Chapter Nine
Delaney
What the hell is that smell?
Delaney sat up and blinked. The scent of burning food rushed to greet her as she came to.
Right, Maelic had dried her off and carried her back to her bedroom like a princess or something. Brushing her hair and dressing her in fluffy pajamas. She flushed, shaking her head.
The memory of last night hit her like a truck. How gentle he’d been. How she’d completely fallen apart in his arms.
Her chest squeezed.
Nope. Too much. Way too fast.
She’d let him see her at her absolute lowest—crying in a bathtub while he washed her fucking hair like she was something precious.
Not thinking about it. Not going there.
She took a deep breath and got out of bed.
She wondered what the hell was going on, quickly bounding down the stairs to something she never expected.
There in the living room sat the ugliest “Christmas” tree she had ever seen in her life. She kept her focus on the ugly part, not the idea of Maelic dragging it inside while she slept or the fact he had thought to do so at all. Her throat felt thick and she took a steadying breath.
Wait, was that my grandma’s jewelry hung up on it?
Delaney did a double take. It was just sitting against the wall, no stand or anything? It was also covered in various things, like kitchen utensils. She heard a clatter from the kitchen and stumbled towards it.
She was greeted to the sight of Maelic growling as he pulled something off the burner—it was flaming.
“Bro, what the fuck!” She darted forward, snagging up the bag of flour off the counter, pouring it on the flaming mess. Both of them were covered in the white dust.
Maelic looked crestfallen and more than a little awkward.
“Were you trying to burn the rest of my farm down?”
The miserable look on his face while the dignified man was covered in flour and wearing her Grandpa’s Kiss the Cook apron? She couldn’t bring herself to be mad. She burst into laughter.
“I see… Trying to recreate your food was much more difficult than anticipated.”
“Oh.” She tried to hold the laughter down, but only managed to just nod. “It seems to be so.”
“Have you ever cooked before?”
“Well, I haven’t ever truly had cause to learn,” he admitted sheepishly. “I have been living off my home planet for a long time. I almost exclusively live on slab bars.”
“Oh… Are those like protein bars?” Delaney’s brow quirked. It didn’t sound appetizing.
“No, they are what Collector Plates produce. Those are machines on most spacecraft. They turn stored energy into edible, nutritionally dense food bars.” He considered. “On ports, I do eat at tavs and such.”
“Are tavs like restaurants?” She blinked. It was all so very crazy to her that he really was an alien. She was struck by it all over again.
He considered, the word seeming to translate oddly if she had to guess by the look on his face.
“Oh! Yes, I suppose. I think the word would be more like your bars.”
She chuckled. “Oh, are you much of a party guy?”
Maelic shook his head. “No, I mainly attend reconnaissance for my… work at these places.”
She snapped her fingers. “Right! You said you were an Axiom?” she said, remembering the term.
Maelic gave her a sheepish look. “Yes. It is like a bounty hunter job. I am employed by the Galactic Alliance.”
“Oh wow, so not exactly a space cop?”
Maelic laughed and she startled. The sound was rich and velvety. “No. Not like a cop. I do things that your police would likely consider to be… dirty work.”
Her eyes widened. How did he suddenly get more attractive?
She looked him up and down. He was still in the Christmas sweater from yesterday. Also Grandpa’s jeans. She didn’t think those boxy things could look good on anyone, but she was wrong.
“We should probably shower. You said that it is communal on your home planet, right?”
Maelic’s skin flushed that interesting shade of gray again. She was delighted by it. Now that she wasn’t losing her shit, she felt like teasing him. He had the upper hand yesterday? But today, well, it was her turn.
“I… Well, that is bathing. I usually avoid getting my wings wet…”
“Now, now, that isn’t very fair is it? You have seen my birthday suit twice.”
“Is it your birthday?” he asked, his tone curious, and she blinked.
“What, no? My birthday is in May.” She shook her head. “But come on, let me wash you, big guy.”
Maelic was soaking the small room in his weird pheromone scent again. Delaney did her best to ignore it. She also tried tried to pretend her panties weren’t soaked either. His antennae shot straight up. She wondered what else might be going up.
“Come on, Mothman.” He frowned at the nickname. She hadn’t seen him so flustered before and it was awakening her sadistic side. She loved to tease others. Never in a cruel way, but the way that spoke of flirting.
His shoulders tensed but he gave a tiny shake of his head. “Fine.”
Delaney was so happy to have this distraction.
She stood by the shower, adjusting the water.
She was glad that the tub was large, one that they had built into the house to accommodate Grandma during the worst of her cancer treatments, when she needed more room and a place to sit while showering.
She shifted her attention back on Maelic, not wanting to think about that time anymore.
“Okay, strip,” she instructed. His wings were tight on his back and he was looking at her like she might be a large predator and he a bunny. As if!
“I did not take you for being the kind of female to be so rude to your guest.” He sniffed, and she laughed.
“Oh, is that so? How about I make it a little easier for you.”
She threw off her own clothes, enjoying the thrum of his rumbling chest and the scent of azalea clouding her mind in a pleasant way.
She was sure of the scent now, finally remembering why it had seemed so familiar.
Grandma used to grow them every spring. The sticky honey scent of them hit her nose the same way his pheromones did.
