Chapter 8 #2
A break, I needed at least eight hours of solid sleep to recover from all that.
And I needed to wash up but I was pretty sure he wasn’t going to let me.
“Can I?” I pointed at the barrel of water he kept next to the bed.
Because a girl had to try, and to my relief he rose to get a wet rag, and as he did so, he flicked the basket off Kiwi and freed the miniature dragon.
Kiwi was like an angry kitten, hackles raised, wings spread.
He hissed at Krashe’s tail but he didn’t attack, just watched the Warlord move around his home full of suspicion.
Then Krashe pulled the lid of some ceramic jar and dropped several strips of dried meat on the floor and Kiwi forgot all about his hostility, diving into the treats with fervor.
I was smiling at the Warlord when he came back to my side and gently started to clean me up between my legs.
He’d fed Kiwi without me asking like he already knew the tiny dragon was going to be sticking around if it were up to me.
He cleaned my folds gently but he left the drying seed on my belly.
That was better than nothing so I didn’t complain.
When he turned around to clean his still rigid cock by the barrel, I worked to pull my pants and underwear back on.
I was now missing my shirt, but at least he’d taken me seriously when I warned him not to destroy my bra.
That was my most comfiest, best bra, and it was also my only bra right now.
That thing was sacred at this point, nobody got to touch it on pain of death.
I knew that it was going to go without saying, that Krashe was sliding back into the furs with me when he was clean.
I hoped he understood that I was worn down to nothing at this point, exhaustion had me firmly in its claws.
I settled under the furs, my belly still a little sticky, but the sweet scent of caramel continued to be pleasant, tempting even.
Then I settled my eyes on the Naga male, watching him as he finished washing himself.
He looked lost in thought, but it was still sensual to see him run a wet cloth over his flesh, leaving his scales glistening in the light of the lamp.
When he finished, his eyes flicked to mine and the corner of his lips quirked up.
I knew he knew I’d been watching, but I refused to feel embarrassed about that.
After what we’d just done together, I shouldn’t feel awkward when he lifted the furs and curled his body around mine.
I did though; I had never been intimate with anyone before.
And since my accident, I hadn’t cuddled like this with anyone, what would he think of my limp legs? Would it bother him?
Krashe just gathered me to his chest, tucking his chin over my head while handily avoiding jabbing me with the horn jutting like a goatee from it.
His body coiled around mine, not too tight, not too heavy, but some of his loops had to have gone around my legs, and I couldn’t feel that.
What I did know was that I was warm, and even my always cold feet would be warm tonight.
Then Kiwi made his chirp kee kee noises and leaped onto the edge of the round bed.
I could see his velvety brown eyes glimmer intelligently at me from his slightly elevated position.
Krashe groaned against my hair, “Don’t tell me the Sleara is sleeping in my nest too…
” But he didn’t move or protest any further when Kiwi jumped onto his shoulder and then onto the furs just above our heads.
When the tiny dragon did that little curl walk before settling down next to us, Krashe just sighed and did the same.
That’s when I realized I could actually really, really like this guy.
Maybe I really was his mate, maybe that meant that he was exactly what I liked and needed in a man.
I just knew that he was actually kind when it came to Kiwi, and he seemed very into giving me pleasure.
As much as he’d been into watching my face while he masturbated.
I groaned internally. Stop thinking about how sexy that was.
Sleep was what I needed if I wanted to be fit tomorrow.
Turned out it wasn’t hard to fall asleep in Krashe’s arms. I did trust him to keep me safe, to protect me.
Had he chosen me over his Clan? That question was still spinning through my mind when I woke up much later.
My stomach rumbled, my bladder was ready to explode, and I was really warm and sticky.
Also, Krashe was nowhere to be found. I only had to look around the small, lit room to know that it was empty of my host. The fire was roaring in the hearth, however, which was probably why I was feeling so warm.
There were also at least three furs piled on top of me, but when I shoved those away, I realized I wasn’t sticky from sweat.
