He pulled back on her hair as he gripped her hip, angling her body so he could get just a bit deeper. She groaned as he began to bounce her on his cock. Slowly and steadily, her head arched back. His cock was so hard. He was so close, but he couldn't come yet. He had to fill this intense, grinding need. In a flash of blinding light, he let go of her hair, held her hips with all the strength in his hands, and slammed her back onto his cock, pounding into her over and over as her body relented, coming for him gloriously as they both fell to the bottomless pit of primal awakening.
Her groans were guttural and relentless, giving him just that much more insight into her need for him to take her. She was like putty in his hands, and he could feel exactly what she wanted. The well of need overflowed like a flash flood, and he slammed her back against him, coming hard and deep, his body releasing the very depths of his seed. He could feel it all the way down to his bones as he erupted inside her. Flora moaned and fell onto her elbows, panting under him, her hair a curtain over her face.
Ever so slowly, he pulled away, and they collapsed together on the clean shag carpet in the bedroom of Krista's home. They laughed as they panted and stared at the ceiling. He wiped sweat from his brow and looked at the giant smile on her face, which reflected his own. Her eyes twinkled.
He kissed her forehead. "Have I told you how much I love you?"
"You don't have to tell me—I know."
"Should we sleep here, or should we get in the bed?"
"I vote bed," she said, crawling up onto her knees.
She pulled her nightgown back on and went to freshen up. He was waiting for her when she returned from the bathroom, and they held each other as they drifted to sleep. He stroked her hair and smelled the scent of her satisfaction. It was the most pleasant aroma in the universe, and he hoped he would smell it every day for the rest of his life.
The next morning, Raiden opened his eyes to find Flora standing with a tray with two coffees and bagels with cream cheese. He sat up in bed as she placed the tray in his lap.
"Breakfast in bed?" he asked.
"I was getting it for myself, so I got some for you too."
"Thank you. This is exactly what I need this morning."
They sipped their coffee and ate their bagels as they chatted about the next steps in Flora's experiment. There was still much to be done, but she had high hopes that it would prove successful. They had to complete the mouse trials before they could even recruit humans for the experiment. And they had all agreed it would be better to conduct small-scale trials than to let the vaccine out into the world untested.
Both Flora and Zephyr were sure it was safe, but they weren't 100 percent sure how effective a particle application would be through the nasal cavity. That was the main purpose of the experiment. Raiden knew that his sweet Flora would be successful, and he would be there for her every night until she was done.
After Flora got ready for the day and left for the lab with Zephyr and Cato, Raiden sat down at the TV with his game console and logged on to say hello to his old guild.
"Long time no see, Dragonheart," said Ispy47.
"I've been busy. It turns out that Bionerd really is the love of my life."
"You're kidding," said Ispy47.
"Nope. We're hitched."
"Did you go to Vegas or something?"
"No. We went down to the courthouse. She's mine now."
"I can't believe a PhD scientist went for you."
"I can't either. But you can't question fate. Do you have any room in your battle group for one more?"
"We always have room for you, Dragonheart, even though you ditched us for a girl."
"I told you, we were saving the world. It's important work."
"Yeah, yeah," said Ispy47.
"You mean you were saving the world from the strange disappearances that have been happening for the last few weeks?" asked Tangofoxtrot99.
"Don't be ridiculous," Ispy47 said.
"Well, it is quite the coincidence, don't you think? He's been gone for exactly that same time."
"Are you some kind of superhero?" Ispy47 asked.
"Something like that," Raiden said.
"The battle is starting in thirty seconds."
Raiden fought battles with his old guild for the rest of the day. It was a relief to be able to relax with his gamer friends after the real battles he'd fought with the vampires. But when Flora arrived home that day, she informed him that the mouse trials had been successful, or at least, they weren't unsafe. She still didn't know if the vaccine would work in animals, and there was more testing to be done. But they had proof that the vaccine was safe enough to administer to humans.
"We've applied for permission to run a clinical trial with humans," she explained.
