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Hayley glanced at Elias and saw how tight his shoulders were. He knew he had a problem. Why had he stayed? Surely, as soon as he’d realized this princess was the one who tried to eat him, he should have gotten the hell out of here. Why hang around to face the inevitable arrest and persecution?

Her gaze flicked between the two of them. That could be what he was doing. He saw this as a way to make amends. Elias felt ashamed of what he’d done and could no longer hide it.

Sadness grew in Hayley. She didn’t want Elias punished. He’d been protecting himself. He was standing up for his own beliefs. He wasn’t the jerk she’d first considered him to be. He was a hero. He was protesting against cruel and outdated behaviors, behaviors that terrified many and turned them away from intimacy for life. It was not living if you couldn’t be intimate with someone without fearing for your own safety.

As she continued to watch the silent interaction between Elias and Princess Isolt, her gut twisted, and her sadness shifted to anger. It was cruel and unnatural to see how Princess Isolt lay claim to Elias by simply staring at him. Hayley understood now. He had been right to run, and he should keep running. Standing in front of this cold-hearted, predatory female was suicide.

“I’ll ensure your ship is our top priority.” Claydon nodded at the princess before gesturing for Elias to leave with him.

Elias looked at Hayley, a rush of different emotions running across his face. He nodded and walked away.

“Is everything okay?” Vegas whispered as she touched Hayley’s arm.

“Fine. No problem here.” Hayley forced her emotions in check and kept her attention on the group, despite her desire to keep watching Elias.

“I need to take Princess Isolt and her retinue to their quarters and settle them in. Are you sure you’ll be okay when Professor Grenville disembarks? Did Diadora tell you everything you need to know?”

Hayley gritted her teeth. “It won’t be a problem.”

Vegas’s smile was encouraging. “I know this is a big deal, but it will make things easier that you know him. You can talk about old times. Diadora said he used to teach you in college.”

“That’s right.” It had been eight years since Professor Grenville had kicked her out of college. It was such a long time ago he might not even remember what had happened. One thing Hayley knew for sure; she’d never forgotten the way he treated her. Like she was nothing more than a bag of trash once he’d gotten what he wanted.

“Good luck with it. I’m a call away if you need any help. You won’t need it. I’m sure you’ll be brilliant.” Vegas waddled away with Princess Isolt. They left the docking bay, closely followed by the princess’s assistants and guards.

Hayley took a number of long, slow, deep breaths. Her insides roiled, and her heart pounded. She had to get through this. If she pretended everything was fine, maybe it would work out. Fake it until you make it; that’s what Sally always said. Hayley couldn’t let this jerk mess with her head after such a long time.

Her insecurities could not ruin everything she’d worked for. This was for Sally. Hayley would do this job, get paid for it, and leave it all behind as soon as she could. If she had to deal with a few ghosts from her past, so be it. She was doing this. She would make sure this pairing was a success.

As Hayley waited for the docked ship to open and the security checks to complete, she glanced over and saw Elias at the back of the docking bay. He didn’t see her watching him. He looked shell-shocked as he stared into space. She wanted to go over and see how he was doing after meeting his cannibal princess again. His mind must be a worse mess than hers was.

She ran her hands self-consciously down the front of her jumpsuit. Raymond was slick and charming. Hayley had been enchanted by him when he’d lectured her on prehistoric life. Her true love of dinosaurs had ignited in his classes. He’d weaved fascinating tales about dinosaur behavior and their social interactions.

Hayley hadn’t noticed it at first, but Raymond had paid her an unusual amount of attention. She’d been flattered. He was an older, attractive guy, and she was an eighteen-year-old, wide-eyed student, eager to make her mark in the world and find her passion.

That evening, when he’d asked her to meet him for a drink, she’d assumed it was to talk about her upcoming paper. She’d proposed a collaborative paper with two other students, with Raymond acting as the lead. He’d seemed amused when she’d suggested it but had become more interested as she’d explained her reasoning.

She’d spent that evening star struck. Raymond had regaled her about his time at college and the fun he’d had. He’d sounded so sophisticated and was a well-known name in the field of paleontology.

That first evening had led to several more and then dinners out. He’d always taken Hayley to places a good hour away from the college. At the time, she hadn’t thought anything of it. In fact, she’d been charmed he’d wanted to show her off at so many places. It was years later that she’d realized he’d taken her to those places to make sure no one he knew saw them together. It was forbidden for students and lecturers to be romantically involved. But of course, she’d been a dumb kid and had thought he’d liked her.

The first time Raymond had invited her to his apartment, she’d refused. He didn’t try again until a couple of weeks later. Spurred on by several glasses of wine, Hayley had agreed. They’d had coffee and made out on his couch.

Hayley had left feeling dizzy and convinced she was in love. Convinced she was entering her first grown-up relationship with an experienced, cultured man who knew how to look after his girlfriend.

Things moved fast after that. Raymond became more demanding. Hayley had wanted to keep him happy but hadn’t felt ready to sleep with him. They’d had their first argument after she’d refused to spend the night. He’d called her immature and a tease.

So, she’d convinced herself sleeping with him was the right thing to do. She’d loved Raymond and wanted him in her life. They had a grown-up relationship, and it needed to be mature in all aspects. Like a naïve idiot, she’d agreed to go to bed with him.

After that, everything went to shit. Raymond stopped inviting her out for drinks and spent the first week ignoring her.

Hayley had tried to play it cool, so as not to seem so desperately in love with him. But she’d leave her lectures having been ignored, feeling sick and lonely and wondering if she’d made a huge mistake.

She’d questioned him about what had gone wrong, and he’d brushed it off, saying he was busy with departmental matters and couldn’t spend any time on their relationship. He’d told her not to worry, and she was being paranoid. He still liked her, and when things calmed down, they would go out again.

Hayley had tried to believe him but had seen the coldness in his eyes. He didn’t want her anymore.

Instead, she’d focused on the upcoming end of term exams and thrown her pent-up frustration into studying and revising. She was convinced she’d aced the exams, but when the papers were returned, hers didn’t arrive. All she’d received was a note asking her to see the professor.