“Let’s get ready,” he said, dropping a featherlight kiss on my lips. “Or I will need to lose myself in your pleasure again.”
Ghauro was wearing the same sort of pants he wore during our wedding ceremony, and had dressed me with the same outfit as well. Only this time, the fabric was still silky, but green.
He had redrawn the fading markings on my arm, going over each leaf with a golden paint and replaced each of the jewels he had carefully taken off on our first night.
And when we both arrived at the village, Ghauro’s large hand swallowing mine, hundreds of Tauris stared at me with wide eyes and slacked jaws. Half of them dropped their gazes to my breasts as we passed by, my husband leading me to what looked like a bustling market.
I had noticed the wide range of their skin coloring and markings by meeting Zhari and seeing his family at the ceremony. But now, I was surrounded by so many of them it was hard to find two who looked even remotely similar. Blue, orange, purple, red, yellow; all of different shades and intensity, accentuated by markings of even more variousshapes and colors. Not to mention all the intricate horn shapes and lengths…
“Are you okay?” Ghauro asked as we stopped at a flower stall.
“I’m—” I hesitated, looking around at the curious Tauris staring our way. “I’m a little overwhelmed. Your people are beautiful.”
He arched a brow in my direction, leaning to grab a bakarut. “Are we?”
I nodded. “I’m not used to seeing so many vibrant colors. Earth is all…gray. Foggy.Sad.”
He slid the stem of the flower over my ear, hand lingering and slowly sliding down a strand of my hair. “Your hair is not sad. It is beautiful.”
I chuckled, averting my eyes. “It’s not a common color, even on Earth.”
A couple caught my eyes behind Ghauro. Both the male and the female were decorating each other with various plants and flowers. With a quick glance, I noticed most of the people around were covered in them.
My hand reached for the bakarut over my ear and I turned to the female behind the stall, catching her looking at us with curiosity.
My throat bobbed. “Can you tell me what each flower and plant here represent?” I asked.
She beamed as she answered, pointing at each of them one by one while Ghauro wove more flowers in my hair. I now had a visual for the ones he had mentioned were placed inside our mattress—the deretis that looked like a pale green and deep blue tulip and the mocchira, some sortof a mix between a pink rose and an orange carnation. My gaze stopped on thehollop. Not many had been taken from the long basket, but its meaning rang true—hope. I wasn’t sure what I was hoping for. For him to forgive me when I’d leave? For me to find a solution to both stay and look after the woman who had raised me for most of my life?
I grabbed the long vine, careful not to damage the small white flowers sprouting along it and started to circle one of his horns. His eyes flared as he stood still, inclining his head to help me reach the end. Once I was done, I pinned others in his hair—strength, health, beauty, acceptance, courage, affection…My eyes drifted to the nearly empty basket with the flowers of love, but my heart constricted in my chest and I pulled my hand back.
Ghauro had looked at each of the flowers, his eyes bright with the meaning of them all. “Aren’t we both pretty?” I crooned, batting my eyelashes, completely oblivious at which flowers now decorated my hair, only aware there were a lot by the weight of them.
“You are the prettiest thing I have ever laid my eyes on.”
I scoffed, but it felt strained, darting my eyes away, unable to hold his.
“Mel!” someone shouted behind us and I swirled around. Zhari was running toward us under the careful eyes of their family, following just behind. “I was worried my brother would hoard you like a treasure and I would not get to see you.”
She snapped her arms around me and held me tight, stealing the breath from my lungs. I didn’t mind. Even ifI died suffocated by her embrace, I would with a smile on my face.
“I’m happy to see you too, Zhari.”
She let go right as the rest of them stopped behind her and took me in with wide, shiny eyes. The older Tauri female froze with a gasp, dropping the basket of flowers she’d held to bring both her hands to her mouth. She looked between Ghauro and me before turning to walk away, a disappointing frown on her face.
“Mother…” Ghauro grunted, taking a step forward before Zhari stopped him with a firm hand on his chest.
“Donotleave your human mate to go after her. Not now. Not while people are watching and it would send the wrong message.”
I looked at him, confused, but he listened to his sister, planting himself next to me and sliding his tail around my waist to bring me closer.
“I will go after her and deal with it,” a male I briefly saw at the ceremony but didn’t know said, dropping a kiss on the forehead of the female next to him before leaving.
“Thank you, Khaju,” Zhari said. She turned back to me, chasing all negative feelings from her face. “Let’s have a good time and show you what being Tauri is all about!”
15
I do not want another
