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“You made a foolish choice at the last moment,” I say. “Why get in the water? You were doing so well at evading me in the brush.”
“Thought I could outswim you,” she replies, absently playing with my hair.
“Your thighs are very lovely, but they don’t have a lick of muscle,” I tell her, pinching her soft, pliable hip.
“I’m a strong swimmer! And, well, I figured you grew up on a spaceship, so…”
“The Rightful Heir is a luxury cruiser with a military landing pad. There are eight pools on board.”
“My bad!” She giggles at her own misconception, and I join in, laughing until it seems we’re no longer laughing at the situation, but rather reaching a delirious fever pitch from the exertions of the evening.
“Won’t you come in here with me?” I ask sweetly, tempting her with a charming expression on my face.
“I feel too weak to swim,” she tells me. “If I go in there, I’ll sink right to the bottom and die happy.”
“I’ll hold you,” I say. “The water feels wonderful.”
She agrees, shimmying off the edge of the platform to hop into the pool. As soon as her body is submerged, she lets out a moan of satisfaction.
“What a reaction,” I comment, pulling her against me. “Don’t make me jealous of a hot spring now.”
I tug her legs over one arm and let her back rest against the other, the same way I might carry her outside of the water. She leans her head back so that her hair fans out and the only part of her above the surface is her nose, brow, and lips.
“Kar’Kal is a beautiful place,” she hums, eyes staring up at the starry sky. “It reminds me of Earth, but it’s somehow still so different that everything amazes me.”
We float through the pool together, letting time slip by unmeasured, as she clings to me.
“It feels like magic when you touch me and hold me close,” I confess to her. “Either magic or a dream. Do you think that will ever stop?”
“I’m sure the novelty will wear off by the time we’re old and gray,” she says.
“I’m already gray, and some might call me old too,” I joke.
“But it feels like magic to me too. It’s more pleasant to imagine that I was a cursed girl in a fairytale, and you found some way to end the spell,” she says.
“It might sound nice, but don’t forget that it didn’t happen as simply as a children’s fable. You worked through so much to get here,” I remind her. “Saying I broke your curse takes that credit from you, credit you deserve for being so brave on your own.”
“I’ve never been in love quite like this,” she tells me. “So I can’t say what it will feel like when we’re older. Kar’Kal is new to both of us. It’s this amazing mystery that we can’t wait to explore and embrace, but soon we’ll learn it and live here for a long time. Maybe that magic will wear off, too, but then it will become our home. And that’s an entirely different kind of feeling, an equally wonderful one.”
“And what about the magic of tonight? You won’t regret what we’ve done, will you?” I ask.
“No! Of course not.” She grabs my hand and places my palm against her cheek. “This will be a special memory for both of us, don’t you think?”
“I know it will be for me,” I say, letting my thumb gently stroke her. “But I had a different impression of how our next sexual encounter might go.”
“And what did you have in mind?”
“We were moving along at a good pace,” I say. “I was sure that you’d prefer to take things slow with penetration, and I would’ve been more than happy to plan a night together that you could mentally prepare for. Then, I would work you up to it slowly, make you come five times before I even considered fucking you.”
“Nothing’s going to stop us from doing that still. That sounds lovely, but ultimately, I’m not a virgin, and I don’t necessarily need that gentle treatment. The struggles I’ve been having are a product of my mind, and while I know they’re not going away completely, we’ve passed a hurdle between the two of us. I feel safe with your body, no matter what we’re doing.”
“That’s all I’ve ever wanted,” I tell her.
“I’ll be honest,” she continues. “What I did today was mostly spontaneous. But if I had to explain my reasoning, I’d say it was my gift to you, a token of my appreciation.”
“A gift? Francesca, we’re beyond gifts. Please don’t think you owe me anything.”
“Everything we’ve done together sexually up until today revolved around me and my needs. You always put me first. What I wanted was to put you first, and the best way I could think to do that was to give you the mate-bonding ceremony you deserved. Ours was special in its own way—” Her cheeks flush, no doubt recalling the way I jerked myself off while she watched. “—But I know it wasn’t traditional.”
