your desire, ashaya," he murmured, his voice course and barbaric. "Give in to it...give in to me..."

Something was coiling tighter and tighter in her stomach...she wanted to obey...she had to obey...she couldn't hold back any longer.

Her world exploded into a blaze of heat and light, and she was falling, falling from some great height, the pressure in her belly coming to a head. She trembled through it, screaming nonsense, howling his name to the heavens. She was held suspended in a world of hot, blazing pleasure, and she was drenched with sweat (and other fluids) when she came down from it all.

"Oh God..." she panted, leaning back against him. "Oh..."

"Very good," he praised, withdrawing his fingers. She winced as he retreated, but the pain was momentary, and he showed her the result covering his digits.

"Such decadence," he purred, nuzzling her neck. "Such richness...you are an exquisite prize."

She moaned, and he gently pulled her to the bed, pressing her down onto her back. He took hold of her thighs, one in each hand, and parted them. She stiffened, but he smirked at her and dipped his head, giving her an experimental lick. She moaned and stiffened further, and she yelped as he plunged his tongue where his fingers had been no more than a minute earlier.

"Oh God," she repeated, rearing her head back. A quick succession of short breaths escaped her lips, and he chuckled against her. If anything, this made her stiffen even more, and pant as if she had been running a marathon. His tongue was doing things to her she didn't know were possible, and she was completely at his mercy, slave to his whims, slave to this...

"Kuvak," she said slowly, dragging out his name, whispering it like a holy prayer. He quickened his pace, and she whimpered in pleasure.

She reached down and curled her fingers around his ear, stroking her thumb up and down the gentle curvature of it. She felt his delight tickling her synapses, and she concentrated on feeding her his pleasure. She wasn't sure how to communicate a feeling to him, but she focused on it, and thought of him, thought of how wonderful he was making her feel.

I feel it, he confirmed for her, and she groaned, getting lost again. She knew she would finish again soon, and his ministrations, instead of quickening, slowed.

"Kuvak!" she gasped, bucking her hips, flicking her thumb over the tip of his ear. "Please...please!"

It's not every day I get to bring my wife such pleasure for the first time. I'm savoring this moment.

"I need you," she whimpered, and he paused, then changed his entire approach. He seemed overcome with ravenous hunger, and she was howling long before her orgasm hit her. She shook through the second climax, clutching his hair like a lifeline, and when it was over, she watched him crawl up flush with her, a delightfully sensual smirk gracing his lips, his eyes inkwells of lust.

"I love you," she whimpered, stroking his cheek.

He pressed his forehead to hers, and she knew the sentiment behind the gesture. She knew she was his everything, that as long as he was with her, she would want for nothing. She stroked his hair, combing it between her fingers, and she smiled up at him.

"Are you ready?"

She stiffened again in nervous but excited anticipation. "You mean...?"

He chuckled. "Yes, I mean that. I want to claim you as mine."

His fingers trailed down to the apex of her thighs and combed through her curls, just as she combed her fingers through his hair. She gasped as he made a fist in her hair, and her eyes fluttered closed.

His fingers then found her womanhood again, stroking it, caressing it, coaxing it back to a throb...more like a dull ache...

"I need you," she whispered. "I love you."

He stripped off his pants and underwear in two easy movements, and she got a glimpse of him for the first time. It was hefty, thick, and long. She swallowed, her mouth going dry again, and she reached out a finger and stroked it. It twitched in apparent interest, and she took a hold of it, feeling its weight in her hand. She squeezed gently, and he growled at her neck.

"Tawny, I cannot wait any longer." She could feel it pulsating in her hand, and she slid her fingers down its length before shifting her thighs. She let him move her further to the right angle, and she gazed into his eyes as he placed himself in readiness.

He asked a silent question, his dark eyes burning with desire now, and she nodded.

"There will be no pain, Tawny," he whispered roughly in her ear. "I will take it from you."

