Chapter 9 #2
And no one ever attempted to fight the humans. It was considered highly dishonorable to pick a fight with a weaker opponent. The weak could challenge the strong, and the strong wasn't dishonorable for answering that challenge, but it couldn't go the other way.
So, it just didn't occur to her anymore, now that she was comfortable, to be afraid of walking out on the street. The worst she had come across thus far was Valorii and Brava and, if that was the worst Calvitorum had to offer, this place was doing pretty damn well.
Romival was shaking now, holding her close as though to shield her from men that existed so far from here, they were in a completely different galaxy.
“Hey, I’m all right,” she promised, stroking his arm. “Really. It’s not that bad. Most men aren’t like that. It’s just some of them.”
“Some. You say some. It should be such a rare occurrence that it’s horrifying.” Romival growled, putting both arms around her and squeezing her close. It wasn’t sexual or even that intimate. It was as though she had just escaped danger and he needed to confirm that she was okay.
Holly said nothing, rubbing his back as she waited for him to calm. Afraid that she had given him the wrong idea about Earth males. But she didn't want to make it worse again, so she kept anything else to herself.
It took a solid minute before she realized that she was, in fact, being embraced by Romival.
She wasn’t entirely certain when the mood of the hug changed.
When his grip had gone from being desperate to being eager, or her rubbing turned into a slow caress.
It was such a gradual thing that when she finally figured out what was going on, it was a surprise.
Her hand stilled on his back, and she stiffened in his arms. His growl had changed back to that delicious, sexual rumble that was doing amazing things to her body as it vibrated through her. She gnawed on her lip as she debated pushing him away or letting this continue.
The decision was made for her when Romival turned his head and buried his face in her neck, breathing deeply before sweeping his tongue across the slope of the skin. She shuddered, trying to tell herself - knowing full well she was lying - that it was from revulsion.
“Sweet,” he said, licking her again. “I’ve never… How do you taste this way?”
“Well, your species does drink blood,” she mumbled, her fingers clenching against his back as he began to suck the sensitive skin. “Maybe you’re hungry.”
“You only drink from enemies,” he mumbled distractedly. “Your hair… your skin… so soft…”
“Romi…” Fuck, that was a moan. She moaned his name, head tilting back, giving him better access even as she ordered herself to stop.
But why? Really, was it so weird? He was an intelligent, fully sapient species. That 80s space show always had the captain having sex with whatever alien of the week was there, right? Why should it be weird just because she was a girl?
“Holly,” he murmured her name, kissing up her neck, towards the back of her jaw. He tongued the area behind her ear before becoming distracted by her ear itself. He nibbled along the curve of it, so different from his pointed ones. “Tell me more about your reproductive abilities.”
“What?” She laugh-gasped, both her hands grabbing onto his back now. “I really don’t think periods are proper sexy conversation.”
“Your body is capable of bearing my young. I can breed you so many times. You said yourself that you can have six or more. Tell me about that.”
Holly trembled. “I’m not… I’m not a dog. You can’t breed me…”
“What is a dog?”
“Not me. I am not one.”
“No. You are a human female. A tasty human female.” He had her head in his hands now, pulling it back so he could press his lips to the tip of her chin, teasing her with the promise of a kiss.
“And I want to know if it’s possible to breed you or if vi Dominani is just the luckiest novi in existence. ”
“That’s… I don’t know that!” He was pulling her up, stretching her spine. She found herself lifting up onto her toes, reaching for a kiss that he still only threatened, kissing along the skin beside her mouth instead.
“Would you really give me six pups? More?”
“I don’t….” She was having trouble thinking. Focusing on anything but the desire for him to stop teasing and just kiss her already! “I mean, I want a big family, but-”
She didn't get to finish her statement. He finally closed his mouth over hers. Immediately invading her mouth with his slightly rough tongue. It was just different enough from what she expected that she jumped, startled. But she wasn’t unwilling, opening herself to him, inviting his tongue inside to dance with hers, a soft moan in her throat.
He didn't taste right. He tasted good, but it wasn’t what a mouth was supposed to taste like. Rich and warm and completely alien. She couldn’t even compare his flavor. It was what she imagined warm cashmere candles tasted like. Masculine, not precisely edible, but delicious, nonetheless.
