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What a gift it was to be here, holding her.
[ 25 ]
JESSICA
“What was the point of this wall?” Aeson stared down the length of it. I followed his gaze, enjoying the way it snaked across the landscape in a beautiful, sinuous pattern. “I’ve never seen something so long before. It is surprising seeing so many old constructions. On my home planet, our buildings were regularly destroyed, until we had a period of stability long enough to reach space and other planets. There is nothing like this of our more ancient periods.”
“This one was to stop invaders from getting into the bulk of the country,” I said. “Once upon a time a while ago, the people who grew up on that side of the wall would organize in groups of hundreds or more and come down here to steal from or hurt the other people living on this side of the wall. They built the wall to make that a lot more difficult to do.”
Aeson was silent for a moment.
“To have acquired hundreds of mates, your warrior queens must have been immensely impressive,” he revealed his thoughts in a hushed tone of awe. “The largest nest ever recorded for my species was several dozens. It did not approach even one hundred.”
“Well, those raiding troops weren’t usually led by a woman.” I rested my hands on my hips. “The idea is cool and all, but the males of our species are the ones that get all crazy and want to kill people most of the time. Females can often egg them on, but it takes a significant amount of trauma for a female of my species to engage in violent behavior.”
“Your males fight each other without the guidance of a nest leader?” he asked. “Why?”
“Resources usually,” I sighed. “Access to women.”
“Yes, fighting to display your prowess so you may be chosen is a good pastime,” Aeson added.
I pressed my lips together, wondering if I should break the news to him that those men weren’t fighting to display their prowess and more were fighting for opportunity to force their prowess. I kept silent, not really wanting to talk about that.
“It is amazing that your population was so large that it could sustain males forming large scale raiding parties without female leadership,” he commented.
“Yup, anyway, does or did your species fight a lot outside of mating displays?” I ask. “Like, steal things from one another?”
“It became an unlikely occurrence after our species gained spaceflight and access to greater resources than our unstable planet could offer,” Aeson offered. “But our pre-space era saw many battles between nests, making it essential for a nest to recruit the greatest fighters.”
“I wish to race along the top of this wall,” he said suddenly. “The curves seem like it would be a great deal of fun.”
“What about the people?” I pointed out. “There aren’t any near us other than those two creeping around over there taking pictures, but you’d probably scare them whipping by.”
“I will not hurt them.” He hesitated. “Do you care if I scare them by racing by?”
I grinned.
“I don’t actually,” I said. “But… I do have a request.”
“It is yours,” he replied.
“You don’t even know what I’m going to ask!” I laughed and lightly slapped his arm. “Seriously you have to stop that.”
“Never.” He grinned back.
I rolled my eyes at him, but fuck, I enjoyed that.
There was something else I wanted to try, something that had brought a slender thread of heat rising between my legs when I imagined what it would by like.
“I want to ride on your back,” I whispered.
“Then get on.” He gestured back behind him. “Keep your feet up and hold on to my waist.”
I scrambled up onto his back, feeling his muscles shift under my legs as I settled into place, his thick tail pressing in between my legs as I clamped my knees together on his sides, my feet going up behind my but to make sure they stayed up off the ground. I pressed my chest into his lower back as I wrapped my arms around his waist.
“I’m ready.” I took a breath with the words.
He took off.
