Page 48 of Cozy Prisons
When he changed the subject from sex to her chair, Nataly knew he wasn’t interested in her that way. It sucked because she’d hoped to move their relationship to a more intimate place, but she wasn’t going to pressure the guy.
Talins did all kinds of things out of a sense of duty and obligation. He’d probably build up being with her as a kind of duty. Not that she thought his intentions were cold or calculated, it was simply that Talins couldn’t just “be friends.” There had to be a purpose behind the relationship, and helping her was giving Daxus purpose.
It was a little disheartening, but at least she got to be with him in some way. And he wasn’t above cuddling with her. She convinced herself that it would be enough.
She finished explaining how she programmed the house in probably too much detail, then let out a sigh. The lack of sleep was hitting her all at once. “I know it’s early, but I don't think I’m going to be able to stay awake much longer.”
“Let me fluff your nest for you,” he said. Holding on to her, he stood and then turned around to set her in the chair. She grabbed hold of his hand before he could move away.
“Do you want to spend the night?” she asked.
“Nothing would make me happier,” he assured her. “I’ll lay out a sleeping mat next to your nest.”
Relief made her shoulders slump. “Or you could share my bed, um, nest. It’ll be a little tight for tonight, but we could maybe get a bigger platform tomorrow.”
He went still and silent for a moment. “You want me to share your bed?”
She nodded.
“So you can cling to me?”
She smiled. “Sure, if you don’t mind. If you'd rather not, then we can get another bed in here. I can sleep in a pretty small space, so we could get one of the tiny ones for kids, and you can take mine.”
He sounded a negative rumble. “A second nest isn’t necessary. I think we can make yours work for both of us. If you roll close to the edge, I might need to clutch you to keep you from falling off.”
“Sure,” she agreed, already eager to spend the night snuggling with the big Talin. “That would be great.”
Or at least it would be better than not having Daxus in her life at all.
It was going to be hard to keep her hands to herself, but she would do it.
Chapter 16
Nataly
After a night spent in peaceful sleep, Nataly was woken up with tea in bed by Daxus. Back on Dandilow II, when Damascus and Iris first offered them a safe place among the Talins with the caveat that they'd have to pretend to be pets, Nataly was the first one to volunteer.
It wasn’t only that she liked the idea of being safe, but she’d had one of her “feelings.” She’d known they would thrive as a species among the Talins, but what she didn’t expect was to end up with a Talin waiting on her like a devoted spouse!
“I thought we would walk the village,” he said, sitting on the bed next to her, taking a swallow from his bigger cup.
“Why?” she asked, then took a small sip. Thankfully, Daxus actually heated the tea instead of making it lukewarm like the rest of the Talins did because they worried that humans would burn their “delicate mouths.”
“To test your fear,” he explained. “I thought we could walk everywhere within the compound and see if anything provokes a feeling even with me there. Then we could slowly move outward. I’d like to systematically test your boundaries.”
Nataly nodded. “I like that idea.” She leveled a steely look at him. “If I start having problems, I want to come back here, though. Not to Healer Falkilm.”
“I’ll agree to that if you promise to tell me before it becomes overwhelming,” he said.
“Agreed!” she said, excited to leave the house. “Let me change, and then we can go.”
She crawled over Daxus to get out of the bed, even though she could've easily used the other side. He grunted and grabbed the tea before she could spill it on him. It was an excuse to get close and maybe even rub an arm or hand on his face. She needed that lemon smell on her skin!
He grunted but didn’t say anything when she "accidentally" put a hand on his chest to help push herself to her feet. Grabbing some fresh clothes, she rushed into the cleaning unit, then breathed in deeply. She smelled like him! Not just her clothes but her skin too.
For the first time in a while, she felt eager to face the day!
About an hour later, Nataly paused in the shade of a tree and wiped sweat from her forehead.
