They got stared at. Arabella looked down and realized she was still in her coffee uniform, and she needed to change.
“I need to change.”
He looked at her. “Why?”
“Because I look like you are taking me to make a customer service complaint.”
“Your apartment is too far. Let’s go here.” He steered her into a boutique, and the human staff member was there immediately.
“What can I do for you, Mayor Wilks?” The woman casually ignored Arabella entirely.
“My mate needs something casual for our shopping trip today.”
“Mate?” The blonde with a blue streak blinked, and then, her fake smile was on. “Of course. What is your preference?”
Arabella crossed her arms. “A hefty bag and trench coat.”
Harrow snorted. He grabbed a dress and some low-heeled shoes. “I was thinking this for today. We can shop more later.”
“Oh. Wow. That is... sensible.” Arabella took the dress and shoes, following the now-irritated woman to the change rooms.
She was changed and out in less than three minutes, but she had added something to the outfit. She had pulled her hair out of its bun and twisted the rope to cascade over her right shoulder. She folded up her clothing and shoes.
“Hand me your old clothes. I will send them home.”
She handed the wad over, and he took it.
“You will have to come out eventually. Did I get the size right?”
The sleeveless dress was fitted with a slight vee neck, and the skirt was a lightly lined gauze that would show her legs when the layers thinned with every step. The shoes fit well and were surprisingly comfortable.
“Um, sizes are disturbingly accurate. Thank you.”
His hand parted the curtain of the waiting room, and he gently pulled her out when her hand gripped his.
Harrow’s eyes glowed when she came out clutching her link. “I need a purse or pockets.”
He smiled. “I will carry your link. You look... lovely.”
She blushed. “I can put my hair up if it is too much.”
He twisted it around his hand and pulled her flush with his chest. “I like it.”
Their kiss was decidedly carnal, and she had it confirmed that he really did like her hair, even if it was only as a handle.
She moved as close as she could and felt the ridge of his cock against her abdomen. When his tongue ceased investigating her dental work, she gasped. “We should get going.”
He sighed and nodded, rubbing her lip with his thumb. “Yes, we should. The clothing is paid for. Let’s go.”
She looked around for the attendant. “Where did she go?”
He snorted and jerked his head toward the counter. The woman was standing, and her face was white, and she was shaking.
“What happened to her?”
He snorted. “She asked me what I saw in you. I showed her a partial shift and told her that you found it attractive.”
The woman was crying and shaking.
“Will she be okay?”
“I have notified the company owner. They will come and blank her memory of what she saw. I could do it, but I want her to think about snap judgements. If she were one of my people, the punishment for disrespecting you would have been harsher.”
She looked at his calm expression with the dark fury behind it. All he had done was show her his face. Some ladies needed to work on their judgements of physical appearances. Some small, petty part of her was smug that the shop worker had freaked out. Lightweight.
Arabella nodded. “Okay, can we get going then?”
“Of course, dearest. You look lovely.”
“It always feels weird to wear dresses. There is a lot of air flow that catches you by surprise.”
He laughed. “How far up does the air reach?”
“Just until my underwear blocks it.”
He snorted. “Subtle way of telling me that you aren’t waiting breathlessly for me to slide my hand under your skirt?”
“Was I being subtle? Didn’t mean to. Hands are not to roam under the clothing during our shopping excursion.”
“Hmm. What about during dinner?”
“Is dinner in public?”
“Yes.”
“No.”
“I am reserving the right to negotiate.”
She smiled. “So, do you know where we are going?”
He nodded. “Down this block and then to the right. How is it that you have lived here a year and don’t know your way around?”
“I go to work, get food, go home, and repeat.” She shrugged. “Working my shift was in my contract. I wonder if my passing out broke it.”
“I will give you a new contract in the morning.”
She nodded. “Sure. Just like I was getting a visa extension.”
He sighed. “It has been assured now. The med centre is handling it. A courier will find you tomorrow.”
“Find me?”
