by Lili Zander
He leans in to kiss me, nipping at my lower lip. The head of his cock nudges against my aching center. I writhe under him, trying to wriggle just the right way so he’ll slip inside me…
“Naughty Lani,” he growls. “So impatient.” His eyes promise dark sin as he looms over me. The tip of his cock pushes into my entrance. My pussy, engorged from my many orgasms, opens around him as he slowly enters me, an inch at a time.
Oh fuck. It’s been far too long. He’s huge and I’m tight, and my muscles stretch reluctantly. I whimper, and he freezes in place. “No,” I gasp. “Don’t stop. Whatever you do, don’t stop.”
He moves another inch.
“No,” I growl and grab his ass. I want him to sink into me. My nails score his taut buttocks, but he still doesn’t budge. I turn into a wild cat, baring my teeth and clawing his back, trying to get him to sink deeper. “Ruhan, I need you.”
“Slowly,” he murmurs, refusing to be swayed. “I don’t want to hurt you, lovely Lani.”
It takes an hour for him to go another centimeter. A year to gain an inch. At least, that’s what it feels like.
It’s not any easier for him. Sweat beads on his bronzed skin. I hold his eyes, lick my lips, and caress my own nipples under his heated gaze. He rocks slightly, helping me adjust to his size. Inch by inch, his cock penetrates me, until he finally fully sinks into me. “Lani,” he says, his eyes hazy with desire. “You’re destroying me.”
Same, Ruhan. Same. He pulls back, almost entirely out, and slowly pushes in again. The pressure is perfect. My body is a mass of sparks and shorted wires. Each movement of his cock sends shockwaves through my entire body.
I thought last night was amazing, and it was. This is so much better.
He hooks my left leg up higher on his back and thrusts into me again. I hang onto his shoulders, engulfed in pleasure. He pumps hard and slow. Light explodes behind my eyes. This time my climax starts at my toes and sparks up my body, a supernova rolling slowly upwards until white heat sears my brain.
“Yes, Lani, yes,” Ruhan snarls, pounding my hips into the bed. My fingers dig into his flexing biceps as I fight to keep my eyes from rolling back into my head.
His thrusts grow more urgent. His cock swells inside me, stretching me. My breath catches in a sob of sheer pleasure. I can’t take much more of this delicious friction. It’s too much, too intense…
He lifts himself off me, rolling onto his back. His hands capture my hips, and he lifts me so I’m straddling him. He wants me to ride him. “Oh, fuck, I can’t,” I whimper, shivering as I slide down his thick length. He fills me so completely, I feel him in my toes. “Ruhan, I really can’t.”
But I can. My clit is swollen, aching. I shift against him, tentatively moving my hips, rocking against his length. Ruhan pinches my nipples as I ride him, and I reciprocate, playing with his nipple piercings again until his cock swells even bigger inside me.
We rock together perfectly. He lifts his hips to pound into me, and I push down on him, sinking into the sensation. When the light hits his bronzed chest, there’s a faint shimmer of scales. His nipple piercings glint, matching the stars in his eyes. He’s so beautiful I could orgasm just looking at him, except he’s wrung every last bit of pleasure out of me.
His thrusts are faster now, more uncontrolled. I moan out loud. My muscles tighten and clench. “I can’t take much more of this,” I pant. Is it possible to die from too many orgasms? I’m about to find out.
He groans and digs his fingers into my buttocks. His entire body goes rigid, muscles turning to marble. With a final sharp thrust, he roots himself deep and comes with a satisfying, masculine grunt.
I lift myself off him and collapse onto the mattress, sated and drained. I’ve lost count of how many times I’ve come. Thank all the sex gods. I start to giggle, euphoria flooding my body. “I really didn’t think you’d fit. I’ve never been so happy to be wrong.”
He grins, tucks a strand of sweaty hair behind my ear, and rests his hand on my hip. I curl closer to him. “It could have been a fluke,” he says, his voice serious. “We should do this again, just to be sure.”
Round One nearly resulted in cardiac arrest. He’s already thinking about Round Two?
He nibbles my earlobe, and a shiver runs through my body. Oh, what the hell. “Give me a few minutes to catch my breath first.”
