A Blue's Embrace

Story by TastesLikeGreen on SoFurry

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#1 of A Blue's Tale

An ordinary human farmer, staying in the city far from his home, has had a very bad day. But his plan to drink his problems away is derailed by the unexpected arrival of a new face at the inn. The face of a lovely dragoness of the blue flight.


A Blue's Embrace

By Green

I can clearly remember the first time I saw her. I hadn't even noticed her walking in. I was sitting in the common room at an inn in the capital, where I was staying a few days on business. I was sitting alone at a table near the fire, nursing my drink, not really in a good mood since the merchants had changed their price since our last talk and I wasn't sure I had any alternatives to giving in. I sighed, wondered how I was going to be able to afford it, and glanced over at the bar. Then it happened. That was the moment. I'm not ashamed to admit it, my jaw dropped and my eyes bugged out when I saw her. She was about seven feet tall, skin a set of luminous, shining scales the colour of the sky on a bright summer's day, a pair of leathery wings folded neatly behind her. Her eyes were a bright yellow, almost glowing in the reflection from the fire, and instead of hair she had a variety of horns growing out of her head, two very large ones, long and pointy and white, and quite a few much shorter, stubbier ones which ran down her neck and were dark, the colour of sapphire. Her clothes neatly contrasted her body, a very ordinary set of shapeless robes in a dull reddish-brown colour. The plainness of her outfit served only to make her body look even more extraordinary. I wasn't sure how I'd missed her entrance, though looking back on it I was probably too busy wallowing in my own irritation. I'm normally very good at people watching, but on this particular night, my reflexes were slow, and as she surveyed the room, slender, flexible neck twisting as she looked around, she caught me staring at her, mouth closed but eyes still large.

To my chagrin, she stood up and walked over, taking the seat opposite me without asking. She spoke first. To be honest, I was taken aback by how... normal her voice sounded.

"I hope you don't mind some company. It's just that it's so nice and warm by the fire, and all the other tables over here are full."

This was true, but I wasn't sure how to respond. She continued, as if she didn't notice my silence.

"It's just so hard for a coldblood like myself to stay warm in this climate. I don't know how you smoothskins manage."

The words were spoken in a lighthearted manner, but I was still put off by her casual behaviour. I forced myself to say something, anything.

"...We get by alright, I guess."

"Can't imagine how nice it must be to be warm inside all the time."

Before I could respond to that, a serving girl brought the blue a very large mug filled with a steaming liquid.

"Ah, thank you."

She took a deep sniff and smiled, an interesting effect on a muzzled face.

"I've become quite fond of hot cocoa since I came to human lands. You might have noticed, I do enjoy my warmth."

She took a sip and let out an odd sound that reminded me of a cat's purr, an incredibly satisfied look on her face.

"Mmmm. That hit the spot."

Looking down at me again, she continued.

"Now then. Are you going to tell me why you were staring at me, or do I actually have to ask you?"

I'll admit it; my heart practically stopped when I heard this. She didn't say it in an upset or threatening matter, but when the person saying it is a seven-foot reptile, you tend to worry. Naturally, I stammered like an idiot.

"Oh! Um, sorry but, it's uh, it's just that I've, you know... never seen a dragon before."

Despite my vague fear of being eaten, I was blushing, embarrassed at how I sounded. To my surprise, she nodded sympathetically instead of rending me limb from limb.

"I understand. I couldn't help but stare the first time I saw a human. He was a travelling merchant who came to our city when I was very young."

I managed to forget my awkwardness and raised my eyebrows.

"Really? But we're so... ordinary. We're not as big as orcs or as strong as dwarves or as smart as elves. And we get none of the interesting Inheritance that the ani-men get. The only jokes the other races have about humans are about how boring we are."

