Chapter 9

nine

ZAKARION

My head is light and fluffy as I fly home, and it remains that way when I lie down in my nest to sleep for the night. I dream of nothing but Sammy, her legs wrapped around me, her face smiling, her bouncy hair radiant around her head.

I decide to stay in the city, hoping I might hear from her soon, even if it’s just an update. I know we don’t need to see each other until her next ovulation cycle, but I hope she gives me an excuse to visit her sooner.

I wouldn’t mind lounging in the grass with her on a nice fall afternoon, curled around her under the sun.

I was so dazed when I left Sammy’s that I forget why I was avoiding my house in the city. Early the next morning, there’s a rapping on my door.

Blinking wearily, I climb out of my nest. I’m still yawning as I open it, without considering who might be on the other side.

I’m greeted by an immense gryphon, with a razor-sharp beak and hard little eyes. Next to him—and rather lower to the ground—stands a woman in a sharp blazer, wearing sunglasses.

“Zakarion the dragon?” says the gryphon, and I recognize his voice.

Hell. It’s the guy on the phone.

“Yes?” I ask, sounding tired to my own ears. “What can I do for you?”

“We’re here to find out what else you know about Rodney’s activities. What other priceless artifacts you’ve sold to him.”

I scowl at her. “None.” It’s a blatant lie, but I don’t think they’d be standing here asking me questions if they had proof of anything. They’re trying to intimidate me, forgetting that I am a ten-foot-tall dragon.

The gryphon sighs and massages the bridge of his beak. “Look. We’re not here to arrest you or anything. We’re trying to get information about Rodney’s trafficking operation so we can track down these valuables and return them to their rightful places.”

“Trafficking?” I ask, baffled.

“Correct,” says the woman. “Many of these are items of significant cultural and historical value. They should be back where they belong, where they came from.”

I give her a blank look. “They came from my hoard,” I snap.

“And what else do you have?” the woman presses. “What other stolen relics are you keeping in your hoard ?”

“They are mine!” I bellow, enraged at the implication we have taken our treasures over the centuries by force. “Unless you have real business here, I’m going to ask you to leave.”

The woman sniffs as she turns around to walk away, but the gryphon shakes his head at me .

“Maybe someday you’ll understand,” he says, then follows her back to their unmarked black car.

I’m still irritated over the visit from the two suits when I get a text message from Sammy a week later.

Negative.

She follows it up with a sad face.

My claws struggle with things like texting, so I pick up the phone and call her, instead. She answers with a surprised chirp.

“Hi!”

“Um, hi,” I say smoothly. “Sorry. It’s easier to call. It’s only been a week, maybe try again in a few days?”

“I will,” she says. There’s a very... pregnant pause. “How are you, Zak?”

I blink. “Zak?”

“Do you mind me calling you that?”

No one’s ever given me a nickname before. It’s absolutely charming, while also being an atrocious choice.

“No, not at all. I like it.” I smile as I tip the phone against the side of my head. “I’m... well.” I choose not to tell her about my unexpected visitors. “Biding my time. And you?”

“Biding my time is a good way to put it.” Sammy sighs. “Boring stuff. Driving. Some guy threw up in the back of my car last night, so I had a good time cleaning that up today.”

I frown. “How much are you working?” This is what I liked about DreamTogether: I knew my human was cared for, that she was making a living wage without having to push herself. Now I have no such assurance, and in fact, she’s doing the opposite.

Perhaps I should try again to find a different pawn shop. But I have a feeling she won’t accept my money, and the last thing I need is for the gryphon and the grumpy woman to show up again.

“Why are you asking?” I can hear her voice tense up. “It’s not that much. Just weekend nights, when everyone is partying.”

That’s good. Still, I wish I could take care of her, like before.

I try to remain neutral about it. “As long as it’s not too stressful,” I finally say.

“I’m used to dealing with people.”

“I’m sure you’re very good at it.”

Sammy clears her throat. “Well, I’ll call you the next time I take a test and let you know.”

“Thank you,” I tell her, earnestly. “For everything. For doing this with me.”

“Of course.” I can hear her bright smile in her voice, and wish I could see it for myself. “Maybe we should do some research in the meantime. Have any other dragons successfully had hatchlings recently?”

