ASHTAR

Veronica chuckles again and unlaces her leggings, then lets them fall to the ground as well. They get caught on her boots, and she stumbles, the leathers pooled around her legs, before she manages to right herself. Even this makes my heart sing, because it is part of who she is. When she makes her mind up, she throws herself into life. I adore it and her. I watch as she sits down and kicks the leggings off, leaving only her furry boots. She is all pale golden skin and tumbling brown hair, her breasts bouncing enticingly. Her scent, now free of the leather confines, fills the air and makes my mouth water with need. My body strains, desperate to claim her, but I must pace myself. I want to learn her before I claim her with my fires.

Was ever a drakoni male so patient as me? Perhaps not, and I feel the strain of every minute around my mate, unable to touch her.

No more. I will pleasure her with my mouth until she is addicted to it and begging for my touch. Then when she cannot stand it, I will give her my fires, and she will welcome them with joy. She will not even care that there is a mind-link attached…

Hmm. I cannot make that lie convincing even in my own thoughts. I will think more on it…later. For now, my mate is naked and expectant, and I mean to please her.

"Hands and knees, my Veronica," I tell her.

"Hands and knees?" she echoes, confused. "But…I thought we were going to…" She blushes, and one arm moves over her breasts. "Did I just completely misinterpret everything—"

"No." I pry her hand from her breasts, because I don't want her hiding anything from me. "It is not a mating. All I will use is my tongue. I promise."

"Okay, but…" She sighs and gives a little shake of her head. "You know what? I'm just going to stop asking and I'll go with the flow instead. Hands and knees it is. You're the boss." She gets up and a moment later presents her pale backside to me, her hands spread on the tunic beneath her.

I forget everything but the sight of her. Gone is her shyness, and she peers over one shoulder enticingly at me as she wiggles her bottom. It is the most beautiful thing I have ever seen, my mate offering herself to me, and the fires in my spirit flare to life, even as my khui sings and demands a mating. I want to claim her right now more than anything…but I think of how I burned her, of the redness on her soft, lovely mouth and the shock in her eyes. I don't want her to be afraid of mating with an alien.

Also…I hunger to taste her. I am a selfish male, because I cannot wait much longer for that.

I move forward, sliding my hands over her hips. Our bodies are a delightful contrast, and I stare at my darker bronze hands, the black claws on my fingertips, against her enticingly pale softness. I stroke my fingers over her and hear her take in a breath, even as the scent of her grows thicker in the air.

My mate gives a little moan as I glide my claws over her flanks. Her rounded bottom is the stuff of dreams, and I lean in and nip it with my teeth, unable to resist. Veronica squeals in surprise, wriggling against my touch. I lick her skin lightly, soothing the small hurt before kissing my way across her skin. I'm fascinated by the cleft of her bottom, the graceful lengths of her thighs, and most of all, the way she's panting and squirming as if she cannot remain still.

I rub my nose along her flank, enjoying the scent of her, savoring the way she feels. My Veronica. My mate. I am the luckiest of males to be given such a gift after years in the gladiator pits with nothing to look forward to save my next battle. I intend to be the mate Veronica needs—protective and giving and most of all, attentive.

Attentive to all of her, I decide. I slide one hand down her rounded ass cheek and then to the inside of her thigh, gently pressing until she pushes them apart. She moans and leans forward, her bottom going into the air, her cheek on her tunic. Just like that, she presents her cunt to me.

With infinite care, I tease my claws over her tender flesh. She is pink here, and wet…and utterly slick with need. Her skin gleams with wetness, and it glazes my claws as I explore her. Veronica moans at my touch, sucking in a breath as I caress her. She is delicate here, all folds and tender skin capped by dark curls. I love the sight of her and caress her one more time before lifting my claws to my lips for a taste.

The flavor of her cunt is like nothing I have experienced before. It explodes on my tongue, fiercely sweet and musky at the same time, and fills me with the mating need so powerfully my cock jerks in the air, the head beading wet with the need to release.

My khui throbs and fills my chest with a demanding song. I can hear hers singing loud as well, increasing in volume as she clenches her thighs and gasps, waiting for me to touch her again. "I am going to taste you now," I tell her, my voice low and husky with need. "Ready yourself."

"Ready myself? What on earth—"

Her words turn into a wordless cry as I lower my mouth to her. I lick her wet cunt, lapping up all the juices I can see. She is deliciously sweet at the source, and I find I am ravenous for more. I drag my tongue over her soft folds, eager to lose myself in the taste of her.

"Your tongue," she half-breathes, half-sobs.

