The Dracons' Woman (8 page)

“No, not a prank,” Garen replied.  “Nor is it a system malfunction, or an error.”

“But according to this, we have had nearly five thousand incoming vid-calls in just the past few hours,” Val said, his tone expressing the shock and disbelief Trey was feeling.  “How is that even possible?”

Garen sighed.  “Evidently they are not actual calls.  They are mostly messages.”

“Messages?” Trey asked.  “These are all from off-planet?”

“No,” Garen replied.  “They are all local.”

“I thought if it was local, it was a call.  Real time.”

“So did I,” Garen said dryly.

Trey frowned.  “So, what is the difference between a call and a local message?”

“My question exactly,” Garen replied.  “A local message is when the sender records what he wants to say and sends it, not giving the recipient the opportunity to blast him off the system for his unwanted advice.”

“Oh,” Val said.  “Sounds like the news is out that we have found our Arima.”

Garen nodded.  “Yes, and every unmated male-set on the planet has advice on how we should handle her.”

Trey growled, but Garen waved his hand at him.  “It is not what you think Trey,” he said.  “I too was furious at first.  But after listening to a few of the messages, I realized that their concerns are, in truth, founded.”

“Please explain,” Trey said, trying hard not to snap at his older brother.

“It is known that Lariah is both our Arima, and human,” Garen replied.  “The hope of our people is that where there is one such female, others may also be found.  But, as she is human, there is a debate over how the situation should be handled and the possible consequences if mistakes or errors are made.”

Trey nodded.  “I understand,” he said finally.  “If we were the ones standing on the outside, we would want those involved to go slowly and carefully.  Too much is at stake.”

“At the same time, Lariah is a person,” Val said.  “While I agree that we must go slowly and carefully, I also admit that my desire to do so is based more on my concern for her than for anyone else.”

Garen nodded in agreement.  “Yes, I feel the same.  Lariah is, herself, of the utmost importance to me.  But, at the same time, I understand the concerns of the others.  Our race has waited three thousand years for this moment.  We cannot deny them their voice.”

“No, we cannot,” Trey agreed.  “But our first duty is to our Arima.”

“Agreed,” Garen said at once.  “As I told Riata, we will wait until more is known before changing her in any way.  That is the only promise I am willing to make at this time.”

“In the meantime, we need to begin telling her about ourselves, and our history,” Val said. 

Trey frowned.  “So soon?” he asked.  “What if she reacts badly?  We have seen and heard enough to know that most human women have a very difficult time accepting that information.”

Garen nodded.  “True enough,” he agreed.  “But, it has to be done.  We need to begin soon.  If she reacts badly, then we will have that much more time to help her come to terms with it all.”

Trey sighed.  “Yes, I agree as well,” he said finally.  He glanced at the vid screen and noted that several hundred more messages had arrived while they were talking.  “What are you going to do about this?” he asked, gesturing toward the vid screen.

Garen shrugged.  “I have already contacted the council and requested that they assign someone to respond to the messages on our behalf.  I indicated that our time would be better spent with our Arima.  They agreed.”  Garen hesitated, set his jaw and continued.  “They also felt it necessary to warn us against pressing Lariah into a sexual relationship too quickly.”

Val and Trey stared at him, stunned not only by the council’s presumption in commenting on such a personal matter, but also by Garen’s apparent acceptance of it.  Garen met their surprised gazes with one of mixed regret and determination. 

“Our request to the council that Riata be fully informed of our history and brought in to work with the Elders to aid us in this matter has been granted.  When asked, Riata told them what she told us about Lariah’s injuries.  They are concerned that Lariah has not yet recovered from her trauma, and that placing pressure on her of any kind would be unwise.” 

Garen’s face hardened.  “I must agree with them in this.  We allowed our lust and our pheromones to rule our actions.  I know that Lariah was neither afraid nor unwilling.  Nevertheless, we did not put our Arima’s health and well being first, and in that, we failed her.”

Val and Trey both hung their heads.  It had been less than 24 hours since they had been graced with the miracle of Lariah, and already they had proved themselves unworthy of her.

“I know how you feel,” Garen said.  “I too feel that way.  In our defense, it has been centuries since any of us have felt physical desire, and she is so beautiful, so perfect for us sexually, and we were so unprepared to see her…”  Garen trailed off.  Just thinking of his first sight of her standing in the bathtub that morning made him so hard he hurt.  He cleared his throat and forced his thoughts back to the moment.  “What is done is done, and I do not believe that we caused her harm.   However, we need to be more careful from now on, and remember to put her first, not ourselves.”

Val and Trey nodded in agreement as they raised their heads and straightened their shoulders.  It helped to remember that Lariah had greatly enjoyed their encounter that morning, though that did not make either of them feel excused from what they had done. 

Garen flipped a switch, turning the vid screen off.  Then the three of them sat and began planning how best to proceed with their Arima, and the many problems that they were now faced with.

Lariah awoke feeling more rested than she had in weeks, the light coming in through the windows indicating that it was late in the afternoon.  She had slept the day away.  She got out of bed and went into the bathroom, feeling her face heat as she thought of what she had done right there in that spot just that morning.  She shivered a bit at the memory.  Who knew such feelings were even possible?  She had no idea how many times she had climaxed, or even how many times each of the Dracon brothers had licked her…well…done what they had done.  She blushed just thinking about it.

  She immediately chastised herself.  “Honestly Lariah,” she told herself sternly, “you are a grown woman, not a child.  You can at least
think
the word ‘pussy’ even if you can’t say it out loud.”

 Shaking her head at herself she walked past the tub and stepped into the shower.  As she stood beneath the spray, letting the delightfully hot water run over her body, she thought more about what had happened that morning, and how she felt about it. 

