ROMULUS (The Innerworld Affairs Series, Book 1) (44 page)

"Your happiness and comfort is my greatest desire. I choose to spend all my days and nights with you in my life, my heart and my mind." Romulus drained his chalice.

Aster repeated the vow back to him then finished her drink.

A moment later, a cool draft touched her cheek as Marcus and Yulan silently departed through the flap in the pyramid tent. Aster knew it was now time to close her eyes for the period of solitude, the last she would ever know. For the first time in many hours, a feeling of calm settled over her. A swarm of bees buzzed in the distance... or were they in her head? The humming sound seemed to move closer and louder, then dwindle back to near silence before increasing once again. Her body swayed to its rhythm. No, she was not moving at all. It was her blood, pumping, pulsing through her veins and arteries, like the ebb and flow of the ocean's tide. She became intensely aware of the pounding of her heart, of her lungs filling with air and slowly expelling what they did not need. She not only felt it, she began to see it—all the separate parts of her body, working together to create this wondrous thing known as life. She suddenly knew the essence and source of her being and it was incredible.

"Aster?" Rom's voice came to her in an echo reverberating through her head.

He stood beside her with his hands outstretched. Aster placed her hands in his and tilted her head back to gaze with wonder into his love-filled eyes as she rose. He entered her private world and hovered there. They were no longer in the tent or even on Norona. They floated together in space, where time hung suspended until they decided to make it move again.

"That entity which is the soul within Romulus Locke has been searching for its eternal mate. It calls now to the soul within Aster Mackenzie to fulfill their destiny. Are you ready to be joined with us now, Aster?"

"That entity which is the soul within Aster Mackenzie has also been searching and now recognizes its eternal mate. We are here and ready to join with you, Romulus." Her own voice sounded far away, as though it belonged to someone else.

Together their voices harmonized, "We call to the Supreme Being to be the spiritual witness to our joining."

With steady movements, Aster slowly pushed back Rom's hood, undid the drawstring at his neck and slid the caftan off his shoulders. Without resistance, it fell to his feet. Likewise, Romulus disrobed Aster. They stood two feet apart, their gazes held hypnotically together.

"There can be nothing between us ever again. Your flesh will be my flesh," Rom said.

"Your blood will be my blood," Aster responded.

"Our minds will be as one," they voiced together.

Rom held up his hands, palms facing Aster. She raised her hands to meet his, palms to palms, fingers to fingers. A tremor shook the ground beneath their feet. The vibration moved upward like an electrical current from their toes to their ankles to their knees, through their bodies and into their heads.

The electrical sensation traveled down their arms and settled in their fingertips, where a golden glow appeared and flared. The light spread over their hands and retraced the path the tremor had taken, coiling snakelike, round and round their arms, spinning around their heads then down their bodies until they were bathed in the burning, golden iridescence.

The hum that had subsided suddenly became a deafening crescendo making any specific thought impossible.

Each moved their hands along the other's arms, fingertips straining forward of their own accord until they located the other's temples and pressed there.

The mundane limitations of time and space were suspended as their individualities were transformed and reborn as a brilliant, blended union of their souls.

Without breaking contact, Rom eased Aster onto the carpeted earth and hovered above her. She could not have broken their eye contact had she wanted to.

He thrust.

She absorbed.

Their hips melded and parted and came together again and again. Aster felt him inside her, all around her. Her body altered. She was larger, harder, pushing into the soft, moist cushion of... herself. It was Rom's sensations she was feeling now, not her own. No, that wasn't quite right.
I feel the both of us together, at the same time.

Magnificent!

Oh... oh yes... now!

Tumbling, swirling, falling through a starlit sky, Aster and Rom raced together through their lives. They were the child, Rom, playing knights and dragons. They were the young girl, Aster, running barefoot in a field of daisies. They relived the years they were individuals and the hours since they met, the good and the bad.

The hum gradually faded then disappeared altogether. A gust of wind entered, whirled over them and departed, taking the candlelight with it.

I love you, Aster.

I love you, Romulus.

You're all right. I was so worried.

I know. It was wonderful. It is wonderful. Aster glanced quickly around the pyramid tent, half surprised to realize they were still there. I thought it was good before, but now, well, all I can think is, we'd better try it again, to make sure we're doing it right.

Rom laughed deeply as he nuzzled her ear. Aster instantly felt her anticipation turn to need inside his body, which in turn fed her own building desire. She wondered if they would be able to control their passion for one another as time went by.

