by V. A. Dold
Taking the bracelets from his pocket, he handed the one he would wear to her. “Tuck that in your pocket for now.”
He waited for her to put it away and press her palms to his again. “Together then.” As one, they spoke the bonding words.
“Your soul called to my soul, and mine joyfully answered.
“You are the one meant for me, lifetime after lifetime.
“As this bracelet is a never-ending circle, our love and bond are also never-ending.”
Doug dropped one hand to pull her bracelet out. “We need the bracelets for the last part.”
He pressed her bracelet between their palms, and she did the same with their other palms. Then they recited the last of the pledge.
“With this bracelet, I bond my heart to yours.
“I meld my source spark with yours.
“And entwine my life with yours.”
With utter reverence, he placed the bracelet on her wrist and then held out his left wrist for her to do the same.
With both bracelets in place, he took her hands in his, “Now we finish our pledge.” Together they said, “By speaking these words and exchanging symbols of our union, we are creating an unbreakable bond.”
Grinning, happier than he’d ever been, he wrapped his arms around his mahri. “And now we couple our source sparks and raise our vibrations.”
“How do I do that?”
“Feel the love in your heart and let it expand. Then visualize your soul spark glowing in your heart chakra and make it larger until it exceeds your body. Once that is done, reach for my soul spark with your own. Then let go.”
“All right.” She closed her eyes and did as he directed. Seconds later, a gasp erupted from her lips, and her entire body shivered.
The sensation was beyond description. It was as if her soul wrapped around his, and every erogenous zone on her body was stimulated at once. She’d never experienced such intense pleasure. As if a sensitivity dial was being slowly turned up, the sensations increased until she felt like she floated out of her body into the astral realm. Her body bowed, and a scream caught in her throat as a full body orgasm left her mind flickering like a loose light bulb. Thoughts didn’t exist. Her physical body didn’t exist. Only pure love, pleasure, and bliss existed.
Ever so slowly, she returned to earth and her body. Breathing hard, her eyes fluttered open. She hadn’t moved from the circle, and yet her entire body was covered in a sheen of sweat. Doug looked like he was in the same state.
“That was amazing,” he whispered and took her lips in an all-consuming kiss.
Stroking caresses down her back, he held her until she stopped trembling. “I need a shower before we refuel with the snacks my family provided.”
“Excellent idea. Food can wait a few more minutes. I vote for a shower, followed by snacks and then a nap.”
Krystal smiled up at her mate. “Great minds think alike.”
Twenty
Hours later, Doug woke with a beautiful woman that he loved in his arms and a satisfied smile on his face. Stroking her hair, he watched the sunset paint the bedroom walls a warm gold. The peace he felt in his heart whispered ideas of healing through romance in Doug’s ear. Leon’s sick tricks came close to ruining the serenity of the cozy cabin for Krystal. By god, he would give that back to her.
With each sweep of his palm, a plan formed in his mind. He would replace each of the bad memories with a pleasurable one. That meant he needed a hot steamy shower. Excited to implement his plan, he eased from the bed and padded silently from the room. Minutes later, he was in the kitchen. Grabbing a glass, he filled it with a few inches of water and added a couple of drops of dish soap. Now he needed Q-tips. It took a couple of minutes, but he found them in the third drawer of the vanity. Dipping the Q-tips in the soapy water, he carefully wrote his message on the mirror. Turning on the shower, he jumped in. A quick wash and shampoo and he was done. Crossing his fingers, he pulled back the curtain and smiled. Perfect.
He needed to move fast if he was going to finish the rest of his plan before Krystal woke up. Quiet as a church mouse, he got dressed and headed outside. Leon had left roses. Anyone could go to a flower shop. He wanted his bouquet to be personal and from the heart. Thankfully, the meadow was close by, and there was a variety of wildflowers in bloom. It wasn’t long before he was back in the kitchen, arranging flowers in the vase with his single rose taking center stage. The pièce de résistance was a heartfelt card tucked among the blooms. Where had she found the roses? Ah, yes, on the porch.
