by Maya Kane
Kate’s heart sank. “What is it now?”
Redon growled something at Aron. The other Dreon’s face fell. To Kate’s surprise, Redon stood and left the room.
Athena turned to Aron and said something to him in Uniton. His reply was curt. He shook his head.
“What was that all about?” Kate asked.
Athena shrugged. “He won’t tell me. Says it’s nothing to worry about.”
“He looks worried to me.”
Athena glanced at Aron before turning back to the others. “He seems like kind of a worrier; like the sensitive smart one of the Dreon.”
Kate snorted. “So your ideal man, basically.”
Athena gave her the finger. Her grin quickly evaporated. “Anyway. Back to what I was saying. There’s a complicating factor we need to address tonight.”
“For god’s sake get it out, Athena. We can’t fix it if we don’t know what the problem is.”
Athena leaned back and stared up at the curved metal ceiling. “Okay. Fine. You can do this, Athena. See, Kate, there’s no easy way to put this. Okay. Redon felt something the moment he came near you. Aron describes it as kind of like a soulmates thing. He gets close to you and suddenly his body goes haywire.”
“Wow.” It was the only thing that Kate could think of saying.
Athena shook her head. “Not wow. One of the effects of your proximity is on Redon’s ability to shift form. You saw it earlier, Aron told me. Usually, the Dreon learn to control their Drayon from a very young age. The only exception is when they’ve met but not mated their other. It’s like an evolutionary thing—their body actually steps in to prevent them from ignoring the mating urge.”
Danni nodded. “Kind of like how a human teenager might need somebody to take away his hologamer headset so that he can meet real live girls.”
Athena glared at her. “Not helpful, Danni.”
Danni shrugged.
“Yeah, enough of the Dreon biology lesson. What’s the threat exactly?” Kate’s pulse buzzed in her ears as her mind wandered. She wondered if what Athena was saying was true. Was it possible? Or was it the most elaborate pickup line she had ever heard?
Athena sighed. “Sometimes I wish you’d just read between the lines, Kate. Okay. So you’re his mate. This affects his ability to stay shifted. And he’s gonna need to do that if he’s going to lead his troops across earth undetected. There’s only one way to get his powers back. Well, two actually, but Aron didn’t really talk about the second so I’m gonna assume that’s even more unpalatable than—”
“Unpalatable?” Kate’s heart jolted in her chest. Talk about a rude awakening from her dreamy reverie about Redon. “What? Please just tell me?”
“Isn’t it obvious? He needs to mate with you. It’s the only thing that will restore his full abilities.”
Kate blinked. “Wow.”
“Yeah,” Athena said sheepishly. “It’s a lot to take in.”
“Literally,” Kate snorted.
Athena coughed. Danni looked shocked.
“Oh come on.” Kate made a face. “If I can’t joke about it…” she made a face that suggested nonchalance, but underneath, her mind was racing.
Talk about relief. I thought she was going to say they needed to sacrifice me to the dragon gods in order for our joint mission to go ahead. But this? Seriously? Fuck Redon and then pat myself on the back for doing it for my country?
“Kate?” Athena was inches from her face, staring at her with a very anxious expression.
“I think she’s catatonic from shock,” Danni said, looking worried.
Athena nodded. “I’ve certainly never seen her look like that. Look at that grin—it’s maniacal. Maybe she’s lost her mind.”
Kate wanted to burst into laughter, but she restrained herself. With great difficulty, she fixed a solemn expression on her face and turned to Athena.
“So it’s the only way?” she said, biting the inside of her cheeks to keep from laughing.
Athena nodded. “Look, like I said you don’t need to do this. I don’t want to put pressure on you, but as things stand Redon won’t be able to lead them when his body is affected like this.”
Kate shook her head. “No, I understand. Where is Redon?”
Athena spoke to Aron in Uniton. A few seconds later she turned back to Kate. “He’s gone. Aron thinks he may have gone to his cabin.”
