16: Caius
1110 Words
"Address me?" Saga asked, with a look of confusion.
She seemed to understand the words, but the request was strange to her.
It wasn't about her teaching me the correct title, though.
"Tell me...anything."
Her eyes sparkled as she approached me - she said something, and it didn't take much for me to guess she was talking about the fact we hadn't been able to resist each other before.
She ended by suggesting it was my turn - she thought this was a flirtatious game.
"Aurelia was surprised to learn you speak Latin," I began to talk to her, choosing to speak in Talia's language instead of my own. I assumed that Saga would not understand it. "I may not know anything about the world you were raised in, but it's obvious you're special and I suspect there is a lot more to you than meets the eye."
She laughed - she didn't understand what I had said, but she understood what I was doing. I wanted her to keep talking to me in her language so I could hear it.
She sat down on the edge of the bed, and looked into my eyes as she spoke again. I was sure she was trying to get me to react. She wanted to f**k me again.
I focused on her incredible eyes, and waited for her to stop talking.
"You are going to get me in trouble if we aren't careful, you merciless little she-wolf. It's going to be impossible to focus on the task at hand when I'm alone with you, in bed, and as much as I enjoyed your company, I don't think I'll survive for long if I don't make an effort to blend in. Though I always did learn a new language particularly well when I drew it from the lips of a beautiful woman. Perhaps you can teach me how to ask for more in your chosen dialect?"
She smiled, and leaned closer - she didn't know what I was saying, and she knew what she wanted, anyway.
I felt her breath warm against my cheek, and her hands pressed firmly on my shoulders as she whispered close to my ear.
I pushed her gently away, and shook my head.
"No more games. I need you to help me...I am not going to get very far in this world if I can't communicate with anyone properly."
"I am not a teacher," she snapped.
She wasn't offended by the suggestion, she was offended that I had brushed her off.
"I'm sorry. I will ask my daughter, of course, I just..."
"...which language?"
I shook my head.
"Yours?" She laughed at what I thought was an obvious but perfectly reasonable response, and counted off a list on her fingers. Seven. Presumably, they were the languages she could speak, and she had not listed Latin so there must have been at least a few others she spoke to a similar level. "One of yours?"
She sighed, and paced beside the bed.
"Why? I will improve quickly enough."
"Because I feel helpless," I admitted quietly, hoping that she would sympathize. "I need to learn to speak, Saga."
She closed her eyes for a second, then nodded.
Her eyes looked different when she opened them again - her expression was solemn and it appeared that she had taken my request seriously.
She gave me two options, and told me to ask Aurelia which would be better to learn.
When I asked which she would recommend, she laughed and told me not to worry about what she thought.
"Will you tell me more about yourself?" I asked, and cringed inwardly.
The question caught her off guard.
"I don't think you need to know more."
"Perhaps not…but I would like to. You didn't even answer when I asked if you have a mate."
She laughed.
"I'm available."
Available...that was an interesting choice of word...
"Children?" I continued trying to make small talk with her.
"Not yet."
"One day?"
"Maybe," she shrugged.
It wasn't a priority for her, whether that was normal now or not, and my interest in her personal life seemed to be boring her.
"You speak seven languages? That's impressive."
She gave me a small smile, and I could tell that she was pleased that I had acknowledged her skill.
"You? More than seven, or less?"
Me? I didn't know how many languages I had spoken as a young man - I had never really kept track of that.
"I've forgotten how to speak more languages than most people ever hear, little she-wolf," I laughed; I had accidentally let my little nickname for her slip, and the way her eyes widened made it fairly obvious she knew that she-wolf was not usually used affectionately.
"She-wolf? Do you think I am a w***e?"
" I don't care how many people you have f****d, domina - insulting people for their s****l history when that history includes me is not my style. I happen to like strong, confident women; the fact you are a vicious young she-wolf is not something I consider undesirable. Do you understand? You terrify me and enchant me in equal measure, and it was an honor to share myself with you. I haven't been with many real wolves, and I have never been with a woman like you."
She regarded me coolly for a moment, her eyes unreadable. I could almost feel her weighing my words in her mind before she finally smiled.
"I wish I had more words."
"You haven't struggled to make yourself understood so far," I shrugged.
She didn't seem satisfied by that, though, and I knew what she meant. She wanted to talk to me properly - I felt the same way.
It wasn't just that she was attractive, or that I was effectively isolated; Saga interested me, and I wanted to get to know her. She was clearly a unique young woman, and there was a curious mix of confidence and uncertainty in everything she did.
She knew she was beautiful, extremely intelligent, and powerful, but she didn't immediately assume I would see that.
I couldn't imagine a world where it wasn't extremely obvious that she was formidable, and part of me was a little wary of learning more if people really didn't see her as exceptional...
That fear was quickly pushed to the back of my mind though; I had never been great at denying myself things I wanted where beautiful women were concerned, and I was fighting hard not to give in to my urges again so Saga would take my request to learn to speak at least somewhat seriously.
- Writer
