by Stella Cassy
Nodding, I removed my arms from his neck to unzip my uniform. "I do."
We touched ground to undress, then I practically climbed him, wrapping my legs around him and moaning as my sex touched his erection.
Illion's wings flapped slowly, causing a current of wind in the room. There was no way he could keep us in the air with his wings moving so slowly from a scientific standpoint. There had to be a certain amount of magic, or alien science I didn't understand that helped him stay in the air.
At that moment, I didn't care.
"There is more," he whispered. "You still trust me?"
I studied his face. He looked vulnerable. "You won't hurt me again," I said with certainty. He'd hurt me once, and he'd regretted it. He wouldn't repeat his mistake.
His dick was trapped between us, my hips angled so with every flap of his wings, my clit rubbed against it. The slow, sensual pleasure of it made my breathing deepen. Without moving his hands from my ass, where he was building the erotic tension, I felt a nudge at the entrance of my sex. "What?" I asked, looking down.
His caudal was wrapped around both of our bodies, gently asking for permission to pleasure me. I nodded my head and Illion captured my lips again as the bulbous end of his caudal pushed into my folds. His dick continued to provide friction to my clit, and I drenched his caudal in my desire, giving it an easier time entering me.
It was large, and rounder on the end than the head of his considerable dick. I had a brief moment of worry about the fit, but then he was inside me, and I gasped. The stretch was delicious. Not too much, but enough to push pleasurably on my g-spot, and to push my clit more firmly against his dick.
He pushed inward until I whispered stop. I knew he'd been that deep before, with his head pressing against my cervix, but his caudal felt harder. He pulled out and began a short rhythm so he didn't get too deep and hurt me.
The back and forth, in and out of the bulbous tip built my orgasm faster than I would've thought. I leaned back, trusting Illion's strong arms to hold me up as his wings kept us in the air. Floating, with my arms outstretched, my clit rubbing his dick, his caudal bringing me to the brink of a strong orgasm, I let my head fall back and moaned from deep inside. His hot mouth clamping down on my nipple pushed me over the edge. I cried out, clenching on his caudal as hard as I could. My legs flexed, pulling me into his body. He gave a little moan as the friction on his sex intensified.
When my walls relaxed, and the orgasm faded, he pulled his caudal out, bringing it up and between us. It was too big for him to take into his mouth, but he licked the taste of me off of it, while staring me directly in the eyes. I reached down as he tasted my orgasm, pushing away from him slightly so I could free his cock.
His eyes darkened as I positioned it. He slid into me with ease, and I relaxed, taking him fully inside. "That was amazing." He bared his teeth at me, his caudal disappearing behind him. I leaned back again, offering my breasts to him and trying to figure out how I would move on his dick in midair.
I shouldn't have worried. He flew us over the bed, landing gently on his knees and placing me on my back on the bed. He covered us with his wings as he moved in and out of me a few times, priming himself for what I was pretty sure he wanted.
"More," I demanded. "Harder."
He slipped his hand behind my head and grabbed my hair. "Do you think to command me?"
I fought a grin, knowing he wouldn't hurt me. He needed to exert dominance.
"Please." I looked up at him, and gave him my most demure look, to feed his dragon, who needed control.
Illion growled, his eyes unfocused. His dragon must've been riding him hard.
Whatever his dragon wanted, Illion rode me hard. His thrusts were full of the excitement and power of the morning.
He dropped to his elbows, his hips slowing, but no less powerful. "You are mine, Leticia."
"Yes," I replied. "I am yours." And you are mine, I thought. He'd learn eventually.
It was what he needed to hear. With a final push, he brought my looming orgasm on. "Come now," he commanded. My body obeyed and we reached our climaxes together.
When we'd both calmed, breathing back to normal, Illion rolled off of me to lay on the bed beside me. "I enjoy being able to sneak off with you any time."
Stretching, I had to agree with him. "We should try to work in close proximity to one another."
We dressed, returning to the deck.
"Status?" Illion asked Chase.
"We will reach V'thk before the new solar begins. Not long now."
I looked at the computer over the shoulder of one of the crew. If I'd been figuring out their time system correctly, we would reach the new planet in about three hours’ time. It must've been very close to the deserted planet we'd left.
"Computer, pull up information on the inhabitants of V'thk," Illion said in a loud voice, speaking toward one of his tablets.
Images of the creatures filled the screen. A little giggle escaped me at the sight of them. They looked like narwhals with legs. "Are they aquatic?" I asked.
"According to this, they mostly live in the water, but do spend some time on land. They are intelligent beings but lack advanced technology." He looked up. "Probably due to spending so much time in water. You can't exactly build an underwater computer, can you?"
"I guess not." I leaned into Illion, reading further. "They don't have a name."
"There's not much else here, not much seems to be known. We don't even know if they have a language, really. You should name them, mate." He grinned at me, putting me totally on the spot and telling me to name an entire species.
"I'm sure they'll tell us their name when we get there," I muttered, embarrassed. Half the room was staring at me. '
"What shall we call them in the meantime?"
"How about Narwhals?" I asked, borrowing the term from Earth.
Illion shrugged. "Why not?"
