6. Stella

Chapter 6

Stella

T hat rough, satanic-looking rancher is adorable.

It's obvious he wants sex, even though I'm pregnant with another man's baby. And I want it too, just not yet.

I glance around Rake's bedroom, still amazed that I'm on a different planet and about to move into a ranch house with some alien man I met about an hour and a half ago. And yet it still seems like the right move.

I sit on the edge of the bed for a moment, taking it all in. Whenever I sit still and stop talking, I remember everything that happened recently and get sad all over again. Images flash in my head again of the students and coworkers I miss. Of my cute little apartment. My life is turned upside down.

I assumed my whole life I'd live on New Earth and continue my teaching career until the day I eventually retired. I'd hoped to one day to meet a man I could love and marry and we'd start a family, but I was in no rush.

I wasn't great at monitoring my birth control and now I'm got pregnant. Being a single mom was perfectly fine, not ideal but entirely doable.

But Rake is offering to be the father of my child. And he wants to marry me, knowing I'm literally pregnant and carrying someone else's baby. And to be truthful, I would love to stay here longer and see what this could be like with him. I glance around the bedroom. I've grilled him already and feel that this might be the real deal.

But will he be a good father?

Can Rake fully accept a human child as his offspring and treat him as his own? I can't possibly marry a man who is going to be a shit father to my child and treat him or her as less. If that's the case, I'd rather do this on my own.

Yes, he's fantastically rich. He must be a secret billionaire or at the very least a millionaire. Although his family's true wealth is maybe in the land they own, which they would never sell. But I wasn't lying when I said he was lucky to be paired with someone like me, who for reals could give a shit about his wealth. In fact, I usually find rich people suspect because they often never use their powers for good. I tend to find myself with more in common with generous, hard-working people with good morals—that's my type.

Although, by the looks of this house and this new ranch he carved out, he does seem to be hard working and not flashy or snooty about his money. This is good.

I'll just have to see how this plays out I guess—that's when I'll really know if I should stay or if I should go.

I'm definitely not go to the courthouse with him until I'm certain, considering there's no divorce on Tarvos. This situation sounds romantic but also scary because it's so binding, and to me, lacks freedom of choice. I suppose that's why I'm not ready. I need to know that when we're married, there will be equality and respect. So far, I don't see any red flags, but it's still early yet.

I suppose I'll be ready to make it legal between us when the idea of being tied to him sounds lovely instead of scary.

I glance back at the bed, imagining sweaty encounters with that powerful Hyrrokin. He's basically the sexiest man I've ever met. The soft-looking red skin, the sharp black horns and silver-tipped hands. I've seen a flash of his fangs and a forked tongue. He's got a barbed tail and breathes fire. But he also walks around shirtless and his chest is amazing. His voice is deep and melodious and I've glanced at his crotch more than once because it's tented and his package looks bigger than anyone I've known before.

I have a feeling that sex with Rake might be the best of my life. He's got to be about ten years older than me, experienced and seems intent on getting my consent before touching me. I'm nervous as hell to start something with him, but excited at the same time.

But am I ready to give up my career as a teacher on New Earth to become the wife of a ferocious-looking Hyrrokin who runs a family ranching business on the planet Tarvos?

I glance around again, deciding to look around.

Rake Flagstone built this house himself, with a little help from his friends, but mainly all by himself. It sounds like it took a few years to finish. The walls look a little roughhewn, but it's also very solid looking. I've lived in many structures that were modular and quickly put up and flimsy. This is the opposite of that. The walls are made of stacked logs and the floors are gray stone tiles. The fireplace is crafted from smooth stones. I love all the natural materials and the attention to detail.

I didn't want to say too much downstairs and sound judgmental, but I thought it was a little odd that he was living in a house that was almost empty. Downstairs he only has one chair in the kitchen and another chair and desk in his home office. Upstairs there is this bed and one nightstand…that's it, not another nightstand or dresser or even a chair up here.

The bed in the middle of the room is bigger than any I've ever seen before. A fireplace and a large picture window give a nice view of the surrounding wilderness and the distant ridges of the mountain range. The bedding is black and the wood of the four-poster bed and the headboard is also ebony. The walls and floors might be dark too, but the sunlight shining through lightens the atmosphere.

I like it. I can see myself here.

I open the bathroom door and am pleased to find a very spacious and modern bathroom with white everywhere and black fixtures. There's a wall unit clothing washer and a mouth cleaner and a very high-tech cleansing unit. I open all the cabinets and look around every corner and it's true that I don't see any traces of any other females having been here and left anything.

