Endangered Ch. 08

Michelle's tired eyes closed, allowing her to fully enjoy his fingers as they rose to press and knead her neck. She took Chris' advice and ignored the two dirty dragonesses as his skilfully applied pressure seemed to drain her troubles away.

"Well, for starters, I had to bully the police department into putting out a false statement that Noel Redding and his accomplice escaped police custody this afternoon while in transit to a high security prison."

"I bet they didn't like that," Chris chuckled.

"No, but I came down on them pretty hard about the need to catch who was responsible for hiring them. It helps that the Chief of Police knows about all of this now," she gestured expansively into the air as the massage continued. "I waited a few hours and then used Noel's email account to send his employer an angry message demanding payment for being misled about you and getting three of his team killed."

"Do people really fall for that sort of trick?" he asked.

"Surprisingly, yes. Meanwhile, I've been trying to gather the team I was putting together to work with you at the Denver office. I want to get them here asap, but I've only had mild success. Two are already busy trying to pack up their lives and move here later in the week, they have commitments over the next few days that can't be missed. The other two were already here in Denver but not scheduled to officially start until next week. They were happy enough to help, I think they're excited to unveil the mystery around their new jobs. We're still going to need Lillian's help if we have to move on this quickly though."

"I don't think you have to worry, it would be hard to stop Lillian from getting further involved at this stage. You've mentioned this team a few times now but you haven't told me much. I'd like to know who I'll be working with. Who are they, what sort of backgrounds are they from?"

He was a little apprehensive about officially starting his role with Michelle at the BIA tomorrow. It might seem crazy coming from an ether dragon, but he didn't want to make a fool of himself in front of the seasoned professionals. He wanted to win Michelle's regard, to make her proud.

Michelle stiffened. She'd been vague on purpose, partly because she didn't know which of the people she'd been approaching over the last two months would accept the unusual request to come work on a top-secret project at the federal level. Partly because she wasn't sure how Chris would react.

"Well, do you remember back when you got in trouble for flying above Alaska?"

"Sure," he replied, smiling ruefully at the memory of the incident.

"Part of your deal to work for the government was that you would have a high standard of personal protection and training while you were working with us. I've put together a team of four who will act as an investigative unit working closely with you at the BIA. As well, they'll oversee your safety in public situations."

"Okay, I mean that doesn't sound too bad. I'm not sure how much babysitting I really need though."

"I know that Chris, it's apparent that you're capable of defending yourself. It's always good to have extra eyes watching out though. Lillian can't be with you twenty-four seven," Michelle's eyes peaked open to see how he responded, even as he kept pampering her with big, dexterous fingers.

"I understand, Michelle but who are they?"

"Well they all come from a military or law enforcement background, several have spent time in both," Michelle sighed, she was going to have to fess up sooner or later. "They're all women."

His hands stopped.

"It wasn't actually my idea, Chris," she said hastily. "The psy-ops experts who have been studying what we know about Beings suggested it after looking over your case. They thought it would eliminate male ego from the equation entirely."

"That's some bullshit, I get on just fine with guys... I think." Chris' brow creased in a deep frown. He wasn't sure why it upset him, perhaps because it suggested he wasn't mature enough to interact professionally towards both sexes. If they were worried about that they should keep human woman as far from him as possible. "What about Stephen or Oslo? Even Arvil. No problems there, I'd like to say we're friends."

"I know that Chris, I even told the higher-ups so. They weren't worried about you so much as other men working with you. Something about how it would be hard for non-Being men to understand your relationship dynamic and the effect you can have on women. It would be hard to avoid jealousy, even if it was subconscious. Eventually that would undermine the team dynamic."

Chris looked down at her upturned face, trying to gauge if she was pulling one over on him. She looked sincere, if upside down, as she looked up at him with an apologetic shrug of her shoulders.

"Okay then, let's table that for the moment. I'll admit I'm by no means an expert in such things. It's a little insulting though." He resumed her massage, running his fingers absentmindedly up into her hair, stimulating her scalp. "Did you get a reply from the email you sent?"

"I did," Michelle purred, delighted that he'd resumed with a decadent head-rub. She especially liked it when he took big handfuls of her black hair near the roots and applied gentle, consistent pressure for a few seconds. It was like the kneading paws of a cat. Melting down into the chair seemed like a real possibility in that moment.

"And?" he asked.

"It basically said, no goods no payment. I had to be cautious about spooking them. So, I told them to fuck off and go to hell. About five minutes later, I sent another saying I had cooled down and was willing to attempt another grab at you with the caveat that if I was successful the payment would be double. I'm waiting for a reply but I'm hopeful they will take the bait. If they do, we will hand you over and track you down to wherever they're hiding."

"Sounds simple enough."

"Simple?" Michelle complained. "I've been doing paperwork and tracking down the resources we'll need all afternoon!"

"Enough," Annabel announced, coming to wrap her arms around Chris' big chest from behind. "If you're going to get my fiancé kidnapped on purpose, he needs to be well fed. Dinner's ready."

"Okay, we can pick this up later," Michelle relented. "Thanks for the back-rub, Chris, I needed that."

"Any time."

Soon everyone was gathered around the table and Annabel produced pizza after pizza as they came out of the oven. Chris was especially impressed by an experimental pear, walnut, and goat's cheese topping, it was finished with fresh bitter greens and a balsamic dressing after it came out of the oven. Annabel said she'd had the idea for it from a salad recipe she'd seen in a magazine.

Immi and Lillian arrived a little later, to catcalls from Claire, Petra, and Annabel. The sprite sheepishly asked to sit in his lap and apologised over and over for being tempted into divulging their bedroom secrets for a few measly morsels. She said she couldn't help it. As ever, Chris couldn't seem to hold it against her and was quickly feeding her little bites of pizza as she perched provocatively naked, straddling one of his powerful thighs.

Soon after dinner, Chris was snuggled up with Susan and Annabel on the couch as they watched a little television. He was yawning regularly now and Annabel suggested he find Lillian and go to bed. Initially confused, she explained to him that she and Lillian had arranged for him to spend the first week of their new relationship together, exclusively. It was a privileged she hadn't even extended to Claire or Petra. He gave his two beautiful snuggle-buddies goodnight kisses and quickly did his toiletries before traipsing off to Lillian's room for some well-deserved sleep.

He knocked softly but the door was already cracked ajar. Inside, a bedside lamp was set on dim, providing soft light to see the beautiful vampire waiting for him under the covers. She smiled at him, pulling aside the soft cotton top sheet to reveal her naked glory. Chris couldn't help the answering grin on his face as he bounded over like a playful whelp and slid in next to her.

Wearing only a pair of silk boxers, he felt her mould around him. Every soft curve of femininity pressed firmly into him. One of her smooth, powerful thighs was soon draped over his. Her arms encircled him as he embraced her in turn, her hand running up into his hair as their lips met. When they parted, she crawled up the bed a little way until his head was resting in her magnificent, warm bosom.

He thought she wanted him to start something so he kissed and lip-nibbled those perfect, sweet-scented breasts to his heart's content as his hand stroked up and down her flank. She simply crooned affectionate nothings and held him close until he eventually yawned right into her one of her big tits. She had to giggle at that.

"Go to sleep, young one," she whispered.