Page 32 of Reaper
I had never kissed a woman before. My Dragon blood forbade me any form of intimacy with any other but my soulmate. Now, I gave free rein to my Dragon instinct. My tongue teased the seam of her mouth, and Janelle’s lips willingly parted. Clumsy at first, our tongues slowly made each other’s acquaintance. She tasted sweet, like mulled wine, and I wanted to get drunk on her.
My lips traced the line of her jaw, down the crease of her neck, while my hands slipped under her short nightgown. Janelle shivered as my palms caressed a path up her back, lifting the gown in the process. Although she had raised her arms to help me rid her of the garment, my mate suddenly started covering her now bare chest with her arms when she noticed me looking at her. The embarrassed expression on her face cut me deep.
“No, my darling,” I said in a soft, but firm voice. “Do not hide your beauty from me. Yes,beauty,” I said forcefully when she gave me an uncertain look. “You are beautiful to me as you are. And you’ll be even more beautiful when you are fully recovered. But even if your body were to remain as it is today, you would still be perfect in my eyes.”
I pushed my consciousness into her psychic mind. She shivered as my emotions flooded through our mental link. There was no hiding one’s true feelings through such a connection.
“My mate…” she whispered with a trembling smile, opening her arms wide.
I answered her call willingly while releasing my pheromones. As I voraciously reclaimed her mouth, my chest began to vibrate, startling me. I had known of my mating chant, but I hadn’t expected it to instinctively trigger. Janelle gasped, and her pupils dilated as the effect of the subtonal vibration made her nerve endings extremely sensitive, enhancing every touch, every sensation. With my hands and lips, I worshipped my mate’s frail body, her pleasure oozing through our psychic link.
Ignoring the increasingly painful pressure of the loin plate confining my shaft, I stripped Janelle of her underwear. My lips trailed a path back up her legs to their apex, where I finally claimed my prize. Janelle cried out when my lips closed around her engorged little nub. My head was spinning from the heady scent of her musk and the tart taste of her essence as I feasted on my woman. My shaft ached, begging to be freed, my glands burned the back of my throat to release their mating fluids, and my fangs ached to descend and complete the bond.
But tonight was not the night.
My mate was still too fragile to complete our union. And, truth be told, I had no doubt once unleashed, my passion would be wild and unbridled. But I would see my woman sated. I would hear her scream my name.
And scream she did, moments later. Her back arched off the bed, her hands savagely fisted my hair, and her legs trembled over my shoulders. I lifted my head to watch her beautiful face dissolve in an expression of pure ecstasy, my fingers continuing to rub her clitoris while she rode the waves of her climax.
Crawling back next to Janelle, I drew her body, still shaken by the last spasms of bliss, into my embrace. She held me fiercely, her nails digging deliciously into my back.
“My Reaper…” Janelle whispered, burying her face in my neck. “My Sun…”
“My mate,” I responded.
With my arms possessively tightening around my woman’s slender body, and consciousness wrapped around her soul, I watched over my mate until sleep claimed her before surrendering to oblivion.
Chapter 12
Janelle
Walking out of the shower, I stood still while Reaper took his sweet time, drying me. Multiple times, I had to playfully swat his wandering hands. I loved how he touched me, and I couldn’t get enough of exploring the perfection of his body. We hadn’t gone all the way yet. I didn’t think we would for a few more days, maybe even weeks.
Despite my curiosity and eagerness, a part of me was grateful for the opportunity to regain my strength while we got to better know each other and discovered our sensuality together. It pleased me beyond words that he was as inexperienced as I—although he could have fooled me—and that we were embarking on this journey on equal footing.
Although we had officially declared ourselves to each other two nights ago, I still couldn’t believe he was mine. I’d been trying to work up the courage to ask Jessica for tips on courting a Dragon, but that felt too bold. Creckels didn’t beat around the bush when they found the one they wanted to claim as their mate. However, I wasn’t a Creckel and needed to keep reminding myself that behavior I considered normal might be perceived as inappropriate. Thankfully, my Reaper had spared me further unease by staking his claim.
To think less than a week back, I had been counting the hours before my death, and now I was not only thriving but happy.
Except, one thing clouded that happiness. Yesterday, had proven quite anticlimactic, if not depressing. Based on the research Jessica and I had performed in the morning, when water bears went into cryptobiosis, submerging them for twenty-four hours usually sufficed for them to unfold from their curled-up position. But the Creckels had not. Thankfully, keeping Stran positive had not been a challenge. He was determined to try everything in his power to give his people a chance, and so was I. Considering the water bears were microscopic in size, it wasn’t unreasonable to assume Creckels, who were quite massive creatures, would take much longer to rehydrate and unfold.
The second day yielded the same depressing results. However, they now displayed clear signs of rehydration. Their scales that had previously looked like carved stone were regaining their definition, although they maintained a dull, greyish color. This morning proved just as disappointing. That said, the youngest Creckels’ scales having darkened from their previously ashen color provided a slight ray of hope. Being smaller, they rehydrated faster than their massive parents. While the rest of us felt cautiously optimistic, Stran seemed almost elated, nudging the young with his snout from time to time while flooding the room with his healing pheromone.
A little bummed out, we returned outside to resume our work carving the Zebiers. We should have already been done with that chore, but caring for the hibernating Creckels had derailed our schedule. A relaxed atmosphere reigned among us while we chatted away. My companions were an endless wealth of captivating stories as they shared their adventures of battling the Kryptids, from the Battle for Earth to saving the Janaurians where they first encountered the Scelks, to rescuing the Mimics and the Dragons, to the epic battle that led to the death of the wretched General Khutu.
It disturbed me how much pleasure I took hearing the gruesome details of the demise of the General and of the Kryptids as a whole. But it especially fascinated me how welcoming the Xian Warriors had been into giving the Scelks, Mimics, and Dragons a chance to redeem themselves by joining their ranks. I wanted to believe I could have shown such altruism but, to my shame, I doubted it.
Out of the blue, Thanh’s bracer beeped, startling us all. She glanced at it and frowned before tapping a few instructions, her frown deepening.
“What’s going on?” Doom asked.
“The ship’s scanners are detecting an approaching vessel,” Thanh replied.
“Really?” Doom said, surprised. “The frigate isn’t due here for three or four more days. Can you identify the vessel?”
“I already did,” Thanh said. “It’s the Albatross, a Coalition transport ship.”
My companions exchanged a stunned look. They had told me about the coalition of planets that had joined forces to defeat the Kryptids that threatened all their worlds. Why were my companions so surprised they would come help instead of whatever other ship they had expected? It made sense to me that a closer vessel would respond to their call for assistance instead of waiting for the one further away.