by Sarah Marsh
“What about my mouth, Mari? Do you want me to suck on this swollen little nub while Bae works his shaft in and out of your tight pussy?”
Both Mari and Baelion groaned at Luca’s words. His mate always did have a way with his mouth. The dirtier the language when it came to sex, the better, in Bae’s opinion, and he was thrilled to see that Mari appreciated it, as well.
“Oh God, yes. Luca, please.” Her breathless plea left those beautiful lips.
Bae watched Luca’s devastating smile before he leaned down and ran his tongue around Mari’s clit, and he knew the exact moment that Luca’s lips latched onto it and began to suckle, because that was when he felt her explode all around him.
“Luca!” she cried out as Baelion thrust one last time and let himself finally release inside of her, pulse after pulse. His body continued to spasm until he felt as though there was nothing left to give.
He heard his mate’s low chuckle as Mari was lifted off of him and settled on the mats in between them. “I think you’re getting old, Bae. Seems that this little one has exhausted you.”
“If I get to do that again, then I will concede to getting old,” he murmured back before turning to his side and snuggling into her neck, making sure to drape an arm over Luca, as well. Baelion couldn’t remember the last time he’d felt so content.
“No one’s doing that again until I get at least six hours of sleep,” Mari mumbled, her eyes still closed. “I think you two broke me.”
“Go back to sleep, little one.” Luca nuzzled into her back. “We have a few more hours before we need to be on our way.”
* * * *
When Mari awoke, she was alone on the sleeping mats this time. Even little Tigger was nowhere to be found. As she used the bathroom to have a quick—because it was cold as hell—shower and then got dressed, she wondered where the boys had gone off to. She was just double-checking that her makeshift toga was covering all the important bits when the roof latch opened up and Luca’s head popped down to smile at her.
“Good, you’re awake,” he said, holding both his hands down to her. “Baelion found you some breakfast, and then we need to be on our way. Up you come.”
He lifted her up and pulled her in close for a warm hug, nuzzling his lips into her neck.
“You smell delicious this morning, little one.” He pulled back and kissed her softly. “How do you feel? We weren’t too rough, were we?”
She blushed, enjoying the easy affection, though it surprised her a little. Even when she was still “happily married” to Jordan, he’d never been a very affectionate person. She’d wondered for a moment this morning when she woke and found them gone if things would be awkward between them after last night, and Mari was relieved that it wasn’t.
“No, I’m fine.” She smiled at him. “Better than fine, really.”
“As are we, love.” Baelion gave her a wink as he looked up from something he was fiddling with that lay in front of him. “There’s some fruit for you over there. Hopefully, your little fur beastie hasn’t sampled it all.”
Mari looked over to where he gestured with a nod of his head, only to find Tigger batting around and chasing a small round red object. The fruit went shooting over the side of the rooftop, and he yowled in disappointment as he watched it fall to the ground, his little tail twitching furiously. He must have been satisfied that it was clearly out of reach, because then he was back to the remaining pile, separating another victim from the bunch.
She settled down beside him and grabbed a few pieces of what looked like some kind of plum. Looking back over toward Bae, she wondered what the pile of stuff was in front of him that had both him and Luca so engrossed.
“What are you guys working on over there?”
“We’re trying to find a solution to your delicate skin, love,” Bae answered back. “We gathered some materials to make a perch for you while we travel. It should be easier on your legs. We just need to make certain it will be secure.”
Mari could see now that the pile of huge leaves and vines was actually beginning to look like a saddle of sorts. How sweet was that of them, to go to such trouble to make her comfortable?
Her attention was drawn back to Tigger jumping and yowling beside her. He seemed to be chasing something different this time, and right before he finally pounced, Mari saw that it was a huge and elaborately colorful butterfly.
“Tigger!” She lurched to grab him before he killed it. “Bad kitty. No eating the pretty butterflies. Oh man, I hope you didn’t hurt it.”
She had the cub pulled in close with one hand as she peered down to see what he’d done. Thankfully, the beautiful creature seemed to be all right. Its vibrant rainbow wings were slowly fanning back and forth. Mari gasped when she got a closer look and found that it wasn’t actually a bug at all, but the body attached to the intricate wings was that of a tiny monkey-like creature with bright lime-green fur. Its little face looked up at her, with its big black eyes and its head tilted as if it was wondering what she was and why she’d come to its rescue.
“Oh my God,” she whispered, not wanting to startle the tiny animal. “Aren’t you just the most precious little guy I’ve ever seen!”
Mari fumbled around behind her to grab one of the pieces of fruit to feed him, and when she reached out to offer it, the monkey sat upright and made the most adorable chirping noise, moving his little green hands forward to try and grab the plum. When he couldn’t quite reach, he shuffled forward, bit by bit, until he was right next to her hand, then darted in to nibble at the fruit while still keeping a wary eye on the cub in her arms. Although Tigger was now more interested in chewing on her hair.
“You guys,” she said just loud enough to get Luca and Bae’s attention, “come and see this little monkey-butterfly. He’s so adorable.”
“Marisol?” Luca’s head came up to look back at her. “What is a monkey-butterfly?”