I use the bathroom and then drag my red suitcase into the walk-in closet. It's not huge but the right size for the both of us. There are his clothes on one side and the other side is empty. I go back and open the suitcase onto the bed and walk back and forth, putting away my clothes and my toiletries. I'd brought a lot, considering I was moving out of my apartment anyways. The suitcase is bursting at the seams. But the only problem is that it's all human clothes and I saw already the types of clothes that the Hyrrokin females wear here and it's different from back home. They all wear tube tops and have their arms exposed. No one wears shoes but me.

I also need to purchase maternity clothes.

Finally, I'm unpacked and I zip up the suitcase and place it on a high shelf in the closet. I'm still wearing my unbuttoned pants and pink top I had on when I arrived. It still seems like a good outfit. I have on flat sandals but they aren't too fancy. I have no idea if I'm supposed to be wearing something different for outside wear, but I guess I could always return and change again if necessary.

There's a floor-length mirror in the closet, which I appreciate considering it's been just him living in this house. I look at myself from head to toe, taking in my long blonde hair, the pink shirt and loose denim pants and my flat brown sandals. To be truthful I tried to put on more makeup than usual, trying to do something more with my hair this morning, during the small amount of time I was allowed back in my apartment before I left. After all, I was meeting some guy who I'd married in absentia and who was expecting a mail-order bride. I wanted to make a good impression.

The red lipstick from this morning is partially gone now and I don't feel the need to reapply. I'm on a ranch, after all. No need to look like I'm going clubbing when I'm going out to the barn. I do rummage around in my bag and find hair ties and I quickly pull my hair back into a neat ponytail.

I like this outfit, but I still have boobs that might be considered "messy" because they're a bit too big and there's a definite a roll in my back and even though my stomach is firmer because of the baby, my waist is still thick. But this man thinks I'm beautiful? He said I'm beautiful, which I've never heard in my life. I've heard "if you lost weight, you'd be beautiful" but Rake Flagstone thinks I'm sexy just the way I am.

I've been overweight since my teenage years and this is basically the shape I was born with and I don't have grand plans of changing. Personally, I think I look damn good like this and it's nice to know that Rake sees me the way I see myself, which is a nice change of pace.

Yet another reason why I have to give him a chance.

My stomach grumbles as I make my way downstairs. I find Rake in the kitchen, programming a cleaning bot.

"Oh, it's cute."

"We've got only this one."

I shrug. "I'm grateful to have one. On New Earth that's brand-new technology that not that many people can afford. I've never had a cleaning bot. It's something I've heard about and wondered if I'd ever have one."

"It's very easy to program." He takes a few minutes to show me and it's indeed easy. The bot has its own utility closet behind the kitchen where it charges overnight. Nice.

"Oh, there's another chair? Where did this come from? It wasn't here before."

"I had it in the garage, almost done. I went in and finished putting it together."

"While I was upstairs you hammered this together for me, so I'd have somewhere to sit?"

"Yes."

And suddenly I feel like doing something nice for him in return. "Do you want me to program a Hyrrokin meal for the both of us to eat for lunch? I wouldn't mind trying food you like the best."

"Can we instead have human food? I would enjoy that greatly. This dispenser can make human food, but I don't know how to program it or what to ask for, so I've never used that option."

"Yeah, that's no problem." I tap at the screen and see that I'm able to make pretty much all of my favorite foods. "This is wonderful. Do you want something to drink first while you wait for the food?"

"Fire ale."

I blink with surprise because I have no idea what that is and it sounds unsafe. But I tap on the screen with trepidation and when it dings to let me know the drink is ready, I open the door to the dispenser and cry out with fear and step back because the mug is spewing fire on top.

Rake laughs and moves me aside to grab his drink. He blows out the flame and takes a hearty drink. "You'll have to try one of these later."

"But I can't drink something that's on fire."

He gives me a molten glance. "I'll put out your flame for you. I'll be the male who always puts out all your flames."

I covertly use my hand to fan at myself because this guy is so hot. "Well, okay…" Then I program myself a soda. I make the both of us chicken quesadillas, my favorite.

Soon we are both eating, sitting side by side on stools at the kitchen counter. He loves the human food I prepared and eats so much I make him seconds.

I start chatting with him again, asking specific questions as if this were a job interview. I need to know more about him if I'm going to make this guy my husband. I pull out a highly important question. "You don't expect me to do all the cooking and cleaning?"

