Page 19 of Malliko
“I’m not here to seduce anyone to have sex. This is work, Tania.”
Narrowing her eyes, she moved back toward me. “Eidrons have a high sex drive.”
I didn’t deny it. “I’ve been a soldier for many years without access to female company. I’ve learned to take care of my needs.”
“Wait, are you saying that you would rather masturbate than sleep with me?” This time she looked offended.
Closing my eyes, I reminded myself that I’d been warned about humans being emotional beings. I filled my lungs with air and spoke on the exhalation while looking straight at her. “Of course not. You are very attractive, Tania. Any man would want to be with you. I’m just adhering to what you said about me not sleeping with anyone while on Earth. You were very adamant about me not repeating your father’s mistake.” I caught myself and hurried to correct my words: “That came out wrong. I’m not suggesting that you were a mistake. What I meant was that I don’t intend to sleep with or impregnate any women while I’m on Earth.”
“Right.” For a moment she looked like she didn’t know if she should stay or go. “But in case you succumb to the temptation at some point there is a type of contraception that you can use to avoid pregnancy.”
“That won’t be necessary,” I assured her, but she still continued.
“They’re called condoms.”
I sat down again. “Thank you, Tania, but I’m good.”
“Okay. Well, in that case.” She tapped the door with her fingers and sucked in her lower lip. “I’ll just leave you to do your research. If you have questions, let me know, and don’t forget to knock before you come in.”
I didn’t point out that she hadn’t knocked herself but sent her a last smile before she disappeared into her own apartment.
Leaning back in my chair, I thought about Clara from Go2Match. She had been very open with me. With her being a full-blooded human woman, I was interested in learning how her private dating life was going. I knew from my research that it was a custom for mated humans to carry a wedding band, but I hadn’t seen one on her fingers. Tomorrow, I would see if I could ask her some more personal questions, because from ourmeeting today, she seemed open-minded and very comfortable talking about sex.
CHAPTER 6
Personal Questions
Clara
I was running through flagged conversations on my screen when Malliko walked into my office. He was wearing a green t-shirt with a v-neck, a pair of faded blue jeans, and a pair of brown leather boots. His hair was slightly messy, and he had a few days’ worth of stubble on his face. The man looked like he came from a photo shoot for a sexy calendar. It made me nervous and so I spoke before I could think.
“Did your suitcase not arrive yet?”
“My suitcase?”
“Yes. Didn’t you have that sweater on yesterday?” My eyes went to the knitted cardigan in his hands.
Looking down, he frowned. “Is there some rule about wearing the same sweater two days in a row?”
I felt my cheeks heat up and felt awful for sounding like a snob when I really couldn’t care less. “Forget it, I shouldn’t have said anything. It’s just that most people just change into a new outfit daily. I thought that maybe your suitcase didn’t arrive or something.”
Sitting down next to me, Malliko brought with him a scent of masculine perfume. “I was in the military for many years and so I’m used to wearing a uniform. Clothes aren’t a big passion of mine.”
It made me like Malliko even more. My ex, Jeremy, had been fanatic about looking good and spent money we didn’t have on fashionable brands. He had been the one chastising me if I wore something two days in row, and now I felt embarrassed abouthaving mentioned it to Malliko when I always hated Jeremy’s pointing it out to me.
“I have more questions today,” Malliko said with a wide smile.
Relieved that he didn’t seem embarrassed or annoyed with me, I gave him my full attention. “Shoot.”
“Yesterday, you said that you were single but that you don’t date. Can you explain to me why that is?”
Pulling back a little, I gave my standard answer, “Because there are too many creeps and cheaters out there.”
“Does that mean you're giving up on relationships and sex forever?”
Hearing him say it like that made me a little defensive. “No of course not. When I meet a kindhearted man who isn't trying to screw me over, then I'll be happy to date him.”
“Ahh. Okay, that makes sense. Did you never like to have sex?”