"Yes, well, unlike the orcs and dwarves and elves, we're not mammals. We live separated from most races, with just the other flights of dragons to keep us company. Before that merchant came to us, I'd never seen someone with smooth skin before. I'd never seen someone without wings before. And I'd certainly never met anyone whose handshake was warm from the inside out. I remember being particularly fascinated by his hair... I'm sorry, I tend to wander off like that."

"Oh, I don't mind. Can I ask you a question?"

"By all means."

"What are you doing in human lands, anyway?"

The blue leaned back, a thoughtful look in her luminous yellow eyes.

"I originally came here to study the history of the lowland cultures in the university."

I took a swig of my ale and nodded. I wasn't normally interested in the goings-on at the university, not being the intellectual type, but somehow, everything becomes more interesting when a dragon is involved.

"I see. So are you a scholar or something?"

She shrugged, which had the effect of spreading her wings slightly, drawing a few looks from the other patrons of the inn, though she didn't seem to notice.

"Not really. I'm just really curious about other species. The headmaster of the university didn't ask to see my credentials or anything, he seemed almost too eager to help. I think he believed having a dragon doing research in his school's library would make it seem more prestigious or something."

"That's understandable."

"Yes, well, I've run into kind of a roadblock with my research, and I'm not sure where to go from here. I suppose I'll have to try another city, but I don't know the area that well."

"Oh yeah? I'm no expert, I'm from the country myself, but let me tell you about the bigger cities around here..."

And so the conversation began. It started with just frank discussions of the larger cities in the human lands, from experiences I'd had in the closer ones to the rumours I'd heard about the more distant locales, like that the Imperial Capital on the western continent, home of the Empress who all kings answered to, had street fountains that flowed with wine instead of water. But the more we talked, the more we got sidetracked by all kinds of things the conversation reminded us of, and soon we weren't talking about the cities at all. We discussed all kinds of things, from the animals that lived near our homes, to memories of our childhoods, to things we liked to wear and eat. And the funny thing is, she seemed just as enraptured by my stories of helping my father run the farm, chasing rabbits in the woods, and playing games down by the creek with my brothers and sisters as I was about her stories of learning to fly, exploring caves made of crystal, and the relationships between the various flights of dragons. When she finished her cocoa, she ordered an ale, and then another one, and as we lost track of time, we fell more and more under the delightful effects of drink. As we exchanged jokes we never would have laughed at sober, the dragoness mentioned offhand a fable she'd heard when she was a kid, about a pair of arguing farmers. To my surprise, I recognized it; apart from the specifics involved (for starters, the farmers grew corn and potatoes, not crystals and mana, and the thing they were arguing over was a lost cow, not a mountain drake). When I told her this, she seemed very interested in learning more, saying something I didn't fully understand about "cultural symmetry". Things like that gave me the distinct impression that she was a lot smarter than me, though her easy demeanour meant it wasn't intimidating. I mentioned that I'd seen the story listed in the contents of a book I'd just purchased at the market, a present from the city for my brother's young daughters. And so we found ourselves heading up to my room to retrieve the book from my belongings.

My companion sat patiently on the bed as I rummaged through my bags.

"I think I left it in this one... Hmmm, that's just laundry. Well then I'll try this one... ah, yes, here we go!"

I tugged the hardcover book out of the knapsack and held it up triumphantly.

"Let's head downstairs and check it out, shall we?"

To my surprise, she held up a hand and shook her head.

"Why go back downstairs? Why not look at it right here?"

"Well, the light's better downstairs, and I would figure it's warmer by the fire."

She smiled shyly. At least, I think it was shyly, I still wasn't very good at reading reptilian facial expressions at that point.

"That may be true, but don't you think it's... cozier up here? Just the two of us?"

The dragoness softly patted a spot on the bed beside her. Despite being slightly uncertain, I joined her. I made to undo the fastener on the old tome and she laid a hand over mine, her flesh not so much cold as unusually cool, it felt about room temperature.

"I need to tell you something. I really am interested in that story, but it can wait. You see... at the moment, I'm more interested... in you."

