“Vincent. Connor.” Raine marched toward the two gnomes with clenched fists while keeping half an eye on the strange man in a dark leather jumpsuit. “What are you two doing?”

The two gnomes brushed off their hands before plunking them on their hips. “He singed my butt.” Vincent bent over to reveal a gaping hole in his knickers.

“And mine.” Connor followed his older brother’s example.

Raine studied the stranger, who, in spite of muscles any bodybuilder would be proud of, was wrapped in her pumpkin vine. He appeared ready to tear the little men in half...if only he could reach them.

With short blond hair shaved close to his head, the stranger was handsome enough for the cover of any stylish magazine. But his stubble was weird, because for some reason she expected him to be clean-shaven. Maybe because he gave off a military type of feel.

Then there were his eyes. They were the color of the Mexican ocean, with deep blues and teals changing shades every few seconds, without giving any indication to what he was thinking.

Connor, busily sticking a finger through the holes in his shorts, didn’t notice the apparent danger.

“Serves you right,” she said, keeping her distance. “You wouldn’t have gotten burn holes in your britches if you hadn’t been in my field trying to steal my corn.”

“It does taste lovely,” Vincent mumbled and tugged on his ear, his cheeks turning pink.

Connor nodded. “So sweet and crisp.” He kicked a rock before pointing at the sexy man giving Raine the stink eye. “What will you do with him?” The two-foot man ambled over to look down at the vine-wrapped intruder. “He looks rather angry.”

“You would be too, if you were tied up.” Frost said as he put his arm around his wife’s shoulders. “Nice work. And I mean Lacey and Raine, not you two poachers.”

At least Connor had the sense to look ashamed.

“Thanks,” Lacey wrapped her arm around her husband’s waist. “But this was all Raine’s handiwork.”

“You’re lucky I didn’t suffocate the bastard.” Raine crossed her arms. “Look what he did to Beck’s pumpkin patch. He smashed my son’s prize pumpkin to bits.”

Lacey provided comfort by tucking her hand through Raine’s folded arms. “I’m more worried about what’s happening to your skin. It’s got this weird pattern-thing going on.”

Lacey’s brow hitched up a few centimeters.

Raine shoved up her sleeves. Sure enough, her skin was tingling as if water droplets were pattering down on it. She glowered at the stranger. “Did you do this?”

The captive just stared.

“First things first.” Lacey squeezed Raine’s arm. “Let’s regenerate Beck’s pumpkin, and then—”

“I’ve already tried,” Raine huffed with frustration. “Whatever he sprayed on my crops prevents the spell from working.” She placed her hand on her forehead to rub away the twinge of stress. “What will I tell Beck?”

Lacey glanced up at Frost, who stood at least a head taller. “Is he one of yours?”

“A Star Ranger? No. But he’s a soldier of some sort. Look at his equipment,” Frost chuckled. “He’s as surprised as I was to find out this planet is not as primitive as star command reports.”

The stranger was loaded with equipment and looked ready for combat. The belt strapped around his waist had gizmos and gadgets and what looked vaguely like a gun. Raine only guessed a gun, because everything looked similar to a Star Trek prop.

“Good. Then we’ll keep the space invaders guessing.” Raine met the intelligent blue eyes studying her.

The closer she got to him, the more the strange patterns on her skin swirled and rippled. He made her uncomfortable, and for good reason. He looked and smelled like her fields right after a good, cleansing rain. He shouldn’t smell that good. No one should.

“What do you think he’s here for? Is he a bounty hunter?”

“Why don’t you ask him?” Frost offered.

Raine lifted a hand and flicked her wrist, releasing the green vines, but leaving his feet firmly secured to the ground. “Don’t move, or Lacey will turn you into a rabbit,” she warned.

A rickety laughter rolled out of Frost. “She means it, buddy.” The soldier pressed to a seated position, his eyes missing nothing. “Let’s start with your name.”

The guy tapped the unit at his ear, then touched it again, then shook his head.

