by Viola Grace
He chuckled. “Fair point.”
One of the bots chirped and held a fold of fabric out to him.
Zel chuckled. “I think they are attempting to sooth my delicate sensibilities.”
He took the fabric. “What is it?”
“A hip wrap. It is easy enough to drop and will help me keep an eye on our conversations.”
He stood and worked out how to drape the fabric from hip to mid-thigh. He grinned, “Better?”
She sighed. “Yes, thank you. I am sorry, but the culture I was born to was rather ill at ease with exposed genitals, primary and secondary. I am sure I will get used to it, but today is not that day.”
He barked out a laugh that shook the walls. “Fair enough. You have already done your share of adjustment. I will learn to bend my ways a little. I used to wear clothing when I was growing up, it isn’t a foreign experience, it has simple been a while.”
The wrap around his hips was the same deep blue as his eyes.
“Where did the fabric come from?”
“The monks weave it. They make their own textiles as well as whatever else they require. What they cannot make, we trade for. I have maintained contact with the Imperium on a regular basis.” He sat back and drank his tea.
“We are in the Imperium? I thought we were in the Alliance.”
“The Alliance may have recruited you, but we are beyond their laws. Now, there is one matter that you need to deal with, and I will leave you to recover from your morning.”
Zelia scowled. “What is that?”
“You need to pay me for the instruction.” He gave his cup to a bot, rose to his feet and walked over to her.
Zel put her cup down and put her hands in his, letting him pull her to her feet.
The kiss was shocking, and it woke every nerve in her body. Her hands clenched around his, and she held tight as the kiss deepened and he tasted her.
She shivered from head to toe, her body was telling her to rub against him, but her mind was wondering how she could kiss a man she didn’t even know.
She told her prudish self that not only had she been with this man while he and she had been naked for the better part of the day, he was the father of her child. A little making out was in order.
Chapter Six
The days took on a predictable pattern. In the morning, she had swimming lessons then breakfast and kissing Rad.
The day he looked nervous and led her outside after their standard make-out session, she knew something had changed.
“This is awkward. Usually Drai introduce their mates to their beast form before they show them to their homes. It seems we are not doing anything in the prescribed order.” He took a deep breath and moved away from her until he was standing in the centre of the courtyard.
She felt wind rushing past her as he blurred, and in seconds, she was staring at over forty feet of scaled and rippling muscle with huge deep blue eyes.
His limbs were strangely arranged. Instead of the wings of his normal shape, he was smooth and hard scales, long-fingered claws and a wide, whipping tail. He was an Asian dragon with a European dragon’s head.
She wasn’t sure what she was supposed to do, but she walked up to him, and he extended his muzzle to her. His head was wider than her body, but the nervous look in his eyes was still there.
She ran her hand along the silvery-blue scales and walked from his head to the tip of his tail with her palm dragging along him the entire way.
He was cool and slick. His body was what she had seen cruising under the surface on those first few days and in her dreams.
She turned to walk back to his head, but he had doubled on himself, and his head was right in front of her. “Oh, hello, pretty.”
He blinked and there was relief in his eyes.
“You are rather stunning, I have to say. How do you fly in this form?”
A gleam came to his gaze, and she heard his voice in her mind, Get on my back, behind my head, and hang on.
She blinked and stared at him. “I wouldn’t want to hurt you by stepping in the wrong place.”
He let out a huff, grabbed her in his claw and set her on the back of his neck. Rad seemed to be able to bend himself into any arrangement he wanted.
As she settled herself astride him, she found herself blushing. It was another weird intimacy that went beyond letting him help her with the medical scanner.
He lifted off without undulation or any motion at all. I travel via telekinetic propulsion. I don’t use any aerodynamics in this form.
“Which is why you are so at home under the sea.”
This form is well suited to moving through the waves.
“Please don’t do that while I am on top of you.”
There was a low rumble of amusement from his throat, and he streaked out over the open ocean.
There was fine downy hair at the base of his skull, and she hung onto it as he moved over the bands of water until there was no visible land around them. She had a flicker of unease, but it was squashed when she remembered that the Drai were attuned to their homes. He could get her back to the house without any problem.
Zel smiled as they approached a land mass and he circled it.
This was the alternate site for the house, but there is no ready access to transport to the mainland and I did not feel it fair to keep my mate stranded in the middle of the ocean, as tempting as that might be.
She smiled. “Your mate might not have enjoyed the isolation. The house itself is fairly isolated. I don’t even know where the monks are.”
I will show you the abbey. They are not too far from the house.
He circled and began a slow undulation back toward the direction they had initially come from.
Zel had to admit it was a fascinating way to travel, even if the slow movement of the warm scales under her thighs felt like a caress.
When they passed the shoreline, he headed north instead of south. They cruised over trees, fields and a small lake before the large structure loomed out of the landscape.
Zel perked up and watched as small figures came out to watch them. When Rad circled and began to descend, she hung on tight.
