She is ours, the Drake growled, agreeing with him. We must Claim her and bond her to us!
Not yet, Dragon cautioned. Be patient.
“Bobbi,” he said, looking down at her. “Can we talk?”
“Well, sure—come inside.” She placed her palm on the door pad and the metal door to her suite slid open, revealing a comfortable living area with a couch and a fireplace.
The fireplace already had soft blue and gold flames crackling in it, but they weren’t giving off too much heat, which was good. After years of living in the frigid temperatures of Saurous, Dragon was having to reconfigure his body temperature to get used to the warmer climate inside the Kindred Mother Ship. He was making good progress, however, so he wasn’t too uncomfortable.
It was easy to see that Bobbi was more comfortable here, he thought as she moved around the room, pouring them both a glass of wine and offering him a place on the couch. She wasn’t shivering and wrapping her arms around herself or displaying other signs of being too cold for comfort. It made him happy to see the woman he loved feeling comfortable—seeing her here, in her natural environment made him ashamed that he had ever contemplated keeping her on Saurous, even during the summer months.
“So, how are you liking the Mother Ship and getting to know your people?” Bobbi asked as she sat beside him with a wineglass of her own. She was wearing a short skirt that showed her lovely legs and a deep blue blouse that buttoned down the front and molded to her full breasts. Its color brought out her blue eyes and contrasted beautifully with her flame-colored hair.
For a moment, Dragon was too busy watching her to answer her question. It had been only a week since he had last touched her and tasted her but it seemed like a lifetime!
“I’m enjoying it very much,” he said at last, tearing his eyes away from her full breasts, which were visible through the thin material of her blouse. “Baird has gotten me a job as a pilot—it turns out that a Kindred shuttle isn’t too different from a Saurian transport ship. The only thing I have to get used to is folding space—the Saurians didn’t have the technology for that—it’s one reason they never explored beyond Night’s Curtain—I mean, the Blind.”
“I’m glad to hear you’re settling in.” She smiled up at him. “And…how do you find the society? It’s very different from Saurous, I think.”
“Yes.” Dragon nodded slowly. “Women here don’t only stay at home—they go out and have jobs of their own. Baird’s wife, Olivia, is a healer. He’s very proud of her.”
“He should be,” Bobbi said, nodding. “She worked hard for her degree and she’s one of the best doctors on the Mother Ship.”
“They both work together to raise their son,” Dragon said thoughtfully. “I like that. On Saurous, once the eggs are hatched, it’s always the female who is responsible for raising the broodlings. I like it that men have a hand in shaping their children’s lives here.”
Bobbi raised her eyebrows at him.
“So do you think you can live like that? Can you live in a world where women and men are equal?”
“If I can live here with you, I think I could,” Dragon said cautiously. “But there is a question that both my Drake and I wish to ask you about this ‘new world.’”
“Oh yes? What is that?” Bobbi raised her eyebrows at him and made a “go on” motion with her wine glass.
“Well, as I understand it, your occupation is to go around and study alien cultures on other planets. That’s what you were doing on Avria Pentaura when I first took you, right?” Dragon asked her.
She nodded.
“Exactly. And right now I’m writing a paper comparing and contrasting the social orders of Avria Pentaura and Saurous. When it’s done, I’ll try to get it published in some scientific journals and maybe do a lecture tour and some guest lectures at a few universities. But eventually I’m going to want to go back out and explore a new planet and a new culture. So if you can’t handle that—” She shrugged her shoulders.
“No, no!” Dragon said hastily. “That wasn’t what I meant. I can handle you going to new planets. My question is, can I go with you? And if so, are my Drake and I still allowed to protect you?”
“That’s your question?” She looked surprised. “I thought you were going to ask if I was willing to give my career up to stay home and cook for you and ‘bear your sons’.”
“Of course I want you to be the mother of my children…” Reaching out, he cupped her cheek gently. “But I’m learning to cook for myself. In fact, Baird has already taught me several Earth dishes I can make without too much trouble.”