The Astronomer

by Charmaine Pauls

  “I’m hungry,” she said, still smiling.

  She was perfect. He didn’t have words to describe her beauty. To him, she was the most angelic being he had ever seen. He brushed his thumb over the curve of her lips, tracing her smile, memorizing it. It tugged at his heart that he didn’t see her smile very often. He intended on changing that. For now, though, she was smiling, and his woman was hungry.

  He unpacked the roasted vegetable rolls Maria had packed for their lunch. She ate with an abandon that he loved watching. He studied her in silence, allowing every little detail to imprint in his mind, from the way her delicate throat moved when she swallowed to the way her tongue flicked out to lick a crumb from her lips. He was hungry to place his lips on the white flesh of her neck, to catch the steady pump of her veins on his tongue, not only to hear or to feel, but also to taste the very way her heart beat.

  Her voice drew him from his reverie. “Why rock climbing?”

  He stretched out on the cool soil, lifting himself up on one elbow. “Escalade was one of the sports offered in my school. The teacher who presented the course was my idol. It was all indoors, of course, but he invited me to an event in a green zone one weekend, the real thing, and I was hooked.”

  “What’s the most dangerous climb you’ve ever done?”

  “The most adventurous one was Agulha do Diablo, Devil’s Needle, in Zone 35, Brazil.”

  “Why does it appeal to you so much?”

  “When you’re up there, on a cliff, it’s only you, your mind and your thoughts. It takes determination and concentration. One wrong move can cost your life. It makes me feel in tune with myself, in touch with who I am, and it gives me a bigger appreciation for life itself.”

  “And engineering? Did you always know you wanted to create buildings?”

  “I did. It fascinates me.”

  “Why?”

  “It’s both a logical and a creative process. There are the mathematical and practical sides to the business, but also the aesthetic element. The challenge is in finding the balance between the two, and I’d dare say the aesthetical part is the bigger challenge of the two. For me, the ultimate goal is creating beauty through simplicity. The lines of a man-made structure must blend with the environment, become an extension of nature, in order for it to carry a peaceful ambience. When you walk into a room, it must feel ... right. It’s very hard to find the perfect balance of aesthetics that are pleasing to the eye, while achieving a state of well-being reflected from the way a physical space’s sensory imprint resonates with the soul.”

  “I never thought of it like that. That’s so much more than economics and physics.”

  “Designing a building is a lot of things. It involves money and mathematical calculations, for sure, but the responsibility runs much deeper than sticking to budgets and constructing a safe building that won’t collapse with the first earthquake. It affects people and how they react when they live or work inside your creation. Making something from raw materials is like making love to a woman. It’s about making something fundamental, tangible, yet, leaving so many intangible qualities of purity and beauty in its wake. It’s the intangible that’s the most important, and the hardest to achieve. You can have a functional building, economical, but it may feel cold, or impersonal, or hostile, even.”

  “So how do you go about achieving those intangible qualities?”

  “For starters, I only use natural materials in my designs. Slate, rock, stone, wood... My designs are perceived as modern, sometimes because simplicity is mistaken for modernity, but you’ll never find anything artificial in any design of mine. Using artificial parquet floors for example would be like faking an orgasm, wouldn’t you say?”

  He had been ranting about a subject he was passionate about, and now he noticed Fraya looking away.

  “Do I make you uncomfortable with my comparison?”

  “No. I can see you’re dedicated to your job. No, ‘job’ isn’t the right word. It’s more than that. It’s a passion. I can understand that. I relate to that.”

  “Why did you decide to become an astronomer?”

  “It’s all I’ve ever wanted to do. When I was young, my...” she swallowed, “father used to tell me stories about the stars and lost cities, how ancient civilizations used the stars to map out their cities on earth, and I was hooked from day one. When I was eight, my father took me to an observatory to look through a telescope at the moon. It wasn’t anything fancy, just a commercial type of telescope in which you could insert a token and get a glimpse of the cheesy formation of the craters. That’s when I knew what I wanted to do. That night, when I looked at the face of the moon, I knew I couldn’t do anything else.”

