“Are they talking about the two of us getting married?” he asked.
Embarrassment, and maybe a little longing, made Amina’s face turn red. “Yes, but like I said, they’re all thinking that because we had sex that we’re getting married. Just ignore them.”
He sounded a questioning rumble. “Ignore them?”
She drew him a little further away as Desur and Teshor started arguing if traditional Ugarian wedding robes would work for them. Jossulum and Helmen were working out the logistics of where they would live until they could build a domicile of their own since all the family domiciles were full at the moment.
“Yes, ignore them,” she said. “If they think we’re getting married, then they won’t pick on you for sleeping with me. When this is all over and you leave, they won’t be able to do anything to you.”
Why did that thought make her feel so sad?
“You don’t want to marry me?” he asked. That wasn’t a question she expected.
“Uh, well, we haven’t known each other that long,” she said, feeling flustered. “Sex doesn’t mean commitment or anything, you know? I mean, I like you, but I don’t want you to feel obligated or anything.”
“That’s reasonable," he said.
Reasonable? What did that even mean? Suddenly she wanted to ask him why he didn’t want to marry her.
She dropped her face into her hands. Why was she thinking crazy like this?
“Are you well?” Myrum asked, his voice finally showing emotion. “Do you need medical care? Is it your head?”
Looking up, she shook her head. “There’s nothing wrong except maybe my sanity."
“What does that mean?”
She let out a chuckle. “It’s a human joke. Sorry, it doesn’t translate. Anyway, I guess we can share a cabin for the rest of the trip without getting in trouble with my cousins.”
“Does that mean we need to pretend we will be getting married?” he asked.
Hadn’t she already said that? “Well, yes.”
“And if we’re getting married, I need to learn all the things an Ugarian male would do to make his female happy?” he pressed.
Was that a smirk on Ruby's little lizard face? No, that wasn’t possible. Lizards didn’t smirk.
“I guess so,” she answered, unsure what point he was trying to make.
“I can do that,” he agreed. “I can learn to be a good male to you on this trip. I’ll impress you and your cousins.”
“That’s sweet,” she said. “But you don’t have to do anything extra or—”
Desur was suddenly there. “Myrum, are you already married or do you have a contract of understanding? We can make arrangements to bring another Talin into the marriage, but if it’s female, we’ll need to find another male to balance the marriage.”
Married? Shit, she hadn’t thought to ask him if he had a significant other or spouse waiting for him. She stared at Myrum, feeling a little sick.
Myrum met her gaze. “I have no wife, husband, or anyone else to bring into a marriage.”
Relief made her feel a little dizzy. It also made her wonder how she was going to handle it when Myrum left.
Teshor joined their conversation. “If you need to inform your government that you’re leaving the empire it’s important that you never mention that Amina is human. You need to list her as Ugarian. Do you understand?”
“It would probably be best that I not inform my government of anything,” Myrum said. “They wouldn’t approve of me joiningthe Ilgorian Federation. It would be safer for all of us if I simply disappeared.”
Teshor gave him an approving look as she took all the food packages out of Myrum’s arms. “Yes, that would be better for us too.”
“Amina, what is in all these packages?” Desur asked, pointing to the pile of items Myrum bought yesterday.
