A shudder ran down my body. His skin seemed to ignite a desire inside of me that was almost overpowering. His lips were so close to mine, all I had to do was lean forward and they would touch. I wanted him, I wanted him like a woman dying of thirst needed water. My heart was racing, I had no control over my body. Just as we were about to kiss, a shrill alarm sounded from the dash and I quickly pulled away, my cheeks red.

“We’re getting close,” I said, recovering from the moment.

He sighed and looked as flushed as I felt. “Great.”

I laughed, “You should be happy we are almost there. Hopefully, your brother didn’t leave the crash site or worse, was found by outlanders.”

“Outlanders?” he asked.

I nodded, “Men who don’t want to live in the colonies. They think the law doesn’t apply to them. Most of the caravans between outposts leave with heavy guards.”

“You didn’t say anything about them when we were leaving.”

“Yeah,” I said as I shrugged. “I didn’t think you would want a big party to look for your brother. It would bring up more questions that I don’t feel like answering. Plus, I have you to protect me. Right?”

He frowned, “I suppose. I would like to keep as low a profile as possible.”

Glaring at him, I was thankful when the crash site came into the clearing. I was ready to rip into him. I’d gone out of my way to make sure that he was kept safe, but he didn’t seem to care about anything but finding his brothers. The threat to my own person didn’t seem to matter as much. The tension was still thick between us as I parked the hovercar and jumped down, grabbing my medical bag and continuing on, not waiting for him to follow.

Zaruv quickly came to my side and pulled me to a stop. His lingering touch reminding me of the effect that he had. “Why don’t you stay behind me? I don’t know what state my brother is going to be in.”

“Oh,” I shot back. “So, now you’re worried about me? I don’t think so.”

I shoved past him and kept walking. The brisk night and strong winds had done a fantastic job of hiding the escape pod. Looking at it from the road, you wouldn’t have thought it was a crash. It looked like another mound of dust covering the ruins of a long-forgotten war unless you knew that there was something more to be looking for.

He stormed past me, his long strides making it hard to keep up with him. I could tell from his posture, that he was angry with me but I didn’t care. He was the one who didn’t give a damn, so why should I? I did my best to focus on the task at hand, making sure that no one was around. I saw nothing but sand and red sky around us. There was no danger except for Zaruv himself.

Zaruv brushed away the sand covering the pod in wide sweeps until he found a flashing keypad. He quickly keyed in a number and the pod opened. Inside, I saw his brother who looked remarkably like Zaruv himself. If I didn’t know better, I would have thought they were twins. He shook his brother gently as I stood watched a few feet away. The man started to move, his eyes opening with a sudden shock.

“Easy Ragal, it’s me, brother. You are safe now.” Zaruv said to him gently as he unstrapped Ragal.

“What in God’s name happened? Where the hell are we?” Ragal asked as he stumbled out of the pod.

“We are not where we are supposed to be. This is Jennifer, she saved my life and now yours at great personal risk.”

Ragal looked me up and down, his eyes lightening and a stunning smile crossing his lips. He approached me, his hand held out in offering. My cheeks flushed red and my eyes darted to Zaruv who was rolling his own eyes. I took Ragal’s hand and shook it gently. His reflexes seemed fine. I’d witnessed two of the crashed pods now and I continued to be stunned by the health of the aliens. Neither of them seemed hurt at all.

“It seems I owe you my life. I don’t believe I’ve ever met a more beautiful humanoid in all my life. Tell me, are all the woman of your planet so breathtaking?”

I laughed, though the noise sounded foreign and shrill to me. “Are you all so charming? Between you and Zaruv, you’d think I was a princess.”

“Oh no,” whispered Ragal as he kissed my hand. “I have met many princesses and your beauty makes them all pale in comparison.”

Zaruv cleared his throat and I glanced over at him. He looked irritated by the exchange and I couldn’t help but feel a little ping of joy. If I didn’t know any better, I would have sworn that he was jealous of Ragal. Playing it up, I giggled and let the color flood my cheeks. He’d made it clear I didn’t matter, so why should I care if he was upset. I ran my hand up Ragal’s arm, feeling his muscles as they strained against his uniform.

“We should probably get you looked over, just to make sure there are no lingering side effects from the crash.”

“You mean spend more time with you? Nothing sounds better,” he said smoothly.

“He seems just fine to me,” muttered Zaruv.

I glared at Zaruv, “I would think you would be more concerned with your brother’s health, Zaruv. Maybe you can see if anything from the wreck is salvageable while we go over there.”