On my front, his seed had dried into a nice Rorschach test of white splatters and smears.
But my back was doused with a new load while I’d been asleep.
It was fresh, because it was still wet, perfuming the air with more of that mouthwatering caramel popcorn scent.
I was struck with the insane urge to reach out and bring some of that seed to my mouth for a taste, it smelled that good.
Annoyed that he’d done that while I was sleeping, I was reaching for a wet rag dangling from the edge of the barrel before I could think it through.
Rubbing my skin clean along my back and front with furious motions.
“Chirp kee kee?” Kiwi asked me inquisitively.
He was perched by the edge of the hearth, his wings spread as if he was basking in the heat of the fire.
His green snout was angled my way, watching avidly what I was doing.
I smiled, relieved that the small animal was still there.
I had spent a lot of time alone at home, with only books or the internet for company.
I was happy to have him here when Krashe wasn’t, and I knew how silly I was for craving the strange Naga’s companionship when most of our interactions were in snarls and growls.
I flashed back to how he pleasured me with his fingers and mouth last night and instantly felt a rush of wetness between my legs.
Damn it, no, that’s not why I wanted him to come back here.
I just didn’t feel safe without him but really I needed to man up and make sure I could take care of myself.
I washed between my legs to be sure and then tossed the rag I’d used into the fire so it couldn’t leave any scent lingering in the air. With the blaze going, I wouldn’t be cold in just my bra and pants, but I still resolved to make a shirt for myself somehow.
As I gazed around the room for a way to relieve myself, feed myself, and locate supplies, I noticed some drastic changes.
Almost all of Krashe’s scrolls, books, and papers had disappeared from the bookshelves.
His workbench still had a box with tools, but all his projects were gone.
When I glanced at the fire, I realized some of those wooden craft pieces were burning to cinders. Why would he do that?
There was also a plate with flatbread and jerky on the workbench, a basket covering it to keep Kiwi out.
I liked that he had put it on a surface far away from the nest, like he had faith that I could reach it there without his help.
I climbed from the nest with purpose, used a bucket near the door to relieve myself, and then I headed for the food.
Not much later I was sitting on some furs in front of the fire while I worked to punch holes in a fur with a bone awl.
I’d already cut the fur into the right shape with one of Krashe’s knives, and made long ribbons from the leftovers so I could sew the fur together into the basic shape of tunic.
I was no seamstress, but I was finding the project soothing to my tense nerves.
It felt good to at least be busy with something.
Kiwi also liked this project, so much so, that I’d had to sacrifice one of the ribbons so he could play with it.
Currently, he was sleeping off his ‘successful’ hunt, lying on his side against my hip, the strip of leather and fur tangled with his paws after he’d chased it around the room for an hour.
It felt like I’d had Kiwi at my side for years already, and while he looked much like a dragon, but tiny, his behavior was pretty dog-like most of the time.
Once the shirt was done, I wanted to take another crack at trying to decipher the datapads or the scrolls Krashe kept.
Since the scrolls were gone, that left the datapads and I quickly located the fire poker so I could lift the large flagstone out of place and get a good look.
It wasn’t as difficult as yesterday to lift the stone, a good sign that I was much more rested.
I felt better, not as scared or stressed, and I realized I really had done the unthinkable, I’d gone and trusted Krashe to keep me safe.
I was just pulling the small chest from the hole when noises filtered through the walls that made goosebumps rise all over my flesh.
Hissing voices, dozens of them, and they sounded loud and angry.
Krashe’s home was pretty well-insulated with thick wood and clay walls that kept out sound surprisingly well.
Which meant that these voices were coming from right outside the door.
I didn’t need to be touching Krashe to know the general meaning of their words either. They sounded angry, furious, like an angry mob with pitchforks and everything. They had discovered that I wasn’t dead, that Krashe was hiding me here, in his home.
When I heard the noise of a door opening, I knew it was all over.