“Find you.” He looked at her hand on his arm, moved so he could lift her hand out, and showed her the black bracelet. “Any monster can seek you out by tracking this.”
“Why would they do that?”
“Because I told them to. Because you are thinking about trying to get on the ferry this week. Because I am not going to let you.”
She blinked. “I am thinking about my booking on the ferry, not being on it.”
He snorted. “Interesting distinction.”
“It’s important. It’s the difference between running and looking for the exits.” She murmured it as folks she could recognize as monsters stopped and stared at them. “Why are they staring?”
“Word of our... compatibility is spreading already, and since you are the first human I have shown interest in in centuries, you are a subject of gossip and fascination.”
“Lovely.”
“Remain with me, and things will be fine.”
“You sound very sure of that.”
“I would eviscerate anyone who touched you with hostility.”
“I would say that was sweet, but I know you mean it.”
“Consider it a difference in our customs and clear your mind of it.”
She nodded with her lips pursed, and the apothecary shop was in view. They entered the shop, and the man at the counter looked at them and then straightened. “Mayor Wilks!”
Harrow inclined his head. “Good afternoon. My mate is in need of the initial maternity supplement.”
The man looked startled, and his grey ponytail moved on its own. Arabella cocked her head, and she smiled. “Level three. Wait. Centaur?”
The man nodded slowly.
“Level five, then.”
“You are the woman from the ball.”
“I hope so,” Harrow murmured.
She nodded. “I got this list, and you were the first stop. Then, we have to walk across town to get the next one, and they didn’t tell me when the other ones are due.”
“Two on the first day, and then, one per day for the first ten days. That should do it.” He smiled. “If you have any other unpleasant side effects, contact the med centre at once.”
The man went to a cupboard on the wall and opened it. An array of blue potion bottles were lined up. He pulled a bottle out and sighed before closing the door. “You are the first couple in here since the ball. The first ones in here in months, actually. I have to ascertain that you two are actually lovers.”
Harrow growled.
“I am sorry, sir, but there has been a rash of our kind convincing their kind they are pregnant in order to keep them here and extend their visas. The early signs are easy to fake, so the humans are damaged by the substance in the vial, so I need to make sure that you two are actually lovers before I administer it.”
Arabella frowned. “How can you be sure? Do we have to have sex in front of you?”
Arabella felt Harrow tense next to her, and he made a growling gargling noise.
She ventured an explanation. “He makes that sound when he’s horny.”
The apothecary laughed. “That will be sufficient. I have certainly never heard that noise out of him, but you obviously have.”
She shrugged. “The other form makes all kinds of fun noises. Want me to describe his cocks?”
The man’s eyes got wide. “No. Not necessary. Please, no.”
Harrow moved behind her and wrapped his arms around her. “It sounds like you were having fun.”
She gave him a throaty chuckle and looked up at him. “I am. His face was hilarious. How did he think I knew what you sounded like?”
He kissed her softly. “You could have just told him about the purple stuff.”
She blushed. “Oh. Yeah. That.”
The apothecary cleared his throat. “This is the first dose.”
He set the glowing blue bottle on the counter, and she picked it up. “Just like this? Down in one?”
He nodded. “Down in one. This is the primer that will let the other doses bond to your system.”
She removed the cork and drank the fluid. It tasted slightly mushroomy with a lemon chaser.
She got the last drop and put the bottle on the counter. “I should have asked this, but any side effects?”
“You may feel more interested in your partner for a few days. It is different for everyone, but that is the most persistent side effect.”
Arabella nodded. “Of course, that would be the side effect.”
Harrow kissed the side of her neck. “I am all for it. I will watch you carefully for it.”
She snorted. “Thanks.”
The apothecary said, “You may also get a little lightheaded.”
“I will catch her if she falls.”
“The other doses will start strengthening her.”
“Then, we shall go to get the next. Thank you.”
Arabella frowned. “What do I owe you?”
“Nothing, miss. This is offered to any who have managed to do the nearly impossible. The best chance for you and the child you carry.”
