Erudan took three steps away from Rhea—fighting to put space between them no matter how much his body rejected the idea. He forced his feet to move, pushing onward so that her scent no longer filled his nose. He made it as far as the common area before he relented and stopped. He turned to look toward the meal preparation area and simply stared at the beautiful female. She still remained at the table, elbows braced on the wood and head cradled in her hands.

The confusion that had plagued him since the previous night surged once more. She appeared like a female devastated by more than a simple refusal from a male she did not even know. If he were her true mate, he could understand her wounded appearance. But he wasn’t… Was he?

His emotions surged and he pushed the thoughts away. No, males like him did not have mates. It had to be another reason.

One he still had not found. But there must be one.

Erudan narrowed his eyes and slowly padded back into the kitchen. Rhea tensed but did not give him her attention. She remained silently bowed in place.

He bowed over her, planting his hands on either side of her elbows. He leaned in closer until her long hair tickled his jaw.

Returning to her—getting so near—was another in a long line of errors in judgement. So close to the source of her natural scent… It was unlike anything he’d ever encountered on Vialea and desire burned within his veins. It surged with every beat of his heart and his entire body was aware of her nearness.

He should back away.

Should, but would not. He had to remain close because he needed answers. He did not have a single doubt that Rhea hid something from him. He was familiar with secrets and hugging them close. He had a few of his own, after all.

There was a truth that crossed galaxies and couldn’t be denied—like recognized like.

His was irrelevant, but until she was returned to Earth, hers was very relevant to him.

Another lie he told himself.

“What are you doing?” Her whispered question stroked him with a ghostly touch.

He gritted his teeth and fought against the spiral of desire that spun through him. “You did not answer my question. Why is it so urgent that we mate?”

Rhea froze and drew in a quick breath, holding it captive in her lungs.

She remained in that position for what felt like hundreds of turnings before she finally lifted her head slowly. Her dark hair gradually parted to reveal her pale face. Pale from emotion, not from lack of sunlight.

She turned her face toward his and their cheeks brushed, her silken skin caressing him. It made his mind fill with illicit things—imaginings of the experience of that soft flesh teasing him from head to toe. For no reason at all, he stared at her plump lips, wondering how it would feel to kiss her—taste her.

Why, when she licked her lips, did he want to follow the damp trail her tongue left behind? He would trace its path with his own tongue until…

His thoughts distracted him so thoroughly that he did not realize she had spoken until the sharp snap of her voice drew him back to the present.

“Are you listening to me?”

Erudan flicked his gaze from her lips to her eyes. Her very stormy, glaring eyes. His inattention annoyed her. “I am.”

“Uh-huh. Now, maybe. Before, not so much.” She shook her head. “You want to know why I need you so badly?”

Need.

He had a need and the word from her lips brought his needs roaring forward. His body needed to claim her. That was his need. Instead of revealing the truth, he simply nodded. “Yes. Please explain.”

“I’ll tell you if you’ll tell me why you’re so against mating.” He opened his mouth, but she silenced him by raising a single finger. “The real reason.”

Her voice was quiet but filled with something even harder than the seasoned wood of the hewo tree. He silently cursed and pushed himself away from her. He rose and paced across the kitchen, trying to ignore the way Rhea watched him. Her eyes followed his every move and after the fourth turn, she rose and carried her plate to the sink.

She acted as if nothing was wrong while he panicked.

This female was the most frustrating creature. She was also admirable. The strength in her voice ran all the way down her spine and filled her entirely. She was a worthy adversary. A female worthy to mate…

He shook his head. Had he really believed he could use his size and closeness to intimidate her into answering his questions?

Clearly, he had lost his senses.

Rhea had charged after a thief in the middle of Ikkim on a world she had never visited. Some might have called the action foolish—he had—but he had revised his opinion.

Not fast enough, though. Not until he watched her attack an intruder with a blade longer than her forearm while she released a battle cry that put a Vian warrior’s to shame.

Of course, she had quietly scoffed at his attempt at bullying.

If he wanted his ma—

Ahem.

If he wanted Rhea to cooperate, he would have to alter his approach.

Rhea stood at the sink rinsing her dishes and he took the moment to observe the curvy female. He traced her hips with his gaze, imagining his hands holding her as he thrust…

His hardness responded to the fantasy and he bit back a curse. His desire was an unwanted craving.

Her wanting was a nuisance, as well. He’d scented her musky arousal the previous night and it had nearly destroyed what little remained of his control.