19
Ruhan
After this morning’s wall shield incident, Taen is only too happy for me to upload the specs for coffee from my syn to his. “For your friend, you say?” he asks as I fiddle with the settings. “What species is she?”
“I’m not sure,” I lie shamelessly. “She doesn’t like to talk about it, and I try not to bring it up. It upsets her.” I lower my voice. “From what I’ve been able to piece together, her homeworld was destroyed.”
“That’s terrible,” Taen says soberly. “Thank you for warning me. I won’t probe and add to her pain.”
I feel guilty about lying to Taen, who seems like a decent guy, but I also don’t want to tell anyone that Lani is human. The Earth women were under Lenox’s protection, and they were still abducted by the scientists. The rot goes deep, and threats could be everywhere.
If the others were here, they’d never let me hear the end of this. “Wait a second,” I can almost hear Sixth say. “Third is being cautious? I don’t understand. Is he ill?”
It turns out that while I’m capable of being reckless about many things, Lani’s safety is not one of them.
As I’m fussing over Lani’s food tray, I get a ping from Blue. “I have hacked the secure comm channel used by the Rebel Force,” the bot, satisfaction saturating his voice. “You can communicate with them whenever you would like.”
Oh, thank Caeron. Relief floods through me. “Blue, you are amazing,” I respond fervently. “I will never doubt you again.”
Lani is still asleep when I re-enter the room with the tray of food. Not wanting to wake her, I set it down and head into the refresher, and then I finally patch into the others.
They fill the frame in an instant. “Ruhan, for Caeron’s sake,” Sixth says. “Where the hell have you been?”
Kadir shakes his head. “You idiot,” he growls. “We thought First had killed you.” He looks around the small room. “Hang on. Are you in the refresher?”
Argh, I forgot to change the settings so they couldn’t see my surroundings. I’m never going to hear the end of this. “Yes,” I admit. “Lani’s asleep, and I didn’t want to wake her. What do you mean, you thought First had killed me?”
“He set a trap for Kadir,” Fourth answers soberly. “The rebellion received word that there was a secret lab in Consalas. When Kadir got there, First was waiting for him.”
Kadir’s expression turns grim. “Alice, my mate, contacted the others when she realized it was a trap. Had Fourth and Sixth not shown up when they did…”
Mate? Kadir’s mate is a human woman, one of the two he was sent to rescue? “You have a mate now? Congratulations. How did this happen? Is the poor woman blind?”
He makes a rude gesture in my direction. “I don’t quite believe it myself,” he says, a smile softening his expression. “I got lucky. But, let’s get back to First.”
“Why is he trying to kill us?” I demand. “Has he completely lost his mind?”
“Yes,” Fifth says simply. “He was always unstable, but now…” His voice trails away, and he shakes his head. “He believes that every Draekon in this age is inferior. They cannot transform on their own; they are restrained by the mating bond. He wants to kill all of them. He’s allied himself with Blood Heart.” His lips tighten. “He would have killed Kadir eventually. But he also needs Kadir. He needs all of us. His genes alone will not provide enough genetic diversity for the race of Draekons he wants to build.”
Shock slaps me. What the others are describing is genocide. Surely, even for First, that’s too much.
“Where exactly are you?” Fourth demands. “Apart from
inside a refresher, I mean.”
“Nestri.”
All the other Draekons know my history with Nestri. “Bast,” Fourth swears. “Of all the places. How did you end up there, and are you okay?”
“I have Lani with me. I don’t have time to indulge in my feelings.” I push away the complicated cocktail of grief, rage, and pain that I feel whenever I think of the past and fill them in on the events that led us here. “The talk on the ground is of war,” I tell the others. “The LoreLords seem intent on challenging the Empire. This won’t end well.” A thought strikes me. “The other human, Amanda Pascale. Did she arrive safely at the rebellion?”
Kadir chuckles. “Yes, she did. It gave us all quite a shock when she showed up in the mail system. It took Tarish three days to calm down.”
“She wasn’t in any danger.” I look at them. “You know that, right?”
“Of course we do, Ruhan,” Kadir responds, sounding exasperated. “As much as we joke about your recklessness, you’re only reckless with your own life. You won’t do anything to endanger the humans, which is what I told the Commander.”