She didn’t feel dressed to meet people with a religious bent, but when he landed and the crowd came to meet them, she knew she had no choice. The clothing that the bots had dressed her in were barely opaque. The top was gauzy and a similar blue to that of Rad’s skin, but she wore nothing beneath it. The light froth of her skirt was the same fabric. Her soft navy-blue boots came to her knees. She was covered, but she wasn’t going to church covered.
When he set himself down, she swung her leg over and slid down his shoulder to meet the incoming crowd.
The moment she got a good look at the monks, she was far less worried about what she was wearing, and she was accepting that the weather here must be very temperate. They wore hip wraps in varying shades and that was all.
She saw at least fifteen different skin shades and configurations of species in the crowd. This wasn’t one race getting together to create a commune, this was a place where all were welcome.
A woman came forward; her hair was long and silky black. Her species was very familiar and her golden skin glowed with health. She was Terran.
Rad changed into his normal form, and one of the monks came forward with a fold of fabric in royal blue.
Rad smirked and put the wrap around his hips.
The man at the head of the gathering stepped toward Zel and smiled. “Welcome to the abbey, mistress.”
She smiled. “Thank you for your welcome.”
Rad finished fiddling with his clothing, and he made the introductions. “Zelia, this is the organizer and brother in control. Reverend Brother Miklassi, this is my...companion, Zelia of Terra.”
The Terran woman in the crowd grinned brightly and gave a small wave.
Miklassi chuckled. “We have one of those as well, mistress. Your structure is similar, but
your features are definitely different.”
Zelia smiled. “Our ancestors took different evolutionary paths, and we adapted to our environments. For my ancestors, it was cold with harsh sun, and for hers, it was more of a tropical environment.”
The woman came forward. “Welcome, Mistress Zelia. This Drai has been waiting for a very long time.”
Zelia extended her hand. She was not going to hug the bare-breasted woman.
“My name is Suri. You can either call me sister or Suri.” Suri smiled and clasped her forearm for a moment before letting go.
Zelia nodded. “Suri then. How long have you been here?”
“Seven years. I was in the first wave that left, and I was brought straight here. I have enjoyed my life of contemplation and harmony.”
Several of the monks were staring at them, but most of those gathered were interested in Rad.
Rad smiled at her. “If you wish to have a conversation with her, feel free to have her show you the grounds, Zelia.”
“How long will we be here?” She frowned.
“Until you ask to go home.”
Suri smiled. “The tour will be quick.”
Zel nodded. “I think that will be fun.”
Suri gestured toward the walls that surrounded the huge expanse of the abbey. “Please come with me.”
Zel followed her through the crowd, and when they had made it to the other side, Suri linked arms with her. They walked through the gates, and Zel noted them.
“Why the huge gates?”
“The beasts of the field and forest scent some of our activities and try to come in. Master Ahku helped build the walls when the first members of the abbey arrived.”
Zel nodded as they climbed the stairs to the main building, and when Suri led her to the flat of the elevated garden, she smiled. “It is wonderful.”
“We grow what we need and store what we don’t. The abbey is completely contained.”
Zel walked to the edge of the upper garden, and she looked down at the lower six that delved into the ground. From her current vantage point, she could see that the work went under the walls and deep into the soil.
“Rad mentioned that there was mining.”
Suri smiled. “Crystals that are used to power the healing scanners. Each scanner produced using Master Ahku’s patents use crystals grown here. The abbey mines them as they grow, but we do not delve into the caverns themselves. We take only what is offered by the world under our feet.”
“Why did you come out here?” Zel blurted it.
Suri laughed. “I was offered by my city, but all I truly wanted was peace and quiet. My body reacts to electrical fields, so I concentrate my efforts on the gardens. There is a place here for anyone who wants to devote themselves to simply living for the now.”
“What do you worship?”
“The land under our feet, the wheels of the universe around us. When you still your mind, you can see it all. That is why I chose to come here when it was offered. My mind and body needed to get away from the hum of technology. This world has been good for me and for all others who have sought it out.”
Rad and the others wandered into the gardens below; Suri eased her past the upper garden and onto stairs winding further upward. They walked until Zel could see around her in every direction.
“This world is ours because your Drai lets us live here. Without his agreement, we would go mad or fade in our own lives on our own worlds.”
Zel watched Suri’s solemn face.
Suri looked at her. “He gives us purpose, because he accepts that he cannot have life and a family in a vacuum. He needs you and you need us, and so, we are here to serve you, mistress.”
“I am not your mistress.”
Suri rocked her hand from side to side. “You are and you aren’t. On Earth, our people believe in progress without worrying about consequence. This control is tight, but it has a definite purpose. The abbey was founded with the belief in the status quo. When one of its member dies, either a new brother or sister is chosen from those put for as candidates or a child is authorized.”
“Doesn’t that seem odd?”
