This is it

Chapter 4

He'd fallen into a deep sleep the minute he hit the pillows. He'd barely had time to take off his armor before he went down. He really needed a pee though now, so he stumbled in the dark to the bathroom, unsteady from sleep, relieved himself with a satisfying groan, shook off and returned to his quarters.

Nearly.

There was a shadow moving in the pit. A few candles had been left lit, but otherwise the whole place was eerily dark. Quietly he moved towards the center and was about to peek around the side of the back of Zo's workstation, when he came face to face with - her. Aloy.

Startled he stumbled backwards a few steps, his heart racing like a maniac, Aloy gasped out loud and immediately covered her mouth, fearing she'd woken the others.

"What are you doing here?" he hissed, having caught himself just in time, not to fall on his ass.

"What do you mean?" she sneered back annoyed. "I live here!"

"Good point," he conceded quietly and was acutely aware of only being in his underwear, bare-chested, barefoot, no armor, no headpiece, no war paint. Trying desperately to appear cool and noticing with satisfaction that she was struggling to keep her cool as well, he said "Thank you for the chance to be here." Really? he thought, that's what you came up with?! With a rush he became painfully aware of his cock waking and bulging.

"I, uh, I just came in." Aloy said nervously. "I took a detour to Plainsong. Zo wanted some fresh fruit and vegetables. I took the long way around, you know?" She babbled on, not looking at him, but clearly not leaving or pushing past him to get away either, as she'd been doing recently. "I, uhm... I... Did you meet everyone?"

His mind was racing. His dick stiffening. How was he going to go about this? She seemed to be nervous, which pleased him. Play it cool, he told himself. "Yeah, I did. They're nice."

"Did they show you your room?"

A loud snore from behind Kotallo sounded and he suppressed a grin. Aloy cleared her throat.

"Varl showed me."

"Cool." Pause. Then, "have you eaten?"

She was clearly on edge, which amused Kotallo, but didn't show. Breathe man, she's just a woman, not a Bristleback. "Erend made Bitterleaf Boar."

"I think it's Bitterbrew Boar," corrected Aloy grinning.

"Hm."

"Did you like it?" she asked looking at her shoes.

"Yeah, it was good."

"Good. Good." Another pause.

Stay calm, he thought, don't lose your cool now. To his surprise her nervousness emboldened him. His heart hammering in his chest he took a tiny tentative step towards her. She jumped like a shy fawn, wrought her hands, blushed and stammered, "I... I... I'm glad you're here." Her gaze traveled up his body, stopped at his crotch, inspected every inch it seemed. He felt heat rise in his cheeks, goosebumps prickled along his arm and neck, a shiver ran down his spine.

"As am I," he whispered hoarsely. He took another step towards her, only a few feet separating them now. Her hands were trembling, but she didn't move. Their eyes hadn't met yet, she licked her lips and closed her eyes.

That was too much for him and he let out an involuntary "Aloy...". She was so beautiful, the light of the single candle behind her on the counter framing her, with a shimmering glow.

She looked up. Into his eyes. "Yes?" she whispered back, held his gaze. The amber of his eyes turned dark as she watched and drank it in. She wanted to melt into him, reach out and touch his lips, feel their hardness turning soft. Release his manhood from its cage of stretchy fabric. She could see the veins in his neck pulsing, his hand aching to reach out, but something holding him back. Her gaze swept over him again, lingered on his mouth, as his breathing grew ragged.