She turned back to look at him and laugh at his bewildered tone. Her eyes were just off the animal for a split second, but apparently, that was enough time for the little bugger to grow bold and try to make off with the entire piece of fruit—and if that wasn’t rude enough, he went and bit her hand for good measure, as well.
“Ow!” She pulled her hand back as she turned to see the little bastard fly away toward the trees—and she could have sworn the expression on his tiny face was pretty much the equivalent of giving her the one-finger salute as he made off with his bounty. “That cute little fucker bit me!”
Immediately both Luca and Baelion were by her side, concern evident on their faces.
“What bit you, Mari?” Bae pulled her hand toward him so he could look at the small wound. “Are you all right?”
“I think so.” She pointed off to where the animal was almost lost to sight in the thick canopy. “It was that little butterfly-monkey thing. It stole a plum and bit me.”
She was surprised when Luca swore before he strode to the roof latch and dropped down out of sight, and when she turned to Bae, he was examining her more closely.
“It’s just a tiny bite, you guys,” she said, trying to calm them down. “I’m sure I’ll be fine. What is it?”
Mari could tell that Bae was gearing up to soften the news for her, and that scared her more than anything.
“Bae, you’re scaring me. Please just tell me what the big deal is.”
“The animals here, Mari…” he began to explain. “The majority of them are extremely toxic. The rule of thumb when it comes to nature is that the more colorful the creature, the higher the toxicity level.”
“Oh.” She tried not to panic at the fact that the tiny monkey had been like a clown on acid with its coloring. “…But you don’t know for sure, right? I feel fine.”
His weak smile did little to make her feel better. “Of course, Mari, it may not have been harmful at all. But even then, most animals’ mouths are full of bacteria that could cause infection, even in a wound so small. We’ll treat you with what they have in the medical
kit, just to be sure.”
Luca popped back up from the hatch right then and had the first aid kit with him as well as an extremely frowny look on his face.
“Is she all right?” he asked, dropping the case down to rifle through it until he obviously found what he was looking for.
She was about to answer him when all of a sudden her heart began to race and a cold sweat broke out all over her body.
That evil, fucking ungrateful little flying monkey! she had time to think before darkness closed over her vision and everything else disappeared.
Chapter Twenty-Four
It had been almost a full day since Marisol collapsed after being bitten. They’d given her both doses of antivenom from the med kit, and now all they could do was pray that her own body could fight off the rest and recover. Luca was furious with himself that he’d let his guard down and failed her so miserably. Perhaps his people had been correct to shun him. Clearly, he wasn’t worthy of protecting a female of his own.
“Stop it, Luca.” Baelion looked up from where he was changing the cold compress on Mari’s forehead. They were lucky he was able to use his venom to freeze all sorts of things, because the humid heat of the jungle during the day had only been making her fever worse. “I know what’s going through your head right now, and it’s not true. This wasn’t your fault, and Mari will be just fine, you’ll see. She’s a fighter.”
Luca paced back and forth. His instincts were going crazy, screaming at him that they needed to leave this place. His dragon insisted that they take Marisol somewhere safer.
“But what about next time?” He couldn’t stop the replay of her collapsing before them, her skin pale and ashen. “There are a million things in this shit-hole jungle that could kill her! We need to figure out how to protect her better until we reach the resort—and we need to get out of this shelter. My dragon is sensing a predator nearby.”
“I agree, Luca, but what can we do?” Bae stood and walked over to him. “Her human physiology makes her so susceptible to the toxins here. But I believe she’s over the worst of it. Her scent no longer radiates sickness. In fact, it’s gotten rather—interesting over the last hour or so. I believe she’s going into season.”
“Do human females do that?” Luca asked, leaning down to take in her scent. “I didn’t realize.”
“Why don’t you go find us something for dinner? Tomorrow, if she still hasn’t woken, then we may need to think about leaving. You can both ride me and you can hold on to her.”
“I don’t like it. That would leave us vulnerable in flight.”
“I know, Luca, but we can’t afford to stay here.” Bae came up and hugged him from behind, laying his head on Luca’s shoulder. “Besides, the next shelter will have a fully stocked med kit, and if Mari doesn’t wake, we’ll need it.”
“Of course, love. You’re right.” He accepted the comfort his mate gave so freely, but there was something in the back of his mind that he knew was important. Something his brother, Grae, had mentioned about his own human mate.
Ahh well, nothing clears the mind like a little hunting. He was certain it would come back to him.
* * * *
Luca was careful when he shifted and left the shelter to hunt for dinner. He traveled perhaps farther away than he needed to, but he couldn’t shake the feeling that he was being watched. He believed Bae when he’d mentioned thinking he’d seen a similar beast to the one that had attacked them in front of the cave, and if for some reason it had been following them, then he didn’t want to draw any attention toward the shelter—especially since he wasn’t there to defend it.
He had to admit, Draxis was a spectacular planet for hunting. He didn’t know if many other species would agree—many would probably not survive long—but for a dragon, it was almost paradise. Luca was in dragon form, perched in a huge tree just on the outskirts of a wide open field. He’d been tracking a pack of herbivore animals that were now sedately grazing in the warm sun. The closer they got to the resort, the larger the prey animals seemed to get. He imagined the engineers designed the landscape this way to attract a higher density of predators in closer proximity to the main resort for their guests to hunt.