27
Illion
We landed the ship on one of the few islands on the map. The computer estimated ten percent land to ninety percent water coverage for the entire planet. There was a concentration of life near the island we landed on, and as we grew closer, we found an open field big enough to hold our ship.
Chase and Leticia joined me at the computer bank, looking at the monitors. The cameras gave a view all around the ship. The island was full of sand with a few trees, but that was all. It wasn't a planet teeming with plant life. Probably too much water.
A group of four of the whale-like creatures approached the ship near the exit door. One carried a small black box. The rest held spears. I didn't want to scare them off right away, so I spoke through the ship's outer intercom. "Hello. We are Drakon, come to speak to you about trading resources. Do you understand?"
The creature spoke, his voice garbled, but thankfully the ship was able to translate. "We do understand. We do not speak your language, but we have been visited before and have one of your translation boxes. You may come out and negotiate with us. Any show of hostility will be dealt with swiftly."
I didn't see any more of the creatures, but the computer indicated the surrounding water was teeming with life. They were probably all waiting to swarm if needed.
"We will be right out."
"Chase and Leticia only. I don't want to make them think we'll attack."
As we walked toward the door, I contemplated the possibility of just taking what we needed from them. Ultimately, I decided against it. We were not accustomed to fighting in water and could potentially contaminate the precious water we needed from the Narwhals.
We waited for the door to open completely before stepping out slowly, our hands clearly placed in front of us. "Walk slowly, and don't make any sudden movements," I said. "We don't want any misunderstandings."
"Hello and welcome." One of the creatures stepped forward, the box in his hands. It translated his words. "Welcome to V'thk." He bowed, his entire body moving at once as he had no discernible head. The horn between his eyes p
ointed directly at me while he was bent.
"We thank you for agreeing to speak to us," I said, then waited for the box to translate. "We are Drakon, from the land of Thirren. May I ask your names?"
The Narwhals turned their bodies to look at one another. "We have no need to name ourselves. You may call me leader," he said. The translation box paused before saying the word leader. It probably didn't have the right word for whatever he'd called himself.
"Thank you, Leader," I said. "We have great need of water and would like to offer you treasure in exchange for a regular supply."
Leader blinked his eyes repeatedly, listening to the box translate my words. "Water we have plenty of, but we have no need of treasure."
"What do you need? If it is in my power, I will deliver it." I bowed my head in respect.
Leader stepped to the side, eyeing first Chase, then Leti. "We need slaves. You will give this one to us?" He motioned to her collar, still tied on. She used it to translate our words.
"This one is not a slave, but we have access to many slaves. If that is what you need, we can provide them."
"Human slaves?" Leader narrowed his eyes. "Are you sure this one is not for sale?"
"Leader," Leti said softly. "Humans can't live in water. What do you plan to use the slaves for?"
"We have need of workers on land. We would like to cultivate new crops and build factories. We have enough land to keep dozens of slaves comfortable."
She cocked her head at him. "How will you treat these slaves?"
"Well. They will be required to work hard, but they will not be treated unfairly or harshly. If they comply, they'll end up with a comfortable existence. We know how slaves are sometimes treated on other planets. They will be happy here."
"With that knowledge, we will have plenty of slaves that will come willingly," I said. "May we go over the details?"
"Please, come sit down and let us decide."
We followed Leader and his companions to a small hut, just out of sight of the ship. Chase typed a message into his comms device to let the crew know to be wary, but that all seemed fine.
Two slaves waited in the hut, brewing some sort of tea. "May we communicate with the slaves?" I asked Leader.
"You may."
Leticia stepped forward. "Do you speak English?" she asked. I wasn't sure what English was, but her language chip didn't translate it into any Drakon word.
One of the slaves brightened. "I do," she exclaimed.
"Are you from Earth?" Leticia asked. She couldn't mask the excitement in her voice.
"No, but my mother was. I've never met another human that speaks the language." The young woman took Leticia's hand. "My mother used to tell me tales of her time on Earth."
"Is she alive?" Leticia asked in a wary voice.
"Yes, she's helping prepare a meal right now. She lives here with me." The slave jumped, realizing she'd been talking while her masters stood there. "Please, sit down. May we bring you a drink or food?"
"We will have water to drink," Leader said as he sat on a stool at a small wooden table.
Both women nodded and poured water into wooden cups, giving each of us one. I tasted it tentatively, fully aware of all the bacteria it could contain without altering its taste.
I smiled at Leader. "Wonderful."
We began negotiations immediately. Leader wanted a hundred slaves. I swallowed my laugh at his audacious request.
"Leader, we will provide all the labor to accommodate the transport of water. All you are doing is allowing us to come to retrieve it. That is not worth a hundred slaves. I propose one slave per transport and two for the first."
He turned off his translation box and consulted his companions in his language. He must not have realized Leti still had her translation chip activated.
I looked at her with raised eyebrows. She'd been conversing quietly with the slaves, but turned her head to listen as he spoke.
"He's saying he thinks you're desperate and will pay more." He's going to ask for two slaves per transport," she whispered. "Also, you should know that the slaves do like it here. They say if they can't return to Earth they'd rather be here where it's safe and nobody tries to breed them."
