Vulrux:

A red narmi swims lazily toward Harper. The moment her eyes fall on it, she screams and grabs me by the waist. “What is that thing?” she squeals, positioning herself between Dennox and me.

Her soft breasts press against my back, and my cock hardens with lust. She smells like fresh air and sunlight, and I want her with a sudden, fiery need. From Dennox’s strangled groan, he is overtaken by the same heady lust.

It is tempting to stay where I am and enjoy the way she feels. It’s been a long time since I’ve had a woman touch me so intimately. Her hands are tight around my waist, and if she moves them just a little lower, she’ll graze my cock.

And yet, I cannot. Harper Boyd is still recovering from her brush with the orange enrak. Right now, she is dangerously out of balance. Everything on this planet feels like a threat to her.

Including us.

I would bed her gladly but now is not the time.

Dennox must feel the same way I do because he disengages himself from Harper’s grasp. “The narmi are friendly.” He whistles to the red snake as it swims past us, and it turns when it hears the sound and approaches us, butting Dennox’s palm affectionately. “The red ones are very intelligent,” he continues, stroking the narmi. “And harmless. This one just wants some berries.”

“Holy crap,” Harper whispers. “You guys have a pet snake. A pet water snake.”

I don’t know anything about the planet that Harper Boyd comes from. “Do you not have pets on Earth?”

“We do.” She gulps. “I’m not so sure about snakes in the water. Some people swim with dolphins, and I’ve always wanted to do that. It’s on my bucket list, but it’s an expensive trip. But this,” she shudders, “seems a lot closer to getting in a tank and being dropped into shark-infested waters.”

Dennox and I give her blank looks, and she laughs sheepishly. “I babble when I’m nervous,” she mumbles. “The snake freaked me out.” She puts her hand out and pats the narmi on the head tentatively. “Hey buddy,” she croons. “You’re not planning on wrapping your body around me and squeezing, are you? No cobra-like moves from you. That’s a good boy.”

* * *

Harper:

Muscles. Lots and lots of yummy, yummy muscles.

Yes, I grabbed onto Dennox and Vulrux by sheer instinct, freaked out by the appearance of the long red snake in the water.

But after that?

Did I hold on to them for just a little longer, even though I was in no danger?

Yes, I did.

Did I grind my ass into Dennox’s cock?

Yes, I did.

Did I ache to move my fingers lower and brush against Vulrux’s hard-on?

Guilty as charged.

Am I wet right now, turned on by the idea of their hard dicks sliding into me?

Yes, I am.

You know what the worst thing is? The absolute worst thing is that both men can tell the way I’m feeling. They’re not blind. They can see the way my nipples have pebbled and hardened. There’s a smirk on Vulrux’s lips and a glimmer of amusement in Dennox’s eyes.

“I’m still not going to sleep with you,” I murmur, my cheeks flaming, afraid to meet their eyes. “Even if your dicks are magical.”

Vulrux stifles a laugh. “Of course,” he says blandly. “Unless you want to swim some more, we should head back.”

I seize on that suggestion. Yes. It’s so much safer in the camp. Vulrux and Dennox will be clothed. There will be other people around, Draekon and human. In camp, I’ll be able to resist the two men.

I think.

My swim has left me more tired than I’m prepared to admit. “Rest,” Vulrux orders me when we’re back in what I think of as my bedroom. “If you over-exert yourself, you’ll suffer a relapse.”

“Who made you the boss of me?” I retort sullenly.

Dennox raises an eyebrow. “If you don’t do as you’re told,” he says calmly, “I will tie you to the bed myself.”

Damn it. My brain immediately goes into overdrive. The pictures flicker through my head. I’m tied to the bed, legs and arms spread wide, naked except for a thin sheet over me. Vulrux and Dennox stand on either side of the bed. One of them rips the sheet off me, and their eyes heat with lust. I can’t close my legs, and I can’t squirm away from them. Not that I want to. They’ll run their hands down my body, exploring every inch of me, watching as I writhe and moan in response.

Harper Boyd, stop this nonsense right now.

Dennox’s nostrils flare. “I can smell your arousal,” he says silkily. “I don’t understand your human ways, Harper Boyd. You want us. Your mind is picturing our mating even now, isn’t it? Why do you deny yourself?”

Because I feel powerless in this world. I feel fragile and out-of-control, and I don’t like it.

If I sleep with the irresistible dragons, it’ll be to avoid reality. To pretend, for the space of a few stolen moments, that I’m not stuck on an alien planet.

The sex will probably be very good, but it’ll only complicate an already fucked-up situation.

“I’m going to take a nap.”

