Penny
When Penny woke, a great black figure blocked the light. For a moment, panic kept her pinned to the mattress until the figure shifted and the firelight highlighted Kol’s profile.
“Don’t do that,” she said, rubbing the back of her neck. Her body ached, like she had hiked a mile through a blizzard and then got hit with alien hormones. Oh, right. It wasn’t like anything. All that happened.
“Your breathing changed. You were awake.”
“Well, don’t hover. It’s terrifying.”
“There is much to discuss.” He settled on the mattress next to her. He wore the makeshift poncho but nothing else. The fire still burned in the fireplace and wind howled down the chimney. The blizzard must have still been in full force.
Penny scooted over to make room for him. Part of her wanted to wrap the blanket around herself like a cocoon to protect herself from him but that seemed petty and childish. She touched his dick. He licked her pussy. They certainly weren’t best buddies but they were something. Just what they were, she couldn’t say.
“Yeah, we need to talk,” she agreed.
“Tell me about Terran mating rituals.”
“Wow, you get right to business.” That conversation wasn’t going to lead to any awkward situations.
She rubbed the nape of her neck, distracted for a moment by the tangled mess of her hair. She pulled out her wide tooth comb and the bottle of conditioner. Working through the knots and curls would give her hands something to do while she thought. She started on a small section near her ear, applying the conditioner with her fingers then combing it out. “How about we trade questions. I ask one and you ask one.”
Kol took the comb from her. “I will do this.” The protest on her lips fell away when he took a small section at the back and worked in the conditioner. His strong fingers rubbed in the cream and all her tension and nervousness melted.
“I’m not an expert on mating rituals.”
“You’re a scholar.”
“A student. And it’s not like I’ve had a ton of dates.” The guys weren’t exactly beating down her door to date the nerdy poli-sci bookworm.
“Explain this date. My translator chip says it is a calendar event, but that does not seem correct.”
A smirk tugged at her lips. “A date is a specific day on the calendar, but in the context of a relationship, it is a specific time where two people spend time together.”
“How often do two Terrans date before they mate?”
“My turn to ask a question.”
“My questions are important,” he huffed.
“Fine, your important questions first, then mine. And if I don’t think they’re important, you forfeit your turn,” she cautioned.
“That is severe.”
“That’s what you get for changing the rules after the game starts. Agreed?”
“We have an accord.” His hand lightly squeezed her shoulder before resuming combing out her curls. “How many dates before Terrans mate?”
“Depends.”
“Unsatisfactory.”
“Do you mean mate as in a long-term commitment? Or mate as in—” Penny slammed her two fists together rapidly, three times.
Kol laughed, voice booming above the howl of the wind. Penny twisted around to watch the massive red alien laugh himself silly. The joke wasn’t even that funny but his mirth made her warm inside.
Regaining some composure, he tapped a spot behind his ear. “My chip translated that as intercourse but that makes no sense.”
“It’s right.” Interesting that the translator chip worked on visual as well as audio language.
“But surely if should be—” He formed an O with one hand and jabbed it with the finger of the other hand.
“That works, too.”
“How many words do your people have for breeding?”
Penny rattled off ten synonyms in her head without straining herself. “Just in English? Lots.”
His smile vanished. “Your courting rituals are far more complex than I anticipated.”
“Well, first off, long term commitments we call marriage, not mating. Mating is more the act of breeding. Animals mate.”
“Terrans marriage,” he said.
Penny reached down and patted his thigh. Close enough. “So there’s no set number of dates before people have sex. Some do it on the first date. Some wait until the 3rd. Some wait until marriage.”
“And you?”
“I’m not sleeping with you on the first date.”
“But you will date with me,” he said with firm authority, leaving no room for her to amend her statement or correct his assumption. “And marriage? How many dates?”
“Depends.”
The comb paused mid-stroke. “You said you would answer truthfully. All your answers have been evasive.”
“Well, it depends on the person. Some people get married quickly. Some take years. It’s not a hard rule that you have to get engaged after a year of dating.”
“What is this new term.”
“Oh, engaged. You make a promise to marry. You get a ring, let your family know and plan a wedding.”
“This is very complex. Does the male have to challenge the other males in the family for the right of marriage?”
“What? No. No challenging.”
