Emily scowled at Katrina and Smyrna. “I can’t leave you two alone for a brief second. You’ve ruined your handfasting dress. Blood on it. Blood!”

“It’s not like I wanted that psychopath slashing at me.” Katrina lay on a chaise lounge for two, and, next to her, Smyrna enjoyed a local concoction awfully close to lemonade, but better.

Behind Emily, Rush barely controlled his laughter.

It had been two days since the attack.

Bruze, through Jeweler’s contacts on Janus, had managed to make V’dnen’s body disappear.

Katrina had given the locket to Rush and hoped to never see it again.

The next day, Rush told her they’d found a microchip in the locket which had information about the Cardinal Few and the government of Zama.

They had no clue who V’dnen worked for, but it seemed the information in the locket could be used by any enemy of the Zamanese government.

Rush had said he would turn it over to his father, the highest member of the Cardinal Few he was aware of outside of Zama. His father had sent word he’d be traveling to Asmute to attend the ceremony.

Why the delay? Katrina had asked.

“Something to do with the governor,” Caayn said.

And that had been the last spoken of the matter for two days.

It had been a pleasant couple of days, visiting with her mother and her sister and introducing them to her new friends, and to the new planet she would be living on.

At least for a year, she reminded herself. Then she scolded herself for thinking this way. Rush clearly loved her. He hadn’t left her side since the stabbing.

Slashing, really, not so much a stabbing—thankfully.

On the side of the oversized chaise, Misha and Katrina’s mother perched, smiles on their faces.

Persima was next to Misha, deftly braiding her hair into a complicated array of plaits she told them was customary on her planet, her extra hands making short work of the task.

“The governor is furious with all the negative attention Janus is getting. He says Operation Outreach is responsible for the chaos.” Emily stomped her foot. “He’s refusing to perform the handfast.”

“To hell with him,” Katrina said.

This garnered her an indulgent smile from Rush.

Katrina mock-glared at him. “Oh, now you’re happy? So, you didn’t want this to begin with?”

“Didn’t say that. But anyone can perform a handfast. Anyone authorized by Zama.”

“And what? Those are lying around just waiting?”

“My father could.” Rush winked. “He’s authorized to sign off on the event and to perform it.”

“But what about the contract? I don’t want to end up in a legal mess.”

“Oh, so you’re handfasting me for what I can do to satisfy the contract,” Rush teased her, using the same tone she’d used.

“No, I’m handfasting you for your body.”

“Katrina!” Misha, at twenty, blushed.

“It’s not like that,” Katrina protested. “We’re not like that.”

“Good. Then it’s settled. We’ll just have someone else perform it. Maybe even Rush’s father.” Emily glowed with delight.

“Let’s give them a moment alone to discuss their plans,” Smyrna announced.

Emily gasped. “They need help organizing this new event!”

Boron tugged on her arm. “We can help them later. They haven’t had a moment alone.”

Persima took Katrina’s mother’s arm. “Mrs. Lopez, let’s have a visit. I’d love to hear about your planet.”

“Call me Belinda, please,” Katrina’s mom said. “I’d rather hear about yours!”

Persima took Misha’s hand. “You’re joining us?”

Katrina watched them with a smile. Was it real? Could there be a happily ever after for her?

Rush stepped next to her, standing at the head of the chaise, his hand on her shoulder. “It’s all because of you.”

He knew what she was thinking. She marveled at this and looked up at him. “It took all of us.”

“Yes, but without you, none of this would be happening.”

“I didn’t know what I was getting into.” She watched their friends and family leave the sunlit greenroom.

The last one, still leaning against the wall, Razor watched Persima leave the room, his face stoic but his eyes on fire.

“He likes her,” she murmured.

“Seems so,” Rush agreed.

“I wonder how that will sit with Jeweler.”

Rush shrugged. “The only thing I wonder is how I’m finally going to get my woman to be officially my woman.”

A warmth coursed through Katrina followed by an electricity his gaze conveyed.

Rush’s eyes flashed with a desire mirroring her own. Katrina held her breath and tried to swallow the lump of anticipation. Finally.

She let her breath out and sucked in another lungful of air. She couldn’t tear her eyes from his; they held her captive. When Rush’s tongue slipped out and licked his lower lip, she fought a moan threatening to escape.

Her body, the turncoat that it was, had begun to full-on betray her. Her nipples pressed against the fabric of her bra, erect, needy, pebbled, and wanting attention. She held her breath as her breasts swelled with a yearning for his touch.

“Rush.” His name was a whispered breath. My God, she felt like she’d been waiting forever for this very moment.

Rush caught her mouth with his, taking her lips prisoner while her legs began to quake with craving. She was going to fall at this rate.

As though he were psychic, he pressed against her, keeping her from toppling over. He tasted of mint and man and sexy. His kiss left her dizzy and woozy.

