Chapter 26: Closer

Hi romulanlover, this story is not finished by a long, long shot! There is still a ton awaiting Asha. In fact, you had better keep your seatbelt fastened...! It's going to be quite a ride, and not a short one.

Guest, the plot is only going to thicken :-) You had better fasten your seatbelt, too!

Asha woke up and rubbed her eyes. She was stark naked, and so was Thorek, who was still sound asleep. She smiled, placed a soft kiss on the v above his brows and got up. She nibbled at the herbs kept in a small basket on her bedside table, for they freshened the breath after sleep and were a staple in all Romulan households as well. In fact, when literally translated from Rihan, it meant "mouth disinfectant". She chewed the leaves, savouring their flavour. In her mind, she was going over her first intimate night with her husband in verses. She picked up a booklet and pen, for she preferred writing her poetry the old-fashioned way, and made a few notes. Then she went to the bathroom.

Thorek opened his eyes to an empty space next to him. He checked the time. It was early in the morning. Then he caught the faint scent of herbs, different from last night, tangy and more quickening. He got up, used the toilet and went to the pool, where he found his wife relaxing in the water. She opened her eyes when she saw him and smiled. It took all his self-control not to run down the stairs and devour her with kisses. He managed a brisk descent into the water and lifted her up into his arms, pressing his mouth passionately against hers. She responded eagerly, and he was immediately aroused.

His sex was close to hers again like last night as their legs tangled. His very touch made her shiver all over, and not only because of his Vulcan touch-sensitivity. He could see and feel that while her body was more than ready, she needed to be more familiar with him.

"Take your time, my ailhun. We are here in Mirek to enjoy every day and night, not to rush through them," he reassured her. It was that tenderness Asha had longed for when she thought of relationships, and she had found it in a Romulan's arms in the strangest of circumstances.

Asha realised how much she appreciated his respect for her wish to take things slowly.

There was a bench along one side of the pool. Thorek took her hand and they went to the bench, where he sat down and placed her on his lap. She rubbed her hips against his in a small bouncing motion, and their hands and mouths became very busy.

As she played with the tips of his ears, he remarked: "You seem to have a particular affinity for my ears."

"They are very sexy."

"My ears are erotic?"

"Yes."

"The things you do to me," he murmured. "Seducing me last night with all the boldness of a Romulan army!"

She grinned mischievously.

They spent the next hour trying out different things with the help of the bench and water. Her curiosity was contagious, and when it was time for them to get ready for breakfast with Christine and Vekal, they were quite reluctant to stop. They got out of the pool, dried each other down between lingering kisses and caresses, and dressed. Their hands kept touching as they walked to the breakfast room.

While they went on a tour of Mirek's city after breakfast, Christine glanced at Asha. Thorek and Vekal were sitting in another part of the tourist flitter and discussing the beauties of the landscape.

"Okay, what exactly were you two doing at night?" Christine finally asked Asha in a low voice.

Asha grinned. "Is it that obvious?"

"You both look like you're on your honeymoon."

"We are," Asha said, smiling. "He claims I seduced him with the boldness of a Romulan army."

Christine brushed her hand over her lips to suppress her laughter.

"Really?"

"Well…I won't go into details, but I decided to, you know, just go for it. I'm taking my time, though. I want to take things as they come. And it's so different in Mirek, too. People don't seem to be in a rush like in Romulus. They're more laid back."

"Yes, one can't help picking that up after a few days."

"I never thought I'd get to be so close to Thorek. I guess that invalidates his suggestion that I go looking for extra-marital company."

Christine was silent for a bit, then she said: "Not necessarily."

"How do you mean?"

"I cannot speak from experience, but simply from what I have observed. Being in love with your spouse does not automatically render you immune to finding other people attractive."

"That's true. Still, looking is one thing. Touching another. Or maybe it's not so straightforward after all. I think I'll have to talk to him about it, because what's happening between us is something neither of us were considering in the least."

"Well, you know what they say about the best-laid plans…Oh, and talking of laid…"

"Christine, you've got a one-track mind today," Asha chuckled. "I'm not going to go into that. Just like you said you wouldn't some time ago."

"True, and fair enough. And in the meantime, enjoy."

In the nights and days that followed, Asha and Thorek's explorations grew bolder, and when the last week of their stay in Mirek started, she felt that the right moment had arrived. She was ready and she was more than certain that he was, too. She wanted more than rubbing herself against his erection. Her pelvis was in fact aching for him, and the sheets underneath her bottom were sticky with her wetness. As they lay in bed and kissed each other passionately, her lips found his pointed ear.

"My deyhhan, how about catching up with our wedding night? Because I want you very badly," she said directly.

"A brilliant idea, my Ashaya," he whispered to her. She chuckled. The sound was contagious, and he laughed, too. She had a mischievous side to her which he enjoyed, and seeing that he was her first sexual partner, those light moments served to set both of them at ease. Then he grew serious and looked at her face, admiring her eyes. One long eyelash was resting on her cheek, and he carefully plucked it off.

She tweaked his nose, and he tweaked hers back. She tried to tweak his nose again, and he imprisoned her hands in his. They wrestled together playfully and bumped their teeth together accidentally while kissing, resulting in a cut lip for Thorek. He didn't care. On the contrary: his eyes darkened, and his kisses became even hungrier. Asha felt his erection at her sex. With a boldness that surprised even her, she took his sex in her hand and tried to slowly guide it into her. He helped her and watched her expression and reactions closely, not wanting to cause her any discomfort. Asha focused upon her husband's face.

