by Mara Jaye
Sure, I looked at the Luke’s records. Everyone at the center did after seeing either man. Curiosity fueled some queries like mine while others wanted a chance at the men themselves. Not that I didn’t want to date either one of them but I figured both would want someone socially and financially better than me. Hell, I want someone socially and financially better than me, too, and I like myself just fine.
I listen in on the conversation between the two. They’ve moved on from what Daneul did in school today to what others did, too, as in artwork, play, reading, nap, more play. The boy makes friends instantly, is easy going, and already has a leadership attitude. Probably got it from his father.
And there goes my stomach again. Hopefully, we’ll just drop off Daneul at the door. Not that I don’t want to see Eldan, because of course I do. I glance over at Gunnar, returning his smile. This is no big deal. Even if we stop at the home and go inside, it won’t be for long. I can handle it.
“I know!” Daneul leans forward between the bucket seats. “We can watch movies at our house. Dad can eat his yucky hummus and we can order pizza.”
“What kind of hummus, exactly?” I look back at Daneul. “If he has garlic, I want to share.”
His small face scrunches up. “He likes all of them, even plain.”
“Plain is the best,” Gunner says before Daneul makes gagging noises.
“Hummus or pizza, huh? Both sound good to me.” I look from boy to man. “So we are going out, right?”
He guides the car into a driveway at a nice duplex. “Yes. As much fun as a night at home sounds, I’d wanted to do more tonight.”
Daneul frowns and sits back in a huff. “Fine, but you’ll have to make it up to me later.”
“Will do, buddy,” Gunnar says while shutting off the engine. “Or do you want me to leave it on for the air conditioning?”
“We’re going in?” I croak, my voice cracking.
He frowns. “You don’t have to. I just want to make sure he’s safely inside.”
I look at the front door. Eldan is waiting there already. All right. Gunnar is over the top overprotective. “Sounds good.” Daneul runs to father and they hug. Gunnar is already halfway to the steps as I get out of the vehicle.
The front step doesn’t have a welcome mat and there are cobwebs in the corners. Interesting. I’d figured they would have a cleaning service and be a little more domesticated. Although, three males in one pace and domestication? Maybe not.
I walk into the home as Daneul clicks on the television. He tells Eldan everything he’d said on the way here, so I zone out on the exact words, not needing to hear them a second time. Gunnar turns the volume down while I take in the surroundings. The color scheme is a cool neutral with the furnishings at a bare minimum. There’s the required sofa and big screen tv, in the main room with a three chair dining set standing next to the kitchen area. There’s nothing on the walls, not even a clock. Kind of weird, considering Daneul’s been at our daycare for a couple of years and they’ve been in Albuquerque for three years. I’d figured they’d have put up some decor more than nothing by now.
Eldan walks out of a kitchen area while drying his hands on a cup towel. “Hello, Miss. Paxton.”
He’s calling me by my daycare title and I don’t mind a bit. I try to return his smile while ignoring the schoolmarm fantasy starring him in my mind. He’s gorgeous. His hair stands a little on end as if he’s run a hand through it. His crisp white button down shirt is rolled up at the sleeves and accentuates the perpetual tan he has. I want to stagger to him while saying, “Da da,” but that might be a bit inappropriate in front of my date. Don’t get me wrong, I’ve seen the guy smile before but not this much and at me. I can feel my pulse even in my fingertips. “Mr. Luke, It’s a pleasure to see you here.” One of his eyebrows rise and I know what he’s thinking.
Of course, he’s here, at home, his home. I’m such a weenie.
Before I can yell fire and use the fake out as a way to escape, Daneul grabs my hand. “Come on, I want to show you my room.”
I watch as Eldan tosses the towel into the kitchen as he says, “She might not have time for that right now.”
Daneul looks up at me with his smile fading. “Right. Because of the date.”
I glance over at Gunnar who shakes his head with a grin before lifting his chin. “We’re not in any hurry.” He plops down on the sofa, switching channels.
