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“No! No, no. Oh, shit, well, yeah. But I wanted that. And now... Now that I know you a little more—I really like that.” Jade stayed in his lap and tried to use her meager weight to keep his much more muscular frame in his seat.
He spoils me. Protects me. Thinks about me...
“I want to thank you for being a wonderful husband so far,” Jade whispered, letting one hand stroke through the thick, glossy fur on his chest.
“You don’t have to thank me for this. This is customary. You should have all the beautiful things.”
People had given her presents before in her line of work—and they’d wanted her to express her gratitude with their favorite acts.
“I want to thank you,” she insisted.
“You just did. You said thank you. That’s what you should say.” Ardol squirmed underneath her, and she felt a thrill of victory in finding him hard.
“I’m telling you that I want to show my gratitude. Express it.” Jade went from perching on his lap to crouching on her knees. In an expert motion, she straddled his lap, the space between her thighs touching that hard, concealed bulge. She brought her lips close to his. “Show me how welcome I am?”
Ardol sighed and let her lead the kiss, her hands combing through his fur and tugging on it at the top and bottom of each stroke. Her tongue sparred with his much larger one, heedless of sharp teeth or self-preservation in a haze of genuine happiness and trust.
The Leopardine stroked his paws over her back, breaking her kiss to murmur, “Jade, my Queen. You’re welcome. So welcome.”
“I want to thank you even more.” She did. Her body wasn’t aroused, but something inside was eager. The sensation was akin to the desire to finish a project, or the eagerness to see a job completed.
“Then sit next to me at dinner and smile at me.”
“I know you want to. I want to.” A sprinkling of kisses, her tugs on his fur more needy.
“I don’t want to. Not now.”
Her kisses stopped abruptly. “What?”
“You don’t like sexual activities. Kissing isn’t necessarily sexual. I’m fine with kissing if you like it, too.”
“No. No, that’s not what you said,” Jade protested. “You were all braggy about Leopardine lovers and stamina.”
“Those things are still true. But it’s not time.”
Ardol let his textured tongue sweep gently over her throat, and something sparked deep, deep inside her, lighting up a faint ember in a dark, abandoned place. It was pleasant, but nothing more.
Still. A physical reaction to touch that wasn’t numbness or hidden aversion was major.
“Well, it has to be time pretty soon, right? We’re only on board this ship with Doctor Marcus for the rest of the galactic year, right? How many cycles is that?”
“Nine, I believe.”
“And it takes human women nine months to pop out a baby. A cub. Whatever.”
“Between five and six months for a Felid-human hybrid, however. Well, as far as we know.”
Jade stroked his ears and felt his tail moving against her back. In a bold move, she captured it and guided it to the space between her thighs. She loved the way Ardol’s head tipped back in pleasure. His paws flexed on her waist, and another spark in the dark, forbidden canyon inside her heart joined the first. “My contract says I need to have your cub, or at least try. If you put off trying...”
“Then I’ll have to amend the contract. Or extend my contract with the Comet Stalker. My Queen does not yet enjoy sexual activities, and I haven’t found out how to properly please you. But I want to.” Ardol kissed her again. “I’m a selfish being, Jade. You— You are my first unselfish thing, and even in that, I’m being selfish. I get a high from your smile. From the way your scent is changing to show you’re happy, not just controlling your fear and sadness.”
“You can tell that?” she pulled her head from his to stare into his eyes.
“The nose knows.” He tapped a digit to his muzzle.
Fuck, he’s adorable. I can’t... I’m not supposed to think my clients are adorable. Or sweet. Or anything.
He’s more than my client. He’s my husband. It may have started with a contract, but I was stupid to think it would stay that way.
