Page 11 of Mutiny

"We need to clear the air," I said.

He looked up at the space around us.

"The limited access I have to the ship's system includes environmental readings for the guest spaces," he said. "The air in here is listed as optimal. Is there something your human senses have identified that the sensors cannot?"

"No, not the actual air," I said, amused and infuriated all at the same time, the tension in my body demanding a release. Worst-case scenario, if this conversation didn't go the way I hoped, I was going to build a vibrator, because this was a problem that could be solved with the right tool. Actually,, I'd build one anyway, since not everyone wanted to jump on alien d just to get their needs met. "It is a saying that there is something that needs to be said that both people are thinking about. I've been thinking the sound you keep making is because you are attracted to me, and it's been a distracting thought. Am I correct in that assumption?"

"Yes," he said, his tone startled even as he answered my question directly and without hesitation.

I put my hands on my hips and waited.

There was no way I was going to put my uncomfortable thoughts out there and be rewarded with only a single-word answer.

I lifted an eyebrow and gave him a firm look to make sure he understood I expected elaboration. I didn't have to wait long for the reward for my social bravery.

"I am experiencing a biological response indicating my physical and psychological desire to mate with you when I pay attention to your body or when you express joyful exuberance at the acquisition of new knowledge," he said. "I wasn't sure what I was experiencing at first, so I queried my brother with the closest origin species, and I am producing a specific type of saliva, a fluid that is specific for mating, not digestion."

"Explain further," I said, feeling my heart racing in my chest. My voice cracked a little as I continued. "What exactly do you want to do with this… mating fluid?"

"What do I want to do?" he asked, his eyes widening as if the thought had never occurred to him. "Want is such an ineffective word that I didn't include it in my self-examination. It lacks specificity or intention toward action, but that word has helped me make sense of things. Wanting without doing is what is causing my discomfort."

His hands reached out toward me, and I sucked in a sharp breath of anticipation, the excitement of his words leading to sudden movement, but then he stopped halfway in the air as confusion crossed his face.

"I have observed that there are profound differences in how each of you humans interact and react, and I cannot make assumptions based on what I know of my brother's mating practices," he said. "If I mate with you now, is such assertive aggression something that you would desire, or do you wish for me to perform an extended courtship? If you wish for an extended courtship, what are the human-specific steps in such a thing?"

I let out a laugh, both uncomfortable and aroused, the idea of him just grabbing me and having his way with me exciting, but at the same time, the audacity of this man!

"You seem really confident that I want to mate with you at all!" I said, crossing my arms as my irritation grew. I knew it was an antagonistic thing to say, yet it came out like a habit I didn't know how to break. It was defensive, built off the backs of men who didn't respect me simply because of my gender.

"You show signs of arousal and interest in my presence," he said, tilting his head to the side as he regarded me.

"My body reacting to you doesn't mean that I want to mate with you," I said. "Arousal and flirtation aren't the same thing as consent."

"Yes, I know that," he agreed. "But you initiated this topic of conversation, which I've taken as an opportunity to seek verbal understanding. Is the issue a lack of information? I have been practicing my creative skills by planning how our mating would go. Let me describe what I intend to do if you permit me."

Before I could agree or deny, he launched into a detailed description of exactly what he wanted to do to me. I listened in rapt silence. He was extremely detailed, and by the time he finished, my entire body was buzzing with the intense awareness of him.

"What adjustments should I make to that plan?" he asked. "Or if I have misunderstood the intent in you initiating this conversation, let me know, and I will not bring it up again, and I will cease my planning."

This time, I swallowed.

I cleared my throat, my mind twisting in and about on itself as my previous protests fell away in the light of exactly how much thought he had put into what he wanted to do with me without giving me any sign until I began to tease them out of him. All this time he had been working with me, keeping his true feelings hidden behind the bulwark of his mind until I demanded they come out and face me.

I wanted him; I wanted what he described.

With a few changes.

"First adjustment," I said, holding up one finger. "I'm not an exhibitionist, so this workshop is not a private enough setting."

"I can lock the door," he said, and a soft clunking sound came from the door in question. "Now it is private."

Sweet stars in space, that sent my heart racing.

"Second," I said, holding up another finger next to the first. "We have to be done by the time this machine is done, and we're ready to move on to the next step. I don't want this interfering with our work."

"I can make that adjustment," he said. "Any other changes?"

"Just one," I said. "The terminology you proposed… that won't work for me."