His hands moved to cup her face, his lips tender on her forehead. “It is my honor and privilege.”
Ella felt herself melt into him, a feeling of such love and comfort as she’d never felt before washing over her and warming her to the core.
Finally, after enjoying his touch a little while more, she slid off him and walked to the bathing area, the alien tech spraying her body with just the right temperature water, as it always did.
Hands wrapped around her from behind, sliding up her wet belly, cupping her breasts and pulling her back into her lover’s still semi-erect embrace. They stood like that a long moment, savoring one another and the feel of the refreshing water. The pair took turns washing each other, tenderly caressing each other in the process.
Draikis’s eyes seemed fixated on the faintly glowing rune on her chest, and when she looked down at his she realized why. Both were shifting. Changing. Their shapes becoming more similar than before. Somehow, this weird alien pigment was ramping up their connection, though she was still a bit confused how that could even be possible. But having just experienced the intensity of their connection, she wasn’t going to be one to argue it.
“I really should get going,” she said, reluctantly drying off and gathering her clothes from the pile on the floor.
“You could stay a while longer.”
“I could, but I have studying to do,” she said, dressing quickly and heading to the door. “Nilkis will be expecting me, and I’m pretty sure your absence would be noted as well.”
Draikis nodded. “You are wise.”
“No, I just have willpower,” she said, glancing at his gorgeous naked body. “But barely. I’ve gotta go before I give in to my baser urges.”
“If only.”
“I know. Hope I see you later.”
Ella opened the door and peered out. The coast was clear.
Suddenly, she was pulled back, the door closing as Draikis pressed his lips to hers, their tongues playing with delight, a surge of sensual charge flooding them both. He finally pulled back, a look so smoldering it threatened to melt her into the ground in his eyes.
“You know you will see me later,” he said, fully committed to his transgression now, his hand caressing its way from her cheek to her breast. “And I cannot wait.”
Ella felt weak in the knees as she pulled the door open.
She froze, the door barely ajar. Voices were close by. They both listened a moment as the sound of the chatting priests faded down the corridor. When it was safe, Ella stepped out, closing the door quickly and heading the opposite direction. She had a snack bundle stashed in the archives, a better option than rummaging through the larder at this hour.
What a night,she mused.What a morning.
A contented smile spread across her lips as she walked.
And I can’t wait to see what comes next.
CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX
The compound wasn’t exactly bustling with activity, but there were a good many priests walking the corridors and grounds compared to the quiet hour at which Ella and Draikis had retired the prior night. Fortunately, the human woman wasn’t nearly the novelty she had been early on, and while she did still cause annoyance in many, the days of outright staring seemed to have passed.
Which was good, given her slightly disheveled walk, not of shame, but of quiet pride. There was no shame in this, no remorse or regret, but she did refrain from flaunting the afterglow of her magnificent railing, opting to walk quietly and quickly to her own quarters to properly clean up and swap out for a fresh change of clothes before heading out to visit the archives.
“That’s better,” she noted, looking at her reflection in the digital mirror built into the bathing area’s wall. It provided a non-reversed image, allowing her to truly see herself as others did rather than flipping her likeness. She paused a moment, replaying Draikis bending her over in front of his own mirror.“Holy hell, that was hot. And you look good. Damn good, if I do say so myself. And I just did.”
She chuckled to herself, refreshed and with her spirits high, and calmly exited her quarters and headed to her daily session in the archive. She strolled at a leisurely pace, enjoying the happy feeling of contentedness that was overflowing from within her. Ella walked on happy feet, almost on Cloud Nine as she rounded the corner, lost in her thoughts and planning on taking the most direct route possible, when she ran into the dour face of one of the priests who she’d noted previously. One who was particularly unhappy with her presence. A look of sour dislike puckered his face at the sight of her, as it always seemed to do.
“Oh, sorry.”
“A sentiment you should express every moment you remain within our walls.”
She hesitated, not sure if she should let this interaction derail her fantastic mood or if she would be best served just ignoring him. As luck would have it, the rude alien priest apparently was in no mood for a lengthy berating today, opting instead to simply walk away, leaving his cold comment floating where he dropped it upon her.
Ella felt a flare of anger in her gut, a sensation she quickly tamped out.
“No sense getting all worked up about it,” she reminded herself. “Asshole’s gonna asshole.”
