NennsettledTinyatthe table in the galley.His fingers trembled when he ran his hand along her shoulders.He could have her now.
‘I want you,’ rang in his ears and opened the gates to his emotions, which he struggled to control.He need not rush this when they had plenty of time before they reached Ivoy.They wouldn’t be chasing pods this time.
“Greetings,” Juunn said, striding into the room.
“Hello.”Tiny faced him, her reaction a little delayed.Her gaze trailed his passing then rested on the bang he made when he put down his jar.
“Tiny, this is Juunn,” Nenn said, wishing the male hadn’t intruded.
Juunn stumbled, flicked a gaze between her and Nenn, then nudged him on the arm.
Nenn nudged him back and broke away to rest his hand on Tiny’s shoulder.“Do you want hot or cold?”
“Hot, please.A warm belly might help me sleep.”
“Do not make your tisane,” Juunn muttered.“It smells like a dead animal.”
Nenn bristled.“It is delicious—”
“So you say.Order Meorri tulsig.”Juunn took his jar of fruit juice and left.
“I’ll try both,” she said, clasping her hands in front of her.She angled her head, her focus distant.“And whatever Juunn has.It smells like mango.”She hummed, pursing her lips.“I can’t remember when I last had fruit.”
Her sweet smile had Nenn staring at her.
“Same,” he said, offering her his back.
He gripped the edge of the counter.She shouldn’t affect him this quickly or strongly.Truth.It had been a while since he’d last seen to his own pleasure.Mating a female back home only happened if she was a lonely widow or unmarried by choice.Either were rare, and being chosen was dependent on their preference.The symbiotes shared glimpses of matings.He grimaced.With a Qaldreth female, he’d flounder but find his way.With a human, he was at a loss.New respect for Drafe arose.The male must have honed his knowledge of human female anatomy enough to bring Vic to orgasm; he had to assume.Never would he ask Drafe anything so…intimate.
The replicate dinged, snapping him out of his thoughts.Perhaps he need only ask Tiny for guidance.He carried the plate of salt cakes to her and placed the tisane on the table.He took the time to guide her hand to each one before sinking onto the bench opposite her.
She stroked a cake, learning its shape as she circled it then testing its consistency by pressing the center.“Smells good,” she said, scooped one up, and bit into it.“Oh.”
Her moan shot heat to his already hard koq.Maybe feeding her had been rash on his part.
“Will you teach me to mate with you?”he asked.
She choked, coughed, then grabbed the tisane for a gulp.Her cheeks blazed a bright pink, and her eyes shimmered.“Nenn,” she croaked.“This—”
“Please.I want to give you pleasure.”
She placed her unfinished cake onto the plate, licked a fingertip, then held out her hand.
He didn’t hesitate, grabbing it and lacing their fingers.
“If you show me how to please you.”
Hot ice slid across his shoulders at her consideration.“Yes,” he managed.
“Good.”She smiled, withdrew her hand, and brought the jar to her mouth.“It smells like a rotting corpse but tastes like hot vanilla-lavender tea.”She smacked her lips.“Aren’t you hungry?”
No.He couldn’t eat.His groin ached.A maed had to heal himself or ask another to do so.His breath caught.Before him sat Tiny, a maed, and the cure to this incessant agony.
“For you,” he said, relishing her renewed blush.‘Attraction,’ she’d said, triggered her changes in color.And intense emotion.Yes, like pure lust.
“I hope to get used to your honesty,” she said before popping the last bit of a tulsig cake in her mouth.“I must admit, though, it’s good to know where we stand.No guessing games.”She tore a cake in two but paused with a piece halfway to her mouth.“I’d like some sex, but…you’re my only ally in a new world.Vic’s busy, so she doesn’t count.If what we have is just sex…I can accept that, but promise me that I won’t lose you in the process.”Her brow furrowed as her expression turned pleading.
“Just sex?”He’d never mated, but an instinct or prediction warned him that once he lay with her, there’d be no turning back.
