"Then we had best get back to the resort. Why did you open a resort here anyway?" She looked around idly, finding flickers of her clothing and shoes for retrieval.
"Resorts in remote areas can be very lucrative. They also can demand secrecy and a certain amount of privacy to maintain exclusivity. It was easiest for me to set up the facilities and let the Vendu run it. They are well paid and it gets them out of the Mordichai cluster."
She nodded and lifted his hand to her lips, pressing a slow kiss into the palm. "As much as I would love to remain here, there is the danger of imminent attack. We had best address that as quickly as possible."
He groaned and got to his feet, pulling on his trousers and boots while she struggled to right and refasten her minimal wardrobe.
"Who designed these clothes?" she finally got the blouse closed and the skirt to sit where it should.
"They were in a sketchbook that I left for the Vendu. They must have taken it upon themselves to create them for you."
Raine promised the staffers a few choice words when the threat was over. Lingerie could be very sexy. It just slowed the males down a little but speeded them up at the same time. How could that be a bad thing?
Once dressed, she hopped back into his arms and they flew back across the open water toward the coastline.
As they were once again over land, she whispered, "Next time, I start the discussion. I have a few questions I wish to ask certain parts of your anatomy."
She had to hold on tight as he figured it out and almost dropped her on the ceiling of the arboretum.
The smile she hid came as soon as the panic was over. Conversations with a Drai could be far more entertaining than she had ever imagined.
Chapter Seven
The window to her bedroom was standing open and Minya backed out the door as Orell flew through the opening. Raine flinched, pulling her arms and legs in as they cleared the window frame.
A bath was drawn and waiting.
"Do you think they figured it out?" Raine felt a fleeting bit of embarrassment before she untied her top and peeled off the excuse for a skirt that she was wearing. She was out of practice when it came to sex and sex with a Drai was exhausting.
She sat on the edge of the tub and frowned at the laces of her sandals. They were fighting her fingers and she really wanted to soak her sore muscles in that tub.
Orell knelt at her feet. "Let me. Yes, I am pretty sure that they figured it out. The energy pulse that ran through the crystal would have shivered the walls of the resort. Is that a problem?"
"Yes. No. I have no idea. It seems like it should be, but I am too tired to care." She smiled up at him and he ran his palm along her thigh as he pulled her laces free with a flick of his claw. She hadn't seen much of those claws while his hands were on her, but she had to admit that they were handy.
"Take a bath. I will have a meal brought to you." He smiled and as she slipped into the water, he untied her hair. "Have you actually looked at your implants since Fixer altered them?"
She stifled her groan as the water burned the lightly abraded skin between her thighs. "No. I didn't see a mirror. I will check them later when I go through the wardrobe and find a dress with more than a meter of fabric."
He laughed. "I will try to remember your penchant for covering up. The clothing I selected was merely a whim. While I appreciate, deeply, how you looked in today's selection, if we are flying anywhere, it is highly impractical."
If her look could have scorched him into a cinder, she would have. Her glare was all she was going to use, the sting of the water was wearing off and it felt wonderful to be surrounded by supporting heat.
He chuckled and walked to the door. Minya must have been on the other side of the doorway because he stood, murmured for a moment and then walked toward the tub, stripping as he moved.
He slipped into the water next to her and after he settled his wings, he pulled her onto his lap. "Hold still. I used to be pretty good at this."
Orell started a strong massage on her shoulders that elicited a groan from her throat. She scooted down until her shoulders were under the water and braced her arms on either side of his thighs. The scraping prod against her spine was ignored as his fingers worked magic on her tension.
"Orell, why did you become a sleeper? There really aren't any good records that explain it." She moaned lightly as he worked down her spine one millimetre at a time.
"You are familiar with the Drai and their relatively isolationist attitude?"
"I suppose so. The only travelling Drai I have heard of have been sleepers."
"Right. Generations ago, a woman came to Drai in a hail of light and fire. Her name was Cynthia and she was a Terran."