Jerking my head to a clearing a little way from the wreck, I tugged Ragal behind me. Zaruv was right, Ragal probably had no lingering effects, but I was enjoying myself. Ragal seemed to like the time alone too, a little bit too much. It seemed like he found a reason to brush against me or touch my hand as often as possible. While it was fun to upset Zaruv at first, I found myself being pulled back to the prince I’d met the day before.

I shoved my supplies back in my bag as Ragal asked, “Done so soon? I was just getting comfortable too.”

I smiled as I would with any other man making a pass at me. “Your vitals are great considering what you just went through. I don’t see any reason we can’t go help Zaruv.”

He took my hand, “I don’t see any rush. My brother lives for adventure. No doubt he’s already plotting a move against the ship that did this.”

“Really?” I said, frowning. “He didn’t seem to care about anything but finding you and your brothers.”

“My brothers!” Gasped Ragal. “Your beauty must have jumbled my mind. Did they not land near us?”

“No,” said Zaruv. “Their pods landed much further away. Since you were closest, we came to you first. Now we must get back to the outpost and prepare for the next leg of our journey. You will be well accommodated in Jennifer’s home while we look.”

“What?” Ragal said with me in unison.

“He’s coming with us?” I asked.

Zaruv glared at me, “I see no reason to put him in any further danger. He can recover at your apartment while we travel.”

“Brother, I believe I should come with you. You don’t know what dangers this land holds.”

“No,” said Zaruv in a low tone.

I could sense the need for privacy. I quickly stepped away from them and made myself look busy by putting away my bag. Zaruv was acting strangely. I’d thought he would be thrilled to recover at least one of his brothers so easily, but he seemed angry. I couldn’t keep myself from listening to the conversation, even though I was further away. My hearing was better than most who lived on the planet. I wasn’t born to the harsh climate and invasive sand.

“I know what dangers you can pose though, Ragal,” Zaruv whispered.

Ragal laughed, “Don’t tell me you’ve already laid claim to the young humanoid. That hardly seems fair.”

“I have no claim to anyone, Jennifer included. She is helping us and that is all. I think you would be best served to stay back while we look for the others.”

“Ahh,” whispered Ragal. “You may have no claim over her, Zaruv; but it seems she’s laid claim to you no matter what. Tell me, are you really willing to risk her life so that she only has once prince to choose from?”

I had heard enough. Slamming down the cargo hold on the hovercar I spun around and glared at the two stunned men. I stomped over to them, standing within inches of Zaruv and assuring myself that he saw just how irritated I really was. He stumbled back a step, Ragal had a playful smile dancing across his face though. I didn’t seem to put the same fear into him that I did Zaruv but in all honesty, I didn’t care. Zaruv was the one acting like a jerk. Or at least he’s the only one I cared about acting that way.

“You two are worse than human men!” I screamed at Zaruv. “I am not some prize to be fought over like a couple of Infernians.”

Ragal scoffed, “We would never come to blows with each other. Please, Jennifer, we are not heathens!”

“Really?” I hissed. “Because right now you are both acting like it. I don’t want either of you okay? I have enough going on in my life that I don’t want some prince trying to get with me. Now, can we please go back?”

“Absolutely!” Ragal said, unfazed by my outburst. “Would you be so kind as to teach me to fly this contraption?”

I rolled my eyes, “You don’t need to drive. I know how to handle it just fine.”

“You drive?” he asked, stunned.

Zaruv cleared his throat, “Of course she does, Ragal. This isn’t like our home. Their customs are strange, but so far I have found nothing too worrisome about a female behind the controls of the hovercar.”

“Still, I am a prince of knowledge. I would be eternally grateful to learn,” he said sweetly.

I saw Zaruv roll his eyes. I knew showing Ragal how to control the hovercar would irritate him, something that I couldn’t pass up the opportunity to do. After the way he had acted, he was lucky that I was talking with him at all. I grinned at Ragal and stepped aside to show him the controls. As we started to talk, I let Zaruv and my anger slip away. I still had a great deal of time to spend with the handsome prince, I didn’t need to keep watch over him all the time.

It only took a few minutes of talking before Ragal was behind the controls. I begrudgingly sat dangerously close to Zaruv. When he wrapped his arm around my shoulders, I almost bit his head off until I felt the reason why. Ragal pushed the hovercar to its limits, sending my body backward, even closer to Zaruv. Part of me wanted to yell at Ragal but part of me wanted to thank him for doing what I didn’t have the guts to do on my own. I nestled down next to Zaruv, avoiding looking at him as my cheeks flushed again.

“I think teaching him was the best idea you’ve had yet,” Zaruv whispered seductively in my ear. “Maybe we should bring him with us after all.”

I shoved myself away from Zaruv but it did no good. The force pushed me back against him and I resigned myself to the closeness. It was going to be a long few days with the handsome prince.