"You are my True Mate," he said breaking off the kiss again to glare down at her, "and I will never be able to live without you now that I have found you."
"Nikhil!" It was Mac's turn to growl, and she tugged on his braids. "Stop teasing and kiss me!"
Nikhil's eyes widened slightly at her demand, and then obeyed, covering her mouth with his, his tongue demanded entry and she gave it.
She let out a little cry of joy as her tongue touched Nikhil's and she tasted him for the first time. He tasted like that first crisp hint of winter on a cold mountain morning. Fresh, clean, and welcoming, at least to her.
Nikhil's hands moved, one cupping the back of her head, tilting it so he could attack her mouth from a different angle. It all felt amazing, and she let herself sink deeper into the kiss as her tongue curled around his returning the caress. She'd kissed a man before, had been kissed back by one, but it had never been like this. Nikhil was strength and gentleness, demand and retreat, his tongue first caressing then sparring with hers. All the while his other hand slid down along her back until he reached bare skin where his shirt ended along her thigh and the calloused tips of his fingers began caressing her skin.
Mac broke off the kiss gasping for breath and gazed up into Nikhil's glowing eyes. "Damn, you're a good kisser," she whispered.
"So are you," Nikhil growled, pulling her lips back to his and she couldn't wait for the next assault on her senses. Instead, Nikhil stilled and pulled back to gaze down at her sharply, the glow in his eyes changing. "You've kissed a male on the lips before."
"Of course." She tried to close the distance between their lips, but was held firmly in place, and she looked up at him in confusion. "Nikhil?"
"Many males?" he questioned.
"A couple. I don't see what...”
"Only Pleasure Workers kiss males on the lips," he told her shortly.
"Pleasure workers?" Mac jerked her mouth away from his. She knew what a pleasure worker was. The Zaludians had meant to sell her to a Pleasure House. The one wearing the red beads had gone into great detail about how with her many 'openings', a wide variety of males would be able to find their relief with her. He'd been nearly giddy with the amount he planned on selling her for. "Pleasure worker! You think I'm a Pleasure Worker because I've kissed a few guys?!!" She jumped off his lap. "How dare you!"
"A female only kisses her Dasho on the lips."
"What?"
"A female...”
"I heard you. Are you telling me you've never kissed a female before? Never had sex with one?"
"I have kissed a female before," Nikhil jerked back at the thought she believed him inexperienced. "There have been several females that have sought out my friendship, and my lips have brought them great pleasure. But I have never kissed their lips, and they have never kissed mine!"
"Friendship is sex?" she asked frowning.
"I do not know this word," Nikhil told her.
"Sex. You sticking that," she pointed to the visible outline of his cock in his pants, "inside a female."
"Yes, that is friendship."
"So you have had sex with Pleasure Workers!" she accused.
"Never! I would never seek out a Pleasure Worker! I have only offered my friendship to worthy and honorable females! Ones I respect. We exchange friendship. We do not kiss on the lips!"
Mac paled at his words. "Worthy and honorable... so you and your females can fuck all you want, do whatever you want with your mouths, and as long as you don't kiss each other on the lips, you are considered worthy and honorable."
"Yes. The meeting of lips is the most intimate of acts and reserved for one's Ashe. This is readily known."
Mac took a stumbling step back. Nikhil thought she was some slut, a whore, a Pleasure Worker, all because she knew how to kiss. Because she had kissed other men on the lips.
"Mackenzie...” Nikhil frowned at her reaction to his words. "Is it not that way on your Earth?"
"No. Kissing is not the most intimate act."
"Then what is?"
"It doesn't matter. It's not going to happen." She forced herself to look at Nikhil, who was slowly rising from the couch, a determined look on his face. "You need to take me to Luol."
"We will finish discussing this first."
"No, we won't. I'm not feeling well, and I want to see Luol." She wasn't lying; the food she'd eaten didn't want to stay in her stomach. Spinning on her heel, she headed for the door.
∞ ∞ ∞ ∞ ∞
Luol looked up when he heard the door to the medical unit open, and was surprised to see Mackenzie entering, Nikhil following close behind. He knew Nikhil would be bringing her in so he could complete her treatment, but he hadn't thought it would be this early. He also hadn't expected the tension that seemed to surround them.