Kate nodded. “I should go there, then,” she said, nodding her head gravely and rubbing her sweating palms on the cargo pants she’d been wearing since she landed. “My planet is relying on me.”
She almost felt guilty when she saw the looks of admiration around the table once Athena had translated for Aron. But that was half the fun. She just about managed to keep a straight face until she was out of the room. She rushed along the corridor feeling giddy and lightheaded.
“Wait!”
Kate spun around. In the shadowy darkness, she saw Athena approach at her rapid pace, closely followed by Danni. “What is it?” she asked, suddenly fearful that a new development might take away her excuse to get up close and personal with Redon.
“Well,” Athena said awkwardly. “We thought you might need a translator.”
Kate forced herself not to laugh. “Look, Athena; this is hard enough as it is. Don’t you think having you both there would make it super awkward?”
Athena shrugged. “I guess.” She stepped closer and lowered her voice even though the Dreon couldn’t speak English. “What are you going to do without us, though? I mean—”
Kate held her hand up. “I’ll be fine, Athena. Really. It would be weirder if we had you guys pointing directions and telling us what to do. Don’t you think?”
Athena snorted. “That’s not a pretty picture now that you describe it that way. You sure you’re okay with this? I mean, I feel like you’ve been thrown into this.”
Kate leaned forward, so close to Athena’s ear that she could feel the heat of her own breath bounce back at her face. “Athena, I’m fine. I may have exaggerated earlier. You wanna know the truth?”
“Yeah?”
“I’ve been dying to get close to Redon since I saw him naked. Honestly, Athena. When do you think I’ll ever get a chance like this again? And to do it for my planet? Talk about win-win.”
Athena snorted and clapped her hand to her mouth. “You’re unbelievable, you know that? Seriously, I wish I had your balls.”
Kate looked at her deadpan. “Why would you want mine when you could so easily have Aron’s? Honestly, the two of you are a match made in geek heaven.”
Athena poked out her tongue. “Hey, stop that. There’s nothing there. We’re just working together.”
Kate winked. “Sure you are. Just like Redon and I are about to work together. Collaborate on a little project. Or not so little.”
She spun around and hurried in the direction of Redon’s cabin. She could still hear Athena’s peals of laughter as she turned the corner. She grinned, wondering what Aron would think of her suddenly-giddy friend.
Chapter 16
Kate came to an abrupt stop outside the door Aron had described via Athena. Suddenly it all seemed crazy.
What am I supposed to do? Knock? She stood there, wiping her palms on her pants—this time, it wasn’t for show.
Finally, she took a deep breath and rapped sharply on the door.
There was a low grunt in response.
“Redon?” she called. “It’s Kate.”
“Ka-te,” he growled.
Kate pushed the door open. After the darkness of the corridor, it seemed bright in there thanks to the large window. Redon was sitting in a recliner in a nook beside it.
“Hi,” she said, standing in front of him and suddenly feeling very awkward. She had no experience with tall hot aliens with intriguing ridges on their very large cocks.
“They tell Kate?” he said, sounding more somber than he had before. Kate wasn’t sure if she was imagining it, given the limited interactions they’
d shared.
“Yes,” she whispered, moving closer.
“It…” he shook his head. “It unfortunate time.”
Kate shrugged. “No matter,” she said, her heart beating out of control. “What we want. Both.” She pointed to herself and to him.
He seemed to lighten at that. He pushed himself up to a seated position and stared at her. “Come.”
At the sound of his command, butterflies burst into life in Kate’s stomach. It was strange—if any other guy had ordered her around like that, he wouldn’t have tried it a second time. But with this guy? She shook her head. It was fucking hot.
“So you’re taking control, huh?” she whispered.
He looked at her blankly.
“It is nothing,” she said in Uniton.
He shrugged. He had other things to focus on, like what lay underneath her black uniform. As Kate moved closer, she slowly unbuttoned her shirt. She had never felt sexy in her uniform before—her thick hips and large chest meant that she had to wear men’s sizes that swamped her relatively small waist. Plus, she never had time to apply makeup at the base and her hair, though sleek, was thicker than she would have liked.
