by Maia Starr
"What's this about, Lieutenant?" Melinda asked.
"Three shots of tequila and three beers," Lieutenant Kendall said to a female server. Her eyes looked over me and she smiled. Typical. The human females always wanted me, and this one was not hiding it. If I wasn't already promised to another, I would take advantage of her invitation that she gave me with her eyes.
"I've got some information, but it does not leave this table,” the lieutenant said, leaning in close to us.
Melinda furrowed her eyebrows and said, “What is it, Lieutenant Kendall?”
"Have you new information?” I added.
He leaned in and said, “You didn't hear this from me, but I think these vanishings of women have something to do with the department or with the government.”
Melinda gasped and said, “Why do you say that? What did you hear."
"I did not hear anything particular. It is more of a hunch, and if you were to repeat it to another, I would deny it. But this case has been pushed under the rug for months, and it was only when a high-profile female was taken did everyone suddenly want to take action. There something going on here. I don't know what it is. But I wanted to let you to know what I am noticing since you are assigned to the case.”
"And what is that? What have you been noticing?” I asked him.
"That no one really wants to talk about it inside the department. That is very unusual for such a high-profile case. Usually everyone is jumping all over it and wants to be the hero. Everyone wants to speculate and be part of it. But this has many people turning away from it. It is highly unusual. I'm only telling you this so that when you are trying to put the pieces of the puzzle together, you will not rule out that it could be an internal job. That our government or even the department might have something to do with it,” he said as he grabbed a shot of tequila and downed it. Then he started on the beer, chugging it. Then he threw some money on the table and said, “Enjoy. Remember: we didn't have this conversation.” Then he walked out of the bar.
Melinda and I were left staring at each other. She grabbed the shot of tequila and chugged it. Then she grabbed mine and chugged it down as well.
"Fuck," she said. “Can I get two more shots over here!” she shouted at the female server.
"What do you think it means? Do you suspect anyone in your department?” I asked her.
"No, it's news to me. That's why am chugging down this tequila. Well, that and the fact that I will only be on Earth for one more day before leaving into space. I plan on getting wasted. Care to join me?” she said as she drank down her beer. She was going to get hammered, and I suddenly felt the need to watch over her. I took one shot of that tequila and slowly drank my beer. I sat there listening to her rant on about various things about being a woman and the inequality she faced so very often as a female detective, before moving on to talk about the mission.
"I am feeling nervous, I'll tell you that. I know firing a blaster at the gun range is not the same as firing while on a ship or on another planet. I am nervous about it. Shit, I'm nervous just about being in space. I'm excited about it because I've never been, but this isn't exactly a vacation. Who knows what complications will come up that I did not expect."
I looked at her and shock. Was she saying what I think she was saying? She had never left Earth. She had never been on a ship in space, or on another planet. This meant that she had absolutely no experience in the field when that field was space. “Detective Katiama, you have never been in space?"
"No, the bastards would never let me. I'm not exactly rich and can’t afford a vacation on the space station like the elite. My only way was through the I.S.F.A., and I was only just promoted,” she slurred out her words.
"When were you promoted?” I asked her.
"This morning. This is a celebration,” she said as she pushed her beer into the air and it sloshed around the glass, pouring down her hand. She was a sloppy drunk.
"You got promoted this morning? So you have no experience at all as an agent in the Intergalactic Special Forces Agency?” I asked her once again, shocked and angered by this new information.
"No, I have no experience in space. Never been on a ship and never been to another planet. No, that's a lie. I have been inside the ship when it was at the port, but not when it launched. It was more like a tour of the ship as part of training.”
"Fuck. Why would they do this?” I asked myself as I waved the female server over for another shot. This one would be for me. I would need it. Now I knew that what the lieutenant was saying was true. There was something going on inside the department. There is no reason to promote a new detective and give that new detective a high-profile case on a first day other than the fact that they would want the detective to fail, or expect them to. Melinda was being set up for failure.
They were setting us both up. They did not know exactly how good of a detective I was, but they had no choice because King Jarith Rykor had set it up so that I would be the one to search for Katie. But the department must have been trying to counter at my ability to investigate by giving me a rookie detective that would not know what the hell she was doing well in the field. This was definitely a set up. There was more going on here, and we needed to get to the bottom of it.
I grabbed the new shot of tequila placed in front of me and threw it back. Then I waved the server over for another. The strong drink of Earthlings was only half as strong as the drinks of Drackon. I could drink forty of these and barely feel anything, but it did give me a good sense of calm in this sudden realization about my partner and why she was assigned to work on the case. I looked at her, ready to tell her that she was being set up to fail, but she was too drunk and would not understand what I was saying.
"Detective Katiama, I think you've had enough. Let's get out of here. We should get an early start on tomorrow,” I said as I put more human money on the table and lifted Detective Katiama out of her seat.