Raine tried to look back at him, but he held her in place as if he didn't want her to see his face. "You are kidding."
"I am not. She was one of you and after she landed, she found and became the mate of one of our greatest generals, Rokil Wingart. They were happy, but Cynthia was a little stressed by the knowledge that she carried. Apparently, she had not only found her way to our little interdicted planet, but she had travelled through time to get there.
"At her direction, Rokil summoned over two dozen Drai and asked them if they knew about the future that Draikyn scientists were projecting for their race. Everyone knew that the interdiction had been put into effect in an effort to keep our blood from diluting, but what Cynthia told us chilled us to the bone. The efforts did not work. Our race would lose the ability to shift into our battle form in a matter of three generations.
"Three men walked out, ignoring what was being said, but Cynthia outlined what she had learned in her own time that her race was compatible with ours and held a chance for a stronger bloodline to emerge in the future. Drai would have a future, but only if they moved outside their own world and waited for their own mates to come to them."
She had to ask. "Why did the men agree?"
"None of the men had found their mates amongst the Draikyn and all were already over one hundred fifty years old without so much as a dream about a woman of their own race. They were willing to try anything and finding another world to sleep on until their woman found them was no worse than the endless rounds of balls and introductions to females who inevitably chose someone else." He dug his fingers into her lower back and she arched and moaned as the knots he had created earlier melted under his touch.
"That sucks."
"It does. Now, let me finish. Twenty-four men agreed to fight their way off the surface and to take their place in the stars. We sold everything to get our stakes in the stars and I purchased Yosh. I set up the resort, built the home for my mate in Drai tradition and burrowed under the surface to sleep with only a tenuous psychic link to my home. Five years ago, I woke and I have been trying to get you close enough to test our compatibility since the moment you finished your basic training." He was massaging her thighs now.
"So, when did you start dreaming of me?"
She let him pull her up so that her back was against his chest, his erect cock pressed between them and throbbing against her spine.
"I saw your energy over a hundred years ago and it filled me with hope."
"How long would you have waited for me if I hadn't appeared just now?"
"Drai can sleep for thousands of years in our other forms but few ever try. I would have waited a few more centuries until I lost patience. Dragons are good at patience." His hands took on a more caressing aspect as he worked his fingers between her thighs to stroke her folds.
She squirmed and froze as the door opened to admit Minya. The woman efficiently laid out a number of dishes on the table and scowled at Orell. "Don't tire her out, sir. She hasn't been sleeping well."
He withdrew his fingers with a sigh and wrapped his arms around Raine. "Thank you for the reminder. What is the status on the Baku?"
"They will be here in twelve hours. You had better allow her some rest, sir, or she won't be able to participate in our defence." The tone from the older woman was implacable. She wasn't going anywhere until Orell agreed to let Raine sleep.
He nodded. "I will help her finish her bath and make sure she gets food before she goes to sleep. Have the others prepped for a fight and make sure that everyone is fed and well rested."
"As you wish, sir."
"Thank you, General. Dismissed."
He nodded and Minya reluctantly left, closing the door behind her.
Relaxed and fairly aroused, she turned in Orell's arms. "So, you really are not going to make the next move?"
He sighed and stood, the rush of water cascading from both of them as he kept his grip on her. "No. We are going to have dinner and then you are getting some sleep. Depriving yourself of a good night's sleep for the sake of pleasure is a lovely idea but not when lives are at stake."
She sobered abruptly. "Right. I forgot. Let me get a robe on and we can discuss the plan of defence over dinner."
He helped her steady herself on the tile and stepped out next to her, his muscles gleaming and cock beckoning. She closed her eyes for a moment before she grabbed a towel and dried herself. When her body had gone from wet to damp, she slid on a robe and cruised past Orell.