He huffed, as if disappointed in the lack of a potential fight. “How does one date?”
“You spend time together.”
The comb paused again. His wheels were turning. “And this is not a date how?”
Another pat on the thigh. Penny kept the contact brief and friendly, certainly not letting her hand linger to appreciate his firmness or the warmth of his skin. “Sweetie, this is being stuck together, not a date.”
“What are acceptable date activities?”
“Dinner and a movie. Something fun. Something that lets you spend time alone together and get to know each other.”
Kol went silent for an extended period, combing the final section of her hair. Eventually, he asked, “How do I make a date?”
“Ask.” Penny turned, resting her hands on his thighs again. “Ask me out on a date, Kol.”
He leaned forward, eyes intense. “Pen-knee, will you date with me?”
Would she? The thought of aliens was still weird but the more time she spent with the Kol, the less alien he seemed. He was just Kol. Honestly, if he was just a big guy on the football team, he’d be her type: sweet, a little bumbling with social niceties but earnest. He wanted to understand her world and culture. He wanted to know her.
“Sure thing, Big Red. Get me to the secure zone and we’ll have a date night.”
He nodded, satisfied, and scratched at his chin. “It is a fair bargain. Dates end with a kiss, yes?”
Now it was Penny’s turn to laugh. She slapped his arm affectionately in mock surprise. “You didn’t know about dating but you magically know a date ends with a kiss.”
“Or we could kiss now,” he said, voice rumbling low and seductive. He leaned forward, pressing closer, and Penny became very much aware that she was wrapped in a blanket and wasn’t exactly wearing clothes. Neither was he.
Everything about their relationship was backwards, so why not a kiss now before the date? Why not indulge in some hot skin-on-skin action? No one would have to know and it wasn’t as if they had anything else better to do with the blizzard still going full tilt.
The idea soured in her head. When—if—she made love to Kol she wanted it to be because she wanted it. Wanted him. Not because she was bored. Not because she was accidently stabbed with alien love juice. Nothing else would do.
Penny frowned and pushed Kol away gently. He obliged by letting her motion direct him. They both knew she couldn’t stop him if she wanted. “You owe me answers, Big Red.”
He leaned back on his elbows, relaxed. “I eagerly await your interrogation.”
She could ask him anything, so of course her mind went blank. The comb worked through her hair, gently tugging but not enough to hurt. She could fall asleep with Kol’s warmth at her hand and his strong hands in her curls. In the dark, he could be any human man.
No, she had to correct that thought. No man, or ex-boyfriend, had ever brushed out her hair before. No one would do this for her but Kol. It was so weird that she’d considered him ugly only a few days ago. Now Kol’s face was just his face.
“Are you considered handsome? You know, for your people?” she asked.
Kol paused the combing. “They tell me I have a face that can sharpen an axe.”
“What?” Penny had to laugh at the absurd image. “I think the translator garbled the meaning.”
“I am not considered handsome.”
She turned to study him. Drawing up on her knees, she placed a hand on his chin and turned his head slowly from left to right, murmuring uncertain noises. Her fingers brushed across his wide brow and the sharp angle of his cheeks. She reached behind and undid the knot that held his hair. Thick, dark hair that gleamed mahogany in firelight spilled down his shoulders. His adam’s apple bobbed up and down as he waited for her verdict.
“You’re not so bad,” she said at length.
“Not so bad,” he muttered. “What every male longs to hear.”
“Vain much,” she teased with a grin.
“I would like the female I date to consider me attractive.”
The smile fell from her face. “I didn’t say you weren’t attractive, Kol.” Everything about him was hard and masculine and screamed “step right up, get the best sex of your life.” And the taste she’d had last night confirmed that. His enthusiasm and tongue were a winning combination. “You’re different but—”
“Not so bad,” he finished, playfulness back in his voice. “And you? Are you considered beautiful by Terran standards?”
Penny shrugged. It was a tricky question to answer and she had no one to blame but herself for it. Of course Kol would ask the same question of her. If she answered truthfully, she’d sound conceited. If she was modest, she’d still sound conceited with false modesty. “I’m too nerdy to be beautiful,” she said, deciding to go with brutal honesty. “If I put some effort into my hair and clothes, maybe. Most days I’m lucky to wear clean clothes and remember to brush my teeth.”
