Nayanors.

They had a charm about them, Quinn quickly came to learn. The kind of charm that made her seriously consider her choices in life.

She imagined there might have been a woman, who, in her stead, would have found the "I'll never leave you alone in the world" comment romantic. Showing commitment and devotion, so to speak. The harbinger was clearly a family-minded man.

If he wasn't a complete maniac, of course.

What Quinn had taken away from her first impression of her new fated was the "never leave you alone" part.

Rhys really meant it. The thing with Nayanors was that like every other species that had the power to make their way in the galaxy with the strength of their arms, they had never gotten into the habit of lying. Poetic language and dancing around a subject didn't come naturally to a straightforward warrior species. Those in the Galactic Union's ranks were pretty much the same.

So by "never", Rhys meant never. And "alone" meant that Quinn had really, really not thought her actions through.

She was now the fated mate of a Nayanor harbinger and if she didn't play her cards right, there was trouble ahead. Not only was she not going to see Terra again, forgetting what daylight looked like was in cards if she pissed off the man who thought of females as property.

Patience. Patience is a virtue. I'll find a way to get away from him and then I can find Cassie.

At least she was getting a free ride to Luminos. The thought of being able to stay true to the promise she'd made her mother kept Quinn silent as she saw groups of women being herded into the shuttles like cattle.

She had to bite her lip, though. It was a terrifying sight, reminding her once again that the man who'd claimed her was nothing more than a creature straight out of nightmares. All the more real and that much more dangerous because he didn't look the part.

In fact, Quinn had to admit that she found him very attractive despite everything she'd seen the warlord do. It was very hard to fight her desire for a guy who embodied the very essence of what it meant to be a man. If he'd put his strength and natural leadership skills to a good use, Quinn would have been glad to –

To what? she thought, trying to give herself a chiding look. To stand by his side and be a good little trophy wife? Focus. He's just a good-looking guy. Even if that is the understatement of the year...

She took a step in the direction of the shuttles, certain that Rhys had been leading her there.

The harbinger caught her, laughing softly. The deep voice gained an impossibly sexy edge through that, making Quinn dearly wish she could develop some immunity against him. It was going to be a hard uphill battle if she started bringing up excuses to be close to him.

He was her ticket to Luminos, nothing more.

"Where are you going?" Rhys asked, obviously amused by something she'd done. "You are mine now, I told you."

"I thought you would put me there with the others," Quinn explained, trying not to sound hopeful. "I don't mind."

"Absolutely not," Rhys said, leading her away from the macabre sight. "Your place is with me and the only rooms you'll be sharing are mine."

Quinn said nothing, letting the harbinger take her away from the Union cruiser in a personal fighter, knowing there was no use in resisting. She didn't exactly fancy the idea of being carried off over the warlord's shoulder, something she imagined he would do if she started throwing tantrums.

The fighter was the greatest of all evils, though, that became very obvious to Quinn when she realized how cramped the space there was and how alone they were.

The harbinger was watching her with a hungry smirk on his lips.

"You're even more gorgeous than I ever imagined," he said, a dark fire in his green eyes. "I can't wait to have you in my bed, moaning my name."

Quinn smiled, wondering why she felt like she was suddenly stuck in a cage with a hungry predator. She didn't think her lion-taming skills were top-notch, but she had to try something if she was going to dissuade the harbinger from claiming his "rights" with her.

"I barely know your name," she pointed out calmly. "I don't know what kind of women you've met on your raids before, but Terrans like to take a little break between learning a man's name and screaming it to the stars."

"What kind of a break?" Rhys asked, still regarding her with a ravenous look that told Quinn he was definitely undressing her with his amazing eyes.

"A few months," she replied bravely.

The harbinger laughed as the fighter docked to a ship and he came closer to her, bringing her into his tight embrace with a quick pull. Quinn found herself pressed against his body, the hard lines of his armor digging into her flesh. She looked up into the eyes a woman could drown in if she wasn't so mad at him.

