Chapter 15

~ Tara ~

Waking the next morning, Tara realized the entire room was saturated with the scent of their mating. Turning over, she cuddled up to Arac’s chest. A huge bicep came up around the back of her and his hand draped over her waist.

“Sweetie, the room smells like sex.”

“I will clean it now if you wish.”

Stretching her arms above her head, she yawned. “It hardly seems worth it, since all I want to do is have more sex.”

Making a small shocked sound, Arac looked down at her. “I can’t believe you wish for more mating already. I rode you for hours last night.”

Sliding to straddle his waist, she placed both hands on his chest and looked down into his handsome face. “Does that mean it’s my turn to ride you this morning?”

His face turned a darker shade, making it almost look like he was blushing. “I am much aroused.” Sliding his hand down, he released a rod that looked as though it might have fallen off the statue of a hauntingly beautiful fertility god.

Taking it in her hand, she stroked him, causing him to wiggle beneath her. “You’re sensitive here, aren’t you?”

“Very. I wish to be inside you.”

“Lucky for you, I want the same thing.”

Easing herself down on his magnificent rod, she hissed at the stretching. “I would have thought that after last night it wouldn’t be such a tight squeeze.”

Thrusting up slightly, Arac gritted out, “The squeezing is my favorite part, my queen.”

Pulling back slightly, she motioned to their joined bodies. “Look at how well we fit together, my love. Watch your female taking you into her body over and over again. See how your rod is covered in my slick excitement.”

His face contorted into a mask of passion as he watched her take him over and over again. Arac’s plum colored skin was slightly darker covering his rod, and evidenced soft veining just below the surface. His alien rod moving in and out of her soft pink folds was an erotic sight, even to her own eyes. Arac must have thought so as well, because his antennas were twitching in pleasure.

Leaning over, Tara ran her lips up the side of one antenna. Her warm breath caused it to jerk uncontrollably. As her body began to seize up in a strong orgasm, Arac grabbed her and began thrusting roughly up into her. Squealing with delight, she opened her mouth around the long smooth antenna and ran her tongue from the base to the tip, before sucking gently on the tip. Unclear if this was allowed, she was relieved when Arac screeched his pleasure beneath her.

They both moved against each other in a fit of passion until the last of their shared pleasure stopped crashing back and forth between them.

Arac’s astounded voice whispered. “I have never heard of any queen doing such to a drone, my queen. The pleasure is overwhelming.”

“Glad you liked it. We’re definitely doing that again.”

“You like the pleasure I give?”

Still sitting on his lap, impaled on his slowly shrinking rod, she cupped his face and turned it up to look into his eyes. “You were meant to pleasure a woman, my love. Now you have one who appreciates all the tiny parts of you that others may not notice. I think you’re perfect in every way. I love every single thing about you. Please don’t ever forget that.”

His eyes slid away. “There is much about me that you do not know.”

“Then you definitely chose the right queen. I love a good mystery more than most women. Figuring out all the little things you like to keep hidden will be the adventure of a lifetime for me.” Wrapping her arms around him, she pulled him into a warm embrace.

His choked reply caught her off guard. “I have never felt truly accepted by anyone except my father and my young. To find that with you is a blessing from the gods.”

Pulling back, she smiled. “Come on, sweet stuff, if we stay here we’re just going to get distracted by having more sex.”

Pulling her down more securely on his rod, Arac replied seductively. “Would that be such a terrible way to spend the morning, my new queen?”

“No, but daylight is burning. If we do all the things we don’t want to during the day, then at night we can make reward ourselves with pleasure.”

“You will stay another night?”

“You’re not getting rid of me that easily.”

Resting his cheek on her chest, he hugged her tight. “I really don’t want another queen.” Tara’s heart broke a little for her damaged drone. His words had been but a whisper, sounding hollow and distant.

Stroking his hair, she murmured, “You keep telling yourself that, baby.”

Looking up he asked, “You don’t hate me for saying that?”

“We can both say whatever we like. It doesn’t change what we feel for each other.”

