Ascend Read Free

promiscuity.
    There was that laugh again, the sound catching his attention and holding it like his favorite song always did. It sank into his mind, calming him.
    “Don’t let the ritual give you the wrong impression of how we behave. Yes, sex is one of our key methods of survival, but if you could only conceive perhaps three children in a decade wouldn’t you try to take advantage of every opportunity you could?” She cocked her head cutely, but the words still sank in.
    “So you’re telling me that the whole purpose for this ritual was to knock up all our women?” Corey could hear his voice rising in pitch and was about to run out of the room and force condoms on all the other men if he had to.
    “Knock up?” She shook her head and stared at him, uncomprehending.
    “Yeah, you know… Impregnate them .”
    “Oh, Sweet Mother, no! The ritual’s sole purpose is to awaken the brood. Impregnation is not possible until we leave the temple. And even then it’s not guaranteed for dragons, even if their mates are willing.”
    “Oh.” Corey deflated and the rest of what she’d said finally caught up to him. He did the math. Five hundred years, the dragons had been here. In ten years of what she suggested might be sex every bit as enthusiastic as what he’d just witnessed, they might conceive only three children? “Geeze, I’m sorry. How many dragons are there, anyway?”
    “Several hundred. Our numbers are strictly monitored. There are never more than a thousand of us in any generation.”
    “Christ. I’m one of seven kids. I have about a dozen nieces and nephews, too.”
    Racha’s eyes widened at his confession. “How many humans are there now? When we slept there were maybe a few hundred million.”
    “Ooh, there’s a lot more of us now. A lot more. More than seven billion last count.”
    Racha froze and stared at him, her mouth working, but no words came out.
    Corey relaxed, the wide-eyed wonder at what was in store for Racha giving him the upper hand for the first time. He might still have an incredible hard-on for the beauty, but seeing her flustered over the idea of how outnumbered she and her brood were at least gave him slight comfort. It didn’t make him stop wanting her, though. On the contrary, it made Racha—the Queen of Dragons—even sweeter to him. Suddenly she wasn’t this unusual creature who could do magic beyond his imagining, who could very likely command his cock with a twitch of a finger. Now she was just a young woman, embarking on a new life and very much out of her element.
    His protector instinct kicked in and he shifted closer to her, reaching for her hands and holding them gently between his. She twitched in surprise at the sudden contact and he realized it was the first time he’d touched her.
    “Shh,” he said. “It’s really not so bad out there. You guys seem to like having more of us anyway, right?”
    She recovered quickly, but didn’t remove her hands from his. Her grip tightened around his fingers and a jolt of pleasure shot between his thighs, reminding him of the perpetual hard-on he’d been sporting since the last room.
    “Yes, but right now I have you. Will you show me the ways of this new world? I know human nature well enough, but conventions shift. Will you help me, Corey?”
    Was it crazy of him to want to say yes? She was just a girl trying to find her way, and she needed his help. With four younger sisters he knew how thankless the task of older brother could be, but also how rewarding. Except he didn’t feel particularly fraternal toward this pretty young woman.
    He sensed a strength in her that his sisters never had. Something iron-hard and probably razor-tipped that kept him from giving in and trusting her. He was attracted to that glimmer of strength, but wasn’t the least bit fooled by her plea.
    “No, because I don’t trust you.” He gave her a pained expression and released her hands gently. He regretting having to disappoint her, but he had