Page 23 of Cozy Prisons (Human Pets of Talin: Origins #4)

“Getting to be here with you right now is more than I could ever expect,” he said. “I owe you for this embrace alone. No one has ever clutched me before.”

“Clutch?” she repeated, then her eyebrows raised. “You mean hugged! You’ve never been hugged before?”

“It’s not part of our culture,” he explained. He had to remember that, unlike the humans that Squad Delta 223 brought back with them, Nataly and her friends hadn’t spent extensive time around Talins. They had little knowledge of his species' customs.

“Are you a virgin?” she asked, then she shook her head. “Don’t answer that, it was a rude question.”

“No, it’s fine. I’ve had two partners in my life,” he said. “Sexual relations aren’t encouraged outside of a marriage contract. In reality, they aren’t encouraged within a marriage contract either. Sex is a distraction from the two most important things in a Talin’s life.”

“What are those?" she asked. He liked that her expression went from sad and defeated to the more familiar interest and animated again.

“Service to the empire and personal growth,” he explained. “Our lives are not meant to be our own; they are meant to be lived as a reflection of our dedication to our empire.”

“That’s noble but cold,” she murmured. “I don’t even understand how you can have sex with someone and never hug them. Didn’t you guys cuddle afterward?”

It was his turn to clarify a word choice. “Cuddle? Do you mean what we’re doing right now?”

“I guess,” she agreed. “But cuddling could also happen in bed after, um, intercourse.”

“No, that doesn’t happen among us,” he said. “Sex is a race to pleasure. If you don’t match your partner's speed, then you’re left unsatisfied because they leave as soon as they’re done.”

“Talins have managed to make sex sound like a chore,” she muttered. “Sex shouldn’t be like that at all.”

It was yet another thing she thought he did wrong. Desperate to change the subject, he pointed to the second chair. “When did this arrive?”

Nataly followed his finger and shrugged. “Rami brought it on one of her visits.” She gave him a smile that didn’t reach her eyes. “I guess you organizing the place made Rami bold enough to bring a chair so she and Illea could both sit without having to use my bed.”

He could tell she was trying to be humorous, so he sounded a rumble of amusement, but there was something off. “I promise I won't make you do anything you’re not comfortable with.”

“I know,” she said, then smiled for real. “I don’t think you want to face down my intruder protocols again.”

“That was impressive programming,” he said, happy to have a topic she found interesting again. “How did you make it so the bots didn’t go after you?”

“Trial and error,” she said, then launched into an explanation of all the different ways she tried to have the house identify and target an “intruder” instead of her.

As he listened to her, he came to understand something important.

She felt affection for him, but it wasn’t as a potential partner.

He’d watched the humans interact, and he knew there were all kinds of relationships they could have that weren’t romantic.

Decard and Cassius were close and lived together, but didn’t share a bed or anything like that.

They were stalwart companions, but not lovers.

Was this how Nataly saw him?

If that was the case, he’d have to be careful. He could live with a relationship on any terms Nataly wanted, but it would be hard to keep his scent glands to himself. Even now, they were full and aching to rub all over her.

Even without scent bonding, he’d experienced more affection with Nataly than anyone else in his entire life.

Simply holding her in his arms made life so much better. He could learn to live with the ache in his scent glands as long as she was in his life. Anything to stay close to her.

Nataly

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.