But all of that?
It didn’t matter. Not when she saw the look in Redon’s eyes. His attention was riveted to her body. She moved lower, undoing the buttons but letting the two sides of her shirt fall back together. She smiled at him.
He grunted.
“I stop?” she asked, wishing she spoke his language or he spoke hers. Their bodies could do a hell of a lot—and she was looking forward to finding out exactly what—but she felt a pang of regret that they couldn’t just lie together and talk.
He shook his head and growled, his golden eyes flashing. “No. Not stop.”
Kate grinned. She had almost reached him now. He sat with his legs splayed. He had gotten dressed as soon as they arrived back at the ship—all of the Dreon all had. He wore a light spacesuit in a thin black fabric. Kate figured it was the cheapest fabric possible to protect their bodies—if they lost their clothing every time they changed form, then the wardrobe bill didn’t exactly extend to precious silk.
“Come,” he growled again.
This time, Kate didn’t hesitate. She let her shirt fall to the ground and reached down to undo the belt that cinched in the waist of her standard issue pants.
“No,” he said fiercely. He reached forward and clamped two huge hands around her hips. “Redon.”
Every nerve ending in her body was on high alert for what was about to happen. Kate had never felt so aroused by anybody. There was no mistaking his intentions. What surprised Kate most was this didn’t feel forced or clinical even though it needed to happen in order for them to save their planet. She wanted this. And she could tell he wanted it as much as she did.
Kate gasped as he pulled her to him. She parted her legs and straddled his lap, straining to push against the huge bulge in his spacesuit. But he held her back. She groaned—she didn’t know how much longer she could wait—she’d been anticipating this ever since she saw him from the quarantine unit, she realized.
“Redon,” she murmured, pushing her hips forward again.
He shook his head and reached up to stroke her lips.
She found his golden eyes and stared into them, wondering what he was thinking. An understanding seemed to pass between them, even though he didn’t say a word. She knew then—this wasn’t all duty for him either. She shivered. They may not have been able to talk, but she could tell so much from just looking at him. His eyes shimmered in the dim light, more intense than she’d ever seen them. The ridges at his temple seemed to vibrate, darkening and lightening in time with the movement.
Mesmerized, she reached forward, gently stroking his cheek before stopping.
“Can I?” she asked in English, too impatient to figure out how to say it in Uniton. “It won’t hurt you, will it?”
He nodded, even though he couldn’t have understood her words. Being together like this seemed to heighten the understanding between them, and for the first time Kate wondered why: what powerful force existed that could send his body haywire if they didn’t make love?
“Receptors,” he grunted, letting go of her hip for a moment and pointing at his temple.
He took her hand and guided it there, moving it gently down the row of ridges. She had no doubt now that they were vibrating—it was more obvious than ever.
It felt strange—but not in an unpleasant way. Sensing that the ridges were connected to his pleasure centers, Kate felt even more aroused knowing that he was too. His breath caught in his throat as she increased the pressure. His pupils dilated even more—thin rings of shimmering gold around molten black centers.
As she stroked, she became more and more aware of something else. Those ridges on his cock. Were they as responsive? Did they vibrate too? She shivered, grinning down at him. She had never anticipated anything as much as she anticipated this. She knew he wanted to take it slow and so did she, but she couldn’t wait. She needed to know—just the thought of it was making her core tingle.
She reached forward and unzipped his spacesuit with shaking fingers. The sight of it—huge and ridged and with a glistening tip that was further confirmation that he was dying to take her—made her gasp.
Redon looked at her quizzically, but she was too distracted to pay attention. She pulled the zip the last few inches and stared. It stood rock solid; ridges vibrating and changing color just like the ones at his temples.
“Holy shit,” she gasped, knowing her eyes were bugging.
