Page 164 of The King is Dead
“I’m glad it feels good. I pray when you mate it will also feel good for you. But it can go either way, Istral. I just want you to know that it’s fine to tell him that. If he starts to do something and it hurts, or you don’t like it, you should tell him. Together you need to look for the kinds of touches and… and mating that you both enjoy.”
Istral nodded, her confidence growing. “Gall won’t hurt me. He’s always scared of hurting me even when it feels good,” she said with a little smile that gave me a pang in my chest. “I have to tell him not to stop because he’s worried. He’s so big and I’m so small and he thinks he might break me.”
God, he wasn’t the only one.
When I thought of the sheer strength of the Neph and remembered the desperate ways Melek and I had joined at times…
I was starting to sweat.
“Well, as long as he isn’t pushing you—”
“No, silly,” Istral said with a little giggle. “Gall never pushes me. I grew impatient and kissed him first!”
Oh dear, Lord.
Half of me wanted to laugh, and the other half was horrified. “Well, then… I guess when we return to Theynor we need to get you two married,” I said with as much of a smile as I could manage.
Istral’s eyes lit up. “Yes, please!”
61. Man to Man
~ MELEK ~
The fog around us felt like a weight, bearing down on my shoulders.
Gall rode, his eyes forward, always searching. For Istral. I knew. Because I found myself doing the same for her sister.
“Gall… have you ever had sex before?” I had suspicions, but he’d only spoken to me about bits and pieces at a time I hadn’t wanted to push him.
“Two times,” he said carefully, his eyes sliding to look at me from the side like he was afraid I’d get angry. “But the first didn’t want to talk to me anymore after. And the second one laughed at me when I told her I would take care of her. So I stopped.”
I clawed a hand through my hair battling both rage and an aching pain for my son. “Your mate won’t do that to you.”
“I know. Istral is kind, and she loves me,” he said.
Gall’s simple, unselfconscious ability to love had always taken my breath away. The fact that he may have found someone who could return that for him was… beautiful.
God, I hoped they could find their way through this.
“She won’t be hurtful, but your mate is also human and frail, and innocent… Youmustbe careful, Son. Be patient.”
“I am,” he said with a shrug. “I’m afraid of hurting her. She says I won’t. But I don’t think she understands. And my… I’m so much bigger than her.” He turned his head and his eyes were earnest and worried. He dropped his voice to a whisper. “Can you hurt them? Inside?”
I bit the back of my tongue to stop myself from chuckling—I’d had the same questions when I was young and inexperienced. “It’s possible, but unlikely. As long as you wait until she’s ready and when this happens… treat her with the respect and care she deserves. Then it might hurt the first time for her. But if you give her a few days, then try again—softly, carefully—slowly—she should be fine.”
I cleared my throat, remembering how much Yilan and I hadnotgone slowly, or waited for her to heal. God, I was a hypocrite.
“Why does waiting help? If she’s older does she get bigger inside? The other women were older and I—”
“No, no, that’s not what I meant.” God, I was bad at this. “I meant… when things heat up between you… when you decide that the time is coming… spend a lot of time kissing and touching first,” I said as Gall stared at me. “Talk to her when you touch her. Find out what feels goodfor herand what doesn’t.”
“Youtalk?”Gall said, his eyes going wide.
I smiled. “Yes, you talk. But also listen. When a woman is enjoying your touch—or anything else—she’ll make noises that sound like… like she’s surprised, or maybe even a little bit silly. You can hear her breath get louder, or faster. And her skin will goosebump and flush. She may get… swollen. Down. Between her legs.”
Gall blushed.
I cleared my throat. “The thing is Gall, for any good male—but especially with your mate—it’s very important that you take responsibility to make her feel safe.”
