Well, shit.Overjoyed, she hadn’t stopped to think;she’d just reacted.We do have much to learn about each other.
“I would like to do it again.”
“You would?” Her lips curved.
“Yes. I liked it very much.”
“Well, then…” She curled her arms around his neck. “Let me show you what a French kiss is,” and proceeded to show him.
“You have some strange but wonderful customs,” he said when they came up for air.
She took his hand and led him to the sofa. “Speaking of strange and wonderful customs, I need to ask you an important question.”
“What is it?”
“Do your people have sexual intercourse?”
“Of course. That is how we reproduce.” He cocked his head. “You wish to have a baby?”
She would not consider having a child until she could bring him or her into a safer world. It remained to be seen if their two species could produce offspring together—but she didn’t want to find out until their two species could manage to coexist without killing each other. “Uh, no. At least not for a while,” she replied.
“Oh.” He looked crestfallen. “That’s disappointing. Sexual intercourse is very pleasurable. But I accept your decision.”
Oh, for goodness’ sake!“I take it you don’t have sex just for fun?”
“Progg don’t do anything just for fun.”
She should have guessed. She nudged him in the ribs. “You didn’tusedto do anything just for fun. Stick with me—I’ll show you a good time.” While they adjusted to the new paradigm and got to know each other a little better, she’d make a trip to the pharmacy. Maybe he couldn’t impregnate her at all, but she wasn’t going to risk it at this juncture.
“More fun than cards?” he asked.
“Much more.” She kissed him. “Just wait and see.”
Epilogue
One week later.
Grav carried a box of books from the house and settled it into the small trailer hitched to the vehicle. “Last container,” he said.
“Good, because we’re out of room,” she said.
The admiral hadn’t been a light traveler either.
In the past week, they’d prepared to leave the area. She’d taught him how to drive, and they’d gone to town for medical supplies, drugs, clothing for him, additional ammunition for the weapons, some how-to books, and gasoline, which they’d siphoned out of parked cars. She’d already had a tent, sleeping bags, a camping stove, portable lights, a paper atlas, and other equipment, some from the cave, some from the house.
“A lot of towns may have supplies, but we can’t count on it,” she had explained. “Looting started to occur during the invasion, and survivors will have rifled through stores—just like we did. Once we get into an area with people, supplies will be scarcer. I don’t want to have to scrounge for necessities.”
“Understood,” he said.
He slipped his arm around her waist, and his heart skipped a beat as she leaned into him. Progg weren’t physically demonstrative, but he didn’t think he’d ever get tired of touching her or being touched by her. It had become his greatest source of joy. Until meeting Laurel, he hadn’t realized how it felt to be happy. He’d never been happy before.
And last night? The single most euphoric experience of his entire life. They’d had sex. He’d had to wear acondomoverhis member because Laurel said her birth control wasn’t effective yet, but the experience had rocked him to the core. His people had been missing out to limit intercourse for reproduction!
Or maybe they did it on the sly and didn’t admit to it. There was no official ban on seeking sexual gratification, just strong social sanctions against it.
He couldn’t imagine anyone experiencing the kind of pleasure he had with Laurel and not wanting to do it again and again. He started to get hard.
“Are you thinking about sex again?” she asked. “I created a sex monster.”
