Chapter 33
Scarlet
When she was younger, Scarlet’s mom would spend hours fussing over her clothes.
Even if Scarlet was just going to school, she had to be dressed like modeling scouts might be taking a walk down the halls of Easton Elementary at any moment.
She wore makeup before she had her first acne breakout, had a training bra before she had anything to train, and had shoes for each outfit.
It had been exhausting. Scarlet had just wanted to put on a pair of shoes and pants and go play with the other kids. She wanted a chance to jump in puddles and play on the playground and not have to worry about being in trouble because she scuffed her shoes or stained her shirt.
Dressing up for pageants was even worse.
The hair, the makeup, the heavy gowns, the hot lights.
It stole any possible fun from even the idea of playing dress up.
When prom came around in high school, Scarlet simply couldn’t be as excited as her friends at the chance to dress up all fancy for a night.
She thought it was something that would be lost to her forever.
But as she sat back and watched Havali carefully search through her selection of outfits, she didn’t feel any of that old weariness or displeasure.
Instead, there was only anticipation.
She wanted to see how Havali liked her to look. She wanted to wear something he had picked and know that he was enjoying the sight. Like that warmth feeling when she felt his approval over her obedience, she wanted to bask in his attention over her appearance.
And part of her wanted to know how well he knew her.
It was wrong to consider this a test, she knew that. But she still waited, not saying a word or even giving a hint to her preferences, as she watched him carefully make his choices.
Would he put her in skimpy clothes? And did that mean he thought of her as slut?
Would he dress her conservatively? And did that mean he was possessive and jealous over the thought of other males, even just Atem and Tuvo, seeing her?
Did he know she preferred pants over skirts?
Did he know that she preferred loose collars?
It was an unfair test, but she still felt like a great deal would be revealed to her in just the choices he would make now.
What he finally came up with was not what she expected.
After examining each of his choices carefully, he selected a long, black skirt with a dark red overskirt that opened just off center at the front, curling back like the petals of a flower as it fell to the ground, both kept in place by a golden belt.
The top he chose was a body suit, black and skintight, with a deep V at the neck, and cold shoulder style sleeves.
He paired it with golden sandals and golden jewelry that he laid out alongside the options.
“It’s considered proper to dress up,” he said, gently straightening the golden bangles that would drape over her wrist.
Scarlet stood and approached him, looking at the outfit.
It was neither slutty nor conservative. It was black, a color that most domini avoided since black was the hardest color to match and the most likely to cause color fatigue.
If they even could create a true black with their skin.
Most couldn’t. The pop of gold kept it from being too gothic, however.
Considering that Havali always wore bright colors, all the dark ones he picked now were surprising.
“Why this one?” She asked, looking at it with a cocked head.
“You look beautiful in black,” he answered, running his fingers through her hair.
“This is simple, elegant, and easy to move in. And the skirt being separate means that I can take one off but leave the other on and fuck you half dressed. I think I’d really enjoy cutting the body suit and seeing your skin flash through the holes as it struggles to hold onto you. ”
Black was also the color of his eyes, she realized. He was coordinating their colors, just like the others said he would. Did he know he was doing it?
Of course, he did. Havali planned things too carefully for that not to be intentional.
Scarlet laughed as she turned, putting her arms around his neck. “Okay.”
“Okay?” He repeated, holding her waist.
“I’ll wear it.”
“I didn’t realize you thought you had a choice,” he growled, leaning over her.
Teasing her lips with the barest brush of his own.
“You’re wearing that. You’re going to show everyone just how beautiful my female is.
Make them pant and whimper after you but know that they can’t ever touch you.
Because at the end of the night, I’ll be the one lifting that skirt, cutting a hole in that body suit, and fucking that little cunt until you’re broken and begging me to stop. ”
“Why wait?”
The words slipped past her mouth without thought, but she didn’t try to take them back.
Havali’s eyes darkened a second before he grabbed her by the neck and turned, pressing her against the wall. Not holding her hard enough to choke, but just hard enough that she had to push herself up on her toes to avoid it.