"But I'm just getting started,” she said in a whiny voice.
"No, you're done.”
"You don't tell me what to do," she said leaning on me and looking up at me. Her body so close to mine was giving me a reaction, one that I would have to restrain. I had to use a clever trick here because she was way too stubborn to do anything I asked her simply out of spite.
"But wouldn't you rather drink the wine you have at home?” I said guessing to watch you might have to drink at her own place.
She looked around the bar and then looked at me and said, “Good point.” She stood up straight and then staggered her way out of the bar as I followed.
Once we were on the sidewalk, I grabbed her arm and said, “Allow me to walk you home.”
"I'm perfectly fine on my own, Drackon!” she said angrily to me.
"No, you're not. You are a novice; you have no idea what you're getting yourself into,” I said, moving closer to her, towering over her petite frame. She put her hands on her hips and strained her neck back, looking up at me with narrowed eyes.
"How dare you say that to me. I am a better detective than you will ever be. Take it back,” she said as her hand swung up toward my face as she tried to slap me. I stepped backwards, dodging her sloppy swing and in her momentum, she went crashing down to the sidewalk.
"Oh great,” I said to myself. Not only was she a novice in the field of space, but she also could not hold her drink. This should be entertaining. I knew that she would not willingly let me walk her home or put her in a cab, so I would have to take matters into my own hands. I grabbed her bag and searched through for her identification card.” 862 87th Street, number fifteen twenty-one," I said.
Melinda was sitting on the floor as I put her ID back in her bag and stepped away from her and down the sidewalk a bit, “Stay right there. Don't move,” I said.
"Hey… I told you don't tell me what to do. Where are you going?” she said drunkenly. I moved down the sidewalk and then in a flash, I shifted into dragon form.
"Holy shit,” she whispered as she wat
ched. I stretched out my wings and stretched my arms out above my head, preparing for flight. I swiftly flew over next to her.
"I have never seen that happen before. It is amazing. You are amazing. Wow,” she mumbled in her drunken stupor.
"It's all going to be fine. I'm going to get you safely home so that we can continue to work on the case tomorrow. We don't have much time before we have to leave on the mission and you have a lot to learn,” I said as I placed her bag diagonally across her body and then scooped her up into my arms. Her hands instinctively went around my neck. Her full lips and almond-shaped eyes were so close to my face. I inhaled her scent and closed my eyes with a groan.
"What is it?” she asked me.
I debated telling her the truth, then I realized that she would not remember any of this anyway, so I went ahead and told her the truth. “You smell absolutely ravishing; I've never smelled another like you. It drives me wild with lust."
"Oh," was all she said, but the way her lips parted slightly and the way she looked up at me through her lashes let me know that my words had an effect on her. I needed to get her home and away from me; she was too much of a distraction. I took flight, shooting straight up into the air and she let out a delightful squeal. I flew high above the buildings and soon she felt comfortable and was looking down with a smile.
"Are we really flying? Or am I just really drunk? Is this a dream?” she asked me.
"We are really flying; you're almost home. You are safe in my arms. I will not let you fall,” I said, squeezing her closer against my body and my metallic scales. Her arms went tighter around my neck and she was no longer looking down at the city; she was looking up into my face. I had to restrain myself from kissing her.
I looked away from her face and straight ahead, concentrating on that direction. I could see her building up ahead with the numbers 862 in white neon light on the side. I landed firmly on the roof, which was an outdoor lounge and garden. I could see doors for an elevator so I knew that we could definitely get into the building this way.
I set Detective Katiama on her feet and she stayed pressing her body firmly against my chest for balance. Her hands moved from my neck down my shoulders and over my scales sensually. She was touching the shiny metallic of them, feeling them as though they were a wonder to her. She stared at them and the more she touched them, the more heated I grew.
"It's so shiny," she mumbled to herself.
"Yes, it is,” I said in response to her. The words came out of my throat with a thick layer of lust to them that I was trying to hold back. I would not last very much longer if she continued to touch my scales the way she was, massaging her fingers up and down my chest and stomach.
And just like that, I couldn't restrain myself any longer. I lost all control in that one moment. I pulled her up my body toward me and planted a firm kiss on her mouth. Her hands went up around my neck, into my long hair. Her lips parted, allowing my tongue to explore. My hand ran down her back and over her backside and squeezed her, and she moaned in response. We kissed deeply and passionately, each of us letting out lustful breaths of air and sighs. I felt myself growing hard and my heart beat faster and faster. My wings stretched out fully behind me in a display of being aroused.
She tasted delicious as my tongue slowly and sensually moved inside her mouth. Then I pulled away and softly placed kisses on her lips, on her cheeks, and on her neck. I groaned like a wild beast.
