Chapter 6
CHAPTER SIX
The longer I spent with these Dragonkin, the worse my hormones behaved.
Preston taught me a few fighting moves and every time his hands were on my body, I couldn’t help the instant lust that built.
I’d taken three cold showers in two days and it wasn’t helping.
“What are you up to?” Zeke asked when he spotted me skulking down the aisle, pouting at my inability to even bring myself to climax.
“Nothing,” I admitted. “Just walking around.”
“Want to go on our date?” he asked.
His eyes were bright and yet vulnerable.
“Okay,” I agreed. He was the first one to ask me.
“Did you decide what you wanted to do?”
I nodded. “I want you to teach me how to cook something.”
His eyes widened momentarily before he smiled. I never thought seeing a huge Dragonkin – who could crush my head in one hand – smile would be quite so alluring. “Okay. Meet me in the kitchen in ten?”
“Sure.”
He walked away and I swore there was more pep in his step than earlier, but that was likely my imagination.
I didn’t really need to go to my room for anything, so instead, I headed to the kitchen.
Wayne and I almost ran into each other as I entered at the same time he was exiting. He backed up a step and smiled. “Sorry. I didn’t hear you.”
“Sorry,” I apologized back. “Um.” I stepped out of his way and let him walk out.
“I’m going to get your hammock set up,” he said as he walked backwards out of the kitchen. “I just wanted to bring a snack with me while I did it. Do … do you want to come with me?”
“Sorry, but Zeke asked to do our date now.” For some reason I was embarrassed and ashamed to leave him to build the hammock for me. “You don’t have to do the hammock right now, I can—”
“It’s okay,” Wayne said quickly. “I’ll get it done tonight so you can use it tomorrow. Um, speaking of tomorrow. If you’re already doing the dates with us, can we do ours tomorrow?”
They moved fast, alright. “Sure.”
“Do you know what you want to do?” he asked.
“Actually, let me think about it a little bit, if that’s okay? I’ll let you know at breakfast tomorrow so you can plan accordingly.”
He smiled and nodded. “Okay. Have fun on your date with Zeke.” Spinning around, he walked away, headed towards the jungle room.
“What was that about?” Zeke asked as he walked into the kitchen.
“Oh, he is putting a hammock up for me and I told him I couldn’t come because of our date and then he asked me on one tomorrow.
” If they wanted me to be open and honest with them all, I would be.
Hopefully, the more open and honest I was about what we did together, the quicker they’d tell me I didn’t need to tell them anything anymore.
“You know what you’re doing on your date with him?” Zeke asked as he walked to the sink and washed his hands.
“I’ve got ideas for each of you,” I admitted. “But I’m not one hundred percent settled on the others yet.”
Zeke waved me over. “Come wash your hands. Cleanliness is very important when making food.”
I obeyed, walking over to take his place at the sink. I thought he’d move once I came over, but he hovered next to me, his huge body like a wall. And yet, I felt no fear being so close to such a large creature, man, dragon, Dragonkin.
“Are you sure you’ve not been around other Dragonkin before?” Zeke asked softly.
After drying my hands on the towel he offered, I stepped back so I wouldn’t have to tilt my head so far back to look up at him. “What?” I asked.
His cheeks gained a slight pink tint across their tops and he walked over to the cupboard. “Nothing.”
What in the galaxies could he be thinking about that caused him to blush? Now I was super curious. So, so curious.
“What are we going to make?” I asked instead of commenting on it.
These dates would be the perfect times to get to know each of the four a bit better.
To find out if they really were as good as they claimed and seemed.
Having them separated from one another, alone time, would allow me to better find any weaknesses or lies, to try to get them to mess up and say something different than the others.
Maybe, just maybe, I could get one of them to admit what they were searching for.
“Since this is your first time cooking, I wanted to go with something easy.” He pulled out a few items from the cupboard and set them on the large island in the center of the kitchen. “And I wanted to share one of my favorite recipes with you.”
Looking down at the items on the counter, I frowned, not sure what it was he had planned. Marinara sauce, some weird bread in a bag, a couple cans of vegetables I’d never heard of, and he was going to get more things from the freezer.
“What’s it called?” I asked and tried to look around him to see what else he was grabbing.
“Pizza,” he answered. “Well, a flatbread version anyway.”
