Chapter 8

eight

ZAKARION

I’m mesmerized as my lower cock slips into her, and that tiny, dark brown slit of hers opens wide for me. I fist my upper cock in one hand to apply pressure as I slide it over her clit, and her hips reflexively buck under mine.

“Please,” she begs, her heels hooking over my hips. “More. More.”

I can’t deny her anything, so I push even deeper, and miraculously her tiny body fits me inside it. I sag forward on the table, my testicles already aching, tingles of pleasure spidering out from where we’re connected to every last one of my scales. Sammy lets out a cry, and I’m glad that her neighbors are a good distance away as I pull out of her, then slam back in again. Her tight sheath stimulates every last nub on my cock, and I groan as I shove myself farther into her, letting her swallow me.

This is the way it should be, I can feel it in my bones. Her wet heat pulsing around me, squeezing me, her big, brown breasts bouncing each time I yank my cock out and then thrust it back into her again.

Friends . Sammy made it clear to me what she wants, and I should want it, too. I will long outlive her, as will our hatchling. It makes no sense to bond, to have any more than friendship, or it will inevitably end in heartbreak for me.

“Zakarion,” she gasps, clutching my arms tight in her fingers. Just the sound of her needy voice is driving me deeper, escalating the ripple of bliss running up and down my spine, all the way to the tip of my tail. I groan as she clenches me like a vise, and I don’t know how my swell will possibly fit inside her—but the more I fuck her, frantically burying my cock in her delectable cunt, the more of it squeezes through. Her moans rise higher and higher, until she’s crying out with every single pump of my hips.

“Open up for me,” I murmur to her, curling my claws even tighter in the cheap little lawn table. “Let my cock inside you.”

Sammy whimpers and spreads her legs wider, and I lean even closer to her, my hot breath blowing back some of her bouncy curls. This time, when I press into her, the swell of my lower cock slips through.

This time, she screams. I yank it out, then push in again, admiring her face as it contorts in pleasure. She reaches down between her legs and shoves my upper cock down, pressing it once more against her clit. The sensation of her cunt around one of my cocks and her hand on the other is almost too much for me to bear, and I groan as I pound into her over and over, trying to keep my own climax at bay.

But I don’t need to hold out for long. Suddenly, Sammy’s screams come to an abrupt halt, and her eyes fly wide, her mouth dropping open in a perfect circle. She clamps down around me so viciously that I can’t help it any longer .

I roar as my own peak strikes me, hurling me into the void. I thrust into her once, twice, three more times, and then I explode. My lower cock squirts one burst of seed into her after another, while my upper cock splashes up her belly and chest. Under my claws, the lawn table has sagged, conforming to my powerful grip. Sammy moans raggedly, her cunt fluttering and twitching around me as I finally come to a stop, both of us panting hard.

I’m surprised when her hands sweep up my shoulders to my neck, and there she curls them around me, bringing me closer to her. She leans upward, so our noses are almost touching, and closes her eyes to rub her face against my snout.

It’s so precious that I think I might melt into a puddle of dragon.

“Thank you,” she murmurs, shivering with each of her heavy breaths.

I shake my head. “I should be thanking you,” I say, reaching up with one claw to brush her hair back from her face. “You’re the one doing this with me. For me.”

She smiles and leans into it. “Well, someone has to make sure dragons don’t go extinct. I want to be a part of that.”

I sigh with post-coitus relaxation, and lean my forehead against hers. “You don’t have to do that. You have... a whole life outside of this.”

“I want to.” She shrugs. “DreamTogether was my plan. But I don’t want to get thrown at another monster. I want to see this thing through to the end with you.”

I don’t know what I did to deserve this woman’s loyalty, but I won’t squander it.

SAMMY

As promised, he did make me scream. I almost couldn’t stand how delicious he felt inside me, how thoroughly I wanted—needed—to be taken by him.

Gently, Zakarion pulls out of me, and his thick come gushes everywhere. I stumble away from the table, which is now completely bent.

“Wow,” I say, sweeping some of his fluid up in my fingers. “That was a lot.” I remember our cold, emotionless session at DreamTogether, when he summoned just a few drops. He clearly needs affection and connection to perform best.

Zakarion grunts as he finally releases the table and stands up, towering over me with his long neck. The slender tip of his tail wraps around my leg, and I don’t know if he does it consciously or not, but it’s adorable.

“You bring it out of me,” he says, glancing away as he scratches the ridges that run down his head and back.

I’m gratified that I can turn him on so much. It bodes well for our quest.

After going into the house to clean up and putting my clothes back on, I find Zakarion lying in the grass, soaking up the sun. He’s huge, his long neck extended and his tail curled around his body. He looks like an iguana stretched out on a branch.

One of his eyes cracks open as I sit down beside his head, and his big reptilian pupil widens as it takes me in.

“Though I prefer you without clothing, what you’ve chosen is lovely,” he says, languidly stretching.

I giggle. “Thanks. I don’t usually dress cute, because most of the time I’m getting dirty.”

“Dirty?” He quirks a brow. “Doing what?”

She gestures to her house. “Just keeping up with this old thing. There’s always some new crack to fix or rusty pipe to replace. You should see my collection of overalls.”

His smile pinches his eyes. “I’m positive that you would look cute even in dirty overalls.”

I can’t help but grin. My dragon sure is a sweet-talker.

“How long have you lived here?” he asks, examining the ancient swing set. “Do you... have children?”

I laugh uproariously. “No, no. It was here when I moved in, and I saw no reason to get rid of it. Swinging helps me think sometimes, though I do worry often that it might collapse on me.”

