CHAPTER NINE #3
I nodded. “Unfortunately, no matter what we do, we’re not likely to find a home for him where all of his training could ever be put to good use.
Alliance culture just doesn’t allow for that sort of thing.
The triad who took Nol was an unusual situation.
” There were a select few businesses on Rendol 4 that provided sexual services to the public, but they were strictly regulated, and a dimari would never be permitted to work in one – specifically because his consent could never be properly assured in such a situation.
“That does raise a good point, though,” I added.
“Because, if we did adopt him, I’d have absolutely no problem with you and him having sex with each other without me there.
Assuming you both agree to it, that is. I’d never order you to get frisky together.
But if he’s an erotic companion, I’d probably struggle to keep him satisfied just by myself.
“But the other thing that concerns me is his non-conformist behaviour. I’m not blaming Jai for that.
There are likely some very good reasons for him to be displaying a certain amount of rebellion.
But that’s an issue we’re both going to have to work through with him if he comes to live here.
And given that I’ve never dealt with anything like that before, it’s not likely to be smooth sailing. ”
“On a practical level,” Kade said, “that’s potentially another good reason why we – you – should adopt him.
” That minor slip of the tongue didn’t escape my notice, though I didn’t point it out.
“If he has experienced any kind of trauma – some excessively harsh punishment, perhaps – then having another dimari here should be reassuring. If he can see that you treat me kindly, and if I assure him that you’re a diligent master, then he’ll have fewer concerns about what sort of person has bought him. ”
“Certainly a valid point,” I said. Once again, I’d never had to deal with two dimari living in the same house before. They were rare enough on Rendol 4 that it was highly unlikely for one person to ever accidentally stumble upon two of them.
“Okay, well, we’ve made some good points,” I said, stifling another yawn.
“I’m not making any firm decisions tonight, though.
Let’s sleep on it, and we’ll talk it through some more with Henderson in the morning.
But it’s good to know it’s a possibility, if we don’t come up with anything more suitable. ”
“Yes, sir,” Kade agreed, snuggling down further into the blankets.
I reached over and switched off the light, then felt Kade curl up against my back, pressing one of his legs between mine.
He’d always been a very physical sort of man, and I wondered about his apparent desire to have sexy playtime with another dimari.
I certainly wasn’t a prude, but we’d have to do a solid amount of work with Jai to make sure he understood the concept of consent before seriously considering anything of the sort.
I got no further with that line of thinking before I fell fast asleep.
The loud jangling of my comm on the nightstand had me sitting halfway up in bed, some unknown amount of time later, and I scrambled to answer the thing in a panic.
Unfortunately, that just made me knock it onto the floor, and I had to dive halfway off the bed to retrieve it.
I finally managed to answer the call, without even looking at who the caller was.
I was assuming it was Henderson, probably with some emergency involving one of the dimari.
But when the holographic screen brought up an image of the caller, I muttered, “Oh, fucking hell,” before I could think better of it.
It was Cole, the new and not entirely willing owner of Xel, a dimari who’d lost his master just a couple of days ago.
And that was one more thing that was new territory – how the hell did a dimari cope when his master had just died?
As much as I had other things on my mind right now – the pressing need for sleep not least of them – I also knew I had a responsibility to continue supporting the other dimari owners all over Rendol 4.
I glanced at Kade, who was also awake by now, anticipating that this call might take a while.
“Kade, can you…?” I didn’t even need to finish the sentence before he was climbing out of bed.
“I’ll go and sleep in the spare room,” he said, navigating the darkened room with his usual graceful steps.
Once he was gone, I turned back to Cole.
“What’s up?” I asked him. “I take it it’s urgent, given the time of night?
” I hoped I didn’t sound too petulant about that.
I had told him he could call me at any time, after all.
“I’m not having sex with Xel,” Cole blurted out. “Absolutely not. That’s just… absolutely insane!”
I held back a sigh as Cole went on a rant about all the things that were wrong with the expectation.
I wasn’t the slightest bit surprised by his objections.
This was a conversation I’d had with dozens of dimari owners over the past year.
Sex was the most intrinsic reward a dimari could get, and engaging in sexual activity of some form with them was absolutely non-negotiable.
That said, it usually took me a couple of weeks to talk a person through all the details of that situation, along with all the nuances of consent, and I’d been hoping to avoid having this conversation with Cole for another few days yet.
I spent fifteen minutes talking him down, though I was barely able to keep my eyes open the whole time.
And more concerning than Cole’s panic about sex was the news that Xel had started reacting strangely to normal, everyday events.
A dimari who’d lost their master was likely to be feeling a whole array of emotions that I’d never encountered in a dimari before, and I sorely wished I had more time to spend helping both of them adapt.
The best advice I had for Cole was simply for him to feel his way through it, one day at a time.
We were both in uncharted territory, and I didn’t have any better answers than that.
The call finally ended, and I slumped back into bed, my brain a rioting mess of ideas and feelings. Stars above, if I made it to the end of the week without going mad, it was going to be a miracle.