Page 54 of Malliko
“Yes, it’s fine.” I smiled and reached for a pillow that I offered her.
“Okay, then we’re all settled.” Starting the movie, Clara scooted further back.
We watched a bit of the movie while I wished I could use my telepathic connection to check in with her and see how she was feeling. After a while, I asked, “So, are we spooning now?”
“Yes. What do you think?”
“We do the same thing at home. We just call it something else.”
“Yeah, I figured,” Clara said and then her tone lowered. “You must miss her.”
“Who?”
“Your fiancée.”
“Ah, yeah, of course.”
Turning her shoulder and neck so she could meet my eyes, Clara gave me a concerned glance. “You know, if this is making you homesick, we can stop.”
I tightened my hold around her waist. “No, I don’t want to stop. I like having you close to me.”
She smiled. “Okay. Good, because I think this is exactly what I needed.”
“To watch a movie with me?”
“No. To be close and feel safe with a man.”
Kissing the top of her hair, I assured her. “I would never hurt you.” But in the back of my mind, I fought back the warning that I might. Never physically, but it wasn’t hard to see that Soros had left Tania hurting from their time together.”
“I think…” Clara paused the movie and then she turned her entire body to look at me. “I don’t know how to say this without it sounding wrong, but I feel like I’m using you as a bridge.”
“A bridge?”
“Mm-hmm. You’re helping me get to my next relationship. I mean we know that things aren’t going to go further than mutual sexual attraction and friendship between us. But you’re so…” She smiled at me and touched my jaw. “Good to me.”
“Everyone should be good to you.”
“That’s not how the world works, unfortunately. Anyway, the fact that we’re never going to be more than this, makes it easier for me to open up and tell you things that I haven’t told anyone else.”
“Such as?”
“Well, for a starter you’re the only one who knows that I’ve made out with a twenty-five-year-old.” She looked down. “Not that it’s anything to be ashamed of, but still.” Groaning out loud she closed her eyes. “He was going to give me oral, and I freaked out.”
“I could tell. Why did it freak you out?”
“Because suddenly I was afraid that I might not taste good or that he wouldn’t like it. It would be so incredibly humiliating if he stopped and told me that I smelled bad. And you would hear it and… I know I’m rambling, but all of those thoughts were in my mind sabotaging what could have been an amazing experience.”
Resolutely, I made a decision. Looking deep into Clara’s eyes, I told her. “You trust me, right?”
“Yes.”
“Then here’s what we’re going to do. I’m going to taste you, right now, and I’ll give you an honest answer.”
She gaped. “No, Malliko. That’s not what I was saying or asking.”
“I’m the bridge, remember.” Pushing up from my position I moved to sit and grabbed her hips. “So, allow me to do my work and get you ready for the right guy.”
She covered her face with both hands and grinned with embarrassment when I opened her pants. “Okay, okay, but only one lick. I don’t want you doing it more than necessary.”
