Chapter 17
SEVENTEEN
Hara
I ran my hands down Ethan’s back to spread the oil on his skin.
Adding some pollen from the frigal plant gave the oil a shimmer effect that highlighted Ethan’s new, larger muscles.
And some bruises too. I pressed on one on his side, and he flinched with a groan.
“Fucking Bosa. He does it on purpose, you know.” He looked at me over his shoulder. “They gang up on me like bullies.”
I smiled as I rubbed the oil on the small of his back.
He liked to do that, complain about the warriors, but he couldn’t hide the affection in his voice.
And in the late-night moments when it was just us two in our vinus, he told me that he’d never had a community like this, that he’d moved so often as a kid he rarely had friends or anyone close.
He trained with the warriors daily, learning their fighting techniques and weaponry skills.
The Kaluma males had warmed to him, even Sherif, although the pardux wouldn’t admit it to anyone.
I could tell, though. And even if he hadn’t, Zuri had told me Sherif very reluctantly complimented Ethan on how well he’d acclimated to the village.
I was proud of him, so very proud. He tried and had even taken to what he called therapy which was just deep conversations with Wensla. Sometimes yuwanna was involved, but he always came away from those talks a bit shaky but also settled.
“All done,” I patted his back, and he turned to face me.
I’d never get over how Ethan looked at me, like I was a golden, precious thing. He touched the flower crown on my head and rubbed the fabric of my skirt between his fingers.
“Didn’t think it was possible for you to be more stunning, Goldie,” he whispered.
I felt my face warm.
“I have something for you.” He hefted up a small bag from under the bed pallet. He fidgeted with it. “If you don’t want to wear it, that’s okay.”
“Let me see,” I held out my hands, and he withdrew a large ornate necklace that was in the style the rest of the mated Kaluma females wore. But this one was in the same swirl patten that I’d created, the one that matched the pendant that hung on Ethan’s bare chest.
I gasped as he placed it in my palms. The weight was familiar. In the past, I swore I’d never wear the heaviness against on my chest. But this was different. This was mine. I’d match my mate, who wore my pattern every day.
“Put it on me,” I whispered.
“Are you sure?” Ethan ducked his head to meet me in the eyes. He searched my face.
“I’m very sure, kotche,” I said.
He must have been appeased by what he saw, because he smiled and clasped the necklace at the back of my neck. His fingers fluttered over the iridescent white swirls. My scales flickered. My heart settled. “Thank you.”
He placed a hand on my belly, as he did multiple times a day now that we knew I was expecting. “How are you feeling?”
I’d had almost no symptoms other than my missed bleeding. My visuls were nightly with images of my future, and it was full and happy. “I’m feeling like I’m ready for the Spring Gala,” I said.
He laughed and pressed a kiss to my forehead. “Then let’s get you there, Goldie. I’m eager to see what the fuss is all about.”
We left our vinus and descended ropes down to the village floor, where the main path was lined with bowls of blooms. The smell of roasting meat filled the air, and loud, exuberant voices rose all around us.
A little one—Wensla’s youngest boy—streaked past us completely naked.
Gurla chased after him waving a pair of pants.
“Get back here, Char! You little—” she cut herself off on a growl.
I laughed as I led Ethan to the village center, where a warrior named Lony plucked at his celloop instrument with a lilting tune, while humans and Kaluma mingled.
Zuri stood with Karina by tables lined with food, and flowers were everywhere, large blossoms clustered in pretty arrangements in a variety of colors.
Ethan swung our hands together and whistled low as he gazed about. “Wow, you’re not wrong. This is a big deal, huh?”
“Very,” I said.
He grabbed a slice of playa fruit off a table and tossed it into his mouth. He held a slice out to me, and I took it from his fingers with my teeth.
“Freaking delicious,” he murmured. “You all know how to cook here.”
“The human mates have shared some of their skills with us, and the mix of our style with theirs has opened us up to new flavors,” I said.
His eyebrows lifted. “Really? That’s awesome.”
Awesome. He used this word sometimes. I liked it. Awesome, I mouthed to myself.
He caught me doing it and laughed before kissing my temple.
