Chapter 17

Min-Ji

We were so close to the Shaman's camp, and the Queen who had been throwing a wrench into our mating bond without even knowing it. It was not the moment I expected Corin to surrender to us, but he was. His kiss said it all—sure, demanding, but slow at the same time. He wasn't rushing this, and he was definitely staking a claim.

"I thought you were hurt," he growled against my cheek when he started nibbling a path along my jaw. "You were hurt. You can't get hurt, Min-Ji. I can't… You should only feel pleasure, never pain…" We were moving, but I didn't pay attention to that, my focus entirely on the sensations he was drawing from my body with the touch of his mouth, his tongue, and the gentle scrape of his razor-sharp fangs.

The brush of his dark blue hair against my temple, the roughness of his scales beneath my fingers, and the warmth of his body surrounding me. We were horizontal; I didn't remember how we got there, just that I was in his tail, against furs and grass. The clouds were extra fluffy and violet above my head, visible through the branches and amethyst leaves.

I forgot where we were when he lifted his head, quicksilver eyes burning with passion. "I can't breathe if I think about losing you," he said. "I need you, Min-Ji. It's time I admit that. I need you more than I need air." And then he stole mine, his mouth claiming my lips, tongues tangling as he took my breath away.

The Naga didn't use the word "love" for their partner, they only talked of it when it came to their young. But I knew that's what he was saying—that he felt love, a passionate, fated-mate kind of love, for me. I curled my fingers in his hair to hold him close, to keep him from ending this moment. "I love you too, Corin," I said against his lips.

He shuddered, his muscles trembling as he braced himself on one arm next to my head. The silver glow of his mating marks, the sigils, they burned brighter, savagely. His hand came down to the front of my shirt, claws slashing through the thin, worn fabric like it was tissue paper. My belly clenched in anticipation of what was next, and I wasn't disappointed.

I felt his tail wind around my legs, coiling with gentle pressure, owning me, while his hands worked to pull the remains of my shirt from my body. My bra had seen better days at this point; I'd even been forced to repair one strap with a leather string, but the way his eyes glowed made me feel like I was wearing the sexiest of lingerie. He was careful as he hooked a claw beneath the left strap and began to slide it down my shoulder. "Take this off."

A command I was very willing to obey; it was an awkward shimmy to unhook the front clasp and shrug out of it. He didn't back away to give me any space, like he couldn't stand to create any kind of distance. The feeling of his scales against my belly reminded me of our differences, and it only stoked the fire.

With my breasts bare to his eyes, things felt different too. The last time we'd done this dance, it had been in the dark, and I hadn't been able to see his expressions. His eyes focused on my nipples, honing in like a predator. His tongue flicked out, the split tip tasting the air, tasting my desire for him. Then he tasted me, the long, agile muscle curling around one hard peak. Pleasure lanced through my belly, my passage clenching in response, and a moan slipped from my mouth. The sound was loud, wanton, and it made him growl.

"Yessss," he hissed, feral and wild. "Give me your sounds, my mate." He lapped at my left breast and curled his fist around the right. I felt the tips of his claws against my sensitive flesh, pressure with a hint of danger, and all the lovely roughness of the fine scales that covered his palm. My spine arched as I sought more contact, more pressure. My legs twisted in the tight grip of his tail, seeking contact at the neediest part of me. When his tail wound tighter, it squeezed my thighs together and placed a lovely pressure on my clit.

I saw stars when he sucked my nipple into his mouth, his fangs pricking the slope of my breast without breaking the skin. The pleasure he promised me was already spiraling, my crest coming tantalizingly close, and I wasn't even naked. He hadn't touched me below the waist, but that didn't seem to matter. It was coming like an avalanche. I shouted his name as he sucked harder, and I shattered for him as he ordered me to come. "Now, mate!"

My breathing was fast, like I'd run a marathon, but Corin was a steady anchor as he helped me come down. His arms wrapped around me, holding me tight, my naked chest pressed against his scales. I could feel the gentle hum of the metal disk on the cord around his neck. He rolled us as he hugged me, and a hug from a Naga was the most amazing, full-body experience. I wanted to stay in his arms forever, and I wanted him to claim me with the cock I felt pressed against my thighs at the same time. If only he'd let me shift my leg, but his coils held me fast.