The strain made her shake. His strength made her shiver. In contrast, the tender kiss he placed to the corner of her mouth was so sweet it was almost painful.
“I like you in my clothes,” he said, running his free hand down her belly until he could run his knuckles over her pussy lips, teasing her. “Around me, you should wear only that or nothing at all.”
“Havali, please…”
“Please, what, Healer?”
“I need… Please…”
“Need what?” He asked, false innocence lacing his tone alongside amusement. “What can I do for you?”
“Touch me.”
“I am touching you.”
“Deeper. Please. Don’t tease.”
“Ah, you’re so pretty when you’re desperate and yearning though.” He chuckled. But he ended her torment, turning his hand so he could thrust his fingers inside.
Scarlet’s hips jerked against his palm as he began to work his fingers in and out. Doing so made a wet sound that mortified her to hear. That was her own body’s wetness. She reacted to the way he teased her so readily.
The bite of embarrassment only made it better. A sharp edge to her arousal that heightened the experience and her own reaction to it.
“We still have another mark until our shuttle gets here,” he said, whispering right in her ear so the growl tingled along her neck and back.
“What can I do to do you for a whole mark? Maybe I’ll keep you on edge the entire time.
Maybe I’ll lick you until you lose your voice.
Ah. I know. Maybe I’ll fill your belly with my pup. ”
Scarlet gasped, her body jerking against him.
He hummed thoughtfully. “Do you want that, Healer? You want my pup?”
Her immediate response was that he hadn’t claimed her as his mate.
But then she remembered that he had already conceived a child with another female – a boy that he didn’t even get to claim as his own. And that knowledge filled her with bitter jealousy and a righteous sense of unfairness that she should definitely help him rectify.
But then she remembered that she was protected against such things.
She had turned off her cycle so she wouldn’t have to worry about it.
Not just from a relationship standpoint, but out of sheer convenience so she wouldn’t have to bleed every few tendays.
Periods were obnoxious on Earth – they were worse out in the universe when they were an ailment only humans suffered from.
And that reminder to herself, that she couldn’t get pregnant, made her conflicted.
On one end, she wasn’t ready to be a mom yet.
She especially didn’t want to be a mother of a child that, by domini standards, didn’t have a father because males only claimed pups of their mate – regardless of who sired them and regardless of if he already sired more on another female.
But she couldn’t deny that part of her was disappointed. She wanted more from Havali. She wanted everything, and he wasn’t giving it to her.
He was bound by his own biology. It didn’t matter how much he wanted her. If she hadn’t set off his mating instincts on first sight, she wouldn’t and that was the end of the discussion.
It was cosmically unfair. To have a male before her who she trusted, who cared for her sexually in ways she didn’t even realize she wanted, and to know he wasn’t hers.
“Where did you go, Healer?” He asked, bringing her back to herself.
His fingers had stopped moving inside her, and he was giving her a concerned look.
“Do you need to use your word?” He asked. So kind. So understanding.
So unfair.
“I need you, Havali,” she said, reaching for him. Once again, not referring to him physically.
“Ah, my sweet female,” he crooned, pulling his fingers free so he could pick her up. “Did I tease you too far? Or are you just needy right now?”
“Needy,” she admitted, embarrassed but enjoying it. She kissed his neck. “I need you. Please. Give me everything.”
“Always, Healer. You only need ask.”
“Let me taste you?”
He stopped before her bed, casting his eyes down in confusion. “Taste me? What do you mean?”
It took Scarlet a second to realize he genuinely didn’t know what she was talking about. She started laughing, unable to help herself.
The domini had sharp fangs. And because of that, blowjobs weren’t a thing. A female might lick at her male, but it did very little for him. Nothing compared to actual sex.
But humans didn’t have that worry, and Scarlet was suddenly eager to give him this. As though she wanted to prove herself. Prove what a superior mate she could be.
Pathetic. Humiliating. Titillating.
She wiggled until Havali set her on the bed. She ordered him to undress, then she gestured for him to climb in after her and lay down. He did so, grinning.
“Nesting so soon, female? Have I seeded you already?”