As she settled into the massage, she pondered what had been said so far. She knew he had incredibly negative emotions attached to intimacy. They had both faced similar situations in their youth. The breeding requirements of their respective families. Rhy had reacted to it by decoupling nearly all emotion from physical intimacy. Her mate, Rhaq’a, had convinced himself to hate the act. Both legit ways of dealing with it. Rhy understood his pain, better than she would allow herself to admit. She still held out hope of helping him achieve some level of normalcy, though. She knew that deep hatred wasn’t healthy. Perhaps slowly, over time…

His proclamation on productivity shook her thoughts into a much funnier place. She chuckled, still enjoying his massage, [color=#FFE58F]”Is it that foreign? Are you saying that you don’t [i]enjoy[/i] sitting around and reading about Alchemy? Or that you don’t stare silently at the stars? Or simply relax from time to time?”[/color] She shook her head, still smiling, [color=#FFE58F]”You’re not fooling me, Rhaq’a Zhwan. You may fool yourself, but not your wife!”[/color] She reached back, playfully splashing some water at him. [color=#FFE58F]”Besides, relaxing your mind and body reinvigorates you for what life will throw your way.”[/color] She paused for a moment, [color=#FFE58F]"And life will be throwing quite a bit at us in just a few months."[/color]