Do not be afraid, I send to her. I will give you my seed and claim you as mine, but first you must have my fires. My thoughts disappear into nothing—my mate does not receive them. She gazes up at me, waiting, and so I must talk to her like she does to me. "Jen-nee."
The sounds come out garbled against my distended fangs. Her gaze goes to them and her eyes widen. A tinge of fear appears in her scent. "Dabite. Rite." She takes a deep breath. "Hokayden."
And my mate closes her eyes, steps closer to me, and tilts her head back, offering me her throat.
Her bravery pleases me. She is clearly afraid but will not let it stop her. Her strength makes my cock even harder. Never have I wanted such a female more. I slide my hand behind her head, cupping her neck, and she shivers against me. It will hurt but a moment, I promise Jen-nee. And then it will be so very sweet.
I lean in, breathing deeply of her scent, and lick the softest spot on her neck, the place I will bite her. She trembles against me again, but her fear-scent is less sharp than her arousal, and it makes my fires burn hotter. My fangs ache with the need to pierce her. I give in to the temptation, unable to resist any longer. My fangs sink into her tender throat and she sucks in a breath, sagging against me.
The maddening need to claim her overwhelms me. I sink my fangs deeper, clutching her against me as my fires pour forth. It is like a river of hot lava, scalding us both as they sear from my fangs into her bloodstream. It is a release, so strong that my cock jerks with the force of it, and my seed spurts from my cock.
She cries out, pulling away, and I realize I am hurting her—burning her. I cannot let her go, though. If I do, I will tear her throat. I wrap my arms tighter around her, pinning her against me as I pour more of my fires into her. It is both agony and ecstasy—the need to hold my release back as well as the intense pleasure of giving her my fires. Her fingers tighten on my skin, and then she sags against me, limp.
I panic. My female is not supposed to go limp when I give her my fires, is she? She is not supposed to slide out of my grasp as if all the bones in her body have melted? Jen-nee? I try again, pushing hard as I search for her mind.
For the first time, though, there is a response. Faint, gentle…but it is there. Jen-nee is there.
I feel as if I can breathe again.
When the last of my fires are spent and my fangs no longer burn, they retract. I lick my mate's bruised throat, pleased at the sight of the puncture wounds that even now close over. Her scent is changing, her mind tickling against my own. I settle down on the floor with my mate cradled in my arms to wait for her to awaken, and I cannot stop touching her. I caress her face, her neck, her arms, everywhere I can touch. Her softly rounded belly is reddened from my seed, and I use the colorful wrap she wore to brush it off of her. The burns will be gone by the time she awakens—my fires will make certain of that—but the need to take care of her overwhelms everything.
When she awakens, we will mate fully and completely, and then she will be mine. I could push her thighs open and claim her now, while she is lost to my fires—other drakoni have done so to their mates—but I do not like the thought. I want Jen-nee looking up at me with her expressive eyes as I touch her. I want her seeing my face as I sink deep inside her and give her my seed. I want her to be with me.
So I will wait.
I will wait, and then there are a great many things that must be done to provide for my mate. I must find a safe place for us to nest. Establish territory. I must feed her, too. Ensure she is comfortable.
Impregnate her with my child.
Get her far away from the Salorian and the human hive both.
I should get started, I tell myself. Jen-nee might be sleeping for hours while our bond forms. I can hunt for her. Scout the area, now that I am in a clearer mindset. I do not move, though. I find I cannot leave Jen-nee's side. Instead, I brush my fingers over her cheek, touching my mind to hers over and over again to reassure myself it is not a dream.