by April Zyon
She had to agree with that. “A shower does sound remarkable. Will they have clothing for me as well? While I enjoy this dress that I’m wearing, I honestly would love to be able to have something else on right now.”
“I would assume so, though what it might be I’m unsure. It will be clean though, so that has to mean something. We’ll have the dress cleaned, so you can have it back if you wish.” He moved back out into the main area with her hand still in his.
“Thank you for that. I’m honestly not certain that I would want it back, though.” The dress was a part of her past; it was something she didn’t want to hold on to. Taking a deep breath, she smiled. “I think that I’ll enjoy getting to know the customs of your people.”
“I’ll key up some information about our world so you can read through it. It’ll give you an idea of our trade, our customs, our laws, and some little bits of information most outsiders would never figure out. You can read through it at your own leisure. Bracken has orders to check out a couple of moon stations, odd readings or something, prior to our return. Should take us about a week to get home.”
She nodded, happy that he was willing to give her a chance. “Thank you. I’d like to be able to get to know more of your culture before we land there.”
“I’m glad you’re willing to do so,” he said quietly. “Most come to our world without a care, and then get upset when they are caught breaking a law, or stepping on toes. I wouldn’t go to their world without learning all I could prior to a visit, so why should they be any different?” He shook his head and squeezed her fingers lightly. A chime sounded. “That should be our food,” he said, releasing her hand.
“I agree.” She didn’t say anything else while he moved away from her to get their food. She took a deep breath and once they were alone again, she said, “I happen to really like having all the facts that I can have about a place before I’m let loose upon the world.”
Setting the tray down, Fintan pulled out a chair for her. “The lieutenant said our clothing would be along in a bit. They were still looking for something that would fit you. Unfortunately most of our people are a little on the larger side than Imarians are. You may have noticed,” he said. “I had Bracken send a variety of items, though I did have him confirm with medical that nothing he sent could be harmful to your Imarian digestion. There are a few items on our world that can make your people violently ill, yet cause us no harm.”
“I did notice. Even the women that I saw were larger than I am, taller than I am. It’s not a bad thing, just a different thing.” Their people were made stronger, seemingly larger. Then again, her brother was massive as well.
He nodded as he began to uncover the dishes on the large tray. Setting them on the table, he put the tray and the lids on a spare chair. “These are a variety of meats, these are cheeses, some fruits over here, and the last dish is a variety of crackers, and sweets. I’m sure you can figure out which are which, given Bracken apparently sent up the stickiest of the sweets known to our people.”
That had her grinning; she couldn’t help herself. “I look forward to trying this, all of these foods.” She took a seat at the table with him. Watching him take a seat, she asked him, “What do you like the best?”
Fintan pointed out a few items on each platter, then sat back to watch her while she tried each. Adira took her time, tasting them, getting a sense of the flavors and textures. After a time he lifted a brow. “Well?”
“I like them, a lot. Especially this one.” She pointed to one of the fruits that was bright red and shaped like a star. It was sweet, but not cloying. “And this one.” She picked up one of the white cheeses and popped it into her mouth. “A great deal.” The cheese was actually very spicy and tasted marvelous with the sweet fruit.
“Good to know,” he said. Reaching out, he picked up a few items and began to eat as well. He left her with the red star fruit and the cheese while eating a bit of everything else. The sweets they both left alone until the very end of their meal.
Once she had eaten her fill, Adira leaned back in her chair and smiled at him. “That was very nice. Far better than what I was able to offer you in my crawler. I’m sorry that I wasn’t able to give you more.”
“You shared what you had available. I couldn’t ask for more than that, Adira. Considering what I’d put you through up to that point, I’m impressed you fed me at all. You could have left me to starve. You could have injected me with something to knock me out and then taken me back. That you didn’t speaks of a generous, giving heart, and a woman who looks beyond the obvious differences of two people to see what really lays beneath it all.”
“I never would have let you starve,” she told him with a bit of a frown. “I couldn’t hurt you, ever. Yes I was afraid at the beginning, but it changed. It shifted. Something changed when I clued in with my feelings. Something shifted with your touches. I realized that you wouldn’t harm me any more than I could harm you.”
“As I said, you are an amazing woman. The fact you were even willing to wait that long to see if there was more to me than what I showed proves that. Strong as well, I should mention, something you’ll need in the coming days. We’ll be tested, know that, but we will come through it all the better.”
She took a deep breath and nodded. “We’ll make it through this. Somehow and someway we will make it through this and we will come out strong. We will come out as a unit and we will survive this. I’m staying with you, so you’re stuck with me now.”
“I don’t consider that a bad thing, Adira, so you really shouldn’t phrase it as such. You are a blessing, a once in a lifetime blessing.” Sliding his hand across the table, he captured hers in a gentle but firm grip. “You are mine, for now and forever.”
“Good.” She tightened her hand on his. Taking a deep breath, she shifted and moved closer to him. “Because I want to keep you, forever. I happen to really like you, Fintan. A great deal.”
