by Viola Grace
“That isn’t our way, and these children will be half Rrassic. They will need early combat training and tutors who can deal with rising strength and power.” Iktabi was keeping his voice soft.
“So?”
“You can have them until they can walk and talk. From that point they will be trained as their fathers were trained.”
That made a point she hadn’t considered. “Even the girls?”
He chuckled. “Especially the girls. We are creating schools on a protected world. For every week that passes here, a year will pass there. They will be adults and ready to join the Rrassic cause in no time.”
She frowned. “We will keep them until they are six.”
“Four. They will be cherished and protected, and the mothers can visit once a week.” Iktabi sighed as if this was a tremendous concession.
“You know I am going to put this into a contract form, right?”
“I would expect no less. Now, let’s see the decanting room.”
Fremo jerked when he was addressed, and he led them to the huge space that Isabella tsked at.
“Too big. It is a private experience. Even if a dozen children are being decanted at the same time, each mother will want to be alone and hold her child against her for the first time. We want to laugh, to cry and to feel that baby’s skin on ours for the first time with only the baby’s father as a witness.”
Iktabi nodded. “It seems likely. Right. Smaller cubicles with soft lighting and enough space for half a dozen folk to stand separately.”
“Half a dozen?”
“There will still need to be techs and a records officer to record names and birthdates as well as genetic imprint.”
Isabella nodded. “Right.”
The rest of the tour was the fluid and oxygen processing systems and their redundancies.
The light outside was fading when they made their way to the roof.
“How is it that every building roof here has a door on it with no locks?”
“It is my outpost, and therefore, I have access to all buildings.” He smiled. “Ready to fly?”
“Of course.”
She leaned up against him and draped a hand around his neck. When his arm wrapped around her, she settled against him, getting into the familiar position of being cradled by his limbs.
There was a smile on his lips as he bent and lifted her up. He spread his wings, and with a few practice strokes, he dropped them off the edge of the building, gliding across the city.
“So, you don’t think I was too pushy today regarding the layout of the building?”
“No. You know what your kind need, and you have their best interests in mind.”
He banked, and she adjusted her grip to keep herself stable.
They weren’t heading home.
“Where are we going?”
“Into the city. I believe it is time that we have a social meal together, and I know just the place.”
She analyzed his words as he swooped down to street level and came to a neat landing. The change in acceleration was controlled by the hold she had on him, and when he set her on her feet, she was balanced and looking around.
“Isabella.”
“Yes?”
“You can let me go now.”
She dropped her arm to her side. “Sorry.”
“Don’t be. You were simply drawing attention to your position, and I do not believe that that is your preferred situation.”
“Right. Thank you.” She patted her data pad and smiled brightly. “So, where are we going?”
He offered her his arm, and when her hand was resting on his, he led her to an alley and a restaurant with a sliding screen door.
The Nool at the door bowed and smiled. “Overseer, it is a delight to have you visit us. Would you like the private room?”
“Thank you, Tertault. If it isn’t already spoken for, the room is precisely what I want, please.”
The Nool smiled and said, “This way.”
The archways were an odd mix with the sliding doors, but the calm ambience in the vaulted rooms made up for any mixing of cultures in the architecture.
The private room was more of a temple than a restaurant. The seating area was a raised, padded box with a hollow in the centre. Iktabi was able to settle himself at her left side with no difficulty.
“This is... striking.” She couldn’t decide how to describe it. The carved stone and soaring ceilings took her breath away.
“The designs are Dorbin. Each branch of the Rrassic has developed their own purpose-built architecture. This restaurant has representations of most of them.”
A Nool in subtle dark tunic and trousers emerged from the shadows and paused next to them. “Overseer. Would you and your guest like something special?”
Iktabi let out a spate of rapid High Rrassic that Isabella had trouble following. One of the courses involved wine. That was all she had been able to catch.
When the server left, she cleared her throat. “So, are we having something specific?”
“Well, since you have spent the day in defense of the development of your own culture, I thought you should experience ours.”
She blinked and then chuckled. “Aside from the part where you lock strangers to you with cuffs and force fields?”
“Magnetic pull, and yes, aside from that.” He chuckled as the server came back with a tray full of glasses and carafes.
When the assortment was laid out in front of her, he explained what each one was before pouring her a tasting portion.
The water was tinged with the fragrance of a flower, the wine was a rich blue, the second a dark plum and the third was scarlet. The tea was a wild mix of fruits and aromatics.
“These are all from Rrassic?”
“Rrassia, yes. Each beverage is consumed at a different time of the year. Well, except the tea and the water. Those are for consumption day or night.”
She nodded and took a sip of everything he pointed out. When the appetizers arrived, she did the same thing with them. Their server, Keepil, was wary of Iktabi but informative as well when he figured out that the reason for their romantic dinner was cultural exposure.
