Chapter Six

JESSE

I stood by the bar and watched as my new wife, Annalee, held my father's hands and danced with him where he sat in his chair. If she had tried to do anything on purpose that would get her into my good books, it would have been to honor my father.

I felt myself softening towards her as I watched her enjoy her time with him. He had already told me twice how lucky I was to have found such a gem. I didn't agree with his assessment, but she was becoming less annoying.

When the music changed, Porter walked over and spoke to Annalee. She smiled at him with a light in her eyes that didn't shine for me. He pulled her into his arms and whirled around the room, barely avoiding a crash into the other dancing couples. The warmth I felt towards her disappeared abruptly.

They spun madly in circles. Annalee threw her head back, laughing, and Porter grinned from ear to ear. He had no right to be making my bride laugh like that. She should only laugh for me.

The inn's doors opened, and two men wearing dark clothes entered the room. I wondered who they were. Myron walked over to the pair, hopefully intending to tell them this was a private party.

As the men turned around, I caught sight of their faces. The men were from the Bureau of Purity. Why were they here? My eyes flickered to where I had last seen Porter, but he had vanished.

One of the Bureau agents scanned the room, and his gaze stopped on me. He lingered for a moment. I felt myself start to sweat. Thankfully they nodded and walked out.

Everyone thought they had gone back to the city after they murdered their potential offender. I didn't have anything for them to find, but they would make anyone worried.

I noticed my father beckoning to me from across the room, and I went to him quickly, hoping everything was all right. I wondered if seeing the Bureau of Purity men had upset him.

"Jesse, my boy," he said, giving me a sympathetic look as I crouched down beside his chair so he could look me in the eyes. "Stop scowling at your wife. If you don't want your friend charming your bride, go and get her. She's yours now. Not his."

He wasn't upset about the Bureau of Purity men at all. He was concerned about me. My father was the kindest man you could ever meet. Watching him die a slow death was painful, but there was nothing I could do for him. I felt a suffocating feeling in my chest every time I thought about his future.

"She doesn't want to dance with me," I said, staring at the floor.

"That's because you're glowering at her. Try putting a smile on your face, boy. You look like you're at a funeral, not your wedding. I know this isn't the usual situation, but you'd be surprised at how many people are surprised by each other after they get married. She's a wonderful lass, Jesse. She could be good for you if you give her a chance."

"Of course I'll give her a chance!"

"Right," my father said, giving me a skeptical look. "You're just waiting for the right opportunity, aren't you?"

"I've given her a chance," I said, exhaling and searching the room for Annalee. She and Porter were sitting at a table together and drinking wine.

She looked like she was flirting shamelessly with Porter, which made me upset. I hoped there wasn't any morelia involved.

The substance was illegal. Many an unscrupulous man had used it to get a woman into bed when she wasn't the least bit interested in him. Someone was still growing it. Morelia was available for purchase if you knew where to find it.

I didn't mind if the woman took it voluntarily, but it made me sick to my stomach when I imagined using it on someone who was unwilling. I hoped no one had brought any here tonight.

"You haven't given her the slightest chance," my father said, shaking his head at me. "Go and dance with your wife. Be your naturally charming self, Jesse. Goodness knows you're handsome enough to woo any woman. Annalee is willing if you make the effort."

He looked at me with a sad expression in his eyes. I didn't want to disappoint my father, especially if we only had a little time left together.

I would do well to listen to his advice. He and my mother had been deliriously happy together my whole life until she passed away. He knew what he was talking about when it came to relationships. Then again, he and my mother had been in love, so the cards were stacked in their favor from the beginning.

"How about this? Pretend she's a beautiful girl you've seen at an inn when you're out with friends. Go and talk to her. Ask her to dance. Pay attention to her, and you'll be well on your way to a happy marriage, son."

"Yes, Father," I said, waving my hand from my head to his as a gesture of love and respect. I rose and walked across the room. I hoped this wasn't going to be a hard thing to do. I had approached many girls over the course of my life. Most had been more than happy to receive my attention.

Annalee looked up from her conversation with Porter as I approached and the smile fell from her face. She swallowed and looked down at the floor. Was I already screwing this up?

"Hey, Jess," Porter said, sounding a little too jovial. He had been drinking the free-flowing wine and ale and was intoxicated. His expression turned uncomfortable.

"I just had a dance with Annalee, and she's been begging me for another, but you know how my knee gets."

I did. He injured it in a carriage accident years ago and it had never been the same. I was sure he wasn't feeling much pain now considering the amount of alcohol in his system. Still, he was giving me an opening, and I would take it.

"Would you like to dance, Annalee?"

Her name felt strange on my lips. She noticed I used her name, but I also sensed she knew I felt uncomfortable with it. I was trying too hard.

"Sure," she said with a forced smile. "What are weddings without dancing?"

Porter smiled at us hopefully, raising his glass to me and then turning away.

It was time to extinguish any rumors. People had been giving me strange looks because the bride was dancing so much with the best man and not the groom. I wouldn't have Annalee's good name besmirched by nasty gossip.

"Indeed," I said, pulling her to me. As I tapped my foot to the beat, I began to whirl her around the room. Soon she was laughing as we linked arms and moved between two rows of couples. When we got to the end of the line and lifted our hands to join them, becoming part of an arch, I felt my fingers tingle as they touched hers.

I smiled again, and her eyes softened. Maybe tonight would be fun after all.

ANNALEE

After the last couple had swept down between two rows of people facing each other, each man and woman began to dance with their partner again. Jesse pulled me in close, and I felt my whole body catch fire in a way it hadn't with Porter.

