Page 53 of Alien Peacock
“It’s a Mark,” Arelion rumbles. “I should have gotten your permission first. But it took me over. I couldn’t stop. And in all honesty, I didn’twantto stop.”
I stretch the skin on my hip, trying to see if it looks like something. “Is it art?”
He sighs with satisfaction. “The Mark is how a male Eoan tells the world that he claims a female. He can only ever claim one. It’s a once in a lifetime thing.”
“And you claimedme?” I’m not sure what to think. I’m flattered, sure. And it is actually a really cool Mark. But what does it mean?
“I did. As determined by Fate. I was Fated to Mark you. As you were Fated to be Marked by me.”
“What does it mean? Are we… I mean, I’ve never been Marked before.”
He reaches over and touches the Mark. “It just means that I claim you. No other male may have you.”
“Am I… can I leave, even so? Not that I want to! I don’t want to leave. But I don’t understand all of this. You don’townme, right?”
“Of course not!” he snorts. “That would be pointless. A Marked woman can of course leave if she wants. Eoan couples where the male has marked his female are always together ever after. But there is no force about it. It’s a private thing that’s only between us two. I understand that an alien woman will not have the same effect from the Mark as an Eoan female. You can look at it as proof of my love. If at some point you want to leave me, you are fully within your rights to do that.”
“All right.” I’m still confused, but I do like the Mark and I don’t mind Arelion being possessive about me. I intend to be possessive about him, too.
“They say that a Marked female will know when the male is thinking about her, because the Mark will tingle,” Arelion says. “And the more intensely he wants her, the more she will notice it.”
“Oh. Are you thinking of me now?”
“Does it tingle?”
“It really does.” I run my fingers lightly cross the Mark. “It’s more like an itch, really.”
“Good. Because Iamthinking of you.”
“I love it. Thank you.” I lie back down and kiss him.
He puts a giant arm under my head. “And thank you for understanding. Many Eoans never experience the bliss of having Marked a woman. Now, I have.”
I lie back and enjoy having him close. I guess a Mark was probably important to the Eoans at some point in their evolutionary history. Now, it may be more of a relic of old courting rituals. “When do we leave for Sprenk?”
He scratches his nose. “As soon as we can.“
I glance up at the picture of Frida Kahlo. If she could see this, I think she would approve. She’s said to have had a lot of lovers, but I don’t think any of them were Eoan.
I sit up and straddle him, fully recovered and noticing that his cock is stiffening again. “I really enjoyed this ’fight’. Do we have time to ’fight’ more? Right here?”
He grins and reaches behind me to cup my butt. “I won last time. Maybe this time I’ll letyouwin.”
I slap his chest lightly. “Hey, you said we’d win together!”
“Thistime we will,” he deadpans. “I promise.”
- - -
“That’s Sprenk?”
The planet takes up a quarter of the threesixty display on the Bululg ship that we have namedRevenge. It’s a barren place, with no oceans or lakes or forests that I can see. But it also doesn’t look like the Earth’s Moon or any of the rocky planets in our solar system. The whole surface of Sprenk just looks like an open strip mine.
“That should be it,” Arelion says, standing up and snaking his arm around my waist. “All mined out, looks like.”
“It’s not,” Cerak snaps. “It should be perfectly obvious that they simply moved their operations underground. Sprenk still has a lot to give the Bululg.”
I give the robot a little glance. “You know a lot about them.”