Sated and content, Vadir was stretched out on the sun drenched grass with Lisa nestled into his side. Beyond the birdsong and trill of the insects was a deep silence that resonated deep in his heart. For once, his mind was still, and he felt entirely at peace. He looked up into the clear blue sky and felt a pang of regret that they wouldn’t be able to return here. Earth had proven to be far more interesting, and beautiful, than he’d expected, despite the disappointment of all the business opportunities he’d been denied.

Beside him, Lisa tensed, then sat up. “Who said you can’t do business here? And you still haven’t explained why I can’t come back here to visit.”

Damn it. The telepathic link between them was going to take some getting used to.

“I told you that we’re not supposed to have first contact with any species that haven’t met certain developmental criteria. Our being here at all is a violation of some very serious laws.”

“You didn’t explain. You mentioned it in the middle of a fight, and it hasn’t come up again until now. So, explain now, please.”

“Remind me to have a learning program developed for the next batch of female mates that are approached so that none of this gets forgotten in future.”

She snorted with laughter. “I’ll make notes for you, so you don’t miss anything important. Now, will you please explain why I can’t come home again? And for that matter, how are you going to explain the presence of human women on your planet if you’re not supposed to be here?”

“I believe the official cover story will be that you were all found onboard a slaving vessel. At least, that’s the last version I heard. The hope was that we would be able to keep your existence a secret for a few years before anyone was the wiser.”

“And how exactly am I going to be able to travel around with you if I’m supposed to be a secret?” she asked, looking both amused and mildly annoyed.

“I hadn’t figured that out, yet, but I would have come up with a way. I made you a promise. I intend to keep it.” He reached up to tap his index finger to the tip of her nose. “Your eyes would make it problematic for you to stay here, too. Your Pyrosian heritage is showing, and that puts you at risk.”

“There’s something else that needs to go on the list. How the fuck did I end up with alien DNA?”

He shrugged and took a moment to find the right words. “We’re not sure. We’ve been a spacefaring race for millennia. There was a time we sent out scores of colony ships. Some failed. Others succeeded. Many stopped communicating and were declared lost. Our best guess is that one of those lost ships landed on your planet, and they discovered that interbreeding was possible.”

“So your ancestors got it on with my ancestors, and here I am?”

“It would seem so, yes.”

She frowned. “But then why is there so much fuss about first contact? Clearly, that’s already happened. My DNA proves it.”

He started to answer her before it occurred to him that he had no idea what to say. She was right. It wasn’t official, and it certainly wasn’t sanctioned, but there had been contact between their species.

“Vee?”

“You’re right. By the Flames of the First One, you’re absolutely right!” He sat up and kissed her. “Convincing the Inter-planetary Council of this won’t be easy, but we’ll find a way. You know what this means, don’t you?”

“It means I might get to visit Spain someday?”

“More than that, tani. So much more. If we can bypass the rules, then everything changes. We can approach your governments and begin the process of indoctrinating your species into the council. Better yet, I will be able to negotiate trade agreements. It will be slow at first, but eventually, Earth will have access to technology and knowledge beyond imagining.”

“That sounds amazing, and I’m all for it, but…what are we going to trade for it? As you have pointed out more than once, we’re a primitive species.”

He cupped her face in his hand, his thumb stroking her cheek. “Isn’t it obvious? Earth has the one thing we need more than anything else. Single females willing to go to Pyros and be mated.”

“If they put you up as a poster boy, I promise, you’ll be overwhelmed by volunteers.”

“I’ve already found my mate. We’ll choose someone else to be the face of Pyros.” He leaned in to kiss her, grateful to the Gods that they had gifted him with a mate who was as intelligent as she was beautiful.

“Mmm good point. You’re spoken for.”

She was quiet for a second, but he could sense her thoughts and knew she was thinking of her friend, Gwen.

“I want to take my friend with us when we go. Gwen was rejected by the Star-Crossed dating site. They said she was too old, but she’s only two years older than I am! She told me about it before I went out on my date with you. Fuck, she’s got to be out of her mind with worry by now. As far as she knows, I went out on a date and vanished.”