He puts down his mug. "No, why would I expect that?"

"Because I'm a woman."

"I don't understand. Is this a gender designation within your species on your home world?"

"It is. Women are left in the home to cook, clean and tend children."

"It seems unproductive. On Tarvos, there do seem to be more women than men who work with younglings. There are more men than women in jobs that take strength. But mainly beings work wherever their talents take them. I have mainly all males out here right now and only two ranch hands that are females. But I'm used to women and men taking on all roles. At the moment, our president is female and the head of the Royal State is Queen Rebycca."

"Do you think males and females are equal?"

"Yes, of course. Why would we be unequal?"

"I agree." I take a sip of my soda, hiding my smile. "What were you going to do if the human you'd purchased to be your bound was someone you didn't like? Or, even worse, someone who arrived and she met and liked a different male in this community…maybe your friend or a coworker?"

He lets out a puff of white smoke from his red nostrils. "I did think of that. I knew that the marriage in absentia was just for immigration and not binding. This gave any female I purchased a whole moon cycle to truly decide if we were right for each other and wanted to walk to the courthouse and make it legal."

"But the moment you met me you wanted to walk to the courthouse and this was something you weren't sure would happen with the female you'd purchased?"

"Yes, I wanted you as mine the moment I saw you." He lifts his mug of fire ale and says absently, "We have a month until we need to go to the courthouse, or you will have to leave." Then he takes another large bite of food.

I glance out the windows at the countryside and the ranch buildings.

Leaving sounds sad. I've only known this man for a short while and I know I'd miss him terribly if I left.

Finally, we're both finished. Rake gets his fill of the "human food" and the darling cleaning bot is already working on the dishes.

"I need to return to work. Do you want to go out with me and meet the staff and see the barn and animals?"

"I'd love that."

We go out the side door this time and back into the utility car. He drives us back down the driveway and over to the barn. "We don't really need to take the vehicle. If you ever need me, you can always walk over here. All the buildings are close enough that they are within walking distance. But I am going to need to haul equipment later, so I decided to bring this now."

We park in front of a very large, green barn. A group of other Hyrrokin approach us and I feel the fear again.

Rake turns off the engine and glances at me. "What's wrong?"

"I'm sorry, I know logically that those Hyrrokin work here, but they're a little scary. I know it's silly of me to feel this way, but…"

"No one here will hurt you. These beings are eager to meet you and would lay down their lives for you."

I swallow. "Really?"

"This is the code out in the wildlands. We take care of our own. You will soon be a Flagstone."

We both step out of the vehicle and stand at the entrance of the barn.

An older Hyrrokin male breaks from the group and approaches, wearing work pants and no shirt or shoes, like all the other males. I haven't seen anyone on this planet so far in a shirt or shoes. Because their heads have black horns bursting from their foreheads I suppose it's hard to balance a hat. And their feet are so huge, with sharp silver tips, shoes would be torn up.

He smiles at me, which is really a grimace. "Do we have a new human visitor to the planet?" he questions.

Rake makes the introduction. "Lorn, this is my future bound, Stella Smith. She arrived a few hours ago on the planet for the first time, so she isn't used to us yet, but I am hoping she is here to stay." He looks at me. "Stella, this is our ranch manager, Lorn Touchstone. He knows everything that goes on here and runs everything. If you ever need something and can't get ahold of me, just ask him."

I force my fears away and step forward, taking his rough hand in mine and giving it a firm shake. "It's nice to meet you."

I glance at the other males and give them a weak smile.

"It's best if we give her some space now," Rake grumbles, "she's getting used to us. I'll introduce her to everyone else later. First, I want to give her a tour, by myself, of the barn."

Lorn nods. "It was nice meeting you Stella Smith. I hope to get to know you better, and its true what Rake said, if you ever need anything, come to me and I'm the one who will help."

The manager turns and heads back to a pen filled with large animals with very tall horns. I look at his retreating back. "I'm sure he's off to tell the others that the new girl is a scaredy cat, which makes me feel bad."

Rake puts a hand on the small of my back to guide me inside. "Don't worry, I really do want to show you around by myself. This gives me a good excuse."

"You didn't introduce me as your fiancée," I say, with a hint of disappointment.

"Because you said that you were still making up your mind."

"If…you want to say that to anyone in the future that's okay with me," I admit.

A grin widens across his harsh face. "I will."

