Chapter 5

The Norratarwho was running this operation had just left before my small human bride walked back into the room. I held myself still, wanting to wrap myself around her and take her in my arms.

She was mine.

She had made her claim and I wanted her.

Even if I had fight dozens of her males to be with her.

She was strange looking, so small and bipedal. I wasn't even sure we would fit together but I was more than willing to try. There had been several human Atisari matings already from the women who had been taken from this planet against their will and sold. When I had seen pictures, I'd always felt intrigued by the species. The moment this marriage agency was announced, I had rushed to apply.

It was a good thing the Norratar had taken over the planet. They were putting and end to the trade that abducted women coming from this planet. They had been regularly captured, packaged up in cryo pods, and sold around the galaxy as breeders. They had rounded up the traders who had been in the system when they had arrived.

Now, the only legitimate way to get a human bride from Earth was to go through their mating agency.

My small human bride stood in front of me, looking up at me. I lifted my upper body up higher in the air so that I towered over her, showing off the strength in my tail and giving her a good look at my body.

"I have to tell you something," she said.

"I am eager to hear anything you wish to say to me," I replied.

"The entire planet has seen your… business," she said, pointing at my crotch. "I was live streaming and everyone saw your… interest in me."

That was not what I was expecting.

"Good," I replied.

"Good?" she asked.

"I will battle any that wish to challenge me for you," I replied. "I am aware of how puny your human men are. Now they know they will not be able to rival me in my ability to pleasure you. Your males will put up a fiercer fight now that they know that I will put them to shame."

"I don't have any other males," she said. "And we aren't hooking up,"

"You told me you had dozens of males," I replied. "And I was not aware your species had hooks? This will not be a problem. I can handle anything that is required in your mating."

There was nothing like that in the information available on her species. A feral joy filled me. This is why I was here, to find out these small details, the ones that trillions of my species would be ravenous to read about. I felt immense gratitude that my bride had chosen to sign up for this new mate matching service so quickly. If she hadn't, I wouldn't have been the first to get to go through this process and get firsthand access to a planet that the entire galaxy was interested in.

I was in the perfect position.

"No, that wasn't what I meant by… I don't have any mates or males… Let's start over," she said. She stuck out her hand. "Hi, nice to meet you, my name is Jessica."

Ah! A traditional human greeting.

I was surprised by the fact that she offered only one name. I'd always thought that my mate would be on the same level as me, from a prominent clan. As the years had passed and I realized what kind of life I would have, committing myself to a matriarch like that, I'd grown disillusioned with it.

I didn't expect my mate to have absolutely nothing to her name. Whatever she meant by dozens, it was now clear that she didn't have other males.

It meant it was all on me.

Humans didn't tend to mate with a large number of males to each female, and for the first time the daunting level of my responsibilities weighed down on me. This was a woman I would need to take care of. This was a mate who needed me in a way I never thought I would be needed before. Winning her affections wasn't going to just be about presenting my physical capabilities, it wasn't going to be a performance - it was going to be about how I could genuinely take care of her and our children.

It felt… exciting.

Like my worth as a male was more than how well I could perform against her existing males.

I shifted my tail around the room to lower my upper body so I was closer to her level and I leaned forward and gently took her hand in mine. I lifted her hand gently until it was close to my mouth.

"I am Aeson, seventh son of the seventh clutch of the Tsalu Salintinith Matriarch," I replied. I pressed my lips to her hand and carefully slid my tongue over her knuckles, swirling my tongue to demonstrate its strength and flexibility.

She gasped, her cheeks flushing with color as she yanked her hand back out of my grasp.

A delicate scent rose from her, fragrant and utterly delicious. I felt my shafts strain as they stiffened again, but this time I was prepared for it and did not allow them to slip free. There would be no more accidental exposures. I hadn't been prepared for how attracted I would be to this small fragile human, but now that I knew, I would keep myself under control.

