Rai

by Maia Starr

  CHAPTER NINETEEN

  MARIA COVALLOS

  I knew that I should not be out on the beach. But I had to see what was going on; I could not stand not knowing. So when I saw my love, Cerik, doing something heroic and stupid, I almost wished that I was still in the bunker. Seeing him at work turned me on, but it also gave me extreme panic. Then I didn't see him anymore. He was inside that ship, and he was in there for a long time, and it was banking and doing a U-turn, heading back out into space. I really began to panic then.

  “Come on, Cerik,” I said to myself. It seemed like an hour went by but I guess it was really only a minute or two before he finally emerged from the windshield. At this distance, I could only see a dot, but I knew that it was him flying out. I jumped up and down in celebration. I breathed again. I noticed that the ships were retreating. This gave me the courage to come out from the brush. I ran out onto the beach near the waves crashing on the water.

  “Maria, what are you doing out here? You should not be out here,” I heard a familiar voice say.

  I turned to see the elder Draqua Pila. He was frowning at me. “Why are you not in the bunker with everyone else? You should get back there now.”

  “I could not stay in there. But look!” I said pointing at the battle.

  “The opposition is retreating. I think we are winning. We are going to have a victory; they are all leaving,” I said excitedly.

  “We won?” he said.

  “I think so; look. They are leaving,” I said to him.

  “We are winning! We are winning!” he said and jumped. I joined him jumping up and down. Then I looked down the shoreline and saw a familiar physique flying toward us. I knew it was him. It had to be. It was my Cerik. A big smile came across my face. I was so happy that he was safe; he was a heroic commander and kept his promise that he would return to me. I waved him down and shouted at him. He looked at me and waved from afar, then he was coming straight for me.

  A moment later, he landed in the sand. I ran to him and jumped on him, wrapping my legs around him. He put his hands under my bottom and held me up. I threw my arms around his neck and kissed him. I did not give him time to talk. I simply kissed him. He kissed me back. I pushed my fingers into his black hair. His whole body was sweaty from battle. He smelled of a manly animal scent that was driving me crazy as I kissed him and inhaled. Finally he pulled away from me and set me down on my feet.

  “Are you crazy? What are you doing out here?” he asked with a scowl on his face.

  “Yes, it is possible that I am crazy.” I smiled.

  “Not funny, Maria; this is serious. Why are you not in the bunker with Amelia?”

  “I was. But when the battle started I could not stay there. I needed to see what was going on. I had to know that you were okay. I just could not sit there. I couldn't.”

  “Of course not, you wouldn't be the fiery human that I fell in love with if you did sit there. You just do whatever you want, don't you?”

  “Yes, I do,” I said.

  “It is very reckless,” he said.

  “Speaking of reckless, I saw what you did. I saw you on that windshield of that ship. Why would you do such a thing? That was a dumb thing to do. You are the reckless one,” I said.

  “Well I…”

  “You didn’t let me finish. It was reckless, but also badass. You truly are the best commander on this planet, aren’t you?”

  “Yes, yes I am.”

  “You’re my hero,” I said.

  “I like it when you call me that,” he said.

  “You are a hero, not just to me but to the entire village.”

  “It is not all me. Ravinn has a hand in it too. He is shooting that ship in space. I had him follow it once I said it on autopilot. It was carrying the virus, and Ephane.”

  “Ephane? Ephane is here?” I said, feeling very vulnerable all of a sudden.

  “He was. I killed him. I left him on that ship, and Ravinn has already shot it in space. He is gone, and so is the virus,” he said.

  “Thank God,” I said relieved.

  “That is not all; I have news,” he said.

  “What?”

  “I talked to Ephane before I killed him. I needed to know what experiments he had done on you. I had to know what he put you through.”

  I held my breath. I was scared to know. But I needed to. I only hoped that it wasn't as bad as I thought it to be. “Tell me,” I said.

  “He said that he did nothing to you. No experiments were done on you, but he was planning to. He said that he put you to sleep so that you could be examined, to see if you were fit to be experimented on with the virus. But he never got around to it because we escaped.”

  I jumped into his arms. I was so damn happy to hear that.

  “I thought you might like to hear that,” he said.

  “Yes, I am so happy. I am glad that you got that information. It means a lot to me,” I said.

  “We will continue this conversation later. For now, I need to continue with the battle and the aftermath. I am taking you back to the bunker right now whether you like it or not.”