Her gentle yellow eyes gazed at me with a quiet desire, which surprised me. She moved her hand from my hand to my shoulder, rubbing and massaging lightly at my muscles.

"But... but I'm a... you're a... we're not even the same..."

I trailed off, nervous, before trying again.

"You-you've probably just had too much to drink. You don't want to do anything you'll regret in the morning, do you?"

She smiled again, showing her sharp teeth, though it wasn't frightening.

"I didn't even drink as much as you, and it takes more booze to affect my race than yours. The truth is, friend, your history isn't the only thing I've always admired about your species. The way you look, the way you feel... I've never been with a human, but you seem so soft, so warm, so tender. I can't imagine feeling as intimate with a cold-blooded man, covered in scales."

"D-did you say 'tender'? You sound like you're planning to eat me."

I was only half-joking, to be honest. The drink had made me slightly paranoid. She moved her hand from my shoulder to my face, stroking my cheek with her thumb, and shook her head, that look in her eyes getting stronger.

"Oh no, I could never eat another sapient being. No tricks from me, friend. I never thought I would be so lucky as to be with such a handsome human... "

The blue frowned suddenly as something occurred to her.

"That is, if you find me attractive as well."

I shivered and reached up, placing my hand on her face the way she had on mine. Her scales weren't as hard as I'd imagined, her cheek simply felt like very firm skin with a pattern. It reminded me of the thick skin on the soles of my feet, except that it was as smooth as can be instead of being rough. I focused on her eyes again as I made my admission.

"Of course I find you attractive... you're one of the most beautiful women I've ever seen, of any species. It... it would be an honour to be with you."

I wouldn't have thought it possible, but her smile widened even further down her muzzle, showing off all her teeth. It was the grin of a predator, yet I couldn't imagine her hurting me. She spoke, leering at me with lust in her eyes.

"I love the way you humans talk. 'It would be an honour to be with you.' Oooh... makes me tingle all over. I'm afraid my kind aren't much for romance. That being said..."

Suddenly she lunged at me, easily pinning me to the bed, fire in her eyes as she groped my crotch through my pants.

"...I can't wait to feel you inside me."

Before I could respond in any way, she pressed her lips against mine, and I had the most unique kiss of my entire life. My tongue was much shorter than hers, and her mouth, being a muzzle, was far too deep for me to fully explore, but she was able to reach every crevice in my mouth, actually wrapping her long thin tongue around mine, massaging it from every angle, an incredibly erotic sensation for me. She reached up and ran her fingers through my hair, a human feature I recalled she'd said fascinated her. I reached up and hugged her tight against me, running my hands along her folded wings, the limbs thick and hard, the membrane thin and diaphanous. I felt safe and protected beneath her large frame, and gave myself over to her completely as we continued to kiss. Finally she broke it off and proceeded to disrobe me. With a dragon's strength and the sharpness of the short claws on her fingers, she could have utterly shredded my clothing, but she took the time to simply remove them from my body intact, pausing after my shirt was gone to run a hand over my chest. I could feel her shiver as her palm pressed against the skin directly over my heart.

"By the seven gods, so smooth, so warm..."

She glanced up at my face. I guess she saw something she didn't like, as her face fell slightly.

"Is - is something wrong? Are you having second thoughts?"

"No, it's just... I've never been with a woman who was bigger and stronger than me. I feel downright dainty next to you."

"Is that a problem?"

"No, it's... interesting. I kind of like it."

She leaned over, that long neck snaking down towards me, and ran her tongue from my navel all the way up to my neck, causing me to shudder with anticipation.

"Then don't worry, smoothskin. I'll be gentle."

As she unbuckled my belt and began to remove my pants, I reached up to caress her cheek. Her scales were smooth and without flaw, and like her hand, her face felt cool to the touch, which was unusual, yet not off-putting.

"You really are beautiful."

