Page 27 of The Naga Inventor's Clever Mate

When I raised myself on my arms above her, she flung her legs eagerly around my hips, meeting my searching cock so eagerly, so sweetly, that I nearly lost all control. When I sank into her tight clutch, it was like fire bursting through my veins. It was like coming home. I was, without a doubt, an idiot for thinking I could ever stay away and that staying away was the right thing to do. I vowed I’d make up for it, make sure she still received every missed drop of pleasure.

“You are mine now, Min-Ji. Forever. I love you,” I groaned when she squeezed me tighter and tighter. She shattered first, her pleasure cresting when I pressed deep and rubbed her just right with the agile tips of my cock. Her grip was snug like a vise, and I couldn’t hold back, couldn’t stop the seed that erupted from me in hard bursts. It filled her, filled my tiny mate to overflowing, and gushed out around my cock. It coated my scales and her skin, and I was tempted to rub it in, mark her even deeper with my scent.

Then she gave me a challenging stare, slid her fingers down between our bodies, and brought some of the glistening white seed back up. My chest grew tight, my cock kicked hard inside her snug grasp, threatening to burst again. She brought that tiny taste of me to her mouth, her pink tongue darting out as she tasted it. It was my undoing. She knew what that would cause—the heat, the mating fever it aroused in humans—and she did it anyway.

***

Min-Ji

My body was already on fire for him, nowhere near satisfied after two orgasms. It was a gamble, but I’d heard too many whispers from the mated girls at Haven not to want to try this. Just a single drop, licked from my finger after that heated clash, and it was more than enough to turn that heat into a conflagration.

Corin’s eyes flared with light, silver fire glowing at me in the cozy twilight inside our tent. His cock grew even harder inside of me, the split end twisting and curling against my walls. He loved this, and as the heat grew hotter and my body grew slicker, I knew I’d love every minute too.

First, he fucked me again, just as we were. And when we came together, it wasn’t enough. He rolled us, pulling me on top of him, and this time I rode him. Watching avidly as his eyes locked onto the bounce of my breasts with each collision of our hips. This differed from before, hotter, harder. Much more compelling. I was ruled by the desire to have him, to take his seed as many times as he could give it to me. They were right; this was mating heat, all because I’d tasted him.

Delirious with desire, with the happiness that preceded this moment, with being his, I felt no inhibitions—nothing held me back. I shouldn’t have risked more, but when Corin pulled out, seed gushing onto the furs and my legs, I turned and licked his intriguing cockhead, tasting him at the source. He smelled so good, like caramelized popcorn—like salt and sweetness combined.

We weren’t going to come out of this tent for a long, long while.

Chapter 21

Corin

My mate was still sleeping in our furs; furs I’d replaced early this morning so they’d be dry and warm while she rested. I couldn’t regret any of our wild matings, and I certainly wanted her to taste my seed again so we could experience passion like that, but it had exhausted her. This wasn’t the best time or place for her to be anything less than at her best. Despite my bold words, the Queencouldchallenge her, and that would be deadly. Deadly unless I leveled the playing field.

Min-Ji would be safe inside the tent, but I needed to check on Reid and find out what Asizza was up to. I didn’t trust that yesterday was the end of it. I also needed to find out what the elder Shamans and my teachers thought of the confrontation. I hadn’t meant to start one right in front of the younglings. That wasn’t right.

Triff was sitting at the flap of our tent, hibernating with his shimmering energy panels aimed at the first rays of the sun peeking over the edge of the woods. He hummed merrily when he noticed me, shaking off his sleep mode and reaching out to brush my tail with his polishing disks. “Thanks,” I said to him. “Can you keep watch over my mate? Come get me if anyone starts to bother her.” He beeped in what I could only assume was an affirmative.

Then I turned away from the tent with Min-Ji’s empty "pistol" clutched in one hand. First, I needed to locate Altare and talk to him about my idea for charging the weapon. He wasn’t far away; his shuttle was parked only a short distance from our tent, just as he’d said yesterday. The hatch was still shut, but he wasn’t asleep. Morning classes had already been started by Avrish, which meant her mate was up too.

He wasn’t talkative, but he let me fiddle with the cables and even use his shuttle as a power source. Once I was satisfied the weapon might function again, I went off to complete my second task that morning. Erish was with Reid, but otherwise the prime med bay aboard the medical skyship was empty. My human friend looked peaceful, deeply asleep inside the large Naga-sized medical nest.