With the flowers in place, he headed to the kitchen. First, he started the coffee, and while the maker did its thing, he cut fresh fruit into a small bowl. As he finished the final slice of apple, the coffee maker beeped. Excellent. Glancing about, he found a pad of paper and pen. He wrote a little message to go with the fruit and placed it beside the bowl. Then he grabbed an empty coffee mug and positioned it in front of the maker. One last note tucked inside the cup, and he was out the door. He wanted to be gone when Krystal woke. Her finding his little gifts on her own would add a flair of magic to the surprise.
The sound of the cabin door closing nudged Krystal toward wakefulness. Groaning, she rolled over, expecting to snuggle against Doug’s warm body. What she found was cold sheets. Still groggy, she flung an arm out, searching his side of the bed. Empty. Where the heck was he? Maybe the sheriff’s office needed him?
Sighing, she headed to the bathroom. Good lord, that soul sex stuff wiped her out, or maybe that was just Doug’s loving. Biting her lower lip, she turned the water on. A shower and coffee would go a long way in reviving her before she had to face her family at dinner. Hopefully, Doug would be back by then.
Piling her hair on top of her head, she jumped in the shower for a quick clean up. She was reliving the bonding ceremony in her mind as she pulled the shower curtain open a few minutes later. Krystal sucked in a sharp breath. There were words on the mirror again. It took a few seconds for her mind to function so she could focus on what it said.
Your beautiful soul showers me with love. Amaali, Doug
“Amaali,” she said aloud, trying to remember what that word meant. Oh, yeah. That word was I love you. Doug’s language was beautiful.
Wrapped in a towel, she padded back to the bedroom for clothes. Jeans and a T-shirt would do for dinner at the big house. Pulling them on, she brushed out her hair and followed her nose to the kitchen. Coffee! Bless that man. She was about to reach for a mug when she saw the one in front of the coffee maker. There was a note inside. Giddy with happiness, she pulled it free. You were sleeping like an angel, and I didn’t have the heart to wake you. Meet me at the main house when you’re ready. Enjoy your coffee. He signed it Doug with a string of x’s and o’s.
Practically skipping, she crossed the kitchen to the refrigerator for the creamer. She paused mid-reach when she saw the bowl of fruit and another note. Grabbing the creamer as well as the fruit and message, she headed back to the coffee. She couldn’t believe how lucky she was. Her sweet mate had cut each bite-sized piece of fruit into a heart. She poured the coffee and added the cream before sitting down with the fruit to read the note. The love I feel from you through our link makes my heart sing. Your djairu, Doug.
Krystal had never felt so loved. Settling back in her chair, she took her first sip. Nirvana in a mug. She closed her eyes and savored the blissful feeling. That’s when she remembered she could send emotions through their heart link. Inhaling deeply, she focused on her heart chakra and energetically pushed love toward Doug. Moments later, a wave of love filled her chest to overflowing. Grinning ear to ear, she plucked a fruit heart from the bowl. “God, I love that man.”
Much too soon, she took her last sip and drained her cup. Eyeing the half-full bowl of fruit hearts, she weighed her options. Finish the fruit, or save room for dinner with the family. Joining Doug for a bite of whatever cook was conjuring won out. Her new—what did his people call a mate? Oh yeah, dj
airu. Her new djairu won out over fruit hearts, hands down.
Krystal was putting the fruit into the refrigerator when she heard something in the living room. Expecting to find Doug, she skidded to a halt at the sight of an envelope on the floor by the door. It took a moment to calm her pulse. Leon was long gone, so who was shoving envelopes under her door?
Unsure if she should touch it, she knelt down to give it a sniff. Doug. Grinning, she scooped it up and ripped it open. Inside was a single picture. She and Doug on horseback. He was gazing at her like she hung the moon. Hugging the photo to her chest, she did a little happy dance. Her man knew how to romance a woman. Placing the photo on the little shelf beside the door, she headed out to find her Romeo only to stumble when she saw the vase of flowers. Doug had thought of everything. Picking up the vase, she carried it to the dining table. She was leaning over to smell the rose when she saw the card.
