Sunny soon learnt that being 'Kilnor's' according to Miotalan society necessitated a ceremony - the mating scar she wore on her neck apparently wasn't enough. Upon being informed that Comleoir and his cronies had been unwilling to accept Sunny as Kilnor's mate, despite her mate mark and his teams words to the contrary, Kilnor had decided that a full scale ceremony was required. Kilnor's mother - she had informed Sunny that her name was Dohssa - had backed her son, telling Sunny in her gentle way that she would not like to be deprived of the opportunity to see her son's mating ceremony.
The moment Sunny had been cleared by Zalon to leave the medical facility, she had been taken home to stay with Kilnor's family. Even though they were already mated, apparently it wasn't proper to live together until the ceremony was performed.
The ceremony had been set for the following day, and Sunny had been woken early in the morning by Ainne, who had delightedly informed her that they were going shopping for a dress. Though Sunny was anxious to be fully bonded to Kilnor, she was uneasy about the prospect of being paraded about Miotal, curious eyes watching her.
Her saviour had arrived in the middle of the morn-meal in the form of Cade. She had been eating slowly, listening to the excited chatter of Ainne, when Ainne had suddenly broken off mid-sentence, catapulting herself out of her chair and towards the tall figure who now filled the doorway.
Sunny was glad to see him. Though Dohssa, Evaan and Ainne had all been very welcoming, Sunny had not been able to shake the feeling of being thoroughly overwhelmed, and Cade was a familiar and comforting presence.
Sunny stood too, wanting to greet him, but being unsure of quite was proper, and so she hung back, a slightly hesitant expression on her face. After hugging his sister, Cade seemed similarly hesitant.
"Hello," said Sunny, voice quiet.
Cade smiled back. The expression seemed odd on his usually gruff face, and it didn't last long, but for the moment it existed Cade seemed younger and extremely handsome.
"Hello," he replied.
He was holding a package in his hands, and as Sunny's eyes fell on it, he held it out to her.
"I brought this for you."
Curiosity consumed Sunny, and she reached out for the package. It was wrapped roughly in brown paper and tied rather awkwardly with a blue ribbon. Sunny suspected that Cade had wrapped it himself, and felt a warm glow of affection for the male in front of her.
She thanked him, and set to work unwrapping the present. She untied the ribbon carefully and put it to one side, before she worked the paper free.
A gasp escaped her at the contents, and Sunny clapped her hands to her mouth, eyes welling with tears.
Cade was immediately concerned.
"I am sorry," he said frantically. "I thought you would like it!"
Neither of them paid much attention to Ainne, who was asking what it was.
"I do," Sunny nodded her head furiously, wanting to reassure Cade. "It is perfect."
And it was. Nestled neatly in the folds of the paper was Sunny's dress, all pale blue and yellow. She remembered how happy and hopeful she and Kilnor had felt when purchasing it and knew she could never wear anything else to her mating ceremony. She lifted it gently out of the paper, hands tracing the material, before she clutched it to her and casting all doubts to the wind, hugged Cade tightly.
The tenseness of his muscles betrayed his * of the gesture, but he made no move to remove Sunny, and after a stunned moment, lightly returned the embrace,
YOU ARE READING
Heart of Gold
Romance"Two moons, she thought wondrously. Scientists and astronomers alike would kill to see such a sight, and all it had taken was being kidnapped by aliens and dragged halfway across the universe to be sold at a slave market." "I have never heard of a...
