“What?!!” she asked defensively, pushing back the hair that had fallen over her face.
“You had a nightmare,” he told her.
“If you say so.”
“Tell me what it was about,” Kirall demanded.
“No.”
“You will not tell me?” Kirall couldn’t believe it.
“No, I’m not here for conversation. Remember? Just to fuck.”
“You know, you are very irritating,” Kirall leaned back in the chair, his legs spread, seemingly unconcerned with his nakedness or the view he was giving her.
Autumn had never actually gotten a good look at Kirall. Okay, yes, she’d seen his balls and cock up close and personal, but she hadn’t really seen all of him, not all at once and not like this.
Damn, the guy was really built.
Trying to corral her wayward thoughts, Autumn shrugged and sat up, trying to act as unconcerned with her nakedness as Kirall seemed to be with his. Just as she opened her mouth to speak, her stomach growled hungrily, and Kirall surged to his feet.
“What was that?!!” he demanded.
“What? The growl?” she asked.
“Yes! Do you have a Beast inside you?”
“No, it was just my stomach.” She saw he didn’t understand. “I’m hungry. I don’t suppose there’s anything to eat around here, is there? It’s been a long time since breakfast.” In fact, Autumn hadn’t even gotten that. Not with how long it had taken Kristy to do her hair and makeup. The limo had picked her up at eleven, and after nearly an hour, she’d finally arrived and been brought to Kirall.
“What time is it anyway? How long was I asleep?” She looked to the cheap watch she always wore on her wrist, then remembered she’d left it at the apartment.
“Maybe an hour.” Kirall’s Beast slowly calmed down as Kirall moved toward the other side of the room. “It is late afternoon.”
“Oh.”
“There is food.”
Kirall gestured to the table Autumn hadn’t noticed before. But in her defense, when had she had time to look. Rising from the bed, she leaned down grabbing the towel Kirall had torn from her body. There was no way she was eating naked. Moving into the outer room and to the table he’d gestured to, she saw it was filled with a variety of foods. Some she recognized. Some she didn’t.
“Eat whatever you wish,” he told her.
Autumn didn’t have to be told twice, and began filling a plate with items she recognized. There were meats and cheeses, a mixture of olives and fruits, and there were even cooked shrimp on short wooden skewers. It was like the appetizer table at some fancy party, and for him, she supposed that’s exactly what this was. Turning, she found him watching her closely, and her cheeks flushed slightly at how full her plate was. She didn’t get to eat like this often, well never really. She mostly existed on peanut butter sandwiches and instant ramen. Occasionally, Fred at the diner would let her have a botched order, but those times were rare because Fred was a tight ass.
“What?” she demanded defensively.
“When did you last eat?” he asked softly.
“I told you…” Autumn turned and looked around the room. It was actually divided into two rooms. One sparsely furnished with a couch, the drink table, and the food table, and one with a bed. A partial wall separated the two.
“Truthfully?” Kirall asked again. “Tell me when.”
“Last night after work,” she finally told him realizing it was either eat on the bed or on the couch. Choosing the couch, she moved toward it.
“That is not sufficient, not even for one as small as you,” Kirall told her.
“Yeah, well not everyone can afford to eat like that.” She gestured to the table.
“Food is scarce on your planet?” Kirall frowned, he hadn’t been aware of that.
“No, not scarce, but it costs money, and that’s something I don’t have much of.”
“Is that why you willingly took Kristy’s place?”
“Partly,” she told him absently as she braced the plate on her knees, then popped a big juicy grape into her mouth. “Aren’t you going to eat?”
Autumn watched him frown at her, then with one hand he pulled the food-laden table over to the couch, cleared a spot for her plate then took it from her and placed it there. Autumn fought back a smile. Sitting on the couch as she was, the table came up to her chin. It was like being a child again, and trying to sneak a peak at what was on the ‘big people’s’ table.
She let out a startled shriek when Kirall lifted her, settling her across his lap. It brought her up to a normal eating height.
“What is the other part?” he asked. Reaching out he selected a piece of food, then tossed it into his mouth.
Autumn was silent for a moment, trying to decide what she wanted to tell him then shrugged. Did it really matter? It’s not like he actually cared. “I want to take night classes.”
“Night classes?” he asked.
“Yeah. I finally got my G.E.D., but if I want a better job then I need to learn more.”
“G.E.D.?”
“It’s kind of like a diploma, but not; for people who didn’t go to regular school. You have to have it to get menial jobs. If you want better paying jobs, then you need to take more classes.”
“And with a better job, you would be able to eat more often?” Reaching out, he picked out something else and popped it in his mouth before Autumn could warn him.
“Yes. Umm…Kirall,” she began, not sure what to do.
“Yes?” he asked, grunting as he chewed.
“You just put a habanero in your mouth.”
“So?” he asked, reaching for more.
“They are really hot,” she warned.
“They are not bad.” He chewed three more. “But they are better than your Fire Water.”
“Fire Water?” she asked, confused.
“The drink you gave me. Dacke told me it was called ‘Fire Water,’ although I do not understand why. It doesn’t burn at all.”
