“Is it true that your numbers are plenty?” he asks. “Back from where you came?”
“Grixis seems to think so.”
“And you mate with only one? For life?” His tone is respectful.
“Typically, though some do not follow the custom well.”
He seems to think on it for a long moment before finally saying, “What if a man is unsuccessful in impregnating a female?”
“That’s…unfortunate.”
“Would they be exiled?”
“No, although among nobility, it’s possible the union could be annulled.”
His brow pinches together. “Union could be annulled?”
“My people marry when they find their…mate. It’s a promise to stay together. If they fail to produce children, it’s possible to dissolve the union.”
He nods. “Why do you make such sounds when Grixis licks you?”
My cheeks flush pink. “Um…oh, God…”
As much as I want to yell at him, he looks genuinely curious.
“Because it feels good. Doesn’t it for your people?”
“It gets the women ready for mating by preparing their channel, but your reaction is…bizarre.”
I shrug. “Maybe if you decide to lick one of my people, you’ll be able to study their reaction more closely.”
At that, he cast me a dark look but says nothing.
I’m sensing he has some pent-up frustration, and it takes an enormous amount of effort for me to hide my smile.
He grabs the ropes and begins dragging the beast back to shore.
“Do your people…feel affection?” Ramsey finally asks.
Another strange question, yet I feel compelled to answer.
“How so? Between parent and child or between lovers?”
“Lovers.”
“Yes, though. Not all matches are because of love. During courtship, men will bring flowers, write poems, and do what they can to show a woman how he feels.”
He snickers. “Typical.”
“What do you mean by that?”
“Just like Tempest. Women expect all the attention, yet give so little. Your women hate men, just as mine do.”
“That’s not true. Women go through childhood imagining what their mate will look like, excited to reach their union.”
“Were you excited about yours?” he asks.
“Uh, I, um, wasn’t sure who I would marry.” I leave off the part about me being an unwanted bastard.