Chapter Twenty-Six

Qadaire

The next few days were a whirlwind. Qadaire couldn’t keep his hands off Cassandra’s lush body, but luckily, she welcomed all of his attention. The only thing more difficult than keeping his hands to himself was keeping them both from working. Difficult as it was, for the first time in centuries, he wanted to be idle.

Qadaire stayed in bed every night, holding Cassandra as she slept. There was nothing in the world more beautiful than her. He loved the way her scent changed in sleep. Her blood cooled, creating a delicious aroma. To have her in his bed was nothing short of a miracle. He never would’ve thought he’d have her marvelous backside pressed against his erection in the mornings.

And those juicy thighs. He needed to bury himself in them. His grip on her tightened involuntarily as he pressed himself against the seam of her ass, his fingers digging into the meat of her thigh. A soft chuckle that was borderline a moan escaped her.

“Ah, so you are awake.” He pressed himself against her harder, tilting her pelvis so there was no confusion about what he wanted. “Good.”

Cassandra rolled over until she was on her back beside him. He eagerly claimed her mouth, roving her body with his right hands. When he cupped her breasts, her body rose to meet his, pressing herself further into his touch. Nine rings, this woman! She would be the death of him.

Death. That was a subject they’d yet to approach, but he was sure it was on her mind as much as his. Was it possible to safely turn her? If it was, he wasn’t certain he wanted to subject her to immortal life.

He pushed the thought aside. With his upper right hand teasing her breast, he slid his lower down to her thigh, breezing over the stubble between her legs. At her whimpered encouragement, he rubbed the spot again, barely dipping into her opening. He loved the way her body responded, the way it showed him what she wanted without words. Like it did now, her thighs clenching over his hand, rolling him through her slickness.

“Roll over.” He guided her hips back the way they’d been before she woke. Pausing to admire her backside, he chuckled when she gave an impatient hum. He flattened his cock between her cheeks and gave a playful wiggle. “Is this what you want?”

“Yes!” She pressed backward, flattening her ass against him. He growled in approval and eased his lower right hand between her knees, situating his leg between hers to allow him access. He pressed his cock against the liquid heat of her sex, driving through her slit only once before plunging inside of her with a groan.

He would never tire of this. If that meant he would always come in the first few minutes, so be it. As long as she was there to accept his seed in her pliant body, he didn’t care.

His dewdrop wasted no time. She worked the skillful muscles inside her magical cunt to drain him swiftly inside of her. He gritted his teeth against the powerful orgasm. After he’d emptied himself in her, she paused, letting him signal when to move again. Nine fucking rings, this woman! She was beyond perfect.

He strummed her clit to let her know it was time. She took what she needed from him, and he let her have it all. She rolled her hips as he met her thrust for thrust until she went limp. He tilted her forward and rose to swallow her stilted cries, pumping into her with enhanced speed until her orgasm waned.

Cassandra broke their kiss and, too quickly, rolled from the bed. Qadaire’s warbles petered out in his chest.

“Are you ready?” asked Cassandra excitedly. “I’m so ready! Finally, a reason for you to stop forcing me to rest all freaking day!”

Her wide eyes flickered like candlelight. Today, they traveled to the dragon realm to assist Cassandra’s new author friend. The details were murky, but Cassandra was undoubtedly the best candidate for the job. As always. She was a gifted pathologist and an empathetic veterinarian. And, admittedly, Qadaire was ready to get to work as well.

“I just hope we can actually help.” Lips pursed, she smacked her bare thighs in that nervous fashion. Qadaire couldn’t help but track every sweet, sweet jiggle, even though he hated seeing her doubt herself. “Aquatic animals can be difficult, since I don’t primarily work with them.”

Qadaire was at her side in milliseconds. “Little dewdrop, you will do all you can.”

“We. I’m going to need your help.”

“You’ve never needed that, dewdrop.”

“Maybe not. But I like to have it.”

For a moment, they stared at each other, and it was like that first night. Twinkling stars through a telescope, an invisible magnetic field driving them into orbit around each other.

Only now, Qadaire felt no hesitancy, no doubt, no shame, and no insecurity when he dipped his head to steal another kiss.

“How do we get there, anyway?” Cass asked as she packed up her tools and notepads.

“The dragon kingdom is an adjoining realm to this one. One we pierce the veil, it should be a short flight, according to what your author said. It’ll be the first use of my portal device in a long, long time.”

“Seriously?” At her incredulous tone, Qadaire glanced up. “You have a device that can portal to other realms, and you’ve stayed here?”

“Well, that’s an oversimplification. But,” he met her teasing smile and shrugged. “I guess I needed a better reason.”

The hue of her cheeks darkened. Qadaire listened to the pitter-patter of her heart and hummed contentedly.

“The poor creatures aren’t meant to live in this dry heat,” Dana, the author, was saying. She led them through a crowded downtown full of shops and bustling creatures of all kinds.

Qadaire’s skin was crawling. He’d not been outside of his castle in centuries, and before that he’d still been a lone wolf. Yes, he’d told Cassandra he would come out of hiding, but that didn’t mean it would suddenly be easy. She’d asked if he was truly up to the task at hand and he’d agreed, but now, he missed his bloody mansion. The streets were huge and wide enough for full-sized dragons, yet he still felt crowded. His arms hung awkwardly at his sides, his brain buzzing like a hornet’s nest. Cassandra kept glancing at him sideways, concern clouding her features. It was all he could do to send her some reassuring grimaces every now and then. He couldn’t even fully appreciate how enticing her curves were in that rings-damned sundress.

