Page 36 of Wild Card (The Trident Trilogy 3)

Sarajevo, Bosnia, 1994

“I would like to do that again,” Nejra said as she lifted her head from Mack’s chest and nudged his mouth onto hers for another kiss.

Mack kissed her gently. “Yes, I would like to do that again, too,” he said, smiling.

She looked down his body. “It does not seem ready. Do I need to do something to encourage it?”

Mack’s deep laugh rebounded off the walls of the room. “Believe me, you’re doing enough just lying naked on my chest. Give me a minute to recover.”

“It needs to rest between times?” She put her head back down on his chest.

“Yeah, baby, it does,” he said as he stroked her hair. “Did your mom not tell you anything about sex?’

“Nothing, literally not one word. It’s not something we discuss until the day of a woman’s wedding, and even then it’s not nearly enough information. My Aunt Aza told me a few things. She said it might hurt the first time, but that was not my experience.”

Mack kissed the top of her head. “I’m glad. I wanted your first time to be good.”

“Are you supposed to feel like your entire body is exploding?’

“If you’re doing it right—”

“And does it hurt for you? You made a loud noise—”

Mack smiled, pulling her chin up to look at him. “That wasn’t a painful noise. Believe me.”

She looked satisfied. “Then I did it right.”

“You did it very right,” he said, pulling a blanket up to cover them. “I’m still worried about when you get married. They’ll expect you to be a virgin, right?”

“Honestly, I’m not even sure I ever want to get married.”

“Why not?”

“I don’t know how marriage is for you, but in my culture, it can be very repressive. The husband has too much control over what his wife does with her life. I don’t want anyone telling what I can and cannot do.”

“You just need to find the right person,” Mack said softly. “Someone who will encourage you to do whatever you want and be there to protect you while you’re doing it.”

Nejra sighed loudly. “I don’t think that type of man exists in my world.”

“Then get out of this world. Move to the United States. You would have more freedom there.”

“Just like that? Leave everything I know behind?”

“You could—”

“No, I couldn’t.” She snuggled more deeply into the crook of his neck as he tightened his arm around her. “I can’t leave my brother. After our parents died, I was the only reason he even got up in the morning. He acts like he’s tough but down deep, he has a sensitive soul. He would fall completely apart if I left.”

“Well, if you ever change your mind, I will help you get to the U.S. I’ll give you my address before I leave. Do you promise you’ll contact me if you ever want to move—if you ever need anything at all?”

“I promise,” she said as he pulled her on top of him.

He kissed her deeply as he took her hand and moved it down his body.

“It seems to be working again,” she said, giggling.

“Yes, it does. But if you make that sexy, little sound again, it’s not going to be working much longer,” he laughed as he flipped her over, his hands moving slowly down her body.

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