Offered to the Drake (Stand Alone tales Book 3) Read online

  “What happened when you came? I mean I felt it, I felt it for a moment, and then, it disappeared.”

  He smiled, his teeth sharp, and his eyes amused. “You absorbed it.”

  “I what?”

  “Your body took it in to work on the process of transformation. It is a very simple process.”

  She fought the urge to reach down and make sure that there was no trace of the slick substance that she had felt after he came.

  “How does that work?”

  “I honestly don’t know. The ancient didn’t tell me. She said that I knew enough to get you started, and when you were strong enough to come to her, I could bring you.”

  Billa chuckled, but he gave her a slight squeeze. “I am serious. Speaking to her for five minutes would give you what I couldn’t explain in five years. Her beast will talk to yours.”

  “How will I get the information out of her?”

  “You must let her tell you.”

  She sighed and turned, pressing her back to him. She felt a wave of fatigue wash through her, and she breathed deeply as she dozed off with her fingers twisting in her necklace.

  Billa was woken by the scent of breakfast, and she sat up slowly. “What is that?”

  “A local speciality.” Dronix carried the tray over and set it down on the bed. “Try it while it’s hot.”

  Billa looked down, and she smiled at the gemstones and then noticed that one of her bracelets was gone and one of her necklaces. She searched the sheets and frowned. “Where did it go?”

  “Ah, your other consumed them. She is using them for molecular density. You are going to need a thicker skin, so this is how you will build it. Trust me; it comes in handy while learning to jump.”

  She blinked and thought that he was insane, but then, that was par for the course. She looked at the speciality, and it seemed to be some kind of egg in a small skillet and surrounded with what appeared to be cheese. A stack of toast wedges was next to it.

  “You dip it. You take the points and dip them into the container and then eat it.”

  She smiled and reached for one of the pieces of toast. She followed directions and was soon looking at an empty skillet. She frowned. “Where did it go?”

  He grinned. “It evaporated. Don’t worry. I will tell the kitchen to double the order tomorrow.”

  She sighed. “That was surprisingly good. Thank you.”

  He nodded. “There are many pleasures here. You just need to see them.”

  Billa cocked her head. “Are you trying to sell me on the wonders of this place?”

  He shrugged. “When you complete your change, you will be able to choose a world to live on. I would like it to be this one.”

  She looked at his serious face, the eyes that were flickering between red and purple. “I will think about it.”

  He nodded. “Good answer. Did you want to see if your body has changed?”

  Billa snorted. “How could I figure that out?”

  “Simple. You test it.”

  She looked down. “I think I had better put something on then.”

  He nodded. “I am beginning to think that the offering of clothing is insufficient.”

  She held up the nearly transparent gauze. “You think so?” She laughed and got dressed. “I agree. I have a few ideas that I have seen on other worlds if you don’t mind. They are fairly simple and will allow me a little more dignity.”

  He frowned. “Will I still be able to feed?”

  “Of course. That is why I am here, after all.”

  “That is why you were brought here. Now things have changed.”

  She was wrapping the belt when she asked, “Is that a good thing or a bad thing?”

  “It is different, and the difference is fascinating.”

  He gave her a slow and approving smile, extending his hand to hers. His eyes were purple again, but he hadn’t announced anything. Perhaps she was worth waiting for.

  Chapter Six

  They soared through the sky, over the city, and out into the green and golden fields beyond. Her skirt flapped wildly, but she was finally able to turn her head toward their destination, and she wasn’t nervous as the world rushed up to greet them. Dronix landed lightly, and he chuckled. “You are getting used to jumping.”

  “I suppose. Why don’t you call it flying?”

  He grinned and rubbed her back. “Flying is done with wings. This, this is controlling the effect of gravity on your body and manipulating your body to respond to your will.”

  She reached out and touched the seed heads of the grain. “They are heavy.”

  “Yes, nearing harvest. Gravity pulls at them, and they answer. What you are going to learn is that when gravity calls, ignore it.”

  “What?”

  He smiled and took her hand, twirling her about. “You have been in space, yes?”

  “Of course.”

  “Your body floated up, and your mind panicked because it tried to remember what was up and what was down?”

  “Yes.”

  “Remember that feeling of floating, of being disconnected. Of nothing.”

  She stood facing him and closed her eyes. “Why are we doing this?”

  “When you jump, at the moment of full extension of your limbs, you need to go weightless.”

  She opened her eyes and stared at him. He was perfectly serious. She closed her eyes, and she felt him take her hands. She concentrated on feeling weightless, untethered, and free from anything within reach except him.

  Billa focused, changed her breathing, and slowly, she felt that lightness that she remembered, but this time, it was from the inside out.

  He spoke very softly to her. “You are light, floating, moving as you push away from the only things that you are touching.”

  She smiled and pushed away from him. She felt nothing now. Nothing touched her skin, and nothing held her hands.

  She was light; she was air. She opened her eyes and saw that she was forty feet up. She was falling!

  Dronix caught her with a chuckle. “That is why the skin has to toughen first.”

