by Lili Zander
I frown in confusion at her words. What is she talking about? “Do you wish to come with us or not?”
She nods. “Don’t mind me,” she says. “My sarcasm switch is stuck in the ‘On’ position. Feel free to ignore everything I say.”
She sways a little on her feet as she speaks. We’re at her side immediately. “Perhaps you should rest,” Vulrux says, looking concerned. “I don’t want you over-exerting yourself.”
She rolls her eyes at him. “I bet you anything that if I spread my legs, you’ll be quite happy to let me over-exert myself.”
That makes me laugh. Vulrux grins in amusement. “Fair enough, Harper Boyd,” he says. “Fine. If you feel faint, lean on us for support.”
She gives us a cautious look as if she doesn’t quite understand us. That feeling goes both ways. “Harper Boyd sounds really formal,” she says at last. “Call me Harper.”
Harper:
Confession: I kinda want to spend more time with Vulrux and Dennox. There is something about these guys that makes me want to get to know them more. I tell myself that it’s only natural for me to be interested in the two men that took care of me while I was ill, but I have a sneaking suspicion that I’m lying to myself. I can’t stop staring at their bronze skin, their rippling muscles, and the tattoos that cover their bodies, and I’m completely fascinated by their nipple piercings.
Oh, who am I kidding? I’m attracted to them. It’s super-annoying. I mean, newborn kittens are probably stronger than me. I’m still recovering from a coma, and I’m lusting after the first two guys I saw when I woke up?
C’mon, Harper. Stop drooling and pull yourself together. You’re no Sleeping Beauty.
The two aliens—my so-called mates—guide me toward the door. They’ve got their arms around my waist, and they’re practically holding me up. It’d actually be easier if one of them carried me.
Of course, if they tried it, I’d knee them in the groin.
Thinking about kneeing them in the groin makes my mind wander to dragon junk. Vulrux and Dennox are huge; Dennox, in particular, is built like a freight truck. I bet their cocks are proportional to their height. Judging from the way she simpered at Arax and Nyx earlier, Viola seems to have no complaints about their equipment.
Another, much dirtier thought strikes me. “When you transform into dragons,” I ask them, trying to keep my voice casual, “how big do you become?”
Vulrux smirks at me. Hang on. He can’t know I’m wondering what actual dragon dick looks like, can he? I decide he can’t.
“I’ve only transformed once,” he replies. He looks at Dennox. “How big did I get?”
“About the size of this room,” Dennox replies. “Maybe a bit larger?”
Whoa. Hello, big boy.
Get your mind out of the gutter, Harper. Remember that speech you made, just two minutes ago? You are absolutely not going to sleep with gorgeous, sexy, outrageously ripped aliens.
Of course, the moment I make that declaration, my mind starts imagining it. In vivid detail. Can you blame me? There’s two of them, and judging by the tightness of their pants, they’re huge. And they’re my own personal shirtless tour guides, eager to see to my every need.
Pinch me. I’m dreaming.
Shaking my head, I lean on Dennox as Vulrux opens the door. The instant I step outside, I stop dead in my tracks. I was bracing for a downpour, but nothing could have prepared me for this. This isn’t rain. This is a solid wall of water.
Vulrux points to a covered passageway. “We’re heading to the dining area,” he says over the thunderous roar.
“How exciting,” I say dryly. “Is there a feast? Has the tribe sacrificed a unicorn for my recovery?”
His eyes are amused. Evidently, these aliens can decipher sarcasm. Oops. “We’re not going to eat,” he says, his lips quirking up. My stomach does a funny little flip in response. Stupid stomach. “Unless you’re hungry?”
Who knows what kind of weird food they have on this planet. Maybe they eat worms. Blech. “I’m fine,” I say hastily. I’m transfixed by the sheer volume of water falling from the sky. I owe Viola an apology. She’s right—no one can go in search of the other women in this weather.
Dennox mistakes my hesitation for fear. “I can carry you, Harper,” he offers.
“Don’t even think about it, buddy,” I warn him. “Or I will break your arms.”
