Several hours later, they were standing along the edge of a meadow. He had been showing Avery more of his world, hoping that she would love it as much as he did. He watched her pile her hair up in a messy pony tail. Her windblown hair made her look wild and free, a stark contrast to the composed woman he’d first met.

His eyes darkened when the thin fabric of her blouse stretched across her breasts. He could see the dark circle of her areolas and her taut nipples through the material. She glanced at him in amusement when he moaned.

“I should have worn a bra. I decided it would be more of a hassle than it was worth because every time I put one on, you take it off,” she teased.

He grinned at her. “It is fun to remove it, but I enjoy feeling your hard nipples against my back,” he admitted.

She stopped in front of him. “Is that why you didn’t wear a shirt? I thought it was because you liked my hands on you,” she retorted with a raised eyebrow.

He reached out and grabbed her hand, raising it to his lips and pressing a kiss to the center of the intricate circles of her bond mark. Then he touched it with the tip of his tongue. Her loud gasp told him she felt what he was doing at the center of her being.

“I am not even going to try to understand what just happened,” she said with a shake of her head. “Where are you taking me to next?”

He tucked a stray strand of her hair behind her ear and caressed her cheek before he pulled her toward his land glider. A mischievous glint flared in his eyes.

“Would you like to control the glider?” he asked.

Her eyes lit up with delight. “I wondered how long it would take for you to finally offer me a chance,” she replied with a grin.

He laughed when she eagerly pulled him toward the land glider. The craft was a simple machine that allowed his people to move quickly through the dense forest. Avery called it a floating motorcycle. He remembered seeing a motorcycle when he was on her world. It seemed much more dangerous than the land glider.

He waited as Avery climbed on before he sat down behind her, wrapping one hand around her waist and another over her unbound breast while he leaned forward to rest his chin on her shoulder.

She tilted her head to the side and gave him a pointed look. He just grinned in response. She shook her head.

“Is copping a feel the only reason you are letting me drive?” she asked, turning her attention to the controls.

“Yes,” he replied.

She released an inelegant snort. “Well, hold me tight,” she advised.

Core tightened his hold on her as she started the transport. He should have known she had carefully watched what he had been doing all morning. In seconds, they were hovering in the air.

He slid his hands down to her waist when she leaned forward, and the glider smoothly accelerated, picking up speed as Avery became more confident in how to control it.

They wove their way through the forest, moving to a higher elevation. He gazed around at the massive trees and pride surged through him at the beauty of his homeland. The Eastern Clan had settled throughout this area when the forest was still young. His people nurtured and protected it, and it gave them plentiful food, shelter, and protection in return.

When they weren’t all crowded into Tilly’s marathon movie event, his clan moved among the trees like ghosts, and the birds and plants warned them if strangers entered their domain. He scowled at the memory of the deceitful human male, Scott Bachman, they’d found here. He had been the first to tell the clan that humans could bond with the Prime, and he had caused far too much suffering before he was stopped.

“How do you know Scott Bachman?” Avery asked with surprise.

Core blinked. It was too much to hope that Avery felt connected enough to him right now to hear his thoughts. He must have spoken the man’s name out loud. He grimaced with distaste, wishing they could talk about something else.

As Cosmos’ security officer, Avery probably knew part of this story. She would certainly know that Hannah and Tink were the eldest and youngest daughters of Tilly and Angus, that Tink had been the first human to go through Cosmos’ gateway, that Hannah was the second, and that Tink and Hannah were the bond mates of J’kar and Borj, the eldest and second eldest sons of Teriff ‘Tag Krell Manok, the leader of Baade, and his bond mate Tresa.

“He was not a good human,” he responded.

Avery shot him a quick look. “No shit, but that still doesn’t explain how you know about him. Is he here?” she asked.

Core shook his head. “He is dead. He was brought here after he almost killed Tink on your world. He killed two guards before escaping into the forest. We found him. We would have killed him immediately, but he offered us something we couldn’t refuse—hope. Not long after, he and two outcasts from our clan kidnapped Hannah. They are dead now too,” he added in a blunt tone.

“What happened to Hannah?” Avery quietly asked, slowing down the glider.

He tightened his arms around her waist. “She was hurt, but has since recovered. Borj is very attentive to her and their children. I know you think it is a terrible thing to be the bond mate of a Prime, Avery, but not all Prime are bad. It has been difficult with so few women among our kind. For years, our people have searched nearby worlds to find a mate who would complete us. We lost hope as it seemed certain our species would die out,” he continued.

“There are other planets near you with people? That’s right; you said your father was on a trip. It’s hard to wrap my head around all of this sometimes,” she mused, shaking her head in disbelief.

“Turn to the northwest. There is a place I would like to show you,” he instructed before he continued. “There are many different species. “The Prime are the most powerful because our technology is more advanced. You have only seen a small portion of my world, and the village where I live may appear simple, but it relies on very complex technology. We sustainably make the most of our natural resources to provide abundance, protection, and joy to everyone,” he shared.

