I can tell she’s overwhelmed by this whole experience. I’m overwhelmed by her. She’s so damn beautiful it renders me dumbstruck for most of the meal. I just sit there like an idiot while my brother gets her all riled up with his evasive nature and refusal to tell her what’s going on. He’s always like this. He always has to win, no matter the cost. But things are going to be different this time. I know what my brother has planned, but I have to be the one to win her.

I’ve heard other people talk about what it’s like to find their mates; the one person with a unique connection to them unlike anything else in the universe. I’ve been told it’s unmistakable when it happens. I never believed the stories. But now I do. Because it’s happening to me.

I spend most of the meal listening to my brother and my mate try to outmaneuver each other while trying to contain my own feelings. Every time I look at her I feel the blood rise in my cheeks. And below my waist. She’s the most spectacular female specimen I’ve ever laid eyes on. The tight dress my brother gave her to wear shows off her luscious figure, but what attracts me most are her eyes. They’re a piercing shade of hazel flecked with gold, and I feel like she looks into my soul every time she glances at me.

Part of me wants to laugh at the impossibility of my situation; the spectacularly bad luck of falling in love with the woman my brother is holding hostage. The woman I’m pretty sure he has designs on for himself, if for no other reason than our ranks of scientists are being rapidly depleted by defectors and he’s going to need more engineers to keep the city and all his schemes running.

And I haven’t even considered the Eclaydian yet.

The rare compound the Earth women came here to harvest. The one we’ve wanted for ourselves for eons but have been unable to figure out how to harvest and process. I often wondered why none of them were suspicious of our generous offer. I suspect the Earthlings are desperate enough to remain nearsighted when evaluating our generous offer to open our planet to the foreigners for them to plunder our mountains and mine our materials. Desperation will make you do uncharacteristic things.

She pushes herself back from the table. Knocking her chair to the floor, she springs to her feet. I’ve lost track of what they’re arguing about, with being so lost in my own thoughts, but they’re both addressing each other with raised voices. I, more than most, understand my brother’s capacity to enrage people. She slams her hands down on the table and a shiver of pleasure runs through my body as her generous breasts jiggle. It’s not fair that someone should look so sexy while they’re angry. And it’s not fair that I feel so overcome with sensual desire at such an inopportune time.

I need to get my shit together fast. I need to defuse the situation. And I need to find a way to get her alone with me. The last part pops into my head unbidden and I don’t fully understand my motives. I think my biologic desire has taken control of my brain.

“Brother,” I address both of them, and the expressions on their faces confirms they’ve forgotten about my presence, “perhaps you would allow me to show our guest the compound. I promise we’ll not venture outside.”

He looks hesitant and I can tell he’d rather I had not brought the idea up. But I can also tell he knows he’ll look unreasonable if he refuses.

“Very well,” he agrees. “As long as you stay within the designated confines.” I’m not sure what that means but I’m sure he’ll explain it to me after we finish eating. He ends the meal early and a member of the medical staff arrives to escort our guest back to her room. I promise to collect her in the morning and try to stop my eyes from skimming over her curves one last time. I’m pretty sure she noticed, despite my best efforts.

I return to my room as well, and I spend the rest of the night tossing and turning, unable to conquer sleep. My thoughts return to her again and again. I savor my imaginings of all the delicious things I’d like to do to her. Wondering what she would look like without the dress. Will her nipples be pale pink? What does the naked line of her shoulder look like? Are her legs as long and slim as I imagine? Will her skin be soft and smooth? Insomnia has never been so delightful.

I can’t get any relief and I decide to stop fighting my desire. I slide my hand below the covers, against my naked torso, and take the thick length of my cock in my hand. No foreplay for me. I grasp it tightly and stroke up and down, thinking of my perfect Earth mate as I do so. Wondering what it would be like to lie between her thighs and sink deep into her. Wondering what she’d be like underneath me. Would she say my name and dig her nails into my shoulder as I thrust into her? Grasp my hips with her knowing hands and pull me deeper? I need to know the answers to these questions.

Morning arrives and I feel spectacularly unrested. I rise from my bed and head for the facilities. I need to make myself ready for her presence and I don’t have much time. I hop into the bathing unit and then dress quickly. It’s time to meet the earth woman who is my mate — even if she doesn’t know it yet.