Page 66 of Married to the Beast

“Yes. Much fucking good that it did me. Zelia died anyway, despite all that I could do. So I gave up practicing medicine andtook a vow to never Bond a woman to me again. Then when I was called to broker the worm hole deal and the trade agreements between your people and mine, I was told I’d have to take a Karpsian wife. But your father told me that whoever I married, I could simply divorce her—or disavow her—at the end of the negotiations.”

“So…you hadn’t even met me yet when you decided you would disavow your Karpsian bride?” Aleena asked. She was beginning to get a better idea of what was going on now.

Bear nodded.

“I thought it would be easy—a short marriage of convenience just to satisfy Karpsian social convention.” He took both her hands in his and looked at her intently. “I never dreamed I’d fall in love.”

Aleena’s heart skipped a beat and she took in a shocked breath.

“Oh Bear…do you mean that?”

“Yes, baby—I do.” He nodded earnestly. “I started falling in love with you the minute I saw you. And then when I got to know you, I started falling deeper and deeper. But all the time, I knew I couldn’t Bond you to me, because of the vow I had taken to never Bond another bride.”

“So that’s therealreason you never wanted to change the color of my eyes,” Aleena said, as understanding burst over her.

Bear nodded.

“Exactly. I felt like such an asshole, lying to you. I never should have—I should have told the truth and explained why I couldn’t Bond you from the very first. But you seemed so frightened about being disavowed—I just couldn’t bring myself to do it.”

Aleena looked down at her hands.

“So…I guess you still have to disavow me. Because of the vow you took?”

“No, baby—the Goddess released me from my vow.” He lifted her chin to look into her eyes. “I’m free to Bond you to me—we can spend the rest of our lives together. If…”

“If what?” Aleena’s heart was racing.

“If you can forgive me,” Bear rumbled. “For lying to you and deceiving you…for not getting to you in time.”

“But youdidget to me in time,” Aleena protested. “They didn’t change the color of my eyes.”

“No, but theyhurtyou, baby!” The pain in his eyes made her heart flutter. He cared about her—deeply and truly, she could tell.

“I’ll heal,” she said gently, putting a hand over his. “I’m not angry with you, my Bear—now that I know the truth of why you thought you had to disavow me, I understand. Though I wish you would have told me from the first,” she added.

“I should have,” he said earnestly. “And I’ll tell you everything from now on. In fact, I won’t be able to hide anything from you, even if I wanted to—which I don’t—if only you’ll let me Bond you to me.”

Aleena frowned.

“I don’t understand. Does Bonding make a person more truthful or forthcoming?”

“When a Kindred Bonds his bride to him, it creates a kind of mental link—a Soul Bond—between them,” Bear explained. “They can send each other thoughts and feel each other’s feelings. It’s a truly intimate and life-changing thing which makes lying or withholding almost impossible.”

“That sounds wonderful,” Aleena said softly. She liked the idea of being so tightly bound to the man she loved.

“So will you let me Bond you to me?” Bear asked anxiously. “Will you forgive me for the pain I caused you and give me another chance?”

Aleena felt her heart swell with love. Yes, he had hurt her in the past but she had never been one to hold a grudge. Now, looking into her husband’s golden eyes, she could see how much he loved her and she wanted to return that love a hundred—no, athousandfold.

“I will,” she said, smiling at him. “If you’ll let me stay here with you. I don’t want to go back to my home world and have to deal with the stares and the whispering that I’m sure the trouble with my family will cause.”

“We’ll live together here, aboard the Kindred Mother Ship,” Bear promised. “You’ll love it here—women are respected and admired and treated as equals among my people.”

“That would be a nice change,” Aleena admitted. “But…can my mother come to live here too? I mean, she doesn’t have to livewithus but if we could find her a domicile not far from ours?—”

“Of course she can come.” Bear nodded. “In fact, I’m going to bring her back here as soon as possible so she can be a witness at our Joining Ceremony.”

Aleena frowned.

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