Chapter 55 #3
“Let me give you a preview of what's going to happen.
I'd hate to take a maiden to bed and frighten her with what I'll do.” My toes curled and my heart must have skipped a few beats.
I knew what happened—I'd watched plenty of videos showing how it was done and fantasized about it in my dreams—but I said nothing.
I was enjoying the game. “I'm going to kiss you here”—he raised a hand and traced my lips with his thumb, then dragged it down my chin and continued to the middle of my breasts—“then I'm going to take my time here.” I swallowed hard, unable to look away from his eyes.
His touch was so light I could barely feel it, but that didn't stop me from shivering.
That damned finger kept descending down my belly until it reached the drawstring of my training pants.
“And finally, I'll get here. I'll do things with my mouth that might scandalize you a little.”
My heart pounded in my chest, heat spreading, spilling down my neck and settling down there, very close to where his fingers played with the drawstring of my pants.
“And then?” I murmured breathlessly.
Zion brought his mouth to my ear, his breath making my skin prickle.
His lips grazed my neck in a brush so soft it was barely a touch.
It was then that chaos theory started to make sense: the flapping of a butterfly's wings in one place can cause a hurricane somewhere else.
There were specific places in my body where earthquakes were happening.
“Then?” The tip of his nose brushed my earlobe, and I couldn't hold back the moan that rose from my throat. “Then I'm going to fuck you until the only thing you remember is my name.”
Gods, if he didn't stop talking, it wouldn't be long before I started trembling. I pressed my legs together for some friction, and Zion pulled back a bit to look me in the eyes. He seemed very satisfied with his little game.
“The question, general,” I said, regaining control of my body, “is whether you'll last until the end.”
“I can't wait to find out,” Zion replied, planting a kiss on my temple before pulling away. Only then did I remember to breathe. By the gods, that man was going to give me a heart attack. When I finally composed myself, I headed toward the locker room, and Zion shot me a wink.
“Call me when you're done. I have a surprise for you at home,” he said in my mind.
“Something for me? What exactly?”
“If I tell you, it won't be a surprise anymore.”
I smiled and nodded, waving at him.
Δ
I sat on the locker room bench and waited while Aish finished her shower. When she finally came out wrapped in a white towel, I stood up and smiled at her.
“What are you doing here?” she asked, frowning.
“Waiting for you. I saw you leave the mat looking irritated—thought you might want to talk.” While she dried off, I looked away to give her some privacy.
“Did Hiro send you here?” She seemed angry and suspicious.
“No. I didn't even get to talk to him—I came straight here when class ended.” I raised my hands in surrender. From the look she gave me, I knew she didn't fully believe me. “What's going on between you two?”
Aish sighed as she got dressed. It was freezing in there, and as night fell, it only got colder.
“I don't know what to do with Hiro. He's got it in his head that I'm the love of his life, and since the day we fought, he hasn't stopped flirting with me. So we went to the party and you know...” She pointed at me, then brought her fingertips together to mime a kiss.
My cheeks flushed remembering what we did.
“We made out and I thought he'd lose interest—thought he'd see me as a prize he'd won, because most guys are like that. But now he's...”
Aish released her braids from the bun, and they cascaded down to her waist. Then she looked at me, at a loss for words.
“He's in love,” I finished.
“Yes, I think that's the problem.” She sighed, deflated.
“And you? How do you feel?” I crossed my legs on the bench, getting more comfortable, while she applied some creams to her face.
“What do you mean, how do I feel? I don't feel anything. I shouldn't feel anything. Hiro is an Interion, and there's still the issue of his Drutes descent. I'd never be allowed to be with someone like that.”
“But you don't even know if the relationship would actually work out, Aish. Maybe it would end in a month or two.”
“Zoozi, no. I don't want to hear it. I like my life the way it is—I like going out to parties and kissing as many people as I can. I like waking up in a different person's bed every week. I don't want to change that.”
“Is Hiro really that horrible?”
For the first time, her expression turned sad and the scowl crumbled.
“On the contrary,” she replied, deflated. “He's one of the best men I've ever met. And he's a damn good kisser.” She looked at me and smiled without a hint of shame. “Well, you know that, don't you?”
I felt my cheeks burn. Of course I knew—Hiro wasn't bad at all—but I had a partner, and no man, no matter how gorgeous and incredible, would ever come close to Zion. I cleared my throat and changed the subject.
“If he's all that, then what's the problem?” I really didn't understand Aish's reasons. “Is it because he's... poor?”
Her eyes went wide as she shook her head vehemently, waving her hands, then her whole body, as if the thought disgusted her.
“No! Absolutely not. I admire him even more for that—for working hard and taking care of his grandparents. Money is definitely not a problem for me. In fact, in my nation, women are the ones who pay the bills.” She started putting away her clothes while venting.
“The problem is that you Interions don't understand our culture.
In Ampér, marriages are rare because we're free to be with as many people as we want.
We can get married, but we'll always have relationships with other people, and that's normal—we're used to sexual freedom and polyamory. But here...” She shifted her weight from one leg to the other and put her hands on her narrow waist. “Here you get married and stay trapped in that relationship.
You think you should love only one person for the rest of your life, have sex with only one person.
I could never get used to that. And Hiro?
He smells like home, like children and a stable life.
He smells like a home, zoozi. And I'm a daughter of Ampér—my father is the second-in-command to Ampér's general.
We're nomads, warriors, and proud. We weren't made for marriage.”
Her eyes shone as she spoke of her nation and the life she imagined for herself. I raised my hands in surrender.
“If you don't want any of that, then why are you so worked up about him? Why did you storm off the mat?”
“Because he's the devil,” she fumed, gesturing indignantly with her hands. “Remember what I told you earlier about sleeping with six guys? Well, guess what?”
I stared at her, confused, as her hands kept moving.