Maybe.

  Zoe slumped down onto the bed in the small quarters she’d been given and turned that idea around in her head. Was she the only human not on Earth? Asher sure hadn’t seemed shocked by her species. And with humans and dragons looking so similar, did that suggest a common ancestor? Or was there something in the primordial space mists that tended towards human shapes?

  Her room was tiny. It held a narrow bed and a small wardrobe filled with utilitarian clothing ranging in color from dark gray to lighter gray. There was an even narrower window that let in a bit of sunlight, but the glass was frosted so she couldn’t see outside.

  It felt a little bit like a prison cell. Frankly, Zoe was lucky she wasn’t locked up. She’d even tested it right after being released from the infirmary. The door slid open under her command. No one had challenged her as she’d walked to the cafeteria and back.

  Asher was giving her a second chance.

  A small smile tugged at her lips and she had to force it off her face. Just because the super sexy man-dragon had given her a bit of attention and was understanding about her predicament didn’t mean she was going to let her tummy go all wobbly over the guy. She couldn’t find a decent boyfriend back on Earth, what made her think an alien would want her?

  She was getting way ahead of herself.

  She didn’t need a space boyfriend. What she needed was a ride back home. Sure, her childhood dream had been to be some sort of space explorer like a mix of Captain Kirk and Princess Leia. But Zoe had a life back home.

  Had anyone even noticed she was gone?

  How long had she been gone?

  The distances were hard to fathom, especially given that this was what she studied. She knew just how big space was and just how impossible faster than light travel was. If things were still bound by the laws of physics as she knew them, then there might not be any going back home. It might have been decades—even centuries—since she left in the first place.

  Now her stomach wobbled and it had nothing to do with sexy dragon dudes.

  The walls were closing in on her. Her breaths came in too fast and sweat popped up on her arms.

  Zoe shot up off the bed. She had to get out of here before she curled into a ball and gave up.

  The door opened when she pressed the button on the control panel and no one was in the hall outside. She took the exact same path she’d taken yesterday and found the door into the Verdant Sector. Now the light above it indicated that it was safe to go outside. Good. Zoe didn’t know what she would have done if she couldn’t get fresh air.

  As soon as she was through the door and in the open area, some of the tension in her chest began to ease and the queasiness faded.

  She looked at the Verdant Sector with new eyes. The day before she’d been determined to find clues in a fake game, looking for her next step rather than appreciating the place for what it was. Today she just walked.

  Deep green vines grew up walls and sculptures throughout the place, and from in the vines, flowers flourished. The whole place was kind of humid and the air smelled like she was deep in a forest, even if the sky overhead was open and cloudless. It was peaceful out here and she was surprised that no one else was taking it in.

  Then again, other people had jobs. She wasn’t sure what went into terraforming a planet, but it looked like a lot. Should she be asking if she could help out?

  No. She should be hunting down Asher and finding a way to get home. If there was still a home to go to.

  But she couldn’t force herself to turn around and make her demands just yet. Exploration was her long-held fantasy. Going home meant saying goodbye to all of this and never speaking of it again. She couldn’t exactly say she’d been abducted by aliens and expect to have a career when it was all over.

  Sure, she knew of professors who staunchly believed in aliens. But they kept those thoughts for after hours.

  Zoe wasn’t sure this was something she could forget. Ever. And maybe it was a good thing she didn’t have many friends. There was no one to tell.

  Her mom would have listened.

  She had to squeeze her eyes shut to keep the tears from falling. Grief was a bastard, and it had a way of punching a person in the gut at the absolute worst times.

  But it was true. Her mom would have listened and eventually she might have believed Zoe, or at least pretended to.

  Zoe would never be relieved her mother was dead, but a part of her was thankful that her mom wasn’t there to miss her right now, that she couldn’t be worried that Zoe had disappeared out of thin air and might never return.

  Oh god, she really had to stop thinking about this.

  Zoe kept moving. If she was moving she couldn’t be thinking. She forced herself to pay attention to the flowers and everything around her, and she smiled when one of the strange lizard-kitties stuck its head out from under a bench.

  There was no mark on her arm from the scratch she’d gotten the day before and she wasn’t going to blame an animal from fleeing danger.

  Zoe crouched down, bracing herself on the bench with one hand. “Hey there, little guy. What are you doing out here?”

  The lizard-kitty chirped at her and blinked its wide, green eyes. Then it took a cautious step forward and bumped its head against her knee. If it had been a cat back at home, Zoe would be petting it already. Was that what it wanted?

  It chirped again and rubbed against her leg.

