wanted me.”
“Oh, Sink Lar, you were so, so wrong. My want for you, my need for you has only grown over time. I was waiting for your claim,” Lo'San explained again.
“Why? Why wouldn’t you just say you wanted me? Why expect me to do it?” Synclare asked. “If Rokai hadn’t stepped in to make you think others were interested, we may not be here now. In my culture, the male makes the first motions toward commitment.”
“Commitment?” Lo'San asked.
“Claiming. And in your culture, if I’m understanding properly, the females make the first motions toward claiming,” Synclare finished.
“Yes,” Lo'San agreed. “They are the driving force behind our culture. They decide who and when to mate. They also determine the size of their households.”
Synclare thought about it. “You don’t mean children, you mean husbands. They are allowed to take more than one.”
“Yes. I wanted no part of it. I did not like being told what I was to do and how to behave by females that had no respect for me or my desires,” he said, taking her by the hand and leading her toward his bed.
“Were you ever chosen?” she asked, the emotion in his voice giving her the indication that maybe he had been. She sat beside him on the foot of his bed and gave him her undivided attention as they got to know each other a bit better.
Lo'San nodded slowly. “Yes, when I was younger. I refused her, and based on the rules of our culture I had to hide myself away for a period of one revolution to avoid humiliating the female who chose me. Rather than abide by those rules, and to prevent myself from ever being claimed again, I left Eschina. I petitioned to be accepted by the Cruestaci military, and have never looked back. They are the governing force in our solar system and very highly respected — and feared,” he admitted. “I knew that if I became one of their own, my family and the ways of my people could never be forced upon me. I suppose I’d not realized just how much of their beliefs had been ingrained in me. I find my female, the only one I want, and I foolishly fall into old habits, waiting for her to make her claim.”
“It’s alright, I’m just as responsible. I could have told you how I felt and didn’t. I just assumed you’d be like the Cruestaci.”
“I am as Strong as one of my Cruestaci brothers, but being raised on Eschina put me at a disadvantage where females are concerned, I’m afraid.”
“Eschina… that’s the name of your planet?” Synclare asked.
“It is,” Lo'San said, nodding gently as he ran his fingers through Synclare’s hair, his eyes taking in all her features over and over again as she sat beside him, facing him.
“Are they prominent like the Cruestaci?” Synclare asked.
“They are an agricultural world. But the females govern the planet and the males do their bidding. The males are raised to believe that it is an honor to be chosen as part of a household by any of the more successful families and some actually vie for those positions.”
“I can’t imagine having more than one male. I can only love one. If I were to allow another to touch me, I would feel that I’d been unfaithful to the other. It makes no sense to me,” Synclare said.
“There are many farming communities on Eschina, but only a handful of prominent families. It is not uncommon for the males vying for positions in these families to carry out any demand the females may request of them. It can become quite petty, and very cutthroat. It is the very reason I sought out the Cruestaci above all other options. The Cruestaci are a strong people, and not afraid to fight against any unfairness they happen to encounter. They prize their Ehlealahs above all else, and would never compromise those they love in any way. They have a great integrity.”
“I have seen the same things in my time here with them. They are a very strong people with very strong convictions. They defend any who need it, and treasure their females more than their own lives.”
Lo'San nodded, pleased that she respected the people he’d dedicated himself to as much as he did.
“Do your kind recognize your mate as the Cruestaci do, and just have more than one?” Synclare asked.
“No, they are more like humans I think. They choose their mates,” Lo'San said.
“I’m very pleased you chose me,” Synclare said.