I hope not, shalla. But we may have to work on controlling our baser thoughts when we're out in public or I'm afraid we may both be embarrassed with the results.
Rom proceeded to show her exactly what results he had in mind.

Epilogue

"Congratulations, Aster. He's a very good man," Tarla said sincerely as she shook Aster's hand then laughed when she added, "almost as perfect as my Nick." Now that Romulus and Aster had forced a change of attitude from the Tribunal, Tarla felt completely free to follow her heart's desire as well. She would be moving to the mining camp next week to be with Nick, openly and without fear of reprisal.

Aster scanned the faces of the friends and acquaintances gathered in the reception room of the Dance Hall. The Feinsteins were like two teenagers again as their restaurant gained popularity. The Basiglios had barely said hello before sharing their happy news that their first attempt at conception had been a success. Yes, there was certainly an abundance of happiness in this room tonight.

Then again, wasn't that what Rom had promised all the Outerworlders that first day?

You will not only accept, you will enjoy what we have to offer,
Rom thought to her with a chuckle.

You were listening
.

Of course. And that should remind you to behave when you're with other men, especially well-meaning trackers.

Aster met his gaze across the crowded room. He knew about her interlude with Falcon and it was all right.
You're just jealous because Tarla only shook your hand when she greeted you tonight and Falcon hugged me.

Aha! So you were paying attention. You're getting better. I couldn't even tell. By the way, did you see Frank and Marya yet?

No, I...

"Hey, kid!" Cherry tugged insistently on Aster's forearm. "Wasn't three weeks in outer space enough for you two? You've got to make eyes at each other at your own party!"

Aster turned away from Rom quickly and hugged Cherry as hard as she could. "You! How in the world did you put this together so fast? We only arrived this morning!"

"You know me. Where there's a will and so on. To tell the truth though, the entire colony knew you were on your way back with shocking news a week ago. Plus, I had plenty of help from Apollo and Thor."

"Speaking of which, I never did hear the outcome of your dilemma."

"Oh, that's right. Well, if you hadn't flitted off to a faraway galaxy—"

"Cherry! What happened?"

"Let's just say they convinced me to give the Innerworld attitude toward intimate relationships a try."

Aster's eyebrows shot up then she gave a shrug and smiled. "I'm not surprised. You're nowhere near ready to settle down. But I have a really strong feeling that one of these days, someone will come along to change that. By the way, have you seen Falcon?"

"He's right over there. Talk about one delicious alien. Too bad he's not interested in anything I have to offer. By the way, he was a big help pulling this off too."

Aster looked in the direction Cherry pointed. Falcon's luminous eyes touched her like a blessing. He would always be her friend.

Governor Elissa too. As soon as they had disembarked, the governor had filled Aster and Rom in on all the reports that had been transmitted from Outerworld during their absence. A monumental discovery had been made by Professor David Ingram that would greatly increase the speed of Earth's spaceships. It was decided in a special session of the United Nations Security Council that its permanent members would conduct a joint exercise into space to test his discovery within the month. As David had predicted, there was no public mention of the planetoid.

Aster hoped that someday in the near future, she would receive a confirmation that the personal favors she had requested of Kate had been taken care of just as successfully. Romulus had acknowledged that Aster hadn't actually broken her promise to him. That, however, did not keep him from grumbling about devious women for several long minutes after he realized what she had done to salvage The Mackenzie Foundation.

At that moment the background music was cut off and the silence brought her out of her reverie. There was a clinking of glass and Aster turned toward the sound.

"May I please have everyone's attention?" Governor Elissa's voice rang out clearly. All heads turned her way. "Romulus, Aster, would you step forward? I would like to make a toast to our two guests of honor. A joining is always cause for celebration but this one is unusually special. Not only have they saved our world at the risk of their own lives but their joining, a Noronian and a Terran, marks the beginning of a new age for Innerworld.

"Ladies and gentlemen, it is my great pleasure to introduce to you the next Co-Governors of Innerworld." Grasping each of their hands, Elissa raised their arms high above her head then joined Rom's and Aster's hands and stepped back.

Amidst a roomful of applause, Rom and Aster kissed briefly but passionately then Romulus spoke to the small crowd. "Thank you all for sharing our joy tonight. Now, I'd like to ask you all to raise your glasses one more time."

He and Aster raised their own glasses and spoke their toast together. "Here's to all our friends, old and new. May your lives always be filled with love, light and adventure!"

The End

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