Starfish

Epilogue

The bedroom door banged open, bouncing off the wall and leaving a hole in the plaster just a bit smaller than his fist. Setting his foot down over the threshold Ardus elbowed the door shut again, his hands full of a squirming, nearly naked human woman who yanked at his vest as though it would burn him. Nina growled in frustration when she couldn't get it past his shoulders, and Ardus growled back the way she liked before dropping her on his bed and tearing out of it himself. He towered over her, from her perspective looking eighteen feet tall instead of eight and a half. Nina grinned up at him, her storm- gray eyes sparkling with the purples and pinks glowing in swirling lines on his hard, broad chest. "Sea gods, I missed the hell out of you!"

"I do not doubt it," rumbled the huge Dreen, dropping to his knees beside his sleeping niche. "And I have missed you." Hooking his claws into what little remained of her shorts, he all but tore them off of her body and grasped Nina's thighs in his leathery palms. "I have missed your scent, your voice, your smile," he dipped his head and extended his long, thick blue-black tongue. Nina moaned and shuddered as he slid it between her labia, his chest thrumming with pleasure. When he came up, his lips and chin glistened. "Most of all I have missed your taste, my starfish."

"Me too," Nina bent forward to kiss him, but Ardus splayed a huge hand on her chest. It stretched from the bottom of her sternum to the base of her throat, his thumb and smallest finger touching opposite shoulders. Inch-long claws black as onyx winked colorful reflections of his pores, just barely touching her skin.

"Be still," he said, "I am barely holding on as it is." Gently, he pushed her down flat on her back, his other hand stretching her legs over his enormous shoulders. He smiled when a powerful shiver shot through her body, her toes curling in anticipation.

"You don't have to hold on, you know. You know what I can handle."

"You do not know what I have planned."

"Oh yeah? What are you gonna do, big guy?" Nina smirked, "You gonna eat me?"

"To start, yes." He pressed down on her chest when she squealed in delight, and gave another warm, slow lick. The muscles in Nina's thighs fluttered at the sides of his neck as she locked her ankles behind his head. His tongue, thick and long and smooth, swept in circles around the wonderful little point like a pearl in a shell and Nina shook and twisted her fingers into his barbels. "'Ae, Ardus, 'ae!" He grunted when she pulled a touch too hard, moving one of his hands to loosen her gripping fingers. Nina slid her hand down his face, palming his smooth, warm cheek and running her fingers around the studs and rings in his ear. Ardus wrapped his arms around her, leaning his weight down comfortably on what he knew from experience were much stronger hips than they appeared.

Nina let herself be cradled like this, struggling without really trying to escape just to feel the immense power of a fully-grown Dreen. She wondered how much of this was just him and how much was due to his pores returning, or if he was just that happy to have her back, then promptly lost her train of thought when his tongue surged inside her and filled her until she thought she would burst. She rocked her hips against it, her voice rising until the first crest broke and pulled a cry from her throat that was neither Dreen nor human. Ardus moaned with her, savoring the new freshet of her pleasure. She tasted like the sea, sweet like lurefruit and warm like sunlight; after their time apart it was like breaking a week-long fast. Finally, he could wait no longer and pushed Nina's legs off of his neck. Dazed, Nina watched as Ardus rose and kicked out of his trousers, his organ already sliding forth. "Missed you too," she said to it foggily.

Ardus chuckled. Pulling Nina's legs around his waist he slid his hands around her hips and lifted her, guiding her onto his ready organ; he released a thunderous snarl when he did, relieved to have his starfish back and to finally ease the ache that had started when he heard the news she would return. Nina's spine arched and she moaned deliciously when the Dreen's firm, slick length slid into her and molded to the shape of her body for a tight, yet absolutely perfect fit. She curled her legs and wrapped them around his hips, securing her hold on him while he moved inside of her. Ardus held her tight and pumped her little body, groaning and flickering as Nina took inch after inch until she could accommodate no more. He didn't care – it wasn't her fault she was so small by comparison, but she was here, she was home. What length she couldn't take didn't matter as much as the beautiful sounds she made, his name in her alien accent after days of silence more wonderful than music. Nina wailed as her muscles clenched again, the Dreen's huge body and titanic strength overwhelming her completely. "A-Ardus, I–"

Ardus growled, a sound like boulders grinding in a heavy surf, and the vibration sent her over the edge. Her arm lunged out and clawed at the Dreen's wrist, nails raking over his tough skin and the flaring points of purple and white. Ardus winced, his pores still tender, but he kept his hold as she bucked. Claws grazed Nina's skin, their points dimpling her flesh and sowing sharp flares of sensation that added a new level of intensity. Every muscle and tendon in her body strained, the height of her orgasm blanking out everything save the great blue-black shadow of Ardus and the stippled colors of his Collar of Aku. Those bright points glittered, then flared brilliantly white as a surge of thick, wet heat swelled and crashed into her. The additional pressure from within started a new wave just as the previous subsided and Ardus bellowed at the sudden re-grip around his organ, dark lips peeling back from his ivory dirks. With a mighty roar and shudder the Dreen gave a final thrust before he crumpled, throwing one arm out to catch himself before he crushed his human.

Nina lay trembling under the shelter of Ardus's body, her chest heaving; Ardus hung his head, his supporting arm shaking but stable. A pleasant ache throbbed in her thighs, strained from gripping the Dreen's waist, but his organ's warm heaviness in her hips made her smile. Nina reached up and ran her fingers over Ardus's face, tracing the pattern of faintly-glowing pores around his eyes and down his cheeks. Ardus gave a soft rumble, somewhat hoarse but dark and deep. His other hand left her side and he lowered his body further, nuzzling at Nina's forehead while he caught his breath. "Aloha wau iā 'oe."

Ardus smiled, pores glowing softly purple. "And I love you, my starfish."

"Want to go again?"