Beyond the Stars (33 page)

“What are you thinking?” I asked as he peered down at me. He looked so relaxed.

“About you. Why, what are
you
thinking?” His expression became confused.

“Just how different our lives are,” I confessed. I thought about all the things he must have encountered. I was mesmerized, considering all the possibilities. My life seemed so dull and uneventful by comparison. I still felt traumatized by the day’s events. I had been so oblivious and unaware of the world around me.

“Please, stop; don’t overanalyze us. We’re not that different. Where is this coming from? Did I say something to upset you?” The inflection of his voice rose with concern.

“No, it’s not that. I just wondered what it is you see in me,” I muttered. His eyes widened with disbelief as he shifted his body uncomfortably.

“How can you question me? Don’t you see, you are
everything
to me! I can’t get enough of you. You have this ability to accept people as they are. It makes you irresistible. I’m sorry I am not able to explain it very well. I have never wanted anyone more in my entire life. I am grateful for your existence.”

“Um, wow, thank you,” I said humbly. I was flattered by the remark. Every word drew me in closer. But before I could completely surrender myself to him, I had to be sure. “I guess I just needed to hear it.”

He let out a big sigh. “We observed how your people tend to have this disconnect between your consciousness and the energies surrounding you. I’m sorry. I thought maybe you were more aware of the vibrating field around you than you actually are. But if you were, you would already know how I feel and wouldn’t be asking these ludicrous questions. Did you know that I can tell when you are bored, restless, angry, scared, happy, excited, or in love? Your every thought creates an intense force of energy that radiates out from you based on what you are feeling. Once you focus on what you are releasing or registering, it becomes something you can’t ignore. I know you have this ability as well. You should try to focus in on it and allow yourself to embrace it,” he said in a serious tone.

“No, I understand what you’re saying. I can feel it, but I don’t always trust it,” I admitted hesitantly, even though it revealed my weakness. Great, he had a finely tuned sixth sense and could read me like an open book. Had he been aware of my emotions all along? No doubt I was probably frustrating him with all of the signals I must have been missing. What else was he capable of and not telling me? I looked at his face with sadness while thinking about how his society was light years ahead of us. It felt like we would never catch up. He nervously looked back at me as though he had said too much.

“I want to be with you. If you don’t believe me, maybe I can
show
you how I feel,” he said as he slid his body closer to mine. He leaned down and kissed me passionately for a few minutes, causing my heart to pound out of my chest before he abruptly pulled himself away, easily unlocking my lips from his. Yes, kissing him could cure any inferiority complex I had. His lips were the perfect balance of softness and strength. When I was touching him, nothing else mattered. He had the ability to make everything around us disappear.

“How can you ignore that?” he asked before he hovered above me and kissed me once more. “Is
that
a mistake?” he leaned in and whispered in my right ear in a provocative voice. I gasped but couldn’t speak. He then placed one slow, gentle kiss on my neck, giving me chills through my entire body. “Or that?” he said quietly. He lightly swept his fingertips across my upper chest and pushed my shirt collar open, barely touching my exposed skin before he slowly kissed down my body.

“Ahh,” I moaned but remained still, enjoying the sensation. He paused to smile a crooked grin, realizing he had gotten my attention, before he returned to my lips. He kissed me more tenderly this time before stopping to look me in the eyes. Each kiss left me wanting more.

“Can you feel how much I care for you?” he said in a deep, sensuous voice.

“Oh, Gaelan,
yes
,” I moaned as I flung my arms around him and kissed him back. I ran my fingers through his hair and down his back. I couldn’t contain myself. I stroked my hands across his firm thighs. His muscular body pushed down on mine. Then, as if he could read my mind, he leaned back and lifted his shirt up over his head to pull it off, exposing his hard, muscular chest. He looked even better than I’d imagined. He took me in his arms to kiss me once more.

“Good,” he said softly when he momentary lifted his lips from mine, sounding relieved, before he kissed me again. He stopped for a second to give me a mischievous smile and look me in the eyes.

