I was furious. I was absolutely furious. How dare that man disrespect me the way that he did. 

"You think they'll slander us and you as well? Even when you're their kin?" Vailen's silver reflective eyes were oddly bright in the dim room.

"I don't think they'll hesitate for a minute before they slander one woman in the media. At the very least they never have before."

Vailen looked surprised by my relative distrust.

"It's true. From what Addison has said about her people they do not highly regard their females. It's disgusting." Esayr's voice simmered with anger.

I stepped closer to him and I watched some of the tension in his body relax.

Vailen ran a hand down his face, an obvious gesture of frustration across multiple races apparently. He muttered an oath in that other sharp language. "We will watch the broadcasts for any viewing of your conversation. This Cecilia Marie Bird? She sides with us?"

"She sides with the truth, and I would hope with the greater good for women. She's the one that leaked your communications and the questionable legal packet. I wouldn't have said she's on your side, but I'm hoping if we show her our side of the story she'll turn women against the government just like she turned against the Temani Bercari in the first place." I'm sure they wouldn't like to hear about that, but she was our only hope. And, secretly, I thought of all people to help the Val'Dornn with their cause Cecilia would be the best to get the true news of their intentions out to the women of America and beyond. 

"She turned others against our Searching?" Vailen's tone wasn't accusatory, mainly sad.

"Not turned against, per se. She outed the government's very vague legal terms in that document and compiled their hidden communications with you. She was the one that distributed yours, Roan's, and Kados' pictures along with 9 other males, to the world.

Vailen nodded absently, as if in thought, "I'd wondered how the public knew me."

"She didn't turn anyone against you. Our government did that by not explaining it to us. And, on top of that, we aren't a race that takes kindly to the idea of not having a choice in the matter of love. I know it's a hard concept for your culture, but as a race, many throughout history fought tooth and nail for the right to choose who they loved. At this point, it's an ingrained right to us. Soulmates is a pretty concept, but I doubt anyone on Earth will believe in something as specific as this soulbond. Not without a lot of prompting."

"But it would only take time for them to realize their connection to us. Just like it's taken you time." Esayr's voice was quiet and reassuring, not necessarily for himself because the man was the most confident creature I'd ever met, but moreso for the sake of Vailen and the other males that could only worry about how their future mates would react.

Do I love him? Do I believe he's my soulmate? I have no idea. I feel attached to him. I can't argue with that, but I barely even know him. What's his favorite color? How many kids does he want? How kinky is he in bed? I don't know anything even remotely deep about him, so how is it that I feel like I've known him all my life. How is it that I gravitate toward him like he's my center of gravity and I can't help falling into him? "Women are stubborn. And each of us is different. Some could come on this ship with open arms and some could never submit. It's not a straight line from start to convincing. There will be ups and downs. You'll make progress and then have setbacks...but yes I think you'll be able to convince your women they belong here. And, if the government keeps doing what they're doing, they'll end up sending women straight into your arms."

The males in the communication room all breathed a sigh of relief. I didn't even realize they'd been hanging on my every word. I was struck by their genuine hope. These were large strong males all easily over 6'3". They were quintessential 'alpha males' by Earth standards and yet the bright hope and wanting was clear as day in their soft expressions when I talked about their possible mates. It's obvious that this concept was the most beautiful dream to them. 

I glanced to each of the communication team and then to Vailen, they all looked worried and almost haggard. "You are all better than most of the Earth men I have ever met. You deserve your happiness. I have faith that all of you will find it." They brightened at the words and I could feel Esayr's comforting presence drift out into the room like a wave.

I was tired, and Esayr must have sensed it. His gentle grip was at my elbow and his lips at my ear, "It has been a long day. You deserve to rest."

It had been a long day and dammit I did deserve to rest, but just before Esayr pulled me back out into another hallway I turned to Vailen, "Vailen! Would it be at all possible for me to contact my friends. I'd have preferred for them to hear that I'm safe directly from me and not through a news outlet, but that's how things ended up. I'd really like to talk to them, though."

"Her Riniere." Esayr corrected over my shoulder.

"Of course." Vailen looked surprised that I'd even asked, "Do they have any means of communication? We can hook into most of your broadcasts easily enough, but if they don't have anything we may have to deliver them a viewscreen that can connect directly to our ship."

