Chapter Four

EMMY

I sat in the den of Ven’s enormous mansion and tried to convince myself I was safe, at least temporarily. I didn’t want to think about the fact that I had just married a complete stranger. An alien. My hands started to shake.

I hadn’t planned on getting married, ever. My mother raised me by herself. As soon as I got my scholarship for archeology at the university, I left for school and never looked back.

Even though I went to my house for Christmas every year, it never seemed like home ever again. Once Morley took me on as an assistant, we traveled all over the galaxy.

Some people called us treasure hunters, but I considered the term derogatory. Like calling a freedom fighter a terrorist. Morley was the real deal among archeologists. He and I had found the Golden Chalice of Rilagoon’s fourth King on Dorset.

After our adventure, I went back to school to complete my master’s degree and Ph.D., taking only three years to complete them both. I was the youngest person in two hundred years to achieve a Ph.D. in my field.

I thought of myself as one of the best in school, and the university was no different. I like thinking and figuring things out. That’s one of the reasons I became an archeologist in the first place. The other reasons were getting out of my dead-end city and making something better of myself.

Mom was a terrific person, but she never wanted to be anything more than a receptionist. I didn’t have a problem with that, but I wanted more for myself. Marriage had never entered into the equation. I didn’t need or want a man. My mom had managed without one and I would too.

I had a little fling with Christopher during my second year of grad school. It only lasted four days and the first two days were the best part of the whole thing. We never had sex, which was the crux of the problem in our relationship. I didn’t regret my decision. He was a loser, anyway.

I could take care of my desires by myself, thank you very much. I certainly didn’t want some oaf sticking his big cock up inside me, thrusting a couple of times, and then collapsing for the night. That wasn’t my idea of a good time. I didn’t understand what the big deal was. Why was everyone always making such a fuss about sex? It seemed like a waste of time.

A great view of the planet Stalwart was right out the window. Mountains covered most of the surface. I had read about my destination in a little brochure on the spaceflight. The planet was known for a formidable military and economic prosperity.

I wasn’t sure if I would return to this world after finding the silver ladle, but if I ever came back, I hoped to do some rock climbing. I loved the exercise and was accustomed to getting away almost every other weekend at home.

Ven chose that moment to walk back in the room. When I twisted my head to look at him, a shiver went through my body. He was definitely hot and incredibly sexy, but I had made up my mind about fucking. I wasn’t going to change it.

The thought of sex and Ven reminded me that we were married. Was I supposed to fuck him? I recoiled at the idea of sleeping with a stranger and wondered if he would try to force himself on me.

The operative word being try. I had been training in martial arts since I was young. I had practiced karate and some tai kwon do. I had also spent time fooling around with judo for fun. I was small, but I knew how to take care of myself.

I eyed him warily as one of his servants put an interesting-looking pink drink in front of me. If he tried to force me to fuck him, I would take him out.

He smiled at me. I would be polite as long as he kept his hands out of my pants.

“So.” He sat down in the chair across from me. His house was enormous and looked like an interior designer had gone to town. Ven seemed to have plenty of credits to burn. I had expected he was wealthy when I noticed his clothing at the spaceport, but this was another level of opulence.

“So,” I repeated, wondering if I should drink the pink concoction in front of me.

“I think we should both tell our stories from the beginning. We need to understand each other a lot better than we do now.”

“Okay,” I agreed. “As long as you go first.”

He looked put out. I guessed he didn’t want me giving orders. I didn’t retract my statement, however. I simply waited for him to start talking. If he didn’t like who I was, he could divorce me. I didn’t need to be married to him. Ven needed me as a wife.

“I hadn’t planned on getting married. It turned out that there was an obscure clause in my uncle’s will. He left me a lot of credits, and his legacy paid for this house and everything else.”

There was more? I wondered what everything else meant.

“I’ve made some investments with the money. I bought this house and some toys. There are a lot of bills. If I lost that money, I would have to do the unthinkable.” He paused and seemed unsure of what to say next.

“What’s unthinkable? Do you mean live like an average person, or get a job? Declare bankruptcy?”

“Maybe all of the above. I haven’t always lived like this, but I’ve become accustomed to the lifestyle. My friend suggested a mail-order bride company, which seemed like the perfect way to have everything I wanted. Things would stay the same.”

It seemed ridiculous to me that someone could be so attached to being rich.

“And I would find someone to keep me company.”

“Most people can do that without hired help,” I murmured.

He looked mildly annoyed with me. “Then everything would be okay. My life wouldn’t have to change.”

“Do you know what that sounds like to me?” I asked. “Boring.”

He gazed at me. I didn’t know if he was confused or irritated. He didn’t go on with his tale of woe immediately, but continued to stare at me like I was the newest exhibit at the zoo and he had never seen anything like me before.

“How could you know I was bored? When I talk about my life, most people think it’s amazing. You just met me. How could you know it’s tedious?”

I shrugged and picked up a glass filled with pink liquid. “What is this?”

“Gorjill juice.”

“Is it poisonous?” Ven glanced at me sharply, then decided I was joking and laughed nervously.

“I’m not trying to kill you. It’s delicious. I wouldn’t poison you.” He looked at me earnestly.