I gasped for air.

“Sami, can I have you?” Gaelan whispered into my ear in his beautiful voice.

“I thought you’d never ask.”

Gaelan stroked his hand across my collarbone and shoulder before he opened the front of my shirt with its zipper and kissed me tenderly down my neck and chest. After he undressed me slowly, we made love. Wow, he had the moves. He handled me lovingly. Being able to read my emotions made him an excellent lover. What a gift! There was no turning back now. It would break my heart to let him go. I would follow
him
to the ends of the universe. He moved me to the depths of my being. I couldn’t believe someone like him was real.

***

The next morning, Gaelan had to work an early shift. I felt him kiss me on the cheek before he left. I got up to get ready for breakfast. I was only meeting Noah this morning. Azil was going to catch up with me later for our exercise class. I couldn’t hide my smile. I felt alive. I felt ecstatic. I was hopelessly in love. Noah was definitely going to notice. He knew me too well.

“Sami,” Noah greeted me at the café.

“Good morning, Noah,” I replied cheerfully. “It was fun last night, huh?”

“Yes, it really was. It’s great to see you smiling. You look happy, like your old self again,” Noah said, looking down at me while we grabbed our food from the buffet line. I knew it. He’d noticed already.

“What do you mean, again? Did I look miserable?”

“No, not really miserable, but after Jack died, I hadn’t really seen you look truly happy. Don’t get me wrong—you put on a good front. Most people wouldn’t even notice what I’m talking about. But now, I think your zest for life has
finally
returned.”

“Oh, thanks,” I murmured, understanding exactly what he meant. I’d been functioning on autopilot. Although I learned long ago not to rely on others for my happiness, losing Jack had left me feeling depressed. I sadly couldn’t say I’d been truly happy for the past two and a half years.

We sat down and started eating. I thought about what Noah told me. I noticed that Gaelan’s bracelet was showing from under my sleeve. I quickly pushed it up under my cuff to hide it.

“Sami,” Noah shouted out before he leaned across the table and firmly snatched my wrist in his hands. He pulled my arm closer to him to investigate his finding. “
Where
did you get that? What are you wearing?” he asked in disbelief as he pulled back my shirt cuff to get a better look.

“It’s Gaelan’s. It’s how he kept the Dreons from taking me on Decca. He asked me to keep it on in case they came back.”

“Sami!” his mouth dropped open. “How in the world did he get it off? I had to have the Katarian council take mine off before I went to live on Earth. These things are almost impossible to remove.” Noah tugged at the metal.

“Trust me, I know,” I muttered sarcastically.

“Only a few people even know how to do it. They are like those annoying brain teasing puzzles that Michael always got for Christmas from his wife.” I remembered the puzzles all too well. He would bring them to work and put them on his desk for the rest of us to play with after he had already figured out the solution. He liked watching everyone struggle with the frustrating toys while he sat piously, knowing the answer.

“He didn’t open the bracelet. Tyden took it off him. Why?” I asked.

“Tyden,” he said shockingly. “He could do it! Sami, do you know what it means?”

“Yes, Gaelan told me it honors your ancestors. That only Katarians wear them. I know it might upset people. Why do you think I’m trying to keep it covered?” I whispered. I pulled down my sleeve and looked around the café to see if anyone had noticed. Luckily, the people around us were all enthralled in their own conversations.

“You’re right, a few people on board might be offended if they saw you wearing it, but that’s not the entire meaning.” He raised his eyebrows.

“What, Noah? You have to tell me. What else does it mean? Why can’t I wear it?”

“Sami, to put it bluntly,” he paused, “you’re married! You and Gaelan are now lifelong companions.” He grinned at my apparent ignorance.

“I am? No, really,
we are?
” I gasped. “I don’t believe it.”

“Well, theoretically speaking, of course. Tyden is capable of marrying Katarians. Therefore, if he removed the bracelet and gave it to Gaelan to give to you, then yes. You are married. But you would have to consummate the marriage for it to be standing,” he explained.