Bosa approached us, and for once he was not armed. He seemed almost naked without his bat. He clapped Ethan on the shoulder—hard—so that he nearly took Ethan off his feet. “I see the evidence of training is still on your thin, fragile skin.”
“You know what? Fuck off, you big ogre” Ethan growled, which was a testament to how far he’d come with Bosa. Because instead of knocking him off his feet for the insult, the big Kaluma instead laughed with delight.
“Ogre!” He grinned. “That’s a new one.” He called to his mate who stood nearby, still chatting with Zuri. “Hey, Karina. Am I an ogre?”
Karina gasped and immediately narrowed her eyes at Ethan. “Don’t call him that.”
Ethan smirked. “I can get more creative.”
Karina smiled at Bosa. “You can call him a dickwad.”
“Dickwad!” Bosa crowed happily. “What else?”
“Okay, King Medias-castoff,” Ethan snarked.
“Enough!” Wensla shouted, materializing from behind a massive cluster of flowers to reprimand the males. “This is the Spring Gala, where we are on our best behavior.”
“He started it,” Bosa pointed to Ethan.
Ethan clicked his teeth at Bosa’s finger, which only seemed to amuse the big Kaluma. “Those teeth will do nothing to me.”
“I’m going to get Cravus to sharpen them into points,” Ethan said. “Then I’ll bite all I want.”
Wensla rubbed her forehead. “I am tired.”
I placed a hand on Ethan’s shoulder. “Let’s give Wensla a break.”
“But babe,” he gripped my hand. “Bosa and I are just teasing. This is our love language.”
Bosa nodded. “He’s right.”
“Okay, you two,” Karina reached for her mate, who drew her into his arms. “We get it. You’re bros.”
“Bros!” Bosa yelled happily. “I just learned that word. The small male and I are bros.”
Ethan tried to hide it, but his skin blushed. “Yeah, bros or whatever.” He looked at Wensla with a shy smile. “You wouldn’t understand.”
Wensla threw up her hands. “Fine. Who am I to come between bros?”
Ethan extended his fist to Bosa, knuckles up. Bosa made a happy little grunt as he mimicked the gesture. Their fists bumped, and then both drew back their fist and splayed their fingers. At the same time, they puffed up their cheeks and blew out air with a loud sound.
Karina rolled her eyes but couldn’t hide her smile. “Quit teaching my mate stupid human stuff.”
“Fist bumps are universal,” Ethan protested. He wrapped an arm around my shoulders. “You know, like true love.”
Karin huffed. “I hate that you are somewhat charming sometimes.”
“It’s my only good quality,” he said. “Let me have it.”
I placed a hand on his chest. “You have many more.”
He grinned at me.
“Don’t feed his ego, Hara,” Karina said.
“Hey, excuse me,” Ethan said. “My ego is trampled everyday thanks to your mate beating the snot out of me under the disguise of training. Goldie is the only thing keeping me from not crying myself to sleep every night.”
“Then I’m not trying hard enough,” Bosa frowned. “I must make you cry.”
Karina cackled. Ethan shook his head with a smile he tried to hide.
Ethan
Goldie was a vision. Her belly was slightly rounded already.
The slits in her skirt rose to mid-thigh, and a long train fluttered behind her with every step.
She wore jewelry on her ankles and wrists.
And then there was the necklace. Her necklace.
The one that matched mine. I hadn’t been sure she’d wear it, as the weight of it was a reminder of her past.
But she preened under the attention from the rest of her village who complimented her on the necklace. I thanked Wensla, who had worked with me on getting it made.
By now, the sun had set on the Spring Gala, and we sat around a large bonfire in the center of the village.
I had eaten too much food, and my swollen stomach rivaled Bloom’s.
Golden sat between my thighs. Her eyes were closed as she dozed, and even though I had to take a piss like a racehorse, I didn’t move. She needed the rest.
Zuri sank down next to me with her knees tucked to her chest and stared into the fire.
We had sort of a truce, her and me. I didn’t blame her for her initial mistrust of me.
She’d been right to feel that way. On Earth, I would have absolutely schemed on a way to benefit selfishly from anything like this.
But I wasn’t on Earth. And I wasn’t the same Ethan Hackett.
This planet had changed me. The Kaluma had changed me. And most of all, Goldie had changed me.
