Chapter 20
Now.
Urgg walked on one side of me and Seth on the other.
We were on Nastroyn, and the three of us had decided to make a day of it.
Kalvoxrencol hadn’t been pleased, wanting to come himself or send Seth with a horde of guards, but Seth had simply told him no and handed Bobbinvoxlyn to him before leaving.
We’d already gone to more than one tavern and eatery. Urgg had figured if they couldn’t help me with my issue with Monqilcolnen and my feelings, then they could at least help me forget for a while. It was a kind offer. One I’d accepted gratefully.
I giggled, and Seth hauled me closer, smiling, though it looked tense.
He kept glancing at Urgg, who was continuously peeking at their screen.
Neither of them had drunk much, which was odd.
They liked drinking, especially Urgg. They would normally drink more than ten people.
Whereas I could only handle a couple of drinks before I grew tipsy, let alone all of the drinks they’d shoved toward me.
My foggy thoughts were having a hard time working through the different scenarios as to what was going on.
It was… impossible. I let it go. Whatever their issues were, I was having fun and finally not thinking about Monqilcolnen.
It was all I could do not to strangle Cencay every night when they returned from duty.
On and on, they would prattle about Monqilcolnen, and stir up the roiling jealousy in my gut.
How dare they talk about my Monqilcolnen or call him attractive? I wanted to pluck their eyes out.
I stopped in the middle of the busy road, making someone behind me release a litany of profanity, but I didn’t care. Monqilcolnen was in front of me. He was talking to a Zarkyian female, who was native to the desert world of Nastroyn.
Zarkyi were a monosex species now. The males had all died off, and they’d all been clones of each other until the Drakcol Empire shared our breeding technology, allowing them to procreate. Now all of the zarkyi were known for being highly beautiful and sensuous.
This one was all soft curves and smiles, dressed in see-through clothes that did nothing to hide her ample assets.
Her space-black hair hung down her back, shimmering with shoots of purple and green while her deep green skin glowed faintly in the bright sunlight.
She looked even more lovely against the golden sand and under the pale green sky.
She and Monqilcolnen looked good together. I hated that.
“Let’s go,” Seth said, grabbing my arm.
I shook him off. How could I possibly leave when Monqilcolnen was right in front of me? Everything that had made me hesitate was gone, and my thoughts were as sharp as a knife.
When the zarkyi laid a hand on his chest, I raced forward to claim what belonged to me.
“I’m sure I could assist you for a price,” Xyi said, resting her hand on me.
A warning growl rumbled in my chest. If she wasn’t the sole person who could find me a glowing moon tablet from the Zarkyian religion, which I’d wanted for years, I wouldn’t have dealt with her. I had no issues with Zarkyians, but Xyi was quite loathsome.
I opened my mouth to tell her my person wasn’t available for negotiation, but I never got the chance. A warm tail coiled around mine, and my soul knew who it was the instant he touched me.
Wyn growled at her, “Mine.”
A dam cracked open inside of me at his claim. Now. Now. Now, my inner fire chanted. I closed my eyes, fighting tears. Finally.
He didn’t give me time to relish the moment before he stalked off, pulling me along. I didn’t fight his hold. Why would I? He was where I wished to be.
“Wyn,” I said, breathless.
Another growl met my greeting, and Wyn’s tail tightened around me.
I smiled softly at his much smaller frame in front of me, pushing through the crowds in the bustling market.
People didn’t even turn to look at us. Hawkers yelled out about their wares, and many zarkyi women leered and invited people into their shops, trying to use their wiles to trap hapless tourists into buying whatever they were selling.
Wyn ignored it all. He marched through the teeming marketplace, little bursts of fine dust erupting from beneath his feet.
Whenever someone got in our way, he would snarl, and I did nothing to stop him.
He needed to take me away, and I was happy to acquiesce to that need. I was his, as he so easily claimed.
Though I doubted he meant mates, as it was far too early for him to feel such permanence for me, and I smelled alcohol vapors wafting off him. Nonetheless, I was content for the first time in… No, this was the first time I’d ever been this pleased.
We wound through the crowd until we reached a deserted place on the edge of the sandy city. The sandhouses were behind us, and in front of us was a lovely green oasis surrounded by tall trees.
He released me and rounded to face me. “Why have you been ignoring me?”
“What?”
“You almost kiss me, and then you spend the next month ignoring me. Why, Monqilcolnen?”
My name on his lips made me groan.
“Tell me.”
“I was giving you time. You don’t seem to care for me.”
“What?”
“Wyn, you all but run from me, even that last time. I don’t wish to force myself on you. But I do desire you.”
His chest heaved as his hands curled into fists. “How?”
I blinked. “How what?”
“How do you desire me?” Wyn snapped, prowling closer. “My body? My mind? For a fuck? For friendship? For courting? Tell me how! You are utterly unreadable, and it is breaking me.”
My soul cracked. My mask had been so firmly in place for so long, it was hard to remove. If there was anyone in the universe I wanted to know me, it was Wyn. I stepped closer. “I desire all of it. I wish to court you.” I wished to claim him, but now wasn’t the time to tell him.
Wyn leaped at me before I had time to react.
His arms went around my neck and his lips found mine.
I started at the sudden kiss, but when Wyn pulled back, I chased him.
He pressed against me, his movements claiming, frantic, desperate, possessive.
I melted into him, hooking my arms around his thin waist and picking him up.
Wyn wrapped his legs around me and invaded my mouth with his tongue.
My hands planted on his firm butt to support him, my tail hooking his with ease, as if he’d already been reaching for me.
This. I’d needed this for so long.
“You know we won’t work,” he murmured.
I captured his mouth again. I refused to speak of this ending before we’d truly started.
I refused to speak of this ending at all.
