Page 57 of Black Mamba

When we reach his nest, he lies me down into the pile of hides and releases me. I reach for him, about to murmur his name when I hear him move away. My fingers close around empty air.

In the darkness, I don’t think clearly. I quickly shimmy out of my shoes and pants, pushing them aside, more courageous than I’ve ever been. Easing back into the soft hides, I’m consumed by his musk and pheromones. I revel in it, pushing my fingers hard against my clit over my panties.

I shudder and clench, wishing his cock was already inside me.

I hear him before I see him appear in the passageway with the lantern. It’s working again. The golden-white light illuminates his nest and the many antlers decorating his space. The shadows elongate, making me shiver, spearing towards the pinnacle of the ceiling.

Staring at me, and taking in my partially nude state, he places the lantern on the table.

I lift up on my elbows, curling my toes harder, and look at him.

“Elena,” he rasps, running his hand over his mouth and dragging his clawed nails across his lips. “Why now? Why?”

“You got me sick,” I accuse breathlessly. “Now, help me get better.”

I need this torment to end. I didn’t realize how much I cared about him until he vanished—now I just want him to sweep me away⁠—

Away—into a haze of whatever this is…

Away—from my grief and stress…

“I will breed you.”

My breath stifles and I sit straighter. “You can’t. I’m on special medicine.”

He drifts closer and I draw farther back onto his nest. His tailtip slides into the large bundle of hides to my left and coils over itself. Rising on his tail at the same time, he hovers over me, leaning down to cage me with his arms.

“I did not know medicine can stop a breeding, but your world is different from mine. Even if I cannot breed you, I will claim you,” he growls.

“Just for now,” I promptly, shakily, correct. “You can claim me now, but not always.”

“Not alwayssss?” he hisses, lowering his face above mine. “Explain.”

“You can”—my voice trembles as my body quivers, heat spearing through me as his scent overpowers the air in my shallow breaths—“take me now but I am… how should I say… only wanting to contract with you for a short term…” Three months is the standard.

He shakes his head. “Contract? Your human term? No.”

“Lukys, please… don’t ruin this. Please.”

“I ruin nothing, female.” He eyes me sharply. “Nothing hassss been ruined. We are both stubborn, and I can accept this trait in you. Claiming you once will be claiming you always,” he grits, turning his face when he inhales deeply. “You smell so sweetly, so fresh, it is making my mouth water. You say I made you sick, what do you mean?” He dips his head into the crook of my neck.

He runs his mouth up my throat and over my ear, making me shudder. His tailtip circles my knee and pulls it outward as the larger coils of his tail shift between my legs. His fangs gently scrape my cheek as he moves up my body. I gasp and shift my hands between us, planting them on his chest. I find his scales, his smooth skin under my fingertips, exceptionally warm to the touch.

The heat is only making it harder for me to keep my thoughts straight. I forget what we were discussing as I ease deeper into his hides, turning my face away from him when he drags his mouth back down my throat and lower still… over my chest and between my legs.

I’m tense but I don’t stop him.

He rises to look down at me, and I clench, thankful I left my underwear on and the light is low. I don’t know how an alien like him will view someone like me… My stomach tightens as my eyes hood. I debate closing my legs, but when I test one against his tail, it barely moves.

He drags his hands down my body and places them on my thighs.

I drop into the hides with a moan.

“Your ssssource,” he growls in awe.

He grabs the thin fabric of my underwear and rips it aside, revealing my sex to him in its entirety. The chilly air hits my sensitive skin before it’s replaced by his breath. Despite his shadow covering me and my most private parts from him, his eyes narrow, taking me in.

“Lukys—” My voice gets lost when his mouth descends and he tears my underwear up my waist after shredding the middle band with his claws. With the scrap loosely circling me, he drops and drags his tongue over me from my backside to my clit, stopping briefly to coil at the entrance of my sex. “Lukys,” I gasp, being somewhere between shocked and aroused, closing my legs and then opening them wider. “Oh God, yes!” Yes!