“I need you and a few of your friends to go and bury the ship. I don’t want the guards to find it just yet, okay? Do you think you can do that?”

“Yes ma’am, I know just the boys to help me.”

“Great, go now. I don’t want you to be here when he wakes up. The fewer people that he talks too, the better it will be okay?”

“I don’t know if I should leave you alone with him. He might be dangerous.”

I couldn’t hide my humor any longer. A grunt slipped past my lips though I kept my eyes closed. I had woken briefly as they were moving me, but my body was not yet healed. My senses were sharp enough that I was easily able to discern my captors were nothing more than a woman and a youthful boy. Both of them humans, which came as a bit of a shock. We weren’t in a military cell, that much I knew. Whatever had happened to my pod I knew that I had this woman to thank for my survival and the lack of bars on the windows. No doubt she had her trepidations about helping me.

As soon as I heard the door and faint sounds of the young man leaving, I moved a little bit. I didn’t want to scare the woman who had helped me. Instantly, the shuffling of feet stopped and I felt her sweet, warm body press against mine as she sat down on the bed I’d been laid on. Her hand brushed across my forehead, pulling back the bandage that had protected my wound.

I opened my eyes and saw her staring back at me for the first time. She was a rare beauty with hair the color of Infernian lava and piercing emerald eyes. I wanted to reach out and cup her round face, to run my thumb along her plump, cherry lips. Instead, I just gazed at her, mesmerized by her beauty.

“Hello,” she whispered. “My name is Jennifer; do you know where you are?”

I cleared my throat, buying time and wondering how much I should share with her. “Vaxivia, if my escape pod was accurate. Tell me, am I being held prisoner here?”

A shocked look crossed Jennifer’s face, “No. Of course not. I wouldn’t go running around town just yet, though. People don’t generally like newcomers around here and with good reason; they normally bring trouble with them.”

“I wish I could tell you that I won’t have trouble following me, but I can’t be sure,” I muttered in earnest. “Tell me, you are the one who cared for me, yes?”

She nodded her head, “I didn’t think you would survive the cut to your head, but now it’s almost gone. I can’t believe it myself, to be honest.”

I grinned at her, “I have sustained worse, but I thank you anyway. I have a feeling it was your quick actions that kept me out of prison, or whatever it is you have here.”

Jennifer frowned, “We have a bunker, but it hasn’t been used in years. Not many people travel to Vaxivia and even fewer aliens. It’s not like we have a booming industry here.”

“It does seem rather,” I paused, choosing my words carefully, “Desolate.”

“That’s an understatement. So, were you traveling alone? I only found one pod, but Mikey is out looking for more.”

My jaw clenched down, I was a good judge of character and Jennifer seemed like a trustworthy human. Still, I didn’t want her to be put in harm’s way. I needed to be careful about what I shared. At least until I knew her better. Letting my gaze fall over her slender figure, I thought about the many ways I would love to know her more intimately. I’d had many lovers in the past, but she was different. There was a fire inside of her that was burning hot.

“No, there were others. I can only hope that they have fared as well as me.”

“How many?”

“Four in all, my brothers actually. We were attacked and had no choice but to take the pods. However, we were not quick enough in our escape. I fear I have no way of knowing where they have landed.”

“Well,” she said with her brow creased, “I can tell you that they aren’t anywhere around here. It’s a miracle that your pod went undetected. More than one certainly would have raised an alarm.”

“I need to find them. They won’t know what to do.”

“You sound like the oldest brother,” she said with a grin.

“Second, my eldest brother wasn’t traveling with us.”

“Where are you coming from?”

It was a question I wasn’t ready to answer. I quickly started to cough and she leaped into action, trotting off to the small kitchen and fetching me a drink. I enjoyed the view of her rear, but I had bigger problems. The second she found out what I really was, she would panic as many humans did. In my current form, I looked like any number of humanoid creatures, if not a little more handsome. The Dragselians could manipulate our form, shifting between a human appearance and our true identities, dragons.

Though we only brought out our dragons when we needed to fight, I still didn’t know what Jennifer would think of me. As she walked back in with a tall glass of water, something changed. I watched her slender hips swaying as she moved; my eyes traveled up to her tilted head and subtle grin. Sucking in a sharp breath, I made the connection in an instant. I trusted her, as much as I would trust one of my other brothers. Somehow, I was linked to this small and beautiful human. It was fate.

I took a long drink, her careful eyes watching my every move. Looking for any reason to avoid talking about myself, I went for the most obvious approach.

“Do you live here alone?” I asked, the words sounding dull to me.