She sat at the table and watched him try to dry his back for a moment before he seemed to get frustrated. He opened his wings and flapped them vigorously, rising a few feet off the ground and sending gusts of air in Raine's direction. When he felt he was dry enough, he wrapped a towel around his hips and joined her at the table.
She served him two-thirds of each bowl and platter, keeping one-third for herself before she began forking up everything on the porcelain.
When she had sated her immediate hunger, she smiled. "So, Orell, what is the plan?"
He swallowed, dabbed his lips with a napkin and grinned. "You will man the remotes and I will take care of any ships that make it through the guns. The ground crews are ready and arming for any that make it through our defences."
"You have Vendu military officers serving as bell boys and aestheticians?"
He chuckled. "Yes. They were happy to have this as an assignment after years of service to their government. I made the deal before I slept and it has been considered a form of retirement or active-family, friendly duty for the Vendu. They suck at space warfare, but they are very good with guns on the surface."
"I was unaware of that."
He nodded and picked up a vegetable stick. "It's a little-known fact. Anyway, finish your food and then get into bed."
She shivered at the heat in his tone. "It won't do any good. I can't sleep here. Something keeps waking me and that static was driving me nuts."
"The static is gone and I will make sure that nothing wakes you. Now, go to sleep, Raine."
There was something in his tone, but before she had a chance to analyze it, his face swam in her vision.
She was suddenly, totally exhausted. Raine felt herself listing to one side and was unsurprised when Orell caught her.
She focussed as he carried her to the bed and slid the robe from her with gentle hands. She raised her head and glared at him with squinted eyes. "Don't let me sleep through the battle."
His soft chuckle matched the caress on her forehead as he tucked her in and a soft lullaby played in her mind. "I promise you will be there with me."
She let the music, physical satisfaction and exhaustion pull her under. "Good. See you on game day."
"Yes, you will."
His dark chuckle and the soft kiss was the last thing she heard and felt as she let her mind be carried away to a well-deserved rest.
Tomorrow, they would blow some shit out of the sky. She needed her beauty sleep.
Chapter Eight
A warm hand stroked her spine, pulling her gradually out of the lovely dream she had been having. Naked limbs, heat and wings above her had rocked her sleep from restful to stimulating.
"They are an hour away, Raine. Time to wake up and get ready for the battle."
She opened her eyes and noticed that Orell was only wearing trousers. "Where is your shirt?"
"Fixer is creating some clothing for me that will shift as I do, but since that hasn't happened, I will be shifting in the raw. Come on, Raine, get up."
She levered herself up out of the fluffy pillows and glared at him while doing an interior check for morning breath. Deciding to err on the side of caution, she slid out of bed and pattered to the lav without giving him a morning kiss.
She finished the call of nature and then wandered over to the sink to scrub her teeth. Her hair was still pulled up in her ponytails, but she tidied it before wandering back into the bedroom where Orell was going through her wardrobe.
"These should be suitable for you. Nice and concealing." His grin as he held up the gown and matching boots was slightly lecherous but otherwise well meaning.
She frowned but slid into the open-sided gown, tying the small strings that held it in place. It was opaque and wouldn't flip around, but the gown was so faithful to her skin that it didn't need to tease. Everything was on display for anyone who cared to look.
The thigh-high boots in a matching burnished bronze completed the outfit.
She raised one eyebrow as she faced him with her hands on her hips. "We are
so
going to have a discussion about what is considered appropriate."
He grinned and came forward to place his hands over hers on her hips. "I like it, but I conceded your point. Perhaps horny and hopeful male Drai should not be given free reign to design gowns."
Raine looked down at the burnished bronze gown, the deep-vee neckline combined with the open sides held by a series of small strings running up and down her rib cage to complete their journey over her hips. It wasn't so much a gown as two pieces of fabric that collided by chance.
"Shall we join our troops?" He gallantly shifted to offer his arm to her.
Grimacing, she took his arm and let him lead her back to the reception hall. Every Vendu on the planet was there, armed, armoured and seriously ready to defend their home.