He pulled back but kept her face in his hands. She was stunned from the kiss, from the fact that she had not only allowed it but welcomed it, that she couldn’t even focus. Her eyes were half lidded and she clung to his flanks as she tried to keep her weakened knees from buckling.
“You’re pink again,” he said, voice rumbling in approval. “This is such a pretty color on you. Not camouflage, but I rather like it. Is this color change how you signal to males that you are ready to mate, Vakara?”
She was panting as she focused back on him, her legs shaking from the effort of keeping herself on her toes. “What…?”
He didn't repeat himself, too focused on his investigation. “How far down does it go? Your cheeks… Your neck… It’s going further. Let me see…”
She hadn’t recovered her wits enough yet to even focus on what he was talking about.
She didn't understand what he was doing until he had already let his fingers drop and press the seal on the back of her neck.
She gasped, reaching up to catch it before it exposed her boobs.
She only barely caught it in time. Not helped by Romival pulling it down, trying to see just how far her blush spread.
“All the way to your breasts,” he mumbled as though impressed.
“Romi, you can’t just undress someone like that!” She cried, her face burning with embarrassment as she tried to yank up the dress top, fighting against his efforts to keep it down. She was highly aware of her lack of bra.
“I just want to see,” he said, his voice distracted.
She blinked, staring at him in amazement. His sexy growl was gone and, in its place, was what she very distinctly recognized as a teacher voice. He might be the smartest guy on the planet, head of all academia, but he was also a teacher. He had a teacher voice.
And there was no reason for that to be hot.
But he was staring at her again as though fascinated. Desire was still there in his alien eyes, but it was mostly eclipsed by curiosity. His interest was mainly academic.
And again, that shouldn’t have been hot.
“Why do you turn this color?” He murmured, pressing his finger into the soft flesh of her breast where it rose over arm.
He made a sound of interest when the skin blanched then immediately turned back red from the lack of pressure.
“Your skin is so thin you can actually see the capillaries refilling!”
“It’s called a blush,” she mumbled, trying to decide if she was more embarrassed, turned on, or amused by his reaction. “It’s just something humans do when their emotions run high.”
“To what purpose?” He poked her a couple more times in a few more areas - her other breast, her collar bone, her neck. Just watching the pink turn white then immediately flush back to pink like the common reaction was utterly fascinating.
“I don’t know,” Holly admitted, shifting her weight anxiously. “It just happens that way.”
“So, it doesn’t signal that you’re ready to be mated?”
“No!” She squeaked, wondering why her body was reacting to this. “No, it happens when we’re, like, embarrassed or, er, excited…”
“You’re excited?” He smirked up at her.
She frowned at his immediate assumption. “Maybe I’m embarrassed.”
“What do you have to be embarrassed about? Your body is gorgeous. Your reactions are sensuous.” He leaned over, pressing a kiss to the swell of her breast, stealing her breath.
“I adore this pink. I want to change my skin to this color and never change it back. Since you’ve no reason to be embarrassed then, therefore, by process of elimination, you must be excited to have my hands and eyes and tongue-” he flicked his tongue over her other breast, “-all over you.”
“That’s not… you’re not…” She could barely breathe, much less think. She couldn’t believe that she was still letting this continue. He wasn’t trying to expose her breasts any further, but he was touching her freely and she said nothing to stop him.
She didn't want to stop him.
“I can’t get you out of my head,” he murmured, putting his arm around her and lifting her up against his chest, making her squeak again.
So mortifying. Why couldn’t she have cute, sexy, little sounds? Why did every involuntary noise she made have to sound like a dog toy being stepped on?
Not that Romival appeared to care. He was too busy kissing and sucking and gently nipping along the swell of her breasts that she was still leaving available to him.
She had one arm across her chest, trying to keep her dress from falling further; her other hand was on his shoulder trying to keep herself balanced and upright.
Not like he needed any help. His arms were iron bands around her, holding her close, keeping her feet up off the ground.
Sexy wizard nerd was also strong, and she was only a red-blooded woman, how was she supposed to deny temptations like that?!