  Emilio knew what her mating gift was. He understood its value, what it meant to her, and therefore it made that piece of paper the most precious thing he owned. Yet, the opportunity had presented itself for her to formulate it in words, and he didn’t want to miss out on it, so he said, “The map ... my mating gift?”

  She met his eyes, a shy light in hers. “Yes. My father gave it to me on my tenth birthday. He used to unroll it at night, lift me on his knee, and tell me fabulous tales about lost cities and treasures.”

  Emilio’s heart clenched at the emotion he saw in her face. “Fraya, you don’t know how much that means to me.”

  She seemed embarrassed. “It’s worthless.”

  “No, it’s not. It means a great deal to you, and yet, you gave it to me.”

  “The feather?” she said quickly.

  His little mate was good at changing subjects, but he could see that it was painful for her to talk about it.

  “Ah,” he said with a smile, “you’ll have to wait and see.”

  He had gone to a great deal of trouble to secure that gift for her, and he couldn’t wait for her to see it.

  “I’m not very patient when it comes to surprises.”

  “You’ll know soon enough. It’s waiting for you in Paranal.”

  At that thought, his mood dipped again. She didn’t want him to escort her there. She wanted to go alone. He wouldn’t be able to see her reaction, when she found her mating gift.

  “I wish you wouldn’t insist on starting on Monday, Fraya. Why don’t you wait for the condo to be ready?”

  “Emilio, this is the most important thing in my life. I’m going on Sunday, with or without your consent.”

  Somehow, her words disturbed him more than what it should have. Why would she consider her mate as important if she didn’t love him? Her job came first. It was a fact, but one he didn’t like. The significance of their relationship was very different for her than what it was for him. He knew he couldn’t live without her. From the first time he had seen her, he had known that he would always love her. For Fraya, it was a physical necessity, an anomaly, and more likely than not a pain in her beautiful backside. If she stopped fighting him on everything, including trying to spend more time together so that she could get to know him, to see how good he could be to her, he may actually have a shot at this mating, this legal marriage he had manipulated her into.

  “Why did you have the condo constructed, Emilio?”

  “It’s a mating gift. It was going to be a surprise.”

  Alright, he had to admit to himself that it was half a truth. He wanted her to be comfortable, and he wanted to feel assured that she would not be ogled by the men, men too secluded from women for too long periods of time.

  “Did Gene know?”

  At the mention of his friend’s name, Emilio tensed.

  “Yes, of course he knew. He was going to live there with you, after all.”

  The surprise was for her, not for Gene. Gene was going to do freelance writing, living with Fraya while she was to be the breadwinner. Emilio didn’t consider himself old-fashioned, well, not that much, but he never liked the idea of Fraya taking care of Gene one bit. Maybe because he knew that Gene could be lazy and lax. The only thing he envied Gene, was that he would have been with her all the tim
e, whereas he, Emilio, had to be satisfied to be separated from her every eight damn days.

  “I wish you’d rather wait, Fraya.”

  She turned to him with a lopsided smile. “I wish you’d stop fighting me on this. It’s exhausting, and I’m still tired after the whole mating debacle. I could use my energy more productively.”

  For a second Emilio had the urge to use her exhaustion against her, to fight her until she didn’t have the energy to resist, until she had to give in, but that would only be another way of emotional blackmail, and he had already manipulated her enough. He was ashamed of how he had trapped her into becoming his mate, but he wasn’t sorry. Time was still on his side. He had the year to teach her to accept him, to get to know him, and maybe even to love him.

  He sighed. “Alright, Fraya. I understand. If you have to go, go tomorrow, but under no circumstances will you live in the residence. You’ll have to make do with an unfinished house.”

  “It seems like a fair bargain.”

  Her answer surprised him. He had expected more resistance.