"We have cell phones."

"That should work. We will have to calibrate for them, however. They should be available for communication on the next day cycle."

"Thank you."

"No thank you." Vailen and the rest of his team inclined his head as Esayr directed me out of the room and back toward our home.

It had been an exhausting day, so much so that I didn't even realize it was nearly night cycle until we walked into our quarters. The lights were just beginning to dim in preparation for bed. 

I was antsy all during my bath and then during the time, it took Esayr to bathe as well. You slept so well on the couch near him last night. But you can't kick him off the couch again. The poor male needs to sleep as well. Esayr was surprised to see me loitering in the living room. He'd probably expected me to disappear into the bedroom again before he came out. 

The man looked sinful with his hair curling in wet ringlets around his face and his damn light sleep pants hanging low on his hips with all his muscles out for the viewing. "Addy? Are you well?" He'd been running a hand through his hair to comb the wet tendrils back away from his face. 

"Yeah, I'm fine."

"Are you hungry?"

We'd both eaten rehydrated meals from one of their past explorations, so no I wasn't feeling hungry. What I needed to be feeling was bolder. I wanted this man in that big bed with me. Not for naughty things, but just because I felt more comfortable near him. I felt more comfortable with that closeness, that intimacy.

With clarity, my mind raced back to Roan's words, "The bond demands intimacy". Had I lied to the reporter? He'd asked if this Temani Bercari demanded intimacy between partners and I'd told him no. Granted, Caleb had been asking specifically about sex and Roan had said that wasn't mandatory, but...would others think I'd lied?

"Addy?" Esayr had approached me, but he seemed to sense my questioning and had avoided invading my personal space when he wasn't sure how I'd react. 

"The reporter asked me if intimacy was required in this bond. I know he meant sex, and Roan said that wasn't mandatory. Did I lie when I said no? Will this bond eventually force our bodies into that kind of intimacy?"

"You didn't lie. This bond heightens the pleasure our bodies naturally feel toward each other. The discomfort we feel with the bond coils tighter is entirely our souls discomfort from wanting to stretch out to reach the other. It does not make emotions where there are none. It will not force us to share our bodies," he took a hesitant step forward and when I didn't retreat he cupped my face and traced his fingers along my cheeks, memorizing them, "It will simply make it more enjoyable should we decide to."

I bit my lip and he hissed out a breath.

"You abuse this one so much." He pressed his thumb onto my bottom lip pulling it free, "It tempts me too much."

"Spend the night with me." The words came out in a rush. He was about to fluster me with his words and I needed to ask before I got too embarrassed. "Not for anything naughty."

His surprised look turned teasing, "Naughty? Like what?"

I stifled the embarrassment and the flair of lust at his tone. My mind blanked and then flashed to inane thoughts of my friends, effectively creating a neutral slate guarding my thoughts. I wouldn't let my embarrassment rule my life so I shoved it down aggressively. "I'm more comfortable near you. I want to sleep...with you in the bed with me. Just sleep. Will you please stay with me?"

That flirty teasing look softened in the seriousness of my question, "You never need to ask. From now until the end of time I will follow you wherever you will let me."

"Hopefully not into our bathroom." I joked, breaking up the genuine moment.

That flirty look blazed back to life, "I have every intention of spending our time together in every one of these rooms in the future"

I let out a light gasp, "Sleeping. We're just sleeping tonight!"

He was already leading me into our bedroom, "Yes, we're just sleeping, tonight."

I squinted at him suspiciously in the darkness, "You put an emphasis on a word that I certainly didn't"

"You forgot emphasis on a word that I certainly didn't" He echoed back, laughter in his voice as I heard our bed move under his weight.

*****A/N*****

Sorry for no update yesterday, we had a belated Friendsgiving celebration and between making a casserole and seeing my friends I didn't have the time to update. Here's a long update to make up for it. I have, also, been working on a fun slice of life story that would be set somewhere around story number 3.5 in this series that I'm really excited about it. 

I'm enjoying this world far too much and just keep thinking about scenes and events that I want to showcase for characters that won't be center stage in later stories, so I may actually invest time in other shorter cutesie stories for couples and how their lives are going after their respective stories. 

Love always,

Layla