“How imminent is this war, do you think?” Fourth asks me.
“Last night, the entire battalion stationed in Nestri Prime was murdered.” I fix my gaze on the Draekons in front of me. “There were also reports of a crimson dragon being sighted in the air.”
All four of them suck in their breaths. “First again,” Kadir says grimly. “Why Nestri?”
“Cinnacar?” Sixth guesses.
“Cinnacar makes teams fight better,” I respond. “But First isn’t a team player. I can’t see him going up against the Empire for a few deposits of the mineral. There’s got to be another reason.”
“I’ll see what Tarish knows,” Kadir promises.
“Forget his reasons,” Fourth says bluntly. “If First is on Nestri, then the planet is the most dangerous place in the universe for Ruhan. We’ve got to get him out.” He pulls up a map and studies it. “Ruhan, I can be there in seven days.”
“What about the human women you’re looking for? I don’t want to take you away from your search.”
“That’s a long and complicated story, but no, you won’t be taking away from my search.”
“What does that mean?”
Fifth snorts. “He found the two humans,” he says. “They don’t want to be rescued.”
That doesn’t make any sense. “They’d rather be lab rats?”
“They’re not prisoners of the scientists,” Fourth says, his voice clipped. “It turns out they managed to escape almost at once.”
“Tell them the rest of the story, Fourth,” Fifth says gleefully. “Go on.”
“Can we focus on what’s important?” Fourth asks irritably. “Ruhan, I’m helping Kadir train the rebellion’s soldiers, and they’re so bad I want to weep. I’m happy to be distracted. I’ll see you in a week. Until I get there, keep a low profile. I don’t want First finding out that you’re on Nestri.”
“Indeed.” Sixth’s voice is very serious. “It is imperative that when we face First, we do it together.”
“Don’t worry,” I tell them. “I’m not going to confront First on my own. I won’t risk Lani’s life. Fourth, I’ll meet you in the Valley of Flowers. That’s in the foothills of the Ciegrax Mountains.”
Fourth pulls up the location. “Got it.”
Kadir is pacing back and forth, his hologram jumping in and out of the shower stall. I try not to laugh, but it’s hard. Fifth and I exchange a grin as the Second of the Crimson Force grapples with something. “I don’t like Fourth going off by himself either,” he says at last. “I wish I could come with you, but Alice just passed her first set of exams, and I promised I’d take her away to celebrate.”
A lump fills my throat. Kadir wants to go on vacation with his mate. That sounds so achingly normal, and yet, once upon a time, it would have been out of reach for one of us. A thousand years ago, for Kadir to even have a name would have been impossible. Times have truly changed.
He looks happy. Content. I’m so glad for him. “Take your vacation,” I tell Kadir. “Go be with your mate. Nobody knows I’m here. First definitely doesn’t. Fourth will come to get Lani and me, and we’ll be out of here before anyone finds out.”
“Stay safe,” Sixth says. “The LoreLords court disaster. The Empire will destroy the planet before they let them win.”
We say our farewells, and Fifth and Sixth shimmer out, as does Fourth. “Kadir, a quick word?” I ask before he too can fade away.
“Of course.” Kadir gives me a questioning look. “What do you need?”
I take a deep breath. I feel foolish broaching this topic with him, but I must know. “Does your dragon ever talk to you? I didn’t even realize that my dragon was a separate entity, and now, it won’t shut up.”
He raises his eyebrow. “What does your dragon say?”
Bast, this is awkward. Kadir is never going to let me live this down. “The dragon seems to like Lani a lot,” I mumble, unable to meet his eyes.
“And when Lani touches you, does the rathr go away?”
I look up in shock. “Yes. How did you know?”
“Because that’s what happens when Alice touches me.” A smile curves Kadir’s lips. “Your dragon is talking to you because you’re not listening to him. Ruhan, you idiot, she’s your mate.” His grin widens. “Congratulations.”
“Mate?” I repeat numbly. “That’s not possible.”
“That’s what I said at the start. Thankfully, I saw sense soon enough.” He chuckles. “I remember the Valley of the Flowers. It’s very romantic. Have fun there. Oh, and I almost forgot. Tarish apologizes for poisoning you. I’ll send the antidote with Fourth.”