“As soon as we have communication back, we’ll make sure she knows you’re alright. As for bringing her with us, that’s not my call to make. The Firebrand is Joran’s ship, and he’s the prince, so the final decision is his.”

Instead of being distressed, Lisa beamed. “If Joran is with Maggie, then there’s no way he’ll say no. In fact, I bet she’s already got things organized and Gwen’s packing right now, and both of them are cursing me out for running late, as usual.”

“You’ve got a good excuse.” Vadir jerked his head back towards the crash site.

“Yeah. I slugged you, you fell into the console, activated the emergency engine cutoff thingy, and we crashed.” She blushed. “I don’t think I’ve said it, yet. But I really am sorry about that.”

“Don’t apologize. I deserved that punch. We lived. The ship is nearly repaired, and we had the time we needed to figure things out. As hostile negotiations go, this wasn’t so bad.”

Lisa was still laughing at him with Cas buzzed his communicator, which was still lying where he tossed it, somewhere in the deep grass. The two of them scrambled around, naked and laughing, until he finally located it and opened a channel.

“Yes, Cas?”

“Repairs to communication and navigation are complete. You should be able to contact Commander Denza and the Firebrand whenever you’re ready.”

“Do you have a list of the parts required to finish repairing the ship before we can fly again?”

“Confirmed. The file is already loaded onto your communicator.”

He started to open a channel to the Firebrand, then glanced over at Lisa and shut the device off. This conversation would go faster if he were in visual contact, but that wasn’t going to happen. Not at the moment.

Lisa’s brow creased, and she cocked her head to the left. “Don’t you need to talk to the Commander and Joran? The ship needs fixing, we need rescuing, and I want to know how Maggie and Gwen are.”

“And I will convey all of that, right after we get dressed.” He rose to his feet, then offered her his hand.

“What, you don’t want to let your friends see you naked and frolicking in a meadow? Bad for your buttoned-up businessman reputation?” she teased.

He swatted her ass and chuckled before pulling her into his arms. “No, tani. I didn’t want my companions to see my mate naked. That delight is for me alone.”

“If that’s the case, then I’m going to need to borrow another one of your shirts.”

The vision of her draped in his clothing, legs and feet bare, had his cock surging to life again. “You can have any shirt you like. In fact, have them all. I’ve got more on the Firebrand, and we can order clothing for you in any style or fabric you desire.”

“That sounds nice, but I’d like some of my own clothes, too. Maybe I can get Gwen to bring me some of my clothes when she joins us.” Lisa stretched up on her toes and kissed him. “C’mon, sexy. If we hurry, we can contact everyone and have time for a quickie in the shower before anyone gets here.”

He scooped her into his arms and started jogging back to the ship, his heart light and a deep sense of contentment warming his soul. “You called me homeless the first night we met. At the time, I was insulted.”

“And now?”

“Now I know where my home lies.” He smiled down at her. “It’s with you.”

Lisa was sure her feet weren’t touching the floor as she quickly donned another shirt and finger-combed the worst of the snarls and bits of grass out of her hair. Vadir’s words had her walking on air, and every time he looked at her with those golden eyes, she floated a little higher.

Instead of the tiny communicator, Vadir activated a screen on a wall of his quarters and stood with his arm wrapped possessively around her waist as they waited for the Firebrand to respond.

“Where the Flames have you been? You’ve been untraceable for days!” The question roared out of the speaker before the visual component kicked in.

A second later, an image of a dark haired man with golden eyes and a scar slashed across one cheek appeared on the monitor. Everything about him, from his carefully trimmed hair and beard to the perfect symmetry of his posture, told her that this was a military man.

“Do you have to bellow like that?” Vadir demanded before turning to gesture to Lisa. “Commander Kash Denza, I’d like to introduce you to my mate, Lisa Woods. Lisa, the big male roaring like a wounded brashi is the commander of the Firebrand and the head of the prince’s private guard. And to answer your question, my ship is currently in an impact crater on a mountain outside of the city. You couldn’t locate us because we had to shunt what little power we had to life support and maintaining the shields to avoid human detection.”

“Hi,” Lisa waved at the monitor.

“Hello.” The big man cracked a tiny smile. “I’m pleased to know you’re alive and well, Lisa. I have someone here who is going to be very happy to hear it.”