It’s a wonderful question, and my eyebrows fly up high when she suggests something so obvious. “Oh, I think so. I connected with a few of them online last year.” I don’t mention that it was while I was searching for a partner.

“Can you ask them?” she says.

I nod affirmatively, but then realize she can’t see it. “Yes, that’s a great idea. I’ll find out what I can.” I want to ask then if she’d like to come and help. She would know all the right questions, I’m sure, and has the sunny disposition to get whatever she needs out of someone .

But before I can open my mouth, Sammy says, “Sounds good. I’ll talk to you later, Zak.”

I preen at the nickname. “You too, Sammy.”

The call ends, and I hold the phone close to my chest, hoping I’ll get to see her again soon.

SAMMY

It was tempting to ask Zakarion to come over and maybe give it another try. But it’s not necessary, not at this stage. We should wait until right before I’m scheduled to ovulate again to maximize our potential.

Anyway, I don’t have time now that I’ve picked up a tutoring job a few days a week. There’s that bachelor’s degree coming in handy.

I take another test a few days later, and call Zakarion again.

“Negative,” I say. “I’m sorry.”

“Don’t be sorry.” He pauses. “Actually, I’ve done some research, like you suggested, and contacted some other dragons who have successfully had hatchlings.”

I perk up at this. “What did you find out?”

“Results... inconclusive. But I should have done this much sooner.” He sighs wearily. “It turns out you were right—my body is too sensitive, and the conditions have to be just right for it to work.” He pauses. “It’s my fault.”

“It’s not anyone’s fault,” I say instantly. “It’s just your biology.” I wonder if this is why the dragon population has dwindled. What sort of environment do they need to successfully reproduce? “Did you learn anything about what might help? What sort of conditions you need?”

“Every couple I spoke with said it took a long time, and they tried in many different places. The one thing they all had in common was the full moon.”

I furrow my brow. “The full moon? Really? But you’re a dragon, not a werewolf.”

Zak laughs a big, bellowing laugh on the other end. “The full moon is powerful, and doesn’t just affect werewolves. It affects all cycles, apparently, including mine.”

How odd. “So I ovulate, and you have a fertility timeframe, too? That will be tricky to line up. And no information about what location or weather might be best?”

“Sorry, no. We may have to experiment a little.”

Instantly, my body heats at the idea. Oh no, I’ll have to let him fuck me sideways until we get it right? Woe is me.

“That’s okay,” I say, in as comforting a way as I can. “We’ll figure it out.”

“Thank you.” The emotion and sincerity in his voice takes me aback. “Thank you so much, Sammy. For doing this for me.”

“For you and for all dragon-kind,” I answer. But Zak doesn’t say anything to that, and I have to check that the call hasn’t been dropped. “Are you okay?”

“Fine,” he says quickly. “Perhaps we can try again at your house, under the next full moon?”

I pull out my computer and bring up the lunar cycle. “I’m supposed to ovulate in two weeks,” I say. “The full moon is in one week, though. Should we try anyway?”

“Yes!” Zak says immediately. “I mean, I think that’s a good idea.”

I have to smile. I’m glad that he’s eager to see me again, as eager as I am to see him. I know I need to curb that feeling, but it still makes me tingle.

“Great. Then let’s meet at my house, next Friday evening.”

“Sounds good.” There’s another pause. “I hope you take care of yourself between now and then.”

“Don’t worry. I’m sticking to my exercise routine and the nutrition recommendations that DreamTogether gave me?—”

“Not like that,” he interrupts. “Emotionally speaking. I worry about you trying to make ends meet. I want to help, however I can.”

That puts a smile on my face. “I’ll be fine. I promise. I won’t overwork myself.”

“Thank you.” He lets out a breath of relief. “I’ll see you soon.”

We say goodbye and hang up, and I just hope Friday comes quickly.

ZAKARION

She’s doing it for the good of my species, not because she likes me. And that’s... that’s fine. That’s good, even. It’s like we agreed: no emotional attachment.

It still hurt, though Sammy did nothing wrong.

When I’m not hunting to keep up my strength, I spend the afternoons soaking in the remaining autumn sunlight and warming my body, hoping it will help on Friday night. I worry endlessly about how much Sammy is working, if her defensive tone was any indication. I want to pay her, even just supplement her income so she doesn’t have to push so hard, but I keep thinking about what that gryphon said.

Is my hoard really not... mine?

