Whatever he did at home, Maggie knew Ro wanted to get back to work. Being trapped in his apartment had driven him as mad as the drugs, maybe even made him worse. It was a small apartment and he was on doctor’s orders not to go outside except in an emergency. All his food had to be delivered. He had liked soap operas and dramas before, but there were limits.
Maggie had basically moved in. He needed her to keep him company as much as she could or he really would have snapped. She had gone back to work the day after he had been released from hospital as she no longer had grounds for compassionate leave, but she went straight to his apartment after work. She went back to her own only once or twice a week for clean clothes, but she had spares of everything else she needed slowly spreading through Ro’s flat. He didn’t mind, he didn’t have much, and he said he liked to see her stuff in his home.
She loved it. She preferred being with him than going home. After three months, she couldn’t imagine living separately again, and she also didn’t see the point in paying rent on a place she was never in. They hadn’t talked about it since so much had hinged on his recent test results, but they had talked around the idea of them maybe looking for a place in the city. Ro seemed to think it was time he vacated his apartment and let someone else have it. Maggie had been scoping out houses near the DETI building that had basements that could be converted into their bedroom, preferably with one of the new Teissian shops or restaurants nearby. She’d found a few she could like, but she hadn’t shown him yet. She knew he didn’t want to commit to anything until they knew what to expect from his heats.
Maggie was itching to know too. She wouldn’t pressure him, but she really hoped he decided to throw caution to the wind, crank the temperature up in his flat and trigger his heat, like, soon. It had been three months. Three months of living with him in close quarters, and she had instituted a ban on all sexual activity until they knew. She didn’t want to accidentally trigger anything in him, and for the first month or so, she had still felt weird about it knowing he wouldn’t get off even if she did. But for the last month, it hadn’t bothered her so much.
They kissed. Of course they kissed. They kissed a lot. They cuddled on the sofa, sprawling around with their legs in each other’s laps as they watched TV and ate popcorn. They slept in the same bed and more often than not that meant more cuddling, and Maggie wouldn’t have traded it for the world. She loved it. She loved the way Ro rolled up behind her, tugging her in against his body as he said goodnight as if that was just the way of things, obvious, where he belonged. Or if not that, when she woke up with her head on his chest, or her face pressed awkwardly into his ribs from chasing him across the bed in her sleep, his arm over her shoulders.
And they kissed good morning and goodnight and hello and goodbye. And when one of them did something cute or silly, or looked sad or stubbed their toe. And there were long kisses too, when she twisted to straddle his thighs, and deep kisses when he pushed her down against the arm of the sofa. They hadn’t started out with the fire of need that they had recently ended up with, sticky like toffee that she couldn’t quite pull away from. Not when every one made her hot, made her wonder if maybe it would be okay this time to just-
Three months was a long time.
Ro had argued against her ban. He said he was fine to touch her, go down on her. He said he was happy to do it, more than happy, he wanted to do it, but she said no. She wanted the test results first. She knew when she had first said it, she had been being petty, trying to punish him, teach him a lesson about consequences. She had also been trying to prove something, that she could be with him without sex, that she didn’t need it if it turned out they couldn’t have it. She wanted to prove that to him, and she wanted to test herself too. She needed to know she could do it.
She was going to crack soon though. She knew that as much as she loved him, because of how much she loved him, she needed him to touch her. She needed relief. She needed to get her hands on him, feel those scales running under her palms… It felt like all she thought about anymore was sex. She had dirty thoughts every time he undid a button on his shirt, or bent down to get something out of the oven. She was starved for him.
And he wasn’t helping. Every now and then he tried to tempt her out of it, kissing her for too long, running his hands up and down her arms, or under her shirt. She had told herself it was alright for him to massage her breasts through her bra – that wasn’t sex. But she had called a stop when he started unbuttoning her blouse. Any further than that and she wouldn’t have been able to stop.
She had to touch herself a lot, when she was alone, in the bathroom. She usually used the shower as a cover. She thought he knew full well what she was doing, but neither of them said anything. She didn’t feel guilty because it was always to thoughts and fantasies of him that she was getting off, and sooner or later they’d be able to do those things in reality.
A couple of nights before they had gone in to get his tests done, when he was thoroughly stir-crazy and she felt like she had two electric wires of frustration and desperation running through her body that sparked whenever he touched her, he had caught her wrists and held them against her stomach. She hadn’t really noticed as she reclined against his chest, since their hands usually wandered over each other. Then he had told her, in an easy, conversational tone, everything he looked forward to doing to her during his next heat.