Lacey huffed and mumbled under her breath. “You don’t need a translator. We can hear you. Just start talking.”

“You can understand me? How? I don’t see any devices.”

“Translator spell. Way better than implanted electronics.” Lacey lifted a brow. “Your name?”

Alien man’s eyes locked in place like he wasn’t seeing, only searching through a list of terms. Eventually, he gave the name “Waterman,” pronouncing each syllable as a separate word.

Raine glanced at Lacey, then at the rather hunky man on the ground. He was covered in black...or was that a blue suit? She couldn’t tell, because the colors kept swirling and shifting. However, his focus didn’t change. The liquid pools of blue never left her face. “Well, Waterman, what brings you to Earth?”

He tested the strength of the vines at his feet. Deciding he still couldn’t move, he jerked his attention back to her. “One of our energy pods is leaking. I was sent to retrieve the unit.”

“Your pods?” Her confusion gathered strength, and she took a step closer to hear the quiet whispers of his voice. The timbre reminded her of the ocean rolling across the sand and then back out to sea. His facial features softened as she moved closer. “Why would you have installed an energy pod here?”

“You would have to ask the Forefathers. What I know is the pods were part of our bio system before the waters receded and we were forced to evacuate.”

“Evacuated? Wait a minute.” She bent her knees to look him directly in the eye. “Are you telling me your race once lived here? On this planet?”

“My great-great-grandfather was the commander of the last fleet.” He puffed out his chest, as if he expected his grandfather should mean something. “Every few thousand years a research ship is sent back to take samples and check on our infrastructure.”

“So you’re human.”

“No. Not exactly. Our races evolved differently. Your race doesn’t have the ability to breathe underwater,” he pointed to the gill slits on the side of his neck. “We prefer to live in water rather than on land.” The slits on the side of his neck flared open, then closed. “Our scientists believe we’ll never be able to inhabit this planet again.”

“Why not?”

“Yeah, Why not?” Vincent placed his little hands on his hips. “It’s nice here. The food’s yummy. Besides, you look like you’re breathing just fine.”

He ignored the gnome and focused on her. “The waters are polluted. We would never be able to breathe properly. Our internal filters wouldn’t be able to process the vile toxins permeating all this planet’s waters.” Waterman droned the information like he was giving a scientific progress report.

“You said your grandfather was the last commander after the waters receded, but that was like a bazillion years ago. How old are you?” Lacey asked.

Waterman scratched his head like his age was a puzzle. “I just had my thirty-second regeneration. Based on your time structure, that would be two years ago.”

“Regeneration?” Raine hesitated. “You mean, like a rebirth?”

He blinked several times, then returned her stare. “Humans might think of it as a rebirth. Based on my calculations, we regenerate every 23.732 years by having our molecular structure reset back to the time of our first birth celebration.” He again stated the fact like the concept was an ordinary occurrence.

Frost crossed his arms with a puff of amazement. “Not every day you meet a being almost eight hundred years old.”

Waterman studied each of them in turn, most likely wondering why they stood there shaking their heads, their mouths hanging open.

“You must be a long way from home.” Frost’s statement sounded more like a question.

“I’ve been assigned to a space station. It’s there,” he pointed to Orion’s Belt. “Just left of Alnilam, the center star.”

“Look at you, showing off your space knowledge,” Lacey tilted her head back. “Still it seems a bit odd that we have the same name for stuff.”

He studied the stars for a few seconds, then selected a small, square unit from his belt and pointed the laser at his forearm, where the vines had sliced through the thin leather fabric. The two-inch cut suddenly disappeared.

“How did you do that?” Raine was electrified, refusing to take her eyes off the tiny unit.

Waterman held up the laser. “The bio-kit does small cell repairs.”

Raine’s mind whirled. “Can your thingumajig do larger cell repairs?”

“I told you, our races are different.” He sounded irritated, but she couldn’t tell what annoyed him more—the hundred-question game, or the fact that he was still anchored to the ground.

