“How do I do that?” His voice gave away his intrigue.
I hesitated, then shook my head, feeling almost sorry for mentioning it.
“There’s no electricity here. Normally, there’s a special cord that feeds electricity into the battery, but it won’t work here.”
He didn’t seem bothered. Instead, this led to several more questions about electricity. We both ended up settling on the floor of the library, as I tried to explain our technology to him.
“What else does electricity charge?” he asked.
“Oh, lots of stuff.” My forehead scrunched as I tried to determine how to explain it to him. “Most people live in houses with electricity. They have light that turns off and on with the flip of a switch. You can plug things in that use electricity, like refrigerators and microwave ovens, or TVs and radios.”
“What is a TV?”
I frowned. This one was harder to describe. “Well, you know how you said you watch videos on the phones you find? A TV is something in your house that you can use to watch videos. They’re usually longer. It’s a way to watch stories that take half an hour, or sometimes hours, to tell.”
He nodded, absorbing the information thoughtfully. “When I go into town, I see a glowing light in people’s houses sometimes. It’s like how I use my fireplace to create light to see. But theirs lights up the whole house. Is that electricity?”
“Yes,” I said, excited that he seemed to be getting it. “Those houses have lights powered by electricity. Pretty much every house has it these days, but a hundred years ago, it wasn’t as common. And then they started figuring out how to use it for other things. Things like radios and refrigerators have been around for a long time, and things like computers are newer ideas. They’ve even started making cars that run off electricity.”
“I’ve seen cars.” He made a motion with his hands that I didn’t understand. “What did they run on before?”
“Gasoline.”
He frowned, looking confused. “Gasoline is very flammable, isn’t it?” I wasn’t sure how he knew that, but I nodded instead of asking. “That seems like it would be quite hazardous. Is that why they use electricity now?”
I blinked, trying to think. We had ventured into a topic that I wasn’t very knowledgeable about. “I don’t think so?” I finally answered. “I mean, yes, gasoline is flammable. But I think it’s mostly safe in cars…” I trailed off, trying to gauge my answer. “But there are fires sometimes…” I rubbed at my face as I tried to sort out the answer. “I don’t know. I don’t even understand what makes a car run, to be honest.”
He chuckled. “Well, you’re still ahead of me. I didn’t understand what made those work.” He waved a hand toward the row of electronics.
We continued to talk for a bit longer, as he picked my brain about various things that he never understood on Earth. Because he lived so far removed from ordinary people, there were many things that he had never encountered. But that also meant that even the most mundane things seemed mysterious to him.
I did my best to answer him. He was polite and courteous, and I enjoyed helping him learn. But after a while, my legs were starting to feel numb from sitting for so long, and my brain was getting fuzzy. There was only so much that I could take of explaining the boring minutiae of day-to-day Earth life.
I held it off for as long as I could, but eventually, I let a yawn slip. He noticed right away, zeroing in on it with laser focus.
“Are you tired?”
“A little.”
He shook his head, looking embarrassed. “I shouldn’t have kept you up so late. You’ve had a difficult day and need to recharge. I will take you to bed.”
I staggered to my feet, though my legs were a bit stiff and didn’t want to move. Suddenly, Athos lifted me into his arms. I let out a yelp, caught off guard by the motion.
He carried me bridal style, back toward the other room. Apparently, when he’d said he would take me to bed, he’d meant it in the most literal way. I wrapped my arms around his neck and did my best to bite back a nervous giggle. He looked at me with puzzled eyes, and I just shook my head.
Never, in a million years, could I have found the words to explainhow I felt.
Chapter Four
Claire
When guys said they wanted to take me to bed, I knew exactly what that implied. The same image sprung to mind when Athos said the words. I knew he didn’t mean it the same way, not understanding the intention of the phrase.
When we got to the makeshift bed, made of various soft furs, he laid me down. But then he climbed on top of me, making a little nest. Apparently, we were going to bed together – in the realest sense of the word.
His horse legs went on either side of my own, sort of sandwiching me in between. He folded them beneath himself and laid down, his horse half resting over my legs. His human top aligned with mine. He laid on top of me protectively, covering my body with his.
His face was just centimeters away, leaning comfortably off my shoulder. I was very aware of his proximity, and it was the most bizarre thing I’d ever experienced.