Chapter Nine
Liza sat up, yawning and stretching. Jaspar had apparently already woken up and showered; he was dressed and sitting at the table, drinking coffee and eating bacon and eggs.
Sun was pouring through the window, bathing him in golden light. The blizzard seemed to have abated.
“Morning, my heart-mate,” Jaspar said.
Liza stood up and pulled on a silk robe that hung on a hook on the wall. “The translator is working again,” she said, shaking her head in confusion. “And the weather machine is working too.”
“We are most fortunate. I assume that you are no longer denying that we are meant to be together. Room service brought us breakfast. Shall I pour you some coffee?”
“Well, there is something to be said for a man who has coffee waiting for me first thing in the morning,” Liza said. She walked over to the table and sat down as Jaspar handed her a cup. She took a sip and smiled. “Ooh, and you put milk and sugar in it. Just the way I like it. This might be the deciding factor, actually.”
“Really?” Jaspar looked interested. “I will immediately have a coffee bean plantation planted near our house on Arcadia. I will also build a coffee shop which will serve baked goods. Humans seem to like those.”
“Wow, you do go all out, don’t you?” Liza took another healthy swig of coffee.
Jaspar shifted in the chair, which creaked under his size and weight. “Wait until you see the wedding,” he said. “Traditionally, the dress is encrusted with jewels and there is a fifty-foot train carried by your attendant. The bride of the Regis wears a tiara. The feast lasts for five days. The bride and the bridegroom stay in the…the word doesn’t translate, but basically a honeymoon hut. They come out whenever they choose, to take part in the feast, and then return to their hut for days and days of passionate love-making.”
“Good. Lord. You probably should have opened with all that. Especially the part about the honeymoon hut.” Liza took a huge bite of cheesy omelet and realized she was actually considering Jaspar’s proposal.
Was Jaspar right? Did a Drakken know their “heart-mate” on sight? Was it so far-fetched? Some humans believed in the concept of love at first sight.
Her body and her emotions reacted to him in a way she’d never experienced before. She’d been instinctively attracted to him from the second she’d first seen him. And now that she knew he really wasn’t responsible for destroying their colony…she couldn’t think of a single thing wrong with him. Sexy, amazing in bed, protective, handsome, treated her family well, overindulged the Srilaa…
“A thousand pounds of gold for your thoughts,” Jaspar said, refilling her coffee.
And he refilled her coffee! What was there not to love about him?
“Actually, the expression goes ‘a penny for your thoughts’.”
“But I am sure that yours are worth much more than that.” He winked at her and went back to devouring his bacon.
“Damn. You really are charming.” She shook her head, stifling a smile.
“Told you.”
“I’m thinking that I would love some time to get to know you better before I commit to being your wife, because this is all very new to me. I’m also thinking that last night was incredible, this morning is lovely, and I could imagine doing this every day for the rest of my life. But I need to move a little more slowly.”
Yikes. Had she really just said that? To a man she barely knew?
“And,” she said hastily, “I’m also thinking that I need to take a really quick shower and we need to head back. It’s going to be busy again today, and I should help my grandparents.”
She hurried to the bathroom.
“I accept your proposal!” Jaspar called after her as she shut the door.
The bathroom had a television panel in the wall. The newsvid was running as she showered, and it reported that the Weather Control Station had malfunctioned the previous evening, but was now working again.
Jaspar shifted and flew them back to the bed and breakfast that morning.
When they arrived, she was relieved to see that her family was too busy serving customers to come over and query her about the previous night.
La La ran over and hugged her leg. “Sriii, sriii, sriii!” she cried.
“I sort of missed you too,” Liza admitted, patting her head.
La La held her paw out expectantly. Oops. Liza had forgotten to bring anything back for her.