“Okay, let’s go.” I let the boy lead me down a hall, resisting the urge to look in every room. I’m not a snoop but would like to know if only the living area is minimalist or if every room in the home is, too. As soon as we’re in Daneul’s room, I know who’s been decorating in here. Color is everywhere from the tie dyed bedspread to the lime green walls. “Wow.”
“Dad let me pick the colors myself and I helped paint.”
“I can see that.” I’ll be honest, lime green is so not my favorite but Eldan did the right thing. The color fits Daneul’s happy yet unique personality. “It’s great.” Glow-in-the-dark stars cover the ceiling while planets circle the central light fixture. Only….I frown. Our planets are not in the correct order at all. Earth is close to where Venus would be. Venus is where Mercury should be. Speaking of Mercury, it and Mars are gone as are Saturn and Neptune. Nice to see Jupiter and Uranus made the cut even if they’re also in the wrong place. “Did you put the planets up, too?” I ask because if so, we need to review our solar system lessons.
“No. Dad did. He said,” Daneul began before stopping and giving me a grin. “He said there were other worlds I needed to know about besides Earth.”
“Ah.” The wrongness made sense now. Eldan wanted to expand his son’s horizons. “I can see why. As long as you know our planets, you could always learn about others.” I glance over at him.
He’s wearing his thinking expression while holding a plastic dinosaur and a stuffed frog. “Uncle Gunnar didn’t have a chance to get Dad’s hummus before picking us up so he’s having pizza with me. We still don’t know where you two are going for dinner. Probably not here, though.”
“Yeah, we’ll have to do something another time.” I sit when he pats the bed next to where he is. “What’s your favorite pizza?”
“Everything, even pineapple.” He gives me the frog. “Your name is Gleet and I’m Ksick. We just met and are friends.”
I like his imagination. “Hi, Gleet. I like pineapple, too.”
He rolls his eyes. “Ksick doesn’t like pineapple. He’s a carnivore.”
“Not even as a snack?”
“No, silly. He’s not an omnivore.”
Before I can be impressed by his knowledge, Eldan’s at the doorway. “Hey, Dan, let’s let Miss Paxton go. Her date is with G’nar, you know.” I have to resist correcting his pronunciation of Gunnar, too. The trio have an accent I can’t quite place and the abbreviated name slips out every so often from one of them.
“I know.” He takes back Ksick. “When can she go out with us on a date since we like her, too?”
He looked from his son to me. “Maybe when she and G’nar don’t have plans we can all go on a date sometime.”
A what with who? The words “date” and “Eldan” freak me out a little. I can’t even imagine him asking me anywhere while he’s looking at me right now. While my brain hasn’t started working yet, I get to my feet while blurting out, “I really need to get going or poor Gunnar is going to think I’ve abandoned him for you two.” My purse falls onto the floor, spilling everything in an array of lipstick, cellphone, and other things I think I need. “Oh, nuts. I mean, he’ll think I’ve camped out here. Sorry, I can’t even right now.” Daneul hops down to help as does Eldan. His hand is brushing against mine as we refill my purse. “It’s fine, guys. I can get this,” I mumble while scooping up everything, slinging my purse over my shoulder. “See? No harm done.”
Gunnar comes into the room and asks, “Hey, we going?” He glances around at everyone on his knees helping me. “What happened?”
/> I give him a grin before standing. “Me being a klutz as usual. No big deal. Are you hungry? I am. Let’s go.”
“All right,” he says slowly and I’m sure he doesn’t believe me. I can’t tell him what to think as much as I can’t help the slight grin Eldan is wearing or the huge smile Daneul has on his face. Before he can say anything more, the doorbell rings.
“Pizza!” Daneul yells and runs out of the room, brushing Gunnar as he rushes past.
“I suppose I’d better help him,” my date says before following the boy.
I nod and look at Eldan. “Are you going to have pizza, too, or just have hummus?”
He chuckles. “I’ll make Dan share with me.” As I stand there staring at him, he indicates the door with a nod. “Shall we?”
“Oh, yes, of course.” I turn and take a step onto Gleet. The stuffed frog trips me and I land hard on my knee. “Ow! Son of—” I stop before saying something to later regret.