“Is Maggie there already?” she asked.

Kash shook his head, but before he could answer Vadir leaned in closer to the screen. “By the Flames of the First One, you found your mate. How?”

She didn’t know if it was wishful thinking or a flash of clairvoyant insight, but Lisa was sure she knew what had happened. “You’re Gwen’s mate!’

This time, Kash actually broke into a proud smile. “I am. May the Gods be blessed for their generosity.”

Lisa squealed and bounced in place. “Where is she? Is she with you? Where’s Maggie? They’re all okay, aren’t they? Holy shit, I can’t believe it. I am totally taking credit for this. Signing up for Star-Crossed was all my idea and look how well this turned out!”

“Gwen is fine. She’s resting at the moment, but I will wake her with the news that you’ve been located. She’s been worried. Having both of her friends disappear on the same night…”

“I wish I could have let her know I was okay. Please tell her that, will you?”

“You can tell her yourself when we arrive in the shuttle.” Kash turned his attention to Vadir again. “I take it the Redshift is not flight capable?”

“Not yet. Cas has managed most of the repairs, but I’ve got a short list of parts and supplies we’ll need. After that, it will be a matter of hours. Less if you and his royal highness are willing to get your hands dirty.”

“Joran will help, or I’ll kick his ass from here to Pyros. His parents want him home so that they can welcome his mate into the family and confirm his right of ascension. The sooner, the better was what the king told me. Our mates will not have long to say their goodbyes.”

Lisa piped up. “Vee and I have figured out a way to get around the Council’s stupid rule about first contact. If this works, we won’t have to say goodbye, because we’ll be able to come back.”

“Is that so?”

Vadir’s arm tightened around her waist. “It was Lisa who figured it out. I just need to find a way to sell it to the council.”

Kash snorted. “You could sell a Romaki snow dragon its body weight in ice cubes. I have no doubt you’ll manage.”

“He’s not that charming,” Lisa chimed in. “If he was, we wouldn’t have crashed.”

Kash’s eyebrow arched quizzically, but Vadir cut him off with a swipe of his hand.

“Don’t ask. I’ll explain when you and Joran are here, so I only have to tell the story once.”

Chuckling, Kash nodded. “I can wait. Is there anything else you need me to bring?”

“Clothes. I need fresh clothes and a few things from home. I don’t suppose Gwen brought anything with her?” Lisa asked.

“Nothing that survived the Scorching,” Kash replied with a trace of a blush on his cheeks.

He glanced away from the monitor, then turned back with a satisfied smile. “Joran is now in contact. He’s with Maggie, and they are at your residence. I’ll have him bring some things for you and Gwen and meet you at your coordinates.”

“Perfect, thank you. And tell Gwen the cookies were the perfect energy food.”

“I will tell her.” Kash’s eyes gleamed brighter for a second. “And I agree about the cookies.”

After that, Vadir and Kash lapsed into Pyrosian, and a few minutes later the conversation ended.

The moment they were alone, she squealed with joy and threw her arms around Vee’s neck, jumping up to wrap her arms around his hips. “This is great. Gwen and Maggie are fine, and we’re going to Pyros together. Kash seems really nice. I can’t believe he’s Gwen’s mate. I can’t wait to meet Joran, too. This is going to be amazing.”

Vadir laughed and walked over to the bed, his hands already busy removing the shirt she’d just donned. “Do you have any idea how beautiful you are when you are happy like this? You’re glowing right now.”

“I don’t think I’ve ever been this happy. The only one who has ever made me feel like this is you.” She brushed her lips across his. “Do your people believe in love?”

He wrapped his arms around her and held her tight, his eyes staring into hers. “We believe that love grows from the slow-burning embers left after the Scorching has passed. I never expected to feel it, but now I do. I look forward to falling in love with you for the rest of my life.”

Light and joy bubbled up inside her, overflowing her heart and making her soul sing. She opened the link between them, letting him feel all that was in her heart. She’d always dreamed of travelling the world and finding places to inspire her art. The Gods of Pyros had given her so much more. Instead of seeing just one world, she was going to travel amongst the stars with the man who would inspire her for the rest of her days.

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