by R. R. Banks
"That house was originally intended for Zuri. It was the one chosen for her when she came here the first time for her teaching position, and when she left so suddenly it was just left there without anybody living in it. We assumed that whoever took her place as the new exchange program professor would end up moving into that house, but then we found out that Ero had gone after her and that she would be returning with him."
"So if that is the house that was supposed to be hers, where is she living now that she's back?"
Ty glanced at her strangely. He assumed the human girls would have filled her in on all of the gossip from the planet, especially the mating between Zuri and Ero considering she was Zuri's friend.
"She's with Ero. She's his mate, that's why he went after her."
"His mate?" she asked, sounding surprised.
"They didn’t tell you any of this?"
"Everything was kind of a whirlwind. I wasn't even expecting to see Zuri again for months. I had no idea that she had come home so quickly after leaving. I was staying in her house after an issue with my stepfather and she showed back up, and then the next morning Ero got there and it was all very fast after that. I didn't ask any questions."
He could see the hurt and fear in her eyes and felt the need to comfort her. Ty lifted an arm and rested it gently around her shoulders. He worried that she would pull away from him or be intimidated, but she didn’t. Instead, she seemed to relax a bit at his touch. She stepped a little bit closer to him so that her hip brushed his as they walked.
"May I ask what happened with your stepfather?"
He wasn't even sure what the term meant, but from the way she said it he could tell that whoever that man was, he had done something terrible to her. Samira must have noticed the hint of uncertainty in his voice because she glanced up at him with a smile.
"You don’t know what a stepfather is, do you?"
Part of him wanted to pretend that he did so that he didn't look dumb in front of her, but at the same time, he knew that the goal of the exchange program with Earth was to bring humans over so that they could educate the Denynso about the cultures, customs, and history of the planet and its people so she was probably not surprised that he was unsure of some of what she said. Finally he shook his head.
"My mother and my father got divorced when I was pretty young, then she married…," she hesitated as if she couldn't bring herself to say the word that was right at the tip of her tongue. She closed her eyes and let out a breath, "she married her second husband, which is what a stepfather is. Does that make sense?"
She didn't say it like she was mocking him and Ty realized that he really enjoyed learning more about the other planet, even if it was something that broke his heart even to think about.
"I guess. I mean, I get what you are saying, but I have to admit I don't really understand it. We don’t have divorce among the Denynso."
She looked surprised.
"You don't? Everybody just stays married no matter what?"
"Well, no. We don't get married. We bond. There is only one other person in the entire existence that can create a bond with each of us, and once we have found that mate and complete the bond, it is for life. There is no such thing as two mated people just deciding that they no longer want to be mates and then finding new mates. They are with their mates, or they are alone. That's just the way it is."
She got a soft, almost sad look in her eyes and Ty stopped walking so that he could turn her to face him. He wanted to be closer to her, just to look at her. The feelings building inside him were threatening to overwhelm him, and even though he felt guilty for even thinking about her that way, he needed to feel her near him.
"And they're happy?" she asked, looking up at him.
Ty nodded, reaching up to brush a strand of her dark hair away from her face. He traced the curve of her jawline with one fingertip. She was so beautiful. He had never seen any woman that looked like her, that was so breathtaking he literally couldn't stop looking at her.
"I have never seen Pyra, Gyyx, Ciyrs, or Ero as happy as they are now. Finding our mate is something that we look forward to our entire lives. We know that once we find her, we will be complete. The bond is something that can't be broken and I have never known a mated pair to ever be unhappy together."
"Never?"
"I mean, they argue, of course. There's always going to be bickering and disagreements between people who truly love each other. They don't last, though. Nothing keeps them from wanting to be together."
As they spoke their bodies had drawn closer to each other and Ty could see her trembling slightly. He touched her face again, bringing his fingers beneath her chin so he could tilt her face up to look at him again. He wondered if she could feel it too; if she understood what was happening between them and what it meant. She tilted her face so that her cheek pressed further into his palm and Ty started to ask her what she was feeling when he heard someone shouting his name from behind them.
Chapter Five
The sound of the deep, gruff voice calling Ty's name jolted me out of the peaceful calm that he had created between us and I stepped back away from him. His hand fell away from my face and I immediately missed his touch. He was so incredibly sweet, so caring and attentive in a way that I had never experienced. When he talked about the mated couples and how happy they were together, I felt my heart reaching out to him, seeming to melt with each of his words. There was something in the way he was saying them that made it feel like he was telling me much more than just about how they created partnerships in his culture.
What really stood out to me about what he had said was the concept of bonding as opposed to marriage. He hadn't explained what the bonding was or how they went about knowing that they both wanted to bond, and I was desperate to find out. The way he talked about it was so reverent and mysterious, but at the same time, when he said it I could feel a primal heat and energy come off of him. My body responded instantly and again I felt the need for him to touch me. It was unlike anything I had ever felt about another guy. The teenage boys that flocked around me and even the older students at the university had been a bore and even though I dated, I never felt a strong connection to anyone. Now all I could think about was Ty and the way I craved him.
