CHAPTER SIXTEEN #2
“Most people struggle with it at first,” Aiden said, and at last he was conceding that I had some reason to be upset.
“Because from our perspective, we see it as exploitation. But the thing is, the Eumadians train the dimari based on the talents they display a natural affinity for. Xel was chosen to be trained as an erotic companion because he has a naturally high sex drive and he likes spending time with people. He enjoys sexual activity. I’m not saying that gives us a right to exploit him, but it’s far more a reward for him than an imposition.
But aside from that…” He hesitated, and I could see the cogs working in his mind.
“Your circumstances with Xel are a little different from most. And I apologise once again that I can’t give you more of my time to walk you through this.
I generally don’t say this to anyone, but in your case, you might just be the exception to the rule.
You can, as a temporary measure, give him permission to masturbate.
The core point here is that dimari are not allowed to experience a climax without their master’s permission.
Generally, telling them they’re allowed to masturbate is a bad idea, because it makes them think that their master is never going to have sex with them.
Which is like expecting you to keep working at your job but telling you you’re never going to get paid ever again. Things go downhill very rapidly.
“But in your case, Xel knows you didn’t choose him and he’s smart enough to have figured out that you don’t have a whole lot of need for his skills.
That does not negate the need for you to learn how to connect with him on an intimate level.
There’s another four or five pages in the book that you need to read on that subject.
So do that first, and then if you have more questions, I’ll do my best to answer them. ”
It was tempting to demand more answers now.
But it was late, both of us were tired, and if I tried to force Aiden to explain things that were already in the manual, it was only likely to annoy him.
“Can I ask just one more question?” I said.
“I will read the rest of the manual. And sorry for waking you up. I kind of panicked when I read that bit.” I felt my face flush as I said it, and no small part of that was because my situation was indeed more complex than most people’s.
Namely, because I had scars down the entire right side of my body, and I dreaded the idea of telling Xel that he was supposed to get up close and personal with all that twisted scar tissue.
“Why don’t you have any time to spend with us?
What’s this emergency that’s sucking up all of your time?
I know you probably can’t give me any details,” I rushed on, before he could explain exactly that.
“Classified information and all. But can you give me some kind of sensible explanation?” Perhaps I was just being paranoid, but I’d find it easier to trust him if I knew there was a real emergency behind his caginess, rather than just him trying to palm us off.
I saw Aiden’s shoulders droop a little, then he took a slow breath. “The short version is that a Eumadian cruiser came through the Rendol wormhole on Monday afternoon. You’re aware that we’ve stopped playing nice with the Eumadians?”
I nodded. About eighteen months ago, there had been a huge kerfuffle of some sort involving an interstellar disagreement with the troublesome species, and so the Alliance Military had begun shooting down any of their ships that attempted to jump through our wormhole.
“The ship we disabled contained eight unbonded dimari. I’ve been scrambling to try and find them all suitable masters.
I’m really, really sorry for throwing you in the deep end.
But once the ship was docked, I’ve got about seventy-two hours to get all of them settled in stable homes, or they start deteriorating very rapidly.
And if I can be brutally honest for a moment, Xel has a couple of weeks at a minimum before there’s going to be any serious effect on his mental health.
And that’s even if you manage to do absolutely everything wrong.
It’s not fair to dump all this on you, I absolutely agree.
But right now, I simply need to buy some time.
” His voice wavered as he said it, and it was that, more than the rest of the explanation that made me sit up and take notice.
Aiden most certainly did not seem like the type of man prone to fits of emotion.
“Thank you,” I said. The explanation really did help.
But that reminded me of something else. “Sorry to keep you, but there is one other thing. The last two nights, Xel’s been having these sudden and drastic drops in his mood late in the evening.
To begin with, I thought it was kind of weird that he wasn’t having more of a reaction to the loss of his master.
But now he’s started reacting to what I would consider to be normal things in strange ways. ”
Aiden nodded, then yawned again. I really should let him get some sleep. But I also needed answers…
“It’s difficult to diagnose what’s going on without being there to see it.
But he lost his master three days ago. One way or another, he’s going to be feeling that loss deeply.
If not in grief, then in confusion, or fear, or guilt.
So treat him the same way you would treat anyone who’s lost a member of their family.
Sit with him. Console him. Hug him. If he’ll talk to you about what he’s feeling, great.
But even if he won’t, you can still just be there for him. ”
The idea caused a sharp, jagged pain straight through the middle of my chest. I knew all too well what it felt like to lose a member of my family.
An image flashed through my mind of my sister, lying in a hospital bed, wrapped in bandages and too sedated on painkillers to even know I was there.
The pain Xel could be feeling was a familiar one…
but at the same time, I baulked at the idea that he could be feeling that level of loss for my uncle – a man who was as selfish and conceited as anyone I’d ever known.
“Thank you,” I said, suddenly eager to end the call. “It’s good advice. I’ll see what I can do.”
“Best of luck,” Aiden said. “And I promise I’ll call you again once I’ve got things under control at this end.”