20. Avery
twenty
Avery
A knock on the bedroom door wakes Phial and me from our slumber. He's wrapped around my body, curled over me, pressing me against the headboard since it's the only firm surface.
In the dome he's created a small section where he's piled pillows and blankets that he curls me into. Something about needing to keep me safe, keep me hidden. It's how his kind sleeps with their partners and young, the male on the outside blocking others from what he holds most precious.
I thought it would be a little suffocating, but it's actually much more comfortable than it looks. So, when he tugged me up to the head of the bed last night, curled me up into a small ball, and pressed me against the headboard, I didn't even argue.
"What?" Phial turns his head just enough to look at the bedroom door. At the same time, he pats around my body to make sure I'm covered in blankets.
"We need to talk." Skia's voice is a low rumble on the other side of the door. He doesn't expand on why or what we need to talk about.
Phial groans as he stretches his body out. Then, he rolls onto his knees and crawls to the end of the bed. I grab the tip of his tail as it swings close to me, and Phial's feathers all stand on end as he startles.
"Sorry," I giggle, dropping my hold on his tail.
Phial's eyes are wide as he looks at me over his shoulder, but he goes back to what he was doing before I interrupted him. He leans off the bed, reaches for one of my bags, and then hoists it onto the bed between us.
"Grab my tail whenever you'd like, but know we'll need some alone time if you do," Phial says, his scales shimmering before settling back to their new light green color.
His tail wraps around the luggage, the tip of it wiggling at me like he's tempting me to touch it again. I lift my hand to stroke it, but he pulls it back away at the last second. A laugh erupts in his chest when I shoot him a dirty look.
"Skia needs to talk with us, and you need to learn to control yourself."
I puff my lower lip out in a pout and sit up, letting the blankets fall from my torso and pool in my lap. Phial's eyes drop down to my breasts in an instant, almost comically fast. I cover them with my hands, and this time, it's Phial's turn to give me a dirty look.
"You need to learn to control yourself," I mock.
He hisses low in his chest before he scrambles over the luggage, holding me in his hands and snaking his tongue into my mouth. I squeal at how fast he's moved and then settle into the kiss, deepening it when his hands move down to my hands, covering myself and removing them so he can press himself closer to me, feeling me against his chest. When we're both breathless, and our hearts are beating rapidly, he pulls away.
"Perhaps we don't need any control." He smiles and reaches behind him, grabbing anything that feels like clothing. "But Skia is waiting."
"Fine," I grumble, taking the clothes from him. He kisses me quick and fast before hopping off the bed. He stretches out, making sure to keep his back to me. I'm sure his cocks are out, but if I see them, I'm going to need his come again, and he already came in my mouth twice last night. I can wait until we talk to Skia before asking him if I can drink from him again.
When we leave the bedroom, Phial's wearing a pair of shorts, and I'm wearing leggings and an oversized shirt. It's the most casual I've dressed in a long time, and it feels good.
Skia's waiting for us in the chair he was in last night. His shadows or smoke or whatever the black, foggy tendrils that pour from his body are flowing up and down his legs until we sit on the couch, and then they fall to the ground, pooling like a puddle under his feet.
"The prosecution has asked for your testimony to be given tomorrow," Skia's direct with what we need to talk about.
"There's a good chance my heat starts tomorrow," I say as my hands start to shake.
Phial covers them with his own, which offers me some reassurance. He's not hissing or biting his teeth at Skia either, which is helping me to keep my calm. I'm sure he wants to. He doesn't like when things are hard for me.
"I understand, but the defense team is causing issues. You can testify tomorrow for the trial here on Earth or not at all. There's still the Intergalactic trial that's going to happen due to the nature of the crimes. That could happen in a couple of years, and you'd need to get your case added to it." Skia's words come out neutral, and his face remains impassive. He's not talking to us like someone who's always in our thoughts. My face heats, but I force any thoughts of what Phial and I did last night out of my head.
"Tomorrow then." I nod, hoping to sound more determined than I feel. I want to stand up and return to the room, but Skia's tilting his head to the side, cracking his neck before looking back at me.
"I'll be there the whole time," his eyes flicker over to Phial as his hand tightens on mine. "So will your mate."
"Is there anything else you need from us?" Phial asks.