Porter was charming and handsome. He was kind to me. I guess I had a slight crush on him. But Jesse was another story altogether. He made me angry and scared. Right now I was filled with lust. He smelled good, and he was a ridiculously good dancer, which surprised me. It seemed that, on this planet, the men danced as often as the women. It was a pleasant change from the I'm-too-cool-to-dance attitude of many of the men I knew back on Earth.

As I stared into my husband's eyes, I reminded myself that he wasn't exactly a man. The thought gave me a naughty thrill.

"What are you thinking of, wife?" Jesse said, his eyes smoldering.

I didn't know what to say, but I certainly wasn't going to tell him I thought he was an alien, and it was turning me on.

"I'm thinking about what happens next," I said, trying not to blush. That was true, wasn't it? I was thinking of the night and what he would do to me when we were supposed to consummate the marriage.

I wasn't going to sleep with him, was I?

My body wanted to, and if the hardness I felt pressing up against me was any indication, his body wanted mine as well. I supposed that was good. If he could be less of a jerk, maybe my mind would feel like sleeping with him as well as my body.

The music changed, and he pressed himself against me, taking my hands and putting them on his shoulders. His hands dropped to my hips, pulling me tightly against his body.

"This is the bride and groom's dance," he said.

"I see."

"And it involves our bodies pressed firmly against each other," he said, somehow decreasing the distance between our bodies even though I hadn't thought it possible. People circled us and began to sing lyrics along with a slow, sweet melody played on one of the stringed instruments.

I stared up into his eyes. To my surprise, he planted a kiss on my forehead. The gesture was sweet and kind. My heart lurched and my eyes filled with tears. It was the first sign that he might eventually come to care about me, and it gave me hope.

Soon the people in the circle stopped swaying and began clapping and stomping their feet, taking the tempo up a little bit at a time and singing more quickly. Jesse had one hand around my waist, and the other held my hand. He was rapidly dancing with me around the circle.

At some point, he broke through it. I thought we were going to crash into the crowd, but they moved aside at the last minute to let us through.

Everyone burst into applause. Jesse smiled down at me with a look of happiness on his face.

"It's the first ritual. They expect me to kiss you," he said. The next thing I knew, he captured my lips. The kiss started out chaste, but before I realized what was happening, we had our arms wrapped around each other, and he was taking my breath away.

I vaguely heard the crowd hooting and yelling around us, but I lost myself in Jesse's touch, and I couldn't think clearly. I didn't care that a hundred people were witnessing our first kiss. All I cared about was him not stopping.

Eventually, it had to end. Thank goodness for the crowd noise because I think I slightly whimpered when he pulled away. He stared down at me, and I wondered what he was thinking.

There was no time to ask because Jesse's father was making a toast to the happy couple — I supposed that was us — and Jesse was ushering me out of the building. People went ahead of us tossing seeds on the ground before us to make us fertile.

I was thankful for the TerraMates birth control shot that ensured we would certainly not be fertile. Jesse hadn't had this shot, but I certainly had mine, and I was glad for it. I wouldn't get pregnant in my year on the planet. No one here would know why. They'd think we hadn't been lucky enough to have a baby, which was fine with me.

When the crowd dissipated, we were left to walk the rest of the way alone. We were silent, and I felt uncomfortable again. Suddenly we heard a shout from behind us. It was Porter.

"I didn't get to wish you well," he said. "I'm leaving in the morning so I won't be seeing you."

Jesse frowned. "Why are you leaving so soon?"

"Let's just say the Bureau of Purity makes me nervous," he said, not looking nervous at all. Porter took my hand and kissed it.

"You aren't the only one," Jesse said, cryptically. I supposed he meant the Bureau of Purity made everyone nervous. They certainly made me feel uncomfortable now that I had seen them in action.

"I wish you the best," Porter said. "Might have a word with Jesse in private?"

He smiled graciously at me. I walked slightly ahead while they dropped behind. I took the opportunity to make sure my phone was still in the hem of my skirt. After Jesse had fucked me — it would probably take only minutes — I would find a private place to look at my pictures.

When I looked back, the men were having a heated discussion. What could Porter have to say to Jesse that he wouldn't want to say in front of me? They appeared to be talking about a grave matter by the looks on their faces. Porter produced a small bottle of something that made Jesse react violently.

He pushed it away and looked around furtively as if he didn't want to be seen with Porter or the bottle. Porter tried to press the bottle on him, but Jesse shook his head again. Porter opened his arms to give Jesse a hug, and I saw him surreptitiously slip the tiny bottle into Jesse's coat pocket. Jesse patted Porter on the back before they separated.

Porter waved at me and then vanished. Suddenly Jesse was coming toward me with a look in his eyes that made me weak in the knees and a little wet between the legs. I didn't think I was ready. There was no emotional connection between us.

My body was screaming To hell with emotional connection, just screw him already!

What I didn't like was my lack of choice in the matter. He said we had to consummate the marriage, and there would be a witness.

Although we didn't talk for the rest of the walk, I was aware of every move he made. His hand brushed my hand several times making energy explode through my body. Even if my morals were doing a good job convincing me I shouldn't sleep with an alien I just met, my libido was doing just as good a job of blindfolding my morals and tying them up. It wanted to have fun tonight.

We got back to Jesse's homestead. He led me to a cabin where the older generation usually lived. The younger couple often lived in the house. Since Jesse's grandparents were deceased, we were going to live there temporarily.

He nodded to a man leaning against the side of the house. The witness, I supposed. I thought I would be disgusted, but it a strange way it made me excited to imagine someone listening to me. Maybe I was more of a bad girl than I imagined, and I simply needed the right situation to unleash it.

All the sex back home had been nice, but I had no desire to repeat it. I had done it because I wanted to be closer to my boyfriend, not because of the ecstasy he brought me. As I glanced over at the Adonis beside me, all muscles and pure testosterone, I thought perhaps tonight might be different. I shivered at the thought.