I flung myself into Kadic’s warm, masculine embrace. I held him close, afraid to let go.

“Thank you for rescuing me.” I looked up at him with blurry vision from my tears.

He came for me. He didn’t leave me to die.

“I thought I’d never see you again. I thought I was going to die.” I wept as fresh tears poured from my soaking eyes.

Only at that moment did I realize that somewhere along the way I had fallen in love with him, perhaps without even knowing it or how it happened.

But after staring death directly in the face, I knew now that I was in love with him, and that’s what it had taken to get me to realize it. I came so close to the end of my life and I could never repay Kadic for his bravery.

“I would never leave you alone in the woods. I would always come to rescue you, no matter what the cost. I would die if anything bad happened to you,” he admitted and looked humbly to the ground.

“This isn’t the first time you’ve come to my aid in these woods,” I pointed out.

“And I would do it again,” he said assertively.

“I know you would,” I admitted, and I believed him with every fiber of my being.

I couldn’t hold back, I had to proclaim my love for him for all the world to hear.

“Kadic, I love you so much.” I looked deep into his eyes as I cradled his chin in my hands. “But not only that, I want to stay with you here on Alpazon. I don’t want to go home to Earth. I’ll never be able to live without you now.”

It was the truth, and I wanted him to know how serious and certain I felt about the situation.

Kadic stared at me with surprise for a moment or two, clearly too shocked to say anything yet.

“I’m honestly stunned,” he said as he nodded his head. A wild grin spread across his lips and he looked giddy and handsome. “Are you sure?” His question hung in the air.

“I’m sure.” I nodded fervently. “Yes, absolutely sure. In fact, I’ve never been so certain of anything else in my entire life.”

Kadic leaned in to give me a powerful kiss that rocked through my body and sent waves of passionate vibrations up and down my spine.

“Wow, you are a good kisser.” I giggled. Each time I kissed him it seemed as if it got better and the world spun in slow motion. Like a fine wine, he got better the more time I spent with him and the further our relationship charged forward.

“Thank you, so are you,” he said and hugged me close again.

I was so glad I had actively pursued the dating website, and that he didn’t give up on me when I was being a bitch to him in the beginning. He could have sent me away, but he believed in something bigger than himself. I respected him immensely for his perseverance, among all his other wonderful qualities.

“Sure, your planet isn’t without danger, and there’s still a fraction of a chance that I might get eaten by a giant plant, but at least I won’t have to deal with assholes cutting me off on the freeway.” I laughed at my own little joke.

“What’s a freeway?” Kadic asked with innocence.

“My God, you are so cute.” I laughed and kissed him again.

“Do you want to go home now?” he asked as he tenderly stroked my cheek.

“If you mean back to the palace, then yes. More than anything else in the whole world, actually.” I chuckled.

“Okay, I will take you home and draw you a nice bath,” Kadic said affectionately.

“That sounds amazing. In fact, if I never see these woods again in my entire life, it would be too soon,” I joked.

But I wasn’t entirely joking. I had seen enough of this forest to last a lifetime.

As we walked back to his Darailtar, though, I realized something that made my heart fall to the floor and I became nervous.

He didn’t tell me he loved me back.

Was it just a fluke, or did he not actually love me? I didn’t know if he wanted to reciprocate. I wasn’t an expert at catching people’s vibes or emotions, but he’d begged me to stay with him since day one.

Surely he had loving feelings for me by now.

But why wouldn’t he tell me he loved me after I told him I loved him?

Was he maybe just too unnerved from his brother dying? And what was he going to do with his brother’s body? Just leave him there? I had an array of unanswered questions that left me feeling wobbly and unnerved.

Suddenly I felt self-conscious as I wrapped my arms around his waist. We flew off into the air and I looked back down at the tops of the trees swaying in the wind.

I didn’t know if I should approach the subject with him. I decided that after we landed at the palace, I would just let the cards fall where they may. I only hoped he would tell me sooner rather than later that he loved me, too.