trees and animals, or fruit hanging from a vine. But at the front of the house in a large all-stained glass window was the depiction of a naked couple, arms wrapped around one another.
She felt the bottom drop out of her stomach.
Was Dendri married? Was he already committed to another woman? If so, what would happen between them now? She didn’t want to be the cause of rending a loving couple apart…and she wasn't interested in becoming a third person in his bed. As she pictured them in bed together, she pictured them alone in their own little world…like the white room. And she wasn't like Bess. She didn’t like women in that way.
“I know what you’re thinking,” Dendri whispered into her ear as they moved into the villa further.
“Of course you do. You’re an Aspano majji. You can read my mind.”
“I try not to without invitation, but it’s going to be nearly impossible to do with you because we are Gestalt. There is no one else in my life,” he said. “There has not been for quite a while. It is difficult when you are Aspano to have a relationship. You can feel every lie, every moment of resentment, every fading passion as it happens. There is no such thing as burying your head in the sand and pretending you don’t know the truth of what your partner is feeling or thinking.”
“I never thought of it like that.” She frowned. “That’s a little sad actually.”
“I know, isn’t it? You’ll have to console me,” he said, a twinkle in his eye.
Yasra laughed and gave him a nudge. She was surprised to find him so easygoing. She had seen him at a distance before and he had always seemed so serious and intimidating. But he wasn’t like that at all. Not to her in any event. Perhaps he was altering his behavior as a means of luring her in. Perhaps he would change once she got comfortable with him.
Only time would tell.
Dendri looked at Yasra as she stood in his house, her dark hair covered in dancing colored light and took a deep, relieved breath. For a while there he had thought she wouldn’t come with him, that she would have thrown him out on his ear and he would have to work ten times harder to get to her, but she had surprised him when she had acquiesced so easily. It was clear she was beginning to understand what was happening between them.
Dendri had not understood what had driven him to go to the school that morning. While he mentored many up and coming majji from Aspano house, he wasn’t particularly interested in the fledglings that barely knew what house they belonged to they were so green. He now knew fate had driven him there so he could find Yasra. Dendri had never thought in a million years that he would ever become half of a Gestalt couple. He knew he was powerful, that he made a great deal of money being one of the most skilled majji around, but he had never suspected he was destined for the kind of power that came with being part of a Gestalt couple. A Gestalt couple would be treated like messiahs. The crowd by Yasra’s door was only the beginning. The only reason they hadn’t gathered at Dendri’s door was because of his fearsome reputation. People knew he was not a majji to be trifled with.
But that reputation was working against him as far as Yasra was concerned. She was half afraid of him still, completely intimidated by their attraction for one another and utterly overwhelmed as a whole. She had one foot out the door before they had even arrived…telling Bess they would only be staying for a little while. The truth was, she would be living with him from that moment on. He didn’t know all that much about her yet…but thanks to his Aspano abilities he knew enough. Enough to tell him that he would enjoy her as a person. That she was good at heart. That she had many glowing qualities.
He also knew her self-esteem had taken quite a beating over the years. He frowned when he thought of her parents. How could someone do that to their own child? Treat them so poorly? Be
She felt the bottom drop out of her stomach.
Was Dendri married? Was he already committed to another woman? If so, what would happen between them now? She didn’t want to be the cause of rending a loving couple apart…and she wasn't interested in becoming a third person in his bed. As she pictured them in bed together, she pictured them alone in their own little world…like the white room. And she wasn't like Bess. She didn’t like women in that way.
“I know what you’re thinking,” Dendri whispered into her ear as they moved into the villa further.
“Of course you do. You’re an Aspano majji. You can read my mind.”
“I try not to without invitation, but it’s going to be nearly impossible to do with you because we are Gestalt. There is no one else in my life,” he said. “There has not been for quite a while. It is difficult when you are Aspano to have a relationship. You can feel every lie, every moment of resentment, every fading passion as it happens. There is no such thing as burying your head in the sand and pretending you don’t know the truth of what your partner is feeling or thinking.”
“I never thought of it like that.” She frowned. “That’s a little sad actually.”
“I know, isn’t it? You’ll have to console me,” he said, a twinkle in his eye.
Yasra laughed and gave him a nudge. She was surprised to find him so easygoing. She had seen him at a distance before and he had always seemed so serious and intimidating. But he wasn’t like that at all. Not to her in any event. Perhaps he was altering his behavior as a means of luring her in. Perhaps he would change once she got comfortable with him.
Only time would tell.
Dendri looked at Yasra as she stood in his house, her dark hair covered in dancing colored light and took a deep, relieved breath. For a while there he had thought she wouldn’t come with him, that she would have thrown him out on his ear and he would have to work ten times harder to get to her, but she had surprised him when she had acquiesced so easily. It was clear she was beginning to understand what was happening between them.
Dendri had not understood what had driven him to go to the school that morning. While he mentored many up and coming majji from Aspano house, he wasn’t particularly interested in the fledglings that barely knew what house they belonged to they were so green. He now knew fate had driven him there so he could find Yasra. Dendri had never thought in a million years that he would ever become half of a Gestalt couple. He knew he was powerful, that he made a great deal of money being one of the most skilled majji around, but he had never suspected he was destined for the kind of power that came with being part of a Gestalt couple. A Gestalt couple would be treated like messiahs. The crowd by Yasra’s door was only the beginning. The only reason they hadn’t gathered at Dendri’s door was because of his fearsome reputation. People knew he was not a majji to be trifled with.
But that reputation was working against him as far as Yasra was concerned. She was half afraid of him still, completely intimidated by their attraction for one another and utterly overwhelmed as a whole. She had one foot out the door before they had even arrived…telling Bess they would only be staying for a little while. The truth was, she would be living with him from that moment on. He didn’t know all that much about her yet…but thanks to his Aspano abilities he knew enough. Enough to tell him that he would enjoy her as a person. That she was good at heart. That she had many glowing qualities.
He also knew her self-esteem had taken quite a beating over the years. He frowned when he thought of her parents. How could someone do that to their own child? Treat them so poorly? Be
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