Chapter Five
Meeda stretched in her own bed. She sat up and reached for the pillow next to hers, and it was warm. Akervel came in with coffee and some of the island pastries on a tray. She settled against the headboard and flexed her hands.
“Good morning, Meeda. Feeling better?”
“Yes. Thank you.” She chuckled. “Mia slept with the baker. Again.”
He settled near her legs. “How do you know?”
“The pastries are still warm, and it’s five thirty in the morning. There is only one way that would happen.”
“So she trades herself for pastries?”
Meeda laughed. “No. Consider this applause for her efforts.”
Akervel took a bite of one. “Oh, wow. She’s impressive.”
“Yeah. And she won’t teach me anything. She says it comes with time, and then she giggles.”
Akervel grinned and took one of the coffees. “What’s on your agenda today?”
“Um, going to talk to Ahheel about the current trends in swimwear, and then I am going to talk to Serin about a recording studio for Harper.”
“May I come with you?”
“Sure. After breakfast. The shop and the tourism bureau don’t open until nine.”
He grinned. “So we have a few hours.”
“We do. Keep eating the pastries. We can’t let Mia’s efforts go to waste.” She sipped the coffee and grinned.
He chuckled. “After breakfast, would you like to take a swim?”
The shark struck her side and carried her into the depths. She blinked rapidly and shuddered.
“I will be with you. I will keep the predators away.” He put his hand on hers.
She swallowed. “I am working on it.”
“I will be with you while you do.” His expression was serious. “We can surface at any time.”
“Uh-huh. I will try.”
“I am going with the getting back on the horse that threw you theory.”
“Fine, but I am going to be using a fatal stun this time. Anything that bites me dies.”
He paused. “Are you hungry?”
She nibbled on her lip. “Yes.”
He laughed. “Why didn’t you ask?”
“It gets a little old, constantly begging for help. It will just be a lot of strain to use the wings.” She looked at him with what she hoped was a flirty expression. “I don’t suppose you will trade blood for cuddling?”
“Oh, I will definitely trade blood for cuddling, but first, you need breakfast.”
She grinned. “Deal.”
“But the cuddling has to be naked.”
She coughed around a pastry. She looked at his grin. “Deal. Why did I pick a morning person?”
He laughed and toasted her with the coffee mug. “I am curious to find out if you can taste what I am consuming through my blood.”
“Why don’t you ask a pixie?”
He grinned. “I have never wanted to snuggle with a pixie until now.”
She paused and giggled. “Having seen the ones remaining, I can understand that.”
Pixies were invariably flying thugs with charming manners.
She finished her pastries while he finished his, and when the last of her coffee was gone, he set the tray on a nearby table and returned to her, discarding his wrap with a grin.
“Is one of us naked okay?”
“Nope. Both must be naked for the rules to be accurate.”
She lowered the sheet. “There are rules for this?”
“Absolutely. Unless you are in dire and immediate need, it should always be naked.”
Meeda snorted, and as he settled back on the bed with his head against the headboard, she moved over him, going around the erection until she was draped over him with her mouth near his neck. She murmured, “Unless you have somewhere else for me to sink my teeth.”
He chuckled. “Perhaps later.”
She smiled and held his neck with one hand and his shoulder with the other. She brushed her lips against the black of his skin and looked for a vein. Bulky alphas were great for obvious veins.
She found a likely candidate and licked at his skin, causing his pulse to pick up and the vein to rise.
When that was accomplished, she let her fangs descend and sank them into his neck.
His muscles flexed, and he wrapped his arms around her.
His voice vibrated through her. “Drink until you are satisfied.”
She hummed and let the energy and lifeblood rush through her. As she drank, he stroked her back down to her thighs and back, and when she had what she needed, she continued to what she wanted.
A heavy pulse moved through her, and she held tight to him, her body slowly moving against his, as if she was swimming through heavy reeds. She was rubbing his erection with every twist and heard him panting and felt slickness against her belly.
Feeling full wasn’t something she was used to, but when she finally reached it, a climax ripped through her. She whined as she shuddered, but she remembered to lick the wound closed as her body pulsed happily.
She pressed her forehead to an unbitten part of his shoulder, and he stroked her slippery back. “That was unexpected,” she whispered.
He murmured, “It doesn’t happen often?”
“Ever. This is the first time I took what I wanted, not just what I needed.”
Akervel sighed happily. “I am very glad that I was what you wanted.”
She blushed and looked up at him. “I didn’t take too much?”