  She blinked, and he set her on her feet. His eyes were purple and darkening rapidly. “Did I really do that?”

  “What? Withdrew from the world so you could detach from it? Yes.”

  He stepped toward her, and she didn’t move. “Billa, I am hungry.”

  She smiled. “Next time, eat before we leave.” She hiked up her skirt and took off.

  Her run through the grain was done with increasingly longer strides. She focused on what she wanted to do, and when she pushed off, she embraced the feeling of floating. She was ten feet off the ground when the hand around her ankle caught her and pulled her downward. This time, she landed hard.

  Dronix was on her, and the strap of the gown was torn on the left side. He bit her hard, and she was stunned by the pain that kicked in before the pleasure. It hurt!

  He drank from her, and she reacted to him, but she was nowhere near climax when he withdrew. He licked the blood away and sealed the wound. “I would not recommend you running from me. My beast does not like it, and I am not fond of it either.”

  She blinked and tried to sit up. Her physical control was all over the map. “What happened just there?”

  He frowned. “I think I took too much. I will get you back to the tower, and we will replenish your fluid levels.”

  He lifted her like a broken doll and held her in his arms. He nuzzled her cheek, aimed them toward the tower, and he jumped.

  Air rushed past her, and she watched them fly through the air. It was as if her soul was numb. She blinked. She was mad! Her beast was furious.

  When he landed on the top of the tower, he opened a hatch to a stairway with his foot. Still carrying her, Dronix took her carefully back to their chamber.

  This was an odd situation. Her normal ardor had been dampened because her beast wanted to learn how to fly in this new body. She
had almost had it when Dronix had snatched it away. He needed to know.

  “She’s mad at you.”

  He settled her on the bed and blinked. “What?”

  “My beast. She is furious. She was so close to a controlled jump, and then, you pulled us back. She’s pissed.” Billa thought it was only fair to warn him.

  “Will that have an effect on our interactions?” Dronix slid his hand up her thigh.

  Billa nodded. “It is going to. If you come near us again, she is threatening to take control. I hate to say it; I think she’s a biter.”

  Dronix sat there astonished for a minute, and then, he laughed. “What would you recommend?”

  “Two things. The first is an apology. The second is that you eat before we go and experiment with fun things. Respect me and take care of yourself so that I don’t reap a detriment.”

  Her beast was quite pleased with that statement, so they waited.

  Dronix looked bewildered, and then, he inclined his head. “I apologize for allowing my hunger to gain control. It was inexcusable and has caused a rift in the growing trust between us.”

  The inner beast was satisfied, so Billa nodded. “Thank you. She accepts your apology.”

  Billa was about to say something else when all the pleasure withheld struck her and knocked her out. She just couldn’t react when her body locked up and relived the suspended sensations. She was going to have to tell her beast that it was fine to miss an orgasm now and then.

  When she was able to sit up again, her forehead was cool and wet, and she was in the bathing room. Dronix had her draped over his lap, and he was looking down at her.

  “What happened?”

  She chuckled and tried to sit up, but he held her close. “She gave me back everything she had withheld, with interest. It shorted me out.”

  He nodded. “It looked painful.”

  She shrugged. “Maybe. Maybe not. I can’t remember.”

  “How can you forget something like that?”

  She smiled. “It is the body’s way of coping. If it was painful, it remembers as a warning, but if it was pleasure, your body would remember it differently. It gives you flashes but leaves you curious enough to try it again.”

  He nodded. “Your body seems stiff. Are you uncomfortable?”

  She chuckled and sat up, pushing against his grip. “I will have a soak. That usually helps.”

  “Usually?”

  “Yeah, well, if I were on a world with a spa, I would be getting a full-body massage right now. My line of work involved a lot of muscle motion.”

  “What does a massage entail?” He cocked his head as she moved toward the tub controls.

  “Gentle and firm rubbing to ease the knotting of the muscles. Usually, there is some oil involved to ease friction between hand and flesh.”

  The water began to cascade from the ceiling as hot as she could set it. It still wasn’t hot enough, but it helped.

  He frowned. “Do you need it warmer?”

  “Yes. I have always been drawn to baths that are just this close to scalding.” She slid down until only her head was out of the water.

  He stuck his hand in, and the water started to steam. “Let me know when it is hot enough.”

  Billa’s eyes widened, and she moved the water around, smiling when it got nearly hot enough. “That is it.”

  He smiled, and his lower clothing disappeared as he lowered himself into the tub and stopped the flow of water.

  “This is nice.”

  She narrowed her eyes. “How do you do that with your clothes?”

  “It is a sub-shape. I use the same part of my brain that shifts shape to create the clothing. It was one of the first things that I learned when I changed into a two-legged form.”

  “So, that is just part of your shifting?”

  “Yes. They are a skin that I can remove or replace.”

  She narrowed her eyes. “Can I learn to do it?”

  “Eventually. It depends on how motivated your beast is. It controls the shapes you can take on.”

  She shivered, and he moved closer to her, taking her hand and lifting it free of the water. Without saying anything, he pressed his lips to her wrist, and she felt the sting before the pleasure began.