His mouth falls open. “Sounds dangerous.”

I love how seriously he takes everything. His sincerity is so genuine and unassuming, it’s a breath of fresh air. This is a dragon who has never put on a mask in his life.

“Do you want children?” Zakarion says after a long moment. I can’t read the expression on his face.

“I don’t know.” I shrug. “It’s never felt like an option for me, I guess? My life has never been stable, and when it comes to dating...” I trail off.

He blinks. “When it comes to dating... what?”

“I’m not good at it. Truthfully, I’ve always wanted to get married, ever since I was little.” I sigh. “But I’m still looking for my perfect man.”

His lips curl downward, but he nods in understanding.

“He’s out there,” Zakarion says. “And maybe then you will want to have children.”

Maybe he’s right. But it would have to be the right person, someone who made me want nothing more than to create life with them.

“Probably so,” I answer. “Maybe subconsciously that’s why I bought the house with the swing.”

After a quiet moment, Zakarion says, “I suppose I should return home.” One of his hands curls behind my back, dragging a claw over my hip. Then, he freezes, and draws it away. “My apologies.”

I blink for a moment, unsure why he’s apologizing, until I realize just how affectionate of a gesture that was.

Offering him a smile, I say, “It’s all right. We were just, um, pretty intimate.”

He lifts his long neck up off the ground and nods curtly. “I will try to keep it at a minimum.”

My heart falls a little at this, but I understand. It’s what I asked for—and it’s best if we keep an emotional distance between us, even when we’re doing something so... personal.

Zakarion rises to his feet again, sitting up on his hind legs as he typically does. “Thank you,” he says again, earnestly. “I don’t know how I could repay you for this without?—”

I wave a hand at him. “We already discussed this. You can’t pay, but I want to help you anyway.” Besides, the sex is incredible, and now I’m committed.

Zakarion searches my eyes, puzzling over me, before nodding. “If you’re certain,” he says, sounding distinctly uncertain.

I reach out and pat his cheek, relishing his soft, smooth scales under my palm. “I’m certain.”

He bows, his head nearly reaching my pelvis, and then steps back. His huge wings extend out from behind him, so massive they make his body look small.

“When should I return?” he asks, his shadow fully encompassing me and most of the yard.

“It’ll be a few weeks before we know if this worked,” I say, feeling a pang in my chest at the idea I won’t see him again for some time. But we’ve already gone this long only meeting once a month—I’ll be fine. “I’ll take the tests and keep you posted?”

He nods, and I can’t read the expression on his dragon face. We exchange phone numbers, and then hiking his bag over his shoulder, Zakarion lifts off into the air. The gust of wind from his immense wings blows my hair into my face, but I still manage to wave as he lifts off and flies into the sky.

I’m going to need to hustle again.

But that’s all right. I’m no stranger to the grind of keeping up with my basic living expenses and paying back school loans—not to mention the bill I racked up for the roof.

First thing the next morning, I sign up to be a driver, with the intention of carting partygoers from one place to another on weekend nights. Then I browse online job listings, where a freelance cleaning gig pops up.

Perfect. Some manual labor sounds like a good way to break up the tedium of waiting for the next pregnancy test.

Between cleaning jobs and chauffeuring, I still have time for some fall activities. I visit the pumpkin patch, then spend two nights cleaning and carving the pumpkins, though no trick-or-treaters ever come this far out of town. It’s likely no one will even see them except Sarah and Jared, who come over one night to help me out with cutting silly faces into the pumpkins’ corpses.

They’re both mystified by my choice to help Zakarion outside of DreamTogether.

“He’s... not paying you?” Sarah asks again, bafflement on her face, and I huff in exasperation .

“Yes, I told you that. I don’t want him to pay me. He doesn’t have any money now.”

She’s still perplexed. “What do you get out of it, then?” she asks. “You’re basically donating your body. And you still have to work to pay all your bills.”

I don’t like to think of it that way, though. I’m donating the continuation of a dying species. Not to mention that getting fucked by Zakarion every few weeks isn’t that big of an ask.

“It’s just... it’s the right thing to do,” I finally answer. Maybe it won’t satisfy her, but it’s the best I’ve got.

Jared arches an eyebrow. “You have been sleeping with him for the last, I don’t know, seven months?”

“So?” I ask. I can do basic math.

“ So , that’s a long time.” He gives Sarah a Look, one of those couple things where they can talk to each other with their eyes.

“Do you think maybe you feel more for him than just... provider and client?” Sarah asks, picking up the torch where Jared left it.

I’m getting double-teamed.

“No,” I say, at the same moment I think, yes . I feel quite a bit more for my mellow, commanding dragon, who also cares so much for my comfort and pleasure, than just provider and client . But I’m going to try to play it safe, even if it means lying to my friends. “Guys, I’m helping an endangered species. That’s a worthy cause, isn’t it?”

“Sure,” Sarah says. “That’s definitely the only reason you’re doing this. Not so you can keep having mind-blowing sex or anything.”

I cross my arms and pout, because I know nothing I say will dissuade them. And besides, they’re not wrong.

“He’s hundreds of years old,” I say eventually. “Even if I did feel anything for him, he’s going to outlive me by... I don’t know, centuries. Many of them.” I’d looked it up online, and there were stories of dragons over a thousand years old who had only died recently. “It doesn’t make sense to get attached to someone who will outlive you ten times over.”

“Honey,” Sarah says, patting my leg, “Might be a little late for that.”