I had to stop. I groaned louder the more I realized that I should not be doing this. I was promised to another, and that other human female needed my help. She was in danger, and instead of helping her, I was here indulging my lustful fantasies with this human female detective. It was wrong, and I knew it. I pressed my lips firmly against hers for one last kiss, knowing it had to be the last. She moaned wildly.
But it wasn't her, the real her. She was drunk. I was taking advantage of her lack of capacity to think and it was very wrong. I pushed her away from me and then she looked up at me with wide, questioning eyes.
"We can't do this. It is wrong. You are not yourself right now. You will regret this,” I said, stepping away from her and turning my back to her.
"No, I know what I'm doing. Don't stop,” she said to me. But I ignored her plea because I knew that she did not mean it, and I knew that it was wrong on my part. I would never force myself on a drunken female. Even a willing one was still a drunk one, and that was wrong. No matter these details, the biggest wrong of all was the fact that I was already promised to another. I could not be doing this when my wife to be was in danger and expecting loyalty from me. It was just plain wrong and I had a sense of honor and duty that I was loyal too. It was what set me apart from other criminal Drackons that had lost their way. I was not one of those.
"Stand back. Stay where you are. Do not come near me," I said to her, holding my hand up while she stepped toward me. They were clumsy, drunken steps and watching her walk, I knew that I had made the right decision.
"What are you going to do? Are you going to fly away?” she asked me in an almost a sad tone that I had not heard come out of her mouth since I had met her earlier that day.
I moved away from her, getting myself to the other side of the roof as she stared at me. I shifted from Dragon form back to normal. Her mouth fell open as she watched. It was amusing to me to see her reaction. She had never seen a weredragon shift before and I was happy to be her first, and in some ways, it made me feel special. I walked toward her.
"Let's get you inside," I said to her, grabbing her hand and leading her towards the elevator. She swaggered as I led her into the elevator and push the button for the 15th floor. I easily found apartment 1521, and her keys in her bag.
Moments later, we were inside her apartment and she clumsily made her way to her bedroom and plopped herself on the bed. I stared at her. She was properly drunk and a bit silly. I laughed to myself as I moved toward the door, ready to let her sleep, when I heard her say, “Wait. I can't sleep like this.”
I turned to see her sitting on the bed working at getting her clothes off. She pulled off her boots, and then pulled her shirt over her head. I knew that I should look away, but I couldn't. My eyes were glued on her beautiful and delicate body. She worked fast and sloppily removed each item until she was completely naked.
“Fuck,” I whispered under my breath. She was stunning, with perfect, rosy-pink nipples topping her round breasts. She pulled on her ponytail and let her hair down and the black silk tumbled down over her shoulders. My mouth fell open watching her as she laid down on the bed.
She looked at me and narrowed her eyes at me angrily and said, “Don't just stand there; get me a blanket.”
I was shocked by her words. Then I laughed. The vixen was even bossy when she was completely naked and vulnerable. I sighed to myself and grabbed a blanket off the chair next to her bed and pulled it over her. In no time, she was completely asleep.
I restrained myself from wanting to kiss her lips. I turned off the light and then left her apartment, making sure to lock up. I walked down the hall and when I got to the elevator, leaned my hand on the wall, trying to catch my breath at the experience I had just had. Why did she have to be so damn attractive, and feisty? I would never get that image of her beautiful, naked body out of my mind for as long as I lived. It was going to torture me, and this was only the beginning. We were set to leave in less than twenty-four hours on a mission together, where she would have absolutely no idea what she was doing. Great.
Chapter 3
DETECTIVE MELINDA KATIAMA
I woke up as the sun hit my face. That was strange. I usually drew the drapes before I went to bed to prevent the sun from hitting my face before my alarm went off. I looked at the window, and then it all came back to me, the night before. I sat up quickly in bed. “Shit,” I said as I remembered bits and pieces of what had happened. Getting up so quickly in bed made my head throb and I grabbed it with my hands.
"Oh, coffee and aspirin,” I said to myself.
I leaned over to the side table and grabbed the bottle of aspirin and a glass of water and swallowed one. “Why the hell am I naked?” I said as the blanket fell off of me and I looked down. “Oh my God, did I sleep with Commander Handor?”
I quickly jumped up out of bed, which made my head hurt even worse, and wrapped the blanket around me as I went into the kitchen, fully expecting to see Commander Handor sitting and having a cup of coffee. I walked in quietly and slowly, but there was no one there. The front door was locked and after thoroughly checking my apartment, I knew that I was alone.
I made a fresh pot of coffee and tried to piece together what happened. I remembered the lieutenant telling us he had a hunch that this was an inside job, our case. I remember thinking that was just perfect, that my first case was going to be an internal affairs nightmare, and washing down the agony of knowing that with lots of tequila. Then I remembered convincing myself that it was basically my last night of drinking on Earth. Who knows what could happen to me in space? I might never return, so I had convinced myself to get plastered. Then suddenly a flash of being high in the sky soaring over buildings came over me.