By the time our meeting day rolls around, I’m so pent up that my cocks keep extruding from my slit when I so much as think about Sammy, or her bouncing breasts, or her big, curly hair. But I carefully don’t attend to my needs, turning my mind to less appealing things like stinky, old meat, so I can save all of it for her.

No, wait. For my future hatchling . That’s why we’re doing this—to get me the thing I’ve wanted most. And how sweet it will be, to lie curled around my small offspring, teaching them all the ways that my parents taught me. Ancient secrets, and words of wisdom, and another chance for my kind to go on into the future, as uncertain as it might be.

When it’s finally time, I launch into the sky and make my way to Sammy’s house. Her beat-up vehicle isn’t there when I land in the yard, so I lie down in the grass and wait for her.

Soon, she pulls up and hops out. Her dark eyes are big, and her smile is wide and radiant.

“Zak!” I stand up as she jogs over to me, and she looks like she’s about to throw her arms around me when she stops a few feet away. She seems to remember herself then, and claps her hands in front of her instead. “You beat me back. It’s nice to see you.”

“It’s wonderful to see you,” I say, realizing too late that I should probably tone it back, too. But her face brightens even more, and I subconsciously preen, my neck rising up and curling to show off my wings.

“Do you want dinner?” she asks. “It’ll be a while until sundown.”

I should probably tell her that I’ve already eaten all of my week’s sustenance, but I’m eager to spend more time with her, so I agree to dinner.

She cooks up a pair of steaks she bought, and prepares them with some vegetables that will taste awful, but I’ll tolerate for her. Dragons don’t need anything besides red meat, and in fact, I don’t think my body can process what she’s making. But I know it will make her happy to eat together, so I sit down on the floor in her kitchen as she serves the food.

She has a cute little house, but I have to make sure I stay down on all fours because the ceiling isn’t quite high enough for my long neck. Sammy apologizes quite a few times, until I assure her that I’m fine and even my own caves have low points, so I’m used to it. I’m just happy enjoying her personal sunshine.

After we eat, we sit in the backyard on a blanket and wait for the sun to fully set. The brilliant orange light bathes Sammy’s face like liquid gold. I think again of how much it bothers me that she left such a good job at DreamTogether for my hatchling, and I have no way to repay her.

“Sammy,” I finally say. “I want you to know how much this means to me. I wish I could compensate you?—”

“We’ve talked about this, haven’t we, Zak?” she says in a chiding tone. “You don’t need to.”

“—I know, but I want to help, in any way I can.” I furrow my brow, wishing she could understand just how deeply I feel the need to provide for her, to make her life easier. “I hope that you’ll call on me any time you need me.”

She gives me a wide, affectionate, sincere smile. “Thank you. Your gratitude is all I need. I’m happy to be doing something that matters, you know? I’ve always wanted that. I tried to get a degree that would help people, but...” Sammy flops back on the blanket and rests her head on her hands like a pillow. “That dream was too big for me. I want to make change still, but in small ways. That’s why I live out here.” She gestures at her big yard. “Nobody else wanted this dingy old house, so I bought it. I wanted to make it nicer, to clean up the land, plant some native plants. Try to live in ways that will leave the smallest footprint possible.”

I open my mouth to tell her, if that is what you like, perhaps you should try my mountain , but that would be far too bold. No, from everything I’ve gathered, Sammy enjoys her life here. I’m simply glad that her generous, kind heart has chosen to help me.

“It’s become a very beautiful place,” I tell her, meaning every word of it. She has clearly taken a dull stone and polished it into a gem here.

“Aw, thank you.” Sammy adjusts like she’s going to lean against me, but stops herself.

“I think you change everything you touch,” I tell her. “You take light around with you.”

Her head tilts so she’s gazing up at me, her mouth round. “You know how to compliment a girl,” she says with a giggle.

I know that she’s trying to diffuse my compliments, and perhaps she’s right to. But I mean all of them. Just Sammy’s existence changes the world, a little at a time.

As the moon rises, we sit closer and closer together. Her sweet smell fills up my head, and soon my cocks are ready to slide out of me, to find their way inside her again to that warm, perfect place where they belong.

I wonder what it would be like to fit both of them inside her. As soon as the thought appears, I banish it, because mating that way serves no purpose for procreation. It would be purely for my gratification—well, and hopefully hers, too.

