32. Chapter 32

Chapter 32

Iris

It had been a long time since Iris danced, so she refused to sit out any song while the musicians were still willing to play. Palathum and Utharium had disappeared over a mark ago, but no one was surprised. If anything, everyone was mildly shocked at how long the two remained at the party after the wedding.

She was still impressed that they'd scented each other when Grace had suggested it. It was the perfect symbol of their new lives together. Breaking down old barriers in front of everyone who loved them.

Between the couple's obvious love and Grace's beautiful words, there wasn't a dry-eyed human in the place. Even Grace had given a suspicious sniff when Palathum and Utharium embraced. The crew wasn't unaffected either; all of them were purring or rattling with emotions.

"Who do you think will be next?" Dalia asked as she danced closer to Iris.

Iris turned to face her, swaying to the music's slow, sensual beat. "I think Captain Nomium and Savium will be next. They kept looking at each other during the ceremony."

Dalia nodded. "Good call. I was going to say Raltinum and Talzeum, but I think your answer is better."

Oh, was there gossip Iris didn't know about? "Raltinum and Talzeum? I didn't think they were a couple."

"Well, they aren't yet," Dalia said in low tones. "But Cassius walked in on them in the galley, all by themselves. He swears they were feeding each other."

"Sounds promising!" Iris said with a little clap. "I want to do this again. It was so much fun."

Strong arms wrapped around her from behind, and a hard, warm male body pressed against her back. The scent of chocolate perfumed the air as she relaxed into Damascus's embrace.

"You need to drink," he said, nuzzling her hair. "You've been active for almost a mark. You need to take a break and hydrate."

"Good idea!" Dalia said and moved off to the table full of food and drinks. Most of it was gone, but there were still a few canisters of Delorta sweet tea left. Dek-lee had been delighted to realize humans loved their tea and always made sure it was available. They'd probably been restocking the table until Mia fell asleep on the stage. Although Iris offered to take the little girl back to their cabin, Dek-lee adamantly refused and demanded Iris stay. She suspected Dek-lee was as tired as Mia and ready for bed also.

"I'm not thirsty, but I'm ready for a break," Iris said and let Damascus pick her up and carry her to a chair half hidden by a panel. He sat so she could sit sideways on his lap and still see the dance floor. None of the Talins were willing to dance, but they watched from the edges of the cleared area as the humans enjoyed the music.

She was still trying to wrap her head around a species that could hear but didn't have music. Before now she would've said it didn't exist.

"I've been talking to Merrick," Damascus said after they watched the dancers for a little while.

"That's good," she said, leaning against his chest and resting her head on his shoulder. This was nice. It had been a while since she'd spent all day on her feet, and her body had forgotten how to handle it. Her feet were sore from moving so much during the earlier preparation and then from all the jumping and stomping during some of the more energetic songs. The musicians hadn't played their drums for the wedding ceremony, but they pulled them out for the party. They were as good, or maybe even a little better, than anyone else she'd heard.

When Damascus didn't elaborate on why he'd mentioned talking to Merrick, she became curious. Damascus wasn't trying to bait her into a conversation, that wasn't his style. If he wasn't telling her more, then it was because he felt insecure.

"What have you and Merrick talked about?" she asked. "I bet he can't say enough good things about Maeve. That little girl is packing on the pounds. Healer Raltinum is so proud you'd think she was the mother!"

"Maeve is doing well," Damascus agreed. "Merrick is very happy about it. But that wasn't the topic of our conversations. I've been asking him about human women."

Iris fought not to frown and to keep her tone light. "You were asking Merrick about that and not Grace? Or better yet, why weren't you asking me? Last time I checked, I was a human woman!"

Her voice rose as she spoke. So much for staying calm.

He started purring loudly. "I wanted a male's perspective on females."

Outrage morphed into confusion. "Tell me what you asked him."

Now eager to explain, he spoke quickly. "It's easy to know if a Talin wants to spend their life with you. After scent bonding, you're addicted to each other. There is no ending to the relationship except for death. Humans don't have that. Merrick told me that it's common for human couples or romantic groupings to separate or change."

"Hey, we're good," she assured him, snuggling close. "I'm not going to suddenly leave you. I might not be a Talin with scent glands, but I can't imagine going a single day without your bonding oil on me. I love you, and that's a big deal for me. I don't love lightly, and I've never loved any male as I love you."