His tongue wrapped around hers, took control, of her mouth with a ferocity she knew he was capable of.

Wrapping his arm around her, pulling her tightly against him, he calmed her shudder of desire, yet made it so much more powerful.

Just when she thought her heart would burst, he pulled his mouth away from hers, leaving her breathless.

Before she could catch her breath, he was on his feet, facing her, and her legs were wrapped around his waist.

Katrina looked down, her eyes caught on his chest. So broad. The muscles so defined. She raised her gaze and breathed a sigh, her chest expanding, her breasts pressed against his chest. The sensation was heady.

Rush slipped his hands under the fabric of her top, working them upward. He cupped her breast, his fingers tweaking her nipple, rolling it between his thumb and fingers.

Ahhh, please. Heaven help me.

Katrina leaned away, arching her back, her breasts thrust forward. A heat surged in her center and traveled throughout her body, infusing her with urgency. It was as if she weren’t in control of her own body. A hunger for him was in control. She used her legs to pull him closer.

His erection, thick and hard, pressed against her mound. She rolled her hips, pushing her center against his shaft, their clothing still between them. His thickness applied just the right amount of pressure, sending her into a wave of pre-orgasmic state.

Damn, her eyes felt like they were going to roll upward.

He tugged on her top, lifting it over her head and flicked the hook on her bra loose with a quick snap. Pushing the bra off, he stared at her breasts, lust altering his features, making them sexier—was that even possible?

Reaching out, he cupped her breasts, weighing their fullness, both hands rolling her nipples, tugging on them, pinching them between his fingertips while he watched her face, his enjoyment of her desire evidenced by a slight curve of his lips.

When he lowered his head, Katrina gasped even though his lips hadn’t even touched her yet. Still keeping his eyes on hers, he put his tongue on her nipple, flicked it, then sucked it in.

Katrina squirmed, her legs pulling his hardness closer to her clit, closer to her entrance, the very place she wanted. He sucked hard, his mouth pulling on her, drawing her in deep. His teeth scraped her pebbled hardness, making her skin goose bump in response.

“I want you.” She let the words slide off her tongue except it felt more like they stumbled over her lips.

He pulled away, tugged her skirt up, over her knees, over her thighs. The chill air caressed her thighs but couldn’t cool the fieriness inside her panties.

He ran his fingertip along the elastic of her panties, grazing her stomach, then he lowered his fingers and traced the elastic from her hip toward her inner thigh.

“You’re incredible.” He cocked his head, studying her. “Purely amazing, in so many ways.”

Katrina’s face grew hot. He watched her, a gleam in his eyes. Her blush grew deeper, a searing heat on her flesh.

Rush chuckled softly. “Where’s that bold Katrina who was going to take on any challenge the universe would bring, all to save her family?”

“She’s—” Katrina bit her lip.

He leaned his lips close to her ear, his breath a caress. “She’s mine. All mine.”

Katrina looked him in the eye. “Yes, she is. She always will be.” And Katrina meant it. She’d never been more sure of anything in her life.

She ran her fingernails up the fabric of his shirt, letting him feel her nails and what she wanted to do to him. His muscles rippled under her hand, his abs tightened, his breath hitch before he exhaled a tortured breath.

“I love your skin, your eyes, your heart, your soul, your everything.” He traced the valley between her breasts with a feathered touch then moved from one nipple to another.

This moment in time, she wanted nothing more than to have him deeply inside her, making her his, making them one, giving her what she wanted to give him.

Rush was convinced there was a goodness in the universe he’d never accounted for. There had to be. This woman, this incredible being, was his. All his.

She was so delectable, creamy curves, rosy-tipped full breasts.

When she reached for his belt, his breath caught. Her lips, her dark eyes, the cheekbones catching the shadows of the light.

Katrina tugged on his pants. He didn’t need more encouragement. He shed his clothing and took his position between her legs once more. The heat of her body at the crossroads her thighs greeted him.

Taking her panties between his fingers, he flashed her a wicked smile before ripping them with a swift yank, then he spread her delicate, dark, dusky-pink, soaking folds and surveyed the loveliness before him.

With one hand on her sensitive core, he pressed down slowly on the swollen button.

Katrina released a moan, closed her eyes, spreading herself more for him.

Rush placed his hardness at the entrance then nudged forward. Her sweet velvet flesh swallowed the tip of his rod, holding it firmly. Her muscles moved inside as if she were pulling him deeper into the tight wetness.

Katrina gasped as he moved in deeper. He filled her, he took her breath away. It was a delicious hint of the pleasure to come.

She wrapped around him fully as she grabbed his shoulders and pulled him in deeper.

Rush groaned, his hands sought her derriere, pulling her in, diving deeper. He found a pace and pushed into her over and over, driving them both to a climax.

She called out his name, a frenzied rush of climaxes surging throughout her body as he took her to a place she hadn’t been, and then he joined her in that amazing place.