Hours flew by while they ate, laughed and she asked questions about how the food was prepared. Eventually, they were both stuffed and they sat talking quietly.
“All right. I have to ask. How do you know so much about food?”
Iktabi smiled. “When I was a Nool, I worked in a restaurant much like this one. Like Keepil, I knew that I would become a Dorbin, so I sought to be competent, serene and offer wisdom when it was asked for.”
“So, you always know what you will be?”
“Certainly. We are extensively tested while we are maturing. By the time we are out in the world in a service position, we know what we will assume as our final form.”
“Do the women of the Rrassic change from a neutral form as well?”
“No. They need all the time they can get to manage their own bodies and the changes that come naturally.”
She lifted her scarlet wine. “Here’s to that.”
He clinked her glass against hers in the gesture she had taught him, and they drank.
The carafes were empty and the plates held only crumbs. She was full, and she had consumed more to drink than she had had in years. Keeping a clear head as a woman alone in the city had been her priority. Here, she literally couldn’t go more than thirty metres from her protector. She was his responsibility.
“I think it is time to get you home.” Iktabi got to his feet with disgusting ease.
Isabella looked at him with narrowed eyes while she flailed around to free herself without bashing into the table. She finally managed to get herself out from under the wood, and then, she had to lever herself to her feet.
She heard the soft laughter. “Do you need help, Isabella?”
“No. I am good. Just give me a minute.”
The secon
ds ticked by as she tried and failed to get herself upright. “Okay. Help.”
He slid his arm around her and held her against him. “Too much wine?”
She wrinkled her nose. “Either that or someone stole my knees while I wasn’t looking.”
He snorted and lifted her slowly. “Come on. I will make sure that you don’t sleep in your clothing.”
She nodded and rubbed her cheek against his shoulder. “That sounds like fun.”
His body stiffened under her, and she could hear his heart pick up the pace.
He left the restaurant and a concerned Keepil followed them to the door.
Iktabi walked out of the restaurant and into the open street. He made sure he was clear and whispered, “Brace yourself.”
When he launched skyward, she felt that her stomach was still left on the sidewalk below. He flew slowly, and she eventually righted herself.
Their landing was smooth. She barely woke up. There were a few minutes of pulling and tugging, but eventually, she was tucked in and warm.
It had been an educational day.
Chapter Eleven
Some time before dawn, she got out of bed, found the bathroom and brushed her teeth. A glass of water later and she retraced hers steps in the dark. Settling into bed, she was just nodding off again when she heard the soft breathing next to her.
Turning slowly, she looked at the barely visible shadow taking up the other half of the bed. The bed was huge, and it wasn’t hers. Hell, the room wasn’t hers.
As quietly as she could, she turned over and went to peel the covers back again.
“If you keep squirming around, I am going to pin you down.” The low, husky notes of his voice made her shiver.
“I can go back to my room now.” She scooted back to the edge of the bed.
“Why? The night is almost done. You can get a few more hours of sleep here.”
“I am fine. I am sure that I—yikes!”
He simply hauled her against him and settled in with her skin touching his in several places.
Iktabi appeared completely impervious to the contact. He simply held her against him and returned to sleep.
She was stuck. She could try to either squirm free or sleep.
Isabella reached out and slid her arm around him, touching the base of his wings with the lightest touch.
She could feel his pulse speed up, and she pulled her hand back, whispering, “Sorry.”
“It is fine. If you want to explore, you are welcome to. We are not meeting with anyone until mid-morning. We can sleep in a little.”
Isabella blushed but took comfort in the darkness. “Would it be weird if I did want to touch?”
“No. May I return the favour? You seem very soft.”
Her blush went up a notch. “Um, sure.”
Curiosity went both ways, after all.
She spent half an hour stroking the skin she could reach while lying on her side, and then, she sat up and knelt next to him so she could stroke her fingers over muscle and connections that were missing on her own body.
The musculature was nearly human, but his neck was thicker and the bands around his ribs were huge. The support for the wings had to be strong and stable, so it was no wonder that he worked out to keep his physique capable of flight.
When Iktabi started to touch her, she shivered but reached out to stroke the thick column of his neck and the wide expanse of his jaw. She was leaning over him and pressed a small kiss to his lips.
It appeared to be the signal that he was waiting for. He returned her kiss with interest, threading his finger through her hair and holding her close. His free hand slid over her skin, the rough pads waking her senses in a rush that she felt between her thighs.
He stroked her hip and cupped her buttock, squeezing gently.
She felt the tug on her hair and lifted her head.
“If you want me to stop, say so.”
She looked at him in the light of false dawn that was peeping through the windows. “Don’t stop.”
With those two words, she pinned her fate firmly to his. Pretending this was a casual coupling was all she had to go on. Thinking of a future was beyond her imagination.