It was even bigger than it had been before; fully aroused now. She stared in awe. There was no question of her taking him in her mouth—there was absolutely no way he’d fit. It was strange—she had never really cared about giving head before, but this was different. She wanted to please Redon like he’d never been pleasured before.
She reached for him, wrapping her fingers around his shaft as much as she could. There was still a gap of a few inches between her fingers and thumb, but she clenched as hard as she could to make up for it. He closed his eyes and groaned.
Kate began to move her hand, falling into the rhythm of his vibrating ridges. Redon groaned, gripping her hips tightly and pushing her off him.
Kate’s eyes snapped open in surprise. She didn’t need to wait long for an explanation, though—he grabbed her belt in two places and tore it apart as if it were a piece of thin string and not tough leather. Staring into her eyes, he pulled hard on her cargo pants. When she was naked apart from her sensible cotton panties, he grunted his approval and pulled her back toward him.
“What about these?” she whispered, hooking her fingers into the waistband.
His eyes traced down her body, pausing hungrily on her breasts before moving on to her hands. He growled something in Dreon and let go of her again. Her panties tore away like paper.
“Hey, I’ve only got one pair now that…” Her words evaporated as he pulled her to him and swept his thick fingers down her navel. And suddenly Kate didn’t give a fuck about anything else.
His huge, rough hands were surprisingly gentle as they teased slowly downward and found the swollen, throbbing nub that had been crying out for his touch ever since she had learned the truth behind his fall from the air.
She bit her lip as he stroked her, gently but insistently. His attention was laser-focused. Kate closed her eyes as her muscles fell under his control. Her core clenched with a desperate need to feel him inside her. She shook her head, flustered. She had never been as turned on as she was now. It felt strange to surrender to another, but that’s exactly what her body was doing—whether she liked it or not. He increased the pressure on her clit. Oh, she liked it alright; liked it a hell of a lot.
Kate closed her eyes as her mind went blank. She jerked violently as the delicious pressure built inside her, growing and growing until she abandoned all attempts to pretend she was doing this for her planet. His fingers seemed to stroke her more in
sistently as her moans got louder.
She gripped his shoulders and opened her eyes. He’d been staring at her, his mouth twisted into a lopsided smile. With a flick of his wrist, he changed the angle of his hand and slid a thick finger inside her. Kate threw her head back and gasped, clenching around him uncontrollably.
Redon growled in response. He flipped her effortlessly. Now she was beneath him and he hovered over her on the recliner that he had made flat at some point—she hadn’t noticed him do it.
She stared up into his eyes, driven almost mad with desire for him. She moaned. He’d taken her almost to the edge and then suddenly let go. She felt empty.
“Redon,” she groaned impatiently.
His face grew serious. He reached for her naked thighs and pulled them apart, climbing slowly between them in a way that made her want to cry out.
She threw her head back and ground her ass against the cushioned top of the recliner as she felt the tip of his monstrous shaft press against her entrance, which by then was slick with pure need for him.
“Redon,” she gasped.
He tilted his head toward her and gripped one of her hips. Kate gasped as he inched inside her. Delirious with pleasure, she thought she felt the vibrating ridges pushing against her most sensitive skin. She clenched so hard she felt like her muscles must lock at any moment, but he seemed to energize her; make her ready to take more.
She had never felt anything like it; never. She stared up at him, no trace of the teasing smile on his face any longer. Now, his face was screwed up in concentration as he fucked her. She had no idea what he was doing, but whatever it was, it was working in a way she had never thought possible. Kate’s stomach muscles contracted again as ripples of pleasure shot through her body. Every time she thought she’d reached a crescendo, he sent her higher and higher.
With a helpless groan, she felt herself tip over the edge. Wave after wave of pleasure washed over her until she felt like she had melted into a puddle on the floor.
Chapter 17
Redon blinked. There was something different about his surroundings even though he knew from the feel of the air that he was on his ship. He reached up to scratch his head; an automatic movement he made every time he was confused by something.