  “Fine,” I said. He scooped me up into his arms and then nodded at Pila and then flew toward the village. He flew low along the path of the jungle flying between the trees. In no time we were in the area of the bunker entrance. He set me down on his feet and opened the door.

  “I will come back for you when everything is safe. Now give your hero a kiss,” he said as he gave me that dashing grin.

  I reached up on my tiptoes, and he pressed his lips against mine. We indulged in a deep and desirable kiss as his hands moved down my back and over my bottom. I let my hands move over his strong shoulders and scales. He was my dragon, my own alien dragon hero. He finally pulled away from me.

  “Get in there, and stay there,” he said. I stepped inside, and he closed the door behind me. I was so glad that he was all right and the battle was over. I could feel happy again. I made my way down the four flights of stairs and into the massive room. I ran straight to the corner that Amelia was in.

  “Maria? Where have you been? I have looked for you.”

  “Don't get mad. I went out onto the beach. I could not help myself.”

  “Maria! That is a bad thing to do. But tell me what you saw,” she said, anxious to know what was happening.

  I sat next to her and whispered in her ear, “I don't know if it is official yet. But I saw the opposition retreating back into space, and we have victory. But don't say anything. We have to wait until it has been declared safe.”

  Amelia smiled and hugged me. She was so happy, and I saw the worry move from her face.

  A few hours later the official announcement was made inside the bunker; we had victory. Everyone shouted in celebration. Amelia and I jumped up and down with her child. We were all lead back out of the bunker. Cerik was waiting for me, and Ravinn was waiting for Amelia and his child. Each of us ran into their arms and hugged them. I was so extremely happy to see that Amelia's husband had returned and that my own lover was safe.

  “I am glad you stayed put this time,” the commander said playfully.

  “I did. I was scared of what punishment you might give me,” I said.

  “Yes, I do believe I owe you punishment for leaving the bunker to begin with. You are a very bad human, and you need a good spanking,” he said.

  “You are right, I do need to be punished,” I said playfully. He scooped me up into his arms. He took off and flew into the air. We landed on the platform outside of our home. He shifted out of dragon form. We walked in and Cerik moved directly to the tub and began to run the hot water. “I could use a bath after that battle.”

  “And a celebratory drink,” I said, pouring him a cup of Hiwa and bringing it to him. He grabbed it and drank it.

  “Let me,” I said grabbing the belt of his loin cloth. “Let me take care of my tired warrior.”

  He smiled. “I like the sound of that,” he said.

  I continued until
he was completely naked and then poured some scented soap into the tub. He climbed in and laid back. I grabbed a sponge and began to wash his body. He sighed. I could see the tension leave his shoulders and he closed his eyes. I was becoming aroused as I ran the sponge over his strong arms, the same arms that guaranteed victory in the battle. I ran the sponge over his strong chest, the same chest that supported me again and again and that I laid my cheek against whenever he flew with me in his arms. I ran the sponge down his hard abs; they were chiseled. I continued down over his strong thighs and tired feet. Then I moved back up over his cock. It was hard.

  “You are hard, Commander. Should you not be resting? There is no time and energy for that,” I said.

  “There is always time and energy for that,” he said opening his eyes. “Besides, I think this is exactly where we were when we were interrupted this morning. We were just about to have some fun.

  “That is true. We were on the bed about to have a good morning,” I said.

  “Yes, I think we should continue that. We were interrupted but we should always finish something once we start it.”

  “I agree,” I said.

  Then he stood up. Seeing his glorious body dripping wet with his hard cock was enough to make my nipples hard. I bit my lower lip as I watched him step out of the tub. He grabbed my hand and led me over to the bed.

  “There is also the position of your punishment that needs to be executed,” he said.

  “Now?”

  “Yes, now,” he said.

  I narrowed my eyes at him and took off my sheer dress. I threw it on the floor. I moved in front of the bed and then bent over and put my palms on the mattress. “Is this sufficient?”

  He sucked in a sharp breath of air. “Mmm, I think that will do.”

  Slap! His hand playfully slapped my ass. I felt it jiggle. I was so turned on, I wanted him to take me then and there.

  “Damn, I love watching your delicious ass,” he moaned.

  Slap! He spanked me again. Then he grabbed me and turned me toward him. “I think that is all I can handle because I need you right now before I explode all over the place just watching you.”

  I laughed and then kissed him. He lay me down on the bed and took off my clothes. We made love in celebration of the victory and our child.

