Chapter 16

16

Danon

" H ey." I walked up to Akai who was sitting on the patio absorbing the warm October day. I had my tablet in hand and set it in his lap.

It took me a week, and several phone consultations with my lawyer, to get a starter file ready to show Akai.

In that week, we began sleeping together, but nothing more happened between us. Though we had been more intimate than any two people could be during the heat/rut, we were still getting to know each other.

I knelt by the lounge chair.

He looked down. "What's this?"

"I've been getting legal documents together. We discussed this, remember? I think it's important for you, and for us, that you feel safe and secure if anything should happen to me. I've got some things you'll need to sign. But we'll need a notary. One is coming by tomorrow afternoon."

Akai looked at the tablet, scrolling through as I pointed out each thing. I had put his name on the house and in my will. I had assets now that I didn't have when I was younger, and all those were being put, along with my bank accounts, into a living trust that only he and could access. The last item was to show I'd filed paperwork for him to become a free citizen after his slave probation was up.

"You're going to free me? For real?"

"Well, of course. How else am I going to legally marry you?"

He leaned forward and threw his arms around me. I laughed as I nearly lost my balance.

"As soon as the probation is up, I'll remove your ankle bracelet."

He yelled with excitement, burying his face in my chest. Every day, our bond grew. We behaved rather old-fashioned, holding hands, staring into each other's eyes.

Akai raised his head and kissed me. I pushed him flat on the lounge chair and kissed him back until we were breathless.

When we both pulled back, Akai said, "Never in a million years did I think I'd come to dragon country and meet my true mate who would free me."

"Is that how you think of me now?" I asked. "True mate?"

"Yes."

I nuzzled his neck. "Me, too. And eventually, your real husband."

"That sounds nice."

"I like it, too."

"Hey, it's been over a week," Akai announced.

"Since what?"

"You know what. Can we test to see if I carry our egg now?"

I hadn't forgotten. "As a matter of fact, some test strips came with the food delivery today."

He smacked my shoulder, then jumped up. "Why didn't you tell me?"

"I'm telling you now."

Mate. Egg. For life.

Dani was as eager as both of us.

"Come on. I can't wait a minute more." He grabbed my hand and pulled me into the house.

When he came out of the bathroom, Akai had the test strip in hand. "It's supposed to show a blue plus sign if I am pregnant. It says it can take up to three minutes."

We both stared at it as if it might explode.

Akai rocked on the balls of his feet, nervous.

"Come over here." I led him to the foot of the bed where we both sat.

He held the test so tightly his knuckles were white. Never had there been a longer three minutes in my life.

"Nothing's happening," Akai complained.

"It's been only a minute, sweetheart."

Akai's deep blue eyes met mine. He looked excited but also a little scared. "Even if it's negative, will you still marry me?"

"I would marry you right this second if the law would allow it."

He leaned into me, and I put my arm around him. He held the stick up, frowning. "There's nothing."

"Not yet. There hasn't been enough time."

His heavy sigh filled the room. "Three minutes feels like an eternity when you're waiting for something like this."

"So true."

It was like watching a clock. The more you watched, the slower the second hand seemed to move. The stick remained blank.

Finally, a blue color began to show on the white background. It slowly took shape. The plus sign became brighter and brighter.

Akai screeched and jumped up. "It's positive!"

I had no idea he had been hoping for this outcome so badly. We both wanted it, but Akai jumped up and down and waved the stick in the air like he'd won the world.

Our mate is happy. He is the true one love.

I grabbed him, pulling him to me. We both toppled over onto the bed as the stick went flying toward the other side of the room. Akai lay on top of me with his entire weight and began kissing my throat, my cheeks, my mouth.

I held him to me as I turned both of us onto our sides.

Little by little, without a word, we began undressing each other. Our lovemaking was like a dance we already knew. Not urgent like a heat or a rut, but slow and sensuous. Hands and fingers went everywhere, followed by mouths and tongues. Body parts reddened and swelled. Grew wet.

