In interstellar society, situations like this were neither rare nor particularly scandalous. If anything, they were almost mundane—an accepted consequence of a world where power, longevity, and bonds took many forms.
After all, females enjoyed freedom just as much as males did. Sometimes, they enjoyed even more.
Jasper hesitated, clearly weighing his words with unusual care. He drew a quiet breath before speaking, his tone gentle, cautious, and utterly earnest as he looked at Rory.
"Rory… if you ever wanted to," he began slowly, "Nix is here. And Yuel might be able to as well. The two of them—"
Before he could finish the thought, Rory lunged forward and clapped her hand firmly over his mouth.
Good heavens—was he really saying this out loud?
She might entertain such thoughts in the privacy of her own mind, fleeting and hypothetical, but hearing them spoken so plainly was an entirely different matter. Her body—and her sanity—would not survive that level of ambition.