"How long is it going to take to be approved?"
"It could be a few days, or it could be a few months," Flora said. "It will have to wait for the board of the university to approve it."
"I think that Krista was going to order Indian food for dinner tonight."
"She wants Indian food for her nine-months-pregnant stomach?" Flora asked with a laugh.
"She's having cravings," Raiden said with a shrug.
They met everyone downstairs in the big dining room with all of the Indian takeout dishes spread across the table. The gang was already feasting and laughing. Yuki and Ragnar had opened a bottle of wine, and the guys were partaking.
Flora sat down at the table with Raiden, and they all raised their glasses to her.
"We heard your animal trials were a success," Penelope said. "Now you can move on to the next part."
"It's in the hands of the university science board now," Flora said. "We'll need to get approval to work with human subjects."
"How long do you think it'll take?" Krista asked between bites of curried chicken."
"It could be weeks or months. I was just explaining that to Raiden."
"Let's hope it happens faster than that," Akash said.
"I guess in the meantime, we can all go back to our houses and get out of your hair," Flora said.
"You guys are no bother at all. We love having you around."
"We can stay a few more days to see if we get the approval quickly. But if it doesn't look like that's going to happen, we'll go back home," Zephyr said. "There's no reason to remain here if we aren't working in the lab."
"Have it your way." Krista chuckled. Then she grunted, holding her belly.
"What is it?" Ragnar asked, gripping her hand.
"A contraction. I think I'm in labor."
After that, the commotion in the household didn't let up until Krista and the guys had gone off to the hospital, leaving Raiden and the scientists in their house.
"I'm so excited for Krista," Penelope said after she had put Effie to bed. "We're going to be able to raise our children together. It's just more good news."
"Yes, it is," Cato said, kissing his wife.
In the morning, they got a phone call from Akash, letting them know that their baby boy had been born—ten pounds, eleven ounces, and all Storm dragon. Everyone was ecstatic. On the way over to the hospital, they got another phone call, this one from the science board, accepting the application for human trials. When everyone arrived at the hospital to greet the new baby, they had many things to celebrate.
"Oh, this is good news," Krista said, cradling her son.
"But not nearly as important as the birth of another Storm," Flora said, gazing down at the beautiful baby boy. Something tightened in her chest, and she and Raiden looked at each other. An understanding passed between them. They both wanted the same thing.
Chapter 21
Over the next several weeks, the scientists recruited human subjects, and the house was busy with the presence of not one but two newborns. It was hectic and crazy, and everyone was tired and happy and blissful, a state that Raiden never wanted to leave. He helped with the cooking and cleaning and with the babies from time to time as well.
Finally, at the end of the week, his beautiful Flora had the confirmation she needed. The particle application of the vaccine was just as effective as the blood application. They could administer the vaccine using a device similar to the bomb she had produced that had killed the vampires at the compounds. With the help of the labs back at the compounds, Flora, Zephyr, Cato, and Yuki were able to create the perfect distribution method.
In true Dragonian fashion, the houses of Storm and Flames decided to have a big barbecue to celebrate the conclusion of the drug trials and the birth of the new baby, who they’d named Skyler, in Krista's beautiful yard overlooking Lake Washington.
The day was warm, and the sun was bright with a clear blue sky, even as the fall leaves swirled in the air. The House of Storms arrived first, Hanish and JoJo bringing several dishes along. There was corn chowder and big steaks for barbecuing and coleslaw and a shepherd’s pie that JoJo had prepared. Then the rest of the House of Flames arrived, Kian bringing three-meat chili and homemade ice cream. The House of Flames and House of Storms were growing exponentially every day. Krista sat in a comfortable lawn chair with plenty of padding all around her as she held her baby and greeted all of her guests.
