Total pages in book: 182
Estimated words: 171288 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 856(@200wpm)___ 685(@250wpm)___ 571(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 171288 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 856(@200wpm)___ 685(@250wpm)___ 571(@300wpm)
“Maybe I’d better let the Chieftain or Lady Bright Coat explain.” Penny felt her cheeks getting hotter and hotter and she bit her lip.
“Well, it’s simple, really,” Chieftain Swift Tail said to V’rex. “You enter your female and I’ll enter mine and we see which male can hold out and keep from filling his female with his seed the longest.”
“Is that so?” V’rex growled, looking at Penny again. “And what do you say to that, sweetheart?”
“I say it…it sounds fine to me,” Penny looked up at him uncertainly. “But, well, I wasn’t sure how you might feel about it.”
“I’d love to be inside you, you know I would,” V’rex murmured, stroking her hot cheek gently with one finger. “But you know, sweetheart…”
“I know what you’re going to say,” Penny said quickly. He was going to protest entering the contest on the bounds of their Foreswearing, she was sure. “But this really shouldn’t count—since it’s in the service of our, uh, mission,” she told him.
“I suppose you could make a case for that,” V’rex nodded thoughtfully. “Well, then…if you really don’t mind…”
“I don’t mind,” Penny said breathlessly. “I…I think it’s a good idea.”
“I’m not sure if it’s a good idea, but if you want it, I can’t deny that I do too,” V’rex growled softly, stroking her cheek again.
“Well, then—it sounds like we have a Hulu-rah in the works,” Chieftain Swift Tail exclaimed. “Tell me though, Merchant—what is it you wish to play for?”
“They…they want to play for my necklace,” Lady Bright Coat said, looking at her husband apprehensively.
“What?” The Fox’en Chieftain frowned. “But I gave you that necklace in front of the entire tribe! If I should lose it—”
“You won’t lose it, my dear!” Lady Bright Coat exclaimed. “When have you ever lost a Hulu-rah?”
The Chieftain’s furry chest puffed out with pride and he nodded.
“Well, you’re right about that, my mate. Then if you’re certain you don’t mind wagering your necklace…?”
“I have perfect trust in you,” she assured him.
“Then, it’s agreed.” Chieftain Swift Tail nodded decisively. He looked at V’rex. “I challenge you to a Hulu-rah. If you win, you will go home with my mate’s valuable necklace.”
“And if we lose?” V’rex asked, raising one eyebrow.
“Then you shall give me the entire box of Silka spice.” Chieftain Swift Tail’s blue eyes flashed greedily.
“That’s a high price to wager.” V’rex frowned, pretending to hesitate. “But I can see that my mate really wants that necklace,” he added, casting a half-lidded glance at Penny that made her squirm.
“I do…I really do,” she murmured.
“Well, then—no price is too high to make my mate happy,” V’rex decided. He looked at the Fox’en Chieftain. “How do we start?”
Chapter 105
As it turned out, the royal Fox’ens had a whole room devoted to the Hulu-rah. Which surprised Penny until she remembered that V’rex had told her that the Fox’en people loved contests of will. She just hadn’t known they’d be participating in a contest quite like this one.
The Hulu-rah room was a kind of sunken grotto which had been carpeted in some kind of thick, spongy dark blue moss. There were several clusters of big, puffy blue and green and turquoise cushions as well, which seemed to delineate four different areas in the large room.
“You take one corner and we will take the opposite one,” Chieftain Swift Tail instructed V’rex. “There does need to be some privacy, at least in the beginning of the contest so that we can take our time exciting our ladies and getting them ready to be entered.”
His words made Penny breathe an inward sigh of relief. She really didn’t want to watch the Fox’ens make love—or almost make love—and she didn’t want to be watched herself, either. She’d had enough of being watched during intimate moments at the Compound to last her a lifetime, thank you very much.
But V’rex was frowning.
“How can we tell which of us wins the contest if we’re separated and can hardly see each other?” he demanded. “Not that I don’t trust your Excellency, but I’m wagering an awful fucking lot here,” he added.
“Of course, I understand.” The Fox’en Chieftain nodded. “Here are the rules—after a few minutes of private foreplay, a bell will ring that signals it’s time for penetration. You must then enter your mate—as I will enter mine—all the way to the root of your shaft. At that point, my servant will come and make certain both of us are fully thrust inside our mates.” He winked. “And then the timing begins.”
“And then we just see which male can hold out the longest?” V’rex raised an eyebrow.
Swift Tail nodded.
“Exactly so. The first to spend his seed inside his female is the loser. Agreed?”
V’rex nodded. “Agreed.”
“Very well, then—let us commence. Which corner do you prefer?” The Fox’en chieftain made a sweeping gesture, inviting them to choose a corner in the plush, sunken grotto.