[b]“Guess I just have a natural charm over Lunairan men?”[/b] Cassie responded teasingly to Serix’s question.

“Don’t give yourself too much credit,” Serix rolled his eyes and pulled her closer, lowering his voice slightly. “You only have a ‘natural charm’ over this one.” He smirked and gave her a quick peck on the nose.

[b]“Surely all of the dances during the ceremonies don’t end like this,”[/b] Cassie went on with a laugh. [b]“But I don’t care. I like this. A lot.”[/b] Serix had to agree with her there. He much preferred their passionate embrace to the traditional parting bows that took place in normal mating ceremonies. It felt more personal and, besides, he would take any excuse he could get to kiss her again.

[b]“And next?”[/b] Cassie continued thoughtfully. [b]“How about our vows? I mean, I know most people take a lot of time to prepare theirs, but to come up with them on the spot? You have to admit that would be interesting.”[/b]

“It would,” Serix nodded. “People in my society never made vows like you humans did. Their words were all fed to them by the officiator, so none of it was original.” He stepped back from Cassie to untie the cloth rope that bound their hands. After fiddling with the knots for a minute or two, he managed to get it off of both of their wrists. He tossed it on a nearby table, where it would be out of the way, and turned back to Cassie.

“Let’s see…” Serix placed his hands on his hips and stared down at the floor in thought. After a moment, he looked up at her again, “Okay. I think I have a few.” He cleared his throat and took her hands in his, meeting her blue-eyed gaze with his own violet eyes. “I vow to love you though any and all challenges we face, regardless of how difficult they may become. I swear I will make sure to keep our passion for each other alive; I won’t let it fade away with the wear of time. I also pledge to be faithful to you, putting your needs before my own and respecting your decisions. Lastly, I promise you myself. I will always be there for you, to both comfort and protect you so that you never again feel want or need.”

Serix tipped his head slightly and smiled at her bashfully, “How was that? I hope it wasn’t too bad considering I’ve never done this sort of thing before.”