Page 22 of Draevan

Cora awoke to a breathtaking vision in the viewport.

The Eshunna Passage.

She sat up in bed slowly, careful not to disturb Draevan as she slipped out of his arms, while she took in the swirling blues and greens that glimmered brightly yet didn’t hurt her eyes. Occasionally, a burst of red, purple, or yellow appeared.

What an extraordinary sight.

She’d never seen anything so beautiful.

But her gaze soon drifted to the huge alien warrior sleeping peacefully beside her. She wasn’t sure how old he was, a bit older than her probably, but he looked younger while he was fast asleep. Younger and less troubled. The tense lines around his eyes and lips were blessedly relaxed. She couldn’t help but wonder what sorts of horrors he’d seen during his life, during the war against the Irrcons in particular, that had given him an almost constant serious expression.

She quickly reminded herself that he’d looked at her with affection as he’d claimed her, and despite the darkness that might be lurking inside him, he’d treated her with nothing but tenderness as he’d claimed her.

She nearly swooned as she recalled every detail of their first mating, and a flush soon covered her face.

Mated. She was mated to a Vaxxlian warrior.

An alien male named Draevan.

And she was en route to Planet New Vaxx where she would likely spend the rest of her life.

It was a little difficult to believe, and yet she couldn’t claim she was unhappy. She couldn’t even claim that she was having second thoughts.

Yes, she still harbored some reservations about her ability to be a good wife to Draevan and a good mother to Meela, but overall, she didn’t find herself wishing she’d stayed on Earth.

Truly, the VAMOB program was a blessing.

Not only did she no longer have to worry about her stalker, the elusive M, but she no longer had to worry about the fallout of the civil war/rebellion that was ravaging the United States. She no longer had to worry about picking sides just to stay alive or finding a new place to go if control of Manhattan ever fell into the wrong hands.

She glanced at the viewport again and sighed. Then she shifted around a bit, but to her astonishment, she wasn’t even a tad sore. How remarkable. Given Draevan’s massive size, she’d expected to feel some discomfort when she awoke this morning. But there was no pain at all, not even the slightest twinge.

Ah. The healing nanobots.

She almost laughed. She’d been so consumed with thoughts of mating with Draevan that she’d momentarily forgotten about the injection of healing nanobots he’d given her just before claiming her.

Her heart swelled with affection for the handsome alien male, and she lay down, turned onto her side, and watched him closely as he continued sleeping. Her insides fluttered and a quiver rushed through her, the beginnings of arousal—all because she was thinking about the intimacies they’d shared last night.

But she couldn’t help it. She couldn’t help but recall every single moment in vivid detail, from the caring way Draevan had looked at her, to the reverent way he kept stroking her hair, to the passion they’d shared during their first kiss, to his gentleness as he pushed inside her, allowing her to get used to his size before he even started thrusting.

She flushed as she considered how achy she was becoming between her thighs.

It didn’t help that they were both still naked. After they’d taken a quick bath together, he’d helped dry her off before carrying her back to bed without a word. He’d tucked her beneath the covers, then joined her, holding her close against his natural warmth as they drifted to sleep.

Could he detect her arousal? She vaguely recalled him saying something about being able to smell her, and more heat quickly suffused her cheeks. What would he think if he awoke to find her so clearly aroused? She wasn’t certain just what Vaxxlian males thought about women who liked to express their sexuality. Not that she had any choice at the moment. She honestly couldn’t quell the achiness that only kept building, alongside her breathlessness, as flashes of the night they had shared in one another’s arms kept invading her thoughts.

He’d been so caring, yet so confident for a male who’d never lain with a woman before. She wouldn’t have known he was a virgin if he hadn’t admitted it, though she was secretly pleased he’d made the confession since it had made her feel more comfortable with her own lack of experience.

The large watch he was wearing suddenly dinged, and his eyes shot open. He sat up, then practically jumped out of bed, still naked, as he looked around with alarm gleaming in his eyes. He met her gaze, looked out the viewport, and glanced at the bed. All at once, his shoulders relaxed and his expression grew calmer.

Had he really forgotten where he was?

Or had he been dreaming about something scary… like the war against the Irrcons? She wanted to ask, but she was also afraid of the answer.

His watch dinged again, and she recalled that the device was called a wrist comm, a piece of technology that Vaxxlian warriors wore at all times, something she recalled from the documentary she’d watched about his people.

He looked at her again, then gestured to his wrist comm. “Meela is awake and moving around. She’s not crying yet, thankfully, or it would keep dinging without stopping. I must get to her. She doesn’t usually sleep through the night. I imagine she’s hungry and needs a diaper change.” He started rushing around the room, searching for his discarded clothes.

Cora hopped out of bed and quickly got dressed before he even managed to get one leg into his pants. Once she slipped her shoes on, she walked toward the door.