She rolled her eyes at me, “You are avoiding answering my question. Why should I keep answering yours? That doesn’t seem like a very fair approach.”

“You’re right,” I said with a grin. “My name is Zaruv, you were right to assume that I wasn’t from around here. I don’t want to put you in danger though.”

“Danger? I’m pretty sure that ship sailed as soon as I brought you back to my apartment.” She grinned and added, “Where I live alone.”

Our eyes met and a blush covered her cheeks, it was enough to send the heat down through my loins. Jennifer was doing everything she could to put me at ease. Until my brothers were found though, I didn’t think that was going to happen.

“So, where are you from?” she asked again.

I sighed, “Okay, you win. I am from the planet Dragselia.”

Jennifer gasped, quickly jumping from the couch and backing away from me. It was exactly the reaction I was worried about. Her kind didn’t know about the difference between Infernians and Dragselians. To them, we were all strange, alien, shapeshifters who slaughtered thousands without cause. The reality of it was much different but I didn’t know that she was going to give me the opportunity to explain.

“Jennifer, I am not the monster you think I am,” I whispered softly. “My people have long been tied to the Infernians when we shouldn’t be. We do not murder, plunder, and destroy like they do.”

“Then why are you here? Why were you in Vaxivia space?”

“My brothers and I were traveling to Artax when Infernians shot us down. We had no defenses.”

“That’s not like Dragselians to be caught off guard. Sounds like your kind needs a lesson in travel safety.”

I glared at her, “We took every precaution we could, which is why we had no defense, no insignia, no escorts. We were supposed to be undetected, but I suspect there was a traitor among my people back on Dragselia.”

“A traitor? No escort?” she muttered, slowly putting together the pieces.

I didn’t know if I was ready for her to see the truth. The last thing I wanted was more drama. I had no time to coddle her. I needed to find my brothers who, no doubt, were not fairing as well as I was. This planet was a mixture of friends and foes. Some swore allegiance to the treaty between our kinds and some, like Jennifer had, still grouped us together with our nemesis, the Infernians. The link between us and them was long and sordid, not one that I had time to go into with her.

“Just who the hell are you?”

“I am the second eldest son of the late King Patabu, ruler of Dragselia. Per our custom, my brothers and I were going to live in exile on Artax when we were shot down by Infernian troopers. I can only hope that they think they killed us all. Otherwise, they will come here looking for us.”

“Wow, that’s a lot,” Jennifer muttered.

“I know, I need to find them though. I would be able to track their pods through my own if I can get back to it. I will need your help though Jennifer.”

Her eyes grew wide. “My help?”

“You seemed to get me past the outpost guards the first time, I’m hoping that you can do the same. I don’t know how long we will be gone though. I know that it's asking a great deal from you. There is no one else I’m afraid.”

“I don’t know,” Jennifer whispered. “I just don’t know.”

“Jennifer, my brothers are the only family that I have. My father is dead and I have been exiled from my home. This planet is not where I want to live out my days. The people seem less than welcoming to creatures of different races.”

“I know. Most of those who make Vaxivia their home only does so because they don’t know anywhere else. I want to help you, really, I do. I just don’t know that I can. My life here is quiet and simple. At least it was,” she said with a frown.

I reached out and took her hand into mine. I was only looking to comfort her, I could never have known that it would light a spark between us. She gasped and quickly pulled her hand away from mine. My body was on fire, I felt like an Infernian as the desire coursed through my veins. No stranger to romance, I’d never felt such a powerful connection before, especially not with a humanoid.

“This is a lot to process. Do I have to answer you right away?”

The reality of it was that every second my brothers were left alone; their fate became more uncertain. I needed to find them as quickly as possible. Still, rushing Jennifer wasn’t the way. It would only make her mistrust me more. I needed to give her a chance to see that I wasn’t going to hurt her. She needed to first believe that I wasn’t an Infernian sent to corrupt her quiet life.

“Take all the time you need, Jennifer. As you think, though, please remember my brothers’ lives are at stake.”

Silently, she nodded her head and rose from the couch. I didn’t want her to leave. I wanted her to stay with me through the night as I slowly stripped away her clothing and kissed her tender, pale skin. I shook my head, trying to free my mind from the spell that Jennifer had put me under.

“Sleep,” she whispered from the door of her bedroom. “You need time to heal and I need to think.”

“Goodnight, Jennifer,” I replied before she closed the door.

I laid back against the awkwardly small couch, my wounds healed, but still tender. I tried to sleep, but it eluded me as I thought of the enchanting woman just a few yards away from me. I was no fool, she would be the death of me if I wasn’t careful.