by Maia Starr
"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 watched. 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.
"Oh my God. He flew… he flew with me in his arms. I remember, it was amazing,” I said to myself as I walked over to the window and peered out over the skyline of the city. I can't believe that actually had happened. I really thought it was a dream, but now I remember him landing on the roof. And then I remembered… “No! No, no, no… Melinda you did not do what I think you did,” I said to myself as I ran my fingers over my lips.
I remembered touching Commander Handor’s shiny scales with my hands and that had led to a passionate kiss, one that had made my knees weak, or maybe it was just that I was that drunk. But I knew deep down inside that I had begged for more, and he had pushed me away. How embarrassing is that?! But if he pushed me away, then why did I wake up naked? I did not have any flashes of memory of him making love to me. So that must be a good sign. The last thing I remembered was falling asleep. I had to know what happened, but I knew that my pride was not going to let me ask him.
“Shit, you just made this case way more complicated than it needed to be, Melinda. And on your first day of your promotion. You know you can't hold your drink,” I said to myself as I walk to the bathroom to take a shower and wake myself up and pretend like this didn't happen. It would be the only way that I would be able to look Commander Handor in the face. I would have to pretend like I didn't remember anything at all.
I wondered if he saw me naked? I was so damn embarrassed. I got sloppy drunk and made a fool out of myself, throwing myself at him, letting him fly me over the city. I was so ashamed of my behavior, and from now on, I knew I would have to keep it in check. It was a good thing we were leaving on the mission the next morning, because at least then I would not be getting drunk. At least then I would be working on the mission twenty-four hours a day. I got dressed ready to go into the office hours early, hopeful I could get some work done and do more research before Commander Handor came into the office.
I got in two hours of solid research while the office was quiet and only a few agents were in. I looked over photos of all the women that had vanished, especially Katie Cormick. She was a tall and very lean blonde with big blue eyes. She looked very dainty and very elegant, almost regal. She definitely had the look of someone that was raised with money and never had to work a day in her life. She was the complete opposite of me with her pale skin and delicate features that made her look very fragile. I could see how she was desirable to a race that valued obedient females.
I looked at the photo feeling very guilty. I was supposed to be helping this woman and instead I was throwing myself at her fiancé. My first day on the job and I was already personally involving myself in the case that I should be solving. How could I have messed up so badly? I was never drinking again.
I needed to focus, and that focus landed on the conversation that the lieutenant had with us in the bar. The fact that he needed to have that conversation outside of the office was also a major warning to me. I could not stop thinking about why the lieutenant thought that it was something internal. Why would anyone at the department want to have a part in the vanishing of human females that were destined to become the wives of Drackon warriors? It didn't make sense to me.
As far as I had known, most of the department and the government were very pro Drackon relations. Even the captain himself had a daughter that had married a Drackon warrior a couple of years before. Everyone had embraced the technology and the trades that the Drackon race had brought to Earth. The women absolutely loved them, and now, after my brief encounter last night, I knew why.
No matter how hard I tried to focus on my work, I kept getting flashes of Commander Handor pulling me into his arms and kissing me. I kept getting flashes of watching him shift, shiny scales emerging across his shoulder and torso, with silver wings coming out of his back. Six-pack abs and toned muscle formed all part of the beautiful creature that I saw before my eyes the night before. I now understood. I was a little jealous that I had not allowed myself to indulge before; I had always been too busy with work and never met a Drackon in my life until yesterday. Their arrogance and disrespect for women had always turned me off, and yet all it took was for one to shift in front of me and I melted into his arms. “Pathetic, Mel," I whispered to myself.
"What is? What is pathetic?” I heard a deep voice say. I looked up from my desk to see Commander Handor hovering over me with a stupid grin on his face. I felt my face turn bright red, but my stubbornness and pride would not allow me to admit my embarrassment.
"Nothing, Commander Handor,” was all I could come up with.
He leaned casually against the window in front of me and said, “Are you sure about that? How are you feeling this morning?”
I narrowed my eyes at him and said, “That is none of your business."
I stood up for my desk and began to walk away from him as he said, “I would think it is my business after last night.”
I froze in my tracks. I walked over to him and looked around to make sure no one was watching us and then I whispered, “What did happen last night? Did we… did you…?” But I could not get the words out of my mouth. “I woke up naked. Why?” I said sternly to him.
"Do you mean… did I make love to you with expert skills that drove you wild?” he whispered to me. His description and the way he said the words pulled a reaction from me and my body, which was betraying me at the moment. How did he do that? He was being an arrogant jerk and yet my body was responding to him.
I narrowed my eyes at him and crossed my arms in front of my chest. “Well?” I asked.
"No, I did not. Even though you were practically begging me for it. You gave me quite a show, a drunken striptease, if you will. It was quite humorous; thanks for the laughs. Now are you ready to get to work?"
"What?!” I shouted in response to him telling me that I stripped off my clothes in front of him. My angry reaction had a few empl
oyees look in my direction. I quieted down out of embarrassment as I stomped after the Drackon as he walked toward the elevator.
"What do you mean I gave you a show? And what do you mean it was funny? That's not exactly what a woman wants to hear about her naked body,” I angrily whispered to him.
He laughed in response and said, “We are going to the firing range. You also admitted in your drunken state that you have never been out in the field on a ship or on another planet. I refuse to have you as a partner unless you at least get a few hours of training on what it's like to actually be on the ship with a blaster gun and on another planet.”
"I trained with the blaster gun before,” I said to him angrily. The nerve of this jerk! He just kept going and going.
"Not like this. Are you coming or not?” he asked me. I sighed in resignation and followed him. Moments later, I found myself inside a ship simulator and Commander Handor was instructing me. He showed me how to aim in order to not hit vital areas of a ship. He taught me how to use the seats and various consoles and tables for cover; these were things that I had not been trained on before but thought would come to me easily. But it did make a difference to have a trained Drackon warrior showing me what to do. I was impressed with his maneuvers and various tricks. And he was right: I felt more confident after actually shooting a blaster gun inside the tight space of a spaceship, even a simulator one. It gave me more confidence and I felt ready for anything.