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Hayley nodded. “There’s more. He covered for me. When I joined My Single Alien, I wasn’t truthful about my experience as a matchmaker. I downright lied. I have no skills in matchmaking.”

“Why apply for a job you’re not skilled in?”

“Because the money is great. You get danger money for working in space, and it’s at least double what I’d get on Earth for doing the same job. I had to take the risk. My sister, Sally, she’s really sick, and her treatment is expensive. I had to find a way to pay for it. When the job came up, and I saw how much they offered, I had to take the risk. It wasn’t hard. I created a fake resume and paid off a few people to write fake references. The trouble was, My Single Alien was thorough when they looked into my background. They knew my college history and got in touch with Professor Grenville. That’s where it all falls apart.” Now that Hayley had started speaking, she couldn’t stop. She didn’t want to hide anything from Elias.

“What did he do?”

“He covered for me, but only because it gave him leverage.” Hayley grimaced. “He wants to pick up where we left off. He was trying to blackmail me into sleeping with him, so he’d keep quiet about my lies.”

Elias pushed her hair back from her face and stared into her eyes. Anger simmered in the depths of his inky irises. “Did he touch you?”

“I refused him, so he threatened to go to Diadora and tell her everything. It looks like he’s done exactly that. I’m screwed. I’ve lost my job, which means I’ve lost my money, which means I’ve lost my sister.” More tears threatened, and Hayley buried her face against Elias’s shoulder.

He held her for several minutes without saying anything and demanding nothing of her. His embrace was comforting, and Hayley found some of her sickening fear receding as he continued to stroke her hair gently. It felt so good to tell the truth and not be judged harshly for it.

“Perhaps all is not lost,” Elias said.

“What do you mean?” Hayley raised her head. “I won’t get my job back.”

“No, from the sounds of it, your boss won’t be persuaded to change her mind. And I might be a jerk for saying it, but she shouldn’t. You lied to her.”

Hayley scowled at him. “For a damn good cause.”

“I don’t disagree. You’re all the more remarkable for finding a way to help your sister.”

Hayley knew Elias spoke the truth, but it still stung. “It was always a risk. Diadora is no slouch. She’s always had her suspicions about me. Professor Grenville only confirmed them. She doesn’t mess around when someone does her a wrong.”

“We might not be able to fix your work situation, but we can do something about Professor Grenville. Do you have proof as to what he did to you?”

“It’s my word against his. That was one of his brags when I threatened to go public. He said I was a young, hysterical girl who’d had a crush on him, and he’d rejected her. No one will believe me over a respected college professor.”

“Has he done this to anybody else?”

Hayley gasped as she recalled her online chats with other students who’d gone to the same college. “Yes, loads of others. In fact, I’ve been talking to some of them. We met in a chat room, and they told me he did exactly the same thing to them. He charmed them, got them into bed, and had them kicked off of his course by making it looked like they’d cheated.”

“That’s what you need. If you all have the same story, people will have to take notice. You can go back to the college with a joint statement to show what he did. If they don’t listen, take the story to the media. It will make his actions public, stop him from doing it again, and discredit his name.”

“He deserves it,” Hayley said. “He doesn’t care about ruining people’s careers or breaking their hearts and tricking them into loving him.”

“You loved him?”

Hayley paused. “I thought I did. I was young and dumb and should have known better.”

Elias’s arm tightened around her. “You couldn’t have known better. He deceived you. He tricked you into feeling things, so he could get what he wanted. Good can still come out of this. You can stop him from messing with anyone else.”

A flicker of opportunity lit in Hayley’s chest. “You’re right. We can do something. I’ll speak to the other women. It’s wrong he’s been getting away with this for all these years. It’s time it stopped.”

Elias lifted her chin with a finger. “You will be the one to stop it. You can achieve anything if you set your mind to it.”

Hayley smiled, growing warm as she realized how close she was to Elias. “I don’t know about that. I get by on lucky chances most of the time.”

“Do you consider me a lucky chance?” His thumb brushed against her bottom lip.

Hayley’s breath came out shaky as she stared into Elias’s eyes. She’d won him. He was hers. She had Elias, and he loved her. He was here, even after she’d messed up. He still wanted her.

His gaze grew intense as he leaned down, and their lips met. The kiss quickly deepened, and she wrapped both arms around his neck, drinking in his taste.

His hands ran through her hair, pulling her closer, his tongue meeting hers and a groan sliding from his lips.