The next chapter is posted! Enjoy :)
It's been a couple days since Julie ran into the young woman named Carrie and her young daughter.
She brought them up with Kata'nu that night after he came home from the training grounds. He told her he knew of who she spoke of. It was Luar-ke's servant.
Despite it being a large clan, he knew just about everyone, including the ones who had alien servants.
He also mated Luar-ke on a couple occasions in the past and sired at least one pup with her. As far as females go, she was quite docile, yet fierce at the same time.
An imposing huntress and warrior.
But the large female treated her servants with kindness and respect. Kata'nu recalls going to her dwellings at least once and had met the ooman female and her offspring.
Both were happy and healthy.
Kata'nu could tell Julie seemed quite taken with the ooman female and would like to meet with her again. Something he was perfectly fine with. He just needed to ask and inform Luar-ke about it first.
Though he doubts she will mind. She gives her servants quite the free range.
At this time, the large, red male yautja was currently behind his dwellings utilize the sparring ring he has out back. Julie had just finished eating dinner.
The young woman watched him briefly from one of the windows that faced the back where the ring was.
He hardly had anything on, except for a dark grey loincloth covering his lower half. Kata'nu currently was twirling around a combi stick and making jabs at fake opponents.
His muscles rippled and contracted with each movement.
It never did cease to amaze her how graceful and fluid he could be, despite his large size. And she couldn't help but stare. They may have odd faces, but all these yautja really were built like Greek gods.
Julie was unsure how long she was there, staring out the window at him as he practiced.
Then she watched him pause, and to her surprise his bright yellow gaze actually shifted to the window she was at. The young woman froze when she realized he caught her watching.
But she became even more flustered when the smug bastard actually winked at her.
That's when she finally moved away from the window. Her cheeks were burning with embarrassment and annoyance. She can't understand why she is feeling this way.
Kata'nu watched as her face turned an interesting shade of red before quickly moving away from the window.
He found her it rather amusing and cute. Though he will admit, that he made himself sparse this last day or so. And there was a good reason for it. He chided himself for acting like a teen.
He knew she could tell something was a little off with him since yesterday morning. And she most likely wanted to inquire why that was. But he left to head off to the training grounds before she could say anything to him.
Kata'nu only came back to the training grounds around an hour ago. He only gave a quick hello to Julie. Before he shed the very little armor he was wearing and went out back.
Julie found it strange that he hardly said much to her since yesterday morning. She finds herself wondering if she said or did something wrong. Though she likes to think that he would've told her if that was the case.
Seeing as Kata'nu is usually upfront with her about a lot of things.
She eventually made up her mind. And the young woman headed for the back door that led to the back.
He paused mid jab when he saw the back door slide open at the corner of his eye off to the right. Kata'nu stood to full height and shifted his gaze to see none other than Julie heading his way.
The large male didn't move from his spot and waited until she came closer.
"Hey, what's up? You didn't get enough training as it were today or what?" She teased.
Kata'nu snorted, of course, the first thing out of her mouth was a joke. Why isn't he surprised.
"It was more of watching the Unblooded spar and giving them pointers." He retorted.
Her eyes lit up in amusement.
"Not surprising. They are after all the ones that got to work out some of the pent-up sexual frustration. That's what you initially told me right?" She replied.
He rolled his eyes.
"Nothing says, shoot me like watching a bunch of young hormonal males fight out their tension because they have yet to master self-control. They really are just as bad as the rambunctious teens on your world. If not, worse." Kata'nu stated.
Julie couldn't help but chuckle at his answer.
Yeah, most don't really have the patience for dealing with teenagers. They really can be quite the pain in the ass. Though it was always fun watching her superiors break in the new teenage recruits who came in thinking their shit don't stink.
They were singing a different tune after being run ragged after a week.
"That bad, huh?" She inquires, with some laughter still present in her voice.
A grin slowly crept onto his face, and he knelt down near the side of the ring.
"Worse than you when you're in a bad mood." Kata'nu teased.
She arched a dark brow.
"Really now? Funny, I don't know what you speak of. I'm always in a pleasant mood." Julie stated.
Of course, she wasn't serious and more along the lines of sarcastic.
