Dra’vik felt as though she had poured a bucket of ice water over his heart. If she felt this way about simply watching a breeding that resulted in a rapid pregnancy, she certainly wouldn’t want to participate in one herself.
Which meant she would never want to be bonded to him, since bonding inevitably meant breeding with a Drake Monstrum.
In an instant, all the hopes he’d had for the future were dashed. He had been so certain that Iyanna was the one for him—that they were meant for each other. He still felt like that, but now he knew it was impossible for her to feel that way.
It made him want to roar with frustration, to beg her to understand, to tell her that it wouldn’t be like that with him—that he would bond and breed her gently and they would watch her belly swell together as he filled her womb with his seed. It wasn’t like she would suddenly come to term, either—it was only the first quadmester of the pregnancy that would be rapid and that was only to ensure the baby’s safety.
But he sensed that none of these explanations would be enough to soothe her fears or make her willing to bond with him. And hadn’t she said more than once that she didn’t want children right away?
I’ve been fooling myself, he thought angrily. Telling myself she’d be willing to bond with me, despite the fact that it means instant pregnancy. I’m such a damn idiot, trying to make myself believe she could love me despite those circumstances!
“Hey, are you okay?”
Iyanna’s soft voice brought him out of his dark thought.
“Hmm?” He looked down at her, frowning.
“I said, are you okay? You went away for a minute there—did I say something wrong?” She looked up at him anxiously.
Dra’vik heaved a sigh.
“No, little girl—of course not. Look, it’s been a hell of a long day and I’m fucking tired. How about we take a nap for the rest of the shuttle ride?”
“Oh, er, you don’t want to talk anymore?” she asked.
Dra’vik manufactured a yawn.
“Think I just want to get some rest, if that’s okay with you,” he told her.
Iyanna yawned, too.
“Yeah, I could use some shut-eye. If you’re sure you’re okay?”
“Fine,” Dra’vik assured her, lying through his teeth. “Never better. Just fucking tired, little girl.”
“I am too.” She sighed and pressed her soft cheek against his chest. “Okay, let’s take a nap.”
“Sweet dreams,” Dra’vik told her, squeezing her shoulders gently.
As he watched her drift off, he thought sadly that this was the last time he would hold her because they could never be together. There was no point in even asking her to bond with him.
He was going to have to let her go.
FIFTY
When Iyanna woke up, the shuttle had landed and the other passengers were starting to disembark. She was still cuddled against Dra’vik’s side and the big Drake was holding her gently with one muscular arm around her shoulders.
“Hey, little girl,” he rumbled as she opened her eyes and stretched. “Have a good nap?”
“Mmm, yes I did.” She sat up and stretched some more. “I needed that—Lix’dor Prime really took it out of me!”
“Feeling pretty exhausted myself,” Dra’vik admitted. “Come on—get the plants and let’s get out of here, okay? I just want to get back to the Mother Ship.”
He seemed off somehow—subdued, Iyanna thought. Maybe even upset. She wanted to ask him what was wrong, but when she reached down to pull the pot with the pleasure plants out from under her seat, everything else flew out of her head.
“Oh, no!” she gasped, staring at the pot and its contents.
The male plant was dead. And not only dead, it had been chewed into tiny pieces. The stalk and roots were no more than bits of fiber now and the proud penis-like head was a goopy pile of mush.
It looks like someone took a meat mallet to a cucumber! Iyanna thought in dismay.
“What happened? What’s wrong?” Dra’vik asked, clearly hearing the alarm in her voice. “Holy shit!” he growled, when he leaned over and saw the remains of the penis plant. “What in the Seven Frozen Hells happened?”
“It must have been the pussy plant,” Iyanna said sadly. “I think I gave it too much power when I was trying to revive the two of them earlier. I told them to really go for it—apparently the pussy plant listened a little too well.”
Indeed, the bright pink flower was still snapping and lunging at everything around it—which included Iyanna’s face when she got too close, trying to peer at the male plant’s remains.
“Hey, be careful, little girl—you don’t want that fucking thing biting off your nose!” Dra’vik cautioned.
“Just think what else it might bite off,” Iyanna pointed out. “I know these are supposed to replace the pleasure blooms on the Mother Ship, but do you know any warriors who would want to stick their dick in that thing?”