"I spent most of my time by myself... I can be a bit of a loner. But Netalai and I are friends. Rytem is a bit possessive, so Netalai and I can't spend too much time together, but we talk sometimes." Insinz began smiling as he spoke, "He's a very kind and well-balanced person—unlike most of the people in the palace. I get lonely often, but no one can fill that loneliness, so I don't try." ...I guess we have that in common. "You're empathizing with me again."
"Hey! It's already hard on me knowing you can see through me, but my heart can't handle it when you point things out like that." He touched my cheeks, and I closed my eyes in response.
"Another thing to know about me is... I love teasing you—making you flustered, horny, frustrated, or uncomfortable. Nothing else brings me more joy," He admitted, playfulness filling his tone.
"Get a new hobby!" I retorted with a pout. He laughed and pecked my lips.
I smiled then gazed at him quietly before saying,
"I never saw you talking to the others."
"Netalai is shy. When there's a crowd of more than three, he can't talk. Also... I did talk to the others. Zai and I argued all the time."
I gasped and touched his arm. "Why?!"
"Over you." His revelation struck me. "You always avoided me and paid extra attention to him, and he didn't even appreciate it. He'd talk shit about you, and it would piss me off."
I'd never heard him curse before!
"...How... did the fights end?" I asked curiously, taking hold of his hand.
"In a draw. Whenever either of us took things too far, Valin would increase the gravity, pin us both down, and scold us for fighting among ourselves. That would tick me off too... he'd never let us finish things."
"I'm glad it ended like that... I would've been sad if either of you got badly injured." He scoffed, so I added,
"I only paid attention to Zai because I knew he had the drive to overthrow the King and had the most potential to pull it off... I wasn't in love with him. I just wanted him to get stronger."
I didn't want there to be any confusion between us. Once I explained this, Insinz intertwined our fingers.
"Moving on..." he then casually changed the subject, "Another thing about me is I don't like my hair color, but no dyes work, so I'm stuck with it."
I'm glad, but at the same time, I'm surprised he doesn't want to ask more about my feelings for Zai.
"What's your favorite color?" I asked.
"Red... well, it became my favorite after you wore that lip gloss for me," he revealed shyly.
I grumbled and hid my face under a pillow. After calming myself, I turned back to him and declared,
"I... like purple... and pink."
He looked shy—he must be blushing too.
"Well... I'm glad one of us likes it," he muttered as he leaned forward for another kiss, so I quickly complied, making him smile again. Then I said:
"Okay... It's my turn to confess something."
He raised his eyebrows, scooting slightly closer to me.
"I've mentally prepared myself." His reply made me smile, but also made me more nervous about what I was about to say.
"I've... never had an orgasm before... before you."
It was easier just thinking it in my head. Once the words left my mouth, I felt like I might explode from anxiety.
"Never?"
I nodded rapidly.
"Ten thousand years and... never?"
I covered my face with my hand, hiding my eyes with my fingers.
"Before, it was just a physical activity I had to get through... usually I felt nothing, or I felt pain. Even when I enjoyed it, I only looked forward to getting it over with. But with you, it was wonderful. I thought orgasms were an exaggerated myth—before being with you..."
His expression brightened, and then he pecked the back of my hand over and over. I giggled, saying,
"I'm being serious!"
He began kissing my neck. It tickled, so I laughed louder, my pulse quickening at the same time.
"I'm serious too. I feel great—praise me more!" Insinz urged.
"You are so goofy! I am getting embarrassed for you!" I shouted, rolling over with my back to him.
"You love it," he accused, hugging me from behind as he continued, "Now me again... you're the first person I've been with."
I gasped. Insinz is already an adult now, and he certainly seemed to know what he was doing...
"Only me?! But... you... um... you knew exactly what you were doing..."
He grinned again, but I could tell he was also feeling bashful from my compliment, because his body got hotter.
"Well... you're the only person I ever wanted, so why would I sleep with someone else?"
I had to hide my face under the blankets to continue the conversation.
"Not even with a maid... or a woman outside the castle?" I inquired.
He pulled the comforter away, exposing me. Then he gently pinned my shoulders down so I rolled onto my back to face him. Insinz kissed me deeply, rubbing his tongue against mine, making my thoughts scatter before he answered,
"No. If I seem experienced, it's probably because of the millions of times I've imagined doing it with you."
My temperature started to skyrocket.
"Millions?! Isn't that too big of an exaggeration?!"
He tilted his head at my comment.
"I'm not exaggerating."
"You haven't even been alive one million days!"
Insinz laughed. "It would surprise you how much I think about you, Tana... I haven't even tried out one-tenth of what I've done to you in my mind. And if you could see what I was thinking, you might run away from me."
I fanned myself and decided it was time to change the subject.
"Um... Is that... thing you did to Vetro... permanent?" I asked finally.
I'd gotten so caught up, I forgot to ask such an important question!
"Hmm... No. He should be sleeping now... it would take longer for something permanent to take effect." Insinz explained calmly.
"So, he might come back?!" I shouted and hurried out of bed to get dressed.
"Don't worry... he won't return. At least not until I'm in my room."
"You... seem too confident in that timeline. Are you controlling the spores remotely?"
He shrugged.
"You're a good detective when you want to be," he complimented, then he added, "That's partially right, I CAN control them remotely, but his immune system will also locate and kill the fungus in twelve hours—maybe ten, because his is especially strong. It plants roots deeply into his hypothalamus and sends signals to the rest of his brain from there. I can end the effects early, but I obviously won't. And he shouldn't remember anything, so relax."
I finished pulling on my raggedy, dingy gown and rustled my hair up for good measure.
"You know... with your body, you look hot no matter what you wear."
"That is not what I want to hear right now! ...Oh... but I love you too... sorry it took me a while to say it back."
"If you say it ten more times... while on your knees... and hold your tongue out, I'll show you that I forgive you."
My temperature skyrocketed.
"Stop joking like that! The heck?!"
He laughed and fell over, kicking his feet.
"Get out of my room! ...I'll see you in the morning." I grumbled.
He got out of bed with a grin still on his face, even as he got dressed and left. He wasn't kidding about loving to tease me. I thought my heart would never stop racing...
When I woke up the next day, my room was filled with piles of the flowers that Insinz had gotten me before. There was a potted version on my desk with a note:
"I hope I brought you enough this time."
Why does he have to love me this loudly?!
How... am I going to hide all of these before V sees...? We haven't even discussed an escape plan!