He tilts his head to the side, something for whatever reason she found to be rather cute.
"In what known Universe?" Kata'nu continued teasing.
"Hah! I still say you're exaggerating. If I were truly that bad, you would've been driven insane by now." She fired back.
Kata'nu doesn't know what possessed him to do what he did next.
He held out his hand to her.
Julie looked from his hand to his face. There was a brief moment of silence before she took his offered hand, and he helped her up onto the ring. In a way, she did find herself itching to get in some training herself.
The large male backed up and turned to grab another combi stick. He then shifted his gaze back to her, and lightly tossed her the second combi stick.
To her, this was new. The very few times she has trained or sparred with him; it was hand to hand combat without weapons. But this was a nice change of pace.
She gave it a couple experimental twirls before glancing back at him.
"Try to see if you can land at least one blow." He told her, as he got into a crouching position with his combi stick.
His tone wasn't cocky, but more or less playful.
Funny, how he almost always seems to come across as playful with her. There were times, she felt like she hardly saw his serious side, but knew it was there. It mainly shown through when he was voicing concerns over her or her wellbeing.
At the same time, he was wondering just what in the hell he was doing.
Kata'nu almost felt like he was playing with fire. But how can he explain something like this to her? He knew she already had an idea that his kinds' senses are very acute. Especially, their sense of smell.
He can't help but feel like she would be weirded out if he told her the reason why he was somewhat avoiding her the last day and a half.
The large male was not standing down wind of her. But during a time like this, he knew it will happen. And when it does, he knew he will be hit with her sweet and intoxicating scent.
Kata'nu still found it strange that an ooman female's scent was way more pungent than a yautja female during that specific time.
'I know, I'm going to regret this. Should've just told her to go back inside. But what do I say? You're ovulating and I can smell it and it's driving me crazy? Nope, can't see that panning out well.' He thought.
He was snapped out of his thoughts, when Julie made the first move and went for him.
He smirked and quickly dodged her incoming strike. Then he tapped her on the back for good measure as she passed him. It was a little funny watching her stumble from his light tap.
Though to Julie, it really didn't feel all that light, hence why she nearly lost her footing.
Once she regained it though, she quickly turned while twirling the combi stick over her head. Then she went in again with a hit. Her combi stick met his, making a sharp metallic twang as they made contact.
They went back and forth for a few minutes.
The young woman knew he was still going fairly easy on her. It was something she was both grateful and annoyed about. She wasn't used to others going easy on her. Mainly for the fact that she was a seasoned fighter.
And it still irked her a little that she was somewhat being treated like a novice.
She pulled back after the last attack and circled with narrowed eyes. She was scoping for an opening on him. But it didn't seem like he was leaving much room for error and appeared to be well guarded.
Julie quickly thought of a different tactic and approach.
The petite woman feigned a pass to the left at close range. Kata'nu watched and followed, only to see her quickly move to the right and take a swing at him. He barely had time to duck before the weapon nearly slammed into the side of his head.
She smirked, "Gotcha."
He didn't like the sound of that, but it was too late, she swiped the combi stick at his instep and the back of his knee and brought him down to a knee. Then she slammed the combi stick horizontally into his front and pushed her weight into it.
Julie only meant to knock him over.
What she didn't count on, was him taking a hand off of his combi stick, and grab at her.
The young woman ended up losing her balance when he did this, and she ended up going down to the ground with him. It hurt a little when her chest hit the cold, hard metal of the combi sticks that became wedged between their fronts.
Kata'nu landed on his back, with the petite ooman female laying on top of him.
To others, it looks like they were in a rather compromising position. Something he wouldn't have minded. But for some reason, it was different this time, with her.
She looked down at his face that was barely a few inches away from her own, with wide blue eyes.
With her soft body pressed against his combined with her alluring scent, the large male yautja found himself actually battling not to let his instincts take over. While at the same time, his heart was hammering in his chest at the closeness.
The uptick in his heart rate was new and unknown to him. It was something that never happened before with a female. Yet, for some reason, it's something that appears to happen when she gets close to him.
Shit, there were times his heart skipped a beat when she smiled at him.
At the same time, Julie didn't know what to think. Or why being pressed against his very firm and hot body started to frazzle her. She also didn't know if she liked it or not either.
