Chapter 41

Ellax

I n challenging Lorelai, I'd challenged myself. I knew I could please her…couldn't I? When had I ever failed, if I'd set my mind to the job? Truthfully, had I taken the time to examine my past, I might have been forced to reckon with the fact that I had not always been the most generous of lovers.

I didn't want to face my past tonight. I didn't want to think of any other female. Didn't want to remember lying with anyone else.

Lorelai.

Her face, her scent, the softness of her skin, the hitches in her breath, her quiet cries…all of them were like blitza or lyven to me, and I was drunk on her as I kissed and touched her, worshipped her, tasted her, loved her. And when she returned the favor, touching me, kissing, and tasting me in return…

I nearly exploded.

The inkling I'd already garnered, the suspicions I'd scarcely dared harbor, that she was my mate and the universe itself had decreed we should be together, blossomed into full and final fruition. The moment I finally joined my body with hers was the moment I knew not only pleasure but a feeling of completeness, belonging, and ownership, as well as the sense of being owned by another. It was so unlike anything I'd felt before, that I had no name for it. A resounding confirmation that I was right. The universe had sent me this human female, not merely to mother me an heir, but to complete me.

Fulfill me.

Possess me.

Own me.

"Ellax," my human wife said, when we were temporarily finished—because I certainly did not intend to be finished for the night— "I hate to say it, but…you win."

I knew exactly what she meant. I wanted to hear her say it.

"I win what?" I demanded.

"You know." She traced the lines of my chest with a finger, the simple act igniting fire beneath my skin. "You made me say your name."

"You did not merely say my name."

She laughed. "You're right. I cried out your name, or however you put it. I hope you're satisfied. You win."

"Satisfied?" I had never felt more satisfied in my entire life. Grasping her bare buttocks, I drew her hips closely into me, nestling her body into every line and hollow of mine. "I am thoroughly satisfied. At present. However, I sense it will not be long before I become unsatisfied again. And I hope you will too."

She craned her neck to look up into my face.

"So, this is what a honeymoon is like, huh?"

"A what?"

I'd never heard the strange human term.

She chuckled. "Back in the day, a long, long time ago, people traditionally didn't sleep together until after they were married. Then they'd go on a trip right after the wedding, a honeymoon, where they'd spend all their time having sex and getting to know each other. It's supposed to be the most amazing, blissful experience."

"You did not have that with your first husband?"

"Oh, gosh. No," she sighed. "Like most couples, we were having sex before we ever got married. Even if we hadn't been, I don't think the honeymoon stage would've happened for us. We just…never were that wild about each other, I guess."

"My parents arranged my union with Druea," I admitted. As I lay there, I pictured her face in my mind. She had not been my mate. That was not her fault. I should have treated her better. She'd deserved far better. "Her parents were in agreement with the arrangement my parents offered, so, we were married."

"Oh. I guess I didn't realize arranged marriages still happened."

"Still?"

"They're not very common on Earth anymore," she chuckled. "Or, I guess they were. Just not in my part of the world."

Something else was not common, either. A mate. A mate bond across species. My son had found it. Now I had found it. And I did not intend to let it go. I finally, fully understood why Caide had turned down everything to remain on Earth with his human wife. Why he'd been willing to fight or even kill to protect her. Like Caide, I would do anything for my human female. Anything.

Even as my mind wandered, she drew me back to other issues, saying quietly, "Ellax? As incredible as this is, we still have work to do."

"Allow me a minute to rest," I quipped, "and I will work for you all over again."

"Not that," she giggled. She pushed away from me, sitting up in bed. Instantly, my body missed her warmth, the feel of her flesh against mine. My eyes, however, devoured her breasts, her hips, her belly. Everything I could see above the blankets.

"I was referring to the proposal, Ellax. The one you're supposed to submit soon. The one you asked for my help with?"

"Ah, yes."

I draped my forearm over my eyes, shutting out the light, the impending reality of what we faced. For a time, it had been so easy, so pleasant, to focus on my wife and my strengthening feelings for her, shutting out the duty I had to fulfill as a Lead Advisor. However, Lorelai was right. We had work to do. I removed my arm, swiping back the blankets.

"I'll fetch a screenpad and stylus," I said, "so we can begin."

"Wait. Ellax." She caught my arm, preventing me from rising. I half-turned, marveling at how beautifully her pale human skin contrasted with the deep silver of my own. At how delicate her fingers looked on my flesh, not to mention the incredible satisfaction they'd brought me earlier.