  “But,” she said, and he realized he had gotten his hopes up too quickly, “I’m flying with the airline, as planned. I won’t take your jet.”

  “Why not? Why would you sit squashed in an uncomfortable seat, when you can take my company jet?”

  “Because I have to make this on my own. Do you understand?”

  Actually, he did. He understood only too well. He too, was proud, and independent. As her mate and her husband he wanted to make her life easier, do the things for her he could, but if the roles were reversed, he could see how this would have bothered him.

  “Alright. But only if you promise to not always say no to my gestures of goodwill.”

  “Deal.”

  He checked the sun and saw it was already sitting low in the sky. “We should get going before it gets dark. Now, for the fun part–going down.”

  He thought he heard a gulp coming from his lovely mate.

  “Don’t worry.” He got up and planted a kiss in her hair. “We’re abseiling. It’ll be over before you know it.”

  Chapter Nineteen

  Fraya couldn’t remember a day she had enjoyed more in her life. At first, she was so nervous she was shaking when she saw the rope dangling over the edge of the cliff, but once she had started her descent, she actually forgot her fear and enjoyed herself. She still felt the thrill of the adventure and the happy endorphins of her new accomplishment cruising through her veins when Emilio parked in front of the house. He had been terrific, all patience and gentle coaching. Fraya realized how much faith she had in his ability. Yes, she could put her life in his hands without blinking, and it was a very reassuring thought.

  The minute she got out of the vehicle, not waiting for Emilio to come around and open her door, she saw Ofelia’s racy car coming down the driveway. A smile played on her lips. She did like the charismatic lady. There was no doubt where Emilio got his dominant side.

  They waited for her to park, and Emilio opened her door to help his very agile granny from the driver seat.

  “I just came to tell you we’re having a family lunch at your place tomorrow,” she said without greeting. “I forgot to tell you this morning, Fraya. Sorry, the old mind is not what it used to be. You may want to think about what you’d like Maria to prepare.”

  “Grandma,” Emilio had his hand on her back, “come inside so we can discuss this.”

  She shot him an incredulous look. “What’s there to discuss? We always have lunch here on Sundays. I just thought you may neglect to inform your wife.”

  His brow lifted in a meaningful way. “Fraya is leaving tomorrow afternoon. For eight days.”

  “Well, she’s part of the family now, Lio, so get used to sharing.”

  “Fraya may not—”

  “No,” Fraya interrupted, not wanting to spoil Emilio’s family traditions, “that’ll be fine.”

  “You see?” Ofelia directed at her grandson, before getting right back into her car and taking off.

  “I’m sorry about that,” Emilio said. “They can be overbearing.”

  “You’re lucky. To have a family who cares.”

  His eyes had a sympathetic light, one Fraya couldn’t handle right then, so she excused herself by saying, “It seems I’m going to be rather busy tomorrow, so I’d better pack and prepare the paper I have to present on Monday morning. Don’t wait for me for dinner. I’ll eat something in my room, while going over my notes.”

  “No, you won’t. We’ll eat dinner together, like mated people do.”

  Fraya pulled herself to her full four feet eight. “I don’t remember that being part of our agreement. Maybe you think you can order me around regarding everything, but you’re mistaken. I’ll do as I please where my time is concerned.”

  “Yes, I was clearly mistaken to believe we could have some kind of decent relationship, where politeness is the norm. I don’t eat alone, not when my wife is at home.”

  “What are you going to do? Drag me to the dining room by my hair, tie me up and force feed me?”

  Fraya saw a muscle in his jaw twitch. He clenched his teeth. “Don’t give me ideas. The act of feeding you can be very erotic, but don’t make me use it as punishment.”

  “Since when am I a prisoner, or some kind of child, who needs punishment?”

  “Fraya, don’t push me. We’ve had a good day together and I’d like to end it that way.”

  “Then don’t try and force me to do what you want me to. The only right you have in shunting me around is the one I agreed to.”

