Adira's Mate by April Zyon Page A

our
clothing would be along in a bit. They were still looking for something that
would fit you. Unfortunately most of our people are a little on the larger side
than Imarians are. You may have noticed,” he said. “I
had Bracken send a variety of items, though I did have him confirm with medical
that nothing he sent could be harmful to your Imarian digestion. There are a few items on our world that can make your people
violently ill, yet cause us no harm.”
    “ I did notice. Even the women that
I saw were larger than I am, taller than I am. It’s not a bad thing, just a
different thing.” Their people were made stronger, seemingly larger. Then
again, her brother was massive as well.
    He nodded as he began to uncover
the dishes on the large tray. Setting them on the table, he put the tray and
the lids on a spare chair. “These are a variety of meats, these are cheeses,
some fruits over here, and the last dish is a variety of crackers, and sweets.
I’m sure you can figure out which are which, given Bracken apparently sent up
the stickiest of the sweets known to our people.”
    That had her grinning; she
couldn’t help herself. “I look forward to trying this, all of these foods.” She
took a seat at the table with him. Watching him take a seat, she asked him, “What
do you like the best?”
    Fintan pointed out a few items on each
platter, then sat back to watch her while she tried each. Adira took her time, tasting them, getting a sense of the flavors and textures. After
a time he lifted a brow. “Well?”
    “ I like them, a lot. Especially this one.” She pointed to one of the fruits that
was bright red and shaped like a star. It was sweet, but not cloying. “And this one.” She picked up one of the white cheeses and
popped it into her mouth. “A great deal.” The cheese
was actually very spicy and tasted marvelous with the sweet fruit.
    “ Good to know,” he said. Reaching
out, he picked up a few items and began to eat as well. He left her with the
red star fruit and the cheese while eating a bit of everything else. The sweets
they both left alone until the very end of their meal.
    Once she had eaten her fill, Adira leaned back in her chair and smiled at him. “That was
very nice. Far better than what I was able to offer you in my crawler. I’m
sorry that I wasn’t able to give you more.”
    “ You shared what you had
available. I couldn’t ask for more than that, Adira .
Considering what I’d put you through up to that point, I’m impressed you fed me
at all. You could have left me to starve. You could have injected me with
something to knock me out and then taken me back. That you didn’t speaks of a generous, giving heart, and a woman who looks
beyond the obvious differences of two people to see what really lays beneath it
all.”
    “ I never would have let you
starve,” she told him with a bit of a frown. “I couldn’t hurt you, ever. Yes I
was afraid at the beginning, but it changed. It shifted. Something changed when
I clued in with my feelings. Something shifted with your touches. I realized
that you wouldn’t harm me any more than I could harm you.”
    “ As I said, you are an amazing
woman. The fact you were even willing to wait that long to see if there was
more to me than what I showed proves that. Strong as well, I should mention,
something you’ll need in the coming days. We’ll be tested, know that, but we
will come through it all the better.”
    She took a deep breath and
nodded. “We’ll make it through this. Somehow and someway we will make it
through this and we will come out strong. We will come out as a unit and we
will survive this. I’m staying with you, so you’re stuck with me now.”
    “ I don’t consider that a bad
thing, Adira , so you really shouldn’t phrase it as
such. You are a blessing, a once in a lifetime blessing.” Sliding his hand
across the table, he captured hers in a gentle but firm grip. “You are mine,
for now and forever.”
    “ Good.”