“Yeah.” I swallowed. “It just sort of hit me, you know? This isbig.”
He gave me a rare smile, and it made his sharply featured facepainfullyhandsome.Sheesh.I hadn’t seen a bad-looking daernir, or even one who was just average on a human scale. Yiri, though? He was definitely the hottest.
“What are you thinking about?” he asked, his deep voice playing havoc with my senses.
I chewed at the corner of my mouth for a moment before admitting, “I’m thinking you’re very sexy.”
His smile turned wicked in an instant. “Do I please you, wife?”
Mmm.I shifted on the plushly cushioned couch, nodding. “Yes.”
“Are you alone?” he asked.
I shook my head. “A few techs are milling around. I’m in a common area.”
“No other women there yet?”
“Not yet,” I said. “Although I heard someone being given the tour a minute ago. Maybe she’ll join me soon. I was told this is the best place to view Earth when we take off.”
Yiri nodded. “Are you ready?”
Drawing in a deep breath, I looked out the window. The compound wasn’t much to look at. A lot of concrete and metal buildings as far as the eye could see. It kind of reminded me of a big airport. But it was Earth. It was home, wasn’t it?
“I don’t know,” I said. “I’m feeling a little sad, I guess. But....”
“But what,Aneah?” Yiri prompted gently.
Our eyes connected through the phone. “But I think I’m mostly sad that… that I don’t feel like I’m leaving much behind. It’s mywhole life, but it isn’t much.”
“Cora. Don’t be sad. It isn’t your fault.”
Like his words were the last blow to a failing damn, my chest cracked and filled up with wretched, miserable emotion. “It has to be, though,” I said, my voice wobbling with the threat of tears. “My own parents don’t want me in their lives. And my only friend is someone I’ve known for less than six months, who I met atwork. I had to look on anotherplanetto find a boyfriend! I can’t keep a job, the only creature who likes me is Mr. Darcy, and that’s just because I feed him! He mostly just judges me, and I get it. I’d judge me too.”
“Aneah.”
“I’m a mess. You don’t want a mess like me. What am I even doing? I can’t saddle you with all of this baggage just because you liked my high heels and eyeliner!”
“Aneah!”
The sudden sharpness of his tone broke through my panic enough to shut me up. I stared at his face on my phone screen, and it took me a moment to understand that Yiri was…mad?
“You listen to me,wife. I am not yourboyfriend.I am your mate. I’ll be your husband, your protector, your provider, your lover, yourslave, because I am yourIbar chosen mate.Do you understand me?”
“No,” I blinked. “I mean… Some of that, yeah. But….”
“You’re sad that you don’t have much of a life to leave behind on Earth,” he said. “You blame yourself for not having a loving family, or friends, or purpose in your work.”
“Yeah….”
“It’s because you were never meant to stay there, Cora. You didn’t find a human male to be all that you need, because the male you are fated to be bound tois not human. He isn’t on Earth.”
“Oh.” A new emotion was slowly taking over the flood of panic. A warmer wash of somethinggood.
“Against all the odds, we found each other on that app. You lost your job the very same day I was told to find a mate or be bound to someone I hate.Ibarmade you for me, Cora. It just put you somewhere I never expected.”
I let that sink in for a minute, all the warmth turning gooey and nice in my belly. It sounded pretty good, I had to give it to him.
“You really believe that?” I asked.