“Is that so?” He laughs outright at me, and I grin back. Okay, I guess his amusement is totally warranted. Dennox is massive. Even at full strength, I’m not going to be able to hurt him. “Let’s make a deal. If you stumble, I will pick you up.”
You know what? Both Vulrux and Dennox are being pretty damn nice, especially considering my ‘you don’t have magic dicks; I’m not going to sleep with you’ pronouncement. They haven’t once brought up the whole ‘I’m your mate’ thing. I refuse to believe that I’m stuck on this planet forever, and I still have no intention of mating with them. But so far this morning, I’ve managed to piss off Viola, and I’m not sure where I stand with Sofia and Ryanna either. I could really use some friends.
We walk through the passageway. “How do the roofs stand up?” I marvel as we walk the short distance. I have to shout to make myself heard above the noise of the storm. “Doesn’t the rain damage them?”
“We rebuild every year,” Dennox replies.
Ouch. No wonder they don’t have time for fun.
The dining hall is empty when we get there. It’s a large space. There’s an inner room, as well as a patio-like area, with a roof but no walls.
“Follow me,” Vulrux says, leading the way into the inner room. In a corner, behind a counter, is a trap door.
Vulrux opens it, and I peer in. “There’s a staircase,” I say, astonished. “Where does it go?”
“It’s Dennox’s pet project,” Vulrux replies. “I’ll let him tell you.”
I turn to Dennox with a raised eyebrow, but he shakes his head. “You’ll find out.”
Okay, buddy. Be mysterious.
We walk down a flight of wooden stairs which seem to go on forever. Finally, we get to the bottom. I follow Vulrux through a stone archway and realize that we’ve reached a vast underground lake.
My mouth falls open. We’ve found Paradise. There are a couple of naturally occurring skylights in the ceiling, through which rain falls in a steady downpour. Most of the lake is sheltered though, and the water is a clear, inviting shade of turquoise. “How did you find this place?” I ask Dennox, astonished. “It’s absolutely gorgeous. Did you build the stairs? How did you tunnel into the mountain?”
“It is beautiful,” Dennox agrees, his lips twitching at my flood of questions. “I found it by accident.” He points to one of the skylights. “I fell through,” he says ruefully. “There are many natural tunnels inside the mountain. Once I knew where the lake was, it was a relatively simple matter to find a tunnel that led to the peak. I didn’t have to do a lot of digging.”
Vulrux snorts. “Not a lot of digging? It took five years to build the stairs.”
Dennox seems uncomfortable with the praise. He moves toward the water, giving me a look over his shoulder. “Nyx told me that many people in your world swim. Do you not know how?”
I snort. I almost made the national team. I taught swimming in high school back home. “Yes, of course I know how to swim.”
Dennox drops his pants and turns around to give me a questioning look. “What are you waiting for?”
My throat goes dry. All my questions about dragon junk have been answered. This isn’t the first cock I’ve seen in my life, but it’s the first alien cock, and it is fine.
Dennox wades into the water. Vulrux gets naked as well and climbs onto a nearby cluster of rocks. I shamelessly check out his tight, sculpted ass, and my insides clench hard. I owe Viola an apology. If her naked guys are anywhere as hot as mine, I fully understand why she’s uninterested in getting rescued.
Vulrux gets to the top and prepares to dive
. “What’s the matter, Harper?” he asks. “Are you feeling too tired to jump in?”
“No,” I mutter, my face heating. They’re so casual about their nudity, and I’m being a prude, but NASA’s finest astro-gear was not made for immersion in water. “I don’t have a swimsuit.”
Vulrux looks confused. “You have a lovely body,” he says. “Why do you want to cover it?”
Dennox splashes some water in my direction. “I assure you,” he says, his solemn tone a contrast to the playful gesture, “that we will not claim you without your consent. It is not our way.”
It’s not them I’m worried about. It’s me. If I’m naked in the water with them, I’m not sure I can keep myself from doing some accidental groping.
Vulrux’s lips twitch at my indecision. He doesn’t try to persuade me again. He dives into the water, his body cleanly slicing through the surface of the lake, and emerges, shaking water from his hair. The light catches his nipple rings. I never thought I was a piercing sort of girl, but damn. I just want to take them in my teeth and—
Stop it, Harper.