But maybe she would be more open to it than I expect. Sammy is the sort of woman who enjoys herself, who wants to make this pleasurable for both of us. I will have to broach it in the future, should this not work tonight.

When the full moon has risen, it bathes the world in a silver glow. Sammy moves next to me, and when I glance over I find her shedding her shirt and bra. I’m filled with gratification that she wants me to take her naked. It feels much less like a transaction that way.

My slit parts as my cocks both peek their heads out, wanting a good look at her, too. As she wiggles off her pants, they fully extrude, the tips already leaking for her.

“Which one?” she asks, walking to where I sit in the grass, unable to hide just how horny I am for her.

I blink down at my twin cocks, then back up at her. “Whichever you prefer.”

She waggles her eyebrows as she takes my upper cock in her hand. I jerk immediately because the sensation is so intense. I’ve been holding off for too long, I guess. If I’m not careful...

“Wait,” I say, holding her hand in mine. Sammy wilts under me.

“What is it?” she asks. “Did I do something wrong?”

I shake my head rapidly. “No, no. The opposite. I’m going to go off way too soon.” I have to take a few long, deep breaths to collect myself.

“Oh, well then.” Sammy’s smile turns wild and wicked. She steps closer, and rises up onto her toes so she can slide her arms around my neck. With her this near, her soft skin rubbing across my scales, my cocks are even harder, even hungrier to be inside her.

“Are you ready?” she asks me.

“Ready?” I echo, not sure what she intends. Then she puts her weight on my neck, lifts up one leg, and positions herself over me. My mouth falls open as she guides herself down onto the sloped head of my upper cock, and just the sensation of her wet outer lips sends a shiver right into my testicles.

Oh, hell. I’m not going to be able to hold back.

Sammy whimpers as she lowers her body, bringing me inside her. I can feel the softly-ribbed texture of her channel against the nubs of my cock as she sinks down, and I can’t help wrapping my arms around her, holding onto her tight as she soaks up most of me on her first stroke.

“Sammy,” I murmur, dragging my claws over her soft curls. “You feel amazing.”

“So do you.” Her voice comes out choked, and when I look down, I find her mouth open in bliss as she lifts herself up, and then swallows me up a second time. My other hand curls under her ass to help her, where my lower cock is drooling all over her, and she moans again as we start to work together. Over and over, I lift her up and then slide her down on my cock, as far as she can take it.

Meanwhile, my lower cock drags along beneath her, and I keep picturing how it would feel to put both of them inside her, to take her fully and completely. My eyes roll back in my head, and as Sammy swallows me up to my swell, I can’t hold back anymore.

It hits me hard. “I’m sorry,” I groan as my hips buck, and the absolute bliss of her strikes me like a hammer. Shit, maybe I should have taken care of my needs at least once in the interim.

My whole body tenses and I thrust inside her, hard, releasing everything. Sammy shouts in surprise as I shoot jet after jet of my hot seed into her, drenching her before I’m even all the way inside her body. She moans prettily as I tremble, and thick, white fluid spills out of her, dribbling down her thighs and onto my lower cock .

Sammy grins a huge, mischievous grin. “That good, huh?” she asks, getting her feet under her again. But it’s humiliating I couldn’t even get her to her finish first.

So I take her by the hips, and she squeaks as I urge her to the ground.

“Lie down,” I say in a rather commanding tone. Her eyes widen, and then she obeys, sitting down on the blanket before falling back onto it. I pull her legs apart and flick my tongue out to taste the air. Our scents mixed together smells absolutely exquisite. “The longer you’re on your back, the better chance all my seed will stay inside you,” I say, by way of explanation. It’s a silly excuse, but I need one right now for the very intimate—and unnecessary—activity I’m about to engage in.

I extend my long neck down so my snout is between her thighs, and Sammy’s head jerks up. “What are you going to do?” she asks.

“I’m going to lick you,” I tell her, pushing her legs even further apart. My tongue darts out and sweeps over her slit, which is lovely and open for me. Sammy lets out a gasp as I taste her. Her anatomy is quite interesting, and now, perhaps, I can experiment a little. I’ve always wanted to do it, but it was never toward the purpose of mating, so I never tried before at DreamTogether.

But now, with our new freedom, I’m going to try everything, even if I have to make up an excuse each step of the way.