These flowers pale in comparison to your beauty. Amaali, Doug
Sighing, she headed out for the second time. She couldn’t wait to kiss the daylights out of her man. She went straight to the dining room. Dinner was at six p.m. sharp, and it was six-ten. Her family was seated at the family table, but where was Doug? She was a few feet short of the table when an arm circled her waist and spun her around. “What took you so long?” he whispered and took her lips in a kiss so hungry she felt consumed.
He broke the kiss just as her head was starting to spin. “A secret admirer left me a bunch of gifts. It took a while to appreciate them properly.”
“Mm.” He kissed her again. “Did you like them?”
“Very much,” she whispered against his lips.
A throat cleared loudly behind them. “Are you two about done, or do you need a room?”
Krystal turned to glare at her cousin.
“Come on, gorgeous. Let’s get you a plate.” He cocked a brow at Lucas as he steered Krystal toward the food bar.
Krystal and Doug had just settled at the table when a small line appeared on Lucas’s forehead. She knew that look. He wanted to ask something but wasn’t sure if he should. “Spit it out, Lucas.”
“I’m just wondering about the bonding ritual. Was it close to what we do or completely different?”
“A bit of both. We had a circle of crystals, which we stood inside of as we made our bonding pledge, and we exchanged bracelets made specifically for us. So all of that was different.” Her cheeks flamed hot. “But the consummation was close to the same.”
“Huh. Interesting.” His brows creased again. “So you didn’t say our ritual words, or do the… bite?”
Krystal turned and gazed into Doug’s eyes. “It wasn’t necessary. Doug has his own animal and magic.”
Fifteen minutes later, as dinner wound down, Doug was explaining the bracelets to her inquisitive cousin. You’d think he was a cat with all that curiosity.
They’d just finished dinner when Isaac informed Krystal and Doug that they were meeting with Luperca in Lucas’s office and needed to get moving. Intrigued by what Luperca wanted to say, she cleared their dishes from the table while Doug grabbed the glasses and silverware. Once the table was cleared, they headed for the office.
And, of course, all of her family members staying at the ranch joined her. Le Beaus were some of the nosiest people she knew. Needless to say, secrets didn’t exist in her family. Emma wouldn’t stand for it.
Settled into an office chair, she opened her mouth to ask Emma what the meeting was about when Luperca appeared behind Lucas’s desk. “Blessings to you all.”
“Blessings,” they said back.
She turned her attention to Krystal. “Congratulations. You and Douglas have an incredible life ahead of you. Now that you have bonded, the two of you are uniquely qualified to help others in a way we have never done before. Because of your situation and abilities, I have a request to make of the two of you.”
Krystal glanced at Doug. He looked as confused as she felt. She caught her aunt and uncle watching her, and they just smiled innocently. Yeah, right, innocent was the last thing those two were. Finally, she sighed and shook her head. “I’m sure I’ll regret this. What can I do for you?”
“There are countless others like Douglas, who are desperate to find their companions. I hoped having them incarnate as shifters like yourself would solve the problem. It did, to a degree, but it is not happening fast enough. With the population explosion on Earth, the chance of happening upon your mate is slim to none.”
Luperca placed her hand on the back of the only empty chair in the room and pulled it next to Krystal. Shocked, Krystal squeaked, “You sit?”
“Well, of course, I do. Just because I have never stayed long enough to do so before does not mean I cannot.”
Luperca gave her an odd look. Was she… playing with her? Krystal shook it off. Watching the tenth density being sit in a chair was as far as she could go in one day.
“Take a breath, Krystal, you look a little blue.”
Her cheeks heated, but she took the breath. “So, if the shifters aren’t cutting it, what’s your plan?”
“You. You are my plan. I want you to organize love matches between the beings from the Sirius and Pleiades systems with Earthling’s. With your gifts of seeing auras and talking to guides, you can exponentially increase their chances of success. Combine your gifts with the technology of today and Voila!”
