This time I was determined to do things right. No more being stuck in a tower, no more being kept at bay by Corvax. If he was determined to send me away there wasn't much I could do about it, but I wouldn't make it easy for him by staying out of his way.

Once the celebrations were over, I turned to one of the castle servants.

"Hello," I tried, fighting down my nerves. I was still learning the language, and what worked on a pirate ship could easily turn out to be scandalous here. It hadn't seemed to matter so much when I'd been telling stories, somehow.

The servant smiled at me. It was still a little unnerving to see the sharp teeth of a Crosan up close, but this time she looked like she was more intimidated by me than I was by her. That was a strange feeling.

I suppose I have just gone on an adventure with her lord, I thought, smiling back. That and with some pirates. And nearly been eaten by a sea monster. Okay, I'd be intimidated by someone who'd been through all that.

"I need your help," I told the alien girl, speaking slowly and sounding out the words. I didn't want to say anything wrong. "Please help me move my things to the Protector's room."

She looked blank and I had to repeat myself a couple of times, trying to work out what I'd said wrong. On the third try, though, her eyes lit up and she nodded quickly. Her smile widened, and it took an effort not to see it as a threat — I was used to Corvax's fangs now, but I knew he wasn't going to bite me.

A blush spread over my face at the thought. Okay. I know he's not going to bite me anywhere I don't enjoy.

If the maid noticed, she showed no sign. Instead, she hurried off up the stairs to my tower room. It was strange to see it again. I'd spent so little time in that chamber before letting a storm carry me off, and I'd hardly unpacked my clothes. Now I just threw them back into my bag.

It wasn't help carrying things that I needed, though the maid insisted on taking the bag anyway. My problem was that I didn't know where Corvax slept, but I could hardly tell the servants that.

"What's your name?" I asked her as she shouldered my bag.

"Zaska, my lady," she said, bobbing her head in a little bow. I realized then that it wasn't just my adventures that put her off. As far as she was concerned I was going to be the lady of the castle, her boss, and she had no idea how to relate to that.

Is that why all the staff were so standoffish? They are afraid of me? It was a hard idea to get my head around. I'd never been the boss back on Earth, and I wasn't sure that I liked the idea of everyone here being scared of me.

They weren't afraid of Corvax, though. Respectful, yes, but not afraid. Another reason to think he was a good man, and something to emulate if I could. I looked at Zaska, doing my best to hide my nerves and calm hers.

"It's alright," I told her, fumbling for words. "Nothing to be afraid of."

Her blue skin darkened in a blush and she giggled. That wasn't the reaction I'd been going for, but it was better than scaring her.

"Okay, what did I say wrong?" I asked, doing my best to keep my voice light as she stopped laughing.

She tried to explain, but it took a while, running into gaps in my vocabulary almost instantly. Part of me wished I still had the translator, but now I was learning the local language. It might be embarrassing at times, but if I was going to live here I was going to need it.

And I was going to live here. Or at least, I'd made up my mind not to think about the alternative too hard.

On her fourth attempt, something clicked. When Corvax told me I'd nothing to be afraid of, he said it using the language a man used with his mate. And I'd just copied him... okay, yes, that was embarrassing. I blushed bright red when I understood, and that sent Zaska into fits of giggles again.

"How do I say that right?" I asked her when she'd recovered. Learning the Crosan language was hard work, but satisfying, and Zaska helped me practice as we walked.

The Protector's room was at the heart of the castle, and it was huge. I stopped in the doorway, looking around with wide eyes. Not that my room in the tower had been cramped or uncomfortable, but this...

The floor was a beautiful dark wood, and the walls were lined with weapons. Dozens of them, swords and spears and things I didn't recognize. These looked old, antique, and beautiful — display pieces, perhaps, rather than anything practical. Though that didn't mean that they were harmless: they all looked sharp and deadly.

Through an open doorway I saw an office, a desk covered in the work that had piled up while Corvax was away. A bit of guilt flared up at that — my foolishness had dragged him away from his people and the work they needed him to do.

Now that he's back, I can help him with it, I promised myself, though I wasn't sure how. I had no idea how to do his job, after all. Maybe backrubs while he worked? I smiled, my fingers twitching at the thought of digging into Corvax's firm muscles.

All of that, though, was just distracting myself from looking at the focus of the room I'd entered. The bed.

It was massive, of course. A large mattress on a heavy wooden frame. As Zaska put my bag away in a wardrobe, I went to the bed and sat down. Swallowed. My heart raced, and I hoped that the maid wouldn't notice. Which was silly, I knew.

I'd slept with Corvax on our castaway island, but somehow the idea of doing it here was different. More significant. Like our island romance hadn't been entirely real.

"Shall I leave you here, my lady?" Zaska asked, sounding nervous again. I nodded quickly, but before she could go I held up a hand to stop her.

"Thank you," I said quietly, putting my best effort into sounding the words out right. Zaska smiled.

"It is nothing," she answered, but I could see that she was pleased. Then she turned and was gone, leaving me alone.

It was hours before Corvax arrived. Hours I spent pretending to read. In reality, I couldn't focus on anything other than the unknown future that I'd face when he came through the door. Should I give up and go back to the tower? Let him find me at his own pace?

Was I pushing too hard by being here?

No. I shook my head, trying unsuccessfully to shake my fears off. Corvax had set his heart on keeping me safe, and in his head that meant sending me back to Earth. If I wanted things to go differently, I had to change them. And this was the only idea I had.