But thoughts of her desire gave him an idea. A slightly dishonorable idea, but an idea none the less.

Erudan used the sounds of the gurgling water raining into the sink to disguise the soft patter of his footfalls. He stole across the kitchen until he stood behind her—mere inches separating them. Her heat reached for him and anticipation thrummed in his veins as he waited for her to finish. Before long she turned off the water, blanketing the space in silence.

She reached for a nearby cloth and dried her hands, the long, delicate fingers soon free of moisture.

Erudan had never been jealous of a towel before.

Rhea turned and gasped at his nearness. Her eyes opened wide, lips parting, and she lifted her hands until they hovered between them.

Rhea had expressive green eyes and an open face—her emotions easily read as they flashed over her features. He had craved to see an emotion other than hurt or annoyance. Surprise was a welcome alternative. Hunger—for him—would be even better.

He braced for her to push him away, but she did not. Instead she reached behind herself and gripped the edge of the counter. The new position forced her back to arch and pushed her plump breasts against his hard chest. Those tiny nubs teased him and he ached to pinch and pluck those small bits of flesh.

Then perhaps suck them. His mouth watered at the thought. He craved the weight of her breasts in his palms, the taste of those perky tips on his tongue.

Rhea licked her lips and then pressed them together. The desire to trace the seam with his own tongue until he coaxed his way into her mouth nearly stole all control from him.

It was a rare enough occurrence that it dragged him back to his senses.

Touching lips to lips, exploring the warm recesses of a mate’s mouth, was not a Vian custom. He had witnessed the act by one couple and they were true mates. They’d been kissing.

The word appeared in the forefront of his mind as though it had been plucked from the thick, sexually charged air between him and Rhea. Kissing, and other things. The image of his tongue teasing pebbled flesh before trailing down over the soft swell of her belly…

A strangled sound escaped his throat and Rhea stared at him. Her eyes remained wide open but now held a glossy sheen that spoke of desire.

A desire that was not only evident in her gaze, but elsewhere. As his attention flicked between her watchful stare and inviting lips, a new scent slithered into the air. The light, sweet notes of her flavors were now joined by the heated, musky richness of her need.

Erudan closed his eyes and breathed deeply—savoring the proof of her arousal. His own body responded and he eased toward the edge of his control, nearly to the breaking point. Then there would only be a tangle of limbs and straining bodies that were damp from perspiration generated by the desperate hunt for release.

Rhea’s lips haunted him and he had strange visions of them skimming his torso, not stopping until she reached his aching flesh. He could almost feel the slide of her wet tongue exploring the underside of his shaft. Then her mouth enveloping him and—

He jerked, startled when he realized these were not his fantasies, but hers.

He mentally shook his head and tried to clear his mind of the thoughts that seemed determined to consume him.

It was impossible. This was impossible. The sharing of thoughts was only enjoyed by true mates. Rhea could not…

Alea would never send a male like him a mate. Not one who had selfishly risked a planet filled of her children.

He shrugged off the images in his head and opened his eyes to find Rhea’s closed. Her dark lashes fluttered before finally parting. With her attention, he placed his hands on the counter, blocking her in and pinning her in place.

His skin changed color again, green emerging to replace the brown. A warning that his firez drew nearer with each passing moment. And it was coming too fast. He would have to cage himself to stop him from taking her in his sexual haze.

Which meant he had to see Rhea to safety while he was still in his right mind.

Rhea had remained stubbornly silent and had not answered his question, so he approached the problem in another way. “If you will not explain your reasons for mating me, then tell me why you have contracted a mate? Humans do not join this way.”

Except his brother’s mate had sought out Celestial Mates. He would not mention that fact.

A frown creased her brow. “Humans have just as much of a right to use Celestial Mates as any other race.”

“Yes, but why? Why leave your home? Have you no family?”

Pain shadowed her eyes. “I have a family.”

“If you had their support, why did you not remain there and mate a human male?”

Rhea’s nostrils flared and her arousal receded, allowing the stinging flavors of anger and hurt to encroach.

Damn himself to Vi. He did not wish her to be angry.

“You want to know the truth? Fine.” The heat of her pain burned him. “I was engaged to a human man.”

His lips threatened to peel back with a snarl. Rhea with a human male? A male who was not him? A strange male’s hands and mouth on her skin? The thought made his blood boil.

She tilted her head to the side, blinking at him for a moment, and then laughed. A soft, amused sound. Not one meant to mock him. “You can’t be angry.”

“I am not angry.” He pushed the words past gritted teeth.

