Joran checked his other communication device while Maggie was out of the room. As he expected, he had several messages from his guards, and one from Kash Denza, the commander of the Firebrand, the ship that had brought them here. Commander Denza was threatening to come down in person if Joran didn’t check in soon.

He grinned. Kash had been Joran’s commanding officer during his mandatory stint in the Pyrosian military. He was one of the few people who dared to bark orders at the Crown Prince.

It was too risky to use verbal communication, so Joran tapped out a message in military shorthand. “Located target. Verified compatibility. Will initiate extraction when possible.”

The message would probably send Kash into orbit. His job was to ensure that Joran was safe and that both Joran and Vadir’s retrieval missions went smoothly. In the beginning, a member of the planning committee had suggested luring the females to a meeting place and abducting them without the males they were destined for even being present. It would mean far less risk to the males, but he and his mother had quickly put an end to that idea. These females might not be the same species, but they would still be treated with respect and integrity. If this plan was going to work, it would be because each female chose to go with her match.

He put away his communicator and settled in to enjoy his coffee and muffin. It was a shame that Earth was generations away from being ready to join the other intelligent species in the galaxy. They had an abundance of resources and unique foodstuffs that would have been welcomed on the interstellar market. Vadir ran an interstellar trading business. He would be sorely tempted by all the untapped trade potential here.

There were still a few bites of his snack remaining when Maggie reappeared, and he forgot about the food, markets, and his fellow Pyrosians. She’d undone the braid that held her hair back and it fell around her shoulders in fiery red waves. He wanted to tangle the weight of it in his fingers and use it to pull her in close enough he could finally have her in his arms.

He’d had his share of women in his life. His wealth and power attracted them even when they knew they could never be his queen. He’d enjoyed their company, and the pleasure they’d shared, but he had never craved them the way he did Maggie.

“I need to pop your stuff in the dishwasher, then we can go.”

“Allow me.” He rose from his seat and picked up his dishes.

“Customers aren’t supposed to be in the back area.”

“This establishment is closed, correct? As such, I can’t be a customer. Besides, I think you’ve worked hard enough today. I don’t want to start our evening off by having you wait on me.”

Surprised flared in her green eyes, and it made him wonder how many people in her life had treated her like a servant before she stopped expecting anything else.

With nothing more than a nod, she gestured for him to follow her past the counter and into the preparation area. Once the dishes were dealt with, he followed her back out again. He jammed his hands into his pockets to keep from reaching for her until they were outside. The moment she locked the door, he took her hand in his and asked, “So, which way do we go?”

“My friends and I have a little place not far from here.” She pointed down the street, then gave an experimental tug on her hand. He didn’t let go, and she frowned slightly but didn’t pull away again.

“Friends? You share a place?” The file he had on her stated she lived alone.

“In this city? Unless you’re rich, you pretty much have to have someone to share expenses with if you want to be able to afford the necessities of life, like food and clothing. We’re not really roommates, though. More like neighbours. The house we have is split into three separate living areas.”

“So you have your friends close, but still have your privacy.” It wasn’t that different from the way he lived back on Pyros. The royal family all lived in the palace, but he had his own suite of rooms. It concerned him that she had close friends, though. The objective was to select females who had no family or ties to this planet. That was part of the filtering process. At least, it was supposed to be.

She gave him an odd look, then started walking. “Exactly. I didn’t expect someone like you to understand that.”

“Someone like me?” He wasn’t sure what she meant by that, but he didn’t feel like it was any kind of compliment.

“I read your profile. You’re rich. And you have a job that ensures everyone around you has to do as you say. Your life is very different from mine.”

He stopped walking, perplexed by her response. Most females he’d met liked him because of who he was, and what he could provide them with. “I’m rich, yes. Why do you say that like it’s a bad thing?”

Shadows darkened her eyes, the effect enhanced by the fact the sun vanished behind a fast moving band of dark clouds at the same moment.

“We’re going to get caught in that rain squall if we don’t move it.” She said.

“Not until you answer my question.”

She glowered at him and yanked her hand out of grasp. “My parents had money. Then my dad died, and that all went away. Being rich didn’t protect us. People like you all share that same belief that somehow your money and influence will protect you. You live in your glass towers and look down on the rest of us, but the truth is you’re as vulnerable to rocks as everyone else.”

