My nanites gave me another human term, “making love,” which momentarily confused me. I already loved Timber and believed that she loved me. Why was this act called the making of love when love was already present?
I did not get a chance to voice the question, as Timber’s lips occupied mine completely. She kissed me with a ravenous hunger, grunting and moaning into me while I made more love for us to share. Her hips moved in a similar rhythm to my own, and I became intoxicated with lust. My knot swelled inside her, locking us together. For a moment, I regretted the sterilization procedure I’d had done on Xalan once freed from the whims of the elders. I had enjoyed the knowledge that I could mate without the responsibility of procreation attached, but now I wanted that added connection, that familial link. I wanted to see her belly swell with my child, wanted to create a new life within her.
A discussion for another day. She did not seem eager for conversation at that moment, and I did not blame her. Our twin desires were all-consuming. The emotional connection I felt nearly distracted me from what I was doing as I struggled to understand it all.
Was this how human mating felt every time? The intensity, the deep, burning passion? The programs I’d watched had not prepared me for this. Though I found the sensations enjoyable, they warred with the lackadaisical approach to sex portrayed in the programs. The porn, as Timber called them. In human porn programs, Earth beings paired up at random, rarely wasting time on developing emotions for each other.
I did not understand the appeal of these programs anymore. Having experienced sex with emotions, I realized I rather preferred it that way despite my confusion. Why would humans portray mating as a singularly casual act when there existed mating practices such as this?
We made our love last for hours that night. My knot did not release until Timber was well and completely full of my cum, to the point where she dripped the purple-tinted fluid when I slid out of her. I helped her clean herself in the cabin’s shower facilities, and once we were both sufficiently bathed, Timber prepared a meal for us with the goods provided in the kitchen area. Her skill in cooking surprised me, as I had yet to eat a meal made by her. The novelty of having meals provided in a moving vehicle faded as I realized how much better this human “home cooking” could be.
Along with the Earth term for freshly prepared food, my nanites delivered more connotations to the word “home.” I smiled as understanding washed over me.
“You are my home, Timber,” I stated.
She frowned and cocked her head in confusion. We had been discussing Earth police practices versus the Xalanite military policing. I realized she had no context for my words.
“Apologies. My nanites gave me the word, and I quite like it. Home. I have not felt at home before. Not even when growing up with my family on Xalan. You, Timber, are my home. Wherever you are, that is where I belong.”
The tears that welled in her eyes at my words puzzled me, but her smile contradicted the universal sign of sadness.
“You’re my home, too, N’kal.”
Chapter 20
Timber
The marathon lovemaking session wore me out, but I knew N’kal would be starving after the long drive from the Canadian hospital. He hadn’t eaten since Detroit.
His mini speech about home during dinner startled me. It came straight out of left field, but it was so cute I decided to roll with it. We had a long way to go in the communications department, even with his nanites giving him definitions. I realized a while ago that the tiny devices gave him literal translations first, then branched out to more figurative meanings. When I remembered this, it made conversation a little easier. I could adjust my wording to be as direct as possible with him, and for the most part it worked. Sure, I forgot from time to time, but overall we understood each other.
The change in subject steered the conversation more in the direction of love and relationships, and N'kal carefully described his newfound understanding of the nuances between pure sex and making love. He seemed rather proud to have figured it outall for himself, and the light in his eyes when he described how the sweeter side of sex made him feel was adorable.
“Yeah, the porn isn’t usually made for people who are in love. It’s targeted towards people who are more horny than lonely, so the focus isn’t so much on love as it is on more carnal urges. Porn producers are trying to make money. People who are in love aren’t always in the mood for pornography, so it’s less profitable to market to them. There’s more profit in marketing to people who just want to get off, so why make a video that takes hours to get to the good stuff? Granted, I personally enjoyed the hours we spent in bed just now, but some humans just want to orgasm. They’re not looking for an emotional connection.”
N’kal frowned. “That is … sad.”
“A little, yeah.”
In addition to having a fully stocked fridge, the cabin apparently came with a dresser full of clothing for the Xalanite visitors lodged there. Since Xalanite women’s clothing didn’t quite fit me in the chest area, I made do with one of the t-shirts in N’kal’s drawers. The soft pajama pants in the drawer of female clothing were comfortable, but it looked like I’d have to venture into Rochester for some tops if I wanted to be properly dressed while we were there. I wouldn’t feel right doing my job in oversized tees and button-down shirts, not to mention braless.
N’kal looked sexy in his PJs. The top was one of those A-line wifebeaters, exposing his toned arms, and the bottoms were smooth satin, like mine, which draped over his ass and thighs like melted chocolate. Whoever had supplied the clothing must have had a good eye for color, because the soft pastels complimented his rich purple Xalanite scales beautifully. It didn’t even look weird on a male.
After dinner, we snuggled together on the couch and watched some TV. The AARO had sprung for several streaming services, so we didn’t have any trouble finding something to watch. Imanaged to talk N’kal out of watching the procedural program he’d become obsessed with, the one with the Timber clone he bought all that merch of. Instead, we watched a light romcom.
Comedy, it turned out, required more complicated translations than the nanites were prepared for. I had to pause the show several times to go into lengthy detail explaining the jokes and puns. To his credit, N’kal began to pick up as the show went on, and he required fewer and fewer interruptions. By the end of the movie, he laughed right along with me, rarely asking me to go over things.
This time alone together in a relatively safe location allowed me to relax more. I didn’t feel as much of a need to stay on alert, though I knew I couldn’t let my guard down completely. Just because there were AARO agents all over the place, it didn’t mean N’kal’s assassin wasn’t still hanging around nearby, and it certainly didn’t mean they hadn’t hired someone else for the job.
After the movie, we went back to bed for some actual sleep. N’kal had been nice enough to change the sheets for us after we both messed up the original set. It felt nice to lie down next to him, to have him hold me in the darkness.
Try as I might, I couldn’t help but draw parallels between N’kal and Rick during times like this. Rick had also enjoyed cuddling at night, and his declarations of love and devotion had been eerily similar to N’kal’s. Maybe not quite as intense, but then again Rick was less intense overall. He preferred a more casual approach to life even when caught up in the middle of an underground drug ring.
It wasn’t Rick’s fault. The circumstances that dragged him into that life were crummy, but they were out of his control. His mom had gotten hooked on the illicit substances, and he infiltrated the criminal organization in the hopes of finding a way to stop them.
Rick was one of my best informants, relationship aside. He understood what was at stake, and he was smart. He didn’t make dumb decisions or take unnecessary risks.
No, it hadn’t been his fault that he’d died. That was all on me.