He pulled her onto his lap when she stood to move his way, his arms wrapping around her to hold her close. “You have me forever. We still have many things to go over between us, but we will get there.” Fin pressed a kiss to her cheek. “Let me tidy up the dishes so whomever brings the clothing can take all this away for us.”
“Okay. In the meantime can I go ahead and have a shower? I can get cleaned up while you take care of what you need to take care of?” So that it would give him time to clean up and also talk to his friend without her there.
He shook his head, squeezing her closer. “Wait for me,” he said softly. Stroking his fingers over her arm gently, he nipped at her ear. “If you wash my back for me, I’ll wash yours. But if you want to get undressed now, I won’t argue. Stay in the sleeping room, though, if you would.”
“I will.” She hesitated only a moment and grinned. “Please hurry? I have a powerful need to see if you are as beautiful as I thought you were when you dropped your clothes on my craft.”
“I should be slightly less bruised, at least,” he muttered. Giving her another squeeze, Fintan helped her off his lap. Once she was up he started to pile everything back onto the tray. “I will be there as soon as the clothing arrives.”
“Thank you.” She moved away from him and into the sleeping quarters. The door slid closed and she took a deep breath, then began to undress. Once she was naked she settled onto the bed and watched the door, waiting for him.
She heard the door chime again, then the low hum of voices speaking for a time. A few moments after it went silent the door to the sleeping quarters slid open, and Fintan walked in with an armful of clothing. “They found you a few things to wear, from pants to a couple of skirts that should work if you get a little creative. Our home world is warmer than yours is, so the clothing is a little different than what you’ll be used to. Unlike the uniforms which cover most of our bodies, the personal wear is less restrictive.”
She looked at the clothing that he had put into her hands and frowned. “These?” she asked and tried to figure out wh
at it was that she was seeing. “They don’t cover a great deal, do they?” She held the clothing against her body. “I don’t understand how these would go on me.”
When she glanced at Fintan, his lips were curled up slightly. “I’ll assist you in figuring that part out,” he said. “For now, though, we should have our shower. Then we’ll get you into one of the outfits and we can figure out our contract.”
“Good idea.” The contract made her nervous. She was worried she would make bad choices in helping him create the contract that would help guide them through the rest of their lives.
With a little effort and a lot of grunting, Fintan wiggled his way free of the shirt. Tossing it aside, he glared at it before he pushed the too short pants down his legs. Straightening, he stretched his arms over his head slowly with a groan, then headed for the bathing room. “Adira, are you coming along?”
She just stared at him, her mouth suddenly dry and nipples rock hard. “Yes. I will be coming along very shortly, I hope.” She touched her hand to the middle of his back and stroked him gently. “God, I have this deep need, this burning desire to have you making love with me.” Blunt and to the point.
He shot her a look over his shoulder. “We shouldn’t until we have our contract settled. I’ll admit, though, I’m having a hard time remembering why exactly, especially when you are touching me.” Stepping into the shower stall he started the water, made an adjustment, then held a hand out to her.
She stepped into the shower with him and moved in closer. “What exactly will be covered in the contract? Perhaps we can come to a verbal agreement right now?” she suggested. Adira was eagerly waiting to see just what it was that Fintan would suggest in their contract and what she could add to it as well.
“It will be an agreement between us about what I expect of our relationship, and from you, and what you expect of me. We will add in all our wants, desires, and the things we will never do, for whatever reasons we may have. It will have the rules and anything else that we feel will ensure our relationship works the best that it can. Not something we can come to verbally, I fear.” Fintan’s arms came around her waist, drawing her in tight to his body.
Her hands moved up his chest, then wrapped around his neck. “Darn. I was ever so hopeful that you would bend your rules. But you are correct, we should make sure that we have everything down so that we aren’t taken by surprise in our mating.”
“It’s beneficial to us both,” he said quietly. Lowering his head, he pressed a kiss to her lips. “I don’t want you getting hurt, and this helps to ensure you’re not. It also allows us a chance to air everything we need to, talk about every detail, and make sure we’re both on the same path.”
“It will protect you as well. We need to ensure that you are also protected. Please promise me that no matter what you’ll ensure that you are protected as well?” That meant more to her than she could possibly express.
“Of course, Adira. We will both be protected by the contract,” he said. Nibbling on her lips, he slid his hands slowly down her back. His palms cupped her ass, pulling her up closer against him.
“Good.” She felt the length of his cock against her stomach and bit her lower lip. “How long will it take us to pull out this contract? No, that didn’t sound right. Sorry.” She was thinking about him inside of her and how good it would feel for him to pull out and thrust in. God, she was a hot mess.
“No need to apologize for your distraction.” His thumbs were rubbing over her ass, his fingers occasionally squeezing lightly. “You are permitted to be a little distracted, Adira. I’m quite distracted myself by your lovely body.”
“Good.” Her breasts moved against his chest. She ached for him. “We need to hurry. We need to get ourselves cleaned up so that we can get out and get our contract done. I need you, Fintan.” Which was the truth, she had never before needed anyone as much as she did this man in this moment in time.