A motherly determination made her press harder for an answer. “But you said we originated from the same species.”

Waterman’s expression became contemplative as Lacey grabbed Raine’s arm. “Beck.” Both of them said at the same time.

Frost reached down and helped Waterman to his feet, the men sizing each other up.

“Ladies,” Frost said. “I hope you aren’t going where I think you’re going.”

Lacey whipped around to face her husband. “Okay, big guy. Got a better idea?”

Frost’s eyes turned a crisp shade of crystal blue. “You don’t know if that instrument is calibrated for humans.”

Motherly determination settled into Raine’s soul. “What choice do we have? Beck is dying.”

“Uh, people...I don’t know what you are talking about”—Waterman brushed the dirt off his uniform—“but I have less than three hours to find the pod, repair my ship, and get out of here before whoever fired at my ship comes to find me. Now, if you don’t mind,” he leaned over, and in one swift move sliced the vines with a knife that appeared out of nowhere.

“Not so fast.” Raine twirled her finger in the air as corn roots slithered along the ground.

Waterman tapped his arm and the vines stopped at the edge of his toe.

“A personal force field shield,” Frost grinned. “Man, I gotta get me one of those.”

Lacey elbowed him in the gut. “Do something.”

The giant man glared at his wife. “Like what?”

Myka had enough of waiting around.

He could easily have sliced through the vines holding him, but had been mesmerized. The stunning creature before him actually caused a momentary enchantment. A bedazzlement that could have gotten him killed in battle.

Her mating patterns were the distraction. He never expected to mate. In fact, mating for a Protector was forbidden.

The Elite council had decreed that his generation of the Protectors must remain celibate, the result of the diminishing female population and the warrior class devoting their lives to the protection of their planet. To some, the council’s ruling made sense, since the Elite were of superior intelligence and had the bulk of the wealth. The upper class argued a Protector’s life was nomadic and dangerous, and at the current time overpopulated for the needs of the race.

Although there were rare instances a female choosing to live outside the Elite circles—his mother being one of those few exceptions.

He envied his father, and there were times when he mourned the loss of an intimacy he’d never experience. Sure, his Protectorate brothers-in-arms were like family, but the intimate connection with a mate couldn’t compare.

When the liquid mating pattern appeared on the woman’s arms, he hesitated, second-guessing the vision. Wondering if fate was playing some trick.

Those few seconds had cost him.

Rule one: mission first.

Rule two: obey rule number one.

The rules had been drilled into him since the day he was old enough to speak. His grandfather was a Protector. His father was a Protector. He had followed the paternal line and was expected to live out his days as a Protector. If his instincts were correct, his mate, the stunning creature before him, needed his protection, and that meant telling no one she existed.

If the Elite knew of her existence, her life path would be forever altered. His mother had fought against living a life dictated by rules and formal decorum. This beautiful woman had no idea that forced lifestyle existed.

He retreated toward his ship to retrieve the vacuum box.

“Wait!” Those mesmerizing brown eyes captured his attention once again. They were so full of emotion and need. “You can’t leave yet. I need you to help my son.” The unmasked pain in her eyes touched a spot inside his heart. His mother had the same expression when his younger brother died shortly after birth.

He felt her grief.

He wasn’t a parent. He didn’t fully understand the depth of a parent-child connection, but every time he returned home, he could see the pain in his father’s expression whenever his brother’s name was mentioned.

“I need to contain the fractured energy pod, then fix my ship,” he tightened his grip on the containment box.

“And my son?”

His muscles in his jaw ticked. She smelled like a day after a fresh rain. He shouldn’t touch her, but all he wanted to do was pull her into his arms.

“After the pod is contained,” he added in a formal and stiff manner, suspecting there was little to be done if the boy had been contaminated. “I’ll take a look, but cannot guarantee I can help.”

“If you help us, we’ll help you.” She glanced past his shoulder. “Frost, can you look over the ship and see if the damage can be repaired?”

