Page 4 of Heart's Keeper

"I'm just overthinking," Lana continued. "But we can put the mission past us now. What's done is done."

"What's done is done," Xerus repeated. His hand fell to rest now on her waist. He gripped her and brought his face down to settle along the curve of her neck. He nipped her playfully, then nuzzled, his rough mouth grazing her soft skin. "And we are here now. Be with me here," he whispered in her ear.

Lana closed her eyes, her arms folding around him as she pressed her body fully to his. His rough scales grazed against her, and the heat of him enveloped her fully in his embrace. His hands moved from her waist to her back, his clawed fingers trailing down her spine, making her shiver. She let out a shudder of breath and forced her mind to focus on him and nothing else, on them together in this moment, letting the past slide away and the future be shrouded from sight. They were home, and as Xini had said, they could stay for however long they liked. No more missions for a long time.

The thought of this calmed her somewhat. She relaxed into him, kissing his shoulder and chest, tasting the droplets of water mixed with the tang of his skin. A low growl like a soft purr escaped him and she felt herself being lifted up. As she rose partially from the water, Lana clung to his shoulders and allowed him to move her across the bath in order to set her down against the pool's edge. As he led her down to lay on her back, Lana couldn't help but smile. She tugged him down to her and kissed his mouth, flicking her tongue against him, and, in response, he met her with his own, sliding partially between her teeth before retreating and lifting his head. He moved downward, and Lana felt the heat of his tongue graze against her neck and breasts, then down to her stomach. She tensed as she felt him between her thighs and let out a hiss of breath. Ever since he learned of how sensitive she was in that particular spot (and how it made her react), he favored it, delighting in how her body moved and writhed, loving the taste of her. Lana almost didn't believe him at first, but he convinced her quickly in the beginning when he put great time and care into the act. And it didn't take much to make her body burn.

Lana arched and lifted her head, a loud moan ripping from her throat as his tongue curled and flicked against her in all the right ways. She shuddered as her body throbbed, goosebumps forming along her skin. Xerus lifted his head and moved to settle back on top of her, but before he could do so, Lana sat up and gently pushed him back.

"My turn," she whispered, dipping back into the pool. She led him into a more shallow part of the bath where the water only came to his thighs. She pressed a hand between his legs and felt his cock already freed from his protective inner pocket and hardened, ready for her. She glanced down to see the length of him just above the water, curved and dark. A smirk played on her lips as she lowered herself and heard him hiss with excited pleasure. She remembered her first time going down on him and how he had crumbled after. She certainly felt like a queen then, seeing him in awe of her. Just like the first time, she grabbed the base of him and pressed her lips to his head and slid her mouth around him. Another hiss and low groan escaped him. His hands tangled in her braids, gripping her head, tail swishing behind him in anticipation. She moved on him as she had many times before and, just like those many other times, he went still, trying desperately to keep his release at bay. For all he could endure, this always defeated him.

The telltale growl and shudder of his body told her how close he was. But before he could let himself go, he released her and forced her back. "No, not like this," he said. "Not this time."

Lana looked up at him at first in surprise, then smiled and rose. Without turning away or leaving his gaze, she slowly moved to the stairs of the pool. Xerus watched her like a predator studying its prey, then followed her over, his eyes alight with fire as he met her. Lana sat herself down on the last step where the water only came up an inch, and laid herself out, resting her head on the lip of the bath. Xerus stood above, his eyes drinking her in before he lowered himself on top of her. She could feel the heavy thumping of his heart, his muscles tightening, the smooth scales of his stomach pressing against her, the heat once more consuming her. He gripped her wrists and moved her legs farther apart with his own thighs. Lana lifted her knees and hooked her feet behind him before he pressed against her and slid himself fully and deeply inside. Lana gasped, arching her back and lifting her hips. The feel of him was so familiar now it didn't faze her when he moved quickly and without pause. His hunger for release could be felt with each thrust and, with no barriers between them, Lana let herself be consumed and possessed. He gripped her hard and moved wildly against her, locking her in place though she writhed under him. Noises escaped them that neither tried to stifle. Water splashed around them unnoticed. Lana saw and felt nothing but him, and when her body tightened and shattered once more under him, he soon followed, his heat filling her. He slowed his pace as each breath came out a ragged grunt, his body shaking.

Xerus placed his weight on her just enough not to crush her. He looked down at her, making sure she wasn't hurt or uncomfortable. Besides a few cuts from his scales which she'd barely noticed, she was fine. Lana clung to him for a long moment before turning her head up to look at him.