“Why are they here?” Cassandra asked their host.

“It’s a sad story. The n?cken, a water and land species, were driven out of their home waters by a nuclear waste spill. It pierced the veil between their realm and ours—humans’, I mean—and ruined their homes. They scattered, some of them coming to GFK for refuge until their leaders can find somewhere more suitable.” Finally, Dana led them out of the crowd and onto a less populated street. Qadaire took a breath and flexed his hands from the tight fists he’d been clenching. Dana sent him a sympathetic look before continuing. “Lioti are their pets. Think, like, underwater cats, feisty and independent. Except they’re fiercely loyal when it counts.”

“Aww, they sound cute.” Cassandra cooed while subtly casting another glance his way. “So they’re reacting to the new environment poorly, I take it.”

“The staff here tried recreating their natural habitat in tanks. Apparently, they successfully got the water to match. I’m not a scientist, if you can’t tell. Whatever they did, it’s good enough for the n?ckens, but the lioti are still getting sick. Some people are starting to think it’s just homesickness.”

“Let’s hope not. If it’s anything else, we might have a chance at helping them.”

They reached a facility at the end of the street, which, like everything else, was huge. Dana pressed a buzzer and the massive door beeped open. Qadaire eyed the threshold warily. Once he was inside, the door would close.

A small hand slipped into his lower right. He met Cassandra’s concerned expression and gave a tight-lipped smile. He knew her look was asking, are you sure? To which he nodded once, and stepped inside, clutching her hand like a buoy.

Bright lights shone down from every angle. He was keenly aware of Cassandra and Dana both not-so-subtly watching him now, but he focused ahead.

“I’ll take you to Ryuu in the back. I’ve got to get back to the newspaper, but I’ll meet you here later. If you’re interested, I would love to have you guys over for drinks. I’ll introduce you to some friends of mine. They’re staying with us until their one-room house is finished.”

“Sounds good,” Cassandra agreed.

They reached reinforced double doors. Dana pointed out which of the workers was Ryuu and departed before they entered the first set of doors, instructing them to tap on the glass of the second ones. They did and waited for Ryuu to set down his tools and meet them.

Ryuu, a salmon-hued dragon in his more humanoid form, was one of many dragons working at rows and rows of water tanks. From this far away, the creatures inside those tanks were elusive. It was difficult to hammer down exactly what they looked like, almost like they blended into the water as it refracted under the lights. Qadaire squinted despite his superior vision. Their movements were more fluid than jellyfish. Tendrils tucked beneath a shell-like casing made of gossamer as they drifted through the water.

Cassandra squeezed his hand. “You okay?”

Qadaire turned toward her. He hadn’t noticed when the tension had left him, but in that moment, all he felt was sincere curiosity. He smiled and nodded.

“See?” she teased. “I knew some work would be good for us.”

Ryuu entered the hallway from a side door and waved them to enter. The little room had a huge window from which to observe the workers and lioti. Anxiety threatened to creep back up on Qadaire in the claustrophobic room, worsening when their contact came forward for handshakes.

“Hello, guys! I’m Ryuu. Dana says you’re here to save my ass,” the dragon said with a pained chuckle. “The great flame knows I need it.”

Qadaire tried his best to imitate Cassandra’s kind smile. After some introductions and a brief overview of what had been done already, they were disinfected and led into the work area.

Up close, the lioti were even more beautiful. When curled up in their casing and viewed from above, they looked like a lotus flower. It was a beautiful feat of nature, a stunning example of how evolution protects creatures of prey.

“Well put! It certainly is impressive.” Ryuu laughed. Qadaire hadn’t noticed he was thinking aloud. He bit the insides of his cheeks and glanced at Cassandra, who was smiling at him knowingly.

“One thing I miss about working in the vet’s office is getting to meet the critters.” Cass watched the tanks with intrigue in her umber eyes. Then she turned to Ryuu, and Qadaire knew she had a million questions. “Where is the lab set up? I’d like to get started right away.”

“Right this way!”

When Ryuu led them to a blessedly empty lab with familiar equipment, Qadaire could breathe normally again. Until the door clanged shut behind them.

“Here. Buzz me if you need absolutely anything.” Ryuu handed Cassandra a device, but Qadaire was too distracted to decipher what the tech was. “Anything at all.”

“Thank you. I’ll make a list of what I need from you once I’ve got my bearings.” Cassandra told their guide. Before the door could clang shut behind Ryuu, she smoothly kicked a stopper underneath it and strode toward Qadaire. “Still okay?”

Qadaire gratefully accepted her hands in his lower ones and forced another smile. “No, but I believe I can be. Let’s get to work.”

With Dr. Billing at his side, he threw himself into the work. Together, they came up with a list of supplies they lacked. They combed through the notes left by other scientists, doctors, and neurologists who’d worked with the lioti. It was unfortunate they didn’t have a clean sample of the water the lioti and n?cken had thrived in.

“Do you see that?” Cassandra nudged the microscope toward him. “That’s not normal.”

Qadaire hummed in agreeance. The molecules in the water were different when studied before a lioti touched it, versus after they’d swum in it. The structure of the water itself changed.

“That’s our key.” He smiled at her. “You’ve done it again, Dr. Billing.”

Cassandra snorted. “I haven’t done anything yet. But look at you!”

“Me?”

“You’re enjoying this,” she teased. “Aren’t you?”

“I don’t know.” He paused to consider how he was feeling. More relaxed. Being in the lab with his beloved was as close to comfortable as he’d been in this foreign land. “I suppose I am.”