The relief on his face told her that she’d given that little bit of emotional space he needed to sort things out.

“Come, let’s cleanse and help make the morning meal.”

“Whatever you say, my Tara.”

As they climbed into the mister, she reminded him of the promise he’d made the preceding night. “You’re teaching me to make bread, right?”

“I am a drone of my word.”

Giggling she worked the mist into a lather on his chest. “You promised me many things last night in the heat of passion. I’m going to hold you to all of them.”

Fighting the urge to lure him into sex again, they managed to make it downstairs before anyone else.

Arac got out the ingredients for his bread and showed her how to mix the dough properly.

As Tara watched him moving around, it occurred to her how nice it was just spend time with him. “I don’t know why I take such pleasure in the small things in life. Learning to make Maruvian food with you seems intimate and right to me.”

A slight curve of Arac’s lips bespoke his happiness at hearing her words. “I honestly thought that being around me and my young would prove boring for a woman who proclaimed to love adventure so much.”

“Well, now you know my issue is more about needing to feel like I have options. I hate feeling trapped.”

“You feel the expectation for you to mate a drone gives you few options. Perhaps you would prefer to visit the Sylon home world, for there are three species of male to choose from on that world.”

“One night in your bed and you’re already trying to get rid of me. That’s not very nice, Arac.”

Smirking a bit, he responded teasingly. “I would not wish you to feel trapped by me.”

Grabbing one of his antennas, she pulled him down for a kiss. “Some traps seem almost bearable. Yours feels like heaven.”

Smiling hotly, he responded, “I have no wish for another queen.” Strangely, the look in his eyes and the way he accentuated the word queen, communicated something entirely different from his words. He seemed to be saying that he wanted her but didn’t want the control that Maruvian queens lorded over their drones. It was bizarre that they both fully understood what he meant.

Gently rubbing his antenna, she murmured, “And I have no use for a simple drone.”

Proving they were on totally on the same page, he responded quietly, “I think you will find I am much more than simply a drone.”

Never breaking eye contact, Tara responded sincerely, “And you will find that I am nothing like the queens you have known.”

Taking her hands in his, he shoved them into a huge bowl of bright green dough. His antics made her laugh. His son flew into the room, landing on the counter. Tara did a double take. “Who is this?”

Without looking up, Arac responded matter-of-factly. “My son. I am the only drone here with young.”

“Then you have two sons. Where is Helec?”

Looking at the little one, Tara saw he was standing on the counter with his arms out, carefully rolling a nut along the back of one arm, over his back and down the other arm. It appeared to be a children’s game.

“I am astounded that you can tell a difference between the two. I have to look carefully myself at times. This is Malik.”

Reaching out, she tapped the little under his chin, causing him to stop and look up at her. “He’s missing the tiny spot Helec has on the tip of his chin. Plus the spots on his head are all wrong. You can’t possibly mistake one for the other, Arac.” Tara could hear the indignant tone of her own voice, but it seemed to amuse Arac.

“I will get Helec, but it will take both of us to keep them out of trouble this morning.”

The moment she touched him, the little one tried to climb onto her arm. Tara picked him up, scarcely realizing that Arac had left the room. “Malik is a really nice name.”

She cradled him in her arms. “You and your brother sure do like to play with those nuts.” Sitting him down, she picked up what appeared to be some kind of thin bread stick or maybe cookie stick. It was about the size of a straw and a little hard from siting out overnight. Giving one to Malik and pulling out one for herself, she taught him the en garde position for fencing.

They were busy sparring when Arac entered. They both immediately dropped their breadsticks like guilty children. “Sorry about that. I don’t know what made me think that was a good idea. We just got bored…”

Arac cut her off with a screeching sound of amusement. “Go ahead and teach him to fight. His training will begin in earnest soon enough.”

Helec flew over and nuzzled her face. Freezing, he drew back and looked her over carefully. Skimming over her neck and arms with his face, Tara got the impression he was smelling her. Before she could process exactly why the child was doing that, he looked back and forth between her and his father several times before screeching a word. His voice was small and squeaky but the translation bacteria translated the word as ours.

