Page 59 of Mazorium Buys a Human

“I was born after my parent’s families fled Old Earth,” she said, her voice low and sensual. “I never got to experience anactual theatre, but I know when couples went they didn’t pay attention to the vid.”

I had to clear my throat before I could speak. “Why didn’t they pay attention to the vid?”

“From what I've been told, it could be hard for young people to find privacy, so they’d use the darkness of the theatre to touch each other and make out.”

My heartbeat sped up. “What does make out mean?”

“It means to kiss and pet each other,” she murmured. “Everything that can be done inconspicuously without taking off your clothing.”

She was watching me closely, as if waiting for a reply, except I couldn’t make my voice work. I wanted this. I wanted to hold her and touch her, but what if my need went too far and I upset her? Talin sexual intercourse tended to be fast, rough, and a race to orgasm. It was a sexuality I didn’t want to expose her to, but could I suppress it and be more human?

“Or not,” she said. A frown marred her features, and she pulled her hand away. “I thought you were dating me, or um, courting me as you put it. I guess that means something different to Talin’s than humans. I keep waiting for you to touch me, but you avoid it. Do I disgust you now?”

I sounded a loud negative rattle that made her jump. Her withdrawal pulled me out of my voiceless state.

“That’s not it at all,” I said, turning in my seat to face her. “I want you to touch me, and I want to put my hands on you. I don’t care whether we have clothes on or off. If we do this here or in our nest. I only want you to be happy.”

Her frown disappeared and was replaced with her thinking expression. “Then why are you avoiding touching me and not responding when I touch you?”

I let out a long breath and said something no Talin ever wanted to admit. “I’m afraid.”

Her eyes widened with surprise. “Afraid of what?”

“What if I accidentally hurt you? Or I don’t do anything well enough? I’ve tried to do research on human sexuality, but there isn’t much available through the Committee of Pet Welfare. I want everything to be perfect for you. What if I can’t?”

An understanding smile covered her face. “Nothing is ever perfect, but that doesn’t mean it can’t be good, or even great.”

“But you deserve all the best,” I insisted.

“And you deserve things too,” she countered.

She pulled the blanket that was still draped over us away and tossed it onto the front seats. Moving slowly as if giving me time to object, she climbed onto my lap. She arranged herself so she was straddling my thighs facing me.

It’d been so long since I’d gotten to hold her that an involuntary rumble of comfort came out of me. I automatically wrapped my arms around her back to keep her secure.

She cupped my cheeks in her hands, pressing gently over my aching scent glands.

“You’ve been nothing but gentle with me and Nadia,” she said. “I trust you to listen to me if I ask you to slow down or stop. If you feel uncomfortable, we can stop and talk. There’s no script you need to follow. This is between us, and we can write whatever story we want.”

She leaned close and pressed her lips to mine. At first I kept my mouth closed, but when she ran her tongue over the seam of my lips, I gasped. When my mouth opened, she pressed her tongue inside, touching mine.

This was the lip press I’d read about! We were lip pressing! This is what humans did with each other during passionate embraces. I was humbled and overjoyed that Mika wanted to do this with me.

I could understand why humans liked lip presses so much. Mika was warm and tasted sweet. Bonding oil covered her palmsand trickled down my cheeks as our lip press made my heart race and blood rush to my mating shaft.

Mika ended the kiss and sat back. Dazed, I opened my eyes to find her licking her lips.

“You’re good at that,” she said.

My brain flooded with images of all the other places I could use my tongue and lips on Mika. I couldn’t possibly hurt her if I only touched her with my mouth, right?

“Hey, stop that,” she said, tightening her hands on my face.

“What?”

“I can tell you’re worrying again,” she answered. “I trust you, so you need to trust yourself.”

I needed more reassurance. “Are you sure you want to be intimate with me?”