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ALEENA

The cooking area was bigger than any kitchen Aleena had ever been in. It was a vast room with many different appliances lined up along the walls—some of which she barely even recognized. Clearly the former owner of the house had insisted on gourmet meals every night. She hoped apprehensively that Bear—it seemed so odd to call him that!—wouldn’t demand fine dining all the time. All the cooking she’d learned to do on the little stove in her mother’s house was simple fare.

“Wow—this is big,” her new husband rumbled, as they looked around. “Don’t think I’ve ever seen a food prep area this large.”

“Neither have I,” Aleena admitted. She went over to the shiny silver range and oven combo. Sliding open the drawer where the food was put for cooking, she examined the heat jets—there were so many of them! Unlike her mother’s oven at home which had only two, this oven had eight nozzles for heat—two on the top, two on the bottom, and two on either side. Aleena supposed that must be for even roasting.

“Can you manage in here?” Bear asked, looking over her shoulder. “It looks complicated.”

“Oh, yes—of course I can!” Aleena said at once, though to be honest, she wasn’t sure.

But she couldn’t let her new husband think she couldn’t perform in the kitchen! The only place more important when it came to keeping a husband happy was the bedchamber and of course, she had no experience there at all. The kitchen would have to be her forte until he changed the color of her eyes and she learned what he liked best in bed.

“All right then. Let’s look in the cold storage unit and see what they left us,” Bear rumbled.

He strolled to the other side of the kitchen and opened the biggest refrigeration unit that Aleena had ever seen—and it was full of food! Going over, she ducked easily under his arm to examine its contents.

“Ohhhh!” she breathed when she saw what the fridge held. There were prandle tongues in creamy mousse and pickled pilipig eggs, jellied cloven clodder hooves, pring tails in brine, and many other gourmet ingredients she had never even heard of.

“Well, it looks like they left us plenty to eat,” Bear remarked from behind her. “Uh, do you know how to make this kind of food?” he asked Aleena. “I’m new here so I don’t know anything about Karpsian cuisine.”

“Oh yes, I can cook it! I know all about it,” Aleena said quickly.

Though to be honest, she wasn’t quite sure how to use the exotic ingredients. She was certain if she’d had more time in her father’s house growing up, she would have a better idea. Her stepmother and half-sister ate delicacies like pickled pilipig tails every day. But she felt she couldn’t let her new husband find out that she didn’t know much about fancy cooking—he might disavow her on the spot if he thought she couldn’t manage a woman’s most basic task!

I’ll figure it out, she told herself. I’m sure I can manage. Such fine ingredients probably don’t need much done to them because they’re already so good.

At least, that was what she hoped.

“Well,” Bear said, shutting the refrigeration unit door. “I think we’ve seen most of the bottom part of the house. Should we go look upstairs?”

Aleena’s heart was suddenly in her mouth. Oh Goddess of Mercy, was he going to change the color of her eyes now? She was getting more comfortable with her new husband—she was even cautiously beginning to like him—but she still didn’t feel ready for that yet.

It doesn’t matter if you’re ready or not, she told herself sternly. He is your husband—he’ll take you when he wants you and you’ll just have to submit.

Feeling nervous, she nodded up at him.

“Of course, my Lord Husband—I mean, Bear. I would love to tour the upstairs with you.”

“All right. Come on then.” And he held out his massive hand for her again.

Aleena took it and he entwined their fingers and pulled her back to the enormous spiral staircase in the center of the house. Before they started climbing, though, she had a thought.

“Maybe I’d better bring my bag,” she said, looking up at him. “I mean, I have a…a special outfit I’m supposed to wear.”

“You do?” The big Kindred frowned, clearly not understanding her. Aleena felt too shy to explain that the “special outfit” was for their Joining night.

“I’ll just get it,” she said instead. Running to get her shabby leather bag which held all her clothing—including the one special outfit—she came back with it in her hand and held out the other to her new husband.

“Do you want me to carry that for you?” he asked, looking at her bag. It was the second time he had offered to do a menial chore for her, which was surprising. In Karpsian culture, a male never offered to carry or lift anything for a woman—it was beneath him—women’s work. In fact, if a woman was privileged to go on a trip with her husband, she had to manage all the luggage for both of them because a man would never lift even the smallest bag.

But it seemed the big Kindred really wanted to help.

“I suppose,” she said hesitantly. “Er…if you don’t think it’s beneath you?”