"God, how I missed this," she said, letting out a shaky laugh. "Promise me we don't have to go away for at least a little while. That we can stay here."

"It will be so," he said in a low voice. He lowered his head, hiding his face above her. Lana lowered her arms to pat the sides of his ribs.

"When we go to the next council meeting, we will give them our report and request a pause on all outer missions," she said, petting his side. "There will be plenty of things to fix here at our own haven anyway. We focus on home now."

Xerus said nothing. Lana felt his breath slow and his heart settle back into its usual pace. He moved, slipping from her and lifting himself up so that he could meet her gaze.

For a mere second, Lana thought she caught a dark shadow in his stare, but it was quickly gone as he blinked with his inner lids and grinned down at her. "A fine plan, my queen."

He sat back beside the edge of the bath and pulled her up to cradle her against him, bringing his knees up, wrapping her in the protective sphere of his body. "We have all the time and nothing to keep us away."

Chapter Two

Though Lana would have gladly spent the rest of the day with Xerus in their room, being home didn't mean their work was over. Now off-mission, their focus lay solely on the running of their home and haven where several thousand vrisha lived. When they were away off-world, such responsibilities went to those stationed below the queen and her predomis—the head housekin. All matters were talked over and dealt with between them in the central chamber of the house. When Lana and Xerus returned and were rested enough, matters of the haven moved back to them. Anything that happened while they were away was reported to them by the housekin.

Lana made her way up to the heart of their home, expecting to meet with Xini and others to go over everything they had missed in the last year and a half. Xerus would meet up with her later to discuss their future plans. His brothers—Tyrus and Rysha—were away on separate missions but had left a message for him. Lana had only met with them a handful of times in all her years on Tryth as their missions always seemed to overlap. The brothers were more welcoming to her than she had first expected though they liked to poke fun every so often for her soft skin and “prey-like appearance," whatever that meant. Xerus said they thought she was cute—which in vrisha terms was not a compliment.

Lana remembered the mixed reactions to her arrival well enough. Some were intrigued, most were shocked, a few weren't so happy. But with Xerus' retelling of their fight from Lazris and the death of Spectre, more grew convinced and accepting, especially as time went on. As Lana learned the culture and learned to respect their ways—to think as they did and understand their world—the better her relationship with those around her became. Being the queen of a haven—a city cut into the dark mountainside along sharp rocks and twisted trees—took more time to accept, but Lana grew more comfortable with the status, especially with Xerus' help. The queen, after all, was not some all-powerful ruler but more of an overseer of the city, protecting its laws and helping to shape it into a better community. Like a mayor of a town. And her haven was not so big, not like some. It was much more manageable, and the people took a liking to her.

Lana took the last steps up to the central chamber, expecting to find a group of housekin waiting for her, but instead, she found Xini alone. When she turned to face Lana, her eyes looked troubled.

"Where are the others?" Lana asked.

"The meeting has been canceled," Xini replied. "There is someone who wishes to speak to you. A scout from a seaside haven. She has been waiting a long time and will wait no further. I tried to tell her you only just returned home and needed time but..."

Lana frowned. "Where is she now?"

"At the shipbed. I was coming down to tell you."

"What does she want?"

Xini shook her head. "She did not say but claims it is important. She came here some time ago asking for you, but you were gone on mission, so I turned her away. I could not force her to go this time. She is very insistent."

Lana's brow furrowed, and she slipped past Xini, heading down another passageway toward the shipbed. "Let Xerus know to meet me at the dock. I will meet with her."

Xini bowed her head and disappeared down another hall. Lana turned and made her way up to the shipbed located at the highest point of the haven. She climbed till she reached the tunnel entrance and saw the light of the outside at the end. Ahead, with the light of the sun, she could see a lone ship docked at the center. The rest of the shipbed was empty with her and Xerus' main ship already stored in a building across the way along with a few extras of their choosing. The closer she got, the more she could see two other housekin along with Syris talking to a female vrisha Lana didn't recognize. Her skin was a dark purplish-red, and she had a slender build, her black horns shining in the sunlight.

As Lana approached the end of the tunnel, the female saw her and stopped mid-conversation. The others looked around and bowed their heads. They stepped aside so that the lone woman could walk past and connect the distance between them.

"You are one difficult person to get a hold of, Dr. Hart," the female stated.

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