"Tyant!"
The booming voice sounded intense and demanding, almost like whoever was yelling was trying to be forceful and intimidating to whoever was around to listen, but particularly to Ty. I saw Ty's eyes close briefly before he turned around to face the man walking toward us. He had the Mohawk of the other men and the long stride of a warrior. I immediately tensed. Pyra, Gyyx, and Ero seemed nice in the very brief time that I had had to interact with them, but I was quickly finding that I didn't like the other warriors very much. Their aggressive, almost violent personalities made me feel the same type of crushing oppression that I had become accustomed to feeling from my stepfather and I was not about to let myself feel that again when I had just so narrowly escaped him. I came here to get away from the things that frightened me and held me back, if only for a little while, and the thought of them putting me right back into that feeling was something I couldn’t tolerate.
"The king and queen want you now," the man said as he approached.
He wasn't looking at Ty, but at me. I saw his eyes scour over my body and lock on my mouth. He licked his lips and I felt my body stiffen uncomfortably. There was none of the gentleness, the connection in his eyes that was in Ty's, and I noticed that his eyes remained a dark purple color rather than shifting occasionally to orange as I noticed that Ty's did.
Ty stepped up closer to me and I felt myself leaning toward him.
"We're on our way," Ty said.
"Maybe I should take over from here," the man said, "After all, shouldn’t our lovely new guest have a warrior to protect her like the other human women have?"
"Ciyrs isn't a warrior," Ty said.
"Ciyrs didn't escort Eliana when she first came here. Pyra did. But as we know, Pyra
is extremely mated and has a little more on his plate than the rest of us do, so there seems to be a position open that requires a warrior to step in and take over. You did a fine job getting her to her house, but I'll take it from here. Why don't you go on back home and bake something?"
The words were so vicious that even I felt the venom coming off of them and I shifted uncomfortably. I didn't feel like a person in that moment, but more like a toy that these two men were batting around between them, trying to gain dominance over the other.
"She was given to me," Ty protested.
"Excuse me?" I said, taken aback by the words coming out of Ty, "Given to you? Is that what you men do on this planet? Just gather up the women as they step off of the shuttles from Earth and hand them out like party favors?"
Tears were stinging in my eyes and I felt like I couldn't be near either of the men anymore. While I was furious with the warrior for his arrogance, I was heartbroken by Ty. He had been so sweet and suddenly he seemed just like all of the other men who had come my way.
I took off running, not entirely sure where I was going but confident that I would be able to find my way to the meeting hall on my own. Going on my understanding of patterns and grids, I used my instincts to weave my way through the compound until it opened out into a large space with a towering building at its center. I saw Zuri standing on the steps leading up to the front door with Ero standing a few steps beneath her, his head rested on her stomach as he held her around her hips.
I ran toward her, part of me feeling horrible for breaking up the beautiful moment between the couple. She looked up and noticed me. Gently easing Ero away from her, she came to meet me, gathering me in her arms even before she spoke.
"What's wrong?" she asked.
I shook my head and tried to explain what had just happened. I could feel the eyes of the other men on me and I found myself longing for Ty even though I was still upset with him. At least with him nearby I felt like I was protected.
"Where is he?" the enormous warrior I remembered from the night before as Pyra stalked toward me.
"I left him near my house," I answered.
"And you said he was with a warrior?" I nodded, "And he insulted you?"
"Not me, really. More Ty, I guess. He told him that he would take over from there and that he should be the one that was guarding me."
"Oh, shit."
Without any more warning than that, Pyra shot off in the direction of my house, Ero following even faster after him.
"What was that all about?" I asked Zuri.
She stroked my hair and smiled at me. I could see something different about her, but I wasn't sure what.
"Can I ask you a question, Samira?"
"Of course."
"What color are Ty's eyes when he looks at you?"
"Sometimes they're brown and sometimes they're orange."
Her smile grew slightly and she nodded, looping her arm through mine and guiding me toward the door to the meeting hall.
"Let's get you inside to meet with the king and queen and then get some breakfast. I think we have a few things to talk about."
Chapter Six
"Look what you did," Dillyn said tauntingly, "You made the pretty little thing run away. Well, maybe not so little. Young, though. Fresh and tender just like…"
Before he could get another word out, Ty's fist connected with his cheek and Dillyn went sprawling across the ground. The impact sent a surge of adrenaline through Ty and he launched at the prone warrior, tackling him down into the dirt before Dillyn could even get his wits about him again. He could barely believe what he was doing, but Ty couldn't stop his attack. The anger and protectiveness that filled him was unlike anything he had ever felt. Usually calm and docile, he had always been a nurturer, not a fighter. Suddenly, though, he had discovered the beast inside him. As soon as Dillyn started talking about Samira that way, he had felt like something inside him had unfurled like a tightly wound metal spring that someone suddenly released.
He continued to wail on Dillyn, pounding him into the ground with all of the fury that boiled within him. After a few moments he felt a tug on his shoulder and his name coming through the loud ringing in his ears.
"Damn, Ty, get off of him!"