His eyes darkened as he stared at her, slipping his shirt off. She eyed his body with a not-so-subtle hunger in her own gaze.
“Very good job. Now, let’s lose the pants?” she teased, stepping into the water to give him a second if he truly needed it.
She could hear him unbuckling his jeans and her stomach flipped. What if he has a super freaky dick?
Wait, was she now considering actually… Well, taking him for a ride? Trying to focus on the hot water, she halfheartedly grabbed a bottle of shampoo.
She jumped a little as he opened the shower curtain and climbed in behind her. She set the bottle back and met his smoldering gaze. His wings pinned against his back as he stared down at her.
He leaned forward to whisper in her ear. “What’s wrong, little human? Why so quiet now?”
She swallowed and her eyes zoned in on the goods.
Now that was a big cock and—
Her eyes bulged out of her head as she took a second to process what she was seeing.
It was large. I mean the guy had to be like seven feet tall, so that wasn’t exactly shocking.
And while the shape was similar enough to a human man’s, it was the twirling line that wrapped around the head of it.
The ashy gray of it was definitely not a shade she had seen a human come in before.
It seemed to twitch and it… glowed? It was a pulsing light, very muted but yeah, it was DEFINITELY glowing a soft red.
Her hand was out and touching his no-no square before she could stop it. She gasped at the texture. It was a little more suede-like than the texture of humans would be, but that line was writhing under her fingers. Maelic groaned, his stomach twitching. She swallowed.
“Whoa… What is this?”
Maelic stiffened and blinked down at her. “This is… my cock, female.”
Delaney barked out a laugh. “Well, I think I worked out that much.” She squeezed that odd line of flesh, causing him to give another sound of pleasure. The vibration of his chest was becoming loud enough she had to raise her voice to be heard over it and the water. “I mean this thing?”
“It is my coremata.” He panted now.
“Oh, so humans don’t have those. What does it do?” She gave it another experimental squeeze and Maelic looked like he was about to bust a nut.
“I…” She realized he probably wouldn’t be able to tell her like this.
“Can I explore it? Does it hurt you?” she teased.
Maelic only nodded and when she didn’t move, he sputtered out, the word strangled. “Please.”
Delaney moved away from the water and used the sitting ledge they’d installed all those years ago as a place to kneel. With their height difference, she didn’t have to go down all that far, but shower sex of any kind was a hindrance, so why not be comfy?
Maelic pulled his wings out a bit to shield her face from being pelted by any stray water. Logically she knew that shutting off the damn water would have been the smart choice, money was an issue but the mood was set and she just couldn’t care. Not with all this in her face.
She moved her hand up and down. Maelic stiffened.
“Now, don’t spill,” she warned, voice low and taunting.
He growled at her but stayed perfectly still. Her laughter curled between them, dark and pleased. Delaney stuck out her tongue and dragged it slowly along the glowing line of his skin. He jerked forward, one hand catching the wall for balance.
“Oh wow, you really are a virgin, huh?” she teased, tracing her tongue along him again. His cock twitched under her breath. “What a pretty cock,” she murmured before taking that thick head into her mouth.
Delaney knew she was good at giving head—more than good—but this was uncharted territory. She didn’t usually go down on something as thick as a damn water bottle, especially one pulsing with that alien light. The best she could manage was sucking in the head, her tongue swirling into the slit.
Maelic sucked in a breath, his hand threading into her hair. The tug sent a sting of heat straight to her core.
“Astara!” he panted. “I’m close. Pull off. Now—”
She ignored him. Doubled down. Sucked harder.
His release hit her in a hot rush, lavender mixing with the familiar, human tang of salt.
Normally she was not a huge fan of swallowing, but he tasted delicious.
She swallowed what she could in long greedy suckles, a thin line of his seed slipping down her chin.
Maelic was lost to the pleasure—but Delaney understood what he had meant a heartbeat too late. The lines of his coremata suddenly blazed brighter, radiant bands racing from base to tip. Then they swelled, locking tight before she could pull free.
“Mmm—mhmm!” she tried around him, tugging uselessly. His hand tightened, holding her still.
“Relax… breathe,” he gasped. “I’m locked now. I’m sorry, but if you pull away now, you’ll hurt yourself.” Guilt creased his expression, even through the afterglow.
She blew a slow breath through her nose, eyes narrowing up at him. Oh, great—glow-in-the-dark knot. That’s new.
Still, she wasn’t really angry. She hadn’t listened, after all. And that “locking” thing had some interesting possibilities her body wasn’t exactly dismissing.
“It’ll pass soon,” he said, flustered. “I’ve never—this hasn’t happened before.
” His gaze darted around helplessly, like he could find a solution in the air.
Then his touch softened; his thumb moved in gentle circles along her temple.
“You are truly wondrous,” he murmured. “The Goddess must favor me.”
When she finally came loose, Delaney dropped back, laughing. Her jaw ached, her lips tingled, her heart was hammering. Everything about it was ridiculous, messy, and dangerously close to perfect.
Delaney leaned back against the wall of the shower, her shoulders sagging. This was just what she needed, a distraction.
Her Mothman was an excellent fling. Totally not anything more. Not at all.