  Zoe petted it, and the chirps turned into a rumbling purr. She gave up her crouch and sat on the ground, petting the lizard-kitty for several minutes until it gave a final chirp and ran off, disappearing through some vines into another part of the Verdant Sector.

  She knew she should probably wash her hands, but it could wait until she got inside.

  She kept walking, trying to keep her simmering panic at bay. And once she’d smelled a few flowers and spotted a few more lizard-kitties, it was starting to work.

  “I wouldn’t touch that,” a deep, masculine voice warned from behind her.

  Zoe had been about to touch a bright orange flower that smelled like heaven. She pulled her hand back at the warning and turned around to find Asher standing there. “Why not?”

  He was very handsome in the sunlight, in a buttoned up sort of way. He needed to grow his dark hair out a few inches and let it get tousled in the wind. And though he wore his uniform well, she wondered what he might look like in some old jeans and a t-shirt.

  Hot.

  Whatever he was wearing, he’d look hot. But the jeans might make him approachable, and then there’d be no telling what she did.

  He needed to be ruffled, to have that perfectly pressed uniform and perfectly placed hair mussed a bit. And maybe it was the craziness of the past two days talking, but she wanted to be the one to do it.

  There was no doubt. Zoe had gone bonkers.

  “The plant secretes an oil on its leaves. It will make you very itchy,” he explained to Zoe, who had nearly forgotten what they were talking about.

  She took a step away from the plant, as if it might start projecting the itchy oil at her at any second.

  “Walk with me?” Asher asked.

  “Of course.”

  Asher wound his way down the stone path, but didn’t say anything. The silence was peaceful, and with his towering presence at her side, some of the nastier thoughts that had been plaguing Zoe refused to surface.

  They ended up at a small, unlit firepit and sat down beside one another on the bench. She stared at the wood in the pit and tried to ignore the feel of Asher’s body heat beside her.

  Impossible.

  She wanted to lean sideways and let him wrap an arm around her, as if this was a date and he was about to bring out the s’mores. And if she tilted her head towards him, she wouldn’t be able to stop herself from leaning in and stealing a taste.

  He had kissable lips. Kissable everything, really, and her body was reminding her of just how long it had been since she’d had a satisfying romp in the sheets.

  Would Asher help her break her dry spell?

  She’d be more than alright with his alien probe.

  “Can you shoot fire?” She had to ask something before she said something even more inappropriate. “Or is that just a myth?”

  Asher held up a hand in front of him, and a moment later, a ball of flame appeared.

  Zoe reached out as if she could touch it, then snapped her hand back. Was she crazy? That was fire. Fire burned. It didn’t matter what planet she was on, that was a universal constant.

  Asher stared at her as if she might reach out again, and he held his hand a little behind him to keep clear of her.

  Well, probably fair. She must be gaining a well-earned reputation for recklessness.

  “Can you light the fire?” she asked, more than a little eager for tricks.

  He shrugged and lobbed the ball of fire at the wood. It caught with a whoosh and the wood crackled.

  “Freaking cool.” It was pleasantly warm outside, and the fire could make it hot in no time, but Zoe didn’t move, didn’t try to put space between herself and Asher. She’d sweat out a bit of discomfort if it meant she could be close.

  She might have been developing a bit of a crush, but she decided she didn’t care. Everything was too weird right now for her to figure out, and a tiny crush was familiar. Sort of.

  “So why’d you come find me?” she asked. They’d been sitting side by side for quite some time, and Asher still hadn’t said anything.

  She glanced his way and saw his throat bob as he swallowed. Then he turned fully towards her and spoke.

  “I have a proposal for you.”

  7

  Zoe’s natural scent mixed in with the smell of the flowers all around them, a dizzying concoction. It wouldn’t take any effort to reach out and touch her, to cup her cheek as he had that morning.

  This time he wouldn’t let her go.

  His blood sang with need. His cock ached. And if he had been a different man, if they were in a different world, he might have been able to act on his wants.

  But they were on VMC12 and he had a job to do. Ambitions to meet.

  He stood. Sitting beside the human was far too tempting, and what he was about to say was all business, no matter what she might think.

  “A proposal?” Zoe asked. She remained on the bench, but tore her gaze away from the blazing fire to look at him.

  The urge to pace was strong, but Asher clamped his hands behind his back and held still. He’d been stared down by the king on more than one occasion, this was nothing.

  Yeah, right.

  The idea had seemed perfect when he came up with it. He didn’t have time to venture back to Vemion to find a bride, but Lady Nova expected to see one in a matter of weeks. And now, here was Zoe, fallen into his lap as if fate was smiling on him. “I need a bride.”