“How is he doing, Shaman Erish?” I asked politely as I moved to hover at the foot of the nest. There was a small device attached to Reid’s bare chest, and it blinked with lights. I didn’t know what kind of device it was, but I hoped it was helping. He didn’t look quite so gray, and he wasn’t making any sounds of pain.

“Steady,” the blind elder announced without looking at anything. “But you'll have to be patient. It is going to take us several weeks to repair the damage and restore balance in his body. The invading nanobots that were introduced nearly decimated the ones native to his system.” He was happy to outline the problem in further detail for me, but I was more interested in the audience listening in on our conversation.

Sazzie. She was just around the corner, but I scented her. Hanging onto every word Erish said—it seemed that way, at least. Or maybe she was waiting for me to leave med bay so she could confront me. By the time I left Reid in Erish’s capable, and clearly very inspired, hands, Sazzie was gone.

Triff, chased by two eager younglings who had managed to avoid lessons, came to fetch me then. I rushed to our tent, worried that the Queen was about to harm my mate. As I passed Altare’s shuttle, I quickly retrieved her weapon. All that worry was for nothing; Min-Ji was in front of the tent, going through some stretches, completely alone and at ease. When she saw me, her face broke out in a wide smile.

I swept her into my arms and hugged her close, my heart still pounding. Clearly, I hadn’t realized how much of a threat I still considered Asizza. I needed to keep my mate in sight. Even if it wasn’t necessary, it would give me peace of mind. “Here,” I said to her as I lowered her to her feet. The laser pistol felt flimsy and small in my hands, but the soft glow at the side of the handle made Min-Ji squeal.

“You found a way to charge it! That is fantastic, Corin. Thank you!” She bounced on her toes inside her big ‘boots’ and flung her arms around my neck. I was all too happy to dip down so we could kiss. I loved kissing my mate, and I loved it even more that I was now able to do it in public, so everyone could see that she was mine.

“Keep it on you, always,” I warned her gruffly when we finally parted. “The Queen could challenge you, and that should ensure your victory.” Her face fell, but she gave me a determined nod. I remembered that she’d told Kalani about shooting someone who tried to harm the females in the odd sleeping pods. She didn’t want to harm anyone else, but I knew that she would if it came to that. My Min-Ji was brave that way. She hadn’t flinched from fighting the Slithrazer Revenant.

“Corin, Min-Ji, I trust you slept well?” I hadn’t heard Chen approach; the Shaman elder was as stealthy as a Rakworm. He watched us from a short distance, his customary dark blue robes hanging elegantly from his shoulders. A belt with a knife and a healing device sat around his hips today. He was prepared for something, expecting more chaos in his domain.

“Yes, Shaman Chen,” I agreed politely and caught the flicker of a smile at my mentor’s mouth before his expression turned serious again. He was here to tell us bad news. I’d just seen Reid and gotten a status update that was promising a slow but certain recovery. So what was it? The Queen? Haven?

“Follow me. You have an incoming message from Shaman Artek.” The Shaman elder turned and started moving away at a rapid pace. Min-Ji and I shared a worried look, and the two of us hurried to catch up with him. Triff was hot on my tail, and to save time, I snatched him up so he wouldn’t have to struggle on the moss. I was certain our little cleaning buddy was going to be very happy to be back on stone floors once we got home. Home. I hoped nothing bad had happened. What if Vrash had struck again?

Despite worry for Haven’s safety filling me, I kept Min-Ji tucked safely beneath my arm, my eyes scanning for any sign of the Thunder Rock Queen. She was not going to catch us by surprise, right when my guard was down. That watchfulness didn’t turn out to be necessary; we reached the communication hub of the camp without incident. The three of us hurried into the small skyship bristling with all kinds of signal boosters and antennae, the door hissing shut behind us.

“Artek!” I exclaimed as soon as I saw the face of the white-scaled Shaman on the big viewscreen inside the vessel. His scales glittered with hints of blue and pink in the Serant sunlight, and his blue eyes caught purple highlights. He was outside, which meant he was using some sort of mobile communication device.

It must mean that using Haven’s system wasn’t safe; it had been compromised. I didn’t think Artek would have left Haven and the three pregnant females without medical assistance on standby—not when these were the first hybrid children, and we didn’t know how things were going to turn out yet.

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