9. Skylar

9

Skylar

I'm dozing on the sofa when Tan returns. He walks in, pushing a hovertray. My stomach grumbles as I smell the spices and savory scent of grilled meat.

"What happened?" I ask. "Is the ship in trouble?"

It must be because he had time to bring a late dinner, but it's still good to hear Tan's, "No." He's a weird mix of jittery and focused as he strides to the table and places the tray atop it. I stand, yawn, and cross the few paces to sit down.

Tan lays out the bowls and cutlery and begins spooning grain and savory sauced meat inside. There are two glasses, both with a chilled fruit drink I've grown to love. It tastes like a mix of oranges and fizzy berries.

"There was a Kohath attack," Tan says as he settles onto his open backed chair. "Likely Thrax."

My stomach twists, and my fingers clench on the neck of the spoon. "You said we're not in trouble."

"It wasn't our ship. We received a distress signal. Answering it has taken us farther from the neutral zone." His tail is swish-swishing over the floor again.

"Do you think the Mangrel… the Kohath are preparing to attack us?"

"They would not be so foolish. We are too formidable. The ship they destroyed was a small, unarmed transport. It would be suicide to attack the Starshadow."

That's something of a relief.

"But it shed light on a larger problem."

A problem bigger than being swarmed and devoured alive? "What problem?"

"It need not be a problem. "

"Okay." Now I'm just confused.

Tan takes a breath. "Before. What you called the ‘kiss'?"

My cheeks flame. "Yeah. It means…" This is so embarrassing. I've never had to break down the meaning of a kiss before. "It means I like you."

"Ah."

"I mean, like, like you. I'd like to explore a deeper relationship." My mouth is dry and I grab the fruit juice and take a long, semi-sweet swig. "A sexual one. If that is something your kind does—"

"Yes." Tan rises, his wings spreading as his eyes lock on mine. The gold centers shrink to pinpoints as the black rims darken and thicken. When he kisses me, his lips are a tickle against mine. I lift my palm to his jaw and lift my chin, wanting more of him.

I moan when he threads his fingers in my hair and tilts my head back to taste more of me. I can feel the roughness of his hands against my skin, and I want more.

"Yes," I breathe against him. "Yes."

Pleasure ripples through my body as his hands slide up my legs, the claws skimming over my skin, leaving fire in their wake. I part my lips, and he moans into me, pulling me to him.

"I am glad you want me as much as I want you, my nymara."

Heat rushes through me. My nipples harden, and my pulse quickens. He strokes my chest, cupping my breasts, the claw tickling at the nub as his tail wraps around my waist and his wings encircle me.

I swallow hard. My skin is tight and tingling with sensation.

With one smooth motion, he lifts me and carries me from the table to his giant bed. He lays me out on the sleeping furs and climbs on top of me, his wings spread overhead, framing the light as he presses kisses across my neck and collarbones.

The Asheraah shipsuit Tylan gave me feels too tight, and I fumble with the fastenings, desperate to get them off so I can feel Tan's hands on me. And just as hungry for a look at him.

Tan helps me undo the seals, exposing the plain undersuit. It is thin, designed to cling to the body and provide a smooth, seamless fit under the other suit layers.

I reach up to do him the same favor, and Tan catches my hand.

"Your eyes are soft, but your movements are urgent," he says, the words a light hiss.

"Is that bad?" I've had my share of partners, but none who were alien, or had tails, or wings, or claws.

"It is good, and yet, I want our first coupling to be slow."

"And after? Can we do slow and fast and… whatever we want after?"

Tan's mouth is a tight line, but I can see the flash of his sharp teeth behind his lips. He looks me over, his eyes widening. "If I can wait that long. By the Five Gods, you are so beautiful."

"So are you," I say. The moment the words are out, I realize how true they are.

Tan's smile is brilliant as he brushes my hair away from my face. He looks at me like I'm a prize he doesn't know quite how to handle.

"Is this what you desire?" he asks.

"Yes." It comes out on a breath.

Tan hisses against my skin, and he pulls back enough to run the pad of a claw across the naked expanse of skin. I lift my hips, feeling the heat of him, his hardness, where his body meets mine.

"I am so honored you have chosen me, nymara."

The undersuits will not come off easily, but the fabric is thin. I slip my fingers under the edge, running them between the slick cloth of the suit and the silky heat of his scales.

Tan makes a sound somewhere between a groan and a hiss. He does the same, mimicking my motions and, by the Stars, has anything in the universe ever felt so good?

"Let go," Tan says, as he touches my other hand, the one clenched on his forearm. I relax my grip, and he drags his claw down, slicing the undersuit. I shudder. His wings quiver, the edges tickling my legs and arms. He pulls the sides away, leaving my breasts exposed. The cool air teases my nipples as his tail wraps tighter around my hip.

He lowers his head, sucking the nipple of my left breast into his mouth. I arch my back, and a low whine escapes me.

He pinches the right nipple as his mouth devours the left. And stars above, I want him inside of me, and I want him here forever.

I slip my fingers into the gap at the waistband of his undersuit, and Tan hisses. "Hold."

The word is a whisper. I freeze.

"I can't get the rest of this off until you move."

Tan chuckles. It's a husky, full-throated sound that vibrates through my core. "Is this what you wish, nymara? To touch the spirit of me?"

