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No answer. Not in words. Jade took one of her bags from his paw and let her free hand travel slowly up his arm, her face still solemn.
It’s my job to seduce her.
Ardol purred and let his now empty paw trace gently over her cheek. “You looked so beautiful today. I was the envy of all.” His words were a purr, his padded digits daring to ghost over her lips and neck, the fast ticking of her pulse confusing him, making him wonder if her speeding heart was a sign of fear or arousal.
She stepped back, looking for a place to put her bag. Ardol decided it should be interpreted as reluctance if not outright fear.
“We can wait. We’ll be on-world for several weeks.” Ardol knew how to act the part of a gentleman—even if his curiosity about his new bride was slowly making his tail twitch and his cock hard.
Jade looked at him in silence as she deposited her luggage on a chair, her hand running slowly over the small table in his quarters. Next to her, it looked huge. Everything looked huge compared to her small, slender frame.
His pride warred with common sense. It would be embarrassing for everyone to know that his new bride didn’t want to bed him. Leopardines were masters at seduction, at lovemaking. No wonder they could hold several Queens at once, while other Felids could barely hang onto one.
On the other hand, angering and pressuring his new bride might make her dissolve the contract before he had a chance to produce an heir. In a voice full of forced cheer he explained, “Jade? I said we can wait—for you to share my quarters. I’m sure we can get you your own quarters. Or, if you’d prefer to stay in town and not on the ship—”
Jade cut him off, walking over to him, her hips rolling with every step. Her body language read “seduce,” but her voice was cool and factual. “I don’t need to wait. Is a marriage
legally binding if you don’t consummate it?” She stopped in front of him, one hand on
his chest and her middle against his erection.
“Oh.” The factual note faded. Ardol watched her swallow, her pale throat moving with a suddenness that stroked his inner predator.
Some cocky part of him loved the flash of surprise on her face, the genuine light of curiosity in her eyes. It wasn’t like she hadn’t felt the size of him before, but now—well, now he wasn’t the one insisting on waiting. Now, the wedding had occurred. The contract was “finalized” so to speak. “Well. I’m ready if you are.”
She nodded, a small, stiff smile on her face. “I should change. Bathe. Don’t worry, I won’t take long.” Jade kept her grip on the other bag.
Ardol nodded. “Of course! I’ll show you how the facilities work. I imagine they’re a little more advanced than they are at the lodging house, and the preferences are programmed for someone who requires a full-body shampoo. That won’t be necessary for you.”
Damn it. Now he was picturing her smooth, naked body. Picturing her covered in the rich lather his shower provided.
“I won’t be long,” Jade repeated firmly as he stood staring, his erection growing, lust glazing his eyes.
This time, there was something beyond polite disinterest in her voice. There was actual—dislike in her tone.
Dislike of me? Of bedding me?
“The marriage is legally binding if we wait or if we consummate at once,” Ardol blurted, placing one strong arm across the bathroom door.
“I told you, I’m ready.” Jade’s eyes flashed.
“You said that—but you don’t smell ready,” he burst out, nostrils working.
“I beg your pardon?”
“Smell. Scent. Queens who are ready for intimacy have a delectable scent. Wet, ripe heat.” Ardol swallowed as his mouth filled with saliva. He wanted to taste her skin. Her heat. Find what made her scent change, what made her wet and warm, what would make her eager, not just receptive.
“We don’t need to wait for that. I have lubricants and oils,” Jade explained, shaking the bag in her hand. “My former colleagues were pretty generous the other night. I’ll be ready, don’t worry.”
Fuck it, she doesn’t understand.
He didn’t understand. Why not just nod along and let her do what she wants?
Because it isn’t what she wants.
“I’m glad you’re ready. I guess what I want to know is if you’d like to. If you’d enjoy it. And please don’t lie to me. I can smell the truth.”
Blue-green eyes turned hard, then tired and soft with resignation. “Ardol, I don’t want to lie to you. Just understand that for me—I don’t like sex. I don’t mind having sex with you, but I’ll never want it, okay? It has nothing to do with you.”
