By the time they arrived back at their apartment, Lexi couldn’t help but think about her family back at home. She was worried about them, especially Melody.

“Has the dowry been distributed to my family yet?” she asked Nash as they sat down at their dining table for an evening meal. The table was set with another feast, not quite as extensive as the first. But still, it was an impressive spread.

“They should have,” he said, dishing food onto his plate.

He poured Lexi a glass of wine, which she sipped between bites of the finest French cuisine. Her senses could barely believe how delicious it tasted.

“I’m really worried about my family,” she said, her voice shaking. There was no telling what Mario would do even if he received the money.

“Tell me more about this man who threatened your family,” he said, looking her directly in the eye.

“His name is Mario Rici. He used to be a smalltime gangster in Seattle, but now he is the leader of a new techno-mafia that keeps the entire neighborhood in fear.”

“I’ve spoken with my government contact back on Draconia, and he says he’ll bring the matter to the President. In the meantime, I’m investigating the matter.”

“Have you found anything?” she asked.

“I believe I have. I’ve seen some suspicious activity happening with the waste management ship.”

“Waste management ship? How could waste management be connected to illegal computer technology and addictive smart drugs?

“I intend to look into it right after dinner.”

“Why didn’t you look into it already?” she asked.

“My primary concern was spending time with you. I wanted to show you the laboratories. I understand that you are a student. I wanted you to know that you can still study—your education is of great importance. I want you to be happy, my beloved bride. Knowing that you are happy fills my heart with joy.” Why does he have to say such sweet things?

“I’d be happy if I knew that my family was safe.” She wasn’t going to forget about them just because she was living a life of luxury with her ‘mate’.

“Indeed, I understand.”

“I’d like to go see them, check on them.”

“It is against regulation for the bride to leave the ship until the complete claiming has taken place.”

“Complete claiming? What the heck does that even mean?” She leaned back in her chair and stared at him with exasperation and confusion.

“I must plant my seed inside you, fill you with my scent and bite your neck, filling you with my venom. The venom gives you a long life. This is the only way that you will be truly mine. This will bond us together forever. It will also ease the roar of my dragon, who even now rages at the borders of my mind. Until we have become as one, you cannot leave the ship. It is our protocol.”

“So, to see my family again, I have to let you put that huge thing inside me, and bite me with venom?” Lexi could feel the fear bubbling in her chest. She knew eventually she was going to have to let him do it, but that didn’t make the prospect any less frightening. But, if she was honest with herself, the fear inside warred equally with lust and desire, and that scared her more than the idea of the mating ritual.

“We could do it now, if you would like,” he said matter-of-factly.

Lexi grumbled and sat back in her chair, crossing her arms over her chest. He just didn’t get it, did he? “No, thanks,” she said, her legs starting to shake under the table.

“I can see that the idea of mating worries you. You fear me? Do you believe I mean you harm?”

“Dude, your penis is huge.” He speaks bluntly, I’ll speak bluntly.

“It is normal for Draconian males,” he said, totally oblivious to the fact that just because it was normal for Draconian males, did not mean that it was normal for human women.

“That thing is never going to fit inside of me. I’ve never even had—” Shut up, Lexi.

“Never even had what?” he asked, when she paused.

Lexi let out a growling sigh. She didn’t want to say it. She didn’t want to discuss this with him. She was already more embarrassed than she’d been in a million years.

“I’ve never had…you know…” she said, flipping her hand around in front of her in a circular motion.

“You know, what?” he asked, mimicking her hand circling in the air.

“I’ve never had sex before, okay? You happy now?”

“That you’ve never had sex before?”

“God,” she growled. The truth was, she felt like crying. She was embarrassed, scared, and she couldn’t help that Nash seemed to turn her on more every second of the day.

“It wouldn’t matter to me if you’d had sex before. And, it doesn’t matter to me that you have not had sex before.”

The direct rationality of his statement made her even angrier. Why did he have to be so nice? He was making all of this so much harder. She had been determined to come up here and just be miserable for the rest of her life. Instead, Nash was making her have feelings, feelings she’d never had before. Feelings she certainly never expected to have for a Draconian.

“I can see you are concerned about the size of my phallus in comparison to the size of your vagina,” he said in his usual blunt way. “Rest assured beloved bride, that when the moment arrives your body will open to me like a flower. You will feel nothing but pleasure. And we will be bonded as one, for all eternity. We are fated to be together—that is the way of things.”

Lexi just sat there and stared at him. He certainly seemed confident about the whole thing, which made her feel slightly less terrified. That didn’t mean she was ready to do it right now, though.

“I still want to see my family. To be honest, Nash, you’re way sweeter than I expected you to be. I really like you. If I have to be a Draconian’s bride, I’m glad it’s with you. But, I’m still unconvinced about the whole mating thing.”

“Fair enough. I understand, Lexi Garcia. Now, I must go investigate the waste management vessel. I may not return before you take your repose.”

Nash rose and walked toward the front door, stopping briefly to nod to her before leaving. Lexi let out a long, deep sigh. Everything she had said to Nash had been true. Nash was a nice guy for an alien, but that didn’t mean that his anatomy was ever going to fit into her anatomy.