  Billa shivered, and he carefully eased her over him so that she sat astride him with her wrist facing him in front of her and his mouth firmly attached.

  The feeling of his cock squirming between her thighs still made her jump. He released her wrist and licked the wound closed. He pressed both hands to her hips, and he pushed her down while he pressed upward.

  She winced because the warm water had diluted her normal lubrication. Once he was inside, there was no issue. She moaned and draped her arms around his neck as he moved lazily inside her. As she slowly rode him, his hands stroked her back, thighs, butt, belly, anywhere he could reach.

  She enjoyed the slow climb to pleasure this time, but while she was moving with him and he was roiling inside her, she wondered idly what kind of clothing she would use as a second skin.

  He brought her attention back by biting her left breast gently, and when his tongue pierced her skin, she shivered and moaned as her body heated, and then, her skin felt the pulse in every cell.

  She gasped and chuckled. “Wait, when did the jewels disappear?”

  “While you were floating.” He smiled and kissed her softly. “You are progressing very well.”

  She smiled. “Great. My next goal will be to make my own underwear.”

  He sighed, and his cock twisted inside her. “Maybe not underwear.”

  She laughed and said, “I will look up some options. I am sure that the beast will have something to say about it.”

  “I am sure she will. I look forward to seeing what develops.”

  Billa grinned. “I don’t know about that. I have pretty eclectic tastes.”

  “I look forward to what your mind devises.”

  The water heated to barely tolerable. “I think this is going to require some thought. Maybe some drawing implements.”

  “I will get something for you. Have you chosen your beast form?”

  She pressed her forehead to his. “She knows what she is. She doesn’t need to choose.”

  He kissed her softly, and they began the slow, intimate dance again. The air was heavy with steam, and Billa was pretty sure the water was boiling before Dronix shouted in release.

  Her skin didn’t feel a thing.

  Chapter Seven

  Billa was less than excited. Dronix had some work to do on an alien world, and he had asked for her to accompany him. She was in the mouth of the beast, and her own beast was completely calm and resigned to the strange effect of lying on the tongue of her lover in her newly generated clothing, which is why she had opted to be naked for the moment.

  Billa was happy with her choice. She had based it on images of ancient goddesses. Her skirt was heavily pleated, only reached to mid-thigh, and was simply tied so that the tails of the knot hung to her knees. She could walk and bend, but the skirt was snug enough that her privates were concealed when she floated.

  Her knee-high boots were streaked with gold, and her top was a wide collar and a simple band that was tied as her skirt was. The fabric could come and go at will. Right now, she was naked so as not to get Dronix’s saliva on it.

  Holding her breath was another exercise that she was good at. She was at the two-hour mark, and when Dronix stopped moving, she curled into a ball and summoned her clothing.

  He opened his jaws, and she stood up and stepped out daintily. There were astonished aliens wearing a strange assortment of tattoos. Some were on heads, hands, foreheads, lips. There was only one large tattoo on any given person.

  A child with a stellar tattoo on her forehead came forward with a clipboard. “Lady Billa Kekx, Master Dronix, please come with me.”

  Billa looked to Dronix, and he took her hand, his beast form dismissed
for the moment.

  He had told her that her beast wouldn’t emerge for centuries, but Billa was a quick study, and her beast was a smart bitch.

  They walked through the incredibly formal hall, and that was when she realized that he had set her on top of an imperial palace. How thoughtful.

  The child was walking at an appropriate pace. Her little robes were embroidered with golden lines and a glyph that Billa was seeing around the building. She definitely worked for the royal house.

  “Dronix, what is the deal with the...” She waved at her forehead.

  “Ah, when folk are sold to the empire, their skills are assessed, and their speciality is chosen. For children, they get two years of specific schooling, and then, they take on their final tattoo and their lifelong position.”

  The little girl nodded. “Or I earn my freedom.”

  The child hadn’t turned around, but her back was straight, and she was walking evenly.

  “How long have you been in service?” Billa needed to know.

  “Two years. I finished my schooling in one year, and now, I am acting as a page for the court. Eventually, I will be an advisor to the court.”

  “What does your mark say?”

  “Speciality in off-world etiquette, Lady Billa.”

  “Thank you, miss...”

  “Juno.”

  “Thank you, Miss Juno.”

  “You are welcome, Lady Billa.”

  Billa turned to Dronix, “So, why are we here again?”

  “This world was one of the first that I guarded. They ask for minerals now and then, but the transaction must always be done face to face.” He smiled. “They have done a lot of work. Evolved pretty far.”

  “How long has it been since you were last here?”

  He frowned. “I think it has been around five hundred years. How many years has it been, Juno?”

  “Five hundred forty-three.”

  “Thank you, Juno.”

  “You are welcome, Master Dronix.”

  They continued on into the palace, and Billa and her beast added more gilding to her collar and skirt.

  It was strange that her clothing was actually skin in texture and tone selected for the occasion. Even Dronix was wearing an ankle-length robe for the occasion. It was his version of formal.