I’d never thought of it like that.
Jace’s thumb stroked my cheekbone. “And I’m not judging you. I’m glad you’re asking questions. You can ask me anything.”
I nodded, though my pulse fluttered at how gentle he was being.
“Okay,” Jace continued softly. “So. Condoms and birth control. Those are things people use when they want to have sex but not make a baby. Condoms go over a penis and catch the semen. Birth control is usually for women—pills or devices that prevent pregnancy.”
“…Oh.”
That didn’t sound sinful at all. It sounded… practical.
Jace cleared his throat, scratching lightly at the back of his neck. “There’s also… well. There’s a lot more. About being safe,consent, how couples take care of each other. But we don’t have to do it all now.”
I hesitated, then whispered, double-checking, “So… men can do things together even if no baby comes from it?”
“Yes,” he said, with a tiny smile tugging at the corner of his mouth. “Absolutely.”
“And women too?”
“Yep.”
“And it’s… normal?”
“It’s normal,” he confirmed. “People fall in love in all sorts of ways. Bodies respond in all sorts of ways.”
I thought about the way my body had responded to him earlier. The heat. The trembling. The way the pleasure had exploded through me like lightning in my veins.
I swallowed. “So when I… when I got hard this morning… that wasn’t wrong?”
“It wasn’t wrong,” Jace said, his voice like a warm blanket. “It was just your body reacting to stimulation. That’s all.”
“And when it… happened? When the… white stuff came out?”
“Also normal,” Jace said, lips quirking. “That’s called an orgasm. Or coming. Every healthy body with a cock does that. It’s how your body releases sexual tension.”
My shoulders slumped a little in relief, though I stared down at the tiles, embarrassed to meet his eyes. “I thought I did something bad.”
Jace stepped closer and curled a finger under my chin again, lifting my face toward his slowly, like I was fragile glass.
“Elior, baby,” he murmured. “It would be concerning if you didn’t get hard with someone touching you like how I was.”
“So I’m… just healthy?” I asked, barely above a whisper. “N-normal?”
Jace’s expression softened even more. “Yes, cherub.”
A shaky breath left me, almost a laugh, almost a sob.
“And if you ever have questions, just ask me. I’ll do my best to catch you up. It’s not your fault the adults around you neglected your education.”
I nodded, blinking fast. “I trust you,” I whispered before I could second-guess it.
Jace stilled, like the words had cut through to someplace deep and dangerous inside him. “Good,” he said roughly, his expression darkening for just a second before relaxing again. “Now let’s get you dried off and dressed.”
“Um… wait. I have another question,” I whispered, surprising even myself.
“Yeah?”
“Earlier, when, uh… when we… you know. You were calling yourself my Daddy.” My cheeks warmed even thinking about it. “But you’re not my dad? I don’t get it. Is that a normal sex thing?”