  That had her shooting off the bench and scampering back to put it between them. “What?” She held her arms out in front of her as if he might take her by force.

  Asher kept himself exceedingly still, like he had to calm a wild beast. Perhaps this could have been done with a bit more finesse, but he was running out of time. “I am in search of a bride,” he repeated. “Do you understand my position here?”

  Zoe shook her head tightly, and her gaze was still closed off and cautious. “You’re in charge.”

  He wished. “I’m the administrator,” he corrected. “Lady Nova is the ultimate authority here, but she has taken another position that requires more of her time and trusted me in this role to see things done as she wishes.”

  “Okay, so you’re second in command,” she said. “What does that have to do with a… bride?”

  She wasn’t from Vemion, he reminded himself, and she didn’t have decades of knowledge of the eccentricities of those in charge. “Lady Nova is a strong proponent of marriage,” he explained. “Her three sons have recently wed, and she would strongly prefer to leave the running of this place in the hands of someone with a family.” The fact that Lady Nova had been widowed for more than a decade and was in no rush to remarry was never to be mentioned.

  “You’re saying you need a wife to get a promotion.” She loosened up a little, no longer braced for an attack.

  “I must appear to be making the effort.” Zoe didn’t meet any of the criteria on his list, but he was wise enough to keep that to himself. He didn’t need to marry her for this to work.

  “Why me?” She tilted her head to the side and gave him a piercing look.

  Hells above, she’d make a strong partner for anyone who dared to take her. But not for him, even as his body craved her.

  “You’re here.” It was as simple as that. Mostly. “And rumors have already started to circulate about our… relationship. Along with my recent meeting with the Intergalactic Dating Agency, people have begun to draw their own conclusions.”

  A strange look crossed her face, but she didn’t speak.

  “I would request your assistance for about a month, just through Lady Nova’s next visit. I…” How could he put this lightly? “Lady Nova is a woman with very exacting standards, and a human is not likely to meet them. If she does not approve the match, there is no reason to move forward, but she will still appreciate that I’ve made the effort. She’ll see that I’m a capable administrator and recommend me to the king for the governorship.”

  “Sounds nice for you. What do I get except for the wrath of a scary lady dragon and the humiliation of being dumped?” She stepped back around the bench so they no longer had that physical barrier between them, and that had to be a good sign.

  Despite her frown, Asher smiled. “I’ll get you passage on a luxury vessel to take you home, or anywhere else in the universe you’d like to go. And this.” He reached into his pocket and pulled out a small black silk bag and handed it over to her.

  Zoe took it and opened it, dipping her fingers inside and extracting a small ruby. Her mouth dropped open, and she made a high-pitched sound in the back of her throat. “Holy hell. How many are there?”

  “Do you need more?” The stones had been sitting in his quarters for nearly a year, the pouch won off of Knox in a card game. “I’m uncertain of how currency works in your world. Do gems have value?” He’d done a cursory search for information about Earth and noted that they appreciated jewels, so it was an easy way to offer payment.

  “There have to be over a hundred here. Goodbye student loans.” She carefully put the ruby back in the pouch and tied the strings. “You said you could send me home? Is that even possible?”

  He furrowed his brow. “Why wouldn’t it be?”

  “Because we’re light years away from Earth, and faster than light travel is impossible? Even if, theoretically, you could send me back to Earth, so much time will have passed that everyone I know is already dead.” She squeezed her eyes shut.

  Asher’s heart broke, and before he could think better of it, he closed the distance between them and wrapped his arms around her. Zoe went stiff for a second and then sagged, leaning against him. He flattened a hand on her back and rubbed gently, offering what comfort he could, even if he wasn’t accustomed to doing so.

  No one in the compound would believe this soft side of him even if they saw it.

  He didn’t give a single damn.

  After a moment, Zoe pulled back. “I should probably have qualms about accepting so much money,” she said, but she didn’t hand over the pouch.

  “Why?” He had plenty more where that came from. As a dragon lord, money had never been a problem.

  She shook her head and asked a different question. “How long would it take for me to get home?”

  “A few days, perhaps, depending on the ship.” If he had to send her away, he’d put her in the hands of someone he trusted, someone who wouldn’t take advantage. Maybe he’d even escort her himself.

  That was foolish. He didn’t have the time. This whole plot was designed to save time, not waste a week traveling to a backwater that had no knowledge of the wider universe.

  He didn’t want to think of the end of this thing when it hadn’t properly begun.

  “Is that a yes? May I court you?” Pretend, he reminded himself. It was a façade to fool Lady Nova, nothing more. It had to be.

  He held out his hand, hoping to seal the deal by clