by Lee, A. H.
Azrael made a panicked, scrambling motion. Jessica hugged him tight and pressed her lips against his ear, “Shhh, it’s alright.” Nothing terrible will happen if you’re caught kissing someone.
But she didn’t really want to explain at the moment, either. Unlike Azrael, Jessica was accustomed to quickly putting herself back together. She stood up, straightened her pajamas, ran a hand through her hair, and padded indoors. Mal was standing in the sitting room with Lucy, who was leaning against a chair. They were both in their human forms. Lucy seemed smaller than before, swallowed by her mink cape. Her face looked pinched and pale. Her cosmetics had disappeared.
“We were waiting on the front porch,” began Jessica. “Azrael is folding his map.”
“He can fold it later,” said Mal and started towards the door, but Jessica put a hand on his arm.
“Just…give him a moment.”
Mal looked at her oddly, but said nothing. A few seconds later, Azrael swept into the room, entirely cool and collected. “Lucy, you look worn out. Any faeries?”
“No.” She sounded more like an old woman now, with less of her cultured purr. “Not that I could find or smell.”
“Good. Thank you.” Azrael took out her perfume bottle, depressed the bulb, and released it. Lucy dissolved into golden mist that ran back into the enameled glass like quicksilver.
Chapter 18
Jessica
Azrael sat down in a chair beside his sofa-bed, took the map out of his pocket, and started to unfold it. He spoke in Mal and Jessica’s general direction. “Good night.”
Mal was looking from Azrael to Jessica, puzzled. Jessica felt certain he could sense her arousal. Sometimes I really do wish I had wards. Aloud, she said, “Oh, surely there’s time for one chapter of the book before bed.” She went to fetch it out of her bag—the beautiful blue leather volume with gold lettering. It was called The Pilot and the Dragon.
Mal’s confusion vanished. “Yes, come curl up in our bed and read to us.”
Azrael huffed.
“Well, we can’t exactly sit on the couch, since it’s all made up for you,” said Jessica reasonably.
“It wouldn’t be nearly so comfortable,” said Mal.
Azrael’s mouth twitched up. “The number of assumptions you have both made is breathtaking.”
“One chapter?” said Jessica.
Mal melted into his panther form. “I’ll stay like this. You like me better like this.” He came over and pushed his head into Azrael’s lap, dislodging the map onto the floor.
To Jessica’s relief, Azrael didn’t respond with anger. He stroked Mal’s massive, boxy head. After a moment, he said, very softly, “I don’t actually like you better like this.”
“Seems like it,” muttered Mal.
Azrael continued in that same quiet voice, “I just find you less intimidating.”
Mal made a chuffing, panther sound. “But I’m an enormous predator!”
“You’re an enormous predator either way.” Azrael stood up, forcing Mal to step back. “We’ll read one chapter. At the kitchen table.”
“So I have to lie on the floor?”
“You don’t have to be a panther!”
“I’m always a panther when you read to me!”
“Oh for fuck’s sake.” Azrael glared at the ceiling.
“Is it really so terrible to read on our bed?” ventured Jessica. “It is quite comfortable and perfectly massive.”
Azrael massaged his temples.
“Just come look,” said Jessica. “You haven’t even looked at it.” Let’s get you accustomed to thinking of our bed as a safe place.
It really was massive. The three of them probably could have slept there without touching each other. In the end, Azrael sat on the foot of the bed in his shirtsleeves and socks, his waistcoat and belt discarded, looking cozy and domestic with his long legs tucked beneath him. Mal stretched his feline body across the bed and rested his head in Azrael’s lap. Jessica reclined against Mal’s warm side, the fur soft beneath her skin, glossy in the lamp light.
The story began in the midst of a battle between the feathered dragons of Skyfire and the biplanes of their nation’s mortal enemy, the Mechafleet.
Here, Mal interrupted to point out the absurdity of magic and biplanes coexisting this way. “Also, dragons don’t have feathers. Look at Lucy.”
“It’s an imaginary world,” said Jessica. “You know that. Be quiet and listen.”
