Chapter 18

Aeson was acting weird.

Not that I was certain what was normal for a giant alien Naga. But at the same time, he seemed extremely subdued when he lowered himself from what I was calling the cockpit of his ship, opened the doorway, and picked up my bag.

I walked down the ramp and through a small white corridor that had ridges along the sides that reminded me of the tube that comes out of an airport to connect to the door of an airplane. I stepped through the archway at the end of the corridor and was greeted by a large circular room the size of a high school gym. The room itself was empty of most furnishing, with the exception of some human sized armchairs sitting near one of the sides.

What caught my attention was the windows.

Windows was an uninspiring word for what made up the walls and ceiling of the room. It was all see through glass, so clear that it felt like I was standing in an open air room - except I couldn't be because there wasn't any air outside. Outside was the grey mottled surface of the moon. Up above my head in crystal clear detail was the blue and green ball that took my breath away.

I could look up and gaze at the Earth.

I took a deep breath, feeling the enormity of the moment. There was my home, a fragile, gorgeous planet floating in the backdrop of space, the only thing keeping the billions of humans living on its surface safe being a thin layer of atmospheric pressure.

Our planet, our existence on the surface, was so incredibly vulnerable.

I couldn't handle the swelling of emotion in my heart.

"So is this where we are sleeping?" I choked out, trying to distract my own mind as I looked back around the huge room and its lack of, well, anything.

"No," Aeson replied. "This is one of the common areas for the honeymoon suites. I have left it mostly empty as I am hoping that you will provide the creative direction for its adornment."

"You want me to do interior design?" I asked. "And what do you mean by common areas?"

"It is just us here now," Aeson added. "But with your input, I wish to turn this into an all service honeymoon destination for Matched Mates… as well as for human couples that pass through verification checks and have access to space flight."

"Who exactly is on that list currently?" I asked.

"Currently those employed by the Norratar Empress would be there," he said.

I pressed my lips and looked around the empty room again.

"I hate to disappoint you, but interior design is not my thing." I put my hands on my hips. "I would use this room as a film studio if I had more control over the backdrop and lighting."

Aeson tapped on his wrist unit and the entire ceiling and walls went opaque, cutting off the view to the outside with the light beige walls I'd associated with his spacecraft.

"It can be anything you wish," he commented. "You have full access on your unit to modify the appearance and transparency of the walls. If you want this to be your film studio, then that is what it should be."

I frowned.

"But what about your whole business plan?" I demanded.

"I've already started work on another structure." He tapped on his wrist to turn the walls transparent again. "Look over there."

He pointed behind me.

I turned around and a little ways across the lunar surface was a spidery looking metal structure that was hovering over the ground, a strand of something pouring out of one of its legs that it had held up above the ground. It shifted slowly, moving as it poured.

"Oh," was all I could think to say. "Alright then."

Did he just give me my own film studio?

On the moon?

My preconceived notions of what this relationship was going to be were unable to keep up with him casually throwing around the use of entire buildings like it was nothing to him. That and the fact he had built this honeymoon facility. I thought I had misheard him when he mentioned that the first time, that this was something the Norratar had put together and he had just reserved it or something.

No, he built it.

In anticipation of being mated to me.

The sudden thought hit me - my new husband was insanely wealthy.

Wealthy and generous towards me.

"Let me show you to our bedroom and the facilities." Aeson turned and shifted his weight, slithering across the room towards an archway on the other side.

I followed after, again feeling that strange ping of weirdness. So far he had always been beside me, or picking me up, but now he was ahead of me, acting like a slightly distant yet professional tour guide rather than an alien who was about to rip off my clothing and ravish me.

"Aeson," I called after him as I followed. "What is going on?"

"What do you mean?" he asked, turning around to wait for me.

I caught up with him and walked through the archway.

"You're acting differently," I pointed out. My mind flashed back to the fact that I sent over my medical documentation. He now knew I had a problem. Was he upset by that? I really should have looked through what the doctor wrote as the instructions for my treatment before I just shot it over to him. "Has something upset you?"