"You're amusing," Rhys said. "I like that. I wouldn't want someone who bores me."

"I'll take that as a compliment," Quinn replied, hoping he didn't hear how fast her heart was beating. "I stand by what I said."

"Do you now?" Rhys asked.

The harbinger pressed his lips against hers, holding Quinn through her surprise and the following quick struggle. She wanted to pull away, definitely wanted to, except no part of her body seemed to understand that deep-seated belief. It was like she actually wanted to melt deeper into the kiss, feel Rhys' lips on hers, his tongue exploring her mouth.

The kiss grew more passionate as Quinn finally relented to the call of her body, refusing to admit she herself had anything to do with the desire that was running wild inside her.

The fighter had apparently finished docking because the outer hatch opened and cast them in an artificial bright light from outside. A very careless warrior peeked in, freezing on the spot by the door, his words getting stuck in his throat.

"Harbinger –" he'd begun to say.

Rhys didn't move, ignoring his presence completely. It seemed to Quinn as though they really were the only two people in the world at that moment. The harbinger gave no indication he'd ever heard the warrior.

One of his hands was wrapped around her waist, pulling her up to meet him as he was more than a head taller than Quinn. The other was buried in her hair, tugging gently and making Quinn fight hard not to moan.

She'd never been kissed like that. The last boyfriend she'd had, sometime way far back, had kissed like he was in a rush, but Rhys gave Quinn the impression that nothing else in the world mattered but her.

He didn't let go of her until they had run out of breath, her lips red and swollen from the harsh, almost brutal passion she hadn't minded at all. For all his unstoppable fervor, Rhys hadn't hurt her.

The harbinger glanced over her shoulder at the warrior, the look in his eyes telling Quinn that someone else was going to die very soon.

That warrior at least had the good sense to decide that his message wasn't so important after all and made himself quickly scarce.

"Now," Rhys said, turning his attention back to her. "Where were we? You were telling me how little you would enjoy something like that. Are you still standing by your words?"

Quinn felt the corners of her lips being tugged upwards, knowing the warlord had her cornered.

"Yes," she said, regardless. "There's quite a big difference between kissing and what you're suggesting."

"I wasn't suggesting," Rhys said and Quinn's breath hitched. "You're my fated mate, bonded to me with body and soul. There is no resisting destiny, as you will soon see."

"Is that the excuse you use?" Quinn asked, unable to control herself as some of her real emotions finally bubbled to the surface. "That if I'm saying "no" to you, it's destiny I'm fighting, not you forcing yourself on me?"

Rhys laughed again, stepping out of the fighter and extending a hand to help her down.

"I'm not going to force you," he said. "Females are precious to Nayanors. I won't let anyone hurt you, that includes myself. Not to mention, I haven't heard a "no" from you yet."

Quinn let him lift her off the shuttle, feeling she weighed nothing when Rhys' breath didn't even grow heavier for a second. He didn't let her go when he'd put her down.

"No," she said firmly.

"You're not a very good liar," Rhys said, his lips inches from hers again. "I can read the desire from your body better than you think. You can keep your pride, it's not a problem to me, but you will be mine."

"You are very sure of yourself," Quinn replied. "What makes you think I'm so easily convinced?"

Rhys kissed her, as deeply and as passionately as before. His mouth felt amazing on hers and it took several seconds for Quinn to remember to push him away. Chuckling, Rhys pulled back even if it was very clear he could have overpowered her in an instant.

"That is why," he said with a maddening smirk. "It didn't sound like a "no" to me. Inch by inch, you'll give all of yourself to me."

"Not going to happen," Quinn protested.

"You have spirit, little Terran," the harbinger said, gesturing to the mayhem around them. "But you're in my world now."

Quinn looked to what he was pointing to, seeing the shuttles being unloaded. The women were taken through gigantic doors to somewhere deeper in the ship. The thing that amazed her, though, was that some of those who led the way were women. Terran women.

And Quinn thought she recognized Cassie.