Of course, the Draekons know I’m avoiding answering Dennox’s question, but thankfully, they don’t push me.

I sleep for a few hours. When I wake, the sun is low in the sky, and I’m starving. “I’m sure you can find food, Harper,” I say out loud. “They probably don’t eat maggots. This isn’t Survivor.”

I get dressed in NASA’s finest astro-gear, wishing for a change of clothing. Vulrux and Dennox can probably find me something that’ll work as a needle. Maybe I can MacGyver myself a dress from their towels. Anything has to be better than government-issued Spandex. It’s supposed to wick away moisture, but as we discovered the first time we ventured out into the jungle, it’s no match for the humidity on this planet.

Neither Vulrux nor Dennox appears to be around. I don’t wait for them; I grab the cloak Dennox gave me and head out toward the dining room.

Earlier today, I was too busy marveling at the deluge of rain to notice the design of the passageways. Now, I realize that several houses are dotted around the clearing, and each of them has a covered passage connecting it to the dining hall. Clever.

Viola said that there were fourteen Draekon, and they’ve been exiled for sixty years. My mind struggles to comprehend those numbers. I live in California. I’m always surrounded by people. Driving to work in the mornings, I used to mutter curses about gridlock. Now, my entire world has shrunk to fourteen Draekon and three human women.

Stay strong. I hear my mother’s voice in my head. She was my swim coach. I would whine about my muscles hurting, and my mother wouldn’t relent. Nothing worthwhile comes easy, little dolphin, she would tell me. Stay strong and focus on what’s important.

What’s important now? Not sex with hot dragons. No, my focus should be finding a way to rescue Olivia, May, and the others, and getting the fuck off this planet.

Speaking of the other women, I need to apologize to Viola. I was a bitch earlier, and I shouldn’t have yelled at her. I have no right to judge her choices. If she wants to stay on this planet, that’s her call.

The dining hall is almost empty. I’m either too early for dinner or too late. Given how loudly my stomach is rumbling, I hope it’s the latter.

There’s only one Draekon there. Thankfully for me, it’s the one who was guarding me earlier. He’s throwing knives at something that looks like a dart board. He turns when he hears me approach, and a friendly smile breaks out on his face when he recognizes me. “Are you hungry, Harper Boyd? I’m preparing the night meal now, but if you’d like, I can find you something to eat while you wait.”

Somehow, I doubt there’s a refrigerator filled with snacks.

“Do you all eat together?” I ask curiously. The dining hall is large enough, and it’s dominated by one long table and more than a dozen chairs.

He nods. “During the dry season, the fourteen of us traverse the lowlands, and we don’t get many opportunities to share meals. During the rainy season, however, it is customary to eat the evening meal together.”

That actually sounds nice. When I was dating Tom, one of the best things about the relationship was that I had someone to cook for, someone to eat dinner with. Even if Tom’s eyes were always glued to the TV screen, and he never once thanked me for the meal.

Then again, Tom was always a jerk. I should have listened to my friends when they tried to warn me.

“I’m looking for Viola. Do you know which house she’s in?”

He points to a house in the distance, one with a porch wrapped all around the outside. I can almost imagine sitting there in a rocking chair, watching the rain fall. “The Firstborn and Viola Lewis live in Nyx’s house,” he says. “If you are looking for Sofia Menendez or Ryanna, they are in the Firstborn’s quarters.” He points to a surprisingly small and unassuming house not too far from us.

Once I’m done talking to Viola, I need to have a conversation with Raiht’vi. If the Draekon mutation is working its sinister magic on me, I’d like to know what to expect. The tall Zorahn scientist doesn’t strike me as particularly forthcoming, but she did tell Dennox and Vulrux how to cure me. Maybe she’s friendlier than I think. “What about the two scientists,” I ask Thrax. “Where can I find them?”

His body tenses. “Beirax and Raiht’vi are recovering in Zorux’s house,” he says, pointing to a walkway on his left. “That way.”

“Good to know,” I tell him cheerfully. “Thank you.”

His lips tighten. “I would avoid the scientists if I were you, Harper Boyd,” he says. “When Beirax is healthy, he will stand trial for his crimes. As for the Highborn Scientist? Vulrux does not trust her, and neither does Dennox. In sixty years, I’ve learned that neither men are hasty to form judgments. You would do well to heed their caution.”

Viola might be sweet and pliable, and she might do everything Arax and Nyx tell her. The sooner the rest of the Draekon learn that all Earth women aren’t quite as compliant, the better. I pat Thrax on the arm. “Dennox and Vulrux aren’t the bosses of me.”