The room was gorgeous.

I forgot that I'd just asked a question and moved into the room.

I stepped onto the plush teal carpet of the honeymoon suite. The expansive dome ceiling above offered a panoramic view of the lunar landscape—a stark, breathtaking expanse of grayish-white craters under a deep black sky speckled with stars. It was the same type of walls, almost completely translucent so that it felt like the bed was outside.

Directly in front of me, a massive bed draped in silky silver sheets invited comfort, its oversized pillows piled high against the transparent wall. The room was bathed in the soft, surreal light of Earth hanging like a blue marble in the vastness of space.

Along the walls and across the ceiling were structures that looked like branches, as if I were an ant living under a bush barren of leaves. They were large enough that it looked like I could climb around on them.

To my right, an elegant sitting area featured a low, circular sofa that embraced the floor, surrounded by a ring of glass tables topped with shimmering crystal vases, each cradling a single, vibrant flower—a contrast of blue, yellow, white, and purple against the subdued tones of the suite.

I could smell the scent wafting from the jasmine, as well as a subtle hint from the purple roses.

They were real, fresh flowers.

Fresh flowers on the moon.

Beyond the sitting area, a sleek bar curved elegantly, stocked with crystal decanters and sparkling glasses. Above it, shelves displayed an assortment of bottles, their hues reflecting light and creating a spectrum of colors on the polished surface. All of them were the type of bottles I would see up on the shelves on bars but never ordered.

Connected to the bedroom was another wide open archway, leading to a spa.

Turning back towards the window, I approached a small, private spa area. A water-filled tub, the size of four ten-person jacuzzis, was set into the floor, steaming gently. Beside it, a stream ran through the corner of the room, bouncing over rocks and falling in a small waterfall before vanishing into the interior wall.

"I am upset with myself," Aeson spoke from above me.

I turned back towards the main area of the bedroom and looked up to see him entwined with the branches above the bed, his upper body dangling down towards me.

My breath caught in my throat as I looked at him.

He had gotten up there so effortlessly, so silently, with the stealth of an apex ambush predator. I really was physically helpless when compared to him. He could just snatch me up and have his way with me at any moment. Given that we were now in our honeymoon bedroom together, and I had told him that I was down to pound as soon as we got married, him pouncing on me was only a matter of time.

"Why are you upset with yourself?" I asked, startled with how breathless I sounded.

He dropped down from the ceiling in a smooth motion that made me press my thighs together as a surge of heat accompanied my increasing pace of my heart.

"I have only thought of my own desire for you." His voice was low and gravelly. "My need to take you and press myself between your legs and claim you as my mate."

"Oh, yes." Somehow intellectual conversation had completely escaped me. "That"s a thing we're going to do. Soon? Soon right?"

"No," he growled. "We will wait until your medical needs are taken care of."

"What? No? Why?" I asked. "I mean, I'm down if you-"

"No!" He rushed towards the door, the suddenness of his movement actually rippling my hair with the breeze. "I must reprogram my construction robots to prepare a space for your treatment. It will take a significant amount of time to prepare, so do not wait on me to take care of your needs. There is a kitchen unit connected to the common room. You can control everything in the facility with your wristband. The yellow doors are part of an airlock and lead to the outside, so do not open them without a protective suit on."

Then he was gone.

"Heeeeey," I called out after him, feeling suddenly petulant and unhappy. "That's not… I thought we were going to…"

I let out a groan.

"It"s our honeymoon!" I shouted after him. "WE AGREED TO FUCK!"

Thank goodness there wasn't anyone around live streaming me.

He didn't come back.

This was not what I wanted at all.

My sexual frustration and disappointment settled into acceptance. This wasn't what I wanted but it was what I needed. I needed some time and space to myself so I could edit the wedding video and record a ‘real real' talk for my fan base.

If I wasn't going to consummate my marriage, then I might as well get to work.

It was time to start getting people back on my side.