Chapter Ten

Lanimer

Evalee and I worked five days on and two days off. Things seemed to be going a little better than expected until the day a Zevian elder, consumed by rage, yelled at Evalee. He blamed her kin for tearing his family apart. He meant Trakellisans in general because his son wanted to marry a Trakellisan female. Now, he would be ostracized by his friends and extended family for allowing it.

We both knew that it wasn’t true, but it made a scene in our waiting room, and several prospective patients got up and left. It was simply an irrational accusation. Of course, Evalee had no control over his son’s love life. I sensed that seeing Evalee and I as a couple touched off his rage.

Unfortunately, our day only got worse as we left the clinic for the day. A chaotic rally filling the street met us. Whipped into a frenzy by Toran Nethos, the fiery Zevian spokesperson of the radical Xenos Free railed against the Trakellisans. He laced his impassioned speech with hateful accusations of betrayal and cultural impurity.

”The enemy lives right here among us!” Toran roared, his voice carrying throughout the crowd. ”They steal our resources and taint the gene pool. Soon, there will be no pure-blood humans left on this planet. The Trakellisans are a blight on our world, and hybrids are an abomination! —Like that one.” He pointed right at Evalee. “A filthy half-breed, tainting our pure bloodlines. Whom does she truly serve - this adopted world or the invaders who spawned her? The Elders had no right to re-home them here.”

As the crowd’s attention turned toward Evalee and me, someone shouted, “Send them back! Send them back!” Soon, the rest of the crowd were shouting the chant in unison.

Toran strode toward us, his eyes full of menace and mind full of hate. I could feel it radiating from him, and he wanted to hurt Evalee. I stepped in front of her and held up my hand to stop him, coupled with the force of my mind. “You will not hurt my mate! There is enough room and resources for everyone here. Go home and take your hatred with you.”

I could feel his rage as a tangible force crash into my mind. I am not a violent man, but I so wanted to punch him in his evil face. Instead, I just stood my ground and stared into his dark brown eyes defiantly. I sensed his fists clench at his sides and felt his desire to put one in my face as well, but he resisted.

The crowd stopped chanting and turned their attention to our exchange. I could feel their hostility. I reached behind me for Evalee’s hand and started to back away. “We’re leaving now.” You will not stop us. Back away.

Obsession, anger, and the threat of violence pulsed through the air as I held them back with the strength of my will. The horrible things some of them wanted to do to Evalee turned my stomach. My sweet, beautiful lover had never considered hurting anyone until now. With her empathic abilities, she could feel their hostility as a tangible thing.

I gripped Evalee’s hand in mine and hurried around the crowd, heading toward the hoverport two blocks away. A few started following us, still chanting, but we lost them by turning down an alley shortcut to the lot. We were in our flyer and lifting off when the angry crowd came into the hoverport. I sent our craft shooting off to the west of the city, heading for home. As soon as we were in the air, I gave the autopilot command.

I knew Evalee was crying even before I looked over and saw the tears streaming down her face. Sending my love for her directly into her mind, I leaned across the console and cradled her face, wiping away her tears with my thumbs.

It made me both angry and sad that they would make my beautiful Evalee a scapegoat for their grievances. They were treating the Trakellisans like they were worse than the Tregans who murdered my family.

The Trakellisans were a kind and brave people who fought the Tregans with everything they had. The Tregan’s decimated their population as they had ours on Zevus Mar. Plus, they created an ecological disaster that would eventually kill all life on Trakellis.

The Tregan Empire only wanted the planet for its rich verlian crystal mines. With their planet dying, the people needed someplace to go. Zevus Mar was close, and they had space in the young colony.

“I had no idea things had gotten this bad,” I murmured, stroking her cheek tenderly. “Baby, none of what they said was true. You are sweet, beautiful, and compassionate. No one ever should have a reason to hate you like that. It’s completely irrational.”

“It is not rational,” Evalee cried in agreement. “It started over a mining dispute on the edge of the Zevian and Trakellisan territories. Apparently, they were mining the same vein that ran between our territories, and the richer part was on our side. That was two years ago.”

“The info stream made it sound like a minor dispute. It never alluded to such hate-mongering. Who the hell is this Toran Nethos?” I wondered.

“The leader of Xenos Free. That’s what they call themselves,” she sniffed. “They are a group of xenophobic bigots who want us wiped off the planet for reasons I don’t understand.”

“There is no reason for their hatred other than xenophobic bigotry. They don’t want to share this world with beings who are different. They are jealous because your farms and business are more profitable. Your mines produce more and pay the workers more.” I pointed out.

“They employ Zevians too, and many Zevians live among us. But their hatred has sparked unrest among a small group of Trakellisans stirring up anti-Zevian sentiment.”

Ten minutes later, the flyer eased itself into the garage that opened automatically. The butterfly doors opened, and I jumped out and hurried to the other side. I held out my hand to Evalee and pulled her into my arms, hugging her tightly.

I sent soothing thoughts into her mind, laden with my love for her. As we held each other, I could feel her calm return, and with it, mine too.

“Do you want to get something to eat, or would you like to walk the grounds for a while?” I asked gently.

As she looked up at me, I sensed her calm had returned, but I could see the underlying sadness in her eyes. I ached for her, knowing she deserved none of their enmity. I held her face between my hands and lowered my mouth to hers, kissing her tenderly.

Of course, my body betrayed my desire for her, but that was not foremost in my mind. As our lips parted, Evalee chuckled softly, realizing I wanted her. She smirked up at me, and I caught a vision of us fucking in the orchard while she braced herself against one of the kwashi trees.

“That can be arranged,” I grinned down at her.

Evalee’s smile was beautiful to see, the day’s earlier unpleasantness forgotten. “A walk through the grounds would be wonderful.”

I took her hand, and we walked out into the main yard. There was a garden to the east with a small domed shelter, seating, and a fire pit. We’d had something similar when I was still a child. A flash of memory took me back to an evening when we sat outside with a small fire and looked at the stars.

We strolled into the orchard, walking the rows until Evalee stopped us in front of an especially voluminous kwashi tree.

“Here, I like this one.” Shaded by the tree, and knowing we were alone on the huge, isolated farm, Evalee stepped back. Facing me, she stripped out of her uniform and undergarments, looking pointedly at me. “You have to be naked, too.” she smiled seductively.

I perused her beautiful body for several seconds, then quickly stripped off my clothing, one piece at a time.

Evalee

We stepped into each other’s arms and embraced skin-to-skin, reveling in how our bodies fit together. I was wet and ready for him before we even touched, but there was no hurry. I loved the feel of my breasts squeezed against Lanimer’s muscular chest.Although not powerfully built, his muscular body was beautifully sculpted.

I didn’t need to tell him I was ready for him to fuck me; he knew. Lanimer led me to the smooth green tree trunk. Bending at the hips, I braced my hands against it and spread my legs. I craned my neck to look back at him, admiring his hard cock pointing at my ass.

Lanimer moved behind me and slid a finger between my folds, letting it ride the slick up over my clit. Then I felt his tip pressing into my entrance, easing his way in until he was fully seated. It felt even better than I anticipated, so good I could only moan.

I wanted him hard and fast. I wanted him to fuck me so intensely that I knew nothing but the feel of him. I didn’t even have to ask because he knew. I came so hard I saw stars, and the sun hadn’t even set. I couldn’t even say his name; I could only scream as he throbbed inside me and shot his seminal fluid against my womb, filling my mind with his love.

Raw, hard sex with Lanimer was exactly what I needed after the day we’d had.