Page 69 of Dark Awakening: Hidden Currents

"I don't know much about the Kra-ell." She took his hand, leading him to sit on the edge of the bed. "I've been told a few bits and pieces, and from what I understood, your people are not monogamous. They live in tribal units, usually comprised of one female and several males, but sometimes two females, each with their cadre of males. They don't form couple relationships the way we do. The females invite the ones they fancy to their beds, and the males consider it an honor to be chosen. They are grateful for the opportunity to father a child. Not all Kra-ell males get to be so lucky."

Ell-rom frowned. "I wouldn't have liked that kind of life. If I was forced to live in a Kra-ell society, I would have chosen to be a celibate priest."

Jasmine smiled. "I get it because I'm a one-man woman, too, or rather one man at a time, but there are many people who enjoy spreading the love, and there is nothing wrong with it as long as it is a free choice of consenting adults. Regrettably, that'snot always the case, and in many parts of the world, women are treated like possessions and not like consenting adults. They don't have a say in the selection of a husband, and they don't have a say in their husband's decision to take more wives. There is more, but I'd rather not go there."

Ell-rom's eyes started glowing. "I wish you would tell me. I'm not a child to be coddled."

"You are definitely not a child." She squeezed his hand. "But I'm on a mission to put you in a positive mood, and I don't want to spoil things by telling you about savages."

She wanted him aroused, not angry.

"Will you tell me some other time?"

"Of course." She leaned over and kissed his cheek. "Now that I'm done with the Kra-ell and their strange mating customs, I can move to humans and immortals, which I'm more familiar with."

He frowned. "What strange mating customs? Are you referring to the invitation the females issue to the males they want to father their children?"

"Not just that." She debated whether telling him about the Kra-ell sexual fight for dominance would be a turn-on or a turn-off.

Maybe it was a good way to gauge his sexual preferences by his reaction.

"The female expects the male to subdue her. If he can't, he's not worthy to mate with her and father a child. Unlike humans and immortals, the Kra-ell males don't have a significant strength advantage over their females, so it's not easy, and the poor males emerge from the mating bed bloodied and sometimes humiliated."

Ell-rom grimaced. "That's savage. Where is the love? The care between mates?"

Well, that answered her question. "As I said before, with only two exceptions that I heard of, the Kra-ell don't form loving couple relationships. Gods, immortals, and humans, on the other hand, are supposed to have just one mate, but..." she paused, considering how to explain the complexities of human relationships. "Well, that's not always the case, and I'm not referring just to the primitives who think it's okay for a man to take several wives even though it goes against human nature." Seeing the confusion on his face, she realized that he needed a few more facts about humans. "There is no significant gender disparity in births like for the Kra-ell. Human girls and boys are born in nearly equal numbers."

Ell-rom still looked confused. "I don't understand what you are trying to say."

"I'm sorry. I got carried away talking about an issue that is close to my heart." She pushed a strand of hair behind her ear. "Anyway, in an advanced, free society like ours, the ideal is a loving, exclusive relationship between two people, but not everyone is lucky enough to find their special someone right away. Sometimes, a girl has to kiss many frogs before she finds her prince."

Ell-rom's confusion only seemed to deepen at this, and Jasmine realized her mistake. "Oh, right. You can't understand the reference. It's taken from a children's story about a princess who kisses a frog, and it turns into a handsome prince."

"That's not possible. A frog is much smaller than a man. Even if transformation was possible, it would need to be of equal masses."

"True, but we are talking about magic. Are the Anumatian familiar with the concept?"

Ell-rom nodded. "The word magic in Kra-ell means creating something out of nothing, so I can see how it fits the story."

49

JASMINE

Jasmine let out a relieved breath. At least she wouldn't have to explain what magic was. She wouldn't know where to begin.

As she settled more comfortably on the bed next to Ell-rom, she was reminded of another situation when she had spun a tale, which had also led to lovemaking.

That was how she and Edgar had started their relationship.

She'd always thought that it was her looks that attracted men to her, but evidently, it was her storytelling.

"Once upon a time, there was a beautiful princess who lived in a grand palace. She had everything she could ever want—beautiful dresses, delicious food, and all the luxuries a girl could ever dream of. But she was lonely."

Ell-rom smiled. "That sounds like my life, just without the dresses or the plentiful food."

Jasmine snorted. "Yeah, that kind of fits, but in our fairy tale, you are the prince, and I'm the frog, and instead of letting me eat from your plate and sleep on your pillow, you have to give me thekiss of a venom bite, and then I'll turn into something more. I’m sort of mixing two fairy tales together here in order to make my point."

He leaned and kissed her lips. "You are already the best there is. All I can give you is immortality."