Her body had flamed instantly, her core going soft and liquid, and she had wiggled uncomfortably. She’d tugged on her hands, but he hadn’t let her go, obviously thinking he’d found the loop hole in her no sex rule. Maybe he was trying to give her a taste of her own medicine. She hadn’t told him to stop, captivated by what he was telling her, until by the end of it her thighs were split over his leg and she had been trying to grind herself to a climax as she pictured every dirty detail he gave her.
So she was looking forward to this conversation with the doctor about when his next heat might be.
Maggie squeezed Ro’s hand, having slotted their fingers together as best she could, and nodded to him as the receptionist waved to them through the window into the hall.
“I think this is us,” she murmured.
The man stuck his head in the door. “Ro? Dr Rivera will see you now.”
Maggie smiled and grabbed her bag, butterflies in her stomach. On the one hand, they might be about to get the okay to run home and tear each other’s clothes off. On the other hand, the doctor could tell them Ro’s hormones were going to be permanently out of whack and they could never have sex again.
She kept hold of Ro’s hand for the short walk down the corridor to the open exam room door. Inside, a middle-aged woman with dark hair and glasses sat at a desk, looking at a computer screen. She smiled when she saw them and gestured to the two chairs.
“Come in, take a seat,” she said.
Maggie and Ro closed the door behind them and arranged themselves in the chairs nervously.
“So I understand we’re here to talk about Ro’s next heat, in the context of his recovery, and any dangers associated with it,” Dr Rivera began, looking between the two of them.
Maggie nodded. She didn’t know how much talking to do. She wanted to do a lot, but it was Ro’s health and body, so she figured he should take the lead. It didn’t look like he was particularly keen though.
“Well, I see in your file, Ro, that all your tests look normal, and you’ve been referred to me to get you back into a regular cycle again.”
This time, Ro nodded.
“I also understand that you’re hoping for more frequent heats than Balin experience on Teiss, is that right?” she asked, her eyes flicking to Maggie, who she gave a smile of acknowledgement.
“That’s right,” Ro answered.
“Okay then,” she said cheerily. “I should say, every other Balin who has come to see has asked me how to stop their heats, not bring them on. I know the Californian weather is warmer than what you’re used to on Teiss. You’re the first Balin wi
th a human partner to ask for my help.”
“I just want Ro to be healthy,” Maggie jumped in. “Everything else is second place. I don’t want to do anything that’s going to put him at risk.”
“Oh no, neither do I,” the doctor laughed. “We won’t let that happen.”
Maggie couldn’t find it in her to laugh, but she did find herself relaxing and warming to Dr Rivera. The woman wasn’t behaving as if Ro was in danger at all.
Dr Rivera continued. “Let me start off by saying, as far as your next heat is concerned, we won’t know what to expect until it’s over. The drug is out of your system and your body has recovered, but with hormone cycles like yours, there is a risk that your brain learned a new pattern, if you will. Your next heat might not be what you expect. There is the possibility of a hormonal imbalance resulting in another hospital stay, but I doubt it, to be honest. If it lasts more than five days, do give us a call, but unless you collapse or believe yourself to be a danger to others, it can probably be cared for at home. Am I right in thinking Maggie will be there to help?”
“Y-yes,” Maggie stuttered, though she didn’t know why. She steeled herself. “I’ll be there.”
“That’s good! Puts our minds at ease I think. If he was going to be alone with no one to check on him, we might suggest he checks in to the hospital for observation, especially if he wasn’t going to have any release during his heat to help his levels. With you there, we don’t have to worry about him fainting or anything like that,” the doctor said. “Ro, I’d like you to come in for some blood work as soon after your heat ends as you can, is that alright?”
“Yes, I can do that,” Ro agreed.
“Good, good. Now, do you want to talk about your long-term plans? Some of my patients want to block their heats entirely, but I always recommend at least one heat a year. I think two puts less strain on the system. I always try to find a balance between a body under stress from too many heats, and a body under stress from too many heats being repressed. But that won’t be the case here, I’m thinking.”
Again, she looked between the two of them as if she was genuinely happy for them, but Maggie was starting to wonder how much of it was scientific curiosity.
“Why don’t you tell me how often you’re hoping to go into heat?” she said.
Maggie looked at Ro. She knew what she wanted, but she would leave it up to him. It was his body.
He scratched his throat nervously. “Once a month…” he began, making Maggie stiffen in surprise. That was a lot. “Would be hard…” he finished, looking at Maggie almost guiltily. Ah, so he was still thinking of her. “As often as possible,” he said. “Safely,” he tacked on the end to cut off any more lectures from Maggie about looking after himself.
“Okay,” Dr Rivera said. “Is that the same for you, Maggie?”
“I’d like it to be more than once a year, if possible,” she said, shooting Ro an apologetic glance. They hadn’t talked about numbers like this, and it seemed they both felt like it was sensitive ground to be navigating. “Anything more than that and I’d be happy. It would be more than I’d expected.”
