Well, that was interesting, but temporary, I was sure. Couldn’t worry about that right now. I had priorities. I walked over to the table, glanced down at the array of blueprints and turned full circle.
My skirt caught the edge of the pile of paper, the fluttering of falling paper my first hint that something was happening.
“Fuck.” Zarren raced to the table and slammed his hands down on the remaining pages to keep them in place.
The rest rained down around my feet in a blizzard of paper.
“I’m sorry.” I lifted a few pages from the floor and tried to sort them into a semblance of order. I’d taken a mechanical drafting class, back in High School. Curiosity got the better of me as I looked at the plans. Looked like three levels, with some kind of power generator on the top. A lot of different sized spaces, but a series of uniform rooms on the top two floors made the place look like a dormitory—or a prison. I’d need to look closer to determine which.
I reached for another page. Zarren was there first, his hand blocking mine before I could take hold of the paper. “These are not for you.”
His terse tone irritated me no end. I’d been nice and accepting. I’d ignored the fact that he hadn’t bothered to meet me in transport—like a good mate should—and given him the benefit of the doubt about not liking doctors.
“You are very rude.”
He froze, glaring down at me—way, way down—as if I’d slapped him across the face. “I am protecting you.”
Is this what you had in mind? Super dangerous paper?
She/I had a point. “From what? Paper?”
He closed his eyes and shook his head, mumbling a Prillon curse under his breath. “From yourself. You shouldn’t be here. This is a mistake.”
I reached out to touch his shoulder but he jerked out of reach like my very presence disgusted him.
Oh, no, he didn’t…
“What, exactly, is the problem here?”
“My life is not suitable for a female. Go home. I don’t want a mate. Get out of here, before it’s too late.” He stared down at his hands where he had them spread out, palms flat on top of the table.
The gruff order shocked me to the core, a wave of hurt rolling through me like thunder, followed immediately by anger. How dare he? All of this, from the moment I’d arrived? I’d been kind and accepting. I hadn’t asked too many questions or judged him for his austere home. I hadn’t even expected him to love me—not that I’d told him that—but it was true. Yet, he refused to introduce me to his second—I didn’t believe his lie about not having one for a moment—and rudely ordered me to leave?
How. Dare. He?
Finally getting your spine back, woman? Tell him to fuck off.
No. That was not what I wanted. I wanted to be adored. Sexed up. Loved.
Calling on every tiny shard of willpower that I’d honed to diamond hardness in Nexus 5’s lab from hell, I kept my face blank as I stood my ground. No wonder I’d been mated to this stubborn ass. No doubt, very few women could handle him. “That is not your decision to make, Commander Helion. It’s mine. And I have thirty days to accept or reject you as my primary male.”
“I have made no claim. You should go, find another match.”
“You don’t have to claim me as yours. The Interstellar Brides’ Program has very clear laws. You’re mine to accept or reject for the next thirty days, not the other way around.” I’d assumed the Prillons wrote their laws that way—giving the female all the power of choice—because they never imagined a warrior who would refuse a matched mate. Until this moment, I’d never imagined it either.
I was not happy to be the first female in Prillon history to be turned away by her perfect match. Ninety-nine percent compatible, they said. Liars. In fact, the shocked look my so-called perfectmategave me, threatened to make me burst into tears.
You are not crying in front of this asshole.
I agreed.
Nothing about this was going the way it was supposed to. In fact, I had planned to be very naked, pressed between two sexy mates, moaning with pleasure as I rode two big cocks by now.
I had plans for a new, secure, and hopefully happy life. I’d be damned if one grumpy Prillon warrior was going to ruin them. Not happening. A centuries old system said he was perfect for me, and I was perfect for him. The moment I signed up to be an Interstellar Bride, I committed to that system with full faith that the matching protocols would deliver the perfect warrior to me.CommanderZarren Helion didn’t realize that being a monster wouldn’t scare me off. Quite the opposite, as long as he was gentle with me.
I wasn’t one to wish things were different. No. My time as a captive had taught me how to live moment to moment, deal with the here and now, not worry about a future I couldn’t control. I learned quickly. I would adapt and overcome the situation. This strange mate and his odd behavior were nothing more than a puzzle I needed to solve.
Once I had him figured out, I was going to teach this particular Prillon warrior a thing or two about women, specificallythis woman.