I felt a first hint of disappointment; was it going to be this and nothing more? But his mating sigils were burning so bright, and his words had been so heartfelt… "Like this," he said, his voice rough with his desire, and his hips bucked against me, pressing his hard length against me. It made him shudder. "I want you like this," he repeated, and he rolled us again. Now I was draped over him and he was on his back, and when his coils started to ease from around me, releasing me, I felt like he was handing me the reins.

My eyes locked with his, and I searched his gaze for any sign of what he wanted. There was so much need in his gaze, and he wasn't holding back, but he was making this my choice. Because he was asking me to risk my life by becoming his, and he didn't want to make that choice for me. Well, there never really was a choice anyway, was there? This had been as inevitable as the tides, as true as the purple sun rising and setting over Serant.

He'd released me, but he was offering me everything I wanted if I reached out and took it. His body was mine as he sprawled on the furs beneath me, his arms open, his gaze filled with his need for me. Sitting up on my knees, I tried to get a handle on my feelings and the situation. We were on the hill in the woods, alone in many ways but exposed at the same time. We were lower on the slope than I'd remembered; the edge of Reid's furs was only just visible beside the tree. Corin must have moved us when he'd been distracting me with his clever mouth.

There were supposed to be Rakworms out there, but Corin had come back, and he'd started this. That had to mean it was safe. I lifted my chin to gaze in the direction of the Sacred Training Grounds, wondering if it was selfish to delay going there when Reid needed help. Then I glanced back at Corin, lying in the sun, waiting for me like I'd always dreamed.

I licked my suddenly dry lips and recalled that Reid was stable right now, doing better than before. That's what Corin said, and I knew he'd never risk anyone's life; he was too responsible to do that. That meant the only thing holding me back was me, and I wasn't going to stand in the way of this. Not a chance.

Climbing to unsteady feet, I lowered my hands to slide my pants down my hips. My UAR uniform had seen better days by now, but it had seemed like the best outfit for a rescue mission—sturdy, sensible, and suited to wear the holster for my laser pistol. I hadn't worn it from the moment I'd managed to cobble something together from leather and furs supplied to me, because I hadn't wanted to remind anyone of the crash and my role in it. But I liked how Corin's eyes clung to my ass as I started to slide the pants down, and then they fixated on my core, and his tongue flicked out, tasting me in the air.

I kicked off my boots, then the pants, and stood there watching him. I was always tiny next to the giant Naga hunters, and even sprawled on the ground, Corin managed to make me feel that way. His long body lay in several loops along the furs and soft grass. Every scale glimmered with a hint of the purple sunlight, a mix of silver, blue and Serant.

His cock rose proudly from his groin, the tips glistening with wetness, curled tightly together. Under my gaze, they parted, two firm but very agile fingers. The rest of his length was thick and veined, with glowing slashes curling around him that seemed thicker, texturing him. I remembered what it had felt like to hold him, and the way his marks curled along his length gave him a ribbed texture.

Taking a step toward him felt like I'd just crossed a country in a single leap; it felt monumental. Then I stepped over his hip and sank to my knees on top of his tail, just below his jutting cock. Any fanciful thoughts went out the window. Who cared about how big this was, relationship-wise, when you were staring at a cock that pretty? I drew my fingers up his length and was rewarded with a hiss and a flare of light along his mating marks.

I'd learned how this felt last time, but I still marveled when I couldn't close my fingers around his thickness. He also felt smoother than expected, given the fine texture of his scales. My hand slid up and down his cock easily, feeling each ridge and bump of the veins and the glowing marks that covered him. When I reached the bifurcated tip, the split end curled toward my fingers, clinging, grabbing. I felt a gush of wetness in reaction to that firm grip of his odd cockhead, my mind already trying to imagine what it would feel like.