My partner smiled and said nothing, returning to my pants as I rubbed the back of her head. The long white horns, which grew out of her temples and curved back around her head, were hard and unfeeling, much like those of a bull, though the dark blue stubby protrusions that grew like hair and continued down her neck felt rubbery and alive, eliciting a giggle from her as I ran my fingers through them down to the point where they disappeared under her robes, which she still hadn't removed.

"How far down do these go?"

She set my pants aside and gripped my drawers as she answered.

"All the way to the base of my tail, though they get much smaller as they go."

I was about to make a comment about how nice they felt, but she inhaled suddenly as she pulled my undergarments down to my knees.

"Oh my... I'd read about how human males were built, but it's something very different to see it in person..."

"Is that a good thing?"

"I like it, anyway."

She teased a finger through my pubic hair, smiling widely.

"It's kind of cute that you have hair down here. And these..."

For a second I thought she was going to grab my erection, but she bypassed my aching staff entirely and took my testicles in hand instead. She rolled them around in her hand, pulling another shudder from my body. Unfortunately, she followed this up by squeezing just a little bit too hard, getting a yelp out of me.

"Careful! Those -ah- those are sensitive!"

She immediately released my jewels, letting them fall against my body with a quiet slap, a mortified look on her face. Her cheeks had grown a darker shade of blue, which I think means she was blushing.

"Sorry! I'm not used to that, it's like I was about to say, on dragon males those are on the inside. Are you okay?"

"Yeah, I'll be fine."

I smirked.

"I thought you said you were going to be gentle."

She returned my little grin, her cheeks returning to their normal hue.

"You're right, I did. Let me apologize for that."

Once again the she-dragon leaned down towards me, first planting a kiss on my mistreated sac, then extending her tongue and gently wrapping it around my boys. I let out a moan as I returned to full hardness, her nimble tongue massaging away any remaining pain. A drop of pre formed on my tip, and she snapped out her tongue and licked it off as she sat up, blushing slightly once more.

"If you don't mind me saying, I like the taste of your sweat."

"You're the only woman who's ever said that to me. And I don't mind at all. Please, though, stop teasing me. I'm dying to see your body."

I reached tentatively towards her robes, and she made no effort to stop me, suddenly looking shy as she tilted her head away. I untied the cloth belt around her waist and the buckle on her collar, and pulled the robe open, my heart beating quickly as it fell away, looking like a blanket with sleeves. My breath caught in my throat, and I just stared.

"Gods above..."

She was magnificent. Despite the fact that she was covered in scales, her muscles were still clearly defined beneath her skin, which was practically iridescent when viewed in its entirety. The scales on her belly were a much lighter shade of blue, stretching down into the simple cotton underwear she had on and up to nestle just under her breasts. Intrigued by the simple fact that they were there, I leaned forward and took one in hand. The scales on it were a different shape than the others, much smaller, impossible to distinguish from each other. This meant that it felt like solid, smooth skin. It was firmer than a human woman's skin would be, but softer than the scales elsewhere on the dragoness' body. Her breasts were quite large, but then, so was she; the effect was that compared to the rest of her body, they actually seemed to be a little on the small side, which was fine by me.

"Oh my, these are certainly a surprise. I couldn't tell because of the robes. I thought dragons didn't have breasts. Certainly not breasts this excellent."

Her blush deepened, though I wasn't sure this was because of my compliment or because I leaned down and kissed a cerulean nipple as soon as I finished speaking.

"T-the more feral clans, the quadrupeds, they don't... but we're more humanoid, we do."

