Page 38 of The Marriage Bargain

“I beg your pardon,” I interrupted, my voice cold. “If you mean to insinuate that I do not find my wife attractive, or that I am lying about finding her attractive, you are a damned fraud. Just because she’s not to your tastes doesn’t mean she isn’t to mine. I’ll thank you to leave now.”

I didn’t have any authority to make him leave except that of a husband defending his wife. Gorgathelian or not, Asterion or not, human or not, that was a common language across all males in the universe. He understood and nodded sharply.

“Very well. I’ll concede for now. But don’t think I’ve forgotten this insult.”

I didn’t bother reaffirming that no insult had been intended. A male like him would take this as direct effrontery. There was nothing I could do to change that, nor did I particularly care to. He could be affronted all he wanted. Delle was mine and would remain so. I’d made my position abundantly clear. So had she.

The Flight Commander left, the air around him shrouded in anger and bitterness. Once the door had closed after him, I heard Delle breathe a sigh of relief.

“Well, that was pleasant.”

I glanced down at the woman pressed against my side. “Indeed. But he’s gone now. Are you ready to conclude the ceremony?”

“I guess we may as well,” she said. She addressed Official Drayke. “What does the binding ceremony include?”

“Not much,” he said.

He leaned over to pick up a stylus off his desk, a bright green one. I knew what it was. This particular stylus used exclusively for Asterion binding ceremonies. He flicked a button at the tip of the stylus and a tiny blade sprouted.

I felt Delle flinch. “What the heck is that?”

“We use it to draw the marks in both your flesh. Then your marks are pressed together and allowed to bind. Once they bind, you are legally, morally, and ethically united in marriage, never to be dissolved.”

“Never to be dissolved.”

I heard Delle whisper it under her breath. I knew what she must be thinking. She’d already inquired about terminating our marriage once the danger was past. I had told her we could, if that’s what she desired. And I’d meant it. I suppose I should have let her know terminating a marriage in Asterion culture was a little more difficult than on Earth, considering the binding marks. I hadn’t meant to be deceptive. It could still be accomplished, but it required the skills of an Asterion physic who could not only remove the physical marks, but also strip away the internal, spiritual bonds.

Hence, why so few Asterions divorced.

I wondered if she would change her mind. If she was going to, this was the moment. Right now, all we’d said were our vows. Once the binding had taken place…

She must have been considering it. She opened and closed her mouth. I braced myself for what she might say. Then she slid a glance towards the closed door. Looked back up at me. I knew she must be considering her bargain with me versus the possessive and even insulting attitude of the Flight Commander. She was weighing us both.

She thrust her chin in the air, a posture of bold acceptance. “I’m ready,” she said. “Let’s do this.”

I won. She chose me.

Concealing my relief, I lifted my right arm and rolled back my sleeve, baring the flesh of my forearm for the binding stylus. Males typically went first, so Official Drayke inserted the tip of the stylus into my skin. A bead of blood bubbled up at the initial prick, but it was minor. Drayke simply wiped it away and went on, using the stylus to create a permanent mark on my flesh that resembled an Earthling tattoo. I didn’t flinch. In fact, I stared down at my human wife and felt no pain at all as the Official drew the intricate mark: a circle enclosing a tree intertwined with a star and a coupling of rings. Asterion symbols that would mean nothing outside of our home planet, but told the world I was married and bound to my bride.

Delle watched the proceeding with grave interest. She didn’t look scared. Or eager. She looked…it was hard to describe. Intrigued, maybe, which was certainly better than frightened. I didn’t want her to be frightened of me or the process or our marriage. Yes, it might eventually be dissolved, but while I had her, while we were together, I wanted her to be treated well and I wanted her to know I considered myself fully bound to her. The Official released my arm, and I rubbed my palm over my skin, helping to seal in the mark—dark blue against my silvery flesh.

He turned to Delle next. “Are you ready?”

She nodded and rolled up her sleeve, preparing herself, wincing when the stylus broke her skin, but otherwise maintaining her equilibrium throughout the process. I stood ready to take her hand or squeeze her shoulder—offer her encouragement if needed, but she was brave, my wife, holding herself strong. Within minutes, the Official had completed the job and taken the stylus away. Wiping it clean, he laid it on the desk. Delle, copying my motion earlier, also rubbed her palm over the mark, lessening the sting and sealing the dark blue into her pale skin.

“Lastly, we press the marks together,” Official Drayke instructed. He took both our arms, placed hers on top of mine, her mark against mine, and pressed them together, his hands on top and below ours, forcing our flesh to meet.

I felt a sizzle, like oil dropped onto a heated cooking pan. It singed my skin and flesh, down to my bone. Delle gasped, and I supposed she felt the same thing. Lightning raced from the mark throughout my core, circling my heart, the center of my being. It plunged into my chest, pierced, heated, then quickly faded.

Delle retreated a step, even as I released a breath through my teeth.

“Damn,” I whispered. I’d witnessed the ceremony but had never undergone it. I hadn’t reckoned on the sensations being so powerful.

Delle seemed to echo my thoughts. “That was intense!” she hissed. “Whew. Was not expecting that.”

“The discomfort will fade quickly,” Official Drayke advised. Leaning over, he pressed a few buttons on his screenpad. “Everything has been recorded and verified. You are now legally married. Congratulations.”

At those words, I flicked a glance at my human bride. Her eyes widened slightly as she gazed back at me. I couldn’t discern what she was thinking.

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