“I like your hair,” Kol said.
Penny brushed back the curls from her forehead. Aunt Jasmine was forever after her to “to do” something with her curls, blow them out or straighten them. Who had time to blow out their hair? Or the money to get it done at a salon?
“I’m glad,” she said.
“And you are beautiful.” The authority in his voice left no room for argument.
She smiled and crooked a finger. “Hey, come down here.” Intrigued, Kol leaned in. She grabbed his chin and pulled him in closer, until their lips nearly touch. “I want that kiss now.”
Her lips brushed against his, exploring. His lips were surprisingly soft for a man whose body was hard everywhere. His tusks pressed at the corners of her mouth but they didn’t get in the way. Quite the opposite; they were an exciting bit of roughness against his soft, warm lips.
The kiss was nice but closed mouth. Tame. Shy.
It could be so much better.
Her tongue pressed at the seam of his lips, seeking entry. His lips parted and her tongue pushed in, dancing with his own.
Kol gasped and pulled back.
“What’s wrong?” she asked, suddenly afraid that she kissed like the inexperienced bookworm she was.
“The instructional videos demonstrated that Terrans pressed their mouths together, but I did not expect that.” He touched his lips, but his eyes fixated on her mouth.
“Do your people not do that?”
“Our teeth get in the way.” He gave a toothy grin to demonstrate all the sharp edges in his mouth.
“Did you like it?”
His eyes swept over her and the appreciative rumble reminded Penny once again that she wore just a blanket. No undies. No tee shirt. She was playing with fire here and bound to get burned.
“I am concerned that I need more practice, for our date. The female I have my sight set on is very attractive and will have many suitors vying for her attention. I must impress her or risk embarrassing my clan and my father’s blood.”
“Sounds like pretty serious consequences for a bad date.”
“If you were to view the female as I do, you would understand. I can not afford to make a mistake and, therefore, I must practice.”
Penny couldn’t fight the blush. She looked away, eyes on the edging of the blanket. “Well, if you’re sure she’s worth all this trouble—”
Kol’s finger lifted her chin, forcing her eyes to his. “It is never trouble to please my female. It gives me the greatest satisfaction to bring her to climax.”
Wow. That went from sweet to filthy in a heartbeat. Funny thing was, Penny didn’t mind. She liked it, actually. Being the recipient of his great satisfaction made her biased, but if her alien wanted practice kissing, who was she to deny them both satisfaction? “Practice makes perfect,” she breathed.
He answered by pulling her toward him, the blanket tugging down in the front. Penny didn’t notice, other than the way her chest pressed against him, savoring the skin on skin. His large hand rested in the small of her back, holding her to the hard planes of his body.
His lips claimed hers, eager and demanding. His tongue parted her lips and while he might have been inexperienced at kissing with tongue, he had game. Serious game. Her arms wrapped behind his neck, holding him to her. She didn’t want the kiss to end.
His tail wrapped around the back of her thighs, the unexpected touch of an extra limb pulling her out of the moment.
“I will be cautious and not jab you,” he said.
Eyes wide and panting—from the kiss, not shock— Penny nodded. “Will that happen every time?” His grip tightened and she realized what her words implied. “I mean, if, you know. I’m curious and sometimes the questions come out before I think better of asking. My momma said I was a rude little thing when I was little because I was always asking the grownups personal questions. I didn’t mean to be rude, I was just curious. So, you know, sorry—”
A finger over her lips silenced her.
“Pen-knee, enough. The elders say the first exposure is the most intense but in truth, I do not know. I have never pricked a female with my barb, before you.”
“You never?” Her mind went fuzzy trying to picture a universe where her sexy demon beast had never been with a woman. He’d used his tongue on her mouth and pussy like a champ. “I don’t believe that you’re a virgin.”
He pulled her tighter and somehow the blanket slipped further down her chest, barely covering her nipples at all. “I did not say that. The toxins in the barb are reserved for a mate. I have shared the bed of females, but none of them have been my mate.”
The need to apologize for taking that from him swept over her. “I’m sorry— Oh, you mean me.”
“Mmm,” he agreed, lips at her exposed shoulder.
“Kol—”
“Yes, my mate?”
“One more kiss, just to be on safe side. You don’t want to disappoint your date.”