“No, of course not. If you wanted to kill me, you would do it with the gun in your pocket.” I took a tentative sip of the drink. The sweet liquid rolled across my tongue, and I closed my eyes in bliss. “It tastes wonderful.” I took a larger swallow, closing my eyes to savor the taste. When I opened my eyes, he was looking at me again.

“I have two questions for you,” he said, holding up his index finger. “One. How did you know it would be boring? You still haven’t answered me.”

“I don’t know,” I said. “Sitting around all day in a big house that has no personality, without any meaningful work and no one to spend time with? It sounds boring to me.”

He didn’t say anything as he digested my comment.

“What’s the other question?” I looked at the glass and felt sad the incredible drink was almost gone.

“How did you know I had a gun in my pocket?”

“Cultural anthropology. I did a comparative study for one of my classes. It was on weapons of the present and past. It’s a hobby of mine.”

He stared at me suspiciously.

“There’s a giant gun-shaped bulge in your pants. It’s impossible to miss.”

“Weapons are a hobby of yours?” He seemed mystified. I wondered what sort of woman he had expected. I couldn’t help grinning mischievously when I thought of the boring, perfect-looking tall, thin, blonde woman I traded places with. I might not be a classic beauty, but I could guarantee I wouldn’t be boring.

I nodded. “The shape was obvious when we hailed the car at the spaceport. What kind of guy is carrying when he goes to pick up his fiancé?” I asked, mostly to myself.

“I have another question for you.”

“Shoot.” I laughed. “Not literally, please. I mean, go ahead.”

He looked puzzled again and spoke with only a trace of embarrassment.

“There’s a term my fiancé used that I didn’t understand, and I couldn’t find references to it anywhere. It’s been bothering me. What is a horseback?”

It was my turn to be confused.

“A horseback? You mean, the back of a horse?”

“No, riding a horseback.”

“That’s not a thing.” I shook my head and swallowed the last of my drink.

“It’s not? She specifically said she enjoyed horseback riding.”

“I see. There's a language problem.” I finally understood what he meant. “She’s referring to an animal from Earth. A horse is a mammal with four legs, and it’s pretty fast. It’s almost extinct now, but they used to be quite common. Some people might still ride them.”

“I guess so. It seemed like a weird thing to want to do.”

“You didn’t finish your story. You were bored, and you didn’t want anything to change,” I prompted.

He was definitely irritated now and he wasn’t trying to hide it any longer.

“The will says that I have to get married by the time I turn thirty or all the money goes to charity. I’m sure they said something about this at the reading of the will, but I didn’t pay attention to it at the time. I assumed I’d be married by now.”

“You decided to order up a bride to solve your problem? That’s surprising. You don’t seem like the type to do something like that.”

“I don’t?”

“You’re good looking, and you’re rich. If I had to guess, I would think you could easily find someone to sacrifice and a live a luxurious lifestyle in a big house where they didn’t have to work.”

“There were other factors to consider.”

“What kind of other factors?”

He didn’t elaborate. “I contacted TerraMates. They set everything up so Montana would come here to get married. Of course, she didn’t come, and I was fortunate to marry you instead.”

The words sent an electric feeling rushing through my body as he stared at me. I felt like I should say something.

“You’re crazy. And I’m crazy too for marrying you.”

“Maybe, but there were reasons behind my actions. Come to think of it, there were probably reasons behind your actions too. Who were those men at the spaceport?” he asked innocently.

I was shocked at his audacity, and I didn’t have a ready response. “You aren’t the only one with a perceptive eye,” he said.

“Apparently not.” I was impressed in spite of myself.

“What’s your story? I’m going to think you're lying to me if you take much longer.”

I hesitated, wondering how much I could safely tell him. I didn’t know him at all, and I didn’t feel comfortable sharing too much, but I couldn’t stay in his big house for much longer. I had to find the artifact or all of my efforts would have been in vain. Morley’s death would be a useless sacrifice.

I made a split-second decision to only tell my husband part of the truth. Just enough to get me out of here. I needed to get to the artifact before Abel did, but what if Ven went to the police and revealed everything in a misguided attempt to do the right thing? I had no confidence the authorities would be able to stop Abel. They had never been successful before. I was certain that if he beat me to the artifact, he wouldn’t let me go on my merry way either, considering what I knew about his involvement.

Once the ladle was secure, I could tell Ven everything. Until then, I would have to keep my secrets to myself. It occurred to me that a man with a big bankroll could easily fund a trip to Heralla. I smiled to myself.

“They were pursuing me against my will.”

“Why?”

I hesitated again. “I’d rather not say. I can tell you eventually but for now, it’s best for me to keep some things private.” He frowned, and I knew I had said the wrong thing. “I promise what I tell you will be the truth. I might not be able to say everything. That’s going to have to do for now.”

I thought I detected a grudging acceptance in his expression.

“I know this can’t be easy for you,” he said, staring down at his hands. “I expected to marry a stranger today, even if it wasn’t you. You were thrown into this marriage. But I swore to protect you, and I can’t do that if I don’t know why you’re scared of them.”

He raised his big black eyes to meet mine. The purple diagonal stripe across his left eye made him look even more handsome than before. My heart beat faster, and I couldn’t look away from his gaze. I knew I had to give him something.

I hesitated, then shrugged. I might as well say it all at once. “They want to kidnap me, and probably kill me.”