“Are rocks a common problem on this planet? Is there a threat from asteroids?” He didn’t mean to say any of that out loud, but her declaration had him confused and irritated.

“It’s an expression. You know, people who live in glass houses shouldn’t throw stones. And what do you mean, on this planet? What other planets are there?”

“I’m not familiar with that expression. And I don’t like being judged by the actions of others. If you’re going to condemn me, let it be for the things I’ve said and done, not anyone else.” Fire streaked through him as he reached for her and caught her hands in his. He hauled her in close, beyond caring about protocols, plans, or risks.

“What do you think you’re doing?” she demanded as he locked one arm around her and speared his fingers into her hair with his other hand.

“What I’ve wanted to do since the first time we touched.” He dropped his head and kissed her. Once their mouths met, there was no turning back for him. The Scorching roared to full strength and burned away every other thought in his head. This was his mate, and he needed to claim her.

Her lips were sweeter than the confection she’d offered him, the scent and taste of her more delicious than anything he’d ever experienced. Her very essence was being imprinted on his senses, locking them together for the rest of their lives. When this day was done, she would be the only female he would ever desire. She would complete him in every way. This was the moment that would start their new life together, and she wasn’t even aware of it, yet. He needed to tell her.

Joran lifted his head to explain, but he didn’t get a single word uttered before Maggie slapped him hard enough to make him see sparks.

“Let go of me! Now, or I swear I’ll smack you again.”

She’d hit him. This fierce little human that barely came to his shoulder had actually struck him, the prince of Pyros. He released her and grinned, ignoring the lingering sting where she’d connected. “No one has ever dared to do that before, but if that is the price for kissing you, lovely human, then by all means, strike me again.”

Maggie took several scrambling steps backwards and then glared at him again. “Buddy, I don’t know where you’re from, but around here, kissing any woman without her permission is going to get you slapped. If this is the way you’re going to behave, then our date is off.”

She was canceling their date? No! She couldn’t refuse him. Not now. “You’re mine, Maggie O’Hara. You can’t walk away from me.”

“Like hell I can’t!” She spun on her heel and marched away from him, head high.

She’d only gone a few paces before the rain started. It went from a shower to a pelting torrent in a matter of seconds, and the cool water helped him regain his wits, at least for a few minutes. It wouldn’t be long before the mating drive overwhelmed him again. He needed to catch up to his runaway mate and explain matters, and there was only one place he could make sure she stayed long enough to hear him out: his shuttle.

He took off after her, his fingers already coding in the emergency extraction command into the teleporter he wore on his wrist. It was only good for short distances and it wasn’t the most comfortable form of travel, but it was the only option he had.

She should have known Joran was too good to be true. He might look like sex on a stick, but he had a screw or two loose. He’d called her a lovely human and asked about this planet. Like he’d come from another one. And who did he think he was, telling her she belonged to him? She was a grown woman, not a possession.

Tears of anger stung her eyes and blended with the rainwater already on her cheeks. She had actually been stupid enough to think that maybe this was going to be something incredible. That the dating service had actually paired her with someone she could fall for. There was something about him. And that kiss…

She shook her head as if that would somehow clear her head and muttered, “He’s not worth crying over.”

“You’re crying?” A hand landed on her shoulder, the grip gentle but still firm enough to make her stop.

“Yes. No. It’s just the rain. Why are you following me, Joran? I thought I made it clear we’re done.” She turned around to face him and nearly swayed into his arms when a sudden bout of dizziness hit her.

“I’ve made a flaming mess of this. I’m sorry.” He reached up to stroke his thumb across her wet cheek. “I promise, I’ll make this up to you.”

“You’re not going to get a chance to. I’m going home, and you’re not coming with me.”

He sighed and shook his head, sending fresh trickles of rainwater down his face. “We’re going home together.”

Before she could react, he slipped his hand from her cheek to the back of her head as he closed the last step that separated them. There was a high pitched squeal that drove itself deep into her bones and then absolute silence. Like a thunderclap of nothingness. She couldn’t feel her own body. God, she couldn’t sense anything at all. No sound. No light. Joran was gone, too. She was alone in some endless void.

Time passed, but she couldn’t tell how much. A second? An hour? Then suddenly, the world came rushing back. Light, noise, touch, even the sound of her heartbeat hit with the force of a tidal wave. A scream tore from her throat, a blend of terror and relief as her body caught up with her senses.