Her lips twitched. “Jealous, then.”

“I am not—“

“Keep telling yourself that.” She patted his chest. “You don’t have a reason to be jealous. He never did more than kiss me.”

Even that was too much. The male had to die.

She sighed and her smile disappeared. “I thought it was romantic. That he was so overcome with tenderness and so shy…” She shook her head. “It doesn’t matter. He didn’t want me.”

He snorted. “Not want you? Who would not want you? You are— “

Perfect.

But he could not say the word because it would give her false hope that he relented in his choice. He could not.

Rhea quirked a brow. “Who, indeed? Anyway, it turned out he wanted money, not me. My father’s money to be precise.”

“Your father gave him credits?” He frowned.

She nodded.

“To mate with you.” He had to say the words to ensure he understood.

Again, she nodded.

“I do not understand. Dowries have not been part of your culture for centuries.”

Erudan should know. When his brother had first mentioned Celestial Mates, they had both done research.

Rhea shrugged. “It wasn’t a dowry so much as a bribe. And apparently, it wasn’t even enough of a bribe to make him want to sleep with me.”

“I still do not understand. You are beautiful. Any male would want you for your beauty alone.”

“Except you.” Her softness vanished in an instant and the accusation crackled between them.

Erudan flinched, but he would not be dissuaded. “Yet you are intent on me. Why? Why the urgency?”

He would not relent.

Rhea bared her small, white teeth and released a growl. “If you have to know everything, I’ll tell you. The truth is that my father is an important politician and I’m part of his shtick. The noble politician sacrificing part of his life to care for the little motherless girl. He needed me for votes. That meant he couldn’t risk me being dragged into bearing service with the Department of Population.” She sneered, and he vaguely recalled something about the Department of Population and his brother’s mate.

“My father hired a man to pretend to want me. To pretend to love me and want to marry me. Then I found out and ruined it all by kicking him to the curb. That turned me into an unattached female who reached the age limit for bearing service. The Department of Population was all over me, wanting me to pop out kids.”

There were so many parts to her tale that he wished to address but the surging anger at the end captured him first. “You do not want children then? Is that why you speak of them as if they were human devils?”

“I don’t want to give birth only to have the DP take them and hand them off to someone else. If I have babies, they’ll stay with me. They’ll be mine.” Liquid gathered in her eyes—tears. He decided he disliked her tears. “The only way for me to escape bearing service was to leave Earth as a mate. Celestial Mates was the only means available to me.”

And then Celestial Mates matched her with him. “You are here now. You have escaped. Even if we do not mate, you are safe.”

“Not really.” She tipped her head back. “My father is powerful. He might want to drag me back for the sake of his career. If not him, the Department of Population would love to get their hands on me. A politician’s darling daughter bearing for them? It’ll be huge news.” Her voice was softer when she next spoke. Almost a whisper. “If anyone follows and finds out I’m still single, they could take me back. I need to mate with you, Erudan. You’re my only hope.”

The world slowed to a stop and he gazed into her eyes. He was torn in two by the knowledge that she needed him. He both hated and loved the concept.

The notion settled in his chest, slotted into an empty space he had never noticed before. A hole in his heart that seemed to be made for the responsibility and privilege of being necessary to this female.

He adjusted his position so he only leaned on one arm. He brought his fist to his chest and rubbed the space over his heart.

Rhea’s soft fingers grazed his and he turned his attention to where they touched. It was the smallest of connections, but it was enough for his body’s natural response. Her thumb slid along his and the color of his skin rippled, green overtaking him once more.

The rapid change in hue snapped him back to his senses. He tightened his fist and lowered his arm to his side. Looking up from her hand resting on his chest, he focused on her hopeful eyes.

Perhaps this would return some of his honor.

“You deserve a better mate than me, but I will do this. I will protect you until your safety is assured.”

Relief dropped over her in a fierce wave and her body relaxed. Except that pleasure turned into something more cautious. “Just until then? What happens when we know I’m free and clear?”

Erudan swallowed hard. He knew what he wished to happen, but he also knew it was not to be. He could not forget his true nature.

“We will decide when that time is upon us.” He shied from the questions in her eyes and shoved away from the counter. He gestured toward the center area of his dwelling. “For now, prepare yourself for an outing. The stores we wish to visit at Ikkim will open soon. We will have my shuttle for transportation so we will not have to rely on public transit, but we must still move quickly. We do not want to be at Ikkim when the crowds thicken.”

And when the Rargar might use those crowds to find their revenge.