"Good, but that's too much. I'm going on a limb approving one. We should be able to transport enough water in each freighter ship for about thirty solars. Maybe a bit more."
Leader reactivated his box and directed his attention to me again. "We want two slaves for every water pickup." His tone was firm.
"I can approve one slave per pickup, with an extra every third pickup. Anything more than that and the negotiations will have to pause while I consult my generals." I made my tone grave as if to say that wouldn't be a good thing.
He stared at me for several long microns. "Agreed." He then turned to Leticia, who was still talking softly to his slaves. "Are you sure you would not like to stay here with us? You get along well with my current slaves. We will be kind to you."
"No, thank you," she said, smiling at me. "My place is with the Drakon for now. But I will keep your offer in mind."
"Very well. Will you share a meal with us before you go?"
"I hope you do not take my refusal as rudeness, but we would like to load what water we can onto our vessel to take for testing, then make our way home. I'm under a bit of a time restriction."
He nodded to one of his companions, who left the hut immediately. "We are not offended, but please make time to take nourishment with us upon your return." Leader did his awkward bow again. I gave Leticia a moment to say goodbye to the slaves, then we made a hasty retreat back to the ship. The Narwhal that had left the hut early was overseeing the loading of dozens of large barrels of water. Chase had apparently communicated ahead to prepare the weight measurements to see how much we could take.
"Good thinking, Lieutenant," I praised him. He would make a fine ship captain one day.
Leticia and I sat on the deck, watching the view of V'thk as we set our course for Thirren. "Illi?" she asked.
"Hmm?" My thoughts were on the slaves, and how we'd obtain a slave—or two—every thirty solars or so. We would have to get creative. Maybe make our own trips to Earth. We couldn't use the Pax.
"Why didn't you give me to them? Water is vitally important to you and your people."
I looked at her in surprise. Didn't she understand? "Have I not been clear? You belong to me. You are no longer a slave. When I say you belong to me, I mean as a mate, not as property."
She smiled at me. "And if I decide to belong to someone else?"
My dragon gnashed his teeth, and my caudal thumped the ground. "Don't decide that."
"Okay, Illion. I belong to you."
28
Leti
Once everyone was settled and the ship ready for the long journey, Illion took me to his bedchambers. For the first time, Illion made a report to his generals with me in the room. He pushed a hidden button in his wall and a screen appeared. "What else do you have hiding in here?" I asked with a laugh.
Illion grinned, sitting on the bed beside me. "You'll see."
The screen connected to Thirren, showing us a room with a long table. Two Drakon men and a human woman sat at the table, looking at us expectantly.
"Ranel, Moddoc, Carissa." Illion bowed his head slightly in respect, so I did the same. "We have good news."
"Wonderful," the human said. Carissa. She looked so normal sitting next to the two Drakon men. If she could find a semblance of normality, so could I. Maybe she could help. "Who is this?"
"This is Leticia," Illion said, puffing out his chest slightly. He was proud of me. "We are on a direct path to Thirren, our hulls full of water. It's not enough to sustain the planet, of course, but it can be tested and if it proves satisfactory, the freighters can return at once."
"Wonderful," Moddoc said. "We are beginning to ration what we have here. We are very low."
"Generals, may I ask how the competition is going?" His curiosity was overwhelming him.
<
br /> "Now you know we can't tell you that. Come on back, you'll find out everything in good time." She smiled at me then. "It's nice to meet you Leticia. I look forward to getting to know you."
"And I, you. Were you born in space?"
Carissa laughed. "Yes, but my mother is from Earth. We'll have much to talk about, I'm sure." Her smile was genuine. "We have a few human women here, and we are close. You'll be a welcome addition to our family."
Illion put his arm around me, pulling me close. "We will see you in a few solars, then," he said. "Hopefully to win."
Carissa laughed as she leaned forward and pressed a button on the comms device on the table, shutting off our feed. Illion pulled me into his arms and fell back onto the bed. "I have a good feeling," he said in a whisper.
The journey to Thirren felt like it took no time at all. I was nervous about being introduced to Illion's family and the other humans on Thirren. Before I knew it, the smoky planet was coming into view on the screens in the deck. "Why is there so much smoke? I asked. I worried for my lungs.
"I told you about the volcanoes. They're active, so they give off a lot of smoke. They'll settle back down into their normal sleeping pattern of erupting every couple thousand rotations or so before too long. Then we can stop all this trade for water and supplies."
"Will I be able to breathe?"
"Yes, the homes are well filtered, and we can get you a mask for when you're outside. There's no reason for you to be outside much anyway." He stared at his home for a few moments, watching it come slowly closer. "Besides, with any luck, we won't be here long. We'll be on another mission."
That would've been fine by me. I wanted to spend some time with the doctors there first, but I'd go wherever Illion went.
"I suppose if my skin burns off you can just find another slave," I said teasingly.
Illion turned to me in mock outrage. "I wouldn't. I'd just prop you up in my ship and continue on my way."
"That's gross," I said with a laugh. "You'd move on right away." I pushed at him and he yanked me with him, wrapping me up in his arms. We continued teasing each other right up until the ship landed.