She'd been in space for too long, Quinn decided.

It was increasingly obvious to her how much her body had missed certain things that were now back with a vengeance, biting her on the ass.

One was the lack of male company. She hadn't had much luck dating after Cassie's kidnapping. It was a new and rather common symptom that those closest to Nayanor victims developed some distrust for men. The excuse "I knew someone who was taken by the raiders" had become a better reply to unwelcome interest than "I'm married" and all the others.

Quinn had never imagined it would blow up in her face like that, but there she was, in a bath with a Nayanor warlord, enjoying herself much more than she wanted to admit.

The other was luxury. Similar to the other issue, Quinn hadn't been able to bring herself to return to Terra after Cassie's abduction. She didn't want to see the home they'd shared as children, only to think her sister would never see it again.

There had been a strange masochism about her staying in space for the whole year. A part of her hoped that Cassie would find a way to escape against all reason and odds. The other had been the one that brought her to Rhys – the desire to help her if she could.

So after a year aboard spaceships that, no matter how comfortable, never matched the luxury a body sometimes craved, Quinn hadn't lied. It had been a while since she'd even had the option of simply sinking into hot water, letting her body enjoy the warmth.

Even if she had to share it with her kidnapper, who was observing her with that incredibly sexy smirk on his lips.

"Is the water too cold for you?" Rhys asked.

"No," Quinn replied, confused. "It's so warm, there’s steam rising from the surface. It's like a hot tub."

Gods. It IS like a hot tub. I have been living in a self-imposed cage and now I'm going to be living in a real one. I wonder why it's the latter that has all the comforts I could want.

"Then why do you not enjoy it?" the harbinger asked. "Let yourself relax."

"Relax," Quinn replied with a smile, the only reaction to something that ridiculous. "I thought we covered the whole being kidnapped topic. How do you think I'm supposed to relax?"

"I can think of a few ways."

Quinn's body and mind reacted at the same time. Her pussy suddenly ached for him even more than it had before, the desire she'd been feeling from the moment she met him now coming with an array of images. It seemed her imagination was very good, considering the wide range of things Rhys seemed to be doing to her in them.

Her mind recoiled at the notion, meanwhile.

"You are unbelievable," Quinn said. "Is this how things usually work with Nayanors?"

"Yes," Rhys said simply. "You know about our world, don't you?"

Quinn did. Luminos seemed to have some sort of curse upon it, at least that's what it sounded like. She preferred to think of it as karma for the raiders, but the theory fell apart at the point where it hurt others much more than Nayanors themselves.

Luminos was a dying world, for all intents and purposes. Nayanors were powerful and strong, but no amount of firepower and massive, brutal weapons helped against their population growing smaller year by year.

No girls had been born on Luminos for ages. Quinn could only guess the rest. The little information the Union had about the raiders all came from the few, very few, lucky women who'd managed to escape before the ships disappeared into the wormholes.

"Okay," Quinn said carefully. "So the women on your own world might be used to getting right down to business, but you can't expect the same from us."

"You will be on Luminos soon enough," Rhys said carelessly. "Then you will be one of those females."

"Is that what you truly believe?" Quinn asked, interested despite herself.

To her continued surprise, Rhys answered honestly as much as she could tell.

"Yes," the harbinger said, become serious for a moment. "The fated bonds aren't fated without a reason. The couple is meant to be together, which means you were meant to be where I could find you. Everything else is just a matter of time and I don't like wasting my life."

"That's an interesting thought," Quinn said. "How about the fated bonds pair you up with someone who is where you are? No union of two soulmates, just a matter of circumstance."

When Rhys didn't answer at once, Quinn was afraid she'd crossed the line. Generally when people referred to a belief of their as sacred and important, they didn't like to hear mockery of it. Or anything that might devalue the meaning they credited it.

"You tell me which it is," Rhys said before he moved over to her so fast Quinn didn't even see the harbinger move.

All she knew was that suddenly he was inches from her and all the desire she'd managed to repress for a short while came back with a rush. Quinn's heart was beating fast, looking into the harbinger's eyes, seeing the desire playing there. And there was something else, too, something deeper she couldn't identify.

Rhys' hands were on either side of her, supporting him on the edge of the bath as he spoke, lips nearly touching hers:

"Do you really believe it was a mere coincidence you're mine? The desire you feel, that I can see in your eyes as clear as day, you think that's circumstantial as well?"

Quinn couldn't reply. Partly because she didn't believe in her own answer anymore, but mostly because she had to fight herself with every ounce of willpower she had left not to take the kiss from Rhys' lips. He was so close to her and the memory of the last one still burned in her mind, turning her on.

"I –" she began but Rhys caught her chin between his fingers, lifting her head to look at him.

The words got stuck in her throat as Quinn felt her judgment quickly leaving her body.

"I can't see into your head, but I do see your eyes and they don't lie," Rhys told her firmly. "I see the same desire I feel and I know you need me much closer than I am now.

"I don't know the ways of the gods either. The bonds work in ways we can only guess at, but I am certain of one thing and that's that you are the most beautiful female I've ever laid my eyes upon. Your body calls to me to fill it, to claim you for my own.

"Coincidence or not, fate or not, I know I want you more than I've ever wanted anything else and that is the only truth I need. Because whatever Terran customs are for this, when a Nayanor feels like that about someone, we don't let them go."

Quinn felt goosebumps all over her skin, completely at odds with the hot bath, made even hotter by the gorgeous man so close to her she could feel his sculpted body brushing against hers when he moved.

Before, when she'd been able to see Rhys naked, Quinn finally had the proof that he was the most gorgeous man alive. Every inch of his crafted, firm body was muscled and perfect. His tanned skin was pulled tightly over his chiseled chest and abs. The thick biceps looked like he could crush metal with his bare hands. It had been impossible to look away from him and it was even more so now.

Quinn had no idea how she'd let it come to that, but when Rhys leaned in for another kiss, her hands wrapped around his neck and pulled herself closer to him. Immediately, like some great beast released from the cage at last, Rhys caught her in his tight embrace, pulling Quinn onto his lap. Strong, amazing hands roamed her body, groping her ass and sliding up and down her legs as she let out a quiet moan.

"Tell me, then," Rhys said, pulling back and giving her a daring look. "Do you want me to let you go? Are you that anxious to get away from me?"

Quinn closed her eyes in pleasure as the harbinger's hands kept touching her everywhere he could reach, holding her against his flawless, hot body.

"Are you going to tell me no?" Rhys asked.

Quinn opened her eyes, knowing she'd lost the first encounter with her fated.

"I was taught it was a sin to lie," she replied.

With a chuckle and a feral growl, Rhys pulled her in for a kiss, demanding and firm this time. Quinn writhed against him, feeling his cock grow harder against her ass.

The ship rocked around them, taking her toward her new home.