“I’ve seen your home. It is unbelievable,” she said.

“When you pass through the trees here, there will be a cliff,” he warned.

He straightened as she maneuvered the land glider between the trees and onto a wide rock shelf. She powered down the glider and he disembarked. As she stepped off the transport, he reached out and grasped her hand, steadying her.

They silently walked to the edge of the cliff. Below was a vast, deep gorge. Waterfalls flowed over the sides. Some plunged hundreds of feet while others were like steps as they cascaded down into several large basins until reaching the wide river below.

“This is beautiful. It reminds me of the Grand Canyon back home. I wonder if the Colorado River once looked like this as it cut through the canyon,” she murmured.

He stepped up behind her and wrapped his arms around her waist, then he pointed to the series of falls closest to them. She turned her head to look at them.

“The falls supply power to our village and to the security grid for this region. There are many such power stations, built to blend in with the natural surroundings. We did not want to ruin what the Goddess gave us by trying to tame the flow, and the natural fall of the water hides our infrastructure from anyone foolish enough to attack us,” he explained.

Avery shook her head in wonder. “Smart. On my world, the first things an invading force attacks are the communication and power structures. Divide and conquer: create chaos and move in to take over. It’s a classic military strategy,” she said.

He looked down at her with a raised eyebrow. “You have studied military strategies?” he asked.

“Some. My job is to keep Cosmos Raines Industries safe from attacks. Obviously, Cosmos does more than run a corporation full of computer nerds. We sometimes go into the most hostile places on Earth looking for the worst of those who prey upon the weak. Avilov was one of them. You saw what he was capable of. The people who took Merrick are targets too. We took down some, but there are still key figures that remain free: Markham, Wright, and Dolinski. I shouldn’t have come here, but with Merrick safe on your world now…” her voice faded and she shrugged. “I decided the world would have to survive without me for three days.”

Core made a soft sound of acknowledgment as he breathed in her scent and basked in her warmth. “I would not have wished Merrick’s captivity on him…” he mused, “but if it wasn’t for everything that had happened, I would not have met you,” he grudgingly admitted.

“How is he doing?” Avery asked, tilting her head back against his shoulder to look up at him.

He gazed out over the canyon to hide his expression. After so long trying to temper the volatility of the desperate men in his clan, attempting to contain his own emotions was second nature, though it was difficult when he thought of how close to death Merrick had been. He took a breath and told himself that it was important to be calm. This relationship between humans and the Prime was new and therefore delicate. He did not want her to think that he blamed all humans for what had happened to Merrick.

“The drugs almost killed him,” he finally said, “and his recovery is slow. Now that he is awake, he is impatient to return to your world. He has found his bond mate.”

Avery chuckled and shook her head. “Poor woman!” she teased, turning in his arms.

Core smiled and caressed her cheek. “And yet, finding our bond mate makes us the richest warriors in all the world,” he softly countered.

The amusement in Avery’s eyes faded and was replaced by a haunted look that he wanted more than anything to chase away. He could almost see the barrier that blocked him from her mind. It was like an empty vortex, sucking the light away and leaving nothing but darkness. He kept his hand on her cheek and focused on her thoughts.

“Don’t!” her sharp command and the mental push she gave him felt like a blow.

“Avery…” he murmured in concern.

She took a step away from him, her expression accusing, then she turned and walked back to the glider. He followed her, and when she climbed on, he noticed her knuckles were white where she gripped the handles.

“I don’t want to end this with regret, Core. I want us to remember the beautiful time we had together. No strings, no expectations, no demands…” she said, looking at him with dark eyes that revealed more emotion than she probably realized.

“Just three days of mindless, never-ending sex,” he said in a soft voice.

She gave him a crooked smile, but her eyes held a hint of grief. “And each other’s company,” she quietly finished.

He reached down and brushed a kiss along her upturned lips, then lifted his hands and framed her face, quietly studying her features before he brushed another kiss to the end of her nose.

“Would you like to swim in a magical cave?” he asked.

Her low, sexy laugh was a relief, and he climbed onto the glider, wrapping his arms tightly around her waist. She leaned back against him for a moment before firing up the glider. They rose into the air. She looked over her shoulder and raised an eyebrow.

“Who wouldn’t want to see a magical cave on an alien world? Life doesn’t get much better than this,” she informed him.

He smiled wickedly and slid his hands up under the fabric of her shirt to her unbound breasts. She gasped as he cupped them.

“I can think of something that might,” he murmured in her ear.

He laughed when she cursed and pressed harder on the glider’s accelerator. Her delighted laughter soon mixed with his as they sped through the forest. His heart swelled with love.

Whether Avery would admit it or not, they were made for each other. He would not be giving up without a fight—and not just because the unaccepted bond would eventually kill him, as it would any Prime. He wouldn’t want to live without her. If there was no way to be with Avery and he had a choice about whether to live or die, Core would have found a way to end his suffering.