“Sure.” Frost stood with his hands on his hips looking at the metal structure. “Lacey should be able to help me weld anything that needs to be put back together.”

She nodded and took two steps, then turned back. “Well, Waterman, what are you standing there for? Let’s go find what you came to get.”

His gills quivered with a low, vibrating hum. “My scanners were damaged in the landing. The exact location of the energy source is unknown. Finding the source will take time, and searching might be easier if I’m focused.”

“I know this area. I’ll help.” She must have read the doubt in his expression, because she added, “No more magic tricks, as long as you promise to help my son.”

He had underestimated the beautiful woman’s ability once—he wouldn’t again. He walked in the opposite direction to avoid touching her. If he touched her, he’d want to kiss her, and if he kissed her, he’d want to bed her, and once that happened, he’d never be able to walk away.

She needed him to walk away, because if he didn’t, there would be trouble.

He set the coordinates for the ship and began to navigate in a circular, outward pattern.

The female followed him in silence. He could smell her delicious lemongrass and basil fragrance, which was odd since he never preferred the earthy scents to sea smells. This richly abundant aroma, however, captivated his senses.

When they reached the gravel road, she stopped. “Searching might be faster if you tell me what you’re looking for.”

He scanned the horizon. Nothing. His lungs heaved with frustration. A tap of his visual log launched a circular holographic rock. The orb, hovering in the air between them, glowed a bluish-brown.

She studied the 3-D image. “What would a damaged pod look like?”

Myka swiped his finger in the air. When another record appeared, she gasped. “I’ve seen this stone before. It has blue and white crystals inside, doesn’t it?”

“According to ancient records, yes.”

“Follow me.” She took off running, her long, wavy hair flowing in the breeze as she ran along the road, then disappeared into the vegetation.

“Elbait,” he cursed under his breath.

He raced after her, following her markings on the ground. When he saw her waiting on the other side of the vegetation, he slowed to a walk and stopped next to her, then waited for her to catch her breath. Having two sets of lungs had their advantages.

“My son brought home a rock for his collection,” she whispered into the night. “He said he found it near our well. I suspect he retrieved the crystal from inside the well, because his clothes were wet.”

Myka held out his arm to scan for the nearest water source. If the pod was broken, fixing his ship was the least of his problems. The loud crackling of the sensors indicated he was close. “I need to go back to the ship and get a stronger light.”

A ball of flame appeared and hovered over the well. “Will this do?”

Nice. “I don’t suppose you have a ladder.”

Raine extended her hand. The rustling of the vegetation around them became louder and louder. He didn’t panic. Fascination honed his senses. A smell akin to algae expanded, and he watched while a rope of plants and roots snaked in his direction. The long strand of leaves coiled and knotted and wove up and over the wall and down the shaft.

Myka stood with his hands on his hips. “Stellar.”

“That’s good, right?”

“Yes. Very good.”

He activated his bio-shield and placed one foot on the knotted rung to test its strength, then loosened his grip on the stone wall and descended with the little ball of light following him several meters down into the well water. To see better, just below the surface, he locked his eye shields in place, then tapped his scanner, carefully monitoring the sensors. A minute passed, then another, then his gut clenched.

The twenty-five-millimeter ball had been shattered into fragments. The energy leak wasn’t a leak, but a massive exposure requiring long, laborious cleanup. He retrieved the most significant chunk of the pod he could find and placed the rock in a sack. Disappointment encumbered his slow climb to the surface.

“Did you find anything?” Raine’s face appeared from above.

“The pod’s been destroyed. This whole area must be contaminated.”

“What does that mean?”

“Direct exposure would lead to vomiting, skin discoloration, hair loss, severe fatigue, or any number of things.”

Her hand went to her throat, and she appeared unable to breathe. “I must have broken the pod when I drilled the well. I did this. I made my son sick. I contaminated the land.”

She paced back and forth, mumbling. “I needed water.” She waved her hands in circles. “For the plants.” She stopped and held her head. “We live in a desert. We needed water for the plants.” She turned to him, her eyes glittering with saline. “Why didn’t I sense your energy source? Please tell me I didn’t kill my son.”