Stars.

I had to force my memory from that. A few moments had passed, and my body was signaling its willingness to work for her again, as I'd offered. That could wait. The proposal really could not.

"What is it?" I asked, fixing my gaze on her face rather than her body, attempting to keep my thoughts in line.

"I, um…" She appeared slightly nervous as she used her free hand to swipe her mussed hair behind her shoulders. "Now that we've had sex, the possibility is there, of course, that I could be pregnant and give you your heir. But, at the same time, I'm half afraid. I…"

She swallowed, staring down at the blankets.

"I know this is a bad time to be bringing anything else up. Still, what if I can't get pregnant again? I'm almost forty. What if I don't? Would you…" She stopped, shaking her head sharply. "Never mind. I'm chasing rabbit trails. Never mind."

Rabbit trails? I was unfamiliar with the term, but I knew rabbits were an extinct mammal species on Earth, similar to our own wild hares on Asterion. They were often hunted for sport, due to their sly, wily nature. I could hazard a fair guess at what she meant.

"Do you fear I will forsake you for another female if you don't become pregnant?"

"I wasn't, really, until now," she admitted. Her hand slipped from my hand, to my thigh, her fingers resting on my leg. "I didn't think sex would change my feelings, but I feel…this sounds silly. It's probably just the honeymoon phase. I feel this connection with you, a connection so strong that I'm terrified of losing it."

"You will never lose it," I assured her. Despite loving the sensation of her hand on my skin, I picked up her fingers, bringing them to my mouth to kiss them one by one. Her eyes lifted to mine and I held them there by force of will and my own stare, willing her to truly hear me.

"You will never lose it," I said. "You are my mate."

"Your mate?" She wrinkled her nose. "As in, I'm the one you're breeding? Mating with? Or your mate as in, I'm your soul mate?"

"I think the latter. But also, both? The universe, the stars, or whatever powers that be, have determined that you and I should be together. Mates, fated by destiny. Which means, no matter what, I will always…"

I stopped.

The words "love you" had almost escaped. On the one hand, that seemed ridiculous after a mere few days' acquaintance. On the other, look at where our lyven-fueled mistake had led. To a marriage, the discovery of my mate, the moment I'd joined my body with hers, and the unshakeable certainty that this was right , as surely as Asterion's twin suns would rise the next day.

"Be yours," I finished, stumbling over an admission of love. Did I even know what love truly was to tell her that? "And you will be mine."

"Even if I can't get pregnant? Even if the pact fails?"

"Even then," I assured her. Leaning over her, I tipped up her chin with my free hand, sealing the promise with a kiss. "Even should the stars burn out and the universe be plunged into darkness, even then I would never leave you."

"Wow," she chuckled. Despite the attempt at humor, I saw the moisture glimmering in her eyes. "I guess we didn't need a signed, sealed, and witnessed pregnancy pact after all."

"It brought us together," I said. "I will never regret it."

But the mention of the pact had reminded me of our next vital purpose. Tearing myself away from my wife, I rose, going so far as to slip into my clothing, discarded on the floor, to help edge out any further distractions.

"Time for work," I said.

"Gosh, just when play sounded so good."

I was on my way to fetch the screenpad off the nearby desk. When she said this, I turned to study her. She was lying back against the pillows, stretching her arms over her head. I couldn't help noticing how her breasts moved with the shifting of her arms. How inviting they looked. How inviting she looked, half covered by a sheet and smiling at me.

My body signaled again that enough time had passed.

My mind told me I should work on the presentation.

My heart told me to go to my mate.

As I stood there, staring at her, she rolled over on her side, propping her head up on her hand.

"You know, we've got several more hours before the night is over," she observed. "And we've got tomorrow too. What's delaying the proposal a little bit going to hurt?"

I glanced over at the screenpad. I glanced back at my wife.

I was aching now, with needs only she could fulfill.

I could not resist her. Why had I assumed that I could?

"You're right," I said, turning and walking back to the bed. "We have time. Delaying will hurt nothing. Nothing at all."

As soon as I seated myself on the edge she reached up and caught my shoulders, drawing me down for a long kiss. I obliged—happily—kicking off my pants as I moved into position over her. The night was young. At that moment, wrapped up with Lorelai, trouble seemed very far away. I was content to let it remain that way.