Valen reached for the control panel on the wall and flicked the lights on just as he pulled the door shut, shadows from the street vanishing in an instant under warm yellow lights in the ceiling. They'd walked from the kennel just down the alley after putting Ika down for the night, slipping the night manager a few extra golden kai to buy his silence about the royal couple staying in a cheap room next door, and now Fang dusted snow from Valen's hair and horns as he shed his coat. Thanking her, Valen looked around the space they'd rented for the night. The little room was a cozy one, designed for short stays by travelers without much to carry or the need to cook their meals. Decorated sparsely with basic furniture and generic art, the single room stood quietly among the block of self-serve accommodations insulated against cold and noise. "Nice," he said to Fang. "If I had to go looking for a Dragon Prince, I wouldn't think to start here."
"There are only two reasons people rent these rooms," Fang told him, shaking snow off of her hat, "sleep and privacy."
"Is it just one or the other?" Valen grinned and turned up the heat. He already had ideas for the room tonight, and he wanted Fang to be comfortable. Shedding his bulkier outer robes Valen hung them on wall-hooks and began to undress Fang. They were both still somewhat glazed from all the rounds at the brewery, but that only enhanced the softened, dream-like feel of the late night, the escape from the palace compound, and the residual headiness of being celebrated instead of mocked, of being part of the joy instead of outside it. Valen still couldn't wrap his mind around the idea that the common people liked him, much less appreciated his spending on their trades and goods over the years. I had no idea it made that much of a difference. He couldn't remember how much he'd spent on the earrings Fang wore tonight, but he'd learned that what seemed a small purchase to him was funding the training of a new artisan for the shop that made them. And it's all because of her.
Working the knot that held Fang's belt together, Valen leaned down and kissed the beautiful dark-eyed, fawn-skinned woman who'd captured his Flame and set his hearts ablaze. He loved the smell of her, sweet and warm like teaflower leaves toasted in sugar, the smoothness of her cheeks and forehead so unlike his own pebbled and scaled skin; beyond the lengths that declared her status, he loved the silkiness of her hair and the way it shimmered in the light. He loved how she kissed him back every time, making him feel welcome and wanted; most of all he loved how she accepted him as he was, a dwarf Drass with short hair and no path to the throne, a grown man who still looked like a boy and probably would for most of his life. Through the slight haze of strong spiced whiskey his mind sang I love her, I love her, I love her! Valen took handfuls of her robes and pulled them apart, worrying Fang's lips with his teeth and sucking on them between soft, heated growls.
"Eyah, Valen..." Fang gasped after a particularly deep, hard kiss. "Ashes, are you okay?"
"I have never been better than I am right now."
"You're drunk!" Fang giggled.
"It's not the whiskey, My Lady," Valen took her face in his hands. "It's you. You've completely changed my life – you've changed me. I never would have dreamed of doing half the things I've done since I met you, I never thought I could. I always wanted to be someone else, I never thought I could be what I am now. I–" Fang's bottom lip had begun to tremble, and Valen rubbed a tear from her fair, fawn cheek with his thumb. "Fang? What's wrong?"
"Nothing, I'm just... I'm so proud of you. I think you could've done all of this, if anybody had thought to ask you."
Valen's hearts stumbled, and fleetingly he considered telling Fang everything – how he felt about her, what he wanted for her, what he would do for her if only she would ask – but with so much still on the line he knew he couldn't risk it. Instead, he tapped her brow with his and sighed. "Without you, I wouldn't have had a reason to try." Valen rubbed his nose on hers and devolved once more into kissing her, Fang eagerly returning the attention. Each time his gold-plated tusks smoothed over her lips, Valen's tail swept a low arc behind him and his breath caught in his throat. I love you, I love you, what am I going to do without you? With every day, every hour, his time with Fang came closer, ever closer to its end.
Bending his knees, Valen scooped Fang's thighs up and held them around his hips. In just a few steps he crossed the tiny room to the Drass-sized bed, depositing Fang on her back in the deep pile of quilts and returning to that aggravating knot that kept her under-robe closed about her body. He attacked it with claws and teeth, grumbling impatiently while he worked it loose, and groaning when Fang plunged her fingers into his hair and grasped one of his horns. His eyes rolled back when she tugged on it, grinning at the surprised gasp from Fang somewhere above him. The knot finally gave in and Valen spread the soft under-robe open to bury his face between Fang's small breasts, each one just enough to fill a hand; under her skin he felt the thump of her single heart. Between our hearts, that's where my people say love lives – where do humans keep the ones they love?
Fang pulled him up for another blistering kiss, wrapping her arms around his neck and shoulders while Valen squirmed out of his outer robes and tossed them to the floor. He listened to her soft whimpers as he nibbled her throat and ears, working down and across the slim bones of her collar with barely a breath between kisses. She smells so good, she's so soft, her hands are so gentle! When he did come up for air Valen grasped the waistband of Fang's leggings and pulled them down her hips. He went to unlace the front of his, and Valen paused as he looked down at the light dusting of dark hair at the apex of her thighs. Drass women don't have that, I don't have that. The little triangle stood out against Fang's light skin, similar to how the hair on her head framed her face and emphasized her eyes. A germ of an idea began to grow, and with it his cock.
Valen dragged his eyes back to Fang's. She lay with her arms half up, elbows bent and her palms to the ceiling, gazing down her body at him with a curious, expectant expression. The idea began to solidify and Valen reached out to touch that soft little mound. "I..." Valen licked his lips, "I want to try something, but... I've never done it before."