He lowered his defense shields, keeping his bio-unit on, and ran his knuckles down her cheek. The softness of her skin imprinted on his hand.

There was no denying she was his mate.

Her design danced for him.

Yet he was unable to protect her.

Not from this.

His chest filled with a burdensome ache. “We must quarantine this area before anyone else is exposed.”

“And how do you propose we do that? It’s an open field.” She threw her arms wide.

The question was relevant. He was a soldier, not an engineer or a bio-mechanic. He’d fought in the trans-nations wars. He was a highly trained fighter, but he had no idea how to defeat what couldn’t be seen.

“The only other option is to remove the fragments, but that’s impossible.”

She inched closer. “Will gathering the pieces stop the spread of contamination?”

“It will, but the land will remain impure.”

“But that thing on your arm…you can detect where the soil has been tainted—right?”

“Yes.”

The thinking and pacing and mumbling began again, the expressions on her face altering from one minute to the next, as flowing as the mating pattern on her arms.

She stopped to study him. “I think I have a solution, but we’ll have to work together.”

“Together. Like you and me?” He didn’t know why, but the prospect of working with such a woman intrigued and delighted him. She’d surprised him, more than once, and both were a rarity.

She squared her shoulders and lifted her chin. “You need this pod, and I need a cure for my son.”

He groaned. She’d stuck him between the hopeless and the impossible. Even if he could gather all the rock fragments, there was no guarantee he could help her son. He wouldn’t make a promise he couldn’t keep. He’d need to find another way.

“I wish I could help you. I do, but…”

She grabbed his arm. “Listen, I’m just asking you to try. That’s all.”

He couldn’t fight her unwavering resolve. “Affirmed.”

“Thank you.” She nodded and released his arm. “Here’s what I’m thinking. The pod is a rock. More importantly, it’s organic. I just need a sample to collect the rest of them, and once I’ve collected the rock shards, then you can safely remove the crystals. Then we’ll work on the contamination. I’ll need you to use your whatsy-majigger to show me where the soil is good.”

His brow lifted. “That’s it? That’s your plan?”

“You have a better one?”

There was another serving of her sexy stubbornness. “Nope.” He reached into his pocket to retrieve the sealed sack. “Will this work?”

Her eyes lit with applause. “Perfect.” She pointed to a pile of bricks just beyond the well. “Can you place the rock on the top of that pile?”

Could he? Of course he could, but that didn’t give him a clue about what she had planned.

A few seconds later, she closed her eyes and the air sparked with energy.

Even through his bio-suit he could sense the change in the air. The currents moved in a circle, faster and faster. Then, to his amazement, particles of rock, large and small, floated up from the well and tumbled onto the field, where they rolled toward the pile of bricks. One by one the pieces began fitting together to make a solid object. The final section flew through the air and completed the pod structure.

Silence replaced the wind.

Remarkable. Step one complete. He engaged his bio-shields and gently placed the orb into the vacuum box and sealed the energy pod inside.

“Now to clean the soil.” He engaged his fivometer and trotted toward the road until the energy source no longer registered.

He grabbed a fist of untainted dirt and ran back to her.

She stood in a trance with her palm held upward. He let the particles sift through his fist onto her outstretched hands.

Her lips moved. The low hum of chanting expanded. The earth rumbled. The ends of her hair reached out from her head. On and on the chanting continued, until there was a definite popping noise.

Entranced by her beauty, at first he didn’t notice how her body swayed. Back and forth. Round and round. Then the sounds stopped. For a second she stood immobile. Then her legs gave way, and he rushed forward to cradle her in his arms, lifting her and cocooning her in his embrace.

“What the hell did you do?” The woman called Lacey came tromping through the vegetation. Her anger reminded him of the time a third-class recruit filled the commander’s closet to the brim with latrine waste. The commander wasn’t amused.

He almost laughed until she beckoned. “Hand her over.”

