At the campsite, we are quiet. Mor sits between us, munching on roasted plants he’s found.

“You aren’t going to eat, Orien?” he asks.

I shake my head no. “I’ve eaten enough tonight.”

Emily shakes her head and sighs. In the glow of the moonlight, her beauty is unmatched. Her hair is still wet and shines, and her body is clean of all the dirt and blood. I am impressed with how well I healed her wounds. I watch her nibble cautiously on the root of some green vegetable. I have never been more jealous of food.

I have slept with so many women and enjoyed their companionship for a night or two, but romantic love never happened—until now. I can taste her still in my mouth. That sweet deliciousness haunts me like a newly eaten meal. I suck on the inside of my cheek, savoring what’s left of Emily on my tongue.

She squirmed so much underneath me. I can’t even imagine what she’ll do when I let her cum.

I brush through my damp hair with my fingers. Emily leans against a stump; her eyes fight to stay open, but she’s growing sleepy. I don’t blame her for being tired.

The strange feeling of protection wells inside of me. She looks so soft and fragile, like a doll.

Is she mad at me now? At least we’re even.

She doesn’t trust me because she knows I want to get paid for my work—even though that means sacrificing her happiness. And she’s not wrong—she could be substituted for another woman; a woman is the issue, not her, specifically.

But she’s who the king wants.

And who I want.

Can I really blame her for wanting the freedom to choose her fate? It must all be some cruel joke the universe is playing on me.

What did I do to deserve this?

A lot, actually.

She deserves better than me. She’s truly worthy of being a queen, not the wife of a criminal.

She finally falls asleep. Her breathing falls into a slow, steady rhythm. She rests her head against her plump arm.

Eventually, both she and Mor have drifted off by the fire.

Mor lays beside me. His head rests against his leather sack. It’s my turn to keep watch, and I don’t mind. I can’t sleep anyway. The fear something could happen to her is too much to bear.

The sound of the jungle has grown softer. Heavy clouds drift over the moon, making everything darker. It may rain again. I hope it doesn’t. I glance up at the clouds, then down to Emily. She’s awake now.

“Can’t sleep?” I ask her.

She nods and sits up weakly. “Not after what you did to me in the pool.”

“I thought you liked it.”

She frowns. “It was cruel.”

“You did the same thing to me.”

“But you aren’t stuck on another planet, trying to get home.”

I am, though.

I don’t tell her that. She doesn’t need to know the truth about Mor and me—how we have no home. I have no clue how she would even respond. Even now, I still worry about what she might think of me, and it’s a foolish concern.

“Is anyone waiting for you at home?”

Her face turns red. “No. I—was seeing someone, but he—didn’t care enough for me to make it official. We lived together, but—well, I ended it just before I got picked up by TerraMates.” Her voice is small and feeble; she keeps her attention on the fire.

“He didn’t love me. He just wanted to fuck me and sleep somewhere warm. I paid the rent. I paid for everything. But it was still better than foster care. I grew up in the system—I never really had parents. Just people who made sure I didn’t starve too much. It sucked more than I can express. One thing I liked about acting, whenever I was on stage, was the chance to be…someone else. Anyone else. Just for a little while.”

The words hang in the air, then rip through me. Would someone hurt Emily? Anger bubbles in my stomach and my throat. How? Why? So many questions wrap around my head, but all are replaced by the need for revenge—to hurt whoever did this.

I stay steady and watch the flames twist orange and red, but on the inside, I’m screaming.

I clench my jaw. Why the fuck do I care so much?

“I often have nightmares about waking up back in foster care, but ever since I’ve been—” she stops and watches me. “Don’t make fun of me.”

“What do you mean?”

“Ever since I have been with you I haven’t had one.” Her eyebrows furrow, and she chews on her bottom lip.

I can’t help but grin.

“Don’t get too cocky, though,” she starts. “You still drive me insane. And I kind of hate you.”

I laugh, scratching my chin. Her eyes light up under her veil of long black lashes. Her cheeks turn slightly red.

I watch her from the corner of my eye, pressing my fingers to my lips. “You also make me insane. I don’t know what it is. And on top of it all, no one has ever frustrated me more.”

I move closer to her and push a strand of long black hair back behind her ear. My fingers linger along her cheek for a lasting moment.

“No one’s ever turned me on more than you do,” I whisper.

Her hand catches the back of mine. Her touch sends a current of electricity through my arm. She holds my hand there and presses her cheek into my palm. My heart rate increases, and I take a deep breath.

She closes her eyes. “I think that’s the nicest thing you’ve ever said to me.”

“It is, isn’t it?”

“Yeah. I like it.” She pulls her face away from my hand.

It feels cold and empty. I flex my arm several times. “I wish we had met in different circumstances.”

“Why do you say that?” She sits back.

