Page 53 of I Married A Syllen

Taelen chuckled smugly as he lay down on his back next to me. My heart skipped a beat when he drew me against him so that my head would rest on his chest. To my complete shock, he combed his fingers through my hair before splaying it over his torso. His chest vibrated with a purr accompanied by a subtle rattling sound caused by some of the air passing through his gills. When I peered up at him with a puzzled look, he smiled.

“From the first time I touched your hair, I’ve fantasized about having it draped over my chest like this,” he said nonchalantly. “Sleep my mate. The sun rises early.”

He closed his eyes, his left arm wrapped possessively around me.

What the fuck?!

I lay there, stunned, my girly bits throbbing from frustrated anticipation while he went to sleep. The bronze bud of his right nipple felt like a mocking tongue, poking fun at me. My mouth watered, and my own nipples ached.

He did say he wasn’t asking you to fuck, just to sleep in the same bed.

Right, but I still expected—or rather hoped for—some level of petting or groping, if only because of the way he ogled me when he saw me in my negligee. And yet, I truly appreciated his restraint. He was showing me by his actions that I was safe with him, and that he wouldn’t push my boundaries. After all, I babbled on enough about the nonsensical prudishness humans still subjected themselves to.

Swallowing back a frustrated sigh, I closed my eyes to block the temptation of that pesky nipple and prayed for a sleep that claimed me surprisingly quickly.

The melodious sound of the local birds chirping stirred me from my slumber. I smiled and began to stretch only to freeze. The extreme softness below me wasn’t the semi-firm mattress I’d planned on changing at my place. My eyes snapped open, and the memory of the insane last twenty-four hours came rushing back.

I gasped upon seeing Taelen looming over me. Last night, I fell asleep with my head resting on his chest. Now, I was lying on my back with him leaning on his side next to me. He had been fiddling with the tips of a few strands of my hair. His eyes flicked to mine when he realized I was awake.

“Sweet awakening, my mate,” Taelen said softly.

My brain latched onto his words as I suddenly realized why their old texts had occasionally sounded off to me. They would often use ‘sweet’ with other words in random situations that didn’t make sense. I’d read ‘sweet awakening’ before but assumed it was related to the Long Sleep, not their way of saying good morning. So ‘sweet lirodite’ had to mean good evening! The lirodite was a beautiful purple gem with golden streaks found on Mazeria. It never dawned on me until now that its colors matched those of their sky at sunset.

“Mirella?” Taelen asked, when I just quietly stared at him, unseeing.

That snapped me out of my wandering thoughts, and I refocused on him with a sheepish expression.

“Sorry, good morning to you, too,” I said with a nervous laugh. “I just figured out something about your language and thought that was cool.”

He blinked, then made that face—I was quickly growing familiar with—of him thinking I was weird. Good God! I was such a mess!

“Did you sleep well?” I asked to change the topic.

He nodded. “What of you?”

“Yes, like a baby! This bed is fantastic.”

He frowned. “I don’t know about human babies, but Syllen babies do not sleep and make certain no one else does either.”

I burst out laughing. “How? They scream and cry through the night?”

“No, they sing. It’s an enthralling song meant to lure and mesmerize people,” he explained.

“Why? Is it to get fed or changed?” I asked, intrigued.

Taelen shook his head.

“No. I believe it is the vestiges of ancient survival instincts. The younglings had to quickly learn how to call a protector to themselves or appease a potential predator. Now, that instinct still plays an important role. It helps strengthen the little ones’ lungs as well as develop their vocal cords.”

“So the parents keep sleepwalking to their babies throughout the night?!” I exclaimed, horrified.

He laughed. “No. The luring fails for the first ten days or so. As soon as they successfully manage to draw someone, they stop.”

“Whoa! If a parent voluntarily went to the baby the first or second time they cried, would that stop them?” I asked, curious.

He slightly recoiled. “Why would they do that? It is necessary for their child.”

“It’s just a hypothetical,” I said in a soothing voice. “I’m trying to understand how your world works.”