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“I owe my life to Captain Rossa and your doctors. I owe it to Raina and Kaye, too, to be here with them. They’re my family, and they’ve become a part of your culture. It makes sense for me to follow suit, even if I can’t participate in the mating call like they did. I know it’s asking a lot of you, but I hope you’ll consider—”
“Yes,” I say immediately. “I accept.”
The first emotion I’ve seen on her face is her bewilderment at my quick response.
“You don’t—You would—” She stutters, finally making eye contact with me. “I mean, you don’t need time to think about it?”
“I want you by my side. If these are the conditions required to secure that, then I will stand by those conditions.”
“Just like that?” Her thick black lashes are aflutter. “I’m telling you we can’t have sex. You can’t touch me. And I will never love you. Shouldn’t you take some time to think about the implications of a lifelong commitment to that?”
“When I was young, everyone told me that our people would never return to Kar’Kal. There was a time when I believed I would never cut a deal with any Deadhead for any reason. Two passings prior, I was told that I would never gain Alliance support in the war without relinquishing our sovereignty. Never is a word I don’t take lightly,” I tell her.
She purses her lips at me.
“I won’t go through with this if your attitude is to assume I’ll fall for you.”
“I don’t assume anything. But do you honestly think you can stop me from trying?”
“I plan to set clear boundaries,” she says icily. “If you can’t adhere to them, I will leave.”
“You do that. I’m more than capable of following rules.”
“I insist you take your time before we sign any paperwork,” she replies. “You don’t know me, but I promise you that I don’t go back on my word so easily. Maybe you got the wrong impression about humans. After all, Raina said she’d never marry, and Kaye thought she’d give Kalla hell for kidnapping her. We both know how those vows ended.”
I stand up, finally too restless to stay seated. To diffuse any discomfort on her part, I stay behind my desk. It will act as a barrier.
“Honesty in matehood is important to me,” I tell her. “I’m not trying to weasel my way around your rules, but one thing I will not agree to is pretending to be something I’m not.”
“And what are you, then?”
“A very charismatic male.”
She stares, gauging me for a beat before I crack a smile.
“I know this isn’t a normal proposal,” she sighs. “But you need to accept the fact that this will be a loveless marriage, otherwise, I can’t move forward in good conscience.”
A loveless matehood? What an oxymoron. Is this a normal phrase in Earth culture?
“I intend to be myself,” I say. “And I’m a passionate male with many exemplary traits. If you fall in love with me, I won’t apologize for it. But I will enjoy it thoroughly. I won’t pretend not to hope for it.”
She presses the heel of her gloved hand against her forehead before dropping it and blowing out a breath.
“You seem like a wonderful person to fall in love with,” she says quietly. “I’d be very lucky, I think, if that were possible.”
Her voice is so small and sad even though she’s telling me something that gives me more hope than I’ve had in cycles. I try my best not to react to the statement, even if it makes my heart leap.
“Then what’s the problem?” I ask.
“I don’t want to disappoint you.”
“Impossible.” I say. “Then we’re agreed?”
“Yes. We’ll iron out the details, and then I’m all yours.”
Mine. I can’t repress a grin. She always has and always will be.
CHAPTER EIGHT