She had always fantasized about visiting Jasan and having three men of her own.  It wasn’t something she had shared with anyone before, but it wasn’t really a taboo either.  There were a lot of different planets, a lot of different peoples with different customs.  Three men with one woman wasn’t really all that far out there.  But the other fantasy she had always had, the one where she was submissive with three men…ah…now that was taboo.  At least, for a woman of 26
^th
Century Earth it was taboo.  She had never dared tell anyone that particular fantasy. 

Somehow though, even knowing it was taboo, it had always seemed right to her.  This morning it had certainly felt right.  Garen, Val and Trey had seemed excited by her reactions to them.  Reactions that she had not expected of herself.  But she had enjoyed them.  And if that was wrong, well, too bad.  One thing she had learned the hard way was that her life could be ended at any time.  The worst part of having to face that had been having to face her long list of regrets.  Regret that she had never fallen in love, that she would never have children and a family of her own.  Regret that she had lived her life in books and dreams, never daring to reach out and try to make them real.  Always afraid of what others might think of her, whether or not they would approve of her.  Now she knew just how quickly her life could be taken from her, and once it was gone, there was no going back.  She was going to enjoy whatever life handed her while she still could. And if others didn’t like it, well, they had their own lives to live.  This one was hers and she needed to live it to please herself.

That decision made, she shampooed her hair, rinsed off and stepped out of the shower.  She took her time combing out her hair, glad that she didn’t have to put that horrid wig back on again.  She rummaged through her bag, wrinkling her nose at the oversized jeans and shirts she had been wearing as a sort of disguise.  She didn’t want to wear them again, but she didn’t have much else to choose from.  Finally she pulled on a soft gray t-shirt and matching shorts that she usually slept in.  They weren’t really pajamas; she just used them for sleeping since she didn’t have any pajamas.  She looked at herself in the mirror and sighed.  The clothes weren’t exactly flattering, but they were better than the alternative.  They would just have to do.

She left the bathroom and crossed the bedroom to the door, pausing to screw up her courage.  Once more she chastised herself.  All three men had seen her naked for goodness sake.  They had…well…she hesitated for a moment, then mentally braced herself.  “They licked my pussy.”  There, she thought.  She had, at least, thought it to herself.  She didn’t think she could actually say it out loud yet, but she had to start somewhere.

In the end, it was the delicious aroma of food wafting through the house that drew her through the door and down the hall, her stomach rumbling with hunger. She couldn’t even remember the last time she had eaten, but she knew it had been at least one day, probably two. 

She reached the end of the hallway and found herself in a gigantic living room.  The furniture was large and cushy, shelves of what appeared to be real books lined the walls, and small tables were set near the sofas and chairs, each with its own lamp, several of them glowing with soft, warm light.

She saw a couple of halls leading out of the room to her right and a door straight ahead, but she turned left toward the smell of food and the low murmur of voices.  The voices stopped the second she stepped through the doorway into another large room.  This was a dining room and, like the other rooms she had seen so far, it was quite large with high ceilings and larger than usual furniture suited to the larger than usual men who lived here. 

Val and Garen were placing dishes on the table as Trey stepped out of the kitchen carrying a large steaming platter of thick steaks.  He placed the platter in the middle of the table and turned to her.

 “We were just about to come and get you,” he said as he walked toward her and casually bent to kiss her on the forehead.  “Hungry?” he asked.

She nodded her head emphatically, her skin tingling lightly where he had kissed her.  “Very hungry,” she replied, her stomach picking that moment to rumble loudly. 

“How long since you have eaten?” he asked as he placed a hand lightly on her back and guided her to a chair at the table. 

Lariah shrugged as she took her seat.  “I’m not sure,” she said honestly. “A day or so I guess.”

The effect her words had on the men was immediate.  They all stilled, their eyes meeting over her head.  “We must apologize to you
sharali
”, Garen said.  “We should have fed you long before now.  We are not doing a very good job of caring for you.”

Lariah frowned. “I am an adult,” she said finally, “I take care of myself.  And I am not your job.”

 It was Garen’s turn to frown, but Lariah did not want to argue so she decided to change the subject.  She had been meaning to ask a question anyway, and this seemed like a good time to do it.

“What does
sharali
mean,” she asked curiously.  “You keep calling me that.”

Garen’s frown disappeared, replaced with one of those warm smiles that lit up his face and made her breath catch in her throat.  “It means
precious one
,” he replied.

“Oh,” she replied in a small voice, dropping her eyes to the plate in front of her.  It was the first time anyone had used an endearment to her since her mother had died, and it both surprised and touched her.  She could feel all three men staring at her, trying to gauge her reaction.  Well, she thought, they were just going to have to wonder because, honestly, she didn’t know herself how she felt about it.

After a long silence Garen reached for her plate and carefully selected a steak for her from the big platter.  The uncomfortable moment past, she raised her eyes and watched as Garen handed her plate to Val.  With equal care, Val placed what she guessed might be vegetables on her plate.  Trey took the plate and scooped up a healthy serving of an unfamiliar dish before setting it back on the table before her.  Lariah waited as the men served themselves, her stomach rumbling again as the delicious aromas rose from her plate.  Some of the food was unfamiliar, but it smelled heavenly. 

“Eat,” Garen urged as he took a seat and picked up his own eating utensils.  Lariah didn’t need to be told twice.  She picked up the slightly odd two tined fork and dug in.  She was happy to discover that the food tasted as good as it smelled.  The vegetables tasted like carrots, though they were blue instead of orange, and the hot dish tasted like potatoes and cheese, though it was a soft, pastel green.  The steak was perfect, and tasted better than any she had ever had.