  CHAPTER TWENTY

  COMMANDER CERIK HADE

  It was one hell of a battle and invasion. I had never seen anything like it, and I was glad that it was over. We had come out victorious one more time over the opposition. But we all knew they were not done with us. As long as they continued to hate our ways and wanted to revert to breeding with only Draqua, they would continue to fight us. We would be ready for them just as we always had been. But I had cut off the head of the snake for now. Ephane was a massive threat to us because he used to be one of us and knew the ins and outs of the structures and systems we used. So having him gone was a major victory for us as far as the intelligence that the opposition had. I was grateful for that. I thought this as I stood on a platform outside the King’s palace as the King gave a speech regarding the victory.

  “I give this honor to Commander Cerik Hade for his courage and quick thinking. He has twice saved us all from extinction!” the King said.

  The crowd cheered, and I stepped over to him. He lay a large medallion on my neck. It was an honorary medal and was only given out every five years or so. It was a very rare honor, and a Draqua had to do something extraordinary to be given it.

  “Thank you, King Hydros,” I said with a nod.

  “I now name this commander… Captain Cerik Hade!” the King shouted.

  I looked at him with shock. I was not expecting this promotion at this ceremony. I nodded in gratitude and saluted the King. Then I looked at the side of the platform where Maria stood. She smiled at me. I could see the pride she had for me in her eyes. It was all the honor that I needed. I only wanted to please her. After the ceremony, there was a grand celebration in the village. It had been a week since the invasion, and we had waited in order to make sure the threat was truly over. It was. So now we had the ceremony and celebrations. It felt good to be the honorable guest of the celebration. All were in gratitude to me, and it felt good to have my antics acknowledged as crazy as they were.

  As I walked around with Hiwa in hand, I saw Maria sitting with Amelia and some of the other females. She was adapting well to Draqua life. She was helping with the food preparations to feed the young offspring. I liked seeing her happy, and she had a big smile on her face. It filled me with joy. I continued to walk around the celebrations. I saw Hekan standing with a drink in his hand. He raised his cup to me in cheers. I responded with the same, but I knew I owed him more. I walked over to him.

  “Hekan,” I said.

  “Commander… I mean, Captain. Apologies; I will have to get used to that,” he said.

  “No apology needed. It is I that owe you the apologies,” I said swallowing my pride.

  “Is that so?” he said arching a brow at me.

  “I was an ass when it came to seeing you with Maria. I really thought there was something between you two and that set me off,” I said.

  “I think I know better than to take the human of a commander, especially one as crazy as you,” he said playfully.

  “Yes, you have a point there,” I said with a grin. “Maria told me why she confided in you about the thought that she might have the virus. I am glad that you were there for her. She needed someone, and you are a true friend for not taking advantage of her confiding in you.”

  “I appreciate the acknowledgment,” he said.

  “Thank you,” I said.

  “And I hear she is with offspring, so congratulations. And it seems she truly was not infected with that damn virus.”

  “Thank you. No, she was not, and I am extremely happy to know she is with child.”

  “Yes, good news,” he said.

  “And what about you, Hekan? Have you been matched to a human female yet?”

  “No, but I am hoping there is some daring mission that will send me to Earth to get one at some point,” he laughed.

  “No, you don’t. Trust me. Just wait for one to come here to Kelon.”

  “Yes, but until then, I will fill my nights with random lustful encounters,” he said, eyeing a human female across the way. “Excuse me.”

  “You are excused, warrior. Have fun, celebrate,” I said. Then I continued to walk around making the rounds. It was a good night. After all the eating and drinking, I again met up with my love Maria. We made our way back to my hut, our hut, and enjoyed each other’s company in the bed. It was the perfect ending to a perfect celebration.

  A week later, I was called into a meeting in the healer’s hut. When I arrived Jrarka, Ravinn, and the King were there as well as several official Draqua.

  “What is going on here? I was summoned?” I said.

  “Yes, good, we are all here,” the King said. “Go on, Jrarka.”

  “Yes, my King. I have summoned you here with good news. My team and I have thoroughly examined the virus. We know how it is made. What’s more, we know how to make a vaccine. We have already made a batch.”

  “This is great news,” the King said. “Congratulations, Jrarka!”

  Everyone clapped. Then the King looked at me. “Well, Captain. What is the best way to deal with this news?”

  “I think we let it be known. We spread the word far and wide that we have the vaccine to the opposition virus. Let us send a message to all of our moon bases across the galaxy in a way that we know the messages will be intercepted by the opposition. Once they know that we have a vaccine, then they are less likely to try to use the virus again.”