“Oh. Okay.” She smiled, but dots were swimming in front of her eyes. “We should get going.”
Harrow put his arm around her, and they left the apothecary. They had made it two blocks when she collapsed, and he lifted her up against his chest. “Why didn’t you just get the horny side effect?”
She laughed and leaned against him. “I was trying to get out of walking in new shoes.”
He snorted and carried her as if it was completely normal for him to be seen walking the street with a woman held carefully against his chest.
“Don’t you have mayoring stuff to do?”
“Nothing that can’t wait a day or two. I mainly manage infrastructure, security, and intake. Oh, and imports.”
“So... you’re in charge of everything.”
He chuckled. “More or less.”
“Wow. You are making excellent time. Huh. Monster mayors are the fastest form of travel. Who knew?”
He stopped still and looked at her with raised brows. “You are using me as transport?”
“Um... yes?” She smiled at him.
He frowned. “Compensation.”
“What?”
“I want compensation for the transporting.”
She looked around at the very busy walkway and open shops and vendors. They were getting more than one curious or wide-eyed look.
“Um, what do you want?”
His eyes glowed, even in the bright light.
“Not that.”
He laughed. “Fine. Another kiss. An arousing kiss.”
“Really?” She squeaked.
“Really. I am not moving until I get it.”
She tried to push out of his arms, and he held firm. “Um... I can walk?”
“Not until you pay for the transport you have received.”
She winced. “I didn’t realize there was a toll.”
“There is always a price to pay.” His tone was soft. She looked at him and saw the slight curve of his lips.
She squirmed around and finally said, “Can you lift me higher?”
He obliged, and she took his face between her palms and brushed her lips against his a few times until he cooperated; then, she wrapped an arm around his neck and continued to cup his jaw as she slipped her tongue into his mouth and stroked it along his. He slowly joined her in the dance, and she felt his hand sliding up her outer thigh... under her skirt.
He shifted his grip, and his thumb slid between her thighs, and she squeaked.
She pulled her mouth from his and panted as his thumb worked under the fabric of her panties and rubbed at her clit before sliding into her.
She looked at him in shock as he slid his thumb in and out at a lazy pace. “Seriously?”
“How else to tell if it is an arousing kiss?”
Arabella felt her cheeks go scarlet. “I thought you meant you.”
“You take a deep breath, and I am aroused. It isn’t a fair barometer. Now, back to the kiss, or we go no further.”
She grimaced. “Least sexy thing you could say right now.”
He moved his thumb inside her, and she gasped. His voice was smug and dark. “Sometimes, words escape me.”
She grumbled and kissed him again. He started to use his tongue in a wonderfully teasing swirl, and his thumb moved easily a moment later. The slight sound was enough to make her pull away, and she buried her face against his neck. His hand kept moving, and she bit his neck.
“Don’t ask for what you can’t handle, Arabella.”
Confused, she looked up at him, and his eyes were solid yellow and blazing. His chest was rising and falling rapidly against her side. “Oh. No biting.”
“Not if you don’t want a public display.” His skin was dark. “A very graphic public display.”
“So, you like the biting.”
“I really like the biting. Not safe when I am in my other form, but for now, it will definitely accelerate things.”
She bit her lip, and he made that gargling growl again. “Seriously? I can’t even do that?”
He pulled his thumb out of her with a wet slurp. He changed his grip, so he supported her with one hand, and he stuck his thumb into his mouth. When he pulled it out with a pop, he smiled. “So, now we continue our walk.”
He put his hand under her dress again but held her thighs, with the other hand around her back. He resumed the walk, and she covered her face with her hands.
There were a lot of shocked humans and hot-eyed monsters in human suits who had enjoyed the PDA.
“That was satisfying.” Harrow chuckled.
“What was?”
“I am taking a page from your book and trying to normalize interactions between our people.”
“By fingering me on a public walkway?”
He grinned. “I used my thumb.”
“Oh. That makes it so much better. Did you have a pinkie up?” She muttered into her hands.