He felt another hand on his other shoulder and the combination of the two finally pulled him away from Dillyn. The warrior writhed on the ground, blood pouring from his face and streaked across his chest. It felt like his constantly present erection had gotten even harder and now Ty was so filled with energy and adrenaline all he wanted to do was find Samira, toss her over his shoulder, and bring her back to his house. In the back of his mind, though, he could still hear Dillyn talking about how young she was. The conflict made him feel sick and he needed to get away from the situation.
He pushed past Pyra and Ero, heading for his shop. It was the one place where he felt completely comfortable and could get out his stress in a way other than beating the shit out of a warrior for upsetting Samira and then talking about her in such a disrespectful way. He heard the two warriors fall into step behind him, but that was fine. He didn't mind them coming along. In fact, he thought it might be nice to have them to talk to. Since they were both recently mated they might be able to help him navigate all of his confusion. He thought that maybe they would be able to talk him out of his compulsive need for Samira.
"She's 18, Ty," Pyra said as soon as they stepped into the shop behind Ty.
"Holy shit," Ty said, resting his elbows on the counter and burying his head in his hands, "She's only 18."
"That's an adult," Pyra reminded me, "and she is far smarter than other women her age. You really are not that much older than she is. I don’t understand why this is stressing you out so much."
Ty raised his head and looked at the two warriors standing in front of them. These were men he had been taking care of for years, using his unusual talents and strengths to nurture them and make sure that they had what they needed. He was like Ciyrs in a way, but whereas Ciyrs healed them if they were sick or injured, Ty took care of them while they were well and helped to make sure they stayed that way. It was not what people expected of a Denynso of his size, but it suited him. Now he was feeling more like one of the aggressive, violent warriors and it was all because he was struggling between knowing he had found his mate and not knowing if it was right to pursue her.
"What if I hurt her? What if she isn't ready to handle all of this and she ends up going back to Earth?"
"I just went through that exact situation," Ero reminded him.
"I know, but you went after her and she came back. Zuri is a grown woman. She knows who she is and what she wants out of life. She made the decision to leave you, but she also made the decision to come back to you. What if Samira leaves and is too afraid to come back? I don't think I could stand knowing that I had hurt her or taken advantage of her in some way while trying to bond with her, and then having to be alone for the rest of my life."
"Here's the thing, Ty," Ero said, "I didn't know if Zuri was actually going to come back with me, but I had to try. You already know that Samira is your mate. Whether you bond with her now or 5 years from now when she's your age, she will still be your mate and she will still be linked to you forever. Remember, though, that 5 years from now, she will be older, but so will you. When is it going to be right? And are you willing to possibly lose her forever because you were too afraid?"
Ty didn't have a chance to respond before he saw a figure appear in the doorway.
"We're going to head out of here," Pyra said, taking Ero by the arm and dragging him out of the room.
"Hi, Samira," Ero said as he struggled to keep up with Pyra.
"Hi, Ero," she replied, and then turned to Ty, "Hi, Ty."
"Hi," he said, turning the bread dough he had been working on out onto the counter.
"What are you doing?" she asked, taking a few steps toward him.
"Making bread," he answered shortly, still not looking up at her.
Suddenly he felt her come up beside him and rest a hand on his upper arm.
"Can I help?" she asked softly.
Chapter Seven
I watched Ty's hands kneading into the dough on the counter and felt the flutter in my belly grow more intense. His powerful hands worked over the dough masterfully, and I wanted them on my body. The conversation I'd had with Zuri resonated through my mind, and as I looked at him, I knew my dear friend and professor was right. This big, beautiful man was my mate, and after Zuri had given me a careful explanation of exactly what it entailed, I knew that I wanted more than anything to bond with him.
I touched his arm, feeling the muscles tense and shift beneath his skin as he continued to press into the dough. His rhythm seemed to increase a little and I lifted his arm so that I could slip beneath it. He cleared his throat, but lowered his arms around me so that his hands rested over mine. Lifting them up, he brought them down onto the dough and guided me in kneading it. The dough felt soft and warm beneath my hands, and Ty's hands felt strong and comforting over them. I could feel the heat from his body radiating toward mine, and with each long press down into the dough, his erection brushed against me.
The feeling of it made me moan softly and I arched my back to press my hips back toward him so that I returned the touch with more intensity and intention. His hands pushed mine deeper into the dough, kneading harder as his breath dropped and I could hear him struggling to control it behind me. I leaned back so that my back touched his chest, subtly rolling my hips against him. His breath caught in his throat and his hands stopped moving.
"Samira," he said imploringly.
"Yes, Ty?"
"Stop."
"Why?"
I rolled my hips a little harder and heard him groan.
"This isn't right."
"Why?"
I was going to force him to tell me exactly what he was thinking so that I could prove how wrong he was. I knew exactly why he thought it was wrong. Zuri had learned from Pyra that he was upset about my age. I didn't care what he thought, though. I had fallen for Ty as soon as I saw him and there was no way that I was going to let a few years of difference between us keep from having him as my mate. I would just have to prove how much of a woman I really was.