Krista's three mates were attentive, and she was blissfully happy. The sight of it always created a warm feeling in Flora’s heart. After the steaks and hamburgers and sausages and shish kebabs were all barbecued, they sat around the multiple picnic tables, which were arranged in a U shape, and ate together, like the pictures of royal courts in medieval times. There was laughing and talking and so much excitement. It was hard to believe that they had all come so far in such a short time.
The scientists and engineers discussed the best way to administer the vaccine in particle form to cover the entire seven-billion-person population of the world.
"Even if we mass produce the particle bombs," Yuki said, "It will still take us over a year to apply it to the entire earth." He worked out the calculation on his wrist device as he spoke.
"There has to be another way. With only the nine of us and the limitation on how fast a dragon can fly plus the number of particle bombs we can carry, I don't see any way to increase the speed."
"Why don't we excavate the spaceships?" Flora asked.
"We can't do that," Yuki said. "Not unless we plan to permanently remove them. When we buried the ships, we didn't plan to dig them out anytime soon."
"Unfortunately, the ships are now structurally necessary for the stability of our homes," Cato added.
"What if we bought a jet?" Raiden asked.
"That's a possibility," Kian said, rubbing his chin.
"We can easily afford jets," Hanish agreed.
"Even if we bought a jet each," Yuki said, making more calculations, "It would still take six months to cover the entire planet."
"That may be our only option," Hanish said.
"The vampires have not relented in their pursuit of humans. Just as many people are disappearing every day. They’ve just decided to leave us alone for now," Raiden said.
"There has to be a better way," Flora mused.
"If we excavate one of our ships, the process could take less than two weeks," Yuki said.
"Which one of our ships will we excavate?" Kian asked, looking at Hanish.
It was clear that neither captain wanted to risk his home.
"Let's just table the subject for now," Zephyr suggested. "We will try to come up with a better plan that doesn't involve one of our ships."
"That's probably for the best," Hanish said. "You know what I just thought, Zephyr? You are the only one who still hasn't found his mate."
"That is unimportant right now," Zephyr said.
"Of course it's important. We all want mates, and we all are fated to find them."
"Let's focus on saving the human race first, and then we will talk about my mate."
"You didn't seem to have that attitude when we were discussing my mate," Raiden said.
"That was different. We all knew that Flora was yours. You just hadn't admitted it to yourself yet."
"I wish I had figured it out sooner," Raiden said, taking her hand and twining his fingers through hers as they rested on the picnic table.
"It's better late than never," Penelope said, winking at Flora.
Flora felt the rush of love and connection with her mate flood her entire body, and the blissful ecstasy of it overwhelmed every other emotion. They had found the vaccine, and they had found a way to deliver it. Everything was coming together in her life, and now she and Raiden could be together in a world that was free of vampires. They just needed a little more time and patience, and they would see that beautiful world.
"I'm getting an incoming message," Kian said.
"So am I," said Hanish.
"Another ship has emerged," Kian said. "It's the House of Tides."
"It's the House of Ether," Kian said.
They looked at each other.
"I'm getting an incoming message from the House of Stone," said Zephyr.
"Three houses awakening at once?" Kian said, shaking his head. "Wait a minute. There are too many messages coming in."
"I think it's… I think it's all of them," Hanish said.
The group sat in stunned silence as Yuki broadcast the messages over his smartphone. Flora heard the many overlapping greetings from the captains of the Dragonian ships.
"Greetings," Kian said aloud. “I am Kian, prince and captain of the House of Flames."
"And I am Hanish, prince and captain of the House of Storms. We are quite pleased to welcome you to Earth."
After the preliminary introductions, they found that a total of ten houses had awoken. A total of twelve houses had left Dragonia. Everyone was awake. Everyone was there.
"Have you found Dragon Souls?" said the captain of the House of Storms.
All of the dragons looked at their mates, their eyes shining and their hearts full. Flora felt the thrumming beat of the rhythm of love enveloping her from every side.
"Yes, we have," Raiden said. "Yes, we have."
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ouse of Storms: Dragon Guardians Book 7
Raiden: House of Storms: Dragon Guardians Book 7 Page 11