Chapter 23
ELENA
My dragon mate woke me just after dawn with his face between my thighs, my legs on his shoulders, and my wrists tied to the bed with soft but strong cords he’d found somewhere.
I’d been so exhausted and slept so soundly that I hadn’t felt him unwrap himself from around me and rise, much less tie me up. Sneaky dragon.
Still, as wake-ups went, this was a new favorite.
“Good morning, dragon,” I murmured, my eyes half-lidded in the morning sunlight spilling through the windows. “Having breakfast in bed?”
He rumbled and circled my clit with the tip of his tongue. Mmm. My toes curled.
“I am feasting on my mate,” he said, his golden eyes glowing between my thighs.
“I’m a scientist, not dragon food,” I protested with feigned indignation. I made a show of pulling at my restraints. “But oh no—I’m helpless to stop you.”
With a low chuckle, he kissed my inner thigh and reached for something sitting on the bed beside him: a cup from the station’s kitchen.
Only then did a familiar scent reach my nose. I blinked at him. “What the—what are you doing with that?”
Grinning to show his sharp teeth, he tipped the cup and let its warm contents trickle down my slit…before bending his head to lick up every drop and then swirl his tongue around my clit until I wailed.
“Oh, yes,” he murmured, dripping more onto me as I gasped and trembled. “Now I see the appeal. It simply needed to be sweetened.”
Given I came on his face three times by the time he made it through half the cup and he put the rest on the bedside table for me to drink later before covering my body with his, I couldn’t bring myself to be mad that he’d used up some of my precious remaining coffee.
Some hazy time later, I lay gasping on his chest with his spent cock still inside me and his tail wrapped possessively over my ass.
The room smelled like sex and coffee and Ardruc’s smoky-sweet-peppery brandy scent.
My wrists had red lines from the cords and I had teeth marks in all my favorite places plus a few new ones.
Gods, I could get used to this. Maybe I already had.
Ardruc’s wristcomm trilled. He rumbled but didn’t look at it.
“Are the tiles ready?” I murmured. “It’s almost 0800 hours. We need to go talk to plasma, remember?”
“I know.” He kissed the top of my head and caressed my back, trailing his fingertips along my spine until I quivered.
“I am not used to preferring lying in bed over rushing to my lab to begin the day’s work.
Whenever I try to think about what we must do today, my attention returns to you.
” He rumbled again. “How do people survive dividing their time between their mates and their work?”
“Willpower and necessity, I suppose.” I chuckled. “Most bosses won’t accept ‘My mate is lying on top of me and I don’t want to get up’ as an excuse for not showing up at work.”
He raised his eyebrows. “But what if I am the boss, and it is my mate who is on top of me? May I not give myself permission to spend the day with my love?”
Being called my love jolted me, though not as much as it had last night. The first time, I was upset and thought I’d heard him wrong, but the second time he kissed my ear and murmured the words, I knew I hadn’t misheard.
The easy way he said it just now, in a tone that sounded like well, of course I love you, little mate, made warmth pool in my chest.
I didn’t love him yet—or at least I didn’t think I did.
My emotions remained as tangled as the vines that had taken over the station.
I liked him very much, and I cared about him deeply, and I’d enjoyed the hells out of being claimed and taking his knot.
And I’d actually thought about a future with him to the point I’d discussed my reproductive choices with an ease and level of openness I wouldn’t have predicted.
Strangely, he didn’t seem to be waiting for me to say I love you back. There wasn’t a question hanging in the air in the wake of his words like I’d heard before from one or two previous partners. He simply offered his love without demanding anything in return.
I needed a few moments to process that.
He caressed my bottom with his tail, which was a sensation I liked very, very much—almost as much as the heat and gentle reassurance of his cock nestled inside me.
“We are going to spend the day together, just not in this bed,” I said finally and kissed his chest so he’d rumble in the way that made him vibrate underneath and inside me.
“Most mated pairs and polycules don’t get to work together, you know.