Corin had left it up to me to approach, but he wasn't going to patiently lie there for long. Was I brave enough to take him? To be that bold? When I lifted onto my knees, he hissed, and I heard the whisper of his scales as they shivered along his spine. His tail curled, and then it pushed against my ass, urging me forward. I grinned because I'd known he'd do that, and then my grin turned into a shaky moan.

His cock brushed against my folds, the tips writhing, slippery and hot. They stroked my clit with unerring accuracy, but Corin was a smart man; he remembered what he'd learned last time. "That's it," he hissed. "That's what we need. Do it, Min-Ji. No more fear." I jerked up my chin, abandoning the sight of his silvery cock as it slicked against my core. My eyes locked on his face, and I felt we were making a promise without words.

With a little push of his tail, I was higher and I nearly tumbled forward, but he hooked the tip around my waist and held me tight, balanced above him. Open for his impalement. "Yes," I said to him, "Now." That was all either of us needed. I sank down, lowering my hips to his; his tail as my guide. I felt the tips of his cock slide into my opening first; they were narrow and easy to take. It made everything in me tingle and tense as pleasure burned through my veins.

Then came the shaft, much thicker than the dual heads. It burned as it stretched me, but that hint of pain was nothing compared to the pleasure. His tips stroked my walls, easily finding the sensitive nerves and setting them ablaze. With a hand, he reached out to touch my clit, his thumb strumming the little bundle with agonizingly tender strokes.

I sank a little further onto him with each shudder and moan, each fanning of the flames. I thought I must have taken all of him by now. I felt so full, but when I looked down, I saw I'd taken only half of him. There was no way more could fit, but Corin wasn't satisfied. He bucked his hips beneath me, driving up, and like magic, more of him disappeared inside of me. I shook my head, not because I was fighting this, but out of disbelief.

"You are mine," he growled, "And you'll take all of me." I wanted that. It's all I ever wanted, but my body wasn't convinced it was possible. Or maybe it was my brain that was struggling to catch up with reality. My body had gone soft around him like I was melting for his invasion. Each pump of his hips brought us closer, and each thrum of his thumb against my clit brought me further to the edge.

He slid the tip of his tail around my hip, squeezing my ass as he pushed us closer. My orgasm broke with a shout as his hips came up and mine came down with a fierce push. That was it, all of him, and my muscles gripped and squeezed, milking him with every spasm of my core.

When I drew in a deep breath and forced open my eyes, it was to discover that now I was the one on the bottom, pinned to the furs, and my Naga over me, holding me. Everything in his expression was savage, possessive. This was tying us together in so many ways, and with each thrust of his hips, he fucked me like he owned me. He did, heart and soul, and now I knew I owned him too.

***

Corin

I knew I'd been an idiot for staying away like I had when my mate fearlessly finished undressing herself. She was braver than I was when she straddled me and made her choice. What we had was worth fighting for, and I was going to show her that. Nothing could stop me from keeping her now—not fear, and certainly not a stupid Queen.

Only one female could stake her claim on me, and she had from the start. When she came around me, I felt like I'd shattered to pieces and reshaped as a new male, her male. It stopped being about her pleasure then and became ours. I'd tried to rein in my instincts, to hold back so this could be all hers, but they took over then. I pinned her, my mouth found her neck, and though I didn't mean to bite her sensitive skin, my fangs nicked her shoulder anyway as I rutted against her with helpless abandon.

"Ah, Corin," she moaned, all soft and welcoming, her body taking every inch of me and then some. She did not fight as my tail restrained her; she did not claw or bite back. Or maybe she did, but her blunt little nails felt only like pleasure against my tough scales. My seed erupted with a growl that rocked me, a deep wrenching of pleasure as it spurted from the tips and coated her womb.

She was so tiny beneath me, and she took every drop, every bit of me as it spilled like a river. And she bucked beneath me, clutching at me as it filled her with the same pleasure that had wrecked me. My beautiful, clever little mate was utter perfection as I watched the bliss on her face. It was a temptation I didn't want to resist, to kiss her upturned mouth and tangle her tongue with mine as our bodies had entwined.