The guys splash around while I linger on the shore. Damn them. This is a hot, humid planet. My clothing sticks uncomfortably to my body, and a dip in the lake sounds wonderful. The water is clear and blue and calling to me.
I watch them longingly for a few minutes. Dennox and Vulrux aren’t looking in my direction. They’re talking with each other, and not paying any attention to me, a fact that should make me happy but instead fills me with unexpected pique. They won’t even notice if you get naked, Harper, I think sourly. You’re denying yourself for no reason.
Fuck it. I strip off my clothes and jump into the water, sighing in pleasure at the blissful coolness. I haven’t stepped in a pool for almost a year. After Tom, my spiteful and mean-spirited ex-boyfriend had forced me to quit my high-school swim coach job, I’d lost the desire to swim. Now, on an alien planet, my love for the water comes rushing back.
I strike out in the direction of some glowing blue bushes, then remember my encounter with the orange fungus. I’ve had my fair share of murderous plants. I swim toward Dennox and Vulrux. “Is there anything poisonous here?”
Vulrux shakes his head. “You’re safe.” He looks at my right palm and his expression changes to one of concern. “Bast,” he swears. “You’re bleeding again.”
I look at my hand. Sure enough, my cut, which had knit together, has opened. “It doesn’t hurt,” I assure them. A scary thought strikes me. “It’s not going to attract blood sucking leeches, is it?”
“What are blood sucking leeches?” Dennox asks. “I do not understand what the translator is saying.”
I try and explain a leech to the aliens. They nod as if they understand, but I’m not sure if I’ve managed to communicate the concept. “Speaking of blood,” I say, changing the topic, “A few days ago, the two of you were holding my hand, and you were both bleeding as well. Were you giving me some kind of transfusion?”
Vulrux and Dennox glance at each other. Dennox grimaces, rubbing the tattoos on his arms. “Yes,” Vulrux says, after a moment of silence. “According to Raiht’vi, the Draekons have immunity to the enrak. When our blood mingled, we passed that on to you.”
That seems reasonable. I don’t understand why the two men look so wary. “Why are you looking like I’m going to freak out?”
Dennox clears his throat. It’s a very human gesture, and it strikes me how weird it is that I feel so comfortable with them. Will Smith would have shot the aliens. I’m fantasizing about jumping them.
“The Draekon mutation is now in your bloodstream, Harper Boyd. We had to do it to save your life, but there’s a catch.”
I’m not an idiot. I can connect the dots. “I got immunity to the orange goop,” I whisper. “What else did I get from your blood?”
“I don’t know,” Vulrux replies frankly. “As a result of the mating bond, Viola Lewis has become stronger, faster. You might react the same way, or it might be something else. The mutation always has an effect.”
Both of them are bracing themselves for my reaction. I should be upset, I guess, but I can’t summon up much anger. Yeah, even as I swim, the Draekon mutation is in my veins, doing God-knows-what to my insides. Then again, had the two men not acted, I would have died. The primary emotion I’m feeling is gratitude. “You saved my life,” I say softly. “I’m here. I’m alive, and I’m swimming. Viola seems unharmed by the mutation. I’m not going to worry about possible side effects right now.” I take a deep breath. “I’m just going to enjoy the lake. Thank you for bringing me here.”
That’s when I see a movement in the water.
A ten-foot long crimson-red water snake is swimming toward the three of us.
I shriek like a little girl.
Just when I started to think things weren’t too bad after all…
Orange goo, non-stop rain, humidity that makes my hair frizz, and now a massive red snake in the water?
Fuck this shit. The prison planet is doing its level best to kill me. I need to get the hell away from here.
6
Vulrux:
A red narmi swims lazily toward Harper. The moment her eyes fall on it, she screams and grabs me by the waist. “What is that thing?” she squeals, positioning herself between Dennox and me.
Her soft breasts press against my back, and my cock hardens with lust. She smells like fresh air and sunlight, and I want her with a sudden, fiery need. From Dennox’s strangled groan, he is overtaken by the same heady lust.
