shaken and clutched at him. She was lying face down with him still inside her, covered in sweat and shivering as her body randomly twitched.
He was pressed against her back, still inside her, his arm next to hers.
She tried to focus and asked him blearily, “Did you just lick me pretty much everywhere?”
He chuckled. “It is a drake grooming behaviour.”
She grumbled. “I am pretty sure that the drakes don’t pin their partner's arms behind their back to complete the grooming.”
“I improvised.” He pressed a kiss to one of half a dozen marks he had left on her shoulders.
“So. I have another form.”
“That is the conclusion that has been drawn. You are beautiful, by the way. Living moonlight.”
“Um, thank you. You are rather striking in that form yourself.” She sighed, “What happens next?”
“I head back to my family’s domain. You come with me. We settle into the new normal from there. Mbrak has already given his full authorization for you to leave the station.”
“Of course, he did. I am sure that he lured you here the moment he thought something was going on with me.”
“He did not lure me, he invited me. As he is the elder in charge of this region, I was obligated to visit when he requested that we swing through. I am very glad that the imperial house was amenable to the request.”
He was warm, so warm while they had this conversation, his mouth idly nibbling at her shoulder. He murmured, “So, your drake was waiting for healing.”
The words out of his mouth caused her appetite to roar to life. Her stomach growled angrily.
She groaned. “I am sweaty, sticky, stuck, and now hungry. This is not what I had planned for today.”
“Physical sex is a lot messier than it is in a scenario, well, at least if you do it right.” He chuckled. “I will order food, help you bathe, and hopefully, the bots will have managed to find all the sheets and tidy up the bed.”
She moved sluggishly and winced. Her body was limp, and the smallest movement took tremendous effort. Yr-el pulled out of her and moved around the room while she tried to unsuccessfully push herself upright. She got halfway up, saw the wreck of bed, fixtures, and sweaty body prints on the walls. She flexed her shoulders. Oh. Right.
Yr-el was going to have a helluva cleaning bill. Maybe she could extend him her discount.
He sent the catering request and walked over to her, looking obnoxiously spry and alert.
“Come on. The first shift hurts the worst. Your body has been compressed, and it isn’t fond of the feeling.”
He lifted her and carried her to the bathroom, sitting her on the small chair near the shower wand before rinsing her skin of obvious traces of their mating.
She looked at him with squinted eyes. “Oh. Yes. I am sure it is just the transformation that is causing aches and pains. Nothing else of note has occurred.”
He grinned but kept working on her until she was shivering but ready for a bath. The bath was full, and he helped her into it before quickly rinsing himself off and then joining her. He pulled her toward him and settled her with her back to his chest.
“Is this so that I don’t bite you?” She grumbled.
He chuckled. “That might be a concern. It certainly helps when I am inside you. Your little jaws pack a powerful amount of compression.”
Styra snorted and turned slightly, seeing the bite mark on his neck. “Yeah, that was fun.”
He snorted and slowly moved his hands over her. Caressing rather than arousing. It was like he was petting her.
“So, tomorrow, we will leave for my home. Do you have any objections?”
She sighed. “Can my cousins visit?”
“Cousins?”
“There are close to a dozen of us here. All related to Mr. Blue, a bunch of generations back and all about to step foot into being drakes ourselves. He’s been matchmaking for generations.” She watched as he placed her hand between his and made a strange sandwich.
“That is interesting. I will have to ask my father about it. I mean, I know some drakes go out and create progeny without finding a mate, but it isn’t recommended. Their partners don’t always survive.”
She chuckled. “Mr. Blue’s partners all survived. He took care of them, but I still have no idea why the elders would send one of their own out for this purpose?”
“The universe is expanding. Colonies are being formed in every habitable corner of every star system. We are