Chapter Seven

Lanimer

After sex, we drifted to sleep with Evalee’s head nestled against my shoulder. Now that I was with her, I knew she was the reason I needed to return to Zevus Mar. My skills were also required at the clinic to maintain their standard of care.

My mind was full, reeling with the tremendous changes I’d made by returning to Zevus Mar. The further I traveled from Oltarin, the more I missed my ‘family’ and the lush green forests and meadows surrounding our mountain home.

Yet, as strong as my ties to the place and the people were, I constantly yearned for something more in my life. Now I knew it was Evalee. She filled that empty place in my soul.

When I woke she was sleeping on her side, facing away from me. Our physical and emotional joining had exhausted us. Though I was still tired, I could not sleep anymore. Pulling on a pair of shorts and a tee shirt, I left the bedroom quietly. I was eager to explore my new home and discover if it was as perfect as it seemed in the holograms.

The main living area was completely underground to shield us from the intense heat of the desert surface. Above ground, a small dome housed the entrance and the garage where I kept my hovercraft. The elevator took us three stories underground to the single-level dwelling.

The floors were polished granite, with area rugs in the living and dining rooms. I had the house built with four bedrooms, the primary plus three, and I was hoping for children one day. Then, I added a playroom for future children and an adult playroom off our bedroom with offices beside our bedroom.

Landscapes, horses, and memories adorned the walls with lush green plants hanging from ceilings or arranged on stands throughout the rooms. I was pleased with how everything came together as I walked through the rooms.

It was completely unlike the high-tech cabin on Oltarin where I grew up. But this was mine and Evalee’s.

As I sensed Evalee waking, I ordered a light breakfast at the kitchen food processor. By the time I finished and returned to the bedroom, she was getting up and heading for the bathroom naked. She emerged a few minutes later wearing my robe. As she looked at me, I knew she was feeling completely vulnerable.

The night before, we had not only shared our bodies, but we had also bared our souls. I met her and took her into my arms. “It was all real, my love. Now you know I came here for you.” I kissed her lightly on her beautiful lips.

Some humans would have seen an alien when they looked into her lavender face, but I saw love. Just then, I was no longer thinking about how much I missed my family. I was too happy having Evalee in my arms.

With her body pressed to mine, I wanted her again. Only I was more eager to show her the house and share breakfast, our first meal together. I kissed her again and reluctantly released her. “Would you like to dress for breakfast or wear my robe?”

She smiled at me. “I guess that depends on what you want to do after breakfast.”

“I thought I’d show you around the place, and then maybe later we could have a nap,” I smirked at her, raising my eyebrows suggestively. Evalee laughed, thinking what I was thinking: more sex.

That wasn’t the only thing on her mind. Now that we’d spent our first night together, she was wondering where we were going with this, with us. What I didn’t know was where she wanted us to go with it. I was surprised at how well she could mask her innermost thoughts.

“I would like a shower before I dress,” she said, and I knew she meant alone. We wouldn’t be able to resist if we got naked again in the same room.

Nodding, I said, “Come out to the kitchen when you’re ready, and we’ll eat.” She looked so adorable; I couldn’t help smiling at her before I turned and left the room.

I was sipping hot jern tea when she came to the kitchen ten minutes later. She still seemed subdued, and I found it disturbing. “Sweetheart, won’t you share what is troubling you? I love everything about you very much, and I want you to be happy.”

I set my tea on the table and went to her, resting my hands on her shoulders. “Evalee, you can tell me anything. I feel your discomfort and uncertainty, but I can’t sense where it’s coming from because you’re blocking me.”

“Lanimer, it’s not you or how I feel about you. Some people won’t accept our mating because I’m not human or at least only half-human. Both your kind and my kind may shun us. I can’t help wondering if we’re making a mistake.”

“They can shun me all they want. It’s not going to change the way I feel about you. My family knows that you are not human. They only care that you make me happy, and I make you happy. Nobody else matters but you. Or does your family have reservations about your relationship with me?”

Evalee sighed. “Mother and father are fine with our relationship. Mother is not Trakellisan, and father is not human. Some of our other relatives object. They are against the mixing of our races.”

I couldn’t help but chuckle ironically. “You are already mixed. That doesn’t make any sense.”

Evalee smiled and laughed softly. “I pointed that out to them, and they just scoffed.”

“I only care about what you think and feel about this relationship. Will that objector hurt you or us physically to keep us apart?”

She shook her head. “No. They are more likely to taunt and shout slurs against us. Or maybe they will ostracize us, but they won’t risk violence and deportation. Zevus Mar was the only planet to accept them when they fled Trakellis. They have nowhere else to go.”

I framed her face in my hands, tilting it upward to look into her eyes. “Evalee, I want to be with you. I want you to be my mate, my wife, and all that encompasses. If this is going to be a problem, we can go somewhere else. I can sell the agri-complex here.”

“Oh, I don’t want you to do that, and I really don’t want to leave Zevus Mar. This is my homeworld. I was born here. Their attitude hurts me, but not enough to give you up. I knew I wanted you the moment I saw your hologram. I just don’t want my people’s prejudice to hurt you.”

“And I don’t want them to hurt you either.” I kissed her lips lightly. “We’ll deal with them when the time comes. Meanwhile, let’s sit and eat while the food is still warm.”

I pulled out the chair for Evalee to sit and seated myself across the table. “I don’t think my father’s people would be so narrow-minded about humans if they integrated. Some in my generation don’t have this problem because they are not content to grow crops. They’ve moved away from our tribes to pursue other careers.”

Evalee had a leased flat near the clinic in the Trakellisan city of Val’kara, a community where Trakellisans and humans peacefully coexisted. Many were mixed-race couples like Evalee and me. “You seem happy enough working among humans.”

“Because I’ve been doing it for a few years now. My friends at the Elran clinic know they can depend on me to do my job.”

“They will see that about me too. I am good at my job, and I am here to serve any patients who need me. I already know there are not enough Trakellisan Physicians to go around. I will treat the ones who accept my service, and the others can go elsewhere.”

Evalee seemed to relax as I said that. In some ways, the situation was not unlike what my father and mothers and Hankura and Chelle had faced on Aledus. I saw no need to worry. Thus far, I haven’t heard that there has been violence between humans and Trakellisans. I was a capable opponent in the martial art of chakrin, but I would only use it as a last resort. If I could not deter them with my words, I would deter them with my mind.

“I will be right there with you,” said Evalee. “We have been assigned full-time at the Trakellisan clinic.”

“Yes, I saw that on the assignment spreadsheet. In three days, we will find out what we’ve gotten ourselves into.” I smiled at Evalee with what I hoped was a look of encouragement and took another bite of breakfast.

When we finished eating, I took Evalee by the hand, and we strolled through the house together. I paused here and there to show her specific amenities. She was suitably impressed with a sense of wonder by the size and aesthetic beauty of the house we would share.

For me, it would have been just a place to live without her to share it.