It is tempting to stay where I am and enjoy the way she feels. It’s been a long time since I’ve had a woman touch me so intimately. Her hands are tight around my waist, and if she moves them just a little lower, she’ll graze my cock.
And yet, I cannot. Harper Boyd is still recovering from her brush with the orange enrak. Right now, she is dangerously out of balance. Everything on this planet feels like a threat to her.
Including us.
I would bed her gladly but now is not the time.
Dennox must feel the same way I do because he disengages himself from Harper’s grasp. “The narmi are friendly.” He whistles to the red snake as it swims past us, and it turns when it hears the sound and approaches us, butting Dennox’s palm affectionately. “The red ones are very intelligent,” he continues, stroking the narmi. “And harmless. This one just wants some berries.”
“Holy crap,” Harper whispers. “You guys have a pet snake. A pet water snake.”
I don’t know anything about the planet that Harper Boyd comes from. “Do you not have pets on Earth?”
“We do.” She gulps. “I’m not so sure about snakes in the water. Some people swim with dolphins, and I’ve always wanted to do that. It’s on my bucket list, but it’s an expensive trip. But this,” she shudders, “seems a lot closer to getting in a tank and being dropped into shark-infested waters.”
Dennox and I give her blank looks, and she laughs sheepishly. “I babble when I’m nervous,” she mumbles. “The snake freaked me out.” She puts her hand out and pats the narmi on the head tentatively. “Hey buddy,” she croons. “You’re not planning on wrapping your body around me and squeezing, are you? No cobra-like moves from you. That’s a good boy.”
Harper:
Muscles. Lots and lots of yummy, yummy muscles.
Yes, I grabbed onto Dennox and Vulrux by sheer instinct, freaked out by the appearance of the long red snake in the water.
But after that?
Did I hold on to them for just a little longer, even though I was in no danger?
Yes, I did.
Did I grind my ass into Dennox’s cock?
Yes, I did.
Did I ache to move my fingers lower and brush against Vulrux’s hard-on?
Guilty as charged.
Am I wet right now, turned on by the idea of their hard dicks sliding into me?
Yes, I am.
You know what the worst thing is? The absolute worst thing is that both men
can tell the way I’m feeling. They’re not blind. They can see the way my nipples have pebbled and hardened. There’s a smirk on Vulrux’s lips and a glimmer of amusement in Dennox’s eyes.
“I’m still not going to sleep with you,” I murmur, my cheeks flaming, afraid to meet their eyes. “Even if your dicks are magical.”
Vulrux stifles a laugh. “Of course,” he says blandly. “Unless you want to swim some more, we should head back.”
I seize on that suggestion. Yes. It’s so much safer in the camp. Vulrux and Dennox will be clothed. There will be other people around, Draekon and human. In camp, I’ll be able to resist the two men.
I think.
My swim has left me more tired than I’m prepared to admit. “Rest,” Vulrux orders me when we’re back in what I think of as my bedroom. “If you over-exert yourself, you’ll suffer a relapse.”
“Who made you the boss of me?” I retort sullenly.
Dennox raises an eyebrow. “If you don’t do as you’re told,” he says calmly, “I will tie you to the bed myself.”
Damn it. My brain immediately goes into overdrive. The pictures flicker through my head. I’m tied to the bed, legs and arms spread wide, naked except for a thin sheet over me. Vulrux and Dennox stand on either side of the bed. One of them rips the sheet off me, and their eyes heat with lust. I can’t close my legs, and I can’t squirm away from them. Not that I want to. They’ll run their hands down my body, exploring every inch of me, watching as I writhe and moan in response.
Harper Boyd, stop this nonsense right now.
Dennox’s nostrils flare. “I can smell your arousal,” he says silkily. “I don’t understand your human ways, Harper Boyd. You want us. Your mind is picturing our mating even now, isn’t it? Why do you deny yourself?”
Because I feel powerless in this world. I feel fragile and out-of-control, and I don’t like it.
If I sleep with the irresistible dragons, it’ll be to avoid reality. To pretend, for the space of a few stolen moments, that I’m not stuck on an alien planet.