I didn't know what a 'quadruped' was, but there would be time to ask her later, so I just nodded and went back to kissing her impressive bust. She shuddered and wrapped her arms around me, holding me tight. Once again she let out that sound that reminded me of a cat's purr, just much deeper. I ran my tongue around her nipples in little circles, and gently kneaded and squeezed whichever breast I wasn't using at the time. My tongue wasn't as impressive as hers, but she definitely seemed appreciative. I felt pressure on the top of my head and realized that she was pressing her own down on top of mine, hugging me with her long neck in addition to her arms. I could feel her body warming up from rubbing against mine, and smiled. Finally I pushed back, and she let me go. Before she could ask why I stopped, I reached down and took the waistline of her panties in hand, looking up at her, asking the obvious question with my eyes. She nodded, the lust burning in her eyes brighter than ever. My lover lifted her hips off my bed, pointing her tail down in the same direction as her legs to help me pull her underwear off.

As I had predicted from her earlier reactions to me, there wasn't a hair on her, just a spot where the scales parted in either direction and a pair of fleshy lips protruded. Actually, apart from those scales and the fact that the skin was blue, she wasn't that different from any other woman I'd seen. I nudged at her in the direction of the head of the bed, and she took my hint and moved there, leaning back against the wall and looking down at me as I lay down flat on my stomach, tucked my arms under her thighs, and pushed my face forward into her treasures. She moaned out loud, face very dark blue by this point, and looked down at me with gratitude as I traced her lips with my tongue.

"Ohhh... no dragon male ever did this for me. It feels so very nice..."

I winked at her and pushed forward into her depths, which were warming up much faster than the rest of her body. Her flavour was very unique, a kind of bittersweet taste, emphasis on the sweet. She twitched and gasped and moaned above me, eyes tightly shut, hands massaging her own breasts, as I alternated between teasing her labia, bathing her inner walls with my tongue, and attacking her throbbing purple clitoris with reckless abandon. Her tail started to slap against the wall as she thrust her hips into my face, coating it in her juices.

"Seven gods... it's so good..."

At this point I stopped touching her love button, instead tracing endless circles just around it without actually contacting it. When she realized that the pleasure had ceased, she groaned in frustration.

"Noooo, don't stop..."

I did not respond in any way.

"Please, stop teasing me, I - I'm so close..."

I continued my lazy, slow circles.

"I'm begging you, please let me come!"

She sounded so desperate that I decided to have mercy on her and took her clit into my mouth, attacking it from all sides with my tongue while I pulled one of my hands out from under her thighs and plunged a pair of fingers deep into her. The blue gasped and let out a cry in a language I did not understand, before clamping her thighs down on my head, her hands gripping my hair like I was a horse that threatened to throw her off, and then moaned in pure wordless bliss as a powerful orgasm washed over her. I continued my dalliance in her nether regions even as her slick love tunnel collapsed on my fingers, as her entire body shook and writhed in pleasure.

When she finally came down from her euphoric climax, she was breathing hard, though curiously, she wasn't sweating. At least, her scales didn't feel any more damp than usual. I, on the other hand, was sweating like a pig in a butcher shop, and my long-ignored erection, squeezed between the bed and my stomach, was crying out for attention. Eventually she opened her eyes and looked down at me in lazy bliss.

"That was amazing, smoothskin... I thank you from the bottom of my heart."

I grinned.

"I'd say it was my pleasure, though I think we both know you enjoyed that more than I did. But gods above, I've never wanted a woman more in my life, I've got to be with you."

Her lazy smile widened.

"I thought you'd never ask."

I stood up for a moment and she lay down, her seven-foot frame taking up the entire length of the bed, spreading her wings beneath her. She was_glorious_.

"It would probably be for the best if you were on top, smoothskin. You might be a bit too fragile to be beneath me."

Smiling wider than ever, I climbed onto the bed between her legs, and was about to position myself over her when she moved a hand over her treasures and a mischievous look appeared in her eyes.

"You know, on second thought, you were quite mean to me just now. It's impolite to make a lady beg. Perhaps I should return the favour."

"You want it just as much as I do, and you know it."

"Ah yes, but I have an alternative. You don't."

And before I could respond or say anything, she pulled her tail up between her legs, and much to my amazement, pushed the meaty tip between her lips and into herself. She began to pull back and push forward with great enthusiasm, eyes locked on mine the whole time, though I barely looked at hers, being completely mesmerized by the spectacle before me. When she spoke, her voice was thick with equal parts amusement and arousal.