With a low growl, he activated his shields. Mine, his mind whispered. He widened his stance in a defensive position.

“Hold up there, Lacey.” Frost stepped in front of his wife. “Soldier. My wife is no threat to you.”

“Not my first assignment, Star Ranger.” He loosened his grip only enough to adjust Raine’s position, careful not to disturb the soft brown curls circling her face. “The energy pod has been damaged, and she contained the leak. She…” He tried deciphering what just happened. “…I believe she healed the land.” He twisted his wrist to study his sensors. “There is no more contamination.”

Lacey swooped around Frost. “Stupid woman. She’s going to have one hell of a magic hangover come morning. Why didn’t she call one of us to help?”

“My guess? She didn’t want anyone else to get sick.”

That brought the bristly woman up short. “I see. Playing the heroine. Well, come on then, hand her over. I’ll take care of her.” Lacey stepped forward. Frost gripped her shoulder to keep her in place with a squeezed warning.

“You should know I’ve fixed your ship, with one exception.” Frost held up a diamond converter. “I don’t suppose you have another one of these energy plugs.”

He might have paced in frustration if not for the woman in his arms. “I will need to build a replacement.”

Lacey studied the object carefully. “If that’s a real diamond, you won't find one that big in these parts.”

A second later two figures tumbled out of the cornfield. “Ouch. Get off of me.” Two sets of arms and legs scrambled to get to their feet while continuing to shove at each other.

“Jonah and Joseph. What did I tell you two about what would happen if I saw you out again tonight?”

“Poop pickup,” Jonah responded before his twin pulled on his shirtsleeve and whispered in his ear.

Joseph nodded and pointed. “I know where you can find one of those.”

Lacey’s eyes narrowed. “Where?”

“Area 51. They have them in a bin in the back of the storage room.”

“What have I told you two about going to that Federal Facility?”

Jonah shrugged. “Ya gotta admit they got some cool stuff stored in there.”

Frost began to chuckle.

His wife glared. “What are you laughing about, popsicle? Wait until Snow starts dating these types.” She pointed a finger at the twins.

The Frostman turned blue.

Lacey homed in on the twins. “You two. Are you sure you can get in and out without being seen?”

Jonah grinned ear to ear. “Yep—”

Joseph poked his brother in the ribs. “Too bad we’ll have to wait till we’re off poop cleanup duty in four weeks.”

Jonah’s smile sobered. “Ahh…yeah…too bad.” He tugged on the hem of his shirt.

Lacey gave them both a look Myka had seen on his own mother’s face a time or two.

“Get what Waterman needs and I’ll suspend your sentence.”

“Wo-hooooo.” The two adolescents shouted, then disappeared into the towering field of corn faster than his spaceship could jump to light speed.

Which reminded him, he’d be leaving soon.

For the first time in a millennium, he wanted to slow time. Life had become monotonous. He wanted to feel this excitement. His woman made him feel young, vibrant…alive. In a matter of minutes, she had ensnared his soul.

He recognized the mating call, although he’d half convinced himself a true mate didn’t exist. At least not for him. His raw, sensual connection to her showed how wrong he’d been. If he left her, he’d never have another chance to find complete fulfillment.

He craved her touch, but he was smart enough not to claim her.

The elite would never allow her to remain with a Protector, even if they accepted her—and she had no concept of his race. Hell, even he wasn’t accepted. Banished to a space station as penance for pissing off a commanding officer he refused to respect.

His bones ached with a need to wrap around her and protect her forever. However, the best and only way to keep her safe was to make sure they never discovered her worth.

He let her patterns soothe his soul, but she wasn’t looking at him. She wasn’t looking at anything. She’d given her energy to save her planet, compelled by her determination to save her son.

He sighed out a long breath of regret.

“We’d better find a place she can rest.”

A second later a yellow taxi came to a screeching halt, leaving a cloud of dust to drift across the field. The little man, named Vincent leaned out the cab’s window. “Anyone need a ride?”