Page 78 of Dark Space
‘Not yet,’ I said, closing my eyes. ‘Not yet. Why are good dreams always too quick?’
‘So I should work on my stamina?’ Alcide said dryly.
‘No!’ I protested, at the same time Vesper said: ‘Yes, obviously. Both of you should.’
Anna laughed softly, then buried her face in my chest.
‘Glad to see claiming hasn’t changed you, Vesper.’ Alcide took my chin and gave me a slow, drugging kiss. ‘I’m going to pull out, Cal. I don’t want to make you sore.’
‘I rather think he’dliketo be sore,’ Vesper observed, watching my face flush.
I narrowed my eyes at him, but it was true. I wanted my body to remember every thrust, every grip of fingers, every nip and bite.
‘What do we do now?’ Anna said, her voice muffled.
Alcide ran his hand down my body, his fingers circling the base of my still-hard cock, my scales rippling against Anna’s internal walls. ‘We have a shower and we find whatever food Darius brought for us,’ he answered, his fingers tightening, ‘and then we do that again.’
I’d been interested tosee how Callan and Alcide would navigate sharing Anna, but as it turned out, I had nothing to be concerned about. They shared her with an almost strict equity, swapping her between the two of them so naturally it was as if they’d been doing it for years. I wondered how long it would be before they realised they didn’t have to swap – that they could share hertogether– but thought that was rather Anna’s business, and I wasn’t about to offer the idea if she hadn’t mentioned it.
I’d assumed I’d be jealous, watching them, but the most consuming thing this body felt was desire. Even though the dark matter chain was gone, I’d kept the same form, knowing they liked it, but it was easier to wear now that I could eat again, and it felt comfortable in a way that only my trueform had felt before. Now that I could move properly, I liked the way my limbsfelt, the way my skin could touch and be touched, the way my stomach tightened with hunger when I watched Anna and my Roth. My body was shinier, now; no matter how hard I tried, I wasn’t able to contain the glow coming from beneath my skin. Anna glowed, too, the light at her core so bright I was surprised the Roth couldn’t see it. Their lights glowed in response, reaching out to her, and tome, something I’d never seen before; I’d thought it was only starlings who glowed for their partners. I loved watching it, watching the way that the Roth would brighten the moment they stepped into the same space as Anna, lighting up the dark.
I assumed I’d have to wait a few weeks for them to remember I was there, but I didn’t mind. I was more than two millennia old; a handful of days was nothing. Especially when I had so many delicious things to watch.
But I hadn’t counted on my little lodestar.
I hadn’t gone back to sleep with the others, just closed my eyes and rested my back against the head of Alcide’s ridiculous bed. When a small body curled around me, I gave a contented purr, then froze when her hand began to stroke across my stomach and move down.
Anna didn’t speak, just straddled my thighs and pulled the blanket to pool around her waist. I’d expected her to be tentative, but she was confident and sure, taking my rapidly-hardening cock in hand and stroking my shaft, then running the pad of her thumb over my sensitive head. The feeling was exquisite, and I gave myself fully into her control, letting her play with me however she pleased, her arousal dampening my thighs. She toyed with my cock until I was painfully hard and gasping beneath her, rocking slightly as she whimpered under her breath. I hadn’t known this form could experience such strong sensations. I had to hold on with all my willpower as shebent and flicked her tongue over my head, then swallowed me further, her lips sliding back and forth over my shaft.
When she rolled a condom over me, positioned herself, and sank down, my throat released a sound I hadn’t known my body was capable of making. I hadn’t fucked another being in months, and I’d never known a human; the way her internal muscles clenched my cock as she moved sent pleasure striking up my spine. She was almost divinely hot, and my body responded, heating up beneath her until sweat beaded on her chest and trailed over the delicious swell of her breasts.
Her efforts eventually woke Alcide and Callan, who watched with heavy eyes as she rode me, then put some kind of oil to good use as they trapped their cocks between each other’s hard bodies and left a glorious mess of sweat and cum smeared across both their stomachs. Anna barely noticed, too intent on her own pleasure as my fingers found her clit and I worked her as she moved, so I resolved to make them repeat the performance another time, when she could watch how beautiful they looked together, how strong and powerful and savage. I held on as Anna reached her climax, barely making it through her hot core milking my cock with strong pulses, then lifted her off me before the pleasure in my body concentrated at the base of my spine and I came. I was glad I did; my cum dissolved the strange plastic sheath – as I’d suspected it might – and I was left with a mess to clean up. I dissolved and re-formed to deal with it before I realised that Anna hadn’t seen my trueform properly before, and I was greeted with a shocked gasp when I dropped back onto the bed.
‘Um,’ she said breathlessly. ‘Vesper, was that … Was thatyou?’
I nodded curtly, feeling uncomfortably vulnerable. It wasn’t a feeling I was well-acquainted with – vulnerability was another emotion a thief couldn’t afford – and I couldn’t say I enjoyed it. ‘I’m sorry if I frightened you.’
She shook her head. ‘I was just surprised,’ she said, reaching up to stroke my cheek. ‘You’re lovely. You look like the sky.’
I stared at her. ‘Stars, Anna,’ I said at last. ‘I think I’m definitely in love with you.’
Callan snorted. ‘You think?’
I raised my eyebrow at him, then voiced something I’d been thinking about but hadn’t yet raised, not wanting to spoil the fun. ‘How does this work when we get to Scytha? I’m assuming not all Roth will be as accepting ofthis–’ I waved a hand to encompass the bed and the naked beings lying on it ‘– as the ones currently on board.’
Alcide took a deep breath. ‘I’ve been considering that.’ He rolled onto his back and stared at the ceiling, rubbing his temples. His hair was flowing in all directions and he was somehowmorehandsome like that, relaxed and messy and clearly well-fucked. ‘The first option is that we hide it. It’s the easiest way, and the way I like least. Anna is my Queen, Callan continues as my pilot, and Vesper pretends to be –’
‘Your security advisor,’ I said, nodding seriously.
Anna made a strangled sound into a pillow.
Alcide tried not to laugh. ‘Certainly. That sounds … believable. We pretend to be professional, and everything else is hidden.’ He paused. ‘Second – wedon’thide it. We don’t even try. We let Scytha deal with the fact that its King is … is …’ He cast about. ‘I don’t even know the word for it. Our language doesn’t evenhaveone.’
‘You don’t need to explain yourself, Cide,’ Anna said softly. ‘Youare the only being who needs to be comfortable with it. And if you need a word to be comfortable, then we can find you one.’
‘I’ll always need to explain myself,’ Alcide said, his expression turning stiff. ‘For everything I do.’
‘Then explain once, and ignore the rest,’ Callan said, wrapping his arms around Alcide’s waist and nuzzling his neck. ‘When youtake the throne, announce it, and move on. A fresh start, Cide. A blank slate. A new Scytha with a new King, a new Queen, and two consorts. I don’t want any official title – I want to be what I have always been.’
