Page 36 of I Married A Catman

Not wanting to allow any type of awkwardness to ruin the momentum we had gotten going, I considered bringing up the other things I had looked up so far then thought better ofit. Several of them felt a little too edgy to be addressed now. Instead, I settled for something a little safer.

“From what I’ve seen, kissing appears to occupy a prominent place in human relationships and intimacy,” I said carefully.

The way Ophelia perked up immediately felt like instant trouble for me.

She nodded, an air of wariness creeping onto her features. “Yes, kissing is a big deal to us, at least certainly to me.”

I tried to force a neutral expression on my face as I responded. “It is a strange ritual.”

Ophelia’s crestfallen expression struck me hard. “You didn’t like it,” she said, her shoulders drooping.

“I wouldn’t say that,” I cautiously replied. “In truth, it had been much too brief to get a good sense of it, not that I was really focusing on it,” I admitted sheepishly. “Not to mention that it made my nose twitch and tickled my whiskers. But judging by your reaction, I’m guessing it means you enjoy it?”

My mate nodded frantically. “I’m a huge kisser,” Ophelia said firmly.

“I see,” I replied in a noncommittal fashion. “In that case, I will learn to enjoy it.”

My female stiffened and frowned. “No, Gaelec. Intimacy cannot be forced. Kissing should make both people participating feel good. I don’t want you to ever do something that you don’t like or that makes you feel uncomfortable merely out of a sense of obligation. Whatever happens between us must always be because we both want to. There are plenty of other ways for us to show affection.”

“I hear you, my mate. And I thank you for showing such consideration towards me. However, if something gives you pleasure, I will feel the urge to do it for that specific outcome. So don’t be surprised by how things will evolve over the upcoming days as we get to know each other better.”

“Fair enough. But what of you? I couldn’t find anything about ways to please a Nazhral,” Ophelia said, scrunching her face.

I chuckled. “Because there is nothing to be listed. Like I said, Nazhrals don’t do preliminaries. As our females self-lubricate, and so do males, then whenever we choose to couple, we simply move to penetration. We cuddle after the fact.”

“Ugh,” Ophelia said with a distraught expression. “We don’t self-lubricate. A woman needs those preliminaries, or at least to be heavily aroused for her to get wet. Otherwise, penetration can be quite painful and more difficult, especially if the male is well endowed.”

The subtle but wary glance she discreetly cast towards my groin almost made me laugh again. And yet, worry should have dominated over amusement. I was indeed well-endowed. Hopefully, our first coupling wouldn’t be too challenging in spite of that. I would have to put extra effort into making sure she received the proper amount of preparation.

That, too, made me chuckle. “Fear not, my mate. I will give you all the preliminaries you require. And please, do not hesitate to correct me if I do it the wrong way, like with the meat.”

Ophelia gave me that shy smile again that was seriously growing on me. The way her gaze darkened also indicated that her mind went right back to imagining things happening between us. I truly loved how she seemed aroused at the prospect of intimacy with me, despite our differences. She made me feel wanted, for me, not just what she could get out of me.

“Okay,” she said with a nervous giggle. “So long as you promise to also be open with me about the things you like and don’t like, and if I’m messing things up.”

“Deal. Now, the last topic I think we need to address—unless you have something else in mind that hasn’t been brought up yet—we should discuss the matter of offspring,” I said carefully.

Ophelia stiffened. The wariness on her face immediately had my own anxiety spiking. For Nazhral females, having offspring ranked high in their main priorities once they reached maturity. From what little I gathered about humans, it wasn’t uncommon for them to choose to have very few or no younglings at all. Did she share those preferences?

“Why?” she asked, her voice tense. “You don’t want kids?”

Kids was a strange word to refer to cubs, but I was too focused on trying to interpret her body language to dwell on such a superficial matter.

“Actually, I hope to eventually be a father in the future,” I said, in a neutral and cautious tone.

“Eventually?” she repeated, although some of the tension drained from her back, which struck me as a good sign.

I nodded. “Assuming you also want offspring, I think we should wait until our situation is a bit more stable before we bring in younglings into the equation.”

To my delight, Ophelia beamed at me and nodded vigorously. “I fully agree. I wouldn’t want my children to be in a precarious situation, not knowing if we’re coming or going. And above all, I want to make sure they will be in a safe environment where they will be welcome and accepted just the way they are.”

I smiled, fighting the sudden urge to draw her into my embrace and rub my temple against hers to mark her with my scent. That impromptu wave of possessiveness took me by surprise, but I welcomed it.

“Our females’ ovulation is induced by penetration,” I explained. “There is a natural juice they consume when they want to prevent pregnancies, as they are very picky about which male they want siring their offspring.”

Ophelia waved a dismissive hand. “That’s not necessary. I have a contraceptive implant. It’s still valid for four years. So there is no possibility for me to become pregnant. Once we areready to start our family, I’ll just have it removed and then within the next couple of weeks, I’ll be fertile again.”

“Excellent. Hopefully, you will be able to remove it long before it meets its expiry date,” I replied.

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