Internally, I cringe at the situation. Part of -no, scratch that-allof it reeks of ‘blood purity’ bullshit. Why should some people be inherently more important and influential than others?
But, I have to remind myself that this isn’t my culture. These aren’t my people. Who am I to judge? It’s not like Earth has it all figured out - far from it.
“Doyouhave an active venom?” I say, curiosity getting the better of me.
The question makes Prince Kiahn go very still. “Yes,” he tells me, and suddenly, I feel stupid for even asking. Of course he does. He’sa prince. He probably has the ‘purest’ of pure bloodlines.
“What does it do?”
Kiahn’s brows rise on his forehead, and it kind of gives me the feeling that maybe my question isn’t one that he’s used to receiving. Maybe it’s impolite to ask. Maybe I should have kept my mouth shut. But, when the look of surprise on the Prince’s face subsides, his eyes go hazy, and his gaze drops to my throat as he asks, “would you like me to show you?”
What does he mean by that? Is he going to bite me? I thought that was forbidden? I swallow thickly, but don’t say anything under the prince’s ardent gaze. Kiahn takes a slow step forward, watching me, and it feels like he’s assessing for signs that I’m going to bolt. Whether he’d back off, or chase me down if I were to try to get away remains to be seen.
I don’t know why that makes butterflies erupt in my stomach.
Keeping his movements slow, Kiahn lifts a hand to his mouth. He parts his lips wide enough for me to see how his sharp canine teeth are smoothly descending from his gums, turning them into predatory fangs. It reminds me of the holographic image Vel had shown us of the couple who were biting each other while making love. Beneath the water, my hands move up my body, and I realize I have the urge to cover my neck. I don’t, though. I find myself keeping very still instead, as I watch one side of Kiahn’s face tense with effort.
Something seems to well at the tip of his left fang - something silvery.
He’s forcing his venom out.
Kiahn catches the single drop of what looks like molten silver on the tip of his charcoal gray forefinger before he looks to me expectantly, and takes another step forward, his legs brushingwith mine beneath the warm water. I suck in a breath, tipping my head up to look at him. “Open,” he commands, his voice rumbling and smooth while his hand moves slowly toward my mouth now.
Without thought, my body obeys him, my lips parting, allowing Kiahn to gently push his finger into my mouth. His intense gaze is fixed solely on where my mouth closes around his finger. And, I will admit, I very much enjoy the ragged pull of breath he makes when I lick and suck on his digit.
I can feel a coolness where his venom hits my tongue - like the kind of cold that comes along with an intense hit of menthol. Except, there is no flavor to his venom - none at all.
Kiahn’s forefinger slowly slips from my mouth, dragging the pad down the center of my bottom lip, leaving a feeling of moisture there, like he’d just anointed me with his venom.
I take in a breath, and it feels as though my lungs have tripled in size. The air feels so pure and fresh. When I look into Kiahn’s green eyes, everything stops. All the buzzing and chatter in my mind is silenced, and I feel overwhelmed with the urge to close the distance between us.
Tentatively, I reach forward, my fingertips brushing the firm expanse of his toned abdomen. His muscles jump beneath my touch, and I swear he stifles a groan, smothering the noise by clearing his throat. “The-uh-… the effects do not last long this way. They are stronger when administered with a-” Kiahn tenses his jaw and his throat bobs with a swallow before he finishes in a raspy voice, “…a bite.”
I stare up at him, my body flooding with a warm, cozy feeling, like it knows something I don’t. Like it senses that everything will turn out ok if I just… let it be. Lean into everything that’s going on. “What does your venom do?” I ask. “Is it a relaxant?”
Kiahn’s brows raise again as he tilts his head to look at me with curiosity. “No, it-…” he pauses, his lips twitching intoa minute smile. “It gives the recipient clarity of mind. Helps them sharpen their focus to their thoughts and feelings of the moment. It is… not an impressive venom, but it is a gift from our Goddess of Wisdom.”
Clarity of mind? I just feel… at ease.
He’s right, though. All that background noise has melted away like it had never existed at all. “It feels like-” I start, standing up, forcing Kiahn -the gentleman that he is- to take a slight step back, with how close he had been positioned in front of me. I tilt my head to look up at him. My fingers are still connected with his taut stomach, and I find I can’t help but softly skim my touch across his skin, the movement feeling natural and almost unconscious as my fingers glide slowly from side to side.
“Wh-uh-” Kiahn chokes, catching himself as he rocks forward, towering over me. He clears his throat before he tries again. “What does it feel like… for you?”
I smile up at him. “It feels like… like I know with absolute certainty that my intuition is right. Like doubts no longer exist.”
Kiahn’s brows pinch, and his voice is low and strained when he asks, “and what is your intuition telling you right now, Niska?”
It’s telling me that I can trust this huge guy not to hurt or abuse me. It’s telling me that despite the fact that I’d be deceiving him by actively trying not to get pregnant, this breeding contract would be mutually beneficial; I want to secure a safe space for me and my friends, and his people need him to start entering contract after contract to make those super special venom babies.
It’s telling me that whatever misgivings I have about all of this, everything’s going to work out.
Everything’s going to be ok.
Everything will be alright.
And I feel a real sense of peace with that as I continue to smile up at the guy who swooped in to save me when I was in real danger only a few days ago. I don’t normally like that. I’m used to saving myself, and not relying on anyone else. But I liked it whenhedid it somehow. My fingers stop grazing back and forth across Kiahn’s abdomen, only to start reaching higher, flattening my palm to his heated skin. I glide my hand up his chest, watching the droplets of lagoon water well and run down the muscled planes of his toned torso. “My intuition is telling me that I trust you not to hurt me,” I tell him. “And that you need to start trusting yourself.”
“I-”