Suri laughed, “There used to be jokes online about folks needing licenses to breed, here it is true. It is a relief. At home, I dreaded being emotionally blackmailed into having a child. Here, it is only in the line of duty that it would be asked of me, and the entire abbey would help raise it.”
Zelia looked around and wrapped her arms around her midsection as the wind tugged at her clothing. “That is funny. It is the direct opposite to my own feelings. I wanted a child without any complications or any other opinion. That doesn’t seem to be what I have landed in, but I am adapting.”
Suri smiled. “As Rad’s mate, your children will inherit this world. I hope that they will have the same care for this place as he does.”
“Child. I have only thought about having the one. My mind has not gone beyond that point.”
“I am sure he will attempt to convince you to have more.”
Zelia turned slowly to see the wilderness that her home at the coast had only hinted at. Mountains to one side, thick forest to the other and open plains rippling with grain. The bright gleam of a lake glistened in the distance. Zel closed her eyes and exhaled, opening them as she inhaled.
It was a breathing technique that Rad had taught her during their lessons, but here, it showed her the world in all its bright possibilities and pulled that brightness into her body.
Like the flickers of fish under the sea, she could see the flares of life in the forest in a rainbow of energies. Her knees wobbled and Suri caught her.
Suri looked at her with wide eyes. “I felt that. What did you do?”
She heard Rad’s footfalls sprinting up the steps, and she looked at the woman holding her. Suri glowed a soothing green.
Zelia turned to see Rad coming toward her with concern in his expression. Under his skin, she saw the whirling greens, blues, silvers and whites of the ocean that was part of him.
He took her in his arms, and she smiled at him. “I believe it is time to go home now.”
His embrace caught her up, and his wings beat hard, taking them from the abbey and in the direction of home.
Chapter Seven
When they landed on the balcony of her bedroom, she laughed at him. “You felt me falter.”
“Your mind went dark and then light seared your thoughts. I was worried.” He caressed her hair and looked at her with an analyzing gaze.
“Nothing to worry about. My alterations just continued. I can see now, and it is a good thing I can.”
“Why?” He set her on her feet but kept his hands on her waist.
Her answer was fairly to the point. She pulled herself up and kissed him, licking his bottom lip before she delved inward. Her lips were ravenous on his and her blood pounded in her veins.
His hands remained still on her waist for a moment, and after he recovered from his shock, he drew them upward to cover her shoulders.
She felt his hands clench and heard the tearing of her top as the neckline gave way. He stripped her torso in seconds, and it was a relief to press her breasts against the hard planes of his chest with sensual intent behind the move.
Her beaded nipples ached as she swayed from side to side on her toes. She felt the cool air on her back, and then, she felt the sharp tug at her waist and the fabric sliding off her hips.
She ran a hand down the ridges of his abdomen and pulled at the knot of the hip wrap. The fabric unravelled under her fingers and slid away from his skin.
She wrapped her hand around his erection, and she stroked him slowly. She felt the jerk in his body as he tensed at her touch. He groaned into her mouth as she continued to stroke his hard length.
He pinned her to him and lifted her off her feet, walking her into the bedroom. She chuckled inwardly and lifted herself against him until his cock was between her thighs and her body was prod
ucing a slick welcome.
He knelt on the bed, still holding her against him, and moved to the centre of the expanse with her in his arms.
When the cool sheets pressed against her back, she broke the kiss. “What are you waiting for?”
Her own voice was a husky rumble, but she ignored it as he settled against her and rubbed the head of his cock against her folds, parting her. Rad wedged inside her, and his gaze met hers as he slowly entered her.
She caressed his shoulders and neck before running her hands down his back and stroking the skin next to his wings.
Rad’s eyes narrowed, and his hips shifted forward, pushing his girth into her.
He pulled back and eased forward, making room for himself inside her. She shivered and held on, tilting her hips and moving to meet him with every thrust.
He extended his wings on either side of them, creating a cavern of privacy and warmth as their bodies connected fully at last. His eyes glowed silver when their union was complete, and he shuddered from head to toe.
Zelia stroked his jaw and arched against him, whispering, “I dreamed of you.”
He kissed her softly, “I dreamed of you.”
With the formalities taken care of, he began to move, rocking them together as pleasure grew with every stroke.
She cried out, and he took her sounds of pleasure into him. He slid inside her, and she shook at the sweet friction. Zelia held onto him, running her hands over the base of his wings and cupping his ass to pull him in sharply. She could barely reach, but she managed.
Heat flared in her body as he moved with increasing urgency. She moved a hand between them and stroked her clit with rapid circles. Her tension snapped, and she moaned as her body jerked without focus or control.
Rad continued to move with slow thrusts as her spasms closed around his cock and tried to hold him tight.
When he finally succumbed to his own release, Zelia was exhausted and quite raw. The changes made to her body didn’t account for her lack of practice. He shuddered and held his hips to hers, nearly fusing them together.
He rested his head beside hers, and their hearts beat frantically together until they settled into a steady and heavy pulse.