“Oh, you mean the whiskey. Well, just so you know, you are not kissing me on the mouth after eating all of those.”
Kirall’s entire being seemed to still, then his gaze trapped hers, and she felt like a bug stuck on a pin.
“I will not be kissing your mouth.”
“That…that’s what I said,” she stuttered, suddenly uncomfortable.
“I will never kiss you on your mouth, Aud-um. It is a sacred act, and one I will only ever share with my mate.”
“Kissing on the mouth is… sacred for you?” she asked uncertainly.
“Is it not for you?” Kirall was surprised.
“Uh…no…not really,” she stuttered. “Why is it so sacred?”
“It is part of the bonding ritual between mates. The sharing of one’s life breath with one’s mate is…” Kirall inhaled deeply. “It is said to be an amazing experience.”
Autumn’s eyes widened at the reverence and awe she heard in Kirall’s tone. “Is there more to the ritual?”
“Do you really wish to know?” Kirall asked.
“I really do. If you are willing to share it with me.”
“If I do, will you tell me how you got your scars?” he asked, because for some reason he really wanted to know. When she jerked trying to rise, he tightened his arms around her, stopping her.
“Let go!” she demanded.
“No.” He made her face him. “Why will you not tell me?”
“Because you’ll remember it!” she spat at him.
“I do not understand,” he told her. “Of course, I will.”
“But I won’t, will I?” she demanded. “You can tell me anything you want. The truth. A lie. And after tomorrow, I won’t remember any of it.”
“Why does that bother you so?” he asked confused.
“Because I don’t want my life…my failures…paraded across the universe long after I’m dead.”
“That would never happen!” he immediately denied.
“
Right, like no one has heard about how Kristy likes to use all her orifices. Or about how she likes to scream?”
Kirall opened his mouth, then found he had to shut it, for she was right. Stories about Dacke’s encounter with Kristy were already spreading far beyond their ship.
“Would you like people talking about you, judging you, long after you were dead?” she demanded.
“No,” Kirall admitted quietly. “I would not.”
“Then you should understand why I won’t tell you.”
“I do,” he agreed, “but I would still like to know.”
“Why?” It was Autumn’s turn to question. “Why is it so important to you?”
“I…because it would bring us closer.”
“You mean until I leave?” She tilted her head slightly to the side, and gave him a considering look. “You know, I think I envy you.”
“What?” Kirall’s eyes widened in shock. “Why?”
“Because you can be whoever you want to be right now, and I would never know the difference. You tell me you’re a Prime Dragoon,” she shrugged her shoulders dismissively, “and who am I to argue? You could tell me your deepest, darkest secrets, and know that they will never be repeated, never be revealed, let alone remembered.”
“You think I would lie to you?” Kirall’s displeasure at the thought was easily heard.
“I don’t know,” she told him honestly. “Does it really matter to you what I think? After all, I’m basically just a vessel here to serve your needs.”
“That is not how I see you, Autumn,” he denied hotly.
“Of course it is, otherwise you’d be willing to talk to me. To tell me about you and your world.”
“You are very irritating for an Other. Do you know that?” Kirall asked, reaching out popping another pepper into his mouth.
Autumn just watched Kirall chew. Was he starting to share with her or was it just a slip of the tongue? There was only one way to find out.
“What is an Other?” she asked quietly.
“It is what we call beings like you on my planet.”
“Beings like me?” Her eyebrows drew together. “You mean you have humans on your planet?”
“We have beings that are similar to you, although they are larger and much more respectful. They tend the land on our planet, and serve the Dragoons.”
“Why?” she asked.
“Why what?” he replied frowning.
“Why do they serve you?”
“Because in return for their work and service, we take them under our protection, and no species dares injure someone under a Dragoon’s protection.”
“Why do you call them Other?”
“Because that is what they are. Other. They are not like us. They cannot change form and have no Dragon. Therefore, they are Other.” He made it sound so simple.
“But I thought you called your Beast a Battle Beast, not a Dragon,” Autumn frowned at him.
“I have another form. A Dragon form.”
“Seriously? You can honestly turn into a fire-breathing Dragon? With wings and everything?” Excitement filled her voice.
“Of course!” Kirall told her giving her an insulted look.
“Can I see him?” she asked.
“No!” he told her, and immediately the excitement and sparkle in her eyes disappeared.
“Oh, so ‘Others’ aren’t allowed to see you in that form.” She didn’t try to hide her disappointment.
“Others see us in our Dragon form all the time,” Kirall admitted.
“So it’s just me.” She again tried to pull away from him.
“Yes, but not for the reason you think.” He could see the hurt in her eyes as he held her in his lap. “You asked me to be honest with you. Do you only wish that if it pleases you?”
Autumn stopped struggling in his arms. “No. I want you to tell me the truth. I want to for once be…”
“Be?” he asked when she cut herself off.
“Be treated as if I haven’t been ‘damaged’. To be treated as if I didn’t need to be handled ‘carefully’. I think I have more than proven that I can handle what life throws at me and survive. Even when it’s a horny alien.” She gave him a half-hearted smile.