He kissed her slowly and held her as he shifted until they were kneeling face to face. His wings were extended behind and to the sides as he pulled her toward him, her thighs parting and resting on either side of his.
She moved her hand down his chest, over his belly and curled her fingers around his erection. It was slightly more conical than that of a human penis, but it was to scale. Unfortunately for Isabella, the scale was on the large side.
She stroked his cock slowly, working her hand up and down the length, pausing only when his fingers delved between her thighs.
The first few strokes against her clit made her jerk slightly, but as he caught on to her preferences, the strokes turned to light circles that caused another rush of invitation.
She let go of his erection and caught his shoulders as he stroked her opening with a finger that slipped and slid until it worked inside. She let out a low moan and rolled her head around as she tried not to move from the hips down.
He took up a slow plunge and retreat with his fingers, and she bit her lip as her body violently reacted to his touch.
She didn’t know what was wrong with her, but she was going berserk. She wanted him inside her, wanted it immediately and wanted it hard. That was not a series of thoughts that she had ever entertained before.
When he slid a second finger into her, Isabella dug her nails into his shoulders and rocked her hips against his hand. She shivered and started to buck and jerk as her inner muscles clasped him.
He finally groaned and lifted her, settling her on the head of his cock. Iktabi had felt huge in her hand, and he was no smaller as her weight pushed her onto him in a slow and deliberate impalement.
She stared up at his face as she sank until the backs of her thighs pressed against the front of his. The faint light cast his features in sinister shadow, but his focus was on her and that ratcheted her excitement up another notch.
He cupped her thighs and buttocks and lifted her before letting her slide deliciously slowly onto him. Sweat started to slide between her breasts, and she fought to control her voice. She moaned, groaned and grunted with every thrust. Her breasts ached, and she released one of his shoulders to squeeze the aching flesh. It eased the ache and built the arousal. When he paused and held himself inside her stroking her clit with the slow and deliberate circles, she squealed and shook as her body clutched at his cock.
He held her against him until she stopped twitching and then he moved, laying her back on the bed and pressing his weight against her as he started to slide inside her once again.
He rocked inside her, pushing her back on the bedding and lowering his chest to rub against her breasts with every motion.
He surrounded her, his wings were wide and blocked out the light, leaving her in a warm, sweaty cavern with Iktabi.
She planted her feet on the bed and arched her hips while whispering, ohpleaseohpleaseohpleaseohpleaseohpleaseohplease.
He kissed her, taking her whispers, and he circled his hips on the inward thrust, grinding against her and pressing hard. Three of those thrusts and she was once again at the mercy of the lights that sparked behind her eyes and the fire that lit her nerves into pleasurable flame.
Iktabi continued a litany of soft kisses before working his way down her neck to lick at the salty drops of sweat.
She blinked slowly, feeling him throbbing inside her and her muscles pulsing around him. “You didn’t...”
“I don’t need to.” He pulled out of her and continued to nuzzle his way down her body.
“But... if you don’t, what was the point?”
He lifted his head and the smile was smug. “To remove your fear of me, and in doing so, you will spread that lack of fear to the other humans.”
She chuc
kled. “That was a risk.” She threaded her fingers through his hair.
“I considered it an opportunity. Until the response from the Dorbin archives comes back, there is no point in considering you a mate, but you can definitely be a companion.”
The disappointment that flared through her was strong. She slowly pulled her fingers away from his hair and eased herself back. “Right. I forgot. No mating unless you are flying.”
He leaned his chin on her abdomen and stopped her from moving. “I do not want to upset you and I would be delighted if my instincts are correct, but the Dorbin population is too sparse to pledge myself if it is not possible.”
She sighed. “I know. I know that. I even ran it through my head before I said yes, but romantic notions follow the orgasm.”
“I would like nothing more than to launch myself out the window with you in my arms and fly out over the empty valley to listen to your screams echo.”
Isabella muttered weakly, “That sounds nice.”
“Well, I put in the comparison request when you went to the med centre, so we need to wait for the mating flight.”
She nodded and drew a deep breath. “Well, I still need a shower. I am all sweaty.”
“You can shower when we wake up. For now, I want every scent you possess next to me and on me.”
He lifted his head and pulled her up, kissing her gently, before he clawed the bedding down and tucked her against a pillow.
When he snuggled in next to her, she wrapped her arm around him, the only thing on either of them was the silver bands that linked them.
Sleep came easily.
The next morning, she couldn’t meet his gaze, but until they left his quarters, he was always within reach.
She wore a more elaborate version of her previous day’s clothing. The rest of her wardrobe would be arriving in four days.
When it came time to fly to work, his hand slid slowly around her waist as if remembering the feel without clothing, and he smiled the entire way to the admin centre.