Previous installments in the Skyfire series had featured dragons and their riders as the sympathetic, viewpoint characters. Jessica was surprised when the protagonist of this new tale turned out to be a young Mecha pilot who dearly loved her plane. Her earnestness and desire to prove herself made her easy to like. In the course of the battle, she became entangled in a dogfight with several dragons and their riders, including a fierce black and scarlet dragon, who taunted her repeatedly. The pilot performed a difficult maneuver and shot the dragon. However, he dodged at the last moment, and she only clipped him.
The black and red dragon broke off from the fight, and the pilot dove after him. The terrain below was all desert wastes. They tore off across the barren landscape—the wounded dragon with his rider and the pilot, intent upon her quarry.
Azrael stopped. He’d read three chapters. Mal was asleep in his lap.
Carefully, Azrael shut the book. “He always does this,” he murmured to Jessica.
“It’s not because he’s bored,” she whispered back. “It’s because he’s content.”
Azrael sighed. He eased Mal’s head off his lap and slid off the bed. “Good night.”
Chapter 19
Jessica
“Why did he kiss you and not me?”
Jessica blinked awake. Soft, early morning sunlight illuminated the bedroom curtains. She pulled a pillow over her face and groaned. “Did you really wake me up to ask me that?”
“No, you were already waking up.”
“I’m sure I wasn’t.”
“You were kissing him, weren’t you? When we came in last night? Your aura looked like it. Surely you weren’t doing more than kissing?”
Jessica flung the pillow off her face. Mal was propped on one elbow. At some point during the night, he’d turned back into a man and crawled under the covers beside her. “Yes,” she said, “he let me kiss him. It was hot.”
She wanted to smirk, but Mal looked so confused that she tried to explain. “The stakes are lower with me. He’s not as intensely attracted to me as he is to you, but he likes me and we’re friends. I’m less intimidating.”
“You’re just saying that to make me feel better.”
“Fine. You’re right. He likes me best.”
“No, he doesn’t!”
Jessica tried to rub the sleep out of her eyes. “I was teaching him how to kiss, Mal! He needs practice. He needs to be touched. Also, I am getting into bed with him, too; stop acting so proprietary.”
Mal relented. “I’m not,” he said meekly. “I just want him to let me.”
“He will. Be patient.” Jessica got up and went into the bathroom to use the toilet and brush her teeth. By the time she came back, she was shivering. The floors were ice cold. “We are going to have to start using the fireplaces soon.” They had one in their bedroom and one in the sitting room.
“I can scavenge some firewood in the forest,” said Mal. “Or chop some.”
“Do you know how?”
“Not really, but how difficult can it be?”
“Probably more difficult than you think.” She scooted over under the blankets and tucked her chilly nose against his shoulder.
Mal jumped. “You are cold.” He squawked when she wrapped a leg around one of his and put the sole of her foot against his calf.
Jessica giggled. “So warm me up.”
Mal rolled over, half on top of her. He pulled her pajama shirt off over her head, then pinned one of her hands there. He ran his other hand all the way down her body—his thumb brush
ing over her mouth, her collarbone, her neck, her breasts, her belly. He paused to pull the laces of her pajama bottoms and continued down her body, his fingers brushing over the sensitive skin at the join of her leg. He drew aimless patterns down her inner thigh all the way to her knee.
Jessica bit her lip.
Mal murmured against her ear, “Better not make too much noise. We do have a guest.”
Jessica rolled her eyes. “A guest who has watched us fuck.”
“Still, it might be sort of embarrassing if he hears you whimpering in here.”
“Oh, you think I’ll be the one whimpering?”
“I think you’re the one who went to bed wet and woke up horny. Why is necking so wonderful again?”
Jessica gave a breathless laugh. “Last I checked, you were pretty uncomfortable following your little dance number. You practically wanted to fuck on the dance floor.” She gave a mock-pout. “Oh, but then you came back here and fell asleep in his arms.”
“I fell asleep in his lap,” said Mal loftily.
“All thoughts of lust forgotten.”