  His gaze shifted in cold calculation. “As you wish. I see we’re back to square one, with me demanding and you obliging.”

  “Just remember that you promised me time to work when I agreed to today’s outing.”

  “And I’ll keep my promise.”

  Fraya had nothing to say to that. It was better to get out of his sight before he changed his mind. She already had too much on her hands, starting with preparations for a job that were way behind schedule.

  * * * *

  Just when he thought they were finally making progress in their relationship, Fraya had to go and turn hardheaded again. He sighed heavily, pushing the food around on his plate. One step forward and two steps back, he thought grudgingly. Tomorrow his whole family would be here and all he wanted was to spend time with his mate tonight before she had to leave. He already gave in to her leaving earlier than planned, without as much as a honeymoon. She had finally come to him, and he didn’t want it all undone. Her job was important, he agreed to that, but if she only saw him as a way of satisfying a physical pain, she’d never spend time with him, never give him the opportunity to bind her to him. For a while he debated the issue until he had no further appetite and gave up on eating his dinner.

  A cognac in his study did nothing to calm him, neither did the plans for a new hotel in Zone 78, Peru. He tried reading a book, but if he had to be honest, he was only killing time until he could go to Fraya. At eleven he went upstairs and stopped in front of her bedroom door. The light shone from underneath, but no sound came from her room. He knocked softly. When there was no reply, he pushed the door open.

  Fraya lay on her bed, her head against a mountain of pillows, her laptop open next to her, papers spread out around her, fast asleep. Emilio walked to the bed, his steps cushioned by the carpet, collected the papers and the computer and left it on her desk. It was obvious that she had had a shower, because her hair was damp and smelled like green apples. She was clad in purple cotton pajamas. Careful not to wake her, Emilio moved her body down on the mattress and covered her with the duvet. He didn’t kiss her for fear of disturbing her and she seemed to be in a much-needed deep sleep. He walked to the door, giving her one last glance before he turned out the light and went to his own room.

  * * * *

  Fraya woke with a start. The sun was long up, its warm rays already falling over the desk where her laptop and papers were neatly arranged.
She rubbed her eyes. Still contemplating how everything had gotten there, she heard a knock on her door and a second later her mate entered, freshly showered by the look of him. He wore dark blue jeans with a white shirt, the top button undone.

  He smiled, but his face looked tense. “Did I wake you?”

  “I just woke. What time is it?”

  “Past ten.”

  She shot up and threw the covers from her legs. “I overslept.”

  “You seemed to have needed it.”

  “What time will your family be here?”

  “They normally arrive around noon.”

  “I’ll shower quickly.”

  He grabbed her arm as she tried to move past him. “Go back to bed.”

  She could only stare at him, her body already heating at the mere thought.

  “You slept like an angel last night,” he said, “and I couldn’t get it over my heart to wake you. But you’ll be gone in a few hours, and,” his expression softened, “you’re not using the serum.”

  She got his drift. He wanted to make sure she would have enough sperm in her system to last for at least eight days. The thought scared her. The last time she had to go without it for a week was a nightmare. Still, she stood rooted to the spot, embarrassed now at how clinical the suggestion sounded.

  “Did you hear me, Fraya?”

  She bit her lip. It was fruitless arguing. She moved back with him advancing on her until she felt the mattress behind her, and slumped down.

  “Lie down.”

  His voice was commanding. He was in charge, sure of himself, and Fraya was surprised at how much it turned her on. When it came to sex she didn’t mind being ordered around by her mate, not when he made it as hot as this.

  She had barely obeyed before he took hold of the elastic of her pajama shorts and swiftly pulled it down, carelessly throwing it to a corner of the room.

  He pushed her knees apart and knelt between them.

  “I never did get that taste I craved,” he said, his voice low and his eyes full of wicked intentions.

  Fraya felt her body contract with a delicious shiver, but as his hands went to the hem of her top, a voice rose from the foyer.