Krystal gripped the arms of her chair to steady herself. She was dizzy after watching Luperca’s dramatic hand swirls when she exclaimed voila!
Still recovering, she jumped when Doug cleared his throat. Luperca had so completely mesmerized her she had forgotten there were others in the room. “I assume that your enthusiasm means you have an idea for how Krystal can utilize technology to achieve your goal?” he asked.
“I can answer that,” Emma offered, joining the conversation. “Years ago, when websites for singles became popular, I discussed them with Luperca. At that time, humans weren’t ready for ETs on earth. Now, they won’t blink an eye if we handle it right.”
“Mon amour,” Isaac said in a cajoling tone. “No matter how we handle it, there will always be those who are fearful and lash out at what they don’t understand.”
Krystal gave Rylon a little wave when he eased into the office. Taking a seat on the edge of the desk, he gave her a wink.
Lucas nodded. “If we do this, we’ll have to put safeguards in place. The last thing you want are altercations between our other world visitors and the humans.”
“I was thinking about that as I worked out a menu for our celestial guests. We can have everything take place here on the ranch where we can control outside influences. The ETs, for lack of a better word, can come directly here when a match is found for them. At the same time, we can notify the human to come to the ranch as well.”
“Excellent idea,” Luperca said, smiling.
Krystal sucked in a breath. Luperca was smiling. She smiled?
“Krystal,” Luperca said her name like it was a reprimand. “I sit, I smile, I do many things you do. Get over it.”
“Sorry, it’s just a lot to take in. I’ve known you my entire life, and you’ve never behaved so… normal.”
“You will get used to it. We will see a lot of each other as we put this plan into action.”
“If everyone will be coming here, we’ll need more cabins. And I’ll have to look into security. No matter how secretive we are, people will figure out where the ETs are, and they’ll show up here,” Lucas pointed out.
Feeling like she was on a runaway train, Krystal put two fingers in her mouth and whistled shrilly to silence her exuberant family. “All right. Hold on, everyone. I think we’re getting a little ahead of ourselves. No one is coming here until we figure out how this is going to work.”
“Do you remember when we talked about you starting a matchmaking service?” When she didn’t respond, Lucas prompted, “You know, back when I was courting Kensie? I suggested
that you make a service to match shifters with mates.”
She nodded. “I vaguely remember talking about it.”
He sat forward a little, his forearms braced on his thighs. “You said you would have to figure out a way to find the matches. Kensie suggested that you could build a website and utilize psychic shops around the country to help with the aura photos. I didn’t understand that part. How can a camera see an aura?”
“They use a special camera.” Krystal stood and paced the room. She tapped her finger on her chin. “I can find the psychic shop list I started back then and complete it. If that doesn’t work out, we could set up service providers in all the major cities.” At that thought, she paused. “You know, our own service providers may be best. That way, we control the chain of custody of client info. We don’t want any of that leaking out.”
“Very good point,” Doug said. “Public opinion will be difficult to maintain as it is. If human men find out we’re claiming their woman, it could get ugly.”
“Yeah, about that. Do these celestial cousins of ours have any useful technology they could share with humanity to create goodwill? Not anything that could be weaponized, of course. Politicians can’t be trusted with that sort of thing. I was thinking more along the lines of health and wellness,” Isaac suggested.
Luperca smiled brightly. “Excellent idea. I will speak with the councils of both star systems and see what they are willing to share.”
Krystal glanced from Isaac to Luperca. “I’ll leave all of that to the two of you. I have my hands full with building this matchmaking service.” Suddenly she spun on her heel and focused on Rylon. “Would you do me a favor and call my brother, Quin? Give him the short version of what we’re doing and explain that I need him to build us a super-duper, extra secure, unhackable website.”
“Sure. I’ll tell him to pack up his computer toys and haul ass over here. This is something the two of you will need to brainstorm together. It’ll be easier if he’s on-site.”
Krystal blew him a playful kiss. “Thank you.”
