Page 57 of The Pregnancy Pact

“All will be well,” I attempted to assure her, stretching out a hand towards her. I don’t think she intended to, but she jerked her arm from my touch.

“I know, I know,” she said. “I’m also fully aware it’s too late to back out now. We’re married. We did what we did. But I wish…”

She wished she had never married me. She wished she had never met me. Strangely, the unspoken words sent a pain through my stomach. Sharper than they should have. Why should I care what a human female thought, even if she was my wife? Why did I care?

You know why.

The sibilant whisper in my brain taunted me with an uncomfortable truth.

No. That cannot be the reason.

A thump outside the door heralded Fertis’s arrival. I pressed another button to allow the mecha inside. He rolled right up to Lorelai and myself.

“Shall I clear the dinner?”

“No, Fertis. I have another job for you,” I explained. “I need you to bear witness to an agreement between my wife and myself.”

No reaction from the mecha. Of course, there was not. He was not a sentient being. Lorelai, on the other hand, had paled slightly. She did not flee, though. Or argue. Or burst into tears. I confess, I kept waiting for some sort of outburst or emotional reaction.

No.

Lorelai maintained her dignity as I fetched the paper form of the contract from the coat pocket where I’d kept it folded and concealed. After switching the mecha’s settings to witness, she and I both signed the paper contract in front of him. Afterward, I fetched my screenpad, which was already connected to the mecha’s internal computer. I pulled up the electronic version of the same contract. First, I used a stylus to sign, then Lorelai repeated my actions.

Done. Officially recorded. Sealed. Unbreakable.

I signed off on the screenpad, reverted Fertis’s back to his customary settings, and told him he could go. Like the well-programmed mecha he was, Fertis gathered up the remains of our supper, piled all of the dishes back onto the cart, and wheeled it out with him when he exited, closing the door behind him.

“Well.” Lorelai had a funny sort of smile on her face. “There you have it. We’re officially stuck together for the next few years. I guess I always figured when destiny hit that it would feel more like a lightning striking. This felt like…” She pursed her lips, shaking her head. “I don’t know. It doesn’t feel like I thought it would.”

I knew what she meant. One never expected life-altering circumstances to arrive in such a haphazard fashion. I said this aloud to Lorelai, and she actually laughed.

“Haphazard. I think that describes it perfectly.”

She rose from her chair and stood over me.

“I suppose I could do a striptease or something to get you in the mood, but I’m guessing it’s not necessary.”

“A what?”

That was a human word I’d not heard before.

“A striptease.” A funny little smile quirked at her mouth. “Where a woman slowly takes off her clothes in a teasing way to get the man all excited.”

“Ah.” I knew then to what she referred. I’d seen that sort of entertainment from other species, particularly on Drixus.

“There is no need,” I told her. Rising, I reached for her hands, which she allowed me to take. Gently, I raised them to my mouth, studying her fingers a moment: slender, pale, against my own skin. Almost delicate in appearance, yet this female had shown glimpses of true inner strength since this mad journey commenced. Filled with that same odd surge of emotion that had captivated me several times of late, I gently pressed a kiss to the knuckles of each finger. “Although you may if you wish,” I concluded.

She looked up at me through her lashes. Hesitantly, and yet with a sparkle of amusement in her eyes. Stars, she was beautiful. Not simply beautiful for a female of her age, but…beautiful. Lovely in a way that probed at my heart, not merely my aesthetic senses. I could never explain why, but I was filled with an unusual urge to kiss her. Unusual because, despite all of my many affairs throughout the years, kissing females and offering affection was rare. Rather, I tended to make use of their bodies for immediate gratification, not emotional connection.

Somehow, with her…with this human wife…

I wanted more. More than a quick romp in the blankets, roll over, go to sleep, and hope my seed would implant itself, take root, and produce another child. I wanted—

“Ellax.”

Her lips barely moved as she whispered my name. It was enough to draw my focus entirely to them. Their sweet shape. Their delicate pink color.

Releasing her hands, I reached for her face, cupping her cheeks with my fingers. Her skin was soft, smooth, entrancing. I leaned into the moment, into the feelings, and lowered my mouth to hers. The instant my lips pressed against hers, fire and water and lightning and the sweetest pain coursed through me. I groaned aloud. She offered no resistance, and that fueled my longing. I pressed my body closer to hers, teasing her lips with my tongue, begging her to allow me entrance, begging her to allow me to please her.

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