“It’s okay, Maggie. It’s over. You can add that to the list of things I’m going to have to make up to you in the years to come.”

Joran’s comment cut through her disorientation like a laser. “What the hell did you do to me and what do you mean, the years to come? We’re not spending years together, you asshole. We’re not spending two more minutes together. Let me go!”

She started to fight, only to stumble backwards when he did as she asked and let go. Still shaky from whatever the hell he’d done to her, she did an ungainly scramble, regained her balance and turned her back on him. She was going home. Her foot froze in mid-step as she finally took in her surroundings. They weren’t on the street anymore. Hell, they weren’t even outside.

Smooth walls painted pale cream. Tiled floors that glowed faintly gold and orange. A panel, lit with scrolls and squiggles she didn’t recognize. No door. No windows. Panic bloomed in her chest, gripping her heart and squeezing her lungs until she could barely breathe.

“Where? How?” she croaked her questions.

“We’re onboard my ship. I brought us here so I could explain everything to you.” Joran reappeared at her side, his left arm held out to show her something that looked like a bulky watch strapped to his wrist. “It’s a teleporter.”

“You teleported us here? As in, blip, poof, presto, we’re somewhere else now? Wait, did you say ship?” She didn’t want to believe him, but it was hard to argue with the evidence. She was still soaked to the skin from the rainstorm, and the water was starting to pool on the strange, glowing floor. They were definitely not outside anymore.

“I don’t understand everything you said, but yes. We’re on my shuttle, several miles away from where we were before.”

She folded her arms across her chest, as much to hide their shaking as to express her anger. “Take me back.”

“I can’t do that. Not yet.” Joran gave her a look of frustration and regret. “Once I’ve explained, you’ll probably still be angry at me, but at least you’ll understand.”

“You bet I’m angry at you! You kidnapped me.”

“I claimed my mate,” he retorted, his eyes flashing gold again. This time they stayed that colour long enough she knew it wasn’t a trick of the light. What the hell had she gotten herself into?

“I’m not your anything. I’m sure as hell not your mate.” She spat out the last word with all the venom she could muster, but even as she said it, something inside of her clamored in denial.

Instead of arguing he held out his hand. “Come with me.”

Yes. Go with him. That traitorous little voice inside her heart spoke again, louder this time. “No. Not until you explain.”

“Maggie, please. I need to show you that I’m telling you the truth. There’s nothing in this airlock that I can use to convince you, so we need to go to another part of the ship.”

If he let her out of here, maybe she’d be able to figure out how the doors worked. She was going to need that information to escape. Not that she believed she was on a ship. This was all some elaborate ruse. It had to be. “Fine. You lead. I’ll follow. No touching.”

“If that is your wish, my seska.” Joran gave her a small smile and moved towards the panel on the wall. He waved his hand near a small, red light, and part of the wall vanished, forming a doorway.

“What’s a seska?” she asked as she followed him through the doorway.

He chuckled, and somehow the bastard made it sound sexy. “If I tell you, you’re going to be angrier than you already are. Ask me again once I’ve explained things.”

“Do you really think explaining why you abducted me is going to help calm me down?”

“Probably not, but I still owe you that much. Hurry, we don’t have a lot of time left.”

“Before the police come looking for me?”

He glanced back at her. “No, seska. Before the Scorching hits us both so hard, we’ll be beyond words.”

The list of questions she wanted answers to was getting longer by the minute. The odd thing was, she was having a hard time staying mad. She’d always used her anger like a shield. It was easy to be angry when you’d lost as much as she had. But now, when she needed to keep her guard up, she had to fight to remember why she was upset. Joran was here, and he would take care of her…

No! She gave herself a mental slap. Joran was the reason she was in this mess in the first place.

She followed Joran down a bland looking corridor. He was right about one thing, there wasn’t anything in sight that screamed “spaceship.” She kept looking around, doing her best to ignore the trickles of water that chased down her back and dripped into her eyes. Even her shoes squelched with every step she took. Despite her sodden state, she wasn’t feeling chilled at all. Wherever they were, the temperature must be downright tropical. “I don’t suppose we could stop for a towel on the way?”

“I can do better than that.” He stopped speaking English and lapsed into a language that sounded nothing like she’d ever heard before. His tone sharpened, the syllables snapping and cracking as they rolled off his tongue.

“What was that?”