“Not forgotten, just suspended.”
“What do you call Lust in love? Is there a name for that?”
Mal pulled on her magic. Jessica had already been aroused, but now the narcotic rush of his feeding soaked through her body like butter into warm bread. Her stomach felt hot and gooey, her thighs weak. Mal was pulling hard. Jessica could have pulled back, but she just let him go. He was still stroking her thigh. Jessica tried to press her hips up, but Mal shifted his weight, holding her down. “Tell me about kissing him,” he purred into her mouth.
Jessica made a frustrated noise. You’re asking me to think? “Shy,” she panted. “Curious. Quick learner, though.”
“Mmm?” Mal was kissing her throat—big, wet kisses that left a bright shock of cold against her skin when he moved on.
Jessica pitched her head back, her honey-blond hair spilling over the pillow. Mal’s fingers finally began stroking her lower lips—feather light, maddening. “Keep going,” he breathed.
“Oh gods.” Jessica could feel the flush of arousal burning in her cheeks. “Perfect…ugh…perfect gentleman with his hands.”
“That must have been frustrating for you.”
“You’re a fine one to talk about frustrating.” She caught her breath and babbled, “Took him forever to open his mouth. Worth it, though. He just needs a little more practice with his tongue. Oh!”
Mal eased her labia apart a fraction. Now she understood the game. “And then?”
“Mal, that’s not fair! We didn’t get any further!”
“Too bad.”
Jessica groaned.
“Did you want to?”
“Yes.” She stared up at his green-eyed smirk and two-day beard, his dark, tousled curls falling into his eyes. “I wanted to crawl into his lap.”
“Mmm.” Mal’s finger brushed deeper into her slick wetness.
Jessica shut her eyes. “I wanted to put my hand down his trousers and finish what you started on that dance floor.”
Mal’s fingers stopped moving for an instant. “How do you know I started anything?”
Jessica gave a hysterical giggle. “I know.”
“But you can’t see his aura.”
“I know, Mal. Kiss me; please kiss me.”
He kissed her—hungrily and deeply, and now he was stroking that place against her pubic bone that felt so very good. Not quite hard enough, though. Jessica tried to move her hips, and he pressed her down again. “Do you want to kiss him while I fuck him?” Mal growled into her mouth.
“Yes,” breathed Jessica. “I want to watch you kiss him everywhere.”
He was fucking her with his fingers now, and he had big hands. His thumb finally brushed her clit. Jessica gave up all attempts to hold still. She bucked and thrashed against him, and when she came, she did make a noise.
Mal gave an evil chuckle, and that only made her pussy clench again around his fingers. Jessica gave a long sigh and relaxed. She wrapped her arms around Mal’s chest. “Oh, you are a sweet incubus.” Jessica pushed the covers back and tried clumsily to kick off her unlaced pajama bottoms.
Mal drew his hand away. “Now that is a sticky mess.”
He put one finger in his mouth and Jessica wrinkled her nose. “I know it’s not logical, but I wish you wouldn’t do that.” She wriggled out of her pajamas and used them to wipe his hand.
Mal shrugged. “Some people find it hot.”
“I’m not one of them.”
“But I lick you all the time—”
“I know it doesn’t make sense!”
Jessica ran her fingers down his glorious chest—firm pecs and dark curls—over the smoother curves of abdominal muscles, along the charming trail of fine hairs that led to his cock. She took him in her hand, and Mal grew instantly quiet. He was hard, and she stroked him for a few moments, listening as his breathing deepened. He started to push her legs apart, but Jessica put a hand on his chest and eased him gently backwards, up onto his knees.
Mal didn’t resist, but Jessica watched him for signs of discomfort. He could be funny about this. She had learned over the last few months that Mal was not quite like other men. Most of them loved oral sex. They would beg for it like children for a sweet. Sometimes Jessica thought they loved oral sex more than intercourse.