The sky darkened outside the windows by the time the door opened. Heart pounding, I jumped to my feet, wishing I'd spent some of my time thinking about what to say instead of worrying.

Corvax stood in the doorway, looking at me wordlessly. He looked as stunned as I felt, and for a long moment we stared at each other.

"I looked for you. I did not expect to find you here, lying in ambush," he said slowly as he shut the door behind him. My heart thudded, loud enough I wondered if he could hear it.

"We were too far apart," I told him. It sounded stupid, so I tried again. "I want to be close to you. It doesn't have to be forever, just a little while."

His movements were graceful, precise, and dangerous. Like a tiger stalking its prey he moved closer to me. Intense eyes looked me up and down, and I felt my muscles tense. Fight or flight instincts taking over.

But I didn't move. Looking up at him, feeling the flush spreading across my face as he approached, I stayed still. Corvax stopped, towering over me, and I could feel the heat of his body.

"You know I want that too," he said, voice thick with emotion. I swallowed again, frightened of the intensity of my reaction. I'd been right, this was different from the island. More real, more intense.

I took a small step back and he followed, keeping the distance the same. Growling. The sound made me melt, my body aching for him already, and words wouldn't come.

Corvax's whole body tensed, muscles standing out in the evening light. I wanted to touch him so badly, to feel his hands on me again, to be his. Even just for a moment.

I raised a hand to his chest, feeling the strange texture of his alien skin. The strong muscles. The beat of his heart. And that was enough to break his reserve.

Grabbing me, Corvax lifted me to him in a powerful kiss that pushed all thought out of my mind. There was no space for words, no space for anything apart from the desperate need I felt for him. He held me tight against him, my body squeezed against his, and I moaned into his kiss. Our tongues met hungrily, and then he threw me to the bed.

I cried out as I hit the mattress, trying to steady myself, and Corvax wasted no time. He leaped after me, pounced on me, pinning me to the firm mattress with a growl that sent a shiver down my spine.

"Mine," he hissed as he held me down, and the word thrilled me nearly as much as his touch did. I reached up for him, stroking his chest, feeling the urgent need in him.

He knelt up over me, eyes dark and intense. Powerful hands gripped my top and pulled, ripping the fabric in his haste to undress me. I whimpered as he tore my clothes off me, top first then skirt, leaving me in my underwear.

Pausing, he ran a hand down my body, making me moan. I grabbed at his belt, struggling to undress him too, and he chuckled.

"Impatient," he said, voice low, rough, hard. I bit my lip and nodded, not pausing in my efforts.

Grabbing my wrists, he pinned them to the bed with one hand. The other continued to caress me, stroking across my breasts and then down, parting my legs. Teasing across the fabric of my panties. Making me squirm and whimper.

A grin appeared on his face as he lowered his mouth to mine for another mind-consuming kiss. My body arched and at that moment he gripped my panties and tore them off me in a single movement.

"Please," I whimpered as our mouths parted, not even sure what I was asking for. Only that I needed it, needed him, more than I'd ever needed anything else. My whole body was on fire for his touch.

Passion sparked in his eyes and I knew he understood. Needed me as badly as I needed him. The mutual lust and desire set us both ablaze, and I groaned as his fingers stroked across my pussy lips.

Letting go of my wrists, Corvax finally let me undress him. I opened his pants and freed his cock, staring at it. It didn't matter how often I saw him naked, he would always take my breath away.

I lowered my head to kiss it, feeling it's strange ribbed texture against my lips. Tongue darting out, I ran it along the length of his shaft, wanting to taste him, to tease him like he did me. To please him as he did me.

Corvax's groan of pleasure made me shiver again, but he pulled me back and pinned me to the bed again. I struggled against his strength, helpless and loving every second of it. His body pressed against mine as he positioned himself between my legs. Our eyes locked on each other.

For a moment we were still, no sound apart from our breathing. I could feel the tip of his cock press against me, and my body cried out for more. Ached to be filled by him. I was in his hands, and I knew that I'd get what I wanted when he wanted.

Slowly, deliberately, he began to move. A powerful thrust took him into me, and I felt every ridge of his alien cock as it slid inside. My body arched, my breath caught. My heart fluttered.

With a moan, I raised my lips to his, kissing him. Sharp fangs grazed my lips as Corvax kissed me, and his growl vibrated through me.

Another thrust, harder, faster. He pinned me to the bed, the mattress taking the force as he slammed me into it. Then another, even harder, and I could keep quiet no longer. I cried out, a wordless sound of pleasure, and he roared with me. My legs wrapped around his hips as though to drag him deeper inside me.

With each thrust, Corvax filled me, stretched me. Each time he felt bigger, and each time I cried out louder. My orgasm built quickly, waves of pleasure rocking me as I gasped and writhed under Corvax. My nails dug into his back, my body shook, my vision clouded.

And then I came in an explosion of passion and joy. The world seemed to fall away around me until there was nothing but him, me, and the white light of ecstasy that filled me.

Corvax couldn't hold himself back any longer, and he roared as he came. Together, we shuddered and collapsed onto the bed, clinging to each other.

"Oh wow," I gasped when I could speak again. My throat was sore from yelling and my whole body ached as I snuggled against Corvax. His heartbeat echoed as I lay my head on his chest. "That was amazing. You are amazing."

His hand stroked my hair, and I swear I felt like purring. Feeling more at home in his arms than I ever had elsewhere, I drifted into sleep.