“Just, uh—you know, not being stranded on some planet.”

“We wouldn’t be friends, Orien.”

“Why not?”

“You’re a stuck-up asshole.” She smiles. “Alright?”

“You know, Emily, that could be the nicest thing you’ve said to me.”

She winks. “I can be rather nice.”

“Oh, I don’t know about that.” There is a long pause.

“You make me feel safe,” she whispers, then twists her hair on a finger, wrapping the strand around and around.

I would consider myself the last person to make anyone feel safe. If anything, I usually evoke the opposite, but I feel myself swelling with pride.

She coughs slightly, then stands. “I don’t know,” she sighs.

“What?”

“You—just—I can’t explain it, so I don’t know.” She starts to walk away from the fire, into the shadow of the trees. “I need to think.”

I quickly follow her. I wrap my arms around her soft waist from behind and pull her into my chest before she can get a step farther. I wrap my arms around her generous, luscious frame. Her clothes are finally dry, and she smells of flowers and honey.

“You don’t have to explain anything,” I whisper to the top of her head. Her body freezes as I hold her close, but I feel her breathing has increased.

“It’s scary,” she mumbles.

“I know.” I run a hand over her hair. I’ve never held anyone like this, so intimately and nonsexually, but it feels incredibly right.

Her face buries itself into my solid chest. Is she crying?

“You’ll be okay,” I try and comfort. “I’m sorry about everything.”

She lets out a low breath. “I should go back to sleep.” She removes herself from my embrace. “This is just making everything more confusing. You don’t know me, and I don’t know you. This—this is all really weird.”

She saunters back to the fire, holding her arms over her chest. I wait to follow her back until she’s laid back onto the ground and closed her eyes.

I sit down next to her, resting my back against the stump.

I don’t dare look away. I want to memorize her face, her scent, the feeling of her skin—all of it—before she leaves me. I reach my hand out and gently stroke her arm. She stirs slightly, and her eyes flutter open. She smiles and moves her head onto my thigh. I stroke her hair gently. She nuzzles in closer. If I could freeze this moment, I would. Can I really let King Ursen have what is mine? I should take her back to Earth. Maybe. Then I can have her, that is if she wants me. She won’t though. This is nothing more than her being confused and lost. She is just trying to get help, to feel safe.

“What do you think of me?” she suddenly asks. Her eyes are still closed.

“I thought you were sleeping.”

“I’m trying.” She rolls onto her back, looking up at me. I rest my hand on the top of her forehead. “What do you think of me?”

“I think you’re very beautiful, incredibly feisty, and you taste very good. Why?”

She shrugs. “Will you remember me after all of this?”

“How could I forget you?”

“Take me home.”

“I can’t, Emily.”

“Why not? I don’t understand.” She pushes my hand away.

“We won’t find a ship that can travel that far, and fast enough. It could take years. You’ll be better off and safer on Omicron as a queen.”

She frowns. “You’re lying.”

“I’m not.”

She sits up now and points a finger into my chest. “You like to act so strong and brave, but you’re nothing more than a coward.”

I grab her wrist and hold onto it tightly. “I don’t know what it’s like on Earth, but here—things are run a certain way, and for a human woman like yourself, nothing will be easy. So trust me when I tell you everything will be better for you if you go to Omicron.”

“How can I trust you?”

“Because I—” I want to tell her because I love you. The words almost fall out of my mouth, to my surprise, but I catch them right before they pass my lips.

Her eyebrows raise. “Because you what?”

Blood is rushing in my ears, and my heart is hammering. “I know what’s best for you.”

She laughs—an angry, spiteful sound—and pushes me away. “Whatever. See, this is exactly what I’m talking about. You make no sense. You’re so damn confusing. I don’t think you even understand what you’re thinking yourself.”

She walks to the other side of the fire and sits down. “How could you possibly know what’s best for me? And I love how you suddenly care! Don’t ever fucking touch me again.”

The anger coming out of her is fierce and sudden. I shake my head and let out a low sigh. This is exactly why she’ll be better off without me.

“I’m going to sleep now, for real,” she announces, closing her eyes.

“Goodnight,” I snap.

“Goodnight, everyone,” Mor mumbles. “And please shut it! You can resume your pointless bickering in the morning.”

I grit my teeth. Emily’s eyes are closed. She is angry, huffing and rolling over several times; then she grunts, kicking at the earth.

She reminds me of a child, stubborn and immature. If only she could understand what I’m trying to tell her. She wouldn’t survive a day on her own in the Centaurus System.

I take a deep breath and hit the back of my head against a tree several times in an attempt to clear it. I lay awake, with thoughts racing around in my head until Mor wakes up to switch watch with me.

Even when I close my eyes, I still don’t sleep. Thoughts of Emily override all my physical needs.