CHAPTER 29
S’SAMPH
“I appreciate you and your patrols cooperating with us.” The IA human Yina stood across from his desk typing something into her datapad as she spoke.
S’samph sat with his tail coiled beneath him as he shifted uncomfortably in the office chair.
He’d never actually considered himself in a leadership position, but it was not disagreeable now that he was here.
K’kaen, Dzo, and a few new patrols from Indras were closing in on Myla and Minio’s location.
They had sent word ahead to Abwele to search for any vessels departing for Brasnia Prime.
“Will you be in Laurus much longer?” he asked.
“Only until our two prisoners are secured. Well, I suppose it’s rude to call them prisoners until they’ve been sentenced. I guess I mean fugitives.”
“I anticipate their capture by this afternoon.”
“Fantastic. No offense, but I definitely don’t want to be trapped here for your rainy season.
We’ve already stayed longer than I was hoping.
" Yina collapsed her datapad, a much newer model than what he owned, and then placed a palm flat on his worktable. “You should get moving. I can’t imagine healer in training Eleri would be thrilled if you got trapped in your office by the flooding. Go enjoy your time off. I’m going to confirm the details with my agent in Abwele and then pack their asses off to our penal colony on Brasnia’s Moon 6 until we can get them a trial slot. ”
S'samph’s tail swished with amusement as he stood to see her out of his office.
This human talked too much and had an odd sense of humor, but he appreciated her efforts in capturing those who had done harm to his mate.
It had only been standard five days since Eleri returned from the raviks’ settlement, but so many things had changed in such a short time.
Far too many things for him to feel comfortable with all the sudden upheaval.
K’kaen was keeping an eye on Eleri back at their newly shared nest. S’samph had convinced her of the urgency of joining him sooner rather than waiting until Aglao’s awakening.
S’kasia was planning to leave Laurus after the rains and have T’salya help her conduct a memorial for her eggs.
And now he was here, as head of security, the job he’d signed on for but avoided most of his time here.
No small part of him was grateful for the excuse to stop growing vela beans, but the abrupt upheaval still gave him a sense of disquiet.
He glanced up at a knock on the door of his office. “Come in,” he grumbled, hoping there were no other important things to attend to so he could return home to his mate and their nest for the rest of the season.
“Are we interrupting?”
S’samph leaped out of his chair to see Eleri with K’kaen’s firm grip supporting her upper arm, entering his office.
“Eleri, you should be resting.”
“My injuries were minor,” she responded.
“Why did you bring her here? She is supposed to be recovering in our nest.” He turned his scrutiny to K’kaen. The other male glanced away, the tip of his tail curling into itself with embarrassment.
“I may have lost a bet. Your mate is deceptively good at galactic conquerors, and I am a male of my word,” K’kaen released his hold on Eleri’s arm as S’samph swooped Eleri up into his arms, despite her soft protests.
“You shouldn’t use galactic conquerors to bend K’kaen to your will.” He bent forward to press his forehead against hers. “His pride cannot resist the challenge.”
“Is it so wrong of me to want to see my mate?” Eleri asked. S’samph could detect the humor in her tone even though her face was serious. “Besides, what sort of older sister would I be if I didn’t look for opportunities to bully my younger brother into doing what I wanted?”
“I don’t want you stuck outside in the rains.”
“I’m not made of sugar,” Eleri laughed. “I won’t melt.”
S’samph flicked his tongue in concession.
“From what I have seen of human biological vulnerabilities, I agree that melting is not part of it.” He could scent droplets of water in her hair, and although the rain hadn’t picked up yet, he had every intention of hiding her away in their nest for the rainy season as soon as she finished her examinations.
“If the two of you are just going to stand here flicking tails at each other, I’m leaving,” K’kaen’s frill rippled with amused annoyance.
“Eleri is fine here with me,” S’samph’s tail arched in response. “She doesn’t have a tail.”
“If she had one, it would be flicking,” K’kaen called from the doorway.
