Chapter 9:
Marina
Making love had become a regular routine in my day, it seemed. In accordance with his father’s wishes, Tredorphen continued to show me around the land, and the shifters helped my people get biological samples.
Despite our weighty commission, every moment we were alone was a moment he had to possess me. To ‘claim’ me, as he liked to say. And in the moments afterward he would reassure me, and perhaps himself, that I was his, and he would caress my body with his large hands and feel every inch of me as if to make sure I was real.
There was something disturbingly good about the feel of him inside me; about the wild instinct that took over his body and his eyes as they glazed over with a happy, contented lust.
And I had to admit that there was overwhelming electricity about it. Being with him, the immense girth of him, and getting to train someone untouched about the exact way to please me was like having my own personal playground.
I’d never been with a man who never failed to get me off each and every time, until now.
Still, I was beginning to think it was more than a sexual pull that drew me to him. He was endlessly handsome. A little egotistical, sure, but he had the goods to back it up, mostly.
And he protected me, constantly.
I writhed against his body as we lay naked on a small beach-like outcropping near the serpent’s sea. My breasts moving up and down with the effort and he reached up to cup them. He grabbed my hips and guided my body to grind against his until I was exploding with ecstasy. Like most other men, this was when Tredorphen would become the most aroused. I could see it in his eyes. But, unlike other men, he could always last until the job was done.
I felt the contractions inside of me as I weakly grinded against him, his moans and breaths growing slower as my movements came to a halt.
He went to scoop me into his arms, but I batted him away playfully. “I can’t; I have to go to the lab,” I spoke of our makeshift science cave.
“Stay,” he insisted, pulling me down to his face and drawing me into a long, passionate kiss.
“I can’t,” I laughed. “I’m supposed to meet my sister.”
Were it anyone else, I knew he would have insisted I remain with him until he was done lavishing his attention on me. But he would never say no if it involved Athena.
“Does she know about us?” he asked with a wince.
“No,” I laughed, pulling my shirt from the ground and throwing it on over my naked body. “Why, have you told anyone?”
“No!” he laughed. “No. I don’t think it’s appropriate that anybody knows.”
I nodded, continuing to dress. I agreed with him completely, but his hesitation to speak openly about it made me feel sick.
“And just why do you want to keep me your dirty little secret?” I asked, trying to sound charming as I got off of him.
“Because dirty little secrets are the best kind,” he said.
Tredorphen stood, and I marveled at his perfectly sculpted body and charming expression. He continued to grin at me with a cocky ambiance and watch me carefully as he started putting his clothes back on.
“Stop smiling at me like that,” I giggled. “It makes me want to come up and hurt you.”
“I’d like to see you try,” he dared.
Our physical connection was so intense, it was almost all I could think about. His thick muscles, his blue eyes, the way his shifter form was so unbelievably warm.
And he was possessive in a way I wasn’t used to. He made it very clear that I was his, and despite having been independent most of my adult life, I loved it. I craved it. This feeling that I was special.
Other nights I would have to remind myself that we were still playing a game… weren’t we? Every day that passed was another opportunity for us to relentlessly question one another about our races and our differences.
Everything seemed so clear just a few weeks ago. Yet, neither one of us had been eager to discuss the ramifications of our actions or what they meant: how much of it was real.
“Off you go,” Tredorphen said as he watched me make my way back to the main research area.
“Off I go,” I repeated, suddenly not wanting to leave. “What will you do?” I asked, wondering if he would accompany the scientists and I would get to lust after him from afar for the rest of the day.
“I have some journeying to do, unfortunately.”
“Oh,” I said, my stomach feeling sick. “How long will you be gone?”
“Not long,” he said, immediately putting me at ease. Right up until he said, “A handful of cycles, at most.”
I smiled bashfully at him and walked back over, cupping his perfectly chiseled face in my hands. “Well,” I breathed with a blush, “now I wish I didn’t have to go.”
He swallowed. “It’s just a couple cycles.”
I nodded but wasn’t entirely sure what to make of the statement. The truth was, either way, we would be parting ways eventually. I lowered my brows into a frown that I hoped he wouldn’t see. He brushed his hand through my blonde hair and kissed me once more.
“Come on,” he said. “I’ll fly you back.”
We made our way back to the bustling, warm caves that we had made our makeshift laboratory. Most of our work had to be done at night, due to the heat. I told Athena I would meet her to discuss some of my findings.
I walked up to her in the heat and took a seat next to her at a wooden desk where my crew had set up various vials marked and labeled with their contents.
“Hello, stranger,” Athena greeted, never looking up at me. Her tone wavered even with only four syllables to work with.
“Hey, I feel like I haven’t seen you in forever,” I said wholeheartedly, setting my hand on her shoulder.
I sat at the desk and began pulling out samples and setting them on the desk one by one until they created a small row of seven.
“So, how do we feel about our new company?” I asked with a small smile, unsure suddenly how to behave around my own sister.
She watched me, her eyes flicking around like a scanner. I hated being under her watch. “Oh, you know, just peachy. I love being hit on by dragon men,” she snorted, seeming done with her visual interrogation.
