“Had to change that, too.”
“And you used to be bald, but I like the hair.” He chuckled.
“Thanks. It was particularly itchy when it grew in. Mom had to help me.”
“You called her Mom?”
“Yeah. She was a mother, so I called her Mom, and when she had her baby, I called it sis, and together, we named her Susara.”
“What happened to her husband?”
“He was injured in the blast with the five hatchlings. Well, four hatchlings. I missed one.”
“You crippled him?”
She shrugged. “I was a child. My aim was sloppy. When I breathed the fire, I wasn’t exact enough. He was understanding enough until Mentor killed them.”
“You breathe fire?”
“Not anymore. That biological system has ceased to function.”
“Aw, that would have been fun to see.”
She wrinkled her nose. “Are we going to discuss my activation again?”
He grinned. “Intermittently. Can I tell the team what you are?”
“Do you want to?”
“No. I would rather you be my secret. This is above their pay grade.”
She smiled. “It will come out eventually. I am not done evolving yet.”
“What do you think you were put here to do?”
“To start my race all over again with a dash of human bloodline. That is why the activity started to begin four hundred years ago. It was a primer.”
He blinked. “Your species did that?”
“Yeah. It was what they needed to do to make suitable mates here. Three hundred years was enough time to disperse the activity. Then, we were dropped here, and you have already heard the rest.”
“So, what I am hearing is that you are all alone on this world.”
“Yes. I only have the friends and family I have collected.”
He slid his body along hers, and she arched up and rubbed herself against all available planes and angles.
“So, I am all you have.” His voice vibrated with energy.
“You are all I have; you are all I want.” She slid her legs on either side of his thighs.
He reached between them and rubbed the head of his cock against her. “Oh, so ready.”
He thrust in, and she inhaled and arched against him, gripping his shoulders. “Ohhh. Now I feel like I am home.”
He kissed her. “So do I. Hang on.” He withdrew nearly completely and then thrust in to the hilt.
She lifted into every plunge and slide; the friction of him moving inside her over and over drew moans and grunts that matched his as he propelled her toward orgasm. She started begging when her body would tense, and he slowed. He moved with her and kept her from sending herself over.
When she reached for herself, he grabbed her hand and pinned it to the bed, kissing her hard. “Now, now, no cheating.”
She gasped and slid her tongue against his, licking at his lips and whimpering. His self-control had been her gift to him, and it was a torture to her. She flexed her fingers against his, and he held her while he pounded into her with a slow, inexorable beat.
Her orgasm burst free with a heavy pulse that throbbed through her limbs. She groaned as it went on and on with his continued forays inside her. Zera shuddered as her body gripped him tight, and his face took on his cruel smile. “Oh, poor thing, it just goes on and on for you.”
She squirmed and tried to get out from under him, her body getting more sensitive by the moment. She spoke in a soft and breathy tone. “Please.”
“What is that now?”
“Please stop, sir. Or cum. Please cum, sir.”
He grinned. “You will have to do better than that.”
“Please, sir, I want you to cum inside me. I want the chance that I can have your child. Only you, sir. I only want your offspring.”
His eyes blazed. “Can you?”
“Yes, it isn’t easy, and it will take a very long time, but I am made for it. I will have—oh!”
He thrust into her and shuddered as he groaned, and he threw his head back, his neck corded with effort. She felt the spasms inside and smiled in relief as he stopped moving.
Zera held him as he slowly collapsed on her. She stroked her fingers through his hair and pressed soft kisses to his temple. “You are my mate. No matter who I sleep with, you are the one I turn to, every time.”
He lifted his head and looked down at her. “You are my mate. You can escort five hundred patrons, and I will be there waiting to take you in my arms. You can ease their pain, loneliness, suffering, and help them find themselves again, and I will wait to hold you through the night when I can.”
“I want to reduce my active role at Blind Date once I have more personnel, more branches. I like the choosing, the coaching. I like helping folks find the right fit for a night or longer.”
There was a pause. “Can you really have my child?”
“Yes. As I said, it will take some time. My implant shorts out in four months. I will need a secure bunker in six months, or I will have to keep the incubator at my new house. You are not going to burn that one down, are you?”
He blinked at her in surprise. “Whatever could you mean?”
“I mean, you have been trying to coax me into moving in with you for a few months, and you didn’t like me being alone when Susa died, so you did what you thought was appropriate. You took my house off the table. It wasn’t safe, there was no one sharing it with me, and you had somewhere you wanted to put me. You burned down my fucking house.”
He sighed. “Are you going to report me?”
“No, but I still need a property of my own.”
“Why? You can live here.”
“I can, and I intend to, but I need a place halfway between here and the city for work purposes. Meeting with escorts and doing design sessions with Susa. Plus, Susa might not be comfortable living here. She might look around and join a
