Page 3 of The Pleasure Contract

It’s Az.

Of course it’s Az.

“What do you want-”

It’s then that I notice why he’s shorter than usual. He’s kneeling. But specifically, he’s kneeling on one knee.

And he’s holding out a pink velvet box toward me. Inside that box is a ring with a sparkly rock practically the size of a chicken egg.

“You will marry me!” he states, with a big, beaming, confident smile on his stupid, handsome face.

It takes me a moment or two for my mind to actually catch up with what I’m seeing – and hearing – but when it does… I slam both pink double doors shut, and go to get my damn breakfast.

2

Az

The thud and rattle the doors make on the humans’ house is almost deafening in the silence that follows it. I remain here, one knee pressed against the cool stone steps, somehow breathless from that one brief interaction, feeling like a prized geliklik.

That… was not how I had expected this to go.

It didn’t go that way in any of the human entertainment material I could find about this wedding-marriage-bonding subject that they perform on Lois’ home planet. In everything I’d read and seen – and from what Vel and her club of human fanatics had told me – the female did not act as my Lois just had. They usually squeal with excitement, exclaim a very emphatic ‘YES!’, and then launch themselves at their male, raining little kisses all over his face – or gift him with one very special kiss on the mouth that I am reliably informed involves use of her little human tongue.

Oh, I had so been looking forward to that particular part.

Sighing, I stand from my kneeling position and pocket the jewel. I find I am in need of readjusting my pants after thoughts of Lois’ tongue rouse me to a state that is beyond decent while out in public. That tongue of hers is normally sharp when dealing with me – a use that also rouses me much more than it should, if I am being completely honest with myself. But oh, how I have imagined other uses for that tongue.

From the corner of my eye, I see a small gathering further down the street, and a quick glance confirms my fears. This is a highly secure neighborhood, technically within Palace grounds, though not within Palace walls. There was no way that K would have housed the humans any further out into the city. And yet somehow, drakball fans always find me.

“Az! Az! Prince of the Skies!” they holler.

And I am not in the mood to pose for images or sign horn caps today.

With a dismissive wave and a fake smile to the fans, I push open the door to the humans’ house, frowning at how easy it is to enter. One of their footmales is there, standing to attention, his hands behind his back as if he were waiting for me to come inside despite Lois slamming the doors in my face.

He bows low for my entrance, but I swear there’s a hint of a smirk on his lips.

Once he straightens again, I waste no time in asking, “Where is she?”

Before the footmale can answer, there’s a clatter and a curse coming from the kitchens, and I leave him there to follow the sound. What I find when I push open the kitchen doors is a delectable-looking Lois hunched over one of the water stations with her back to me. I only just manage to rein in the groan trying to escape my throat when I realize she’s still wearing her sleep clothing.

A nutrition replicator is beeping its nonsense to my left. I don’t bother looking at the thing because I can’t tear my eyes away from her. There is a faint aroma of burning in the air, though, so maybe that should be addressed fairly soon.

And, because of her human size, the only reason Lois can even reach the flow of water over the station’s basin is because she’s using an upturned metal bucket to stand on.

Fuck me, she’s adorable.

“I don’t need any help,” she calls blindly over her shoulder. “I swear that replicator has a vendetta against me, though.”

She carries on doing whatever she’s doing with the water as I take some careful steps toward her.

“I told you guys, please, just find me some ingredients and an oven. I can make my own bread and then toast it. I’m quite capable.”

I’m practically close enough to inhale her delicious scent, and the headiness of it is almost enough to make my eyes roll to the back of my head. My Lois always smells the best in the mornings, before she’s lathered her skin with the lotions and potions Vel has given her.

Not that I’m given the opportunity to experience her morning scent all that often, what with training and all.

And what’s more, her neck is completely, utterly, indecently uncovered. I can even see the soft downy hairs that line her nape where she has hastily bundled her gorgeous flame-hair on the top of her head. My fangs ache at the sight.