These were odd-looking beasts he’d never seen the likes of before. They had outrageous yellow-and-brown striped hides, six long legs, and odd club-like tails that he could only assume they used for defense. Luca settled his sights on an older male who was grazing alone away from the pack. He dove low, his claws digging deep into the sides of the animal, lifting it off the grass. The rest of the herd took off in a cloud of dust as he flew low to a spot where he could finish off his prey. As soon as he’d settled on the ground, the large tail swung up against his hindquarters in a last ditch effort to escape certain death. Luca felt the sting of several barbs piercing his tough skin, but he quickly used his jaws to snap the animal’s neck.
He knew he’d never be able to pull out the barbed quills in his dragon form, so he shifted and very carefully extracted them—there was no way he was going back to Baelion and Mari with an ass full of poisoned darts. Bae would never let him live that down. There was a mild tingling in the wounds, but he knew it wasn’t anything his dragon blood couldn’t handle.
All of a sudden, the information that had been eluding him about Grae’s mate came rushing back in a glorious epiphany. Finally, he knew what they had to do to protect Marisol. It was brilliant, really. It would provide protection and give them all exactly what they wanted most, all at the same time.
Luca finished cleaning, butchering, and cooking his prey with a beaming smile on his face. Not only was he bringing home a meal, but he was a dragon with a plan—and that was even more impressive.
Chapter Twenty-Five
The smell of something delicious made Mari’s mouth water as she slowly came awake. Her entire body once again felt like battered shit. She couldn’t remember why, though. Her stomach rumbled loudly, and she finally opened her eyes when she heard Baelion’s soft chuckle.
“How can your stomach wake up before you do, Marisol?”
There was a warmth radiating from her left, and she was surprised to see a pile of rocks in the middle of the room. They were glowing red like coals.
“Luca found a safe way to warm you up without risking setting the entire canopy ablaze.” Bae helped her to slowly sit up.
“Oh man, why do I feel like I got hit by a bus?” She brought her hand up to her aching head.
“You were bitten by that small creature.” Luca sat down on the other side of her and handed her a leaf full of delicious-looking roasted meat. “We gave you both doses of the antivenom in the med kit, but still you slept almost a full day. We were quite worried.”
It all came back to her then—that evil little flying monkey she had thought was so damned cute. What. An. Asshole.
Tigger chose that moment to make his presence known. He snuggled up in her lap and purred—and then he started pulling her arm holding her dinner toward him. Figures he’s only interested in my food. She dropped a few pieces on the floor for him.
“I can’t believe he’s eating more. We’ve already fed him twice.” Bae looked at the tiny animal in disbelief. “I shudder to think of what he will consume when he is fully grown.”
“How big do these little guys get, anyway?” she asked, running her hand along his soft striped fur.
“I think about four, maybe five times your weight when a gula is full grown,” Luca answered.
“What?” Her mouth dropped open. “Are you kidding me? Is he like a fucking tiger? How am I supposed to keep him in my apartment on Sirus?”
“Hmm.” Bae gave her a wink. “You may have to move.”
Marisol couldn’t stop the grin from forming in response to Baelion’s teasing. Even when she hurt all over, these two somehow made her feel better just by being there.
“I guess I just might,” she responded and then winced when her stomach muscles protested. “Man, I am so freaking sore.”
“Yo
ur fever was quite high at one point. It was causing you to be quite restless.” Bae stroked back the hair from her forehead. “A hot shower might help. Luca, will you go heat the water reservoir?”
“Of course.” Luca got up and began to walk to the roof hatch, and then he paused and strode back to place a soft kiss on her lips. “I’m so relieved you’re okay, Mari.”
It choked her up a bit to see how sincere he was. It felt like forever since she’d had anyone really take care of her.
“After you’re clean, I’ll see what I can do about those sore muscles,” Baelion said as he picked her up and carried her toward the shower. “Luca found some julla plants when he was out last. That will help with the pain.”
He gently set her down and pulled the lever for the water to see if Luca had done his part. When he seemed satisfied with the temperature, Baelion walked back to her.
“Baelion,” Mari started awkwardly, “thank you—for taking care of me. You both have been amazing. I really appreciate it.”
He smiled at her, his stunning blue eyes so gentle despite the strength he had.
“Marisol, it’s our honor to care for you.” Bae cupped her cheek with his hand. “Truly. Now would you like help with your shower, or shall I leave you to your privacy?”
She thought she was strong enough to shower on her own, but she craved the comfort of his touch, and just this once she would give in to the weakness and indulge herself.
“Please stay, Baelion.” Mari stood and untied the material holding her garment on. The look of appreciation on his face as he looked at her was humbling. How did these two men undo her so?
* * * *
Baelion quickly took off his shorts and offered his hand to lead Marisol into the shower. Even though his body was screaming in need of her, he took his time and gently washed every inch of her skin until the water began to cool down.