Chapter 35

Lorelai

T o be honest, I wasn't sure Ellax would agree to wait on sex until later. After all, I'd promised him that I'd sleep with him as soon as the pact was officially witnessed. I would have kept my word. After years of living with a liar and a cheat, I was very big on keeping promises and being a person of integrity. However, Ellax didn't push the issue. He didn't try to seduce me…unless that whole touching my lips thing had been an attempt.

Which, let's be honest, had kinda-sorta almost worked.

The longer I was with him, the more I found myself attracted to the smaller things he did. Not the blatantly obvious, I want to have sex with you moves . Anybody could do that. Anybody could have sex with anybody.

Huh. Charlie is proof of that, I thought, as I lay there in the dark, fully—almost uncomfortably—aware of the alien male beside me.

Not everybody cared enough to show kindness. Gentleness. A hug when I needed it. Carrying me across the footbridge earlier when I'd discovered a terrible fear of heights.

Those were the things that drew me to Ellax Pendorgrin, proving he had a lot more underneath than the outwardly calm and cool Asterion Elder by day and playboy by night.

Playboy.

I stifled a groan.

I'd had enough of playboys to last a lifetime. At my age, it wasn't cute. It wasn't funny. It wasn't forgivable if it meant unfaithfulness. I didn't have the strength to suffer through a marriage like that again.

And yet…

I was in a precarious position. Far more hung in the balance than my happiness or my sanity.

The fate of all wild humans could possibly depend on which way I influenced my new husband.

I felt small and lost in comparison to so much responsibility.

Wish I knew how to contact his son, Caide, I thought. Despite the enormity of the day, I was tired and sleep was crowding in, blurring the mental images behind my eyelids and softening the edge of danger and trauma. Maybe he and his wife could help convince Ellax to fight this…

I fell asleep. And woke with a small start a few minutes later.

Only, looking outside showed me it wasn't a few minutes later. Sunlight from the planet's twin suns was pouring over the mountain peaks. Disoriented, I rubbed my eyes with my fists, trying to figure out what was going on. My sleep-addled brain finally came up with an answer that made sense. The glass doors between us and the mountains were equipped with a technology that caused them to darken in the morning to allow better, longer sleep. As the day wore on, the darkening would fade back into clear glass. I'd heard of the technology, but hadn't seen it. The Asterions had lots of luxuries they hadn't brough to Earth yet.

However, the light seeping into the bedroom was enough to show me morning had arrived. And what had wakened me?

Ellax, moving around.

I blinked several times, adjusting myself to the fact that he was still in bed with me. Not merely that, but pressed up against me.

How long had it been since that had happened? Charlie hadn't pressed himself up against me in years, unless he'd woken up wanting sex immediately instead of waiting until he could get to one of his girlfriend's houses. Thinking I was doing the right thing, trying to be a dutiful wife and a mother who held her family together, I'd usually complied.

My older self wished that my younger self hadn't given in.

Nothing I could do about the past. Only the present.

And in the present, Ellax had moved sharply, as if he, too had just been awakened. All of these thoughts flared as he sat up. I was on my side, but turned my head, blinking the sleep from eyes to see him lift the watch he wore on his wrist. He must have been reading a message. His dark-silver eyebrows rose.

" J'tet! " he muttered. Shoving away the blankets, he climbed from the bed.

No pressure for morning sex from him.

I wasn't sure if I was disappointed or relieved.

"What is it?" I asked.

He was striding towards his closet, his steps quick and firm. I guess he didn't need coffee to get going in the morning.

"A message from the Coalition's spokesperson," Ellax replied, his voice terse. "I'm to report to a space ship that's docked at the nearest interplanetary space station outside Asterion's atmosphere."

"What does that mean?" I asked. The news was enough to wake me up without coffee too. I swept the tangled hair from my eyes, watching him emerge from the closet with clothing draped over his arm.

"I fear it means my fellow Council members have sent their proposal without my agreement," he replied, dropping the clothing on the bed.

"Can they do that?" I was aghast.

"They stand a better chance of obtaining their request if I present the petition," he replied, "but they can do whatever they wish before a matter has been voted on and recorded." Without modesty or hesitation, he stepped out of the underclothes he'd worn to bed to change into a fresh pair.

Oh my stars.

My cheeks were burning.

I'd seen male anatomy before—my human husband's. It certainly hadn't looked like this.

Swiftly, I turned my head, trying to focus on the topic at hand rather than how my new husband looked naked.

You're not a teenager, Lorelai. Or a virgin. Quit acting like one.

Damn it. The vision was seared in my brain, though, as Ellax pulled on fresh trousers and a shirt.

"Now, what the Lead Advisors will do is the important part," he muttered. I heard a click and glanced back over to see he'd buckled a belt around his waist.

Clothing on. He's not naked anymore. Think about what he's saying.

"And th—that's why they called you?" I asked, hating myself for the stammer in my words and hoping he had no idea what had caused it.

"It is indeed."

I didn't want to ask. I was terrified of the response I would get. But I had to know.

"What are you going to do, Ellax?"

He paused in the act of buttoning his shirt and glanced over at me, his hands frozen on his lapels.

"Do you mean, am I going to sanction the plan or am I going to plead against it?"

I nodded shakily. The entire world seemed to hinge on this moment.

He didn't answer right away, which told me he must not know either.

"I do not know," he finally answered. He fastened the last button and reached up to straighten his collar around his neck. "I understand both points of view," he admitted, "theirs and yours. But I fear for my son and his wife. In the end, however…" His hands went to his shirt cuffs, which he buttoned and straightened. "I am a Lead Advisor in the Interstellar Coalition. I must remain neutral. My personal life cannot conflict with the good of an entire planet."

"It's not good," I said quietly, stubbornly, "if thousands are people are going to die because they don't want to move inside Overlord cities."

"Then perhaps they should comply."

"Perhaps we're all made with a free will and everyone should get to make their own choice."

"Not all species have the wisdom to make their own choices. Look at Earth. Look at how human choices have devastated it."

"We can learn from our mistakes."

This, strangely, seemed to have more effect on him than anything else I'd said. He moved to a nearby chair and seated himself, pulling on the same boots he'd worn yesterday and left beside the chair last night. His face was pensive. When he finally replied, his tone was thoughtful.

"You are right," he said, straightening. He stared me fully in the face. "Sometimes we can. I am trying to do so now."

Rising, he walked back towards the bed, towards me. Some odd part of me, unused to him and unaccustomed to his reactions, wanted to shrink back. Was he angry? Was he going to lash out at me?

I kept my posture stiff, hoping I appeared brave. All the bravery in the world couldn't have prepared me for him bending and catching my face in his hands.

"The stars will guide me into the proper path, Lorleai," he said. "Have faith." Then he kissed me. Kissed me not even in a sexual way, but with a kiss that spoke of him needing comfort and reassurance, as much as him recognizing my need for comfort and reassurance. My hands lifted and I grabbed his wrists, clinging for dear life as his mouth moved against mine.

Finally, he released me, drawing back.

"It will be late when I return," he said. "Don't wait for dinner or bed. The housekeepers will attend to your every need."

I nodded dumbly. My throat was tight with tears and I couldn't even say why. Stress? Fear of his and the Coalition's decisions? His sweet, wonderful kiss? Knowing I was in way over my head? Fearing I hadn't done anything to dissuade him? If they decided to wipe out my fellow humans, was I responsible?

I hadn't even begun to sort through all the reasons why by the time he was walking out the door. I caught a final glimpse of his shoulders, his careless, graceful stride, his silver hair cascading down his back…

Then he was gone.

The door automatically closed behind him. I was alone.