I huffed, pursing my lips as I sat there silently, recalling my passionate night with Gaelan. I wouldn’t have changed it for the world. He was a remarkable man. But why didn’t he tell me the real meaning of the bracelet? Did he give it to me intending it to be a wedding band or to mask my identity? Couldn’t he trust me with the truth? Was he afraid of scaring me away?

“Hey, Sami,” Noah prodded, awakening me from my daydream. “You didn’t,
did you?
” He raised his eyebrows as he waited for my answer.

I looked at him and put my hand through my hair, as I must have been picking up Gaelan’s nervous habit. “Um, I don’t know what to say.” I shrugged.

“
Jeez
…” He bit his lip. “No wonder you look so happy. Well, at least I’m not the only one having fun.” He smirked. “I must say, though, I never met anyone who meets someone, falls in love with them, and marries them faster than you do.”

“You know how I feel about him?” I said defensively. Deep down, I knew he was right. When I fell in love, it always happened hard and fast. Truthfully, what was there to think about? Feelings like these could not be denied. If I had to decide whether to love him or not, the choice was simple.

“I’m not a fool. Sami, I would have to be blind not to notice,” he snapped. “And he obviously feels the same way. I mean, the way he looks at you—he couldn’t hide it if he tried.” He shook his head. “If I didn’t like him …” he balled his hand into a fist and punched it into his cupped hand.

“Noah, Gaelan didn’t tell me it was like a wedding band. Why do you think he would keep that from me?” I asked with all seriousness.

“Well,” he looked up to the left and thought for a moment, “probably because no one has ever married someone who wasn’t a Katarian.”

“
Ever?
” My eyes widened in shock.

“Nope, never. Gaelan and you would be the first,” he said sourly. “Our people pride themselves on being pure-blooded. It is something that we feel strongly on maintaining ever since our encounters with the Dreons. We find them repulsive. Their crossbreeding with different beings is unscrupulous. Our people took a stand to not interbreed with other species.”

“But, Noah, I’m
exactly
like you,” I retorted. I couldn’t help but feel offended by the discriminatory comment.

“I know, but no one ever considered that we would find people identical to our own. I guess that changes everything. Nonetheless, Gaelan would take some heat for it if anybody found out. There are still a lot of Katarians who would be extremely upset by this. Old traditions are difficult to break.”

“What are the repercussions? Is Gaelan in trouble?”

“No, don’t worry too much about it. He’ll handle it. He’s tougher than anyone I’ve ever met. Even though he’s been known to ruffle a few feathers along the way, he somehow manages to come out squeaky clean in a controversy. Knowing him, he’s probably already thought of a way to explain his actions. He’s skilled in debate and can devise a convincible loophole in a heartbeat.”

“Enos knows. He saw it when we returned to the landing. Maybe I should get Tyden to take it off.”

He frowned. “Great, of all the people. He’s such a complainer. I wouldn’t take it off just because of him, though. I heard that the Dreons are still showing up on our scanners. Leave it
on
,” he blurted out as a demand. “I would give you mine to wear if I knew how effective it was in protecting you. Unfortunately, I don’t have it with me. It’s at home in my sock drawer. I must say, Gaelan is probably one of the most resourceful people I know under pressure. He’s ingenious to outsmart the Dreons with the Katarian band.”

“Why aren’t you wearing yours, then? Won’t they take you?”

“Maybe, but not for long. They would return me. My genetic code is already registered in their database. The freaks have our individual imprints numbered in a catalog.”

“What do you mean, not for long?”

“They would have to return me once they realized I’m Katarian. But you …” He gulped. “If you were taken from open Space, they would feel no obligation to return you. You would become a drone, enslaved to them forever.”

“Wow!” I said, feeling gracious. I thought about how the band on my wrist saved me from a terrible fate, and I shoveled a large bite of food into my mouth. I worried about Gaelan upsetting his people. Why was it so wrong to marry someone from Earth? We’re human beings.