“Then you need to wash up quickly,” he said. “Wash as much of yourself as you can reach, while I do the same. Then I will do your back, and you can do mine.” He let her loose then, stepping back a little, his hands sliding over her hips before letting them slide off.
“That sounds like a plan.” She pulled back from him and began to wash herself. Once she was clean she turned so that her back was to him, looking over her shoulder at him. “Please?”
Fintan ducked his head under the spray and, wiping a hand over his face, he turned to her. He washed her back quickly. Once he was done he turned to allow her to do his back as well. She was ever careful of the injuries on his back and the rest of his body.
Once his back was clean as well, her hands only twice running over his ass, she stepped back from him. Grabbing one of the drying towels, she passed him one and moved so that they could both dry off. “Do we need to get anyone to witness our contract?” She hoped not, but one never knew.
“No, it’s for you and I alone. It’s an agreement only between us. No one else has any right to know what is in it unless we both agree they do.” He patted down his arms, chest, and legs. “I’ll need you to dry my back since I can’t rub it dry as I normally would.”
She nodded and looked at him. “Come on, turn around so that I can dry your delectable body.” She wanted to lick him from top to bottom. “I want you.” Which was the truth. God, she wanted him. “We need to hurry and make this contract, because I’m burning with need.”
He turned to give her his back. “We won’t rush it,” he said. “I want this to be right, for us both. To do that it will take a little bit of time, some consideration, and likely some negotiations. First, though, you need a small lesson on Craegin women’s fashion.”
“Yes, if I’m going to wear the garments that were brought in for me I will definitely need a lesson, please.” She dried his back, then passed him his towel back. “I don’t necessarily want to dress right now, though. Can we have that lesson later?” She was seeing how far she could push when he had given a directive and knew it, but she was truly curious what this relationship would be and this would help her make that determination.
Turning, he took the towels from her and hung them up to dry. He seemed to be considering her words, or she hoped that was what his silence meant. “In this instant, yes, we can delay the lesson. I prefer having you naked, so I don’t mind waiting.”
“Thank you for allowing that. I appreciate you taking the time to help me through all of this, Fin. It means something to me,” she whispered to him. “I rather like being naked with you and around you. I think we should do it often.”
“In private we can as often as you wish,” he told her. Slipping his arm around her waist, he walked with her back to the bed. He released her and moved the clothing off the bed to a chair. “Climb up and get comfortable while I grab a data pad for us to work on for the contract.”
She climbed into the bed and leaned back against the wall at the head of the bed. She put her head on her fist and watched him. “Gracious I really enjoy watching the way that you move.” She had just met him, had just been torn from all that she knew and loved, but she couldn’t be upset. She couldn’t find it in herself to do anything except appreciate being there with him.
He shot her a heated look before turning away to look for the data pad.
Chapter Eight
Over an hour later they were both frowning at the data pad before them. They’d been figuring out what to put in the contract, and now they were giving it the final read through. Fintan had pointed out many things she’d never have even considered. On some Adira had questioned him, some she’d even argued over, but in the end they’d come up with a pretty solid contract. Fin suggested doing it as a trial for six months, then revisiting it again to make changes and adjustments. Not that he wanted her to bottle up any problems, of course, or so he’d made it abundantly clear. If the contract, or some portion of it, wasn’t working for her he wanted her to tell him. Just as he’d talk to her about anything he found not to be working as it
should be.
A partnership was how he’d put it, a term Adira liked. They would be bonded, but it would be even more than that. Fin assured her that he wanted their relationship to be a full and true partnership. While he had some relatively strict rules for when they were in public, some of them being Craegin laws, in private he had proven he was willing to be a little more lenient. To a degree. He would be her Dominant, and would hold her to a certain measure, but he very plainly had said he wasn’t her Master. Fintan didn’t like the idea of her being his slave. He told her it didn’t sit well with him.
“I think we have it,” he finally said. “Is there anything further you want to add before we sign this?”
She looked over the data pad once more, then finally shook her head. “No. I believe that this fully spells out what we are looking for together, what our limits are, and what our relationship will be. Right?” She wanted it to be very clear what she was to him so that she didn’t make assumptions on their relationship status.
He turned to her, running his fingers over her leg slowly. “You still have questions in your eyes, Adira. If you have something to say, or to ask, say it. I cannot read your mind. So you need to say the words out loud.”
“What will I be to you? When you introduce me will I be your submissive?” She didn’t want there to be any questions at all in what they had together. “I know what you are in my heart, I feel it in my soul, but I need to know what you feel and think as well. That part was left out of all of this, so that’s my question.”
“You’ll be my wife,” he told her. “Not only through the bonding, but also a ceremony if you would like. It’s small, intimate, and only has a couple of witnesses. Craegins don’t do anything over the top. We’re not that type of people.” Taking the data pad from her, he made a couple more additions to the contract, then handed it back to her. She saw he’d added a section stating she’d be his wife, which would be how he introduced her. “The fact you are my submissive isn’t for anyone to know. It’s only for you and I.”
