Passion of the Different Read Free Page B

She pleasantly surprised him again as her arms went around his neck and squeezed. He hugged her back and suppressed a rising groan. If only she knew what she was doing to him now, but it wasn’t the time for anymore revelations. She smelled so nice and he was distracted by his own churning thoughts that he almost missed it. She was trying not to laugh . “What’s so funny?” he said, following up with a friendly smile to let her know he wasn’t offended.
    “It’s such a short, funny name,” she admitted, then started to laugh louder as she peeled herself off of him quickly and sat back into the far corner of the couch, establishing personal space as if she realized suddenly how close she was to him. Her laugh was delightful and natural, inviting him to share the humor with her, which he gladly did. It was a few minutes before they laughed themselves out. Then she continued to explain the importance of it. “In fact, short names are unheard of among men. If anyone ever hears of you before I can prepare the folks around here, and it may take some time, believe me, then you'll need a longer name.”
    “Why?” he replied, cocking his left eyebrow and giving her a half-smile while defending as kindly as possible what had taken a lot to recall. “Ryan is who I am, what I was given at birth by a mother I can't even remember. That should be good enough for anyone.”
    She sighed and tried again. “Because names are what defines respect among men. Not just length, but the sound and how it flows. Your name must reflect your strength and size.” She closed her eyes for a minute and concentrated. “Too long of a name indicates a braggart. Too short, you would be considered a fool and your words would have little to no value.”
    “It really hurt my head to remember my name, Myra,” he explained as best he could without sounding rude. “My name is Ryan, that’s important to me.”
    “I know,” she said, eyes still closed as she furrowed her brow in deep thought. “Hush a moment please, trust me.” If she had said that in any other way than the caring tone she used, he would have been highly offended. He regarded her lovely face, light blue hair and ample breasts on her slender form as she concentrated. His heart started to ache and he could visualize himself reaching out and gathering her into his arms. This took him by surprise again, these sudden feelings of his that played tag with his surface thoughts before hiding again.
    He had only known her for less than half a day, and yet, he felt as if he knew her for far longer. He felt strongly that she wouldn’t accept him this soon, if at all. He may look like a freak to her and she might scream in sudden fright. That was something he didn't want to happen. Then she opened her eyes and interrupted his chain of thought. “My uncle was a warrior in the far west, part of the frontier army called Defenders of Justice. His name was Za'Dajor Vena'kur. With a little twist, we could call you Za'Ryan Ven’Krue.” She paused, studied his face for a moment. “I will call you Ryan when nobody else is around, when the day comes you meet and talk with others.”
    He took a moment to think about it. It did occur to him that her generous nature was part of the attraction he had for her, but was he starting to take advantage of such innocent goodwill? Upon further examination of everything that had happened, he was lucky she was taking the time of day with him, big as he was compared to her. She didn't seem frightened or on edge, accepting at face value his good behavior. He respected her for that quite a bit, and now she was trying to help him to fit in socially. Since she took him at face value then he would do the same for her. He would also make good on his offer to work for her efforts and time. He smiled at her quickly, her face was starting to cloud over by thinking he disapproved as he took awhile to analyze the situation.
    “I like it,” he told her, genuinely pleased.