His voice had taken on the odd double echo and Bobbi knew that their third—the entity that lived inside him—was there, looking out at her through Dragon’s eyes.
“You’re MINE,” he said again and there was a note of finality in his voice that brooked no dissent.
“I’m yours,” she repeated dully and swiped at her eyes, which were still full of tears. It was true, she might as well be resigned to it, she told herself. There was no way Dragon was letting her go. And even if he was willing to, the thing inside him would make him chase her down. She would never be free of him…no, she would never be free of them, she thought.
“Tomorrow is our wedding day,” Dragon murmured. He cupped her hot cheek and wiped away a tear with his thumb. “If you can’t be happy, at least try not to be miserable.”
“I…I’ll try.” She looked up at him. “I guess you think you own me now—or you will once we’re married.”
“That’s the way things go.” Dragon’s deep voice was surprisingly gentle, as though he was explaining an immutable fact of life to a child. “I’ll own you but I’ll never mistreat you, little one. I’ll provide for you and keep you safe and love you with my whole heart, all the days of our lives.”
“All the days of our lives,” Bobbi repeated dutifully. She sniffed and looked away from him. “I don’t want to talk about this anymore—there’s no point. I’m ready to go to the women’s room now.”
Dragon looked like he wanted to say something else but at that moment there was a knock on the door.
He frowned. “That will be my mother, coming to get you and bring you to the women’s room.”
“Good.” Bobbi wiped her eyes more thoroughly on the sleeve of her dress and straightened up. “I’m ready.”
She got off the couch and went to the door before Dragon could answer. Outside, Res. Tizlah was standing with a few of the other Saurian wives. She gave Bobbi a toothy smile.
“Well, well—and is the bride-to-be all ready to go? We must keep you away from your future husband for the next day and night—otherwise you’ll start your marriage with bad luck and we don’t want that!”
“No, of course not.” Bobbi tried to smile. “We don’t want to start off on the wrong foot.” She shot Dragon a look and he gave her one in return—distressed and worried.
“I don’t want you to leave yet,” he said abruptly. “I think we need to talk some more before you go, feela.”
“No.” Bobbi shook her head. “No, we’ve said all there is to say.” Standing on tiptoes, she planted a resigned kiss on his cheek. “I’ll see you on our wedding day,” she told him.
Then she turned away and started resolutely down the long, echoing hallway with Res. Tizlah and the other wives in tow. There was no way she could change her fate now, she thought. No way to get out of this wedding…this life that was to take the place of her old existence.
I love him, she thought again. I can’t help myself—I do love him. But sometimes I don’t like him very much at all!
53
“Now then, here we are—the women’s room.” Res. Tizlah threw open the door with a flourish and all the Saurian wives around Bobbi oooed and ahhed.
The women’s room was a special area, only used on the day and night before a wedding to sequester the bride from her husband-to-be. The wall tiles—(the Saurians did love their tiles, Bobbi thought)—were done in feminine, pastel shades of lavender and pale pink and sunshine yellow. There were several couches in the room and a table at the back was loaded with Saurian goodies to snack on—mostly meat based, of course.
The idea was for the bride-to-be and her friends to have a special day and night—almost like a slumber party—to celebrate her last night of maidenhood and get ready for her wedding. It was also—from what Bobbi had heard—the time when the bride’s mother told her “the facts of life” and what she was expected to do with her new husband on her wedding night.
Glancing up at her Mother-in-Law-to-be, Bobbi sincerely hoped Res. Tizlah wasn’t going to try and have “the talk” with her. She could only imagine how embarrassing it would be—not to mention the fact that Saurian and human anatomy were completely different, so it would no doubt be a pointless exercise.
“Come right in and let’s get this pre-wedding party going!” Res. Tizlah said, smiling brightly at Bobbi. “I know how excited you must be and how you’re longing for the big day, but this should help you pass the time until you can see Dragon again.”
“Thank you.” Bobbi tried to smile at her, but the conversation she’d had with the big Kindred had definitely put a damper on her spirits. She’d been sure that eventually she could get him to agree to at least visit the Mother Ship. And once they were there, she’d had strong hopes that she could get him to stay.