"You withdrew so quickly?" I asked. "What can I change to make that more enjoyable?"

"No, that was… it's not that it wasn't…" She shook her head, holding up both of her hands so her palms faced me. "We aren't going to bang."

The translator took a moment with that word.

"You don't wish to mate with me?" I asked, more disappointment than I was expecting crushing down on me. I had to squash my instinctual reaction, to wrap around her, to slide myself against her and tease her into changing her mind. My instincts, my desires, weren't right for this moment. She didn't know me at all, I didn't know her. I knew that the mate matching system the Norratar had devised thought we were perfect for one another, but that didn't mean anything when it came down to actually making the decision.

"I can't…" she said. "I'm going through a lot right now and I need to marry you for other reasons… for my career. This won't be a real marriage."

I looked at her and she looked at me.

I was certain I could convince her. This whole mate matching service was a strange way to go about things. If she had been one of my species, I would have gone through the entire display and gifting process, showing my worth to her existing males before I was allowed a meeting with her. But she wasn't, and she had no males to go through.

There was only her, and she had no way to determine my worth right now other than looking at me. She had no one to protect her and look out for her interests. The mate matching service process was extensive, so she was guaranteed a certain level of my quality, but that wasn't the same as having a male truly show her.

Yet a fake mating was not what I wanted.

"I decline." I had to go with my heart.

"Okay so we can… wait, what did you say?" she asked.

"I am not willing to enter into a fake mating," I repeated in more detail. "Not with you."

"Listen, buddy," she said, crossing her arms. "Trying to coerce me into this isn't a good look."

"Coerce?" I recoiled, anger rising in me. "I do not need to coerce a mate.You have stated you wish to use a fake mating with me to further your goals in some fashion. As your mate, I would support you in whatever projects and endeavors you wished to accomplish. I find you attractive and am unwilling to pretend to be your mate when what I bring to the relationship is real."

She looked up at me, her eyes wide, framed by her thick eyelashes.

She looked so different from the other human who assisted the Norratar with running this business. She had long black hair that fell from her head and laid flat against her golden skin. I hadn't seen it move at all, so it seemed as if she didn't have control over it like I did with my crown spikes and display fringe that ran along the back of my head and down my spine. Her brown eyes looked up at me, and I could see the muscles around the edges of them tightening.

"You just met me, how could you know you want to be with me so quickly?" she asked. "This isn't some sort of instalove romance novel. We aren't going to be trapped together so that we can discover our compatibility or be dragged through some sort of high stakes action so that we can bond over the adventure, excitement and trauma of it all. This is just two people talking."

Ah, she did wish to see me fight to win her.

That was going to take some time to figure out how to arrange.

"I signed up for this service for more than one reason," I said. It was important to be honest and upfront with her. The fact that she was still talking to me meant that this mate contract, this marriage, was still an option for her. She was here, in this room, because there was something about me that drew her in, but she was hesitant.

She wanted me to convince her.

"I've known that Atisari human pairings were possible for some time now, and I've found the way that humans form mate bonds to be more attractive to me than the large harems that my species form," I said.

"Wait, harems?" She frowned, stepping back. "I'm not into being one of many."

"No, our females have harems of many males," I said. "I'm not opposed to you having one or five other mates, especially if you abide by my cultural practices in choosing them, but I don't wish to be one of twenty."

"That's… you would be okay with me dating someone else?" she asked. "What are your cultural practices of choosing them?"

"I don't wish to focus on that point at this time," I said. "Humans generally stick to one to three mates and that was the first reason I signed up for this service. The second reason I signed up…"

"I don't need to know all your reasons," she interrupted. "You're here for me, you're attracted to me, and that is all well and good. I have my own reason for coming back to this room. The problem I'm having is your dick is too big for me, and you're insisting that we do something that will cause me physical harm."

"Is that your hesitation?" I brightened. "You know nothing of Naga matings?"