“I am fine.” He stroked her hair.
She noticed that her belly was wetter than elsewhere. She blushed harder. “Oh.”
“Yes. Your body seduced me thoroughly.”
She pressed her head to his shoulder. “Embarrassing.”
“To be honest, I was on the edge, but when you started moving on reflex, it was all over.”
“I didn’t know that was a reflex.”
“We both learned something this morning.” He smiled.
It was becoming easier to make out his expressions on his matte-black skin. Her vision was getting better, but that was probably a side effect of his blood.
She looked at him and levered up on her arms, kissing him softly and then with increasing hunger.
When he tasted her, she shivered, and his hands widened her thighs, and with a drop, she was settled across his hips with his erection pressing against the slick evidence of her earlier pleasure and his.
He cupped her jaw and lifted his head. “Do you want to continue?”
She nodded slowly. “Yes, but I can’t have you on top of me for a while.”
Something flickered in his gaze. “That’s an acceptable goal. I am big enough to wrap around you, so may I readjust our postures?”
She nodded, and he carefully lifted her off him, turned her on her side away from him, and then one of his tentacles lifted her thigh upward.
His erection nudged into the open space, and then his arms were under and around her, turning her head for a kiss while hands and tentacles skated along her skin.
Her nipples were teased, breasts were squeezed, belly was stroked, and kisses kept the heat rising in her body.
When a touch skidded along her sex, she welcomed it.
She was amused when the first thing inside her was a tentacle.
When it thickened inside her, she whined, and as it started sliding in and out of her, she panted heavily.
Their kiss broke, he pressed his forehead to hers as another touch on her clit brought her to the edge, then the slick heat and shivering became everything, and a hard thrust from the tentacle met with suction from another made her moan as her body clasped it slowly.
He exhaled slowly, raggedly, and then shifted their positions, and the tentacle was out, and his erection was sliding in.
She was twisted toward him, her shoulders resting on one arm, her waist twisted, and thigh supported so he could move into her. He smiled, and his hips moved, and she stopped thinking about the contortions as he leaned down to kiss her while holding her hand to the mattress.
He thrust in, his tentacles holding them together, and then he withdrew with agonizing slowness. Their kiss continued and got more ferocious as Akervel’s hips moved with more power. Her free hand reached out and gripped his hip, feeling the scales under her palm.
She started laughing and looked at the long black tail in her bed, and as her fingers stroked the scales, legs took the tail’s place, and he shifted closer to her, rocking into her with long strokes while the clever tentacle rubbed her clit again.
She arched into him, he thrust deeper, and she felt his erection widening inside her. He kissed her and groaned, pushing hard and holding himself there while the tentacle whirled around her clit until she shuddered and sucked in air in surprise.
Meeda held his head and kissed him softly. “That was... different.”
He chuckled. “I didn’t think you would notice the tail. I needed to slow myself down.”
She snickered. “It was hard to miss, and I am glad. I liked being close.”
He paused, sobered, and said, “Meeda, will you be mine forever and as long as we both will live?”
She looked up at him and stroked his cheek. “Yes, Akervel. Best offer I have had all week.”
He laughed. “What were your other offers?”
“Well, not this week, but I was offered a blood buddy when I needed it. Nothing kinky, just me drinking from him and him holding me.”
“Some would consider blood play very kinky.”
She grinned at him. “You went fins and scales while inside me, and you are sneering at blood play? Wow. High standards.”
He smiled. “I mean, knowing that that was where your association began and ended, it would be a strange long-term link.”
She grinned. “Your knot just came loose.”
He chuckled. “I know. We are having a nice chat.”
“While pinning me to the mattress?” She grinned.
Suddenly, there was a “Whoa!” from the doorway.
Meeda smiled but didn’t look. “Hi, Mia.”
There was laughter in the voice that said, “Vine is out for breakfast when you two uncouple.”
Akervel stroked her hair from her face. “We are negotiating.”
Mia called out, “I know who’s winning.”
Meeda chuckled. “You know you are now going to get a sister and a whole bunch of strange friends with me?”
“I know. But your group is linked with mine, so that makes socializing easy. Now, who was this alpha who wanted to be your pet?”
“Oh, Kazuya’s assistant. Mao. He’s a—”
“Japanese oni alpha. I know him.” Akervel was grim. “He held you?”
“Yeah, but he gets a lot of female attention, so it didn’t mean much.”
“To him. I am guessing it meant a lot to you.”
She cupped his jaw in both hands. “Not anymore.”