There was no pain as he entered her smoothly, just a strange sensation because it was all new – strange, yes, but with the promise of pleasure. That, and a lot of tenderness. They let it happen as it happened, without expectations and demands, simply wanting to be close in this physical manner. As they moved together slowly, she began to enjoy it. Her pleasure grew when he manoeuvred them into a position where she could experiment and control the rhythm however she wished. He licked at her breasts as she bent over him to kiss him. She experimented, going fast and slow, and discovered that this was something they both enjoyed very much. He placed his hands on her hips and manoeuvred himself into a sitting position so that they were both sitting upright and could touch and kiss each other freely. Their wedding bands chinked together softly when their wrists brushed.

Asha moaned with delight as they rocked together. Her little sounds aroused him even more, and she shivered as he breathed heavily into her neck and ear. Their noses bumped together rather painfully when they both adjusted their positions at the same time, but they didn't mind and laughed instead. Their kisses were greedy and open-mouthed, and their tongues kept meeting. As they approached the end, they shifted back into their original position with Asha on her back and her legs around his waist. She cried out when he stimulated her sex with his fingers to increase her pleasure, and she shivered with delight when she felt sudden warmth inside of her and heard him gasp out her name. He continued to stimulate her until she was more than satisfied and her body trembled, her head thrown back as she cried out. They held each other in a sleepy embrace afterwards until their bodies were calm again.

Their bodies and faces were sweaty, Thorek's hair was a mess and the sheets were warm, clammy and filled with the heady scent of sex. They had a quick bath together and were so tired that Asha had just enough time to turn off the lights and snuggle up to him before they both went to sleep.

Asha was a little sore when she woke up, but it was a pleasant soreness. There were some bruises here and there on her body, and the muscles in her thighs were aching despite her hiking and exercises. She didn't feel like she had been reborn or any of those mythical clichés surrounding the act of the first sexual encounter. What she did feel was a deep satisfaction, for despite her forced marriage, she had chosen to be intimate with Thorek, and she considered herself very fortunate that her husband had a kind and caring heart, although he was reluctant to admit it. Asha had learnt to listen to what was unspoken in their marriage and when she had discovered that he had a dry sense of humour and appreciated the same quality in her, it had made building bridges so much easier. Her mastery of Rihan had further broken down the wall between them, brick by brick. That they would one day come to desire each other was something neither of them had expected.

Asha rubbed her eyes, stretched and turned around. Thorek was lying on his side, propped up on one elbow, watching her.

"Good morning, Thorek-ev," she said, smiling. "Hang on…" She helped herself generously to the leaves from the basket, then kissed him. The cut on his lip was almost healed.

"Thorek-ev?" he smiled.

She explained that "Thorek-e'lev" sounded too clumsy and solving the problem with an elision made sense, resulting in "Thorek-ev". Provided he approved, otherwise she would think of another solution or revert to the original version.

Thorek laughed and sat up. "I like 'Thorek-ev' as much as you like 'Ashaya'."

He kissed her, and they got up to have a bath.

In the afternoon, she decided to address the matter Christine had mentioned: the status of their arrangement on extra-marital partners. While they were playing a game of Romulan chess, she broached the matter.

"Thorek, do you recall our arrangement about partners outside our marriage?"

"Yes."

She looked into his eyes. "Back then, we did not think that we'd ever be intimate with each other. We were forced into marriage, and now we're intimate by choice. Do we continue to keep our marriage open to others or how do we proceed from here?"

"I think we should take into consideration what you said back then, my wife: that if we see someone whom we think attractive enough to pursue, then we tell each other."

"So if you saw someone who attracted you today, would you still pursue her?"

Thorek was silent for a while. "Asha," he said finally, "I really don't know. And you? What would you do?"

"I don't know either." She chewed her lip. "Christine said that being intimate or in love with one's spouse does not automatically mean that one stops finding other people attractive or even pursuing them. It's logical, of course, and I've seen it happen so many times on Earth. But now I'm no longer an observer, I'm a participant."

"Christine is right. Vekal pursued another woman while he was married to his first wife. He said his marriage was quite satisfactory, but that mating with the other woman was so unforgettable that he felt it was worth committing adultery. He did regret the disappointment his wife felt and was ultimately relieved when they went their separate ways."

"I hope he doesn't ever do that to Christine," Asha said sharply.

"It's their marriage, Ashaya. And it could be the other way around. There's never a guarantee in a relationship, regardless of how much we do to make it secure."

"True. So, to get back to our marriage…Our arrangement stays?"

"Yes, it seems logical to me."

"All right. I agree. Let it stay so, then."

It was an arrangement which was strange verging on uncomfortable to Asha, for without strict boundaries, she felt there was less control – especially for her, as she liked things to be structured, detailed and planned step by step. At the same time, it offered her a certain sense of freedom, though it came with limits due to her social status as a Human and Romulan social norms. Romulans enjoyed experimenting sexually with several partners and were in fact encouraged to do so before marriage or choosing a life partner. After choosing a permanent mate, it was a different story, especially because of clan policies, offspring and matters related to properties and inheritance.

Both she and Thorek had been convinced that they would never be sexually intimate with each other, and now the opposite was happening. She was still convinced that she would never be interested in someone else outside her marriage, but she realised how unexpectedly things could change.