They have separate duties in separate places, often on opposite sides of the city or even off-planet on a satellite or moon. ”
“What an unpleasant thought.” His brows drew together. “I cannot fathom it.”
“Me either.” I sighed. “Come on, lover. I want breakfast, a full, hot cup of coffee, and to learn how to communicate with the tendrils so we know what’s going on and why I have this tattoo.”
He grew serious. “You are right, of course,” he said and cupped my face. “We have important tasks to accomplish. Unless the mating frenzy becomes unbearable, we will focus on work today and save our pleasures for tonight.”
He sounded very convincing, but his tail remained firmly curled over my ass and resisted when I started to move.
“Ardruc Husiorithae.” I glared at him. “If you don’t let me get up, I will shower without you.”
Grumbling, he moved his tail.
By 0900 hours, we were clean and dressed and finished with our breakfast. Ardruc and I packed up some necessities and collected the tiles the station’s computer had synthesized. Accompanied by a sleepy Forux, his belly full of his own morning meal, we returned to the roof.
Another beautiful autumn day on Hyderia, with clear sky, bright sunshine, a light breeze, and clean, fragrant forest air. We’d left our equipment running since yesterday in case the plasma tendrils returned, but according to the computer, they had not.
Ardruc had transferred the recordings of our rooftop activities to his private, secured data storage.
Thinking about watching those recordings made me warm and fidgety, which in turn made Ardruc’s tail quiver and nostrils flare.
So I distracted myself by laying out the new tiles across the grassy rooftop in the spacing and arrangement suggested by the linguistics system.
All but two tiles were marked with questions in Alliance Standard and four known logographic languages. The other two tiles bore images of Ardruc and me, along with our names, species, planets of origin, ages, and other basic information.
Ardruc had made another tile himself, this one marked with a copy of the symbol on my chest and a request for translation and explanation.
After establishing communication with the tendrils, getting that explanation topped our priority list—so much so that I’d tied the sleeves of my jumpsuit around my waist and worn an undershirt with a low neckline so the tattoo was plainly visible.
It remained unchanged according to the scanner in the medical bay, which was reassuring.
I liked how its colors matched the leaves of the forest and shimmered in the sunlight.
But even so, I needed to know why I had it and what it meant.
As I positioned the last tile, Ardruc suddenly staggered and caught himself on the crate we’d used to bring the tiles to the roof.
“Ardruc?” I stood. “Are you all right?”
“Yes.” His voice was strained. “It is…an urge. It will pass.”
My heart twinged. There was a lot for both of us to like about a mating frenzy, but if we couldn’t just indulge in satisfying our desires until it waned, there were definite downsides too. And most of all, I didn’t want him to be uncomfortable or in pain.
“Are you sure?” Hesitantly, I took a step forward. I was afraid to get too close if it would make the situation worse, but I wanted to be supportive. “We can take a break if we need to. We aren’t on a set schedule.” My mouth quirked. “You wouldn’t have to do much persuading.”
“I would love to say yes, but I must learn to master this.” With obvious difficulty, he straightened, though he braced himself with his leg against the crate. “I did some research myself, Elena. The frenzy does not mean I must give in every time my body demands you, especially—”
He cut himself off. “Even in the early days,” he continued after a beat, “I can control myself with focus and self-discipline.” He forced a smile. “Doing so will make our time together tonight even more pleasurable.”
Despite his attempt to lighten the mood, uneasiness roiled in my stomach. Was he trying to hide something from me?
“Especially what?” I asked. “What were you going to say?”
“Especially if we are not trying to conceive,” he said, his voice quiet. “It is a factor in how strong the urges are. As you are not currently fertile, I am more easily able to stay in control.”
“Well, that makes sense.” I frowned. “Why did you not want to say that?”
“I am sorry,” he said earnestly. “I did not want to insult you by implying you were more or less captivating to me depending on your fertility. I desire you immensely. The only reason I am not deep inside you right now is that we agreed to focus on our work during the day.”
His words and fervent expression made me smile. The uneasiness in my stomach evaporated.