Page 36 of Dark Island: Rescue

Arezoo chuckled. "You? Reading? And where did you even get them? I'm sure your mother doesn't read that kind of stuff."

"Of course not. Jade wouldn't be caught dead with one of those. I found them online. The beauty of e-books is that no one needs to know what you're reading on your phone."

"I can't believe that you are reading without being forced to, let alone steamy romance novels."

"They're educational, and I found out that while reading online, I can make the font bigger and turn the background dark. Makes it much easier to read. It still takes me forever, but it's a hundred times better than reading paper books. There is also the text-to-speech feature that allows me to listen to the story during my runs."

"I'm impressed."

"Don't be. I skip all the boring parts of he loves me, he loves me not and go straight to the good stuff. But seriously, Arezoo, what's the real issue? Does it have anything to do with what that enhanced Doomer asshole did to you?"

There was a long pause. "Maybe."

"The fucker," Drova muttered. "What he did to you was about power and humiliation. What you have with Ruvon is love, tender and sweet. It's completely different."

"I know that logically. But the only intimacy I've ever experienced was brutal and degrading, and that's what my body remembers."

"You're fine when you guys are kissing, right?"

"It's not the same as getting naked with him."

"So, don't get naked. Stay clothed and in control. Make him lie there and not move unless you say so." Drova thought about some of the scenes she'd read. "There are lots of ways to be intimate without feeling vulnerable."

"Is that from your 'research?'"

"Mock me all you want, but those books have taught me things. Like how important communication is." She paused. "You should read some. I can send you a couple of mild ones to get you going."

"Romance novels from Drova. Now I've heard everything."

"Perhaps you can read them with Ruvon, or maybe it'll give you ideas for how to talk to him about all this."

"He knows what happened to me."

"But does he know you're afraid? Or is he just thinking you want to wait for traditional reasons?"

Arezoo was silent for a long moment. "Probably the latter, but maybe both. He told me that he would wait for as long as it takes."

"You need to talk to him. He can't help you feel safe if he doesn't know you feel unsafe."

"When did you become so wise about relationships?"

"I'm not." Drova snorted. "I've read like fifty of these books in the past two months. It's not exactly tailored for Kra-ell, but I have to admit that I like all that mushy lovey-dovey stuff that human women enjoy before they get to the orgasms."

Arezoo laughed. "Fine. I'll read one, and if I like it, I'll ask you for more."

"I know just the right one. It's about shifters who are possessive and protective but also respectful and adoring."

"Like the immortals?"

"Exactly. Ruvon seems like the type who'd channel his possessiveness and protectiveness into giving you foot rubs and bringing you chocolate."

"He does bring me chocolate almost every day despite my protests. And gifts. Not big things, he knows I wouldn't feel right about accepting expensive gifts, so he buys me thoughtful presents that are worth much more to me."

"See? He has the right instincts."

"He does, but enough about me and my love life. Tell me about the island. Is it beautiful?"

Drova looked around the tropical landscape, the dense green vegetation, the glimpses of ocean between the buildings. "It's hot and humid, and there are bugs the size of my fist. But yeah, it's pretty. Different from the village, but supposedly it's similar to what my mother remembers from Anumati. Except for the sky, that is. She says the sky over there has a reddish hue and that the winds are relentless. Anyway, everything here feels temporary. Like we're just borrowing the space from the jungle, and the moment we let go for even an hour, the jungle will swallow everything back."