“Are you all right?”
Eldan’s voice is at my ear and his arm goes around me as he pulls me to my feet. I forget everything except his touch. He’s strong, warm, and smells really good. I hear him take a deep breath. Even his breathing turns me on and I lean against him. “I’m fine, thank you,” I manage to whisper.
He turns me to face him, pulling me close against his chest before whispering, “No. No union.”
Chapter Three
Eldan
Pless.
Pless and Tunsa.
I should have known Pax was a bondmate accident waiting to happen. I let go of her in a rush before grabbing her again so she doesn’t hit the floor. 99% Match. My heart hammers in my chest and I swallow down a lump of panic. Daneul is in my head talking but I can’t focus on him right now. The overwhelming urge to kiss Pax eats up all of my attention. Her eyes stare into mine for seconds that feel like hours until she regains her footing. I know it’s the pheromones and the bionans influencing me when I keep staring at the most beautiful woman in the galaxy. “Sorry,” I manage to say. “Are you all right?”
“Fine. Thanks.”
She doesn’t glance away from me and I can’t break our stare. “Good.” I let go of her. The action almost hurts every cell in my body. “We should go.”
“Yes. Gunnar is probably waiting for me.” She smiles. “There’s probably a delivery man wanting money waiting for you, too.”
“Probably.”
Before I can say anything else, G’nar appears. “Hey. House funds?”
“Yeah, and for you tonight, too.”
“Huh? Why?” he asks before understanding crosses his face. “Oh, pl—” he begins and stops. “You didn’t accept, did you?”
Accept match?
I ignore the query from my system and begin to respond to him as Pax says, “Yes, of course I accept. Tonight will be fun.”
Both of us are motionless as I hear in my head, Match and unite? I respond aloud without thinking, “No. No union.”
“What?” Pax looks from me to G’nar. “I said yes.”
Union accepted.
Plessing shit, we’re matched, I send to G’nar and his expression echoes my feelings, frozen in place. “It’s…” I try to say at first. “I mean, go on and have your date. I have issues to sort out here.”
“Bad?” she asks. “Because you don’t look happy all of a sudden.” She frowns while examining me. “Did I hurt you when you picked me up?”
G’nar barks out a laugh. I give him a dirty look while replying to her, “No, it’s nothing to do with that, just something happened earlier that’s not in line with my goals.” I try to smile at Pax while I brush past her to the living room. “Nothing I can’t handle, so, see you later? When I pick up Dan sometime?”
“Sure.”
I glance back to see her following with G’nar trailing behind. Daneul is in front of the screen with a plate full of food. One of his less obnoxious favorite cartoons is on. I don’t look at the other adults in the room while I tell G’nar, She needs to leave so I can undo the damage. “You two have fun,” I add for her sake.
“Will do,” G’nar replies. And will do, he sends.
She smiles at my son. “Yeah, thank you for showing me your room, Daneul. It’s terrific.”
Pax’s voice does things to me I hadn’t felt since first meeting Jeul. I try to hide in the kitchen to fix my own plate without her noticing. The front door first opens and then closes upon their exit. I slump a little against the counter, asking my system, Status of union?
Match has been made and accepted.
Dissolve match, I order.
Unable to comply without second party’s approval.
Pless it. Pax doesn’t have the bionans or even nanos to refuse our union and until she does? I’m hers. On any other planet in the system, I’d be overjoyed at Pax being my bondmate. I put food on my plate and wander into the television room in a daze. Daneul is transfixed by his show. I go through the motions of eating.
How is it going?
G’nar’s query breaks through my shock. I tried to dissolve but need her permission.
Fuck.
Exactly. I struggle with not blaming him for this fiasco. Why did you bring her here again?
It seemed efficient to drop Daneul off on our way to dinner.
Not satisfied with his reasoning, I continue. And why did you need to date her specifically?
I didn’t need to. We’d discussed the best place for Mexican food and couldn’t agree. She suggested we go to her favorite place and I said all right.
So. His addiction to guacamole caused this mess. She asked you out?
