Ruska, Rush to his friends, sat in the crowded amphitheater on the planet Janus. Being out in the open, surrounded by so many people, he felt uncomfortable. Ever since the day he walked away from his family home and took up an “unsavory” profession, he worried someone would recognize him and inform his father.

But right now, he tried to push all that away. He was at a sacred event that, because of his life choices, he was sure he’d never experience.

Caayn, Rush’s best friend and captain, was being handfasted today. Rush, though, remained one of the few who knew this handfast was not what it appeared to be.

That didn’t matter to Rush at this moment. He held the handfasting ceremony as holy. The ritual where a man took a woman to be his forever, when he pledged his heart, mind, and body to her, these were sacred notions to Rush.

This was one thing he had learned from his mother before she’d died when he was young. He’d been raised by his heartbroken father, who’d never taken another woman and, instead, poured himself into the political workings on their home planet Zama.

Rush chanced a glance at the woman next to him.

Katrina.

She was a human from Earth. Here to handfast with a man on Janus, just as Caayn’s woman was. His mind flew back to the whirlwind of events that had transpired over the last few days.

They’d been returning from an off-planet job—Caayn, Rush, and the rest of the crew on Caayn’s ship the Javelin—when Caayn had told them they were detouring to a space station to collect some cargo.

The cargo? An Earth woman slated to be a mail order bride to Caayn. Since when had his tough-ass captain wanted a soft female in his life? Then things became a bit confusing for Rush.

Caayn had said to bring the woman to his ship. Except there’d been three. And Caayn didn’t have a clue which one he was to collect. So, they took all three.

What muddled matters even more for Rush was one of the women was Katrina with her dark wavy hair, oval face, luminous dark eyes, and full lips. Also, the occasional bad attitude and sassy mouth.

But Caayn didn’t know what he wanted to do with the women. He didn’t appear to want the one he’d originally planned to collect—Smyrna—but, yet, he didn’t want harm to come to her. What the hell had been going through the man’s mind?

Then, he decided she should be his bride and he had mail ordered her to begin with…

Rush’s head spun from all the back-and-forth. He was confused by Caayn’s secrets. Though, truth be told, Rush had his own secrets he kept from Caayn and the rest of the universe. But that was another story, and not one he liked to dwell on.

So, returning to the matter of Caayn and the confusion he’d left in his wake, the only thing not confusing was, no matter what Caayn did or said, he clearly had feelings for Smyrna. Deep feelings.

Now, here they were, Caayn and Smyrna being joined in a handfast. The cord was fastened around their hands, and they leaned forward in a kiss that made the full amphitheater roar with pleasure.

Yes, a full amphitheater because this handfasting, these three mail order brides, were the first of many, as Rush had heard it. Seemed the Zama government and the government of Earth wanted to cement peace and trade treaties, and they’d come to believe fostering these handfastings—marriages, as they were called on Earth—were the glue that would bind relationships between planets and universes.

Rush wasn’t sure what to believe. Could this strategy work? Was it better or worse than any other attempt by governments?

The roar of the crowd grew so loud it eclipsed his thoughts.

Movement to his side caught his attention.

Katrina swiped at a stray tear making its way down her dusky cheek. She glanced at him and tossed him a severe frown. “Don’t stare at me.”

Rush bit back the smile threatening to erupt. She was a spitfire—and that was on a good day. This woman was tough and mouthy, and, for some reason he did not understand, he found her irresistibly sexy. He appreciated that hard-hitting, abrasive act of hers.

Absolutely, he was convinced it was an act.

She tossed her head impatiently, clearly still feeling his gaze on her.

Katrina’s elbow made a sharp connection with his rib.

He winced.

Cursed fires on the volcanoes of Alvas.

He leaned closer to her, his lips nearly touching her ear. “I will spank you like an errant child if you do that again, woman. I don’t care if you are here to handfast with another. And if your intended mate questions my actions, I’ll challenge him to a duel.”

She raised a brow. “Duels are so 1800s,” she whispered back in a hissing tone.

“I don’t know what 1800s means to you or your planet or your civilization,” he snapped back.

“Jeez. It means they don’t do duels anymore. Haven’t for more than… forever.”

“That’s specific.” He smirked.

“Hundreds of years. Okay?” She gave him a dirty look. “That specific enough for you?”

“Well, you’re on Janus now. In the city of Asmute,” he reminded her.