by Starla Night
“Oh. Wow. This is a plant?” She touched the pot.
Right on the force field release button.
The large bulldog-sized, green plant with purple dots charged out of its pot, teeth-first, and snapped on the corner of the table, growling.
Kyan whirled Laura to a safe distance.
She shrieked.
The dragons calmly collected their mates, guarding them from the plant. The aristocrat captain swore and patted his crisp military uniform for a weapon. The other human guests stampeded out of the room, screaming. The black ops team took covering positions to corral the wild plant.
Darcy walked in from the bathroom, wiping his hands on a towel. “Whoah.”
The spider catcher whipped toward the sound. Its green leaves unfurled as it bared its blind teeth at the tall human.
He froze. “Um, who released the Super Mario Bros. pipe plant?”
It jumped at him.
Amber swooped in front and blew a controlled breath of crackling fire across its path.
The heat singed the tile.
The plant curled up, mid-flight, and landed on the ground in a protective ball.
Kyan released Laura, grabbed the pot, and scooped up the plant. It unfurled. He pressed the force field button.
The plant slammed into the field, jolted, and fell back, paralyzed.
“I’ll put this in the greenhouse,” he growled, heading out.
Laura put both hands over her heart, color returning to her cheeks, then frowned and followed him. “We have a greenhouse?”
When they returned, his teammates had fanned out and surveyed his home. The guests looked as uncomfortable as he’d known they would be. Mixing the military and black ops was a bad idea; both feared and believed the others did no good work while they had to clean up messes. Meanwhile, the humans were concerned about the dragons and the dragons didn’t know what to do with the neighbors.
Laura looked confused and lost. She turned to Kyan with a low tone. “Is it me, or are things really awkward?”
His worst fears were coming true. This party wasn’t fun for her.
He rubbed her arms. “I am having fun.”
She slowly straightened. “Really?”
“Yes.”
Her smile brightened, filling his chest with a sunshine ray of hope. She turned to the muttering cliques and clapped her hands. “Alright! Everyone who wants to see our amazing lower floor, come with me!”
The groups pulled together and trooped down the stairs.
Laura finished her tour with the lower rooms.
“This is amazing.” One of the neighbors, a middle-aged real estate developer sidled up to Kyan. “Is this beneath the water table? How do you keep the elements out?”
“Easily,” Kyan said. “Our last lair was suspended in the middle of Denali. It was much more difficult. This is self-contained and lined with lead. It could be shot into space and be self-sufficient for two years.”
He blinked. “And the permits?”
“Permits?”
“How did you get the permits to build? Pass inspections?”
He had not asked permission; nor had he allowed any inspections. He remained silent until the contractor looked nervous.
Ah. He must not make any guests nervous.
“And the last is the bedroom,” Laura said.
“Also known as the ‘pleasure dungeon,’” he said.
She turned bright red. The neighbors laughed.
“I know someone who’s getting ‘locked up’ tonight,” Darcy said.
Everyone laughed again and Laura thumped him gently. “No more jokes.”
“That was not a joke.” He stroked her head.
The party ended at the appropriate time and everyone dispersed. He made the farewells with Laura. He could tell his squad leader was waiting for him to be alone, so he allowed Laura to go check on the remaining guests and food, and made himself available.
“You are weak in the lower ventilation areas,” his squad leader said. “And the glass windows in the local style are a security disaster. But you knew that.”
He nodded. Compromises had to be made.
“Biolock sensors, laser-reflective shielding, and a quad-blind entry system will secure the worst of it.” His squad leader looked around the lair. “You have done well for yourself.”
The security evaluation was invaluable, but it was also out of character. Time to cut the lies.
Kyan growled, low. “Why are you really here?”
His squad leader raised his brows. “One of these days we are going to retire.”
“And he thought, if a female from this planet chose you, we have a chance,” his old comm tech joked.
The squad leader grimaced, wished them farewell, and the team departed up the elevator.
And that was nearly all the guests…
Crazy Ed was in the spirits cabin working his way through a second fifth, hiccupping.
Laura murmured to Kyan. “I thought dragons weren’t affected by alcohol.”
“This one is not a dragon.”
“Isn’t he your old team mate?”
“He was picked up during leave. Pre-contact.”
“Oh, my god. Aliens actually used to land here before you arrived officially five — no, almost six — years ago?”
“Unofficially, yes. And once we were stranded off a small island near Vietnam, and an ex-soldier who was more … risk-forward than any of us proved his usefulness.”
“Hey, Scarface.” Crazy Ed burped at Kyan, then nodded more respectfully to Laura. “You two throw a great party.”
Kyan contacted his security team. His old teammates hadn’t gotten free of the lair yet, and so he reversed the elevator until he could see the whites of their eyes. “You forgot someone.”
The squad leader no longer looked amused. He looked like Kyan had always remembered him — as if he were completely dead inside. A nightmare to enemies and a silent threat to so-called friends.
Ah. It was good to see a recognizable face.
The rest of the team looked irritated but not particularly surprised.
“Laura, you used to have housemates,” the comm tech said. “Don’t you want a new one?”