And then Rake gives me a grand tour of the rest of the ranch. Pyrotaurs are their four-legged cattle with the tall horns and tan hide that they raise and then sell as premium meat. And their riding beasts are fantastical creatures with twisty black horns and fire-breathing capabilities.

"The animals from this planet look similar to the native animals on New Earth but are entirely different. There are many similarities between the way you raise cattle here and as we do on New Earth. I know this because even though I didn't work in ranching back home, but I was near enough to it and taught many of their children, so it was something that was always talked about around me. I would see the cattle in the surrounding pastures all the time."

I help out feeding and brushing the riding beasts and Rake spends time answering my flurry of questions while he goes about his business. Time flies while we're there and then I realize an hour or two must've gone by.

And that is the exact moment I realize this man has kittens.

Kittens?

On Tarvos?

"What is this?" I exclaim, having a mini freak out when I see two small kittens napping in a large cage. They are being kept nicely, with clean food and water and a pad for going potty as well as their own small bed. But still, they are out here all alone without company.

The two fluffy babies look up at me and let out tiny mews.

"How did you end up with kittens? Why are they in the barn and not the house?"

"Oh yes." Rake shakes his head as if this is something he'd entirely forgotten about. "Burl's bound brought these two here for me yesterday. I didn't request these tiny beasts, but she seems to think that we all need some. She had extra so she said I should give it a try. They are new."

"They spent the night in the barn?"

"All the animals sleep in the barn. This cage keeps them safe from predators."

"But cats are pets. Is it okay if we take this cage into our house? I am here now too, so I could watch them and keep them safe from predators."

His brow furrows.

"I love cats," I tell him. "I had a cat when I was younger, but it passed away. Then I went to university and then off to work in other towns. I wasn't in a position to have a cat again, but I'd love to help you take care of these two."

"Having these animals in the house with us sounds nonsensical, but you are the expert in their upkeep, so I agree to this." He lifts the crate carefully, with the kittens inside and walks over and places it in the back of the utility cart. I monitor the kittens as he drives us back.

We get inside the garage and Rake carries the heavy crate again, very carefully and level with both kittens in it mewing, looking around and terrified.

"Don't worry babies."

I tell him I want it upstairs, in our room, and he looks at me like I'm crazy. "Our room," I insist.

"Our room." He grins and carries it upstairs.

I point to an empty corner of the bedroom that's perfect for the crate.

He sets it down.

Then I sigh with relief, knowing they are both safe and sound. Then I look at the bed with longing as a wave of exhaustion hits me hard.

"You look tired."

"I am," I yawn. "I need a nap. I've been getting much more tired lately and taking a lot of naps."

"Are you ill?"

"No, I just need more sleep than normal because I'm growing a baby inside of me. I also have morning sickness."

"Morning sickness?"

"I take naps every day and I also throw up every morning, as a result of this pregnancy." I smile at him, "This is what you're getting yourself into if you decide to make me your wife. Don't forget we don't have to do this yet. There's a month for you to decide if you want to keep me too. You've already learned that I talk a lot. And I'm always told that need to lower my voice because I talk too loud." I point at the kittens. "You might hate having a cat lady as your mate. Or someone who sleeps every afternoon and throws up every morning. Now's your chance. I could always go back to New Earth and move in with my mom. Easy. You could be rid of me and you could find somebody new."

Rake steps forward, so very close that I can again scent him. Even after all that time in the barn, he smells wonderful, like soil and sunshine. I should take a step back, but I want to be as close as possible to that chest. I lift my chin and meet his gaze.

He reaches out and brushes a strand from my ponytail over my shoulder. And then he looks very intently at my lips.

This man is so very hot. Basically, all I want right now is to be in his arms.

Is he going to kiss me?

He meets my gaze again. "Sleep well." And then he's out the door and it closes behind him.

I sigh with disappointment and walk over to open the cage. Thank gods he has more control than I do, because my body might want more, but my mind is not ready.

The babies make tiny tinkling cries of delight. I let them out and they walk around slowly and have initial anxiety, finally sniffing and exploring. Precious baby kitties.

I let out a deep laugh as I realize something very important. "Now I'm going to have three babies in my life. Two new cats to raise and a baby on the way. Maybe I won't have time to fret as much as I thought about leaving everyone and everything behind. I miss my students so much and my friends there, but… this new life might not be so bad."

Eventually I'm on the bed with the two kittens snuggled beside me on the bed, sleeping.

And then I fall asleep too.