I nod, and Tan slides down my body.

"I will give you what you want, just as you have given me," he says. He works the fabric down, exposing my navel and the neat triangle of pubic hair. Tan sniffs, his nostrils flaring.

"Stars," I whisper as he lowers his face to my slit and dips his tongue inside. My fingers clench the furs under me. His tongue is long, like his body and his tail, and he knows how to use it.

"Sweet," he murmurs, the tickle of his breath making me shiver. His tail squeezes my hip as he slips two long fingers into me, fucking me with his hand and his tongue. I spread my legs and arch, wanting more, wanting all of him.

"I did not know the scent of a female could be so sweet," he continues. "Nor the taste of the spirit." His tongue dips into my folds. "I want to taste all of you."

"So beautiful," he murmurs, then leans in and parts my lips. "So wet." His tail moves under his chest and the end pushes inside my passage. As he does, he leans in and licks my clit.

I moan, writhing as he buries his face in my cleft. Each flick of his tongue sends another wave of pleasure through my body until I feel like I'm floating. His wings hover, creating a canopy around the two of us. The frills around his ears stand upright as the black rims of his eyes swallow the gold, and his nostrils flare.

"Oh yes, so sweet," he whispers and laps at my sex, his tongue teasing me and making me shudder as his tail works in and out of me.

He reaches up and takes one of my breasts in his large hand, massaging it and then playing with my nipple. He keeps at this until I can't stop myself and have to grab his head and hold it to me, pushing my hips up into his face.

"You like my tongue on you, don't you, nymara?"

I can't find the words to answer and just moan.

"My tail?"

I moan again.

He chuckles and keeps going, the tip of his tail rubbing at my G-spot. I guess that answers the question about alien anatomy matching mine. He then moves to suck my clit.

"Oh, oh, yes!" I cry out, my hips bucking. "Please! Please, Tan, please!"

"Come for me, nymara," he moans against me. "I want to feel you come."

I'm already so close. With him sucking on my clit like this, I know I will last only a few seconds longer before my body seizes up and I shatter, screaming my release.

My body is like jelly, and I am clinging to the furs, my chest heaving and a sheen of sweat coating every inch of me. Tan kisses his way up my body, pausing at each nipple to tease the swollen bud before continuing his path to my lips.

He pulls his tail out of me, and I feel empty even as the sparkles of pleasure from my orgasm are still dancing behind my eyelids.

"Stars…"

He sits up on his knees, his eyes hooded, and watches me. "I need to be inside you, nymara."

His cock is large, golden, the shape similar to a human's, though the shaft is thicker than any man I've been with. Like his face, the skin of his cock glitters like golden grains of sand. He strokes himself, his movements slow. His face is tight, his breathing shallow.

My mouth goes dry at the sight of it, the sight of him, and I wonder if it will fit and what it will feel like, filling me. I want to know. "Come here," I order, and he tugs me toward him.

"It will be easier if you are on top," he says, lifting me to straddle him. His wings spread out beside him like twin sails. I reach down, grasping the shaft of his cock in my fist. It feels hot, slick with his juices, the texture of it like a bit rough. I want to know how it will feel inside me.

Slowly, I lower myself onto him, sighing as his girth fills me.

"By the gods," Tan whispers, his palms resting on my hips.

"Yes." Tan hisses the word, the sound sliding across me like a physical caress. He rises, meeting me, thrust for thrust, and I tighten my thighs, drawing him into me, gasping and sighing. He growls. His fingers tighten around my waist as his pace increases. His wings encircle us, and I wrap my arms around his neck. The slick muscles of his tail squeeze my thigh, and I gasp, feeling the tension and the heat growing between us.

"Oh, yes." I moan .

He's close, and I'm getting closer, again as we fall into rhythm. He leans in, and I take his mouth, mimicking the way his tongue felt earlier inside me.

"My nymara," he moans against my mouth, his breath hot as he pants. His cock throbs deep inside me, the texture of it sending sparks of pleasure through me. I moan as I ride him, my hands gripping his shoulders, my nipples aching. The pleasure of his cock is incredible, and when he sucks my nipple into his mouth, I cry out. It is hot and wet, and the sensations are building, tightening in my belly, squeezing my pussy.

"You are mine," he growls as he thrusts. "Mine, you hear me?"

"Yes," I moan. "Yours."

His cock gets even harder, and my second orgasm is building, making my breath ragged. My pussy tightens, the orgasm hovering on the edge.

"Please," I moan.

"Yes. Come, my nymara. Come with me."

His claws dig into my flesh, the pain mixing with the pleasure of him .

"Come with me," he snarls, his hips rolling as his tail twines around my thigh. He groans, his rhythm going erratic, and his shuddering body carries me on a wave of pleasure. It crests in a moment of hot, dark ecstasy.

I toss my head back as I unravel again. He's the center of the galaxy, the world, my world, and the only thing in all the universe that matters.

I collapse against him, panting. He holds me, and I lay my head against his shoulder and breathe in his scent. His arm wraps around me, and I feel the shivers that run through him, matching mine. Everything feels so good, I can barely breathe.

"You are beautiful when you come," he says. "You are perfect."

"Nobody's perfect," I say.

"That, nymara, might be the most foolish thing you have ever said to me."