“Um, well—”
“No.”
Under Kyan’s supervision, they hauled his final teammate out.
Now, he and Laura were alone in their lair.
She rested her head on his shoulder. “Want to take me to the … bedroom?”
“Yes.” He held her close. “As soon as I permanently seal the entrance.”
“No! I told you. No moving the entrance.”
“But—”
She tugged him down to her kiss.
Their lips meshed. Liquid desire poured into his hard cock with sudden, throbbing tightness. He positioned her head against his and tasted her sweet, sparkling cider mouth. His wide palm on her back pressed her against him.
She whimpered with heat and pulled back, disentangling, her pupils already widened with arousal. She grabbed his hand. “Come on. I want to try out our new bedroom.”
He wanted to “try out” every room and the bedroom was a fine start.
Kyan scooped Laura up, flew down the stairs, and banked into their bedroom. The polished stone floor was softened with a white woolly mammoth fleece. Although extinct on Earth, they were raised on multiple nearby planets for meat and wool. He landed on the luxurious fleece in front of the crackling fireplace and released her.
She untied her maternity dress and wiggled out of her tights, naked in only a few movements, and lay back on the quadruple king-sized bed. All hot curves and sweet seductions, she sank into the thick comforters and pillows colored amethyst, ocean blue, and cream satin. Cool and inviting. Watching him in anticipation, her hungry gaze was a little wicked.
He removed his trench coat. Then, he unstrapped his side holster, back holster, laser-edged knives on biceps and calves, and an armor-piercing razor blade at the back of his neck.
“The bare minimum.” He placed the weapons atop his trench coat and shrugged out of the other clothing — black shirt, jeans, steel-toed boots, boxer-briefs.
Her hunger sharpened. She rested on her elbows, then rubbed her plump belly and grimaced.
Anxiety twinged. “Problem?”
“My body’s changed a lot in the last couple months and it’s going to change more.”
“That is normal,” he said, with a lilt of a question. She was the health expert. Not him.
“It is.” She frowned. “This is the first time we’ve been able to take our time. Really look at each other. You know. Without a big rush or a deadline.”
“And?”
“I was just thinking.” She linked her hands over her belly. Her voice shrank. “Whether you still find … me attractive.”
He swallowed.
Was she honestly asking that question of him? Reclined in his lair like a fertility goddess, her curls fanned across his bed and the swell of her body glowing gently. Glowing as if the sunshine in her heart now infused her silky soft skin. She carried his dragonlet so carefully.
In his darkest nights, he’d thought her beautiful, kind light would never be his. And now she was here. Asking if he found her desirable.
As if the taut swelling of his cock wasn’t obvious.
“Yes,” he said.
Her smile broke through the concern. Her brows relaxed. One word and she believed in him. Her sweet faith was yet another reason he loved her so desperately much.
And any number of dangers could tear Laura away at any time.
A hard, sharp pain slashed his chest.
No.
So long as he was here, he would protect his wife and his unborn dragonlet with his life.
Her lips quirked. She rose to her knees and grabbed his hand, drawing him to the bed. “What are you thinking that makes you so serious?”
He kneed down on the bed next to her hip. “We are at risk.”
“Because of the housewarming?”
Yes. Even though he had already taken all possible measures to mitigate the risks. “And other reasons.”
“Then we’ll have to hold each other tight.” She smiled. “The best place to watch my back is when I’m in your arms, you know.”
He sucked in a breath. She always knew exactly how to lighten his darkest thoughts and fill him with her radiant love.
His father hadn’t been allowed to care for his mother while she carried his dragonlets. Kyan loved Laura so fiercely he sometimes struggled to tear his mind away from the darkness and appreciate these small, bright moments.
She wrapped her arms around his abdomen in a hug and stroked an index finger across broad pectorals. “Thank you so much for today. I know it was hard.”
“Did you enjoy the party as much as you anticipated?” That was all he cared about. She must find her community and be happy. Not sad or disappointed.
Instead of answering, she pressed a kiss to the hard muscle above his heart.
Okay. The question could wait.
He rolled her onto her back.
Her eyes widened and then she licked her lips and stroked his arms. “Are you finally going to make love to me?”
What? Had she been waiting for him?
“Is this a joke?” he asked.
“Talk later.” She lifted her head, closing the distance, and claimed his lips.
Her kiss fired through him, hot and ready.
He stroked her full, swollen breasts and teased her pert, pink nipples. She moaned. They seemed more sensitive to his touch and brought her intense pleasure. He swirled his tongue over the hot peaks.
She gasped and arched into his embrace. “Yes!”
He suckled, teasing and stroking. She clenched her thighs around his waist. “Please, Kyan. I want you so much.”
He kissed over her belly to her soft, curly golden vee.
She clenched tighter, stopping him, and writhed. “Now.”
He lifted his head. “Aren’t we going slow to enjoy it?”
“Next time!”
Her desperation pulsed liquid iron heat into his throbbing cock. He needed her too. Her desire made him want to cry and growl at once. A male as damaged as him didn’t deserve her love but he would fight anyone who tried to take her away.