"Oh," Fang smiled, "another first, huh?"
"Uh... Well, I've thought about it, but I never thought I'd meet someone who–"
"It's okay, Valen," she assured him, her voice barely a whisper, and shifted her thighs apart. "I trust you."
Lighter than a breath Valen stroked his claws through Fang's soft, dark hair. She was so warm under his hand, so smooth, and as he parted the strands with his fingers the idea reached its final, solid form. Bending down, one hand braced on Fang's thigh, Valen brought his mouth to his fingers and kissed. Above, Fang sighed and Valen took that as his cue to continue. Nuzzling gently, slowly, he found where her flesh turned from fair to pink and brushed his tongue over, his eyes popping open when he tasted sweet, warm wetness. Valen looked up Fang's body and watched her head roll back, eyes drifting closed and her lips partly open. "Is this... Are you all right?"
"Mm-hmm," Fang nodded, "keep going." One of her hands turned and gripped the quilt, the other slid down and felt around for his face. She cupped his cheek with her palm and stroked his jaw with her fingers. "Good boy, Valen."
A rapturous shudder moved down Valen's spine. I'm a good boy! His tail thwacked on the floor and he leaned his head into Fang's hand. He watched her breathe, her chest rising and falling slowly as if she were asleep, then Valen straightened his neck and nudged Fang's thighs apart enough to settle between them. Dipping his head back down Valen searched again for her scent, exploring carefully until he discovered he could part her with his tongue and listening to Fang's soft mmm! He smiled as her fingers curled against his face and tangled between his horns. She seemed to be enjoying this, and Valen trusted she would tell him if he did something she didn't like. Besides, she tasted wonderful – warm, lush, with a sweetness more like caramelized fruit than a sugar-coated dessert. Sweeter than Dreen wine...
Valen closed his eyes and let Fang's body tell him what to do; like when she'd tied his hands he had to think about his movements, and the added challenge stimulated his mind. His cock responded as well, throbbing in time with the little twitches in Fang's legs when Valen flicked his tongue over that sensitive little nub he'd discovered gave her so much pleasure. If he licked it just like so... "Mnn! Valen, yes!" Fang's body rippled, the wave traveling up her stomach while her hand tightened in his hair. Valen groaned, eyes drifting shut. Ashes, that feels good! His cocked liked it too, and strained against his leggings. Not yet, not until Fang comes. On my face. The thought sent another hard, hot pulse through his groin, and Valen changed his approach from light, careful licks to an experimental gentle pull with his lips. Fang shuddered, the muscles in her thighs trembling. Aha, that's the trick!
Sucking just a little harder, drawing circles around that marvelous little point, Valen grinned and growled when Fang's legs snapped together around his neck. "Fuck!" The hand that wasn't knotted in his hair flew down and grabbed the base of one of Valen's horns; Valen grunted at the sudden fierce hardening of his cock – Eyah, that feels good!
"Valen, please," Fang panted, "don't stop, please–" she tugged on his horn, rocking his head and driving his mouth harder. Valen could only oblige, his head trapped as it was, but as long as Fang was happy he didn't mind the minor inconvenience. Again, My Lady! Valen lifted away long enough to get a breath, delighted when Fang let go of his hair and took hold of his other horn. She used them like handles, holding his head and grinding her hips on his face, and the Dragon Prince couldn't possibly be more pleased. Though his cock strained against his leggings, it was so much like the night she'd ridden him and forbade him to come that the struggle to hold back was almost as pleasurable as the release itself – and now Valen knew from experience just how much better it would be when he did finally climax. Firemother, just let me hold on long enough!
Fang began to quiver. Valen snatched another breath and wrapped his arms around her thighs. Fang let go of one of his horns and slapped the quilt under her hips, her hand curling into a desperate claw. "Valen," she gasped, her voice urgent, "Valen..." Her voice climbed in pitch and volume. "Valen I–" she lost the rest to a shivering cry, her legs clamping hard on his neck and her body going rigid. To Valen, no word of praise or position of honor could make him feel more like a man than the rush of pleasure and satisfaction that came from making Fang call his name over and over again. If I never do anything else in my entire life, this is enough. Gently, patiently, Valen slowed his movements and eased the pressure of his tongue and lips, working his way out of the tangle of her legs until he could pull himself up onto the quilts next to her. Fang rolled her head to the side, still panting with cheeks flushed and eyes glazed. She blinked at him, then sighed. "Eyah..."
"Hngh." Valen brushed a strand of her long, loose hair from her eyes. "Well, My Lady, how did I do?"
Fang gave a weak giggle. "Ashes, Valen, you almost killed me."
"You sounded pretty lively to me." Valen laid his hand on her stomach, stroking with the pads of his fingers. His cock still throbbed, but he could wait. Fang needed time to breathe, especially after all that shouting. Good thing we're not in my quarters, everyone would've heard that. For the time, he watched the woman he loved regain her composure. Her gold-ivory skin glowed pink, her lips red from kisses, and spread out on the quilted bedding her long dark hair reflected touches of copper and garnet. No freshly-powdered mountain range, no exquisitely-designed robe, no million-kai piece of jewelry could compare to his Lady Courtesan at the height of climax, not in beauty or value. My Lady Consort, Valen reminded himself. Soon she would be equal to the other Drassian Ladies, and safe at last from his brother.