"Am I doing it wrong?" I ask between licks. I cannot get enough of her. I do not think I could stop now, even if she asked me to. I grip her thighs tightly, and with my mouth buried in her cunt, I can feel every quiver of her body, every tremor that rocks through her, every shuddering breath.

"It's…textured." Veronica sounds utterly shocked.

"Bad?"

Her response is a little moan and a quiver of her cunt. More wetness drips down her folds, and I eagerly lap it up. It is a surprise then, but not an unwelcome one. I lower my head once more and return to my ministrations on my mate, my face dragging through her folds as I hungrily feast on her. I learn each of her responses, which licks make her tremble, which make her cry out. She moans when the tip of my tongue pushes into her core, where she is wettest, and she shivers when I nip at her folds.

When I touch the little button of flesh at the apex of her cunt, though, she nearly comes off the ground. "Ashtar!"

I flick my tongue against it again, just to see her response, and she lets out another little cry, then rolls her hips. My cock throbs in response, and I growl against her soft flesh. I want to make her come. I want Veronica to bathe my face in her juices. I want to hear her scream out in pleasure. I want her cunt to be so greedy for my cock that when I taste her, she will beg me for more.

With this goal in mind, I redouble my efforts. I tease and play with the little nub of flesh, coaxing it with the tip of my tongue. Her legs jerk and shudder with every touch, and she lets out a stream of whimpers that are wordless and full of need. It's clear she is close, but not quite there yet. I've never made a female come, and I don't know how to get her over that edge. I know when I stroke my own cock, I can be rough and forceful and can make myself come in a matter of moments, but I do not think it will work the same for my Veronica. I don't like the thought of being rough with her, of hurting this tender flesh. She needs something else, then.

I pull back, gliding my fingertips over skin as I watch her body for clues. Her cunt is spread wide for my pleasuring, her body flushed and slick. I absently skim her flesh and notice that when I graze the nub of her pleasure, her legs jerk and the opening to her cunt clenches, as if desperate to clasp on to something.

My cock, I realize a moment later. Her body is hungry to be filled by me.

With a groan, I move my mouth over her again, and she lets out another cry, her hands scrabbling at the snow. She's panting underneath me, gasping and so close to her orgasm. She pleads with me to make her come, but teasing her with playful, small touches isn't enough. I hate that I don't know how to make this work.

With a low growl of frustration, I drive my tongue into her channel as I slide my fingertip against her nub. If teasing one won't give her the satisfaction she needs, I'll give her both.

Veronica screams, her cunt clenching around my tongue as her body flexes. "Oh god! Ashtar! Oh god. Oh god!"

Her cunt is wetter than ever, and I take this as a good sign. I toy with her flesh, teasing circles around the tiny bud nestled in her folds even as I fuck her with my tongue. My own hips are bucking, my cock hitting nothing but air. It doesn't matter. Nothing matters but making her come. She clenches around me, her body rocking as if she can push herself deeper onto my tongue, and the noises she makes encourage me to keep going, to touch her with more urgency, to stroke my tongue into her even quicker than before.

"Oh," she moans, and then gives her hips a long, deep roll even as her cunt squeezes against my tongue. "Oh, Ashtar."

The way she says my name—and the flood of her sweetness on my tongue—tells me everything. With a low growl, I grab my cock and stroke it roughly. Once, twice, and then I'm coming, still lapping at her cunt, my seed coating my hand and spitting onto the ground. I'm careful to avoid her tender skin, noting the sizzle as my body's spend hits the snow. All the while, she rocks against my face, her movements leisurely and trembling as she lets out another low moan, this one of utter satisfaction.

And then she lets out a little sigh. "You know your tongue is textured like a cat's?"

I give her quivering flesh one final, possessive lick before I sit up. "Is this bad?"

"No," she says dreamily, staring off into space. "No, it was pretty damn good." She glances over at the melted snow nearby, and then at me. "You…came?"

"I could not wait any longer," I admit, cleansing my hands with a bit of snow and then rubbing it on my cock to wash off. "You were too delicious."

"Oh." She flushes prettily, her face sweaty and her hair clinging to her skin. Veronica slowly sits up, as if there's no strength left in her body, and that gives me a fierce sense of pride. "I thought we were going to continue."

"Not this day," I tell her, pulling her against me and nuzzling at her skin. "We will take our time."

"But our cooties," she protests, putting her arms around my neck. "They want us to mate."

"I want us to mate, too," I tell her, nipping lightly at her jaw. "But it does not all have to happen at once."

"I suppose not," she tells me, and snuggles against my chest.