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seeing Rai from the back of an effu.”
    She shrugged and gave in, eating her meal and trying to pin down precisely what an effu was.
     
    An effu was a four-legged, slit-pupil, extremely tall riding beast that looked like an angry horse on steroids. Amy fidgeted in her riding clothes, which was just the men’s gear combined with a long, open, outer robe. Where the women’s clothing involved constriction, this costume was all about ease of motion.
    Even the shoes were woven leather flats that matched the ones peeping out from under Akutan’s wide-legged trousers. He grinned at her. “If you haven’t ridden before, you will have to ride with me for the first few times. Vedu is a good mount, but he needs a little control at the start of a ride.”
    If Amy didn’t know better, she would think he was being suggestive. “Um, that is great and all, but how do I get up there?”
    He didn’t answer but slipped his foot into the stirrup and hauled himself gracefully into the saddle. He nudged the beast toward her, and before she could do more than squeak, she was in the air, being turned and landing on top of his thighs.
    “Oh.”
    Akutan laughed and shifted his weight, settling her tightly against him. The moment she leaned back against his chest, he flexed his thighs and the beast under her took off.
    Her host’s arm around her waist was all that kept her on the animal as they churned up dust on the way down the mountain. He used the reins lightly but did most of the steering with the muscles of his legs. They turned away from the village and were soon galloping down a track through the forest.
    Amy couldn’t stop the smile on her face if she wanted to. She leaned with Akutan around every turn and his arm kept her from bouncing painfully on him.
    Vedu eventually slowed and took up a rocking walk down a narrow path until they were next to a waist-high waterfall and a lush green meadow. Vedu immediately put his head down to drink, and when he was done, he started pulling at the grass.
    Amy turned and looked up at Akutan, “I am guessing you come here often?”
    He didn’t answer, simply pressed his lips to hers, one hand coming up to hold her head while the other caressed her waist.
    Amy gave herself up to the kiss, the warmth of the afternoon and the excitement of the ride. For that moment, she forgot she was a hunted woman on an alien world and was simply a woman in a man’s arms.
    She felt the warm graze of his fingertips on her belly and jerked in surprise. It seemed that men’s clothing came apart if you knew what you were doing. His fingers slipped down her belly, and the long elegant digits shifted through her slick folds and rubbed against her clit. She gasped, and he deepened the kiss, holding her where he wanted her.
    He stroked her, circling her clit until she shuddered in his arms, moaning softly. Her head was leaning limply against his shoulder, and her muscles tensed and released rapidly as he continued the strokes.
    When she finally stilled, he pulled his fingers slowly out of the folds of the trousers she was wearing and he resettled her robe with one hand. His other hand stroked her neck softly, rubbing the base of her ear and following the muscle into the collar of her clothing.
    Akutan lifted his head, and he pressed a soft kiss to her swollen lips. His smile was soft, and there was affection in his gaze.
    She blushed scarlet, and he laughed softly. “Well, I can understand the colouring, though I am glad you do not have second thoughts while I am touching you.”
    “I…why did you?”
    “I have been thinking about your soft moans and cries since last night. This was the only respectable option to hear them again before dark.” He kissed her chin, both cheeks and her forehead.
    She was about to ask something that would no doubt sound stupid when a familiar sound ruptured the air. “That’s a ship.”
    Vedu’s head came up, Akutan pulled him around and they pounded up another path that had them