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Chapter Twenty

Evalee

After a nanites boost and ten hours of sleep, I felt rested and refreshed.Lanimer and I took turns in the bathroom and returned to our bed and into each other’s arms. I can hardly believe we are home safe after what we went through the last two days. I never had to say words because Latimer could read me like the proverbial book. I was really scared when we crashed so far from home in the desert.I wasn’t sure we were going to make it.

Lanimer looked at me, his eyes full of tenderness as he pushed the hair back from my forehead and stroked my cheek with his fingertips. I know, beloved.I was just as scared, more so by being stranded in the middle of the desert than by the crash itself.I knew that I wouldn’t give up until my last breath, trying to get us home safely.We haven’t had nearly enough time together.I don’t think it will ever be enough, no matter how much it is.

I smiled at him and caressed his face, my mind filled with love for him.Of course, one thing led to another, and we were soon making slow, tender love.Every touch, kiss, and caress was given and received with love.We could feel the power of the love we shared reverberate between us through the act of joining our bodies to give and receive pleasure.

I have but to close my eyes to feel and remember his lithe, muscular body pressing down on mine and filling my arms.What’s more, I can remember how he filled my mind with his love.

After a shower, we had a leisurely breakfast, and Lanimer brought up the subject of our marriage pledging.“Darling, do you think it’s time we set the date to make our love official?”

I knew that since he was asking, he wanted me to set a date with him.Now, I knew that the animosity between our peoples was contrived for nefarious reasons and not legitimate between our races.There was no longer any reason for me to hesitate to commit to sharing my life with Lanimer.

Marriage on Zevus Mar did not require a formal ceremony.It only required us to register a life mate contract.We went ahead and did that through the planetary AI net. Then, we picked a date and called my family to invite them to a gathering to witness our pledging ceremony and share a meal.

Of course, Mother was thrilled, and Father seemed pleased as well.I was the last of the children to be married off.They already knew we’d planned to have children.We just hadn’t decided when.But we had time for that.We wanted time alone with each other at first.

After we finished discussing our pledging with my parents, we returned to the bedroom for a more private celebration.Lanimer took me to the brink, holding me on the precipice several times before he finally let me come; it was exquisite torture. Even though I whimpered and complained, he knew I loved everythinghe was doing to me.He knew I loved him.

Although Lanimer monitored the horse embryos regularly, we didn’t get out to the barn to see the horses as often as we liked. So, we took the time that evening to see them.

Because he started them on his way to Zevus Mar, they would be “born” in just a few months. They were completely recognizable as horses as they moved in their artificial wombs floating in the nurturing tanks. I knew these animals would be a big part of our lives from now on. Lanimer loved them, so I loved them too.

Lanimer

It was customary for Aledans to pledge by water, so we created a small pond under a fabric sun shelter above ground where we would make our pledge.After our vows, we would retreat to our underground home to share a feast with our family.We ordered food to be flown in from Val’kara and Medrin so that we wouldn’t have to spend days preparing it.

We had sought to use the formal attire we bought for the gala at the ceremony.But of course, we ruined it, so we purchased new outfits just for the occasion.I simply replaced the suit I had while Evalee chose an ice-blue gown that complemented her fair lavender skin.And I provided the proper jewelry and blue crystals for her to wear with that.

When we went back to the clinic two days later, the news had reached the info stream about the conspiracy between Senator Adrian Dorn and two mining corporations.The atmosphere was so much calmer without the demonstrations, the innuendo, and suspicion between races.

As the next few weeks passed, living on Zevus Mar began to feel like I remember as a child.Senator Adrian Dorn and the mining corporations had done the Trakellisans a great disservice by mongering hate against them.I don’t know if they will ever see them as I do.They may not look the same as we do, but they care about the same things that we do—living their life in peace with the people they love.Find a mate, make a family, and provide for them.

They were not so unlike humans, and they were biologically compatible.They just looked different, and they surely did not deserve to be treated the way Xenos Free treated them.Evalee and I plan to make it our mission to promote understanding and friendship between our races by sharing our lives by example.

Finally, the day came for our pledging. Because of the desert heat, we waited for sunset to have our ceremony. We followed the same tradition as when my adopted brother pledged to his wife on Oltarin when they were just 18 years old.I stood on one side of the small pool we made with the males of Evalee’s family.

Evalee walked with her mother”s arms linked, followed by her sister and sisters-in-law in a small procession.She was as beautiful as ever in her ice-blue dress that matched the color of her hair with the crown of flowers on her head. She came to the opposite side of the pool from me, and her mother said, “I give my daughter now into your keeping.Cherish her always.”

I took Evalee’s hands in mine across the pool.

“Love has many facets, my beautiful Evalee, and your love is a precious gift. You give it freely and accept my love freely. Beloved Evalee, I love you now and always. From my mind to your mind and back again, it grows and blossoms to a joy beyond words, pure and untouched inside us.”

As my love filled her mind, Evalee sent her love flooding back to me like an incoming tide.

“Beloved Lanimer, I love all that you are... With all that I am—all that I will ever be.”

We each scooped water and held it in our hands,

“We are like the water that ripples in the pond. Your love is my love. And your joy is my joy—your sorrow, my sorrow. Your pain is my pain. We are one with our love. We are one now and always, and with all that we are, we will protect our life together from this moment on.”

Then we met at the side of the pool to seal our vow with a kiss. It was one of the happiest moments of my life.

Evalee’s brother recorded our pledging to send back to my family on Oltarin. Missing them made the moment bittersweet, but I had gained a new family. Evalee’s family welcomed me as a brother, son, and uncle.

After our vows, we did a ceremonial Trakellison wedding dance as a couple, much like the one we performed at the Summer Solstice Festival. Evalee’s brother Rylan played a flute-like instrument for our performance. Evalee and I practiced several times during the days leading up to our ceremony.

Along with some graceful, fluid moves, there were numerous times we came together, brushing against each other sensually. Every time we practiced alone in our home, we ended up making passionate love.

It would be hours before we could be alone, but we would endure. We had fifty of Evalee’s relatives there for the festivities, so that it would be a long evening. It helped that the next dance involved the whole family in a line dance, with our streamers in a line weaving back and forth around the yard. It was great fun and eased our sexual tension so we could get through the evening feast.

By then, the night air was getting chilly, so we went into the garage to take the elevator to our underground house.

In addition to our private adult playroom, our home also had a children’s playroom. As it grew later, the guest children camped out in there while our wedding celebration continued.

We had a variety of Zevian and Trakellisan food served buffet-style, along with Aledan wine called yash. Although I never anticipated this many guests when I had the house built, it was large enough to accommodate a smaller scale of dancing to recorded music.

It was early morning when the last guest left. Evalee and I fell into bed exhausted, too tired for anything but sleep.

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