important to ask for what you want. Deina, would you care to share your personal preferences in this area?”
The New Earthling woman smiled. “I’m partial to a man sucking on my breasts. Teeth can be exciting once in a while, but I’ve had some guys get too carried away. Sometimes there’s a fine line between just right and too much.”
“If you’re not too embarrassed to do the act,” Quinn broke in, “then you shouldn’t be too embarrassed to ask if your partner is enjoying it. Talking can actually heighten arousal for both participants.”
Xindra fought the heat creeping into her cheeks. She wasn’t usually one to blush, but she couldn’t help remembering the things her husband had said to her during sex. His talking didn’t just heighten her arousal. It made her wild. She had to fight to regain her focus.
“Moving on, let’s look at the internal anatomy.” She started with the diagram to show the ovaries, fallopian tubes, uterus, cervix, and vagina.
A couple of the men squirmed when she described the menstrual cycle, but she noticed Whitt’s eyes popped wide in surprise. Apparently she wasn’t the only Allurian ignorant of New Earthling fertility cycles. Whitt didn’t, however, seem shocked to learn that the alien females were soft and smooth inside, which meant he’d had at least one New Earthling lover.
“I should take a moment here to mention the hymen.” Xindra shot a brief glance at Pixie before addressing the class at large. “New Earthling women have a membrane inside them that helps prevent infection. The hymen can be weakened or broken by certain rigorous physical activities over time, or it may remain intact until the female’s first act of copulation. Some women choose to have their maidenhead dealt with surgically before this happens, while others feel it’s more natural and special to let a lover tear through it upon first penetration. If the hymen is broken during intercourse, the resulting sensation can be anything from moderate discomfort to extreme pain depending on the individual and the condition of the membrane at that time. Bleeding follows.”
Trett spoke up with a frown. “It can really be that hurtful? Ibration women have a similar breach gate, but even the most bumbling male can open their passage without causing distress.”
“Brachoi virgins are similar to the New Earthlings,” Krux put in. “Older, more experienced males are used to initiate the young females so they aren’t hurt more than necessary.”
Katra’Ruma cocked an eyebrow at him. “And how many virgin Brachoi have you taken?”
Far from appearing offended by the question, Krux looked like he was having a good time. “Seven. The position in my culture is similar to acting as a mentor. In each case, I was approached by the families when their females reached maturity. I eased the women through the rite of passage, introduced them to pleasure, and remained a family friend. Occasionally, the women still come to me for advice when they experience difficulties with their sexual relations.”
“Nimanian females do not have such barriers,” Zeo said gruffly.
Xindra was pleased they were jumping in like this. This was exactly the kind of friendly, relaxed environment she’d been hoping for. Everybody could swap information and experiences.
“Many of the races’ females don’t,” she explained. “For some races, the males are the ones who suffer pain or discomfort during the loss of virginity, but we’ll talk about that in a later class.”
Not wanting to get too sidetracked, she redirected attention to their New Earthling model. “You’ve all gotten a good look at the diagrams, but real life isn’t quite as neat as these drawings would lead you to believe. If you’ll look here, you can compare.”
Quinn turned on the medical scanner, a sleek silver tower with a touch-screen display. Here in the gym, they usually used it to check for sprains, pulls, or fractures or to calculate
Larry Niven, Nancy Kress, Mercedes Lackey, Ken Liu, Brad R. Torgersen, C. L. Moore, Tina Gower