His purring quieted a little and he bent his head to rub his cheek into her hair. She felt his body relax a little as the smell of chocolate filled the air. Her scalp tingled a little.

"Perhaps we should have a wedding," he announced. She felt him fumble around, and then heard the sound of his pouch being opened. Sitting up, she twisted her upper body to see what he was pulling out. It was a package clumsily wrapped in colorful fabric. He must've pilfered some of the fabric they'd used to decorate for the party.

"What's that?"

He pushed it into her hands. "Open it."

She tugged the knots apart to reveal four perfectly round bangles. All of them looked too large for her wrist, with two of the four being comically massive.

"They're, um, pretty," she said, trying to look excited about his present. When she went to slip the bangles onto her wrist, he stopped her.

"No, my mate, they don't go there." Using one hand, he separated the two sets of bangles with his fingers. "Back when our ancestors scent bonded, they would give each other matching bands to go around their ankles. The bands were made to produce a specific sound when they struck each other. Couples paid high prices to get bands with unique sounds, and sometimes they would pass them down for generations. There are still some on Talarian in museums. If you're willing, I'd like for us to wear matching bonding bands."

Grabbing the smaller set that must be for her, she struck them together, making a soft, pleasing chime. "Yes!" she agreed. "Yes, we can have a ceremony, or we could put these on right now!"

"No, wait, please," he said, stopping her from reaching down and pulling off her shoe to try and pull the band on over her foot. Mmm, there must be a trick to getting them on because now that she thought about it, there was no way she could simply slide them onto her ankle.

She held on tight to her bands to keep him from taking them back. "What?"

"Merrick told me that many human cultures gave each other tiny rings to wear on their fingers," he explained. "I only found that out after I'd had Sormorin make these. If we asked, I'm sure he could make us matching finger rings instead. You don't have to wear these clunky bands that you'll have to take off while we interact with other Talins."

"I've never worn rings," she assured him. "And the whole special sound thing is really romantic. I want these bands, Damascus. Now, can we put them on? Please? "

He rumbled out an amused sound as he showed her the tiny hidden catch that released an internal lock. After she'd snapped hers on, she snatched his and jumped off his lap. Crouching down at his feet, she put his on the same ankle.

Straightening up, she grabbed his hand and pulled him to his feet.

"What—"

Her shouting to the band interrupted his question. "I just agreed to marry Damascus! Play something with a beat!"

"I guess I got that wrong," Dalia grumbled with a laugh as a cheer went up.

The band pulled out the drums and began playing something hard and fast. Just what she wanted. Stomping her foot, she could clearly hear her bangles strike each other. Moving her feet in time with the beat, she encouraged Damascus to do it also.

"Try it!" she said, holding both his hands in hers. "Move with the beat. It'll feel good."

Before she'd jumped up, most of the humans had left the dance floor and only one of the musicians was strumming on a three-stringed instrument. Now everyone flooded back onto the dance floor and stomped with them.

Damascus was awkward at first, but soon his natural grace took over and he was moving in sync with the rest of them.

Having Damascus on the dance floor gave several other Talins the courage to try. By the time the band ended the long, driving song, half the crew had joined the humans and everyone was out of breath and happy.

"That was excellent," he said. "But now we need to be alone."

Without further warning, Damascus picked her up and carried her out of the bay. More cheers went up, a few naughty comments, and a lot of happy goodbyes.

Once they were in their cabin, Damascus sat down in their nest, because he refused to have her sleep in "an uncomfortable Talin bed."

She cupped his cheek and stretched up to kiss him, but he moved his head so she brushed her lips across his chin instead.

"That's not how kissing works," she teased, but he sounded a soft negative rattle.

"There's one more thing I need to ask you," he said.

"I already said yes," she murmured. "But I can say it again. Yes, yes, yes, yes, yes!"

"It's about our future," he explained. "I want you to be fulfilled in all ways. Palathum has given us a great responsibility so she can do as she dreams. I don't want you to put off your dreams to accommodate hers."

Iris had to puzzle over that for a moment before she figured out what he was trying to say. "I don't want kids right now. Maybe some time in the future we can settle on the colony with Palathum and give Mia some siblings, but not yet."

He purred. "Then it's good I asked Healer Raltinum for more fertility interrupters."

She grabbed his face with both hands. "You better have a bunch of them, because we're taking tomorrow off."

This time when she moved to kiss him, he didn't turn away.

That night she found out the bangles made beautiful sounds when you were lying down too!