The kiss sent an electric tingle into his body, as he felt Mericlou's in turn, become warmer with her pale skin's flush. Her lovely floral aroma grew stronger as the kiss progressed from tender and slow, to deep and needful, infused with their mutual affection, a love that was even more deeply affirmed.
"By the … Divine!" Aldrec coughed out afterwards. Though enjoyable, it had almost smothered him. "Tulyr … I …"
"That was to say 'thank you,'" Mericlou gazed at him lovingly. She blinked her large, amber eyes in a slow, coquettish way.
"That was … some kind of thanks," Aldrec replied, still partially stunned. He liked her new, unexpected assertiveness. "What was it for, anyway?"
"For the help you gave me." Mericlou rocked back and forth on the balls of her feet. "You gave me the job in your garden, didn't you?"
Aldrec nodded.
"Well, I have some very good news for you," she said. "Can you spare the time?"
***
"Tulyr … it's beautiful!" Aldrec whispered as he received his first glimpse of the house.
The cab dropped them off in the suburban housing district on Lusea's southern outskirts, in front of the driveway of a quaint but beautiful one-story house of human make. A floral archway lined the path to the front door, bisecting a spacious yard filled with well-manicured plants of every size and color. The house's brick façade was a soft red, and the windows in the front were large and surrounded by thick holly bushes.
Aldrec, however, had only a marginal amount of time to inspect it all, as Mericlou eagerly led him inside. The interior was tidy and elegant, with blue-gray carpeting and white drapes over the windows in every room. The walls were made of white sheet rock, and wooden shelves were built into each of its four spacious bedrooms.
There were two bathrooms: one decorated with yellow tiling and cloths, the other blue. The kitchen, though sparsely furnished as android kitchens were, was just as spacious as every other room, with varnished mahogany plywood cabinets and an island stove. The furniture was the same grouping of leather couches from their apartment, but in a more spacious den.
"You should have told me that you were moving; I would've helped you," Aldrec said after they completed the tour of the house. "You must have been at this a long time."
"No, not really," Mericlou said matter-of-factly. "It only took us two days to refurbish it and one day to move in. Remember, love, we're androids. We can go without food or sleep for a week, even on maximum power usage, and we're much stronger than humans or elves, so this was actually a cinch for us to do."