Page 13 of His Human to Learn

"Best not to touch at all," Beren says as he walks out of his bedroom, looking like he slept great. "We have much to do. Get off my ward, and let us get started."

"Nia said resting today," I counter, reaching around Marron's neck to keep him down with me even as he tries to scurry off.

I wouldn't be surprised if he's scared of Beren. Beren enjoys knowing he can frighten him, but he has yet to tell Marron that he frequently uses his kind face and happy voice when speaking with him. They can be difficult to notice unless you get to know him, and the mixed signals he gives Marron on looking like he wants to kill him sometimes don't help.

"Nia is not here to counter the change of plans, so we are working," Beren says, his gaze soft as he looks at both of us. The crinkling in the corners of his eyes is the only sign of his glee in this.

Marron tries to leave me on the couch again, but I use all my strength to keep him with me. He could still get up if he really wanted to, but he's not about to force me to do anything.

"What work?" I ask, peeking over Marron's shoulder so I can glare at Beren. When he's silent for a second too long, I frown at him and return to lying underneath Marron. "He is lying to you."

"For what purpose?" Marron asks.

The gears in his head are working to make sense of what I'm saying. He can't imagine Beren being capable of being a teasing male, so it must be something else.

"Because he will tell his male mate later, and they will laugh about it."

"This is very true," Lyath says as he walks out of the same bedroom Beren just left. "And as much as I enjoy listening, I would like to get food from the great hall. Nia is not feeling well, and we should feed her."

"Yes, yes," Beren says, linking his fingers with Lyath's. "Fine, we will leave, but no mating will be done in my home. No more touching, either. You have pressed my generosity by pushing off the mating ceremony. If you wish to be together as lovers, you need to do it properly."

I frown again at Beren and how his eyes stay fixated on me. He's only speaking to me. Beren's made it clear that everything I want hinges on me going through the mating ceremony.

I just need a little more time to get to know Marron. A little longer to make sure I can talk to him enough to make him understand me in all situations. I don't want to be tied down to someone who can't speak to me or who won't be able to understand me.

"I understand," Marron answers Beren like he's the one being warned. Beren makes a huffing sound that tells us how he feels about the whole situation before leaving the house with Lyath by his side.

"Make sure they do not mate," Beren says. I assume he's talking to Thro, who is still on the porch outside.

"But I would very much like them to mate," Thro says. "Once she is my blood, my brother will be the happiest male, making me just as happy. So if you are saying they are going to mate if I do not go inside, then I most certainly will never go in again."

Marron groans and rolls off me. This time, I let him, knowing he needs to put a damper on Thro's excitement. There's no reason to get his hopes up when nothing's happening yet. Marron looks down at me, his eyes falling down my body before snapping back to my face. He's worried about leaving me, butI can't offer him anything more than I could when we talked yesterday.

"Go," I tell him, offering a small smile so he won't worry too much about me. "I will talk with Nia's mate. Get him to let you in the house more, so I can get to know you."

Marron tilts his head to the side, his lips moving side to side against his teeth like he's thinking about the perfect thing to say. He leans down and cups my cheek.

"I know you, Tori."

Before I have a chance to respond to that or the fact that it's Marron straight up saying he wants to mate me now, he's out the door and talking with his brother in hushed tones. I groan and remind myself that I want to be a little more fluent before we mate. Just a little bit more.

Maybe I can convince Beren to let us go on a few dates without threatening Marron's well-being. He allowed us to be together last night, and it only took convincing from all of the other human women mated to his friends. I just need to convince him that this is for the best.

I'll mate Marron as soon as we can make the communication issues work. I don't want to be a burden on someone, and I want to be able to share all of myself with someone. I want that to be Marron. I just need more time.

"Did you know they have like six women in each room here?" Jen says before stuffing another piece of grilled olack into her mouth. "I had to share a bed with a stranger. I mean, she was eight, but still, a whole stranger passed out in bed with me, and it's normal."

"We sleep in bed together every night," I remind her as I move the food around my plate. I don't feel super hungover, but my stomach feels slightly rotted, and food is just not something I'm in the mood for. I've already chugged a few cups of water because dehydration is real. Especially on this planet, where if we're not drinking water constantly, we're sweating it all away.

"That's different. You're not a stranger."

"I might prefer a stranger. You kick me sometimes."

"And you snore."

"I do not," I gasp.

The offense I'm taking is entirely irrational, but I just woke up in Marron's arms this morning, and now I might have just learned that I snore. No, I'm not even thinking about it. Worst case scenario, I snore, but it's a cute snore like a cute sleeping animal.

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