"Mmmmm, yes... almost as good as any male."

I suddenly realized that if I did nothing, she would come again and I would end the night unsatisfied, which was unthinkable. I placed my hands on her tail, ceasing its movement, and looked her in the eyes.

"Please, o lady dragon, please let me enjoy your body. Please be with me. I beg you."

Chuckling, she slowly pulled her tail out of herself.

"Well, why didn't you say so?"

At last, I eagerly climbed on top of her and lined myself up with her entrance, only to stop at the last minute as something occurred to me.

"Wait, if I lie with you, could you get pregnant? I could run down to the pharmacist's, buy a sheath."

She ran her fingers through my hair again and shook her head.

"Don't worry, smoothskin. First off, you're a mammal. I'm a reptile. It would require a minor spell for us to conceive together. Secondly, I can only get pregnant while I'm in heat. And trust me, if I was in heat and wanted you, we'd already have done this two or three times. And your clothes would resemble cloth confetti."

She kissed me once, rubbing my back encouragingly.

"Do it. I want to feel you inside me."

Happy to oblige, I pushed forward, sliding into her smoothly and easily. Her body was now easily as warm as a human's, and that seemed to increase every sensation she was feeling. Both of us sighed happily as I hilted myself within her, taking a moment just to savour the feeling of her body around me. Then I kissed her and began to move my hips, thrusting into her warm wetness. It was amazingly intense, I had never felt this attracted to a woman in my entire life. I kissed her hungrily, feeling around the unfamiliar interior of her mouth, her teeth so sharp and her tongue so long, and I never stopped pushing into her. It still gets me going to this very day to remember how she felt, her love tunnel squeezing and massaging every part of my penis at once. It was a perfect moment, I could have been happy making love to her for all eternity. But she broke off the kiss with that mischievous look in her eyes again.

"I want to try something with you -ah!- if you'll let me. It will make you feel very good if it works."

"For you -by the gods- for you, I'll try anything."

She placed her hands on my face. I thought she was feeling my skin again, but really she was just making sure I didn't look behind me.

"I understand that humans like to call this 'fucking'. Well, what I want to try is fucking you while you're fucking me."

Understandably, this confused me, though I would have been confused even if I wasn't enjoying the best sex I'd had in years. The confusion lifted when I felt the tip of her tail, still slick with her juices, prod at my rear. I stopped thrusting, shocked. It was my turn to blush.

"You mean you want to..."

I couldn't even say it. She rubbed my cheek gently, whispering encouragingly.

"Trust me, smoothskin. Trust me."

I was uncertain, but I didn't want to lose the chance to be with her, so I closed my eyes tight and nodded. Then I felt her tail slowly push inside me, halting for a few seconds when I flinched from the pain. Eventually she stopped pushing forward and stroked my cheek again.

"That should be enough for now. There, that wasn't so bad, was it?"

Before I could answer, she began to move, and I began to feel unfamiliar pleasure spreading out through my body.

"That - that's actually quite nice..."

"Thank you. It's nice to know my knowledge of human biology has come in handy."

My erection had lost some of its stiffness when she first pushed inside me, but then this new pleasure had brought me back to my full pride. As I grew more comfortable with the sensation, I began to thrust into her once more, as she put it, fucking her as she fucked me. It was, without the shadow of a doubt, the most pleasurable thing I had ever experienced in my life.

"I - I had no idea it could feel like this... I never imagined..."

She kissed me again.

"You're welcome."

We kissed like old lovers reunited after years apart, we caressed every part of each others' bodies that we could reach, and never once did we stop what we were doing. Finally, I sensed that it was coming to a close.

"I... I'm going to come..."

She shivered and held me tight.

"Oh yes! By all the gods, yes! Come inside me, please! I want to feel it!"