Not exactly. Okay, maybe she did.
And you couldn’t say no? You had to bring her here?
Your bonding with her isn’t anyone’s fault, he says and I can’t respond. He’s right, but I’m so furious that I want to blame someone or something besides me for being so weak for her. Nothing in the past four years was supposed to happen. Not the uprising, Jeul’s death, our exile, and now bonding to an Earther.
Just because the bond has been accepted, it doesn’t mean I’m trapped here with her. Nothing can mean that. I’m the emperor. Still, when I return home, I’ll be the only one suffering. She’s lucky she neither has nanos of any kind nor is a Gharian like us. I both hate and like her being an Earther, unaware of our union. Being away from your bondmate involuntarily is an emotional pain few of us can tolerate for very long. A small sound escapes me at the thought of Pax enduring what I know I’ll endure.
“You okay, Dad?”
I glance and nod at my son. “Yes. Just thinking of work.”
He turns back to his show. “So don’t. Think about something else. Like pizza or if Uncle Gunnar and Miss Paxton will have a little brother for me to boss around.”
I can’t breathe, trying to ignore the white-hot rage in my chest. G’nar knows better than to touch her in any way that isn’t lifesaving. Instead, I focus on his desire for a sibling. “You want a brother, huh?”
He shrugs. “Or sister as long as she’s like Alice at school and doesn’t mind throwing mud bombs.”
Distracted from the horrible idea of Pax carrying anyone else’s baby, I snort. “It doesn’t rain here enough for mud.”
“Yeah, and when it does, I want a friend who doesn’t mind playing outside afterward. Rain is the best.”
My poor son. I should have chosen somewhere more like Ghar for his exile. Instead, New Mexico was the opposite of anywhere on my home planet. Lin had recommended the location when I asked. She’s right. The area does have a rugged beauty despite being so different from our home. The pale blue-violet sky is something else, though. Daneul is the only one who adds in the purple. I think it’s because the Earthers don’t see the colors in their own sky clearly. Now all of a sudden, I want to explore the area again. “Did you want to go hiking this weekend?”
“Sure,” he says and hands me his empty plate. “I wouldn’t mind some more.”
A little amused, I
take his dish. A future emperor is the only person a current emperor could serve. “Certainly, your highness.” Daneul lifts his chin and gives me a smile as if he knows he deserves the honorific. I go to the kitchen, giving us each a fresh slice of pizza. Once in the living room, I have to marvel at my son. He’s learned sorrow, love, kindness, mischief, and fear on Earth. I’m sure he’ll learn humility soon enough. I walk over, giving him his plate. “Here.” He takes his food and I ask, “How about we watch something educational?”
Daneul groans. “C’mon. I’ve learned stuff all week.”
Before I can coax him out of whatever’s screaming on the television, G’nar pings my innercom. Are you busy?
No. Eating and ignoring cartoons. Is everything good?
It’s great. She’s right. This place is better than our usual.
Is it really in a hole in a wall? I can’t help but chuckle.
No, the phrase is an idiom.
He’s silent for a while and curiosity pushes me to ask, Are you having an enjoyable time?
Yes. I can see why you’ve bonded. Pax is less serious than you are in general but still cares about others in the same way you do. She also adores Daneul but doesn’t seem to want to talk about you much.
I nod before wryly remembering he can’t see me. I’d prefer her to remain oblivious to our bond but can’t be sure, given her species.
His laugh is in my mind before he replies. All I know for sure is she wants to avoid you as a subject. She may not be Gharian or have nanos, but she feels the attraction anyway.
Happiness warms me like a blanket in these horrible Earth winters. Logically, I know Pax is as trapped in this bonding as I am. She feels something for me. Otherwise, there’d be no match possible. I run a hand through my hair. This frustrates me because I don’t want her to suffer, yet, I selfishly can’t help but want her to desire me, too.
What will you do about the union? Is there anything I can do?
I’ll have to consider my options and do what’s best for the galaxy. It almost hurts to discount what’s best for Pax, too, and Daneul is my top priority always. No, I answer G’nar. Your mission remains unchanged.
