Chapter 10
Romival
She was concerned about choking him. Considering he knew how thin her skin was, and he could actually see her blood pumping through the thick arteries dangerously close to that ridiculously thin skin, it probably wasn’t an unreasonable fear.
Her weak males would probably be choked, but her weight wasn’t nearly enough to compress his windpipe and his major arteries weren’t close enough to the skin for him to worry about her crushing them.
Adults were made to carry their young on their backs like this when they climbed. She didn’t weigh as little as a youngling, but she didn’t weigh enough to be a hindrance either.
She clung to him tightly. Clearly afraid to be on his back as he climbed straight up the tree.
It wasn’t an uncommon method of travel for the domini – he could see other staff and students doing the same even now despite the rain – but it wasn’t how humans climbed.
She didn’t have the claws to do it, nor did her soft feet possess the rough bottoms that his did – though, admittedly, he relied on his shoes to provide that extra roughness since he wasn’t going about barefoot.
She was scared, but she trusted him. She hadn’t demanded he bring her back down. She clung tighter but didn’t struggle. She worried about hurting him.
“My body is designed for this, vi Vakara. Don’t worry about choking me.”
She fell silent, but he didn’t think anything of it. She was probably just focused on maintaining her grip. Not that he would let her fall. If he didn’t think she could do this, he wouldn’t have asked her to trust him.
The climb up was a familiar one, but it was made exciting by her presence. He wished she would relax a bit so she could see the academy spread out below, but he comforted himself by the thought of her being completely surprised once they reached the top.
Romival had been working through the modules for basic medical sciences – since he had about a quarter mark of free time – when the school net boards began going crazy.
The female student working the archive desk had posted a picture of Holly, excited that a human had come around.
Everyone was talking about it. All the males had been saying that they were going to the archives right now.
Everyone knew that Dominani was obsessed with his human mate, and everyone could see exactly why. The overt sexuality of the human females inflamed the libido beyond compare. The rumors about how hot, tight, and wet their cunts were drove their desirability higher.
Romival couldn’t allow Holly to be overwhelmed by students with more brawn than sense. He had to go down and intervene. If she wanted to learn something, he had archive access in his office. Up high where it was safe, and she couldn’t be bothered by other males.
Only to find, when he got down there, Sixth Scholar and that obnoxious female that tailed her like a lovesick saroosh yanking her from her pod. Poking at her. Laughing at her. Romival hadn’t been close enough to hear what they were saying, but Holly’s discomfort had been obvious.
It had taken all of his self-control not to interject right there.
But he knew that if he intervened, if he stepped forward to rescue Holly, it would become a drama.
He would be just another male made stupid by the humans and it was turning him against his own council.
Not to mention that it would reflect badly on Holly.
Named vora vakara, it was expected that she stand up for herself.
Even in the impossibility of her victory, people would expect her to challenge Valorii.
They would defend her if it came to blows, because no one would really expect her to fight, but she would have to speak up.
To spare her the humiliation, Romival had, instead, sent Ryna to find Valorii.
It wasn’t the first time he had been forced to do so.
Since she hadn’t tested into the scholar council, Valorii lacked the knowledge and drive required to serve in her position.
However, until someone else tested into her place, he had no choice but to work with her.
Or to send Ryna to get her back to work.
With her gone, he could get to Holly. Take her away. Take her up.
Her weight felt good, right, on his back. It felt even better knowing that he was climbing up to his office. While not his den, it was still a space that was only his. And he slept there sometimes, that was close enough. He would feel better with her in those walls than in the archive.
Just below the canopy, the lower opening to his office was unlocked already.
He hadn’t bothered to even shut down his equipment when he rushed out.
He pushed the door up and climbed inside.
Holly didn’t relax, however, until he closed the door, shutting it gently back into place and latching it closed when he stepped on the locking mechanism.
She slowly untwined her limbs. He had to lower himself so she wasn’t forced to drop to the ground. When her hands would have slid away, however, he turned and caught them, holding them close to his chest as he grinned down at her.