“Okay, well, that’s perfectly doable, if Ro’s happy with that,” Dr Rivera said, looking at Ro, who nodded. “I would advise against once a month,” she told him. “Most Balin naturally have one heat roughly every three months here. That’s much more than they’re used to, but it sounds like a good amount for you two, and Ro wouldn’t need any medication if that’s how his cycles settle. It’ll take a while for them to become regular however, and I do want to continue monitoring them until they do. I don’t want to put him on any medication until we’ve established a baseline. In the meantime, I would encourage you to have one as soon as possible so we know whether they’re healthy or not after his overdose.”
Maggie and Ro nodded along wordlessly. It was silly really, when they were discussing - and this stranger was effectively dictating - the terms of their sex life, but Maggie for one was intimidated by the woman’s expertise. Whatever she said would go, Maggie thought. She would not suggest that she and Ro play fast and loose with the doctor’s suggestions.
“So you can either set your climate control to its regular setting, or 79 degrees will bring on a heat gently. 82 degrees or above will bring it on less gently,” she told them. “I’ll clear you to return to work, unless you want to wait a week if you plan on triggering the heat soon.” She looked between them for an answer.
“Um…” Maggie looked at Ro.
“Wait, I think,” he said. Maggie smiled.
“Okay, no problem. Let me know how it goes and I’ll see you in about a week. If everything goes well and his blood work looks good afterwards, I’d suggest just seeing when your next heat comes on its own. Don’t try to trigger it, no matter how tempted you might be,” she said, her voice taking on a teasing tone almost like an audible wink. “I’d only get involved now if they’re coming too close together. If you’re not happy with them, if they’re not frequent enough for you, please do come back, but I’d give them until the end of the year for a pattern to emerge.
“In the meantime, I’d be happy to discuss alternatives to penetrative sex, such as oral and manual. Maggie, if you have no previous experience with sex toys, I have a few pamphlets and online resources you can look at.”
Maggie choked. “No, that’s fine,” she squeezed out through her tight throat, which had locked shut in mortification. She didn’t think they needed any help when it came to alternatives, and the truth was, she’d already thought about whether she’d like to bring toys into the bedroom. She wasn’t opposed to the idea, but she knew she didn’t want anything but Ro going inside her. A human-shaped dildo would just remind her what she was missing, and she didn’t think Ro would like it either.
“Alright, well in the long-term, it might be worth considering moving out of California. A cooler climate would make Ro’s heats more predictable, though of course then you’re battling against the cold’s effect on your wakefulness.”
Maggie hadn’t thought of that, and she saved the idea to look at later. Both of their jobs were at DETI, and she didn’t think either of them would want to leave, but they could look at other branches perhaps if it came to that.
“Thank you, we’ll keep it in mind, but certainly for now I think we’re staying here,” Maggie said.
“Just keep me posted,” Dr Rivera said. She stood up to shake their hands, signalling the end of the appointment, so they thanked her and said goodbye. Maggie had no more questions, especially knowing they would be seeing her again in a week, or perhaps sooner, with more information about what to expect from Ro’s heats now.
Maggie slipped her hand back into Ro’s as she squinted in the sun outside. “So, you’re a free man now.”
Ro took a deep breath as if enjoying the fresh air and sun, humming in agreement.
“Once a month, huh?” Maggie prompted, bumping his arm with hers.
“I wanted to give you as much as I could. But maybe I shouldn’t have to bothered. Once a year? You must not be very interested in me,” he said, but Maggie could tell he was teasing.
She scoffed indignantly. “I am very interested, Mister,” she said. “I was just… bracing myself. I didn’t want to put any pressure on you.”
“Mmm, I know,” he said, bringing her hand up to kiss the back of it. “Thank you. But I want you more than once a year.” He looked at her and even under his shaded lenses, Maggie could see the twinkle in his eye.
“If it happens, it happens. I’ll take whatever you dish out. But for now, let’s celebrate! I’ve heard of salsa club that’s supposed to be good,” she said, skipping in front of him and wiggling her eyebrows suggestively.
“What’s salsa?” he said.
“It’s a dance,” she replied.
“Oh no.”
“Oh yes.”
“I think I’m relapsing. I don’t feel well. I should go home,” he said, peering back at the dorms speculatively.
Mag
gie pouted. “Fine, I’ll go by myself. Find someone else to dance with when I get there.”
Ro narrowed his eyes at her, and she waited. He hissed in defeat. “Only slow dances.”
“I don’t think there are slow dances in salsa, but don’t worry,” she said, giving him a quick peck, thinking about his hands on her hips as she teased him on the dancefloor. “I promise you’ll enjoy it.”
The New Guy (Office Aliens Book 2) Page 28