“Like for tea? No.” He made a low humming noise. “I will try that the next time I am drinking from you.”
“Oh, god.”
He chuckled. “You have so much to learn about me, and I about you. It is the most exciting thing that has happened to me in a very long time.”
She looked at him between her fingers, and she blinked. “You really mean that.”
He lifted her and murmured in her ear, “I do. I am going to spoil you and coddle you and pamper you and find new and interesting ways to make you cum.”
She closed her mouth with a snap. She looked at him through her fingers and murmured. “Start with the basics. I liked the basics, even if we had to use the purple stuff.”
“Oh, the purple stuff was essential, but it will be needed less and less when we are together and I am in my natural state.”
“Um... I don’t think I can make enough of anything to get that into me.”
He laughed. “The fluid doesn’t leave your system. My orgasm just ended the call for its activity. It will activate again at the next full moon.”
“You are shitting me.”
“No. I am not. If you had returned home, it would not have activated again, but around monsters, it will wake when we do.”
“What, so it is issuing a general invitation?”
“For those who have an enhanced sense of smell, yes. I do not have that particular gift. I depend on my senses of taste, vision, and touch.”
“Oh. Okay. So, like no sense of smell?”
“Minimal. Nothing long range. I can smell you, but I couldn’t track you that way.”
She nodded and folded her hands in her lap. “Good to know.”
He kissed her temple. “We are here.”
The apothecary was a level three with a golden horn and pointed ears.
“Wow. A unicorn.”
The man smiled. “Come here, little human, and I can show you how deep the horn can go.”
Harrow growled, and it was a deep throb that made the unicorn flinch.
“Sorry, Mayor Wilks. She smells hot, and it blanked my mind.”
Arabella went crimson again. “Sorry about that.”
Harrow visibly calmed himself down. “My mate needs the first maternity dose after the primer.”
The apothecary smiled and looked at her with more focused interest. “I had heard that a human had caught, but wow. Mayor Wilks. Congratulations. She looks strong and healthy.”
“If anyone checks my teeth, they lose a testicle.”
Harrow grinned. “You will bite it off?”
“No, I will use my dull human claws.” She held up her right hand.
The apothecary chuckled. “Well, it is obvious you two are in a relationship of sorts. I still have to ask for verbal proof of physical intimacy.”
She looked at Harrow. “Well, his tongue is two-thirds the thickness of his longer cock at its full extension.”
The unicorn blinked. “Right. That will do.”
She looked to the stunned Harrow. “I paid attention.”
The next potion was glowing white. This time, she asked, “Side effects?”
“None.”
She pulled out the cork and drank it. More lemony fungus.
“I mean, if the mayor wasn’t holding you, I would warn against lust, but he is here to take care of that, so it isn’t an issue.”
“Oh, for fucks sake!”
She growled at the apothecary, and he shrugged.
“Well, you said you were in an intimate relationship with him, so there was no reason for concern.”
“I didn’t say that. You asked for proof of it. Oh... balls.”
Harrow murmured, “Come on, sweetie. We can get some takeout, cuddle up by the fire, and see if you are affected by the side effects. I am rather eager to find out.”
She made a fist and punched him in the chest.
He was grinning as he left the shop. “Don’t start the foreplay until we are more private. I have no issue with fucking you where we stand, but I think you might take umbrage at it.”
She paused. “You take a punch as foreplay?”
“I am a monster. I like it a little rough.”
She must have paled.
“Don’t worry, Arabella, with you, I will be dainty and delicate until you ask for more.”
She gasped as he started to walk faster, and folks got out of his way. They were in a freight-sized elevator in six minutes and heading up to the penthouse. Having seen the monsters at the ball, the size of the elevator made perfect sense.
The elevator stopped, he stepped out, and his palm opened the lock of the door.
“Wait. Biometrics?”
“We do pay attention to the modern world. We love the new tech; it is the next best thing to magic.”
She nodded, and he carried her into his apartment with some long strides of his legs. Once the door thudded shut, she knew she had sealed her doom. She should have been more upset about it.