“There, that’s quieter, isn’t it?” He grinned as her eyes quickly darted around the room. “Welcome to my office.”
“You work here?” She asked, breathless with amazement. He released her hands so she could walk away, look around.
And he got to enjoy the sight of her in his space.
The lower entrance emerged into a small hallway with wide windows that looked out over the academy.
It was, when it was sunny at least, usually bright and beautiful.
Flowers grew almost wild and untamed along the ceiling.
Part of his various research projects – these particular flowers glowed in low lighting, and he was investigating the possibility of using it as an oxygen producing light source on ships which would cut down on energy use from both air recyclers and artificial lights.
One end of the hall opened into a wide room that held his desk, his archive access panel, one of his workstations, and all his class prep materials as well as the holo simulator he was using to design new engine mechanics for starships traveling in subspace.
The door to that room was almost always open since that was where his students came to ask him questions.
The other door was usually closed, though not now since he had left it open when he rushed out of his lab to go find Holly.
Inside were his massive computers that he used to do most of his work as First Scholar.
He had another work bench in there. That was where he designed Holly’s combot and other small projects including his most recent additions – all medically related.
Both rooms had outer doors leading to the balcony that could be seen just outside of the hallway windows.
On which was a telescope that extended beyond the canopy, his subspace communication device, and a comfortable seating area for when he wanted to get some fresh air.
All of those things had canvas tarps covering them, protecting them from the rain.
Holly’s eyes were wide as she looked first out onto the balcony, then into his office.
He followed her inside, watching in fascination.
A small smile graced her face as her fingers moved over the well-worn desk.
There wasn’t much in the way of color or fripperies here.
The chair was large and comfortable, but that was more a nod to his constant use than aesthetics.
He was glad she was pleased with it anyway.
He had no doubt that she’d change it if she could. That was a mark of a good adassi – a ready willingness to change their environment to suit their tastes. A domini provided a den but it was up to the adassi to nest within it.
Turning, she leaned back against the desk, grinning at him. “You are most definitely a professor.”
“What makes you say so?”
“Your office feels like a teacher’s office,” she laughed, gesturing around at the various things lying around his, admittedly, cluttered office. Unlike his lab, this place wasn’t kept perfectly clean. Mostly because there was little point. Remnants of his projects were scattered everywhere.
He approached, leaning over her, putting his hands down on the desk on either side of her hips, caging her in his arms. She leaned back, just enough to keep his face in view, but she didn’t truly pull away. Her eyes sparkled and it was beautiful.
“You’re welcome to come here to use my archive access anytime you like,” he said. “In fact, I would rather insist on it. You’ll be mobbed by curious students if you go to the archives.”
Her expression fell, her hand reaching across her body to her other arm. “Yeah, I kind of got that…”
Romival frowned. “Does it hurt?”
“No. I mean, it’s a bit sore, but it’s not bad.”
He growled low in his throat. It was quiet, so he didn’t think Holly heard it, but she gave him a reassuring smile, dropping her hand back down.
“I’m okay, I promise,” she assured him. “The marks you left are darker.”
“They were also far more pleasant to apply.” Sufficiently distracted, his gaze moved to her bust, but it was hidden by her high-necked dress.
Holly liked to wear lots of loose-fitting clothing, he had noticed. He imagined it made her feel more comfortable. Just like her large nest of pillows and blankets on her bed. Holly was scared and skittish and so sought comfort in the soft embrace of fluffy things.
It was rather adorable. Romival had never really desired soft things himself – which was probably how he should have known he wasn’t fit to be an adassi – so his home and office were both sparsely decorated and spartan in comforts. He should change that if he wanted her there.
He would change it.
“May I scan you?” He asked suddenly, making her start in surprise.
“Scan me?”
“First Healer is keeping his research regarding you human females rather well protected. I want to learn more. I would appreciate you letting me scan you.”