I’m still stunned at Kadir’s words. Mate. How is this possible? “Okay,” I answer absently. “Thank you.”
“Don’t thank me.” Kadir rolls his eyes. “One of these days, Tarish is going to realize that Fifth could have synthesized an antidote to his toxin whenever he wanted.”
The Commander has much to learn about us. “We have a certain reputation, and it’s only grown in the thousand years we’ve been in stasis,” I say with a shrug. “I don’t blame Tarish for taking precautions.”
“Will you have trouble getting to the rendezvous point?”
“No, I fixed their fence earlier today. I’m the village hero. They’ll happily give me a skimmer.”
“Good. Take care of yourself, Ruhan. I look forward to meeting Lani.”
Kadir fades away. I stare into the distance. I don’t like the idea of running away from Nestri, but with First involved, and Lani at risk, I don’t have a choice. But it bothers me to leave the planet to its own devices. I don’t give a damn about the LoreLords—the fools are about to realize why you don’t go up against the Empire—but millions of innocent people are going to get hurt or worse.
I’d destroyed their world once, and there hadn’t been a damn thing I could do about it. But to turn a blind eye once again? It guts me. I hate this.
You’re doing it to protect Lani.
Lani. She’s awake now; I can hear her. I open the door of the refresher. Lani’s sitting cross-legged on the bed, the mug of coffee cradled in her hands. She smiles widely when she sees me. “Coffee again,” she says. “You’re amazing. Thank you.”
A smile forms across my face. “Anything for you, lovely Lani.”
Rolling her eyes at the nickname, she pats the mattress. I join her. She gives me an inquiring look. “What about you, have you eaten?”
“Yes.” I steal a piece of fruit off her plate anyway. “I talked to the others. Fourth is going to get us out of here. It’ll take him a week to arrive.”
“That’s good news, right?”
I nod. “I wish he could get here faster. I don’t like the idea of you stuck on Nestri if a war is going to break out.”
She pins me with a stare. “What do you mean, the idea of me stuck in Nestri? You’re coming with me, aren’t you? R
uhan, tell me you’re not planning on staying behind and doing something heroic.”
“I thought about it,” I admit. “But I’m not going to. I’m coming with you.” I wink at the pretty human woman, who has, in such a short period, become such an important part of my life. “Someone has to make sure you get a cup of coffee every morning. Oh, I also checked up on Mardex, who has spent the last few hours in a healing tank. He’s almost completely recovered.”
“How is that possible?”
“Draekon genes,” I reply. “We’re hard to kill. I talked to Taen, who is happy to sell us his shuttle at a very reasonable price. Want to get out of here and head to the rendezvous point?”
Seven days in an inn in the Valley of the Flowers. Alone with Lani. Just good meals, good sex, and laughter. It’s an almost impossible dream, and it’s within my grasp, and I can’t quite believe it.
She opens her mouth to answer, but before she can, there’s a banging on the door. I open it to see Sarvin, the captain of the village guard, standing there. “Ruhan,” he says apologetically. “I’m afraid I’ve received some troubling news.” His tentacles twitch. “You’ve been accused of murder. I’m here to arrest you.”
“What?”
“You’re accused of setting an explosion on an unarmed merchant ship and causing the deaths of fifty crew members,” Sarvin says. “The accusation came from an Okaki merchant, Gervil. The LoreLords have ordered us to arrest you. They will send someone tomorrow to take you to the capital.”
It all clicks into place. I’d predicted that the LoreLords would pin a few high-profile crimes on innocent Zorahn, all to turn the tide of sentiment against them.
In an ironic twist, it appears I’ve become the LoreLords’ first target.
I don’t know if I should laugh or rage.
20
Lani
I had definite ideas about what I wanted to do with my day. Laze around in bed was part of it—I’m not lazy, but it’s been seven months since I last had a day with nothing to do, and nobody threatening to kill and/or torture me, so I was going to make the most of it. Make love to Ruhan again, that had been on my shortlist. Then, when I saw the coffee on the tray, I’d decided I wanted to give Ruhan a blowjob in thanks.