Eleri’s face turned her customary shade of embarrassment red, and S’samph couldn’t deny that he would very much like to be flicking tails with her if she had one.
When K’kaen had made his departure auditorily obvious, S’samph turned his attention back to his mate.
S’kasia had helped her even out the edges on her impromptu haircut, so her hair now framed her face in a way he couldn’t deny he found alluring.
“Is something wrong with my hair?” she asked. “I’m still not used to it like this.”
“There’s nothing wrong with your hair. I enjoy admiring your appearance.”
“I should probably get back to studying.” Eleri’s redness had migrated up to her ears, but she didn’t move to leave. S’samph stalked closer to her, catching her ankle with his tail.
“You said you were finished studying.”
“It doesn’t hurt to study more.” Her tone changed, and he could tell she was teasing him. The air filled with a warm, earthy scent as her body chemistry changed.
“Eleri,” S’samph hissed as his own arousal grew, “I can smell your breeding hormones.”
“I guess I could study something else?”
“Eleri. This is enough teasing.” He closed the distance between them, his tail wrapping around her waist to hoist her onto his new worktable.
S’samph pulled hard at her clothing, lifting it up and over her head, revealing her small, firm breasts.
The cloud of hormones intensified, and S’samph had to remove his own pants to relieve the pressure before continuing.
Eleri did the rest of the work herself, wiggling out of her lower garments.
She leaned forward, using her clever mouth to draw a wet trail down his lower abdomen.
Clearly, she hadn’t heeded his warning about teasing.
S’samph’s tail gave little warning as it plunged deep between her thighs, eliciting the breathless gasp he’d come to adore.
He pushed her back to lie flat on the surface of the worktable and spread her legs wide.
His tongue flicked closer, and he breathed in her scent before licking purposefully along the small bud he’d learned brought human females pleasure.
She moaned and quivered beneath him as he circled it with his tongue, all the while keeping rhythm with his tail.
“S’samph!” Eleri ringed her arms around his neck, letting him hold her weight as he prepared her for his hemipenes with each deft stroke of his tail and tongue.
She shuddered around him, indicating her readiness, and it was all he could do to control himself long enough to remove his tail and thrust himself into her, reveling in her smooth warmth.
Eleri breathed hard as he lifted her higher to reposition on the worktable with his arms and tail.
He didn’t want to injure her with the force of their mating.
“Can you take the other?” he asked as he brought her to another climax.
His beautiful mate’s eyes were bright with the fulfilment of their coupling.
She nodded her assent, and S’samph emptied himself inside of her, sated and happier than he could ever remember being as she pressed herself against his scales.
S’samph drew Eleri into his arms and carried her over to the desk chair, which was the only comfortable sitting surface. “We shouldn’t linger too long.”
“It wasn’t raining that hard when K’kaen and I came over.”
“The rains can increase on short notice, and I don’t have the boat here.”
“We have a boat?” Eleri asked as she started to get dressed.
“You’re not driving the boat,” S’samph grumbled. If her skills with a levibike were anything to indicate, she would be even more of a menace behind the wheel of a boat. This, however, only piqued his mate’s interest.
“I want to try at least once,” she said. And S’samph could tell she wasn’t going to relinquish the idea easily.
“You’re going to get us both drowned.”
“I know how to swim, don’t you?”
“Standard military training on Latilla included survival swimming certification.”
“You could just say yes,” Eleri rolled her eyes at him.
“I’m a very good swimmer,” S’samph clarified. “Better than just knowing how to swim. But the waters are high and unpredictable in the rain, and I don’t want to have to pull you out of the canal even if you think you can swim.”
“I bet K’kaen would let me drive his boat,” Eleri said, glancing back at him as she made her way toward the door.
S’samph hurried after her, considering that perhaps asking K’kaen to be her brother had been a mistake after all.
But he was pleased with her levity in general.
Ever since the situation with Myla and Minio had mostly resolved, his mate had seemed lighter.
Whatever it took to bring her continued joy, he would devote the rest of his life to doing.
Even if it meant letting her drive the boat. Just once.