She smiled up at him and cupped his cheek. "I'm ready...please..."

He pressed into her with surprising gentleness that contrasted with his obvious desire, and she gasped, bucking her hips a little. She only felt the briefest sting of pain before he stole it, and he kept pressing, pushing into her until she winced. It wasn't pain, simply discomfort, and she realized what he had done.

Goodbye virginity, she thought to herself. Hello Kuvak...

He smirked at her thoughts and pressed forward until there was nothing in between them, and she laid back into the pillows, breathing deeply. It was an amazing feeling to be so joined, and she wanted to stay like this forever.

"Kuvak," she murmured, lazily stroking his ear. He smiled at her and kissed her quickly before pulling away.

She quickly wrapped her legs around him, sending him back in an inch or two. They both groaned.

"Don't go," she pleaded, but he cupped her cheek and looked into her eyes.

"Tawny, I'm going to bring you to completion again. Watch."

She loosened her grip on him and allowed him to leave, but her eyes widened in delight as he surged back in. She gasped and bucked her hips.

"Oh," she gasped in comprehension. "Oh, Kuvak..."

He pulled back and thrust again, and she whimpered. "Again." She wrapped her arms around him and dug her fingernails into his back, as if it would spur him on. "Again...don't stop..."

He obeyed, thrusting in a third time, then a fourth, then a fifth. He developed a slow, steady rhythm, his hips moving gracefully, like a well-oiled machine. She watched him in growing delight, bucking her hips to meet his every move.

Tiny little noises were escaping her parted lips now, along with gasps and sharp exhalations. She forced herself to take a deep breath, scratching her fingernails down his back. He growled at that and plunged for her neck, nipping at her flesh. He surged forward again, brushing her most sensitive of areas, and she yelped, digging in her fingernails again.

"You call that a bite?" she said hoarsely, turning her neck to give him better access.

He pulled back and surged in harder, his rhythm quickening, and he plunged his teeth into her shoulder. She cried out, holding his head firmly to her flesh as she bucked her hips even higher.

"Kuvak!"

I thoroughly enjoy it when you say my name like that, he said in her mind, and she growled, kneading his back and bucking against him again, spurring him on for more.

Please, Kuvak...

She heard him groan, and he licked at the new mark he had made, then bit down again in the same place as he surged into her again.

His rhythm grew to a crescendo, and he pounded her relentlessly as she writhed, holding onto him with a terrible grip. He paused to regard her, and her muscles flexed in desperation. She pawed clumsily at him, wrapping her legs tighter around him.

"Don't stop!" she cried, and he shook himself out of an apparent daze and rejoined her; his thrust went further than ever before, and she howled. She couldn't think of anything else to do but to lean forward and sink her teeth into his chest. He yelped, and his resurgence was almost violent, sending a strong burst of electricity up her spine. She whimpered against his flesh, but bit down harder, and he rejoined her again, his power matching her aggressiveness.

The coil in her stomach was winding tighter and tighter, and would release at any moment. He shoved her back onto her back and stared into her eyes as he took her with even more power, and she took it with a scream.

One more strong surge, sending him deeper than ever before, and they climaxed together. She felt herself spill a moment before his wet warmth filled her, and she was floating, sinking into clouds, alive with ecstasy.

Kuvak...

Here, ashaya...

She came down panting, her body drenched with sweat, her thighs aching from his power. He seemed less out of breath than she, as his breaths were slower, and he nuzzled into her neck, preparing to leave.

She wrapped her legs around him and pulled him back into her. "Don't go..."

She pushed his head up so she could look into his eyes, and she was surprised to see they were filled with tears. Her cheeks were tear-stained, and she cupped his cheek, sending him what she could not express in words. A tear rolled down his cheek, and she brushed it away.

"That was beautiful," she breathed. "Can we...do it again?"

He grinned, his tears drying, and he kissed her passionately on the mouth, and obliged her.