She was panting, her back covered in a sheen of sweat, and her pinked bottom lifting to meet the toy rather than pull away from it.

"Patience." He twisted the plug before inserting it a little deeper. "Hold it until I say you can come."

When the toy was fully inside, Marina was shaking with the effort not to come.

"Good girl," he said as he removed his clothes.

Stroking himself, he angled his shaft at her opening, coating it in her juices but not pushing in. She could take him with the plug inside; they had done that before, but he knew that the moment he entered her, she would climax, and it would be over in moments. He could go again, but if he bit her, she would pass out from his bite, and there was no way he would be able to hold back on that.

He wasn't ready to end the play yet.

Pulling back, he delivered a few more light smacks to her bottom, which, in addition to the plug, would overwhelm her enough to pull her away from the brink.

He rubbed his tip against her wetness again, coating himself before pumping into his fist a few times as he pushed two fingers into her sheath.

"Peter…" she whispered.

Unable to hold back any longer, he pulled his fingers out and replaced them with the tip of his arousal. "Hold on for just a little bit longer," he said through protruding fangs.

With the plug inside of her, he needed to go slow and make sure she was okay with the double penetration.

Marina's breaths were coming out fast and shallow, so he slowed down even more. "Breathe, Marina."

When a moment later she seemed to breathe normally, he pushed in a little further, the plug in her other channel making her feel incredibly tight.

As a mewling sound escaped Marina's lips and her sheath convulsed around his shaft, he pushed all the way in and hissed, "Come for me, Marina."

He managed a few more pumps before the need to bite her became impossible to ignore. Gripping her hair, he pulled her head back and sank his fangs into her vein.

She climaxed again and again, and as he retracted his fangs and licked the puncture wounds closed, she blacked out, going limp under him.

He pulled out, making a mess over her ass, and repositioned her so she was entirely on the bed before he pulled out the plug.

Taking it to the bathroom, he dropped it in the sink for proper scrubbing. He wetted several washcloths in warm water, then returned and carefully cleaned her.

Peter considered returning to the bathroom and cleaning the toy, but it could wait. Lying beside Marina and holding her close was much too tempting to resist. He gathered her close, buried his face in the silken curtain of her hair, breathed in the sweet, familiar scent of her, and drifted off on his cloud of bliss.

65

ARU

As the afternoon sun dipped lower in the sky, casting long shadows across the rocky terrain, Aru glanced at his watch. He had twenty-five minutes until the queen arrived at the Oracle's temple, and he could ask her what to do about the discovery of the royal twins.

With a sigh, he pushed to his feet and stretched his back. He'd spent hours hunched over, using hand tools to pry off components from the pod that he probably could do nothing with. Even seven thousand years ago, most were in a solid state.

"I need a break," he told Dagor. "I'm going to head up top and get some air."

Dagor nodded. "Take your time. I'll keep going at it."

Aru clapped his friend on the shoulder and walked over to the ropes. The climb up was so practiced by now that he did it in a couple of minutes, and when he crested the top, he wasn't even sweaty. The air was so arid that sweat evaporated as fast as it was created.

The crisp mountain air hit him like a physical force, the chill wind whipping at his face and his clothes. And yet the sun was shining brightly with no cloud in sight. Aru squinted against the glare, his eyes adjusting to the brightness after so long in the dimly lit confines of the cavern.

He made his way to the plateau's edge, the sound of his boots crunching on the loose gravel almost indiscernible over the shrieking of the wind.

There, perched on a weathered boulder that offered a stunning view of the valley below, Aru closed his eyes and reached out with his mind, opening a channel to his sister.

There was only silence for a moment, the vast emptiness of the mental landscape stretching out before him. But then, like a candle flaring to life in the darkness, he felt the warmth of her presence filling his mind.