Jade

JADE

A muscle in Drekkan’s jaw twitches when he speaks about his crash. Given the Sarkarnii I’ve known had very little in the way of pride and most of them seemed to revel in how much destruction they caused, it seems odd he might be upset or embarrassed about his accident.

But then we step into the space which is to be my new home and I gasp out loud.

“Do you like it?” Drekkan queries.

“Like it?” I find I’ve clasped my hands together like some sort of cartoon princess, but I can’t help it. “I love it!”

The place is amazing, with a capital A. We’re in a large hallway which leads out into an open air atrium. I jog a few paces, so I can reach it and check outside. There is a courtyard filled with plants which are scented.

From the courtyard, I find there are a number of other rooms, two bedrooms, a living area which looks out over the settlement and towards the spaceport, and a large food preparation area which has a kitchen island. All in all there is a familiarity to the place I appreciate, along with a size I adore.

Having dashed from room to room, I end up back in the courtyard, breathing in the sweet scents of the flowers.

“Is this place really for me?” I ask Drekkan, who has dutifully trailed me through every room. “I don’t understand why the mayor has let me have it.” A thought strikes me, and my heart tumbles in my chest. “What if I can’t afford it? I have some credits, but until I get my first payment from my job, I probably can’t afford it.”

Drekkan is immediately behind me. He wraps his arms around my shoulders, and I’m infused with his warmth.

“You will never be made to leave here. Not you, not your youngling. It is yours for as long as you want it,” he says, his voice rumbling through me like thunder in the distance.

“You promise?” I twist to look up at him, his handsome face in half shadow.

“You have my bond, little snack,” Drekkan says, smoke curling from one nostril and a wicked, wicked smile on his face.

He has relaxed since our earlier conversation.

“And also, I kept the best until last,” he adds with a flash of fang.

“Oh, you did, did you?” I say with far too much of a tease in my voice.

Being dressed up to the nines and feeling fabulous must be rubbing off on me somewhere. Also having the most gorgeous house guest in the most gorgeous house helps too.

Drekkan spins on his heel, and his tail nearly bowls me over as he strides out of the courtyard and back into the hall. Before he exits, he turns a sharp right and beckons to me.

“What is it?” I ask, staring at the blank wall.

“The best thing.”

He puts his hand out and presses. With a subtle click, the wall swings slowly open, and a puff of warm, damp air hits me, along with the smell of water.

“Is that…?” I push past him and inside is a huge pool, rectangular. It rolls with constant hot water and looks big enough to take a shifted Sarkarnii. Plants are dotted around the sides, and at the far end are a set of what actually appear to be sun loungers.

“An aquium?” I gasp.

“You know of aquiums?” Drekkan asks, eyes wide.

“The Sarkarnii I travelled with—they loved their aquiums. They even had them on the space ship.”

Drekkan drops his head back with a groan. “They did?”

“Don’t you?”

“My ship is too small for such luxuries. It’s more of a fighter…” His eyes grow desperate as he looks at the water.

“Why don’t you use this one?” I suggest, reaching up to touch the papery iridescent skin around the metal collar he wears.

I’ve seen Sarkarnii in need of a shed. Not only are they extremely grumpy, but patches like the ones Drekkan have appear, causing them to scratch like cats.

Drekkan must be dying to scratch, and yet I haven’t seen him try once.

Although he remains grumpy as hell.

He captures my hand and holds it tightly. “You would share your aquium with me?” he asks.

“It’s big enough, even for a shifted Sarkarnii,” I reply, looking over at the pool.

It is pretty amazing.

“Do humans like to bathe?” Drekkan breathes as he drags my body against his. “Especially ripe little snacks like you?”

“We do…I do…” My mind isn’t quite operating at full strength with Drekkan so damn close.

“And do humans like company when they’re bathing?” Drekkan asks, his voice a mere rasp in his chest.

“Depends on the company. Do you have someone in mind?” I sass.

The growl Drekkan produces is pretty spectacular, especially the way it reverberates around the aquium.

“You are mine. No one else bathes with you,” he says, claws plucking at my clothing. “Now take this off, all of it.”

He doesn’t step back as I peel away the jacket, which was warm when I was outside in the cold and now feels far too hot. Impatience gets the better of him as I fumble with my dress, and I’m helped out of it in a snap, meaning I’m left with the maternity tights and bra Gelvira magicked up for me.

“These too,” Drekkan says. “I want to see all of you.”

I pull off the tights, well aware of how ungainly I am, and remove the bra, looking up at him shyly, arms folded over my chest and baby bump. He takes hold of them and gently unknots them. He takes in my pregnant body, his eyes blazing with hunger.

“You are beautiful, little snack,” he grinds out. “So nevving beautiful I could mate you where you stand.”

In a flash, his pants are gone, and while I’m still not face to face with the legendary Sarkarnii cock, there is a bulge in his crotch of epic proportions.

“Don’t you want to bathe?” I stumble over the words because the way he’s looking at me, I’m absolutely sure I’m dinner.

“Very much,” Drekkan says, and my body is against his once again.