“I thought you were the one going on about how hot they were?” I said with a laugh.
“Eh,” she shrugged, twisting a finger around the vial. “It fades.”
“You seem to like Aurlauc,” I said enthusiastically. “Or, at least, not hate him.”
“I don’t hate them,” Athena argued. “I’m just happier on my own planet.”
“My little sister, fleeing from adventure? Who are you and what have you done with Athena?”
My sister laughed until her verbal expression turned to a dim sigh. “You know,” she began slowly, “Peter’s been asking about you. Says you’re always off with the prince.”
“Right,” I said, too quickly. “They call him D’nebu’a. That’s his title,” I gushed. “And yes, he’s been showing me around, as you know.”
“Riiight,” my sister taunted. “Well, doesn’t that just make you the royalest of them all? And what about Petey; you guys have a thing going yet?”
“He wishes,” I said, sticking my tongue out playfully.
Another pang of guilt flashed through my body from the back of my neck to my toes. I’d forgotten all about Peter. I sighed inwardly.
“‘Atta girl!” she announced loudly. “Never settle!”
The two of us stared at the samples in silence until the minutes became almost comically long. My breathing quickened suddenly, and Athena put her hand on my back.
“What is it?” Athena asked softly.
I looked up, and our eyes met, hers turning from stunned to concerned all at once. “What?” she repeated with less compassion. “What is it? Because I know you didn’t bring me here to gush about your science. I think you know me well enough to know I have no interest in this stuff. I’m not even a scientist!”
“I slept with him, okay?” I seethed in a whisper, my face scrunching up with pain and embarrassment.
Athena clicked her jaw shut and stayed still for long enough that I started to feel my hands shaking. I just wanted her to say something.
“I really, really, really hope you’re talking about Peter,” she snapped, not looking at me.
“Tredorphen,” I whispered again, my eyes flicking to the door to see if anyone was near our private conversation. The coast was clear.
The moments dragged on in painful agony, and I grinded my teeth together before pleading, “Come on, sis. Say something, please? Lecture me! Laugh! Just do something!”
“Okay,” my sister said slowly. Too slowly. “You wanted it, I assume? I shouldn’t be blasting this thing’s head off with my laser?”
I rolled my eyes, and a deep ruby flush crossed the apples of my cheeks. “I wanted it,” I murmured.
“Then there really has been a switch-up because suddenly you’re the impulsive one and I’m the only one left standing with any brains about the situation! The shifters aren’t charming, Rina! They’re totally messed up. They want something from us, and I don’t just mean an easy screw with you.” She huffed violently and spun completely on her boot before batting a glass off the table so it flung across the floor, my sample reduced to nothing. “Have you completely lost your mind?”
“Like I don’t feel bad enough about it already?” I whined.
“And what about Peter? I thought you liked him?”
“And I thought you hated him,” I argued.
She laughed in frustration and threw her hands in the air. “Do you like the guy or not?”
“I did,” I pleaded. “I do! I don’t know what happened. I’m playing him for information, that’s all.”
“No, no way. Nu-uh!” my sister projected loudly, waving a finger in front of her face. “If this was a mission thing, there’s no way you’d be telling me about it. Admit it; you’re looking for sisterly advice.”
“Fine!” I shouted, glaring at her. “I’m looking for advice!”
“Here’s some,” she spat. “Don’t be so damn stupid!”
I inhaled sharply and felt all of the emotion leave my face. “Well, I guess I won’t be getting any sympathy from you.”
“I’m just…” she turned back to face me and pinched the bridge of her nose in frustration. “I’m a little… concerned. I thought you had a plan here?”
“Yeah,” I argued. “And my plan is working. We’re here, aren’t we? We got to Dobromia. We found a new species. We’re doing our job, and I got us here!”
“I’m not sure it counts if you’re sleeping with the guy, Marina.”
“It’s part of the plan,” I insisted. “The easiest way to get them on our side.”
Athena narrowed her eyes at me like I was an idiot and scoffed several times, unsure of what else to do. I knew she wasn’t going to like my news, but I didn’t think she would have this strong of a reaction to it. At the very least, I thought she might find it amusing.
“I think you’re being played, Marina. I don’t know how or what for, yet, but it makes me nervous. As your sister, I have top dibs on yelling at your ass. Got it?”
I faltered. “Got it.”
“Besides,” she rolled her eyes, stopping by the opening of the cave and leaned against it. “It’s not like you’re the only one. I’ve heard about five other girls who are banging the dracos.”
“Don’t,” I cringed. “Don’t phrase it like that and don’t call them that. They are shifters. At least be correct.”
Her eyes darkened. “Because that’s what I care about?”
“Look, I don’t want to fight with you. I just thought as my sister you should know what’s going on.”
Her eyes glazed over and I watched her annoyed expression soften, just a little. “So…” A curious smirk settled on her lips, and she exhaled, leaning off the wall and standing straight once more as she said, “What’s he like in the sack?”