Alien Romance: RAYER: Space Warrior's Mail Order Bride (Space Beasts Book 2) (6 page)

The mating ceremony was surprisingly simple.  It was very similar to the marriage proceedings on earth with an exchange of promises.  But in addition to the vows of commitment and oaths of mutual respect, a whole passage about Cole’s commitment to providing Rayer with a naturally born heir of his blood was included in the proceedings.  Judging by her mate’s narrowed eyed expression, that verse was a new addition to the chronicles of the mating rites.

              After the culmination of the ceremony that unlike Earth was not finalized with a kiss but with a binding of their wrists – his right to her left with the fingers of their respective hands interlaced.  Newly mated, at least by law, they were ushered up several flights of stairs onto the top of what Cole had thought was a wall, but turned out to me a massive raised courtyard.  At the far edge, a jutting cliff out from the mountain face, they were made to step up on the edge.  Only once she was sure of her balance, Cole looked out and found that what was likely the entire population of the main city had gathered on the lawn-like grounds of the compound below.

              Once the ecstatic cheers of the people filled the air and reverberated off the stone of the mountain and the High Royal Compound carved into it Cole realized two things.  First, the people of Siiger loved the man who stood beside her as her mate.  Second, when she glanced around her, Cole found that there were only two people around that did not cheer.  Montala and Graith.

              Cole couldn’t decide how she felt about alien libations.  She did know one thing, they were sneaky.  The two women who had helped her get dressed in the afternoon had finally come to collect her.  Cole had learned that the calm one was called Glanna and the more dramatic of them was Shali.  Shali tugged and Glanna pushed Cole up flight after flight of stairs.  They bitched the whole way up, in between the wheezing.  It appeared that they did everything they could to avoid the never ending stairs, and once they finally reached a door at the top of the stairs, they made sure that Cole was safely situated where her drunken ass would not go tumbling to her death and bent over at the waist to wheeze and call down a number of curses on Rayer’s head.

              From what Cole could gather, most of the people who lived or worked in the palace couldn’t understand why the High Prince would choose to claim the tower as his domain.  Cole could understand though.  The place would have the best view, it would be quiet, as no one wanted to face the stairs; and it more practically, Cole couldn’t imagine anyone being able to sneak up on Rayer. 

              A throat cleared a couple of steps below the landing.  Cole glanced over, as did Shali and Glanna as they straightened. 
Rayer!
 

              “High Prince!  You are not supposed to be here yet!”  Glanna sputtered.

              “I will take things from here.”  Rayer retorted.  His tone, while calm and even, booked no room for debate.  “Thank you Glanna, Shali.   Please be careful as you go down the stairs.”  The two women glanced at each other and then at Cole.  When she merely cocked a brow at the women, they both heaved sighs and proceeded to slip past Rayer and descend the stairs.

              After their footsteps faded, Rayer ascended the last few steps to the landing and considered Cole with a long, silent stare.  She had realized during the course of the evening that Rayer was simply more reserved, as opposed to cold or menacing.  Though, as he stared at her, Cole did wonder what he was thinking.

*

I wonder if I can convince her to only ever wear gold…

              When Coletta had entered the ceremonial hall, he had been waiting under the pains of multicolored crystal that cast a rainbow of colors over the floor.  His father, the High King, was the officiator, and the old man’s gasp had been Rayer’s cue that the human female had arrived.  He had turned, as was custom to receive her.  At the vision of his mate in the doorway, Rayer had stared in awe.  The gold silk had completed his impression that she was as stunning as a breathing work of art.  The small crowd in attendance had turned and shared in his father’s gasp.  Glanna and Shali had pushed her forward into the room.

              Coletta had chosen to add not only his mother’s slippers to her wedding costume, but she had donned the glittering spangles, the elders of the Kaltar had bestowed on his mother in celebration of her mating with the High King.  The orange-copper toned solar stones had cast an explosion of light around the ceremonial chamber from where they hung in small clusters from the lobes of Coletta’s small ears and in heavy gold-set constellations at her throat and across her upper chest.

              The mating rites had been exchanged, including his father’s unwelcome addition of a commitment to bearing an heir to secure Rayer’s claim on the throne.  The fanfare of the celebration that commenced after had been mind-numbing.  Music and dancing displays, a feast that had spread across the entire lower lawn in addition to the upper courtyard, as well as the free flowing Gialti Nectre – a libation it appeared his mate had indulged in.

              Now, with the maid’s dismissed and his mate at the door of his domain, Rayer was content to take a moment to bask in the beauty of the female in front of him, and the peace and quiet of the tower.  Coletta simply stared back at him, she was no longer hesitant or retiring, not that there had been much of an opportunity for her to show her hesitations to him.  Rayer was sure that she held some doubts, but the Earthling had shuttered them away for the time being.

              “What now?”  She asked, apparently finished with the lingering silence.

              “I would say that we should go in,” Rayer suggested.  He was met with an amused snort.

              “That is obvious, but I meant after.”

              “Well…that depends I suppose.”

              “On?”

              “Do I need to explain what we are going to do?”

              “Ahh, are you referring to sex?”

              Rayer cleared his throat awkwardly.  “Yes, I am referring to sexual intercourse.  Obviously, there will be a goal of getting you pregnant, but I would like you to know that I aim to bring you pleasure.”

*

Cole smiled, she was definitely buzzing on whatever drink they had been refilling her cup with.  However, she did manage to hold back some of her mirth.  Rayer was just being so sweet.
Sooo sweet!
  He was concerned about having sex with her.

