Chapter 20
Romival
His precious Holly was back to being cautious.
She wasn’t hiding from him or ignoring him or anything like that. He still came and they still did their yoga, but she had added some space back between their mats. And instead of doing their training, she asked if she could just do the exercises. She didn’t want his hands on her.
Her face was pink when she asked for the change. She didn’t appear uneasy or unhappy, more overwhelmed and uncertain. She needed some time to think about everything he had said to her, to let it sit in her head and get comfortable there.
To that end, he was on his best behavior.
He would still give her looks, remind her every so often that he meant every word he said, but he didn’t touch her.
He went through their yoga and talked her through the exercises, traded questions about each other, then wished her a good day before leaving to get back to his responsibilities.
Throughout the day, he would send her small messages.
Reminders to eat. Questions that randomly popped into his head that only needed simple answers.
Sometimes, he would even send her little pieces of information, what she called fun facts, that he thought she might be interested in knowing.
And sometimes, he would set her things to look up herself and would ask her what she learned later.
She found those small assignments amusing and called him ‘professor’ with a desirous gleam in her eyes.
Romival had always loved learning things and passing on what he knew to others.
The fact that Holly was always interested in what he was saying and never seemed to mind him setting her topics to research made him happy in ways he never would have expected.
It was like, every time she learned something and told him about what she found out or expressed her interest in learning more, his heart would clench just a bit tighter, beat just a bit harder.
“That’s called a love language,” Holly laughed, sipping at her nectar enhanced water as the two of them sat together in her room, enjoying the morning meal after their work out a couple of days later.
“Love language?” He repeated, fascinated. Humans had a term for it. He wasn’t surprised that such a sexual species would have terms for the different facets of relationships.
“Sure.” Her face was delightfully pink again. “It’s how you express affection, and how you interpret it returning to you. Learning makes you happy, so you want to share that with the person that makes you happy. And when I share it back to you, it makes you feel understood and special.”
“Ah. I see,” he grinned, those very feelings rising as she taught him something new. “What about you?”
“Hm? Me?”
“What language speaks to your love, vi Holly?”
She stiffened. Her pink flared brighter as she bit her lips. He grinned as he watched her wild eyes look around at nothing. He could actually see her pulse pounding in her neck. So soft and delicate and beautiful.
And skittish.
She didn’t answer him, but he already knew what language must speak to her.
Holly craved comfort and safety and the banishment of the fears and unease that constantly plagued her.
It was why her bed was covered in soft, fluffy things.
Why she always covered herself from the neck down in loose fitting clothing.
Why she had her breathing techniques and yoga to calm her heart.
And even now she was making herself comfortable around him. That’s what these days that he hadn’t touched her, pushed her, or pleased her were for. To calm her down and make her comfortable in his presence.
He communicated his affections by sharing his knowledge. She was communicating hers through this patient trial of exposure and comfort. The fact that she was willing to let herself become comfortable with him again spoke volumes.
And now that he could understand, he was eager to spend even more time with her.
“Will you accompany me to the Seven Victories Festival?”
She looked surprised by the seemingly sudden change in topic. “The Festival? You mean the one about the guy who broke the moon?”
He laughed. “Yes, that one. You can go with the other females. I know Atem is planning on taking you all out together since it’s your first holiday here, but if you’re all right with it, I would rather you spend that day with me instead.”
“You’re asking me on a date?” She perked up noticeably.
“An outing.”
She laughed. “That’s an old-fashioned way to put it.”
“Your people call it a date?” He laughed. “An odd name. Are you excited to meet your lover or are you just marking it down on a calendar?”
“So, you are asking me on a date?” She pressed, clearly excited.
Her enthusiasm gave him pause. That wasn’t just the thrill of being able to spend time with him in her eyes. An outing – a date, as she was calling it – meant something different to her.
“Tell me what a date is,” he said, watching her carefully.
“Well, a date is how you start a relationship on Earth,” she said, smiling down at her hands as she played with her fingers. “A guy asks you out and you spend time together and have fun and get to know each other.”
“It’s the first step in your mating ritual,” he concluded, understanding dawning.
“Well, we don’t call it a mating ritual, but yeah,” she raised her eyes back to him. “Atem never really took Peony out anywhere she didn’t ask for, and you haven’t tried anything either, so I guess it’s not for you?”
Romival grunted in the negative. “Courting a female is done in privacy. How else would I be able to lick your cunt as I wished?”
“Romi!” She blushed that adorable pink of hers making him grin.
“But your males take you out? Are they not worried that others will interrupt their time? Or are they trying to show her off?”
She was laughing at his guesses good naturedly. “I mean, I guess some are. But no, it’s just about going out and having fun together. Seeing if you’d be a good match.”
“Ah, I heard of this.” He looked her over curiously.
“Humans don’t have mates. At least, not in the way the rest of the known universe does.
You just try to find someone you like being with and then stay with them.
In that case, I can understand why your mating ritual would begin with a public outing.
Having fun like friends would be a good way to ensure compatibility. ”
“Exactly,” she beamed, clearly pleased he got it right.
That was definitely not how domini did things.
They knew their mate on sight. Even if he didn't identify the emotion that had rushed through him immediately upon seeing Holly, his body knew what his mind hadn’t grasped.
And since domini knew their mates on sight, there was no need for playing friends or testing compatibility like they were pleasure mates.
But he could tell, just by looking, that this was something important to Holly. It made her happy just thinking about it. This was a piece of her culture and life that had been taken from her that he could easily return.
Reaching out, he took her hand in his and squeezed it gently, making sure she was looking him right in the eyes as he asked, “Holly, will you have a date with me?”
He knew instantly that was the right thing to say. Her expression melted into a dreamy smile as she looked at him like he had just offered her the entire world.
“Yes,” she breathed, lost in the joy of the moment.
Romival grinned, lifting her hand to kiss her palm. Watching her all the while. She was only a little bit pink now, but he liked the hint of it just as much as the full blush.