Holy shit, that’s strong.I feel like I just inhaled a blizzard. There’s a menthol type flavor that makes me feel like I’ve been sucking on an iceberg, followed by something tart and citrusy. I feel like all my orifices pucker at once.
“What the fuck is that?” I ask, waving a hand at my drink, and Mags looks at it for the first time and blanches.
“Oh no, you got an Iceen freezie. They are especially on the menu for the lightning cats and people from colder climates. Not that the lightning cats ever grace us with their presence. Fucking Natalia wouldn’t even spit on us if we were on fire, and she has those boys under her proverbial claws. Sad, really, because I wouldn’t mind finding out what it was like to take one of those alpha knots, if you know what I mean.” She winks, and I forget about my drink and frozen throat.
“Seriously? They have knots on their…” I gesture to my crotch, and Mags laughs and nods.
“Yup, and supposedly a spur too. It’s like you’re doubly locked in. You can’t get away from a lightning cat. Apparently they can fuck for hours.”
Well color me officially interested… and turned on. I’m like a walking, talking ball of sexual need, goddamn it. “Apparently?”
Her smile drops, and she looks disappointed. “Yeah, they very rarely mate outside of their species. Their families tend to disown them if they do.”
“Well, now that you’ve brought up mating, I have questions, lots of questions, and these are not ones I want to ask my grandpas.”
“Your grandpas are hot pieces of ass. I wouldn’t mind being the meat in their triangular sandwich, if you get what I mean.” She winks, and I roll my eyes.
“Yes, unfortunately I do.” I gag and she laughs.
“But they are loyal to your grandma, which makes them off limits.” Her smile is genuine, so I know she respects their boundaries and won’t overstep just to get laid. I’m starting to feel a bit better about her. “Okay, shoot. Tell me what you need to know.”
I spend the next hour getting the Skarrian version of the birds and the bees talk, and while Mags tends to overshare, I discover that a simultaneous orgasm is required to count. So hand jobs, finger banging, and oral sex are all still on the table as long as you don’t orgasm at the same time. I know I was lucky to get an orgasm from any human guy I slept with, let alone at the same time as him. I guess I never had to worry about it, even if my Skarrian physiology hadn’t kicked in, because all the Earth men I slept with sucked in bed.
Lila
Alittle bit later I receive a message from William asking me where I am. When he tells me I am about to meet Saxon the vampire, and he is going to give me a self-defense lesson, I almost order another drink. Screw the potency. Self-defense lessons with a blood drinking vampire? Now that’s something I never thought I would ever hear, but if I’ve learned anything from my time on the ship, it’s that I just need to fucking roll with it. If I worry too much, my brain will explode and leave chunky bits of Lila all over the place, and nobody’s got time for that.
I send him my location, and he tells me to wait for him.
“What was that all about?” Magenta asks, leaning back in her chair and studying me like I’m in a damn petri dish. “You look like you’re going to have a panic attack.”
“William just told me my self-defense lesson, which I was expecting later on in the week, is today. Quick, I need to know everything about Saxon, because my stupid ass didn’t finish my species research. Dylan told me a little, but I’m really not sure if I can take anything he said at face value. He told me all sorts of things about Xavier as well, and he’s been nothing but sweet to me.”
Magenta’s eyes just about bulge out of her head at my description of Xavier. “Hold up a minute. Are you sure we’re talking about the same person? The warlock is sweet?” She looks incredulous, like I’m telling her Earth is flat or that I have three breasts and six nipples.
“Yeah, and he’s cuddly too.” The more I divulge, the more her facial expression changes to one of fascination.
“How is mist cuddly?” She genuinely sounds curious.
“Oh no, he removed the mist. He’s got these great forearms that feel really nice wrapped around your waist.”
I think I could have knocked Magenta over with a feather, because she’s speechless. When she finally gets her shit together, the words just burst out of her mouth.
“Powerful warlocks don’t show themselves to people very often. I don’t think many people in the circus can claim they have seen him in his real form. Maybe your grandpas and his harem. That’s probably it.”
I wave off her amazement. “Anyway, it’s not Xavier that I need to know about, it’s Saxon. Please give me the rundown on vampires.”
“Okay, sure. Saxon is from the planet Vilax. They are a race of blood drinkers with extraordinary senses and heightened speed and strength. It’s what makes them such great acrobats.”
“I haven’t seen their part of the show yet, but what you’ve described sounds much like the vampire legend from Earth.”
Cool, I’ve got this shit—crosses, garlic, no reflection in the mirrors, sparkling like Edward Cullen… I am a vampire aficionado. I love me a sexy vampire book with a bit of blood play.
“Yeah, but most of the rest of the Earth vampire lore is crap. And don’t call them vampires, they don’t like it. The right term is sanguinistas. They prefer night to day because Vilax only gets five hours of sunlight everyday, so they are mostly nocturnal species. They aren’t actually allergic to the sun or anything. They live in family clans, and they are born, not made, so they are not dead. They breathe, their hearts beat, and they eat normal food and drink, but they need blood as well. They are also somewhat immortal. They can heal most injuries, even decapitation, if you put their bodies back together, but they will not survive if you burn their hearts—yes, they have two.”
She pauses like she’s trying to figure something out in her head. “It’s weird. They can drink from one another. You’d think that drinking from the same species would defeat the purpose of drinking blood, but it’s not the amount that is the issue. They can’t process the red blood cells that their own bodies produce, but they can process the red blood cells from either another sanguinista or other species, hence the need to drink blood from another source. They form clans much like a warlock’s harem because the blood drinking process is quite intimate. The sanguinista’s saliva produces an enzyme that makes it feel good, and if they don’t use it, it can hurt. Some of them like the combination of pleasure and pain, and they say it makes the blood taste better.”
I can practically see her thinking, because a cheeky grin crosses her face and I brace myself.