Mal, on the other hand, loved feeding. Jessica suspected that he enjoyed that particular pleasure and intimacy more than he enjoyed sex or even orgasm. This made him seem like a preternaturally considerate lover. He was never in a hurry to reach his own climax because he was already getting what he wanted. Feeding came most naturally to Mal when he was acting upon other people. Jessica could tell that he found receiving oral sex physically pleasurable, but it set him off balance. Perversely, this made her want to blow him more than she cared to blow most other men.
Jessica ran slow kisses down Mal’s chest, her hand still rubbing his shaft. He wasn’t circumcised, and the extra skin made hand jobs easier. Mal had a large cock, although he would be the first to point out that there was such a thing as too big and that he’d made himself to please actual partners, not to enter the circus. His cock looked perfectly enormous when Jessica held it in her hand this way. It felt pleasingly thick and heavy. She thought—though she would never have said it aloud—that uncircumcised penises looked shy, with the head just peeking out of the foreskin.
She gave him plenty of time to tell her if he wasn’t in the mood for this today, but he didn’t say anything. Jessica kissed her way down his shaft, cupped his balls, and then licked the head of his cock. At the same time, she pulled on his magic.
Mal sucked in his breath. This reversal always produced a sort of pleasurable confusion in him. It filled Jessica with secret delight. No one else does this to you. She felt a prickle over her skin and the euphoric rush of magical energy spreading through her body as her tongue swirled over the sensitive glans.
Mal was breathing deeply now. One hand came up gently behind her head and carded through her hair. Jessica worked the foreskin back and forth over the shaft, stroked his balls. She kissed and suckled his cock until he was groaning. Jessica had learned that Mal did not require her to shove his dick deep into her throat to feel satisfied. He did like her to suck pretty hard, and he also liked… Jessica paused and looked up at him.
Oh, so pretty. His full lips were parted, his eyes half closed, his cheeks a little darker than usual. He looked thoroughly aroused and just a little uncomfortable. You are not the master of this situation.
Their eyes met, and she pulled hard on his magic. Mal made a little whimper and wobbled from his knees to his ass on the bed. His hot seed filled Jessica’s mouth. She didn’t really like to swallow it, but she didn’t just spit it out, either. She let it dribble down her chin and over his dick. She looked up at him again with her lips glistening wet, and he dragged her into his arms for a kiss. Mal never seemed the slightest bit concerned about any fluids
in his mouth.
He was still a little unsteady, and he tipped over backwards with Jessica in his arms. Fortunately, there was more than enough room on the bed to do this without falling off. They had managed to fall off of a number of beds in the past four months.
Mal stretched out on his back, still holding Jessica. After a moment, he whispered, “You know I’m yours, don’t you?”
“I know.” I know you’re his, too. But I understand what you’re saying.
Jessica had lost track of time. The sound of a door opening and closing came from somewhere in the house, and she caught the odor of cooking food. She wondered how long these things had escaped her attention. “How embarrassing will it be if Azrael has made us breakfast?”
Mal stretched. “He’s made me breakfast for most of my life.”
Jessica groaned. “He’s our guest!”
“I’m just saying.” Mal rolled off the bed and changed shape in the same instant. He struggled with the doorknob for a moment, too lazy to turn back into a man to open it, and then padded from the room.
Chapter 20
Jessica
Jessica jumped into the shower and emerged ten minutes later, pulling on trousers, shirt, and jacket. She had sword practice today.
Not for the first time, Jessica envied Mal’s effortless fastidiousness. Every time he changed shape, he left behind or incorporated any sweat, dirt, fluids, or unpleasant odors. Even things like morning breath vanished with a shape change. He didn’t have to bathe at all if he didn’t want to…and he was a cat, so he usually didn’t. He could also make adjustments to how much hair he had and where he had it. Shape shifting really would be terribly convenient.
Jessica walked into the kitchen and was chagrined to find Lord Azrael in his shirtsleeves frying bacon. Mal sat at his elbow in panther form, watching with silent attention like a dog begging for scraps. Azrael spoke without turning around, “I was beginning to wonder whether the two of you eat actual food or just each other.”
“Aw,” purred Mal, “someone’s feeling left out.”