Kirall was silent for a moment, not returning her smile. “I do not know what you have survived, but I do know that you did. And for that I thank Kur.”
“Yeah, right.” Autumn rolled her eyes. “You wanted Kristy and got me instead.” She would have turned away, but Kirall’s hand cupping her jaw stopped her, and she found her gaze trapped by two very serious eyes.
“I am very pleased that it was you who arrived instead of Kristy, Autumn.”
Her eyes widened because he was suddenly pronouncing her name correctly.
“You have satisfied me, Autumn, in ways I never could have anticipated,” he admitted.
“Then why won’t you show me your Dragon?” she asked, letting him hear the need that even she didn’t understand.
“Because he would destroy you,” he told her quietly.
“What?” Her eyes widened in shock.
Kirall sighed heavily. “My Dragon is my preferred form on my home planet. He is very different than my Battle Beast. His wingspan is massive, and he loves to soar high in the sky, protecting his territory and everyone in it. But if he were to emerge while I was joining with a female that was not our mate…he would rip her apart.”
“But your Battle Beast didn’t hurt me.”
“No, he did not, which is surprising. But you were not afraid of him as so many are, so maybe that is the difference.”
“Difference?”
“Yes. My Battle Beast has never appeared during any of my other Heats. He is too primal for most females, and they do not welcome his attentions, fearing he will harm them.”
“He would never harm me,” she denied, feeling the need to defend his Beast.
“You are bruised,” Kirall countered, carefully picking up one of her wrists, seeing the bruise that was still there.
“I hate to tell you this, Kirall, but your Beast didn’t do that…you did.”
Kirall growled his displeasure at her statement. “I know this, Autumn, but what I don’t understand is why he didn’t, and only you can explain that to me.”
“Me? How would I know? As you said, I am an Other, and apparently on your planet they are not useful for anything other than service.”
“That is not true, a Dragoon can mate with an Other, but it is not…encouraged.”
“What do you mean?”
Kirall settled back into the couch, pulling her with him. “I told you how the length of a Dragoon’s life was dependent on its mate.”
“Yes, but I don’t understand why.”
“It is because of the mating bond. It binds them together in a way I cannot explain, but it is for life, and the life of an Other mate is always precarious.”
“Why is it so precarious?”
“Because even when strengthened by a Dragoon’s kiss and a Dragon’s blood, an Other is still fragile and easy to end.”
“Kiss and blood?”
“Yes. During the mating process, a Dragoon will bind its life force to its mate’s by kissing them on the mouth, sharing their life’s breath. Then the Dragoon partially shifts so that his Dragon can join with its mate.”
“How can a Dragon possibly join with an Other?” Autumn whispered, discovering that just the thought of joining with Kirall’s Dragon had her experiencing her own heat.
“The Dragon bites the Other.” His finger gently caressed the juncture at the base of her neck. “Here, taking the Other’s blood, allowing it to mix with his before injecting it back into the Other. It binds them together for all eternity.”
“But how does a Dragon actually…” Autumn felt her cheeks flush.
“Join with his mate?” he finished for her.
“Yes.”
“If the mate is Other, then it can only be accomplished by the Dragon using either his tail or tong
ue.”
“Seriously? I would have thought…”
“Thought what, little Aud-um.”
“Well...that a Dragon would have a cock, if he were male, and that he would join with his mate that way.”
“He would if she were a Dragoon mate, but he cannot do that with an Other mate. It would kill her.”
“Oh.”
“There is another deterrent to taking an Other for a mate, for while the Other mate becomes stronger than before, he or she will still not be able to shift. Thus making them unable to protect themselves as well as a Dragoon mate could. It makes both of them more vulnerable to attack. If the Other mate were to die, then the Dragoon mate would retreat into its lair and slowly, painfully fade away.”
“What happens if you mate with a Dragoon?”
“While a female Dragoon is harder to kill than an Other, she is still not as strong as a male, and has no Battle Beast. Therefore, she must be protected. If she were to die, the result for her mate is the same. It is why mates are protected so fiercely, especially the female ones. It is why many Dragoon’s refuse to take an Other as their mate.”
“I don’t understand. If they are mates, how can you refuse to ‘mate’ with them?”
“As long as the bonding process has not been completed, the Dragoon has a chance to find another mate that is not so…fragile.”
“But…”
“Many choose to go through life alone, rather than take on the burden of an Other mate.”
“Burden?” Autumn didn’t try to hide her shock.
“An Other mate must be guarded fiercely, Autumn. Male or female. For while they are a treasure to their mate, they are also a weakness, and Dragoons do not like weakness. Many will attack the mate, knowing it will kill the Dragoon. It is how we lost the Supremes.”
“The Supremes?”
“Prime Dragoons were not always the most powerful of the Dragoons. There were once ones even stronger, ones called Supremes. Many of them found their mates within the Others. It caused many to become jealous, both Dragoon and Other. They plotted against the mates, striking when they were the most vulnerable, until only one Supreme remained, Razeth. He left Mondu in search of his mate and never returned.
Bound By Heat - Dragon Shifter Page 5