With that, she pushed her tail deep into me, and I pushed myself as deep into her as possible. I let out a loud moan and shuddered as I ejaculated within her, such a powerful orgasm that for a moment every single thought in my head was silenced. Every muscle in my body tensed up as I spurted my release in the dragon's love canal, and she threw back her head and gasped.

"Seven gods! It's so warm! I'm - I'm - I'm..."

She trailed off, but if I had to wager a guess, I'd say that the word she meant to say was "coming". For immediately after that, she went through another powerful climax, screaming out her pleasure in a foreign tongue as her arms and legs wrapped around me, holding me tight against her. Even in her rapture she was careful not to squeeze too tight, I wasn't in danger of being crushed. We came and came and came, going through our ecstasy together.

All good things come to an end, though, and eventually we found ourselves sated, lying on the bed, breathing heavily. I was so exhausted that I just stopped supporting myself and lay down directly on top of her. Several women had done this to me in the past, but this was the first time the girl was sturdy enough that I was able to do it to her. I could hear her reptilian heart beating inside her, just as fast as mine. It was amazingly comfortable, just lying there like that, together, so we remained like that for a few minutes, trying to catch our breath. I finally broke the silence shortly before my flaccid penis slipped out of her.

"If all dragon females are like you, then dragon males must be the luckiest on this world, because I've never come so hard in my life."

She laughed at that, a beautiful sound from deep inside her.

"Funny. I was just thinking something similar about human females."

We kissed again, lazily and without urgency. When we broke it off, she was blushing.

"We made an awful lot of noise. I bet everyone in the inn knows what we just did."

"The inn? I bet everyone in the city knows what we just did! Right now the king and queen are in the royal bedchamber, wondering who just had such excellent sex."

She laughed again at that, and didn't stop. I quickly joined her, and we laughed long and loud and hard, until our stomachs ached and there were tears in our eyes. Then there was another period of silence, which was broken when the blue brought me back to reality.

"So I guess you're going back to the country in a few days."

Suddenly I wasn't so happy.

"Yes. I can't afford to stay in the city forever."

"Can I see you again tomorrow then?"

I looked up at her. Her yellow eyes were full of need of a different kind, a need I realized was echoed in my own heart. Right then and there, I came up with a crazy thought.

"I have a better idea."

"Oh?"

"Come back with me. To the country. My town's library will be pathetic compared to the one here in the capital, but you can probably learn a lot about the way humans live in rural areas... or something."

I swallowed, then continued quickly, before I lost my nerve.

"Look, I'm not asking because I want to further your studies, I'm asking because I want you. It's not just the sex - though the sex was great - you're the most interesting woman I've ever met, and I'm feeling things for you that I've never felt for anyone else. I don't want this to be a barstool story - 'the time I fucked a dragon' - I want to stay with you, to see if this goes anywhere."

The dragoness was silent for an agonizing moment, then she smiled.

"I've never been to the human countryside before. It should prove quite exciting. And you're not the only one who wants to see where this goes."

The realization that a dragon had feelings for me was a mind-blowing experience.

"Is - is that a yes?"

"Of course it is."

I laughed happily and kissed her again, no longer caring about any of my problems. If I had to pay those greedy merchants more money, then so be it. Somehow, everything would be okay as long as this amazing woman was with me.

"Doesn't it get very cold in the countryside in the winter? I'm not sure how I'll handle that."

"Well, my home is well insulated, and we have lots of blankets and a very large fireplace. And if all else fails, I suppose I could share some body heat."

She giggled.

"Now there's an idea. Let's practice."

She wrapped her arms around me and then stretched her neck down to rub her cheek against mine. Then she fully extended her wings beneath her and curled them forward, as if shielding both of us from the world outside. I felt so amazingly close to her. Everywhere I looked I saw some part of her touching me. The room beyond had disappeared. I was no longer lying on a bed. I was wrapped up in a dragon's arms and wings.

In a blue's embrace.