Page 34 of Dark Princess Ascending
Hell, they could go into the virtual world in flipped roles.
Talk about kinky.
He was surprised no one had thought about creating an adventure like that. It wouldn't even be difficult. The algorithm didn't care if the chosen avatar was not the same sex as the participant.
Morelle would love the idea, but the problem was that she would expect him to do it with her. He wasn't sure he would actually have the guts to choose to experience sex as a female, but even if he could do that, he still had to get past his aversion to the idea of granting a computer access to his mind and the havoc it could potentially cause.
Brandon could not imagine anything worse than losing control of his faculties to someone or something else.
19
ROB
Rob woke up with a headache, and for a moment, he was confused about where he was. As things came into focus, he recognized Gertrude's room, but his foggy mind couldn't piece together how he'd gotten there.
She wasn't in bed with him, and given the sunlight streaming through the gauzy curtains, it was late morning. He should get up and get some coffee in him to chase that headache away.
In the bathroom, he examined his body in the mirror and was glad to find minimal bruising. Arwel had gone easy on him. In fact, he was surprised the Guardian had managed to get aggressive enough to produce venom. Perhaps he'd recited vile verses in his own head to spur himself on.
Rob chuckled and pulled out the toothbrush he kept at Gertrude's place. They were definitelygetting serious about each other, and they needed to discuss living arrangements. Margo had offered him a room in her and Negal's house, and he'd told her that he would give her an answer after talking with Gertrude, but he'd been too chicken to bring it up.
Besides, there hadn't been time or, rather, the right time.
When he was done in the bathroom, he returned to the bedroom and pulled on the change of clothes that he kept in her closet. Opening the door, he smelled coffee, and his eyes nearly rolled back from imagining taking that first sip.
The simple pleasures were what made life worth living. People thought that they had to achieve great things or look like movie stars to be happy, but the truth was that it took much less. To have a partner who cared about them, a good family and friends, a great cup of coffee or tea, a tasty meal, a comfortable bed, and a job that was at least tolerable but preferably challenging and exciting.
In his previous life, Rob had all those things except for the care of a partner, and it was the lack of that one missing piece that made his life feel mediocre instead of wonderful.
He found Gertrude in the kitchen, kneading dough on the counter, her hands and her apron covered in flour.
"You're awake!" She looked surprised. "How are you feeling? Sit down before you fall down."
"I'm fine." He crossed to her and pressed a kiss to her cheek, careful to avoid the flour. "I don't remember much about last night. How did I get here?"
"You were pretty out of it after the ceremony," she said as he poured himself coffee from the carafe. "Margo helped me get you here." She smiled. "It's the job of the mother or the girlfriend to take care of the Dormant after his induction ceremony. It wouldn't have been right to bring you to Toven and Mia's house."
Now would have been the perfect time to bring up their living arrangement, but as usual, he chickened out, excusing it by the sense of lethargy that still lingered in his limbs after the match.
It shouldn't affect his mouth or vocal cords, but he felt like he needed to be in perfect shape to start that conversation.
"I had the strangest dreams," he said as he sat down and put his coffee cup on the table.
The memories were becoming foggy, and he rubbed his temples, trying to sort through the haze.
"Oh, yeah? What were they about?"
"Dragons," he snorted. "I was riding a dragon into battle. That's all I remember. It's probably the result of watchingGame of Throneswith Toven the other evening."
Gertrude nodded sagely as she shaped the dough into a loaf. "The venom can cause vivid dreams. Not that I've experienced it, but that's what I've heard."
On the one hand, he was glad that she had never hooked up with immortals so she couldn't compare his performance to theirs and find it lacking, but on the other hand, he felt bad for her that she hadn't had the chance to experience what Margo described as an out-of-body, out-of-this-world trip.
Thankfully, his sister hadn't delved into the particulars because even hearing about that part of immortal sex had been too much information for him. No one wanted to hear about their sister's coital details.
According to Bridget, even if he started transitioning right away, it would take between six months to a year for his fangs and venom glands to become functional, so he wouldn't be pleasuring Gertrude that way anytime soon.
"What are you making?" he asked, to pull his thoughts out of that spiral.