It was like his own body worked before his mind did. And Kata'nu found himself unconsciously reaching up to caress her soft cheek, brushing some stray dark strands away in the process.
Her heart skipped a beat momentarily when he reached up and touched her.
The underside of his hand was surprisingly smooth and felt nice on her skin. Her eyes closed and she subconsciously turned her face more into his warm palm, enjoying the warm feeling it was sending throughout her body.
Then she heard that sound. It was the unmistakable sound of purring. And it was coming from the large male beneath her.
The sound was soothing, and it felt like it was starting to do something to her body. She found herself becoming very warm, particularly in her lower region. A tingling feeling shot up her spine, making her let out a small shudder.
Kata'nu heard a small gasp leave her slightly parted lips.
He could also smell the tantalizing scent of the beginnings of arousal coming from her. It was something that was starting to affect him and spur on his own growing arousal.
She was not a yautja female. But he couldn't help but find her beautiful. Since he first laid eyes on her on the ship, he couldn't help but be drawn to her beauty and fiery spirit.
It's why he wanted her.
Kata'nu leaned up and lightly pressed his closed mandibles to her other cheek and gently nuzzled her.
A small smile slowly made its way on her face, though she was currently unaware of it. All she knew was that she was enjoying the affections this male was currently giving her.
It amazed her how gentle he was being with her. Especially, when she knew how brutal he can be in a fight with another yautja.
After a few moments, Kata'nu pulled back. Only to spread his mandibles and slowly bring his mouth to hers. And that seemed to break the magic spell she was under.
Her eyes quickly snapped open when she felt his odd mouth slowly pressing into her lips. And she quickly pulled her head back.
Then to his disappointment, she pulled away completely and got off of him.
Julie stood there for a moment, fidgeting on her feet trying to get her racing heart under control. While Kata'nu sat up, while still keeping his gaze on her. She could clearly see the look of confusion in his eyes.
"I'm sorry...but I can't." She said.
There was silence for a few moments before he finally spoke.
"Why?" He asks.
"Because...It wouldn't be right. I'm well aware of how you are with females. And that's not something I'm looking for." Julie stated.
Kata'nu slowly stood up, he still kept his gaze on her the whole time.
"I haven't taken any other females after you saw me with Yen'Sha." He said.
But Julie wasn't having it.
"Why? Was I your next big conquest? Is that it? Because I refuse to play one night stand with you like the others you have bedded. I get it's normal for your kind to be like that. But it's not me nor something I want." She says.
Before he could say anything, she turned around and quickly walked away.
Right now, Julie felt like she wanted to be anywhere but near him. It hurt to be near someone that you sadly had growing feelings for that most likely didn't feel the same way.
Tears started to prick the corner of her eyes just thinking about it. A large part of her kept trying to convince her that this was in no way normal. That she shouldn't have these thoughts and feelings towards an alien being.
While Kata'nu just stood there, surprisingly feeling speechless for the first time in his long existence.
Her words actually stung. But at the same time, he understood why she would feel that way. He knew for a long time now that mating between his kind rubbed her the wrong way.
Apparently, she couldn't get over the fact that the males and females of his race mainly got together to mate and then parted ways shortly after without a thought or care for one another and only a sense of accomplishment of extending their bloodline to future offspring.
The last thing he ever wanted to do was hurt her.
And to be fair, he didn't want to just mate with her once and that was it. A connection was there, he could feel it. It was something he never felt before with another.
He just needed a way to show her that he wasn't looking to just sate his curiosity and needs with bedding her just once, due to it being mating season. He needed to prove to her that it was more than that.
Kata'nu closed his eyes with a drawn-out sigh. He knew he would have his work cut out for him this time. But he knew that Julie was worth it.
She was obviously special, and he needed to show her just how special she had become to him within the time she's been in his company. He also knew he needed to be patient and take things slowly with her.
He was not discouraged. He had all the time in the world.
Kata'nu gathered up the few weapons he brought out with him. Then left the ring and headed inside. Hopefully, things won't be very awkward between them as he tries to plan things out.
And he certainly hopes he doesn't screw anything up. At least no more than he already had.
Until Next Time ;)