He's working hard not to be upset. I can feel it radiating off of him, and I appreciate it. It's taking a lot for me not to freak out, so I need him to be calm and collected. If he loses it, I lose it, and then there won't be very much productivity happening.
Skia shakes his head and then grabs a book off the table next to him. He flips through to where his bookmark is before looking back up at us with a 'Why are you still here?' stare.
"Come, I will keep you distracted," Phial says.
I think at first he's being seductive, and my heart does a little swoop. Then he leads me into the bathroom that's attached to the room we're staying. He starts filling up the bathtub with water. He pulls out something from his baggage and sprinkles it into the water. A soft shimmering sheen that smells like a mix of eucalyptus and lavender sits on top of the water. I stand, waiting for him to tell me what to do. It isn't until the tub is filled that he brings in the comm with our show on it.
"Well, get naked," he says, a smile on his lips.
His forked tongue flicks out, wetting his lips as he watches me start to shimmy out of my clothes. His eyes darken, his cocks strain in his pants, and the chirping starts up in his throat. He doesn't lunge for me or start groping me, though. No, he waits until I'm completely naked before tearing his clothes off, too, and hopping in the bath.
"Come sit. We can watch our show, and I can hold you."
"Just hold me?" I ask, quirking one of my brows.
"Well, maybe I will touch you some, but mostly, yes, we are watching. I can't get my mate too worked up. Not when her heat is so near. We need to keep you from falling into it too soon." Phial's teasing with his words, but I can hear the uncertainty underneath them.
Instead of picking at it and having it confirm my own worries, I take his hand and let him guide me between his legs in the tub. We fit snugly together, and he holds the comm up so we can cuddle and watch until the water grows cold.
"I think we have everything we need," Phial says as he hoists a backpack over his shoulder and wraps his other arm around me. "Furs, water, a change of clothes, and I have this for you." Phial holds out a liquid's canister, and I shake it, hearing something slosh inside.
"What is it?" I ask, unsure if I'm even allowed to take anything besides water with me.
Skia huffs out an annoyed sound before turning and busying himself with something else. If I paid more attention to him, I'd see he's not actually doing anything. He wants to give Phial and me the illusion of privacy.
Phial looks at me with a smile on his lips before taking the canister from me and clipping it to a hook on the backpack. "A meal replacement."
Skia clears his throat. Something that almost sounds like a laugh is muffled by the sound. I realize much too late what Phial means, and horror takes over all my facial features.
"Calm." Phial presses his lips to my temple. "I mixed it in with some ice and fruits. If anyone asks, it's just a smoothie."
I go to grab the canister to take off the pack and leave it at the house. I don't need anyone at the court thinking I'm drinking come at the hearing. I already feel like I'm a joke with how I've been altered. There's a good chance I start my heat during my testimony, and if that happens, I'm going to grit my teeth, ignore the mess I make on the stand, and get through this.
"Take the drink," Skia's voice cuts through my fighting with Phial. Both of our heads snap over to the male talking. He doesn't do it often. I don't think he enjoys talking to us. Or maybe just in general. Either way, when he talks, we listen. "It'll help keep you calm. There's no telling when you'll be able to access your mate until the end of the day."
I sigh and release my hold on the backpack. Phial gives me a smug little smile before wrapping his arm around me again. He leans in close and presses a kiss to my temple. I relax in his hold, and we follow Skia to the small garage before hopping in the transport.
Skia slides in the driver's seat while Phial and I get situated in the back. He clips me in first before shrugging the pack off and setting it on the floor. I eye the canister, feeling a needy warmth starting to spread up in my body. I should've asked Phial to feed me while we were getting dressed because I can't just drink down my backup so soon.
Skia makes some sort of grunting sound upfront before a partition slides in place, blocking him from our view. I know he can still hear our thoughts, but the illusion of privacy helps. I'm out of my buckle and between Phial's legs before Skia has the transport backed out of the driveway.
"Needy." Phial chuckles as he slides his pants down enough to let his cocks go free.
I shoot him a playful glare before taking him in my mouth. His fingers splay through my hair, making sure not to tangle it too much as he strokes down my neck to my back. I groan, and goosebumps explode over my skin.
"Take what you need," Phial groans as his head falls back against the seat. I do as he says and don't feel any less for needing him as much as I do.