“Why would carrying your bag be beneath me?” He sounded genuinely confused as he held out a hand for the bag. “Is that some kind of belief your people have? That a male should never help a female with anything?”

“Well…no, he shouldn’t,” she said, even as she handed over the bag. “But I mean, if you really want to…”

“Of course I do. In my culture, a male always offers to carry heavy things for his female,” Bear explained. He lifted her bag. “Not that this is very heavy. What’s in it?”

“Oh, just my clothing,” Aleena said quickly. “This Joining Day outfit I’m wearing is a rental,” she added, feeling her cheeks get hot with the admission. “I have to bring it back soon and I don’t dare mess it up or let it get crumpled or dirty.”

“All right.” Bear shrugged. “Well come on—let’s go see the upstairs.”

“Yes, let’s.” Aleena tried to keep her voice bright and fixed a smile on her face but inside she was extremely nervous.

Was he leading her up to the bedchamber because he was ready to change the color of her eyes right now? Would he give her a chance to change into her Joining night outfit first? She’d tried to give him a hint that she needed to change before they did anything intimate.

She’d heard stories of new husbands being so eager to get to their bride’s body that they ripped her Joining Day outfit right off of her. But if Bear did that to the outfit she was wearing, it would cost her hundreds of credits which she didn’t have! She?—

“Here we are—this is the master sleeping area, I believe,” Bear’s deep voice rumbled in her ears and she realized they were standing in the doorway of an absolutely massive bed chamber.

In the center of the room, on a raised dais, was an enormous bed. It had four carved wooden pillars at its corners and the mattress looked incredibly thick and plush.

It was a far cry from the thin pallet on the floor Aleena was used to sleeping on. The nice carved wooden beds which had come with their home were some of the first things she and her mother had sold when her father stopped sending them a monthly allowance.

But no matter how beautiful the bed chamber was, all she could think of was how her new husband was going to take her there, in the middle of the huge bed. He was so much bigger than her—how would his male equipment fit inside her? And did he really have one of those swellings at the base of his shaft that she’d heard about?

She found she was biting her lip—almost gnawing on it—in apprehension and she made herself stop. There was no point in being afraid—every woman had to go through this, she told herself. It was like taking an injection at the physician’s office—she would just have to deal with it. She?—

“Well, it looks like there’s plenty of room to spread out and the bed seems sturdy enough which is good,” Bear rumbled, breaking into her nervous stream of thought. “Half of this furniture looks like it might break the minute I sit on it.”

“Oh, surely not my Lord…I mean, Bear,” she said quickly. “Er…are we going to use the bed now?” she added timidly.

He frowned.

“Are you sleepy?”

“Oh, no! I just thought…” Aleena trailed off, feeling her face get hot with a blush.

A look of comprehension came over his face.

“Look, Aleena…” he murmured. Turning her to face him, he lifted her chin with one finger until their eyes met. “I can see you’re very nervous about the idea of me, er, ‘changing the color of your eyes.’ Is that right?”

“Well…yes,” Aleena admitted. “It’s just that you…you’re so big , my Lord Husband. I’m not sure how…how we could, er, fit together.”

“We’re not going to fit together,” he said firmly. “I want you to stop worrying about that.”

“I…I’ll try,” Aleena whispered. This close to him, she could smell a dark, spicy fragrance that seemed to tug at her somehow. Was that some kind of cologne he was wearing? If so, it was the best she’d ever smelled.

“Look, I know I’m a lot bigger than you, sweetheart,” he murmured, stroking her cheek lightly. “But I promise you right now, Aleena—I’m not going to hurt you. All right?”

Aleena nodded.

“All right,” she whispered. She knew what he meant—he thought he had some technique that would enable him to fit himself inside her without pain. But that seemed impossible, given their extreme size difference. Still, she couldn’t say outright she didn’t believe him, so she simply nodded again, agreeing with him.

“Do we understand each other?” Bear asked her.

“Yes, my Lord—I mean, Bear.”

She understood him completely—he wouldn’t hurt her right this minute but later he would expect to change the color of her eyes and she would have to let him—it was her wifely duty.

“Good.” He nodded in satisfaction and left her bag on the bed where the shabby leather looked completely incongruous against the rich embroidery of the bedspread. “Now let’s go see the rest of the upstairs,” he told Aleena. “I think you’ll like it.”