Page 30 of Right on Time
“I am?”
“Then stay as you are. Your comfort is my priority.”
Chloe narrowed her gaze at his cute sleepy face and messy braids. “You don’t have to suffer being used as a mattress in the name of duty, you know.”
A smile tugged at the corners of his purple lips. “Do I look like I’m suffering?”
She frowned. “No?”
“Why do you sound surprised?”
“I’m angular, for starters.”
“You’re soft and light.”
Not according to her ex, she wasn’t; ‘gangly’ and ‘lacking in cushioning’ were the words Trevor had used to describe her. “Don’t you feel too warm?”
“The bed gel and my uniform keep my body temperature at the optimal degree. Why, are you hot?”
Chloe didn’t know how to answer that. Depended on what type of heat he was referring to. Because her body temperature down south was intensifying at every sweet thing he said to her. “How about the wall you built?” she asked instead of replying to his question. “And before that, when you didn’t want to sleep on the bed with me?”
He averted his gaze. “I tried to do the right thing, but the circumstances forced me to–Not that I didn’t want to sleep next to–” Nitiel sighed. “You can sleep some more, Loe, is what I’m trying to say. On the mattress or on me.”
Chloe smiled knowingly and laid her head back on his chest. “I think you’re enjoying these circumstances, Subcommander.”
His body tensed under hers. “I said no such thing.”
“True, you didn’t. What if I ask you whether you’re enjoying our snuggling session? You’d have to answer with a simple yes or no, and you can’t lie, so…” He tensed further, and Chloe quickly added, “I won’t ask you that. I have my answer right here.”
“Loe...”
“It’s okay. It’s normal for your body to enjoy the contact with someone from the opposite sex. Or from the same sex, depends on who you’re attracted to. No protocols and codes of honor can control your body’s reaction. I mean, I won’t judge. As long as you don’t judge me… for enjoying the moment.” There, she admitted it. While hiding her face against his chest and under his wing, but still.
Nitiel’s hold on her hip and lower back tightened. Some time passed before he told her softly, “I’m enjoying the moment too.”
Chloe’s heart skipped a beat. “So… you’re into snuggling?”
“I don’t know. This is the first time I’m sharing a bed with a female.”
“Wait, you’ve never…?”
“No. That requires a female to express interest.”
Chloe gaped. A human man wouldn’t admit to being a virgin unless forced with a gun to the head, and Nitiel here was being all matter-of-factly about it. “But… But how come? You’re...” gorgeous and kind and thoughtful, “you!”
“Yes, Loe. I have nothing to offer a Gaenthian female.”
“What are you talking about? On Terra, women would be waiting in line to date you!” That thought made her snuggle closer, though it wasn’t physically possible. “What is it that Gaenthian women want in a man?”
“A clan, first and foremost. That, I cannot offer.”
“Oh.” Chloe wanted to ask more, but his tone suggested he didn’t want to talk about that. “It’s their loss, then. On Earth, you don’t have to think about clans, horn sizes and forms. You’ll be showered with date offers.” And that was something Chloe didn’t want to think about.
“Have you shared your bed with a male?” Nitiel asked.
She scrunched up her nose, still hidden under his wing as she was. It was much easier to talk about personal stuff that way. “Yes, but for no more than an hour, and it was years ago, back in college. My boyfriend didn’t like to stay after… you know.”
“Fool,” Nitiel muttered.