Page 7 of Bred By the Dragon

Then it’s time. I park outside the DreamTogether office, practically vibrating with my excitement. I sit in the waiting room until my name is called, studying who else is here. There’s a pretty younger woman with long, braided black hair, and we chat a little about what brought us each to DreamTogether. She had a shitty job working fast food, and wanted something better for herself. This is her first appointment, and she’s nervous and excited. I try to impart a few words of wisdom, then a clinician grabs my folder to lead me back to one of the breeding rooms.

Oh. This is different. Inside the tiled room, the usual bench has been replaced with a completely different device. This time, all I see is a massive steel table, with leather straps on the top, and a cushion right about where my ass would be if I were strapped down to it.

“I’m sorry,” the clinician says as she leads me inside. “We had to come up with a completely different design for the dragon. This will...” She trails off. “You’ll have to look at him.”

I stare at her. “What? But isn’t this all supposed to be, um, anonymous?”

She nods rapidly. “And it still will be! He won’t know your name or anything about you, besides how you look.”

I gape at the table, which is mounted on a steel column nearly a foot in diameter. It’s bolted into another steel plate on the floor.

He definitely won’t be able to destroy this.

I’m going to have to look at him. It’s a good thing I put on makeup today.

I lie down on the table, and they strap me in. For a moment, I feel like a bizarre science experiment. The cushion raises my hips up to make it easier for him to penetrate me.

I only have to wait for a minute or two before the door opens. A huge, red creature steps inside, and his yellow eyes, with long, slender pupils, widen when they see me.

“Oh.” We stare at each other, and I take in the full sight of him. He is huge, probably nine or ten feet tall not including his massive tail. His neck is long, and he has a hefty snout with flared nostrils, and spiked ridges for eyebrows. He’s bright red all over, but his throat and belly are a cream color. Softer ridges run down his back to the tip of his tail, which is now twitching behind him. He has huge wings that, folded up against his back, run from the top of his head down to the ground.

He’s standing upright on his hind legs, and he’s completely naked, but... there are no sexual organs visible on him at all. I know he has them, so where are they?

His eyes are taking me in, too, and his mouth hangs slightly open, revealing all of his sharp, white fangs. Wow. They’re long, and remind me somewhat of a velociraptor. He could tear me apart with those.

And yet, I’m not afraid at all. It’s him. It’s really him, and I can see his face, and look into his eyes.

Oh boy. This is going to be intense—I just know it.

He approaches me slowly, like I’m a prey animal he might startle if he moves too fast. A long, black tongue with a forked tip darts out of his mouth and licks along his teeth, then vanishes again.

“This is new,” he says cautiously, stopping a good six feet away. He studies me from head to foot again, and his lips tilt down. Is he unhappy with what he sees?

“Y-yeah,” I say, as heat rushes up into my face in embarrassment. Is he still going to want to do the deed now that he knows what I look like? “I think they made this custom for you.”

His lips tilt down further, and now I’m sure that I’ve disappointed him. My vision gets a little cloudy. The connection we had must be ruined for him since the seal of anonymity has been broken between us.

“They did this because of me?” he asks, voice a little choked. He shakes his head, like he couldn’t be more disappointed. I can’t stop the tear that slips free at the look on his face.

“I’m sorry,” I say, because I can’t think of anything else. “I know this isn’t what you wanted, but?—”

His eyes widen, and he steps closer to me, his frown getting even deeper. “Are you crying?” he asks, and his shorter forearms reach out towards me, and then stop mid-air. “Why are you crying?”

“Well, the whole point was that you didn’t have to look at me, and now you do, and—” I choke for a second on my words. “I understand if you want someone else now.”

Horror creeps across his long face. He rushes towards me and I cringe. My eyes squeeze closed, preparing for anything.

What I don’t expect is the single cool claw on my cheek. I crack one eye, and find the dragon gazing down at me with immense sadness on his face.

“I am...” He bites his lip with his sharp teeth. “I am incredibly grateful to finally look upon you.”

With tears still streaking down my face, I blink at him. “But you look like I kicked your dog,” I say in a shaky voice.

“I am simply shocked that they would have to do this,” he says, gesturing at the whole table. “It must have cost a lot of money to install.”

So that’s what he’s worried about? That DreamTogether had to build in some extra precautions for him? My relief must show on my face, because my dragon gently returns my smile, like he’s afraid of frightening me with the whole thing.

“I’m sure you’re paying them enough that it’s not a big deal,” I say, trying to sound bright and cheery again. “I mean, I don’t know how much this is all costing you, but it must be a lot. I think they can afford it.”

---