Arac nodded and repeated the word. When the little one had spoken it sounded almost like a question. However, when Arac answered, the word sounded decidedly possessive. Scampering over to the other Malik, they whispered back and forth. Picking up breadsticks they poked at each other as they continued to speak.

“Do you have any idea what they’re talking about?”

Arac let out a wheezy laugh. “You do not want to know, my Tara.”

Vraden’s disapproving voice came from the doorway. “The little ones think you are made of candy and wonder if you’re edible. Even now, they dare each other to lick you in an effort to verify their suspicious one way or another.”

A shocked laugh escaped her lips. “Jesus, are you kidding?”

Pulling out a carafe, Vraden heated them a drink. “We have a candy we make once a year by pulling until it forms a soft rubbery paste. It is shaped into the form of our queens and eaten during a prayer to the goddess of fertility.”

“Let me guess, this taffy-like candy is pale like me?”

“You are a clever little queen. I, for one, am happy you are not made of candy. You would not last long in this domicile if you were.”

Taking the drink he offered, she bit her bottom lip for a moment before responding. “I’ll bet that candy is really good stuff. If I were made of taffy, I wouldn’t trust me not to nibble myself every now and then either.”

The two little ones guffawed, reminding her that they could understand, even though full multi-language speech still eluded them. As the dough chilled, Arac and Tara sat across from each other drinking their hot drinks, while the little ones dueled on the counter between them. Arac seemed as relaxed as she’d ever seen him.

Vraden stopped at the end of the counter. “Is my nose correct in telling me that our family has a new queen?”

Smiling slightly behind his cup, Arac murmured, “I have no wish for a queen.”

Tara picked up an extra breadstick and held it to his lips. He took a small nibble, as she looked into his beautifully expressive eyes.

“And I have no wish for a drone.” The perfect understanding flowing back and forth between them totally escaped Vraden’s notice.

“You are both insufferable. I’m sorry to say this but I’ve never met two people who were more difficult in my entire life.”

Tara leaned over and planted a kiss on Arac’s left antenna. “Humans think that sometimes when people are shattered, the broken pieces of their soul fit together to create a perfect whole.”

Arac murmured knowingly, “And they heal each other, right?”

Nodding, Tara wasn’t surprised when his large hand came out to cup the back of her head, drawing her over for a kiss. She went willing and enjoyed his tender kisses.

“I am very confused.” Vraden’s exasperated voice pulled them right out of their bubble.

“My Tara and I are together. That is all you need to know, father. She will be at my side until we have no further use for each other.”

“You no longer use her title?”

“I have no use for another queen and my Tara has no use for a mere drone. We are each other’s more.”

“Ah, you are together but object to societal roles. Congratulations on securing a mate, my son. Queen Tara…”

“I prefer to be called Miss. Tara.”

Dipping his head in acceptance of her preference, Vraden corrected himself. “Miss. Tara, welcome to our family. It is a pleasure to have you among us.”

“The pleasure is entirely mine. I’m lucky to have a fabulous guy with two adorable sons.”

Vraden’s eyes became perfectly round. “You have much to learn about your mate, Miss. Tara.”

Rubbing her hands together, she responded, “Arac is a bit of mystery. I’m looking forward to uncovering all his secrets.”

Biting his lip, Tara suspected the older man was trying to keep from laughing. Finally, he spoke in a choked voice. “I wish you well with that particular quest, my new daughter.”

“Let’s see, you have eleven sons on this planet and with me that makes three of them mated. Am I correct?”

“Yes. With the exception of Arac, Raec and Drale, all of my sons have joined into family units. I believe they feel this will make it easier for them to lure a queen.”

“Well, if any of them are even half as wonderful as Arac, I’m certain they will be the deciding factor for the women choosing their family groups.”

Vraden’s eyes went all soft and adoring. “You were always so sweet and complimentary. It’s what I liked best about you.”

“I can see a lot of you in your son. Arac’s very intelligent and compassionate, like his father.”