28

SASHA

Dakh drops a gigantic full-grown steer in the parking lot, and Emma and I spend the next few hours trying to figure out how to butcher it properly. It’s a disgusting, messy task that requires gloves, aprons, knives, and a great deal of squealing with horror. Dakh helps out by doing some of the more onerous lifting and stays in his dragon form - I suspect because he doesn’t want to wear pants. By the time we get our hunks of meat skinned and spitted over the charcoal firepit, I’m exhausted and filthy.

I’ve also had so much fun.

Emma’s hilarious. She’s got a great sense of humor and isn’t afraid to jump into a difficult task. As we work, she tells me all about Fort Tulsa, her adopted godfather who taught her how to take care of herself in the After, her terrible wastrel of a brother who set off and left her alone, and a dozen other little stories that are funny and charming and sad all at once. It’s clear that Emma’s missed out on female company almost as much as I have, and the time passes swiftly.

When the meat’s prepped and roasting over the coals, we wash up and then pick through the perfumes. There are a few that smell very strong, and we test those out with Dakh. So we don’t let Emma on that our minds are connected, I make a big show of explaining things to Dakh and ask him to demonstrate which perfumes are the least appealing to a draconic snout. We manage to find a few scents that actually are worse for him than the deer urine, and the relief on Emma’s face is palpable.

“He’s sure?” she asks over and over again. “He really can’t smell me underneath all this?”

I am sure. My nose may never recover. And he rubs at his scaly snout with one clawed foot, as if disgusted.

“He’s sure,” I agree, reaching up to pet Dakh’s nose. “I’m probably going to hear about it for days.”

Emma just gives me a strange look. “He must be more of a talker when I’m not around.”

“That’s exactly it,” I lie. “Did you want to go bathe since you’re here? There’s a bunch of soaps by the pool in the break room, and I refilled it yesterday with fresh water.”

“Oh heck yes! You sure you don’t mind?” She looks more excited over the bath than the meat roasting in barbecue sauce a short distance away.

“Positive. We’ll be out here watching the food.”

With a little squeal of happiness, Emma races into the store. I chuckle at the sight of her bounding inside.

You do not worry she will take your things? Dakh asks, nuzzling at my neck. I know you value them greatly.

“They’re not really mine. And there’s more stuff in there than I can possibly know what to do with. She’s welcome to as much as she wants. I’d feel terrible to have stolen her home and then not even give her the smallest of items to help her survive.” I stroke his scales idly. “It’s hard to be a girl alone.”

Shall I reach out to some of my brother drakoni and find her a mate to protect her?

I gasp and put a hand over his enormous muzzle. “Bite your tongue. She doesn’t need a man to protect her! She just needs people to not be assholes.”

It will be easier to find her a mate, my dragon tells me wryly.

Well, he’s got a point there. “No. Absolutely not. I can’t imagine doing that to someone.” I shudder at the thought. “If she’s anything like me, she’s had enough choices taken from her over the course of time that doing such a thing is terrible to even think about.”

Dakh is silent.

By the time Emma emerges, smelling fresh and reeking only oh so slightly of a strong floral perfume, the meat is ready, and I’ve talked Dakh into changing into his human form and wearing pants once more. Emma’s dressed in new clothes and tosses the tags into the fire. “I really appreciate how generous you guys are,” she tells me, shooting a curious look at the shirtless Dakh. “I didn’t expect this, I have to admit. I thought I was going to walk into a trap, but I needed the spray.”

“Well, now you don’t need the spray,” I say brightly, my heart aching for her. “And you can get just as much perfume as you want, because I have no need for it.”

The smile she gives me is broad and genuine, and I feel like maybe we can truly be friends.

“Let’s eat, shall we? I’m starving,” I announce, and hand out paper plates.

Carving the food ends up being a little trickier than anticipated. Neither Emma or I have ever butchered a cow before, so none of the meat looks much like it did from grocery stores back in the day. But it’s fragrant and smells of the thick barbecue sauce we’ve slathered onto it, and my mouth waters. I fork a huge chunk of meat onto my plate and sit down to eat.

The taste is indescribable. I make a groan of pure joy with the first bite, and Emma follows a moment later.

“Oh my God, this is so good,” I say between chewing. It’s been forever since I’ve had beef of any kind, and while Dakh has offered to hunt for me before, I never took him up on it when there was packaged food to be had. But this? This is a game changer.

“Amazing,” Emma agrees.

You are enjoying yourself?

Absolutely, I tell him as I lick my fingers.

I can tell. His thoughts are a low purr. You make the same noises as I do when I am between your legs, tasting your cunt.

Just like that, arousal floods through me. We haven’t had sex again since that last time, and I know I’ve been keeping him at arm’s length while I got used to the idea of being his “mate.” It was easy to focus on the barbecue because that was safe, and Dakh’s been patient, not pushing me. I know he wants me to be eager for him, and so I’m going to have to be the one to initiate sex this next time.

And with his simple thought, I’m thinking about it. Hard. I press my thighs together tightly to stop the scent of my arousal from reaching Dakh.

Too late.

You did that on purpose, I think to him.

I did. I like the scent of you. I like licking your cunt. I like seating my cock deep inside you, where it belongs. This is how it should be between mates. You should be as hungry for me as I am for you.

Well, mission accomplished. Because now I can’t lick the barbecue sauce off of my fingers without blushing and wanting to squirm in my seat. I force myself to chew quietly, ignoring the fact that my nipples are beaded tight and hard against the fabric of my sundress. I wish I could ignore the heated looks Dakh gives me as he picks up a hunk of meat and licks a smear of sauce off of it. But I can’t. My pulse flutters at how gold his eyes are.