“I’ve heard of that!” I said, my eyes wide in excitement. “I met an Earth lady once and she raved about it. I’ve been wanting to try it ever since she mentioned it, but no one knew how to make it or what ingredients to use.” Every planet I’d gone to, I had asked and searched to no avail.
“We were on Earth for a few weeks and learned how to make it from one of the locals. He even showed us this alternate version which is easier to get ingredients for while traveling.”
That was one downside to traveling around by spaceship a lot, your fresh food options were much more limited. The replicators made good food, but actual, fresh food was so much better. It was also a ton more expensive and something I rarely had the option to experience.
“What do we do first?” Stepping right up to the island, I waited for him to give me instructions. I was even more excited about this date now than I had been before.
“Get the oven preheated to three hundred seventy-five degrees,” he instructed.
The oven they had was thankfully easy to use and with a few buttons I had it preheating.
He took out a tray and put foil on it, then put five of the round bread things … flatbread, on it. “Use the spoon, it’s next to the marinara, and put one spoonful of the marinara on top of each flatbread.”
“If you guys aren’t siblings, how did you come to be a group?” I asked as I followed his orders.
“We were all born on the same day,” he said. “Our parents were friends, too, so we spent most of our childhood together as well.”
“So, you guys get to decide who is in your group before you start your search for a mate that you’ll share?
” I asked. “It’s not assigned?” There were some creatures who were put into assigned duets to find a mate.
I’d heard that those races were deciding whether to abolish the practice since it had resulted in issues where jealousy caused them to attack each other and more frequent deaths was not helping them rebuild their population.
“We chose to be in a group together,” he answered. “Though, I guess it might have been a little bit chosen for us by our parents keeping us close together through our adolescence and our shared status.”
“Why stay in groups when you could travel across the galaxies to find any female of a different species to mate with? Aren’t you diminishing your chances of success?” There couldn’t have been that many females who would willingly mate with a group of males instead of a single one, could there?
“That’s part of what all Dragonkin are in search of,” he said.
“The one who fits our group and wouldn’t seek to split us up.
Our group is different, though we’re looking for our …
” He stopped talking, a deep frown on his face as he realized he’d been about to give me more information.
Turning away, he opened a bag of frozen, shredded cheese. “Put this on all the pizzas.”
Dammit, I had been so close to getting more information.
“Do you have any booze on this ship?” I asked. “A drink always makes dates better.”
He quickly turned towards the fridge. “Been on many dates?” he asked as he moved things around inside, searching for what I’d requested.
I laughed and shook my head. “No. I’ve actually only been on two and they were both boring.” Though, they had ended with me getting laid, which had been the entire point of them, so at least successful.
Zeke returned with two brown bottles and twisted the caps off before handing me one. With a soft smile he said, “Well, let’s hope third time’s a charm.”
I clinked my bottle against his and returned the smile. “I’ll drink to that.” I took a tentative sip and immediately a large gulp. “I don’t know what this is, but it’s delicious.”
“It’s called a seltzer, these ones are strawberry,” Zeke answered. “It’s one of my favorite drinks.”
“Are you sure there’s alcohol in this?” It didn’t have the usual bite I associated with alcoholic drinks. Looking down inside, I gave it a sniff, but still didn’t get any hints of alcohol.
He laughed softly. “Yes, I am sure. Now, let’s continue making our pizzas.”
We added a few more toppings and he added even more to a few of them. “We aren’t certain what you’ll like, so I thought it would be better to make a few kinds for you to taste.”
The giant Dragonkin was incredibly thoughtful.
“How about another round while we wait for the pizza?” I asked as I shook my empty bottle. The first drink had me feeling a little tipsy, but definitely not drunk, so I was fairly certain I could drink another.
“Okay,” he said and grabbed two more.
We stood in silence for a bit before he broke it.
“How old were you when you left your planet?”
“Ten,” I answered. “My parents heard rumors of the Exostalons planning an attack and sent me away in secret. Not even a week later, the planet was destroyed.” My life along with it.
Absentmindedly, I reached up and played with my necklace through my shirt. Zeke noticed, but said nothing, turning slightly away to take another drink.
“I’m surprised you weren’t betrothed already,” he said. “Most royals on other planets sell their daughters off as political pawns once they hit ten years of age.”
“Actually, that’s what started the war,” I admitted.
“What?”