“I ordered the ship’s computer to send a service droid to bring some towels to the cockpit.”

“In what language? Klingon?”

He was smiling at her now. “That was the language of my people. I promise, your answers are coming.”

“They’d better be. And if you’re giving orders to imaginary robots now, maybe you could get them to turn down the heat a bit? It’s too hot in here.”

He turned around so fast she walked right into him. “When did that feeling start?”

“I don’t know. Since we got here?”

“I never imagined this would happen so quickly. Flames, I never really thought it could happen at all. I’m sorry, Maggie.”

He held out his hand, and this time she took it. She hadn’t intended to, but it happened anyway. “You’re not making any sense. I’m trying to be reasonable here, but you abducted me, and you keep saying things I don’t understand.”

He pulled her in close, but instead of kissing her again, he hugged her and buried his face in her wet hair. “Here’s the truth, seska. My name is Joran Pyr, and I am not from your world. We’re safe on my shuttle, and we need to stay here until the Scorching has passed. You are my mate, Maggie O’Hara. I have crossed the galaxy to find you and bring you home.”

For the first time since Joran had walked into her life, she was terrified. Not because of any of the strange and insane things that had happened, but because she believed every word he’d just said.

Heat flared deep in her heart. Her pulse raced, and a fiery need flowed through her like molten metal. None of it made any sense. She was crazy to even think this was really happening, but she did. And that left only one question she needed him to answer. “Assuming I believe all this. Why would you come all this way? I’m nothing special.”

Joran straightened and moved back so that he was looking down at her. “That’s where you’re wrong. My race doesn't date the way you humans do. We have only one mate, and when we find them, we claim them for life. Two souls, one destiny.” He took her hand and interwove their fingers.

“I’m not your mate. How can I be? As you’ve pointed out several times now, I’m human, and you’re…not.” She tugged at her hand, but all he did was tighten his grip on her fingers.

“I am Pyrosian, and you are my mate. That Spark that arced between us the first time we touched wasn’t a static discharge, it was a sign that we belong together.”

“You kidnapped me over a spark?” disbelief made her voice crack.

“Yes. And because of what I’ve been feeling since that moment.” He leaned in close enough that his breath caressed her face. “Don’t try and tell me you don’t know what I’m talking about. You can feel it too. The heat. The pulse-pounding need to touch. What we’re feeling is called the Scorching. It’s the mating fever.”

She didn’t bother denying what she was feeling. How could she when it was taking all her will to resist leaning in and kissing him. “How do we make it stop?”

“There is no stopping this. I regret that I touched you before I had a chance to explain matters, but that won’t change the outcome. You’re going to be mine, soon, and forever.”

“Outcome? As in what? Marriage? Sex? Are we even compatible? What if you have two dicks or something?”

His laughter stoked the fire already burning inside her. “Marriage, yes. Sex, absolutely. And I hope a lot of it. As for being compatible…” he pulled her hand to his chest, then drew it slowly down until she could feel the hard ridge of an impressive erection under her fingers.

She ignored the blush that bloomed on her cheeks as she ran her hand down his length. It was quickly apparent that he wasn’t wearing a damned thing under his pants, and it was all she could do not to undo them and take what he was so clearly offering. Maybe there was something to his talk about mating fever. Either that, or she was losing what was left her mind.

Why not? She’d already lost her inhibitions and her ability to filter anything that came out of her mouth. Might as well go for the trifecta.

“Okay, we’re compatible. Maybe. And you’re apologizing for touching me, but not for teleporting me to…are we really on a space ship? And where’s this droid with our towels?” Her brain was flitting from topic to topic around faster than a hummingbird on a sugar high.

“Yes, we’re on a space ship. The droid is waiting for us in the cockpit, but we’re not going to make it that far. I had intended on showing you around, but I think that will have to wait until afterwards.”

“After what?”

His eyes changed colour again. A flash of brilliant gold that made her breath lock in her throat and her heart race. “After we’re mated.”

“Not happening.” She knew it was a lie the moment she uttered the words. She wanted him so badly it hurt.

“You know that isn’t true.”

“This can’t be happening.”

“This is real, Maggie. Believe it.” His lips crashed down on hers, kissing her with so much heat she felt like her very soul had been seared.

The last shreds of her self-control burned up in the first seconds of that kiss, leaving her free to take what she needed. What she wanted. Him.