While she remained on her back, he rolled to her side. He hugged her from the side, one arm under her head, the other below her belly cupping her damp mons. His engorged cock nudged her wet entrance.
She circled his cock and drove him deep. Slick, tight heat clasped his cock in a powerful embrace. He clenched, fighting the intense urge to come.
Laura gasped and vibrated. “You feel so good inside me.”
He curved one arm around her shoulders to cup her swelling breast. The other hand stroked her glistening pink nub above where they joined.
She dropped her head to the sheets and moaned.
He thrust into her, capturing her pleasure and transforming it into bliss.
“Kyan. Like that. Yes.”
His cock throbbed. Why was she always so mystified that he could bring her pleasure? She told him plainly what she wished. All he had to do was listen.
That he could give her pleasure — and she’d chosen him to be her male to do so — was the headiest aphrodisiac.
He fought his release, thrusting at her pace and depth, watching the heat whip across her face as she clung to him. Was gentleness on her throbbing nipple what she wanted? Was a hard stroke against her wet slick nub better? What about tugging her sensitive earlobe with his teeth?
She convulsed, her channel clenching him in ecstasy, passion soaking her scream.
He released, filling her already-full vessel with his seed.
They lay together in the quiet stillness of the crackling fire. She sighed dreamily. “Our first night in our new lair is going even better than I imagined.”
Good.
They shared an intimate shower, washing off the stress of the last months in the tight quarters of the warship. She grew hungry. They put on pajamas and robes and flew upstairs to the party leftovers.
“I think there were a few cheese rolls left,” she said, tired and relaxed and so cheery.
He rested her on the top step and opened the sealed doors between the lower bunker and upper floor.
“Did you have one? My mom makes the most delicious—”
Intruder.
“Someone is here,” he said.
“What?”
Known intruder. Consuming alcohol and food.
Hmm. Apparently, his old teammates had been busier than just giving him a free security evaluation.
He flew them to the main level.
She let go of Kyan and slowly faced the intruder. “Um… What are you doing here?”
Sprawled across the dining room chairs, like an eye in the center of a food debris and empty liquor bottle hurricane, hiccupped Crazy Ed. “Cheers.”
“I … see. It turns out the party’s over…”
“You throw a great party,” he assured her, through his mouthful. “Way better than the squad leader. I’ve been crashing at his pad. This place,” he burped, “is way nicer.”
“Thank you…”
He lifted a half-eaten custard bar. “Did you know they call this a donut? Donuts in my day were round and cake. They have come a long way. A long way.”
The real reason his old squad leader had shown up. Retirement? No. He’d been getting rid of his unwanted house guest.
It was still a pretty cheap trade for their free security evaluation.
Laura didn’t realize this truth. “Did we somehow miss you when everyone else left?”
He shook his short salt-and-pepper head, his grin wide.
“How did you get in?”
“We’re like Aldebaran roaches, honey. Once we know there’s a way in, there’s no getting rid of us.” He laughed.
Laura didn’t. But her too-generous c
oncern radiated onto Kyan’s unworthy teammate. “Well, maybe you can stay for one night…”
Crazy Ed brightened. “That’s mighty kind—”
“No.” Kyan intervened. “You can’t.”
Crazy Ed stuck out his lower lip in an exaggerated pout. “Your wife said I could stay. Isn’t she nice?”
“She’s nice. I’m not.”
He lifted the mostly-empty vodka. “How about a round for old time’s sake?”
“‘Old times’ is the reason you have to leave. Now.”
Laura picked through the remnants of Pyro’s starter set of spirits — gone — and reached the dish that had once held her mom’s cheese rolls.
It only held crumbs.
Crazy Ed appealed to her. “Honey—”
“That’s not my name.” She crossed her arms. “And I hate pet names.”
“It’s a … oh.”
“I think you should listen to my husband. The party was fun but now it’s over. Goodnight.”
Seeing he wasn’t getting sympathy from either, Crazy Ed rose with a sigh and followed Kyan to the elevator. “Well, see you for breakfast!”
Laura paled.
Kyan escorted Crazy Ed out. His front door security settings were unaltered. As he had feared.
“I like pancakes.” Crazy Ed stumbled off the doorstep onto the street. “Big fluffy ones.”
Kyan shut the front door.
He activated secondary locks, the backup security system, and the third system he’d left dormant to reduce the odds of any guests — his old black ops team included — from finding it.
Then he poured instant cement around the door, sealing off the street entrance for all time.
Their lair was no impenetrable. And self-sufficient.
He would talk Laura about where to put the new entrance. Because he was not leaving it no matter what he had promised.
Kyan steeled himself for the fight and descended into his lair once more.
Laura was sitting in Crazy Ed’s chair, an unfamiliar gloomy expression on her usually sunny face. She mooshed the cheese roll crumbs into a ball and sighed. “He’s gone?”
Kyan nodded jerky with tension. “Sorry about your rolls.”
“You couldn’t have known.”
But he really should have. His old team had been up to something. This was their idea of a joke.