Akai put his mouth on the head of my cock, licking and sucking. My balls drew up. He licked the shaft all over, then sucked while using his hands to milk me. He had never done this before, but it didn't matter. Every touch, every place he kissed and sucked, was like a lightning strike.

I came first, shouting encouragements. He petted me until I was spent.

I managed to catch my breath and turn him onto his back, massaging everywhere I could reach. I neglected no surface of him.

I reached between his legs and fingered his hole. I lowered my mouth to his cock and licked all over the burgeoning head.

He sat up fast, crying out. "I have to hold myself. I'm going to come apart at the seams if I don't hold my cock."

"You're such a youngling." It wasn't an insult. I was having fun with him, keeping my tone gentle, breathy. What we were doing was both strong and fragile at the same time.

He leaned forward, grabbed and held his cock upright as I licked the head just like I had the last time we'd had heat/rut sex.

Akai moved my hand on the shaft, pushing the head into my mouth. I opened my jaw and took him in as far as his fingers would allow. He pulled it out, then pushed it in again. I let it slide in as far as he wanted, then sucked.

He came quickly, squirting hard. I didn't miss a drop.

We devolved to another bout of kissing, wrapping our arms and legs around each other. When we parted, we gasped for air as we stared into each other's eyes. Akai lay relaxed against me, eyelids slightly drooping.

"Danon?" he whispered.

"Yes."

"Could there be more than one?"

"More than one egg?"

"Yeah."

"We can have that checked out. But because this is your—our—first, it will probably be only one."

"When can we get that checked."

"Tomorrow, if you like."

It was funny that we never talked about what we'd just done. We didn't have to. No words could describe the connection, the love we felt as the bond grew stronger.

Akai stroked my cheek over and over, the smile on his face like heaven.

"Are you going to grow your whiskers back?"

I laughed softly. "What?"

"Well? Just wondering."

"I think I'll keep it this way for a while," I answered.

"It's nice. But you know something?"

"What?"

"If you do, I'll still love you."

The bed rocked with our chuckles.

Akai lay on the exam table, trousers undone, shirt lifted. Doctor Crane ran the ultrasound wand over his flat, lubed-up abdomen. The monitor to the left showed the results. Within a minute, the doctor could see something.

"It's a tiny dot, but it's there."

"An egg?" Akai asked breathlessly.

"Yes," Crane said. "I'm looking to see if there might be more, but nothing shows up."

"One is good," I said.

One is everything.

Dani was flapping around in my mind, in ecstasy mode.

Akai nodded, meeting my eyes with a smile. "One is plenty."

"All right, you're done." Crane handed Akai some tissues to clean up. "You can sit up."

Akai sat up and fastened his pants.

Crane crossed his arms. "Congratulations are in order. The egg will take about two to three months to grow until it's ready to be laid. I suggest twice a month checkups to make sure all is well."

"We'll be here," I said.

"Akai will probably start wanting to nest in the last couple of weeks before the laying," Crane continued, looking at me. "Danon, you may feel some of that and want to spend a lot of time with him while he's in that mode."

"Wouldn't have it any other way." I reached for Akai's hand as he stood.

A daze came over me as we walked to the parking lot. A child was coming. Our child. My heart raced.

I squeezed Akai's hand. "We need to celebrate."

"Like what?"

"I'm taking you for an early dinner. Then, maybe a drive."

Akai's eyebrows rose. He bit down in a smile that started to form. "I'd like that."

Later, with full stomachs, we drove up the windy mountain road as the sun set over the lake turning it gold and pink. I saw a lot of what looked like dark birds flying over the lake. A flight of dragons.

"Look." I pointed.

Akai leaned to see. "Wow. Are they part of your flight?

"I can sense my own flight. But no, these are from another."

When we got to the lookout, dusk had set in. Other people who'd come to see the sunset were leaving. The darkening sky stretched over the horizon with bright pink stripes.

The wind was softer than the last time we'd come. We put on our jackets and stood before the low wall, holding hands, watching as the stars came out to flicker their codes to eternity.

"The world feels so alive," Akai said.

"Magical."

"Yes."

"It's been that sort of day."

I looked up as more stars popped out of the darkness. It was as if they were smiling down on us.