"I didn't even know I was meeting a Naga," she said. "I thought I was being matched with a Norratar."

"We are quite different." I smiled. "For one, we have a mating pole that prepares our mate. Mating with me will cause you no physical harm. I guarantee that it will be the best mating that you have ever experienced. If it isn't, I will never touch you again."

She bit her lip, looking me up and down, her eyes hesitating on the slit where my two appendages remained hard and hidden. I felt a level of excitement that was normally reserved for hunting. She was going to say yes. She was going to give in.

But I couldn't resist pushing it a little further.

"Due to our interactions, I also require that we mate shortly after marrying," I added. "I will not force you if you change your mind, but I will not continue with the relationship if you are reluctant or unwilling. It will not be good for either of us."

Her brown creased and she crossed her arms across her chest. Before she could speak, I continued quickly. I needed to get the whole reason out before she rejected me.

"If we wait long, you will build anticipation for the act," I said. "That can both be good and bad. I wish to mate with you immediately to prove my worth in the bedroom and remove all doubts. This also coincides with a long history of human tradition. The honeymoon is essential for bonding and letting a couple know that they have made the right choice with their compatibility before proceeding further. Give me a chance and I will prove myself in each and every way you desire."

"So instead of not hooking up, you want to get married and seal the deal the traditional way?" she asked. "What if we aren't a good fit sexually?"

"I want to discuss exactly how these hooks work before mating." I could handle a lot of damage, but it was important to make sure the damage wouldn't impact my ability to pleasure her in the future. "And I know for a fact that our species can fit together. I can prepare you properly."

She pursed her lips into a thin line as she looked at me.

"Fine," she said. "But I'm not going along with this unless I know for certain that I'm going to have a good time. You are so certain that we are physically compatible, but I don't have anything other than the words out of your mouth."

"Let me give you more of them so you know the truth of what I can offer you as a mate," I said, slithering to the side to encircle her. I was careful not to touch her, but I made sure she would have to climb over me to reach the door. She watched me, not saying anything, but her fingers tightened on her arms.

"You have a nub between your legs that is the tip of a larger organ that goes into your body, shaped like a flower and just as delicate of its need to be coaxed and teased," I began. "Your skin is one enormous sensory organ, and with stroking and caressing your entire body, I can begin to awaken your nervous system, preparing you for even more delicate touch. The nub between your legs cannot be approached too suddenly. It is best to address it with my tongue, using your own folds to stroke it before I touch it directly. As it fills with blood circulated by your arousal, I can begin to manipulate it more directly. If you so desire, I can also inject my venom into my saliva, something that causes an aphrodisiac reaction in human biology. Applying that to your nub will intensify your initial orgasms. As I continue, I will put my tongue inside your channel and find the spot that connects to the larger flowering pleasure organ. I will stroke both access points at the same time to bring you through your first several peaks. After I have ensured that your body can reach the greater heights of pleasure that are induced from multiple spasms of your pleasure organ, I will then insert my lower rod and begin to stroke you and stretch you in preparation for my mating member."

Her face had turned a darker golden shade and her arms had dropped from their crossed position.

"That"s so…" She shook her head. "I've never heard anyone describe it like that."

"I would be happy to give you a demonstration of my skills." I tightened my coils so that I could feel the heat of her skin radiating off the small distance between us. "I will not give you either of my rods without a mating commitment ceremony, but I would be pleased to show you my skill at bringing you to your peak."

She looked up at me with wide eyes.

"Yes," she said. "But only your skill with your mouth. Nothing else."

"I will respect your boundaries." I relaxed my coils so that she had more space.

"I mean." She glanced at my tail as it moved away from her. "You can touch me with the rest of your body, just not your mating or pleasure…"

I struck, my movement cutting off her words.

I wrapped around her, lifting her up as I coiled around her, my tail sliding in between her legs so that she was riding it as I entwined with her.

"Let us begin," I chuckled.