We would work. We were meant for each other.
There would be no end to this. Not now. Not ever.
I groaned when Wyn bit my bottom lip and pulled back before attacking me once again.
I squeezed his butt, and Wyn grunted. He wiggled against me, his cock hard.
“Wyn,” I growled, fisting his braid and dragging his head back to lick and kiss his neck.
“Ugh,” he moaned in response to my tongue working over his scent gland.
He was perfect, utterly perfect.
I nibbled and bit along his jaw all the while Wyn cried out, his legs practically strangling my waist as he rutted against me. He was so light compared to most drakcol. I didn’t struggle to hold him in my arms at all. I might be taller and broader than most, and yet, Wyn was so tiny against me.
A voice sounded in my ear, “Monqilcolnen.”
I growled. Talvax. I shook my head and ignored her. I didn’t care if it was against regulations. I’d waited for this moment for nine cycles. Wyn was everything. Any matter could wait until much later when Wyn wasn’t grinding his hard cock against my stomach.
Wyn panted in my ear as I kissed his neck. His tail ran over my back and teased my own while his hands explored my frame. “Mon…” His voice broke off as I bit his earlobe. He whimpered, and I licked the same spot.
My cock throbbed as my instincts pounded inside of me, demanding I claim Wyn, right here, right now. We needed to stop, but I didn’t want to. All I desired was Wyn and Wyn alone. The rest of the universe could burn for all I cared.
One of his hands was buried in my hair, and he dragged my head back so our eyes clashed. My chest heaved; fire erupted in my gut in need of him.
“This won’t work,” he repeated.
I pressed a fierce kiss to his lips, and Wyn returned it. I said, “It will. We will. I know it.”
Rather than respond, he captured my mouth again.
I returned his kiss as I pressed him against one of the trees, the dark green bark scratching near the same shade as my scales.
Permissions needed to be discussed and given, and yet neither of us stopped or tried to speak.
Instead, we both attacked each other like this was the first and last time we’d ever be together.
But that was false. We would have many such times together.
As many times as we desired. A lifetime of times.
I rucked up the back of his shirt to place my hand on his bare scales, and Wyn jerked back.
“Wyn?” I asked. Had I gone too far?
His clear blue eyes were wide and his pupils were round with desire. His full lips were swollen from our kisses. I gave him a gentle brush of my lips as my fingers stroked his scales. He moaned deliciously. Smiling, I continued to give him the faintest of kisses across his face.
He jolted again.
“What’s wrong?” I whispered against his cheek.
“Captain Talvax keeps pinging me.”
I frowned. She’d probably scanned the surface and seen our signals together. When I didn’t respond, she’d reached out to Wyn.
Regretfully, I tried to let Wyn go, but he clung to me. “No,” he said, his arms wrapping around my neck and legs squeezing me. “I want more.”
My mouth went dry, and my already-hard cock swelled even more. I was desperate for Wyn, but if neither of us responded, Talvax might think we were in trouble and send reinforcements, which I didn’t want. It would be awkward to say the least.
“We will have more,” I told him, pressing kisses along the line of his jaw. “We will have all that you desire, Wyn.”
“No, we won’t.”
“What do you mean?”
He framed my face, eyes glassy. “You will go back to your station and me to mine. We have right now, Monqilcolnen.”
I growled and bit his neck, and Wyn moaned, leaning back to offer me more. I bit him again and harder, so my bite would be felt long after we parted, not allowing him to forget me.
“Listen to me, Wyn. We have time. I’m not letting you go.”
He swallowed.
“You and I are not parting.”
“Do you mean it?” Wyn asked in a low voice.
“Yes.” I bit him again, and he grunted, rolling his hips. His hard length pressed into my stomach. I licked the same place I’d assaulted twice to soothe any pain I might have caused. “I mean every word. And next time, we shall discuss what we both want and our permissions, so I might please you.”
Wyn ducked his head. “I would like that.”
I kissed his cheek. I would very much enjoy pleasing Wyn for the rest of his life, but for now, we had to pause.
I let him go, and he slid down my body, remaining pressed against me.
We were both hard and not eager to separate.
I hooked an arm around his waist to hold him securely to me while I retrieved my touchstone from my pocket.
“Talvax,” I said.
A moment later, her voice resounded in my ear, “Finally. Why didn’t you answer the first time?”
I could hardly tell her I’d been kissing my Wyn senseless for the first time. I slid my hand down his arm, and he shivered. I replied, “I was unavailable.”
The pause was palpable. Talvax might be my friend, but she was also my commanding officer—I’d broken protocols by ignoring her.
“We will discuss this later,” was all she said. “Return to the ship.”
“Understood.” I shoved my touchstone back into my pocket, then cupped my soul’s chin. “I must return. Do you wish to come with me?” I might want to drag Wyn with me, so he was utterly safe, but that was foolish. I wouldn’t force him to do something he didn’t wish for.
“I need to find Urgg and Seth.”
I brushed his jaw, and a tremor went through him. Unable to stop myself, I bent and pressed a chaste kiss to his lips. “May I see you later?”
“Yes,” he squeaked.
Wyn had attacked me only moments ago, and now he was being shy? I loved the odd contradiction of him. I gave him one last kiss before walking away.
I sagged back against the tree, sliding to the loose sand because my knees could no longer support my weight.
Finger on my lips, I watched Monqilcolnen walk away from me.
I traced the sway of his hair, and how his muscles moved.
He was so graceful, and just moments ago, I’d been able to touch him, feel him.
What just happened? Did I regret it?
My soul pounded the second he was out of my sight, and an instinct flooded me to chase Monqilcolnen so he would never be out of my sight again.
No, I didn’t regret it, but I fear I’d condemned us both to pain and possibly death if I allowed this to go too far.