              “You don’t need to worry,” Cole commented as she reached out to pat his arm reassuringly, before she decided to slide it up to his shoulder than over his silk-clad chest.  “This isn’t my first time.  On Earth, sex is known to be one of the joys of life.”  Cole waved at the door, “Why don’t you open that and we go in.  If you want to talk, we can talk.  I’ll definitely want to talk tomorrow, since I don’t normally move so fast; however, I have had enough liquid courage that I am up for accelerating my normal timeline.  Also, I suppose circumstances are different in this case than I would normally be dealing with.”

              Rayer seemed hesitant as he reached for the latched handle to let them into his domain.  After a moment, he shrugged and opened the door before reaching out and tugging Cole out of the path of the door’s swing.  She giggled causing Rayer to scowl down at her.

              “I will have to watch you with the Gialti Nectre, I see.”

              “Is that what that pink drink was?”

              “Yes.”

              “Oh, but it was so smooth.” Cole complained, causing her new mate to exhale a blusterous sigh.  Rayer ushered her through the door, quickly stepped in behind her, and flipped the latch on the inside of the door.

*

              Rayer glanced around, gold silk flashed at the corner of his eye.  Rayer turned his head and found Coletta at the window, gazing out into the Siigerian night.

              “You can see forever from here,” she sighed dreamily.

              “The tower is above the mist cast by the falls over the forest city.”

              “Is that the city that we drove through from where we landed?”

              “Yes, we skimmed the outer edge of the city.”  Rayer shrugged out of his over robe sighing when the heavy, embroidered fabric fell from his shoulders.  He caught the expensive garment before it hit the ground and laid it over a narrow bench.

              “I would love to go back and look at it up close – it looked so pretty there.”  Cole turned a sweet smile back on him, her green-gold eyes imploring.

              “It is quite beautiful, I would be happy to show you around it.”
Maybe we can do that tomorrow…today actually…no – we’ll do it tomorrow since it is already so late and there is more to come before either of us sleep. 
“You said that you would like to talk.”

              “No, I said that we could.  Honestly, I would rather take advantage of this time, before I am sober again, to skip awkward lead ups.”

              “Why would they be awkward?”  Rayer asked, bringing a surprisingly wry laugh from his mate’s lips. 

              “Come on, I am not exactly a prime catch, I am simply the only woman that presented herself that is genetically compatible with you.  I have no illusions Rayer.  I am well aware that I am not the most beautiful…” 

              “What are you talking about?”  Rayer interrupted as he crossed the room to stand in front of Coletta.  “I think you are beautiful.  I was thinking just a short time ago of seeing to it that you never wear any color but gold.  Sii women don’t look anything like you.  Most are very straight, and while there are plenty that find a slim frame to be ideal, I find the way you are shaped to be quite pleasantly feminine.  But more than anything, it is your face that is so very striking to me.  You are quite exotic…your eyes, your lips…”  Rayer’s trailed off as he reached up to stroke his thumb over her petal soft lips again. 

              This time, Coletta knew that he was touching her.  He hoped that she could now see the desire that he had managed to keep hidden under the layers of his social mask while at the feast.  Rayer felt the last layer of blank expression slip away.  At the same time, Coletta’s eye’s widened in surprise.

              Rayer slid his hand down from her lips.  His fingers brushed her chin, before sliding past her jaw to slide down the long column of her neck.  At the base of her throat, Rayer settled his hand over the web of gold and jewels.

              “They suit you,” he said softly.  “They are the gems that my mother’s clan gave her for the day she entered the mating rites with my father.”

              “I hope it was alright I wore them…”

              “I wouldn’t have sent them with the slippers if it wasn’t.  There are a number of people that have wanted these since my mother’s death.  Montala is the first among them – she was digging through my mother’s things one day when she realized that they were still in the Royal Compound.  I protested very loudly, and my father realizing that his heir was not going to let it go, sided with me.  I have had possession of all my mother’s affects since that day.  I never mentioned it to my father, but I know that these are what she was looking for.”

              “They hate you…her and the man that looks like her.  What is his name?  Gith?”  Rayer smirked at Coletta’s mispronunciation of Graith’s name.

              “Graith,” he corrected gently.  “Graith is Montala’s son.  He is not my father’s, but his birth after the plague that impacted the females of our race, caused many to push my father to take her as his second mate.  I do not think that my father was ready to take another mate, but the other royal families wanted him to try to have other children.  From what I have gathered, they have come to regret pressuring him.  Montala has become a nightmare, she wants more power.”

              “And that is why you needed me.”

              “Yes, but that does not impact the fact that I find you to be attractive.  Come, let me show you how appealing I find you to be.”  Rayer’s hushed tone faded into silence as he slid his hand down to the light-casting necklace to the catch at the front of the top robe she wore.   Once the latch was undone, Rayer pushed the weighted fabric from her shoulders and pulled it down her arms.  As soon as the sleeves cleared her hands, he dropped that first garment onto one of the floor cushions near their feet.  Beneath the dark gold over-robe, Coletta wore a long sleeveless robe that had twin slits running up the sides to her waist.  The sleeveless robe was the same color as the pale, near-white sands that banked the mountain lagoons, under which she wore a garment that was bright metallic gold.  The sleeves of the bright gold article neatly capped over Coletta’s shoulders and covered her legs all the way to her slipper covered feet.

              Knowing that wherever he managed to strip off the remainder of her clothing at, he would take her for the first time, Rayer took Coletta’s hand as he stepped away from her.  Pulling her behind him, he crossed the lounge room to the stairs that rimmed part of the room and took them to the next level of the tower.    At the top of the stairs, there was another door.  Rayer cast that door wide.  Instead of entering the room, he pulled his mate straight to the next flight of stairs.  He climbed them, wanting to take them two at a time, but since he wasn’t carrying Coletta, Rayer forced himself to step on every stair, to the next and final level of the tower.

*