I lived for her now. For us. For the baby in her belly. Because I was going to be a father, which was fucking insane. I hadn’t even thought about kids in my Earth life. And now, it was all I wanted, to raise a little one with the golden love of my life.
God, I was gross. Absolutely smitten and sappy.
Zuri turned her face to me. “So how was your first Spring Gala?”
“Bold of you to assume your mate won’t kill me and I’ll get to experience another one.”
She laughed softly. “Stop. No one is killing you.”
“Because no one wants to upset Goldie.”
Her eyes gleamed in the firelight. “Maybe at first. But you’re growing on some people here.”
I grinned. “Like a stubborn weed.”
“Sherif said, and I quote, ‘His efforts, although weak, are admirable.’”
I barked out a laugh. Goldie stirred with a snuffle and turned her face into my chest. “Kaluma are strong as hell. It’s insane what they’re capable of.
” I shook my head. “I can’t imagine what would have happened if the Holmes brothers got a hand on Goldie.
Or any of the Kaluma. Fuck, it would have been terrible. ”
“Varnex was more paranoid than Sherif, and kept better surveillance on any space or aircraft,” she said. “Sherif is going to restart it. They won’t get close again. You’re lucky. According to Varnex, Sherif would have shot you out of the sky before you ever landed.”
“Yeah, lucky,” I ran a hand over Goldie’s hair. “In a lot of ways.”
“You’re a changed man, aren’t you, Ethan Hackett?” Zuri asked in a soft voice.
“Because of her,” I pressed a kiss to Goldie’s head. “I am.” I gestured around us. “And this place. It’s honest. And real. Simple.”
Zuri nodded. “I know what you mean.”
I met her gaze. “We can’t let Earth and humans affect this place. It’s got to stay pure.”
“There’ll be more Holmes,” she said. “I know it. You know it. They know it. But they’re strong, and we have allies. Sherif is thinking about visiting the Drixonians. Or having them visit us. They live on the sister planet Corin now.”
“One of them killed Varnex, right?”
“He did. For his human mate.”
I raised my eyebrows. “They have humans too? What the hell?”
“More than you know,” she said. “This planet may be safe, but there’s greed and exploitation in this galaxy too.”
I blew out a breath. “Well, fuck.”
“The Rogastix. The ones you fought for Goldie? They’re evil shits.”
“Yeah, no kidding.” I didn’t want to think about them. Sometimes, I could still taste their rotten blood in my mouth and hear Goldie’s cries. “Fuck them.”
Goldie stirred with a soft moan and opened her eyes. She blinked at me. “Ee-than?”
“Yeah, babe, just chatting.”
Zuri wiggled her fingers. “Hey there, Hara.”
Goldie yawned. “Why’d you let me sleep?”
“You were only out a minute,” I said. “You want to go to bed so you can sleep properly?”
Goldie looked around to find the gala was mostly wound down now. She hadn’t been the only one dozing by the fire. “I guess so,” she murmured.
“Later, Zuri,” I said as I helped Goldie to her feet.
Sherif had emerged from the darkness like a creep and now stood behind her. She wrapped an arm around his bulging calf. “Night, Ethan. Sleep well, Hara.”
Sherif grunted.
I led Goldie up to our vinus. She removed her flower crown and jewelry and slipped into the furs naked. We reclined on the bed, me propped up against the wall and Goldie wrapped around me, her head on my stomach. I combed my fingers through her hair, and she made little contented sighs.
“Did you enjoy it?” she asked.
“The gala?”
“Yeah.”
“Of course. I was with you.”
She was quiet for a moment. “I need you to hear me clearly. We deserve this, you and me. This happiness. This family.” Her hand fluttered over her belly. “I know it just like I know you’re my kotche.”
It was taking a while, but I was getting there. “I know, babe.”
She drew herself up my body and straddled me.
Her heated core slid against my lower stomach, and my cock perked up.
But I wasn’t racing toward a finish. This was cuddling with my Goldie.
I drew her against me and tucked her face into my neck.
“I’d cross galaxies for you. In this lifetime and the next. Never doubt that.”
“And I’d save you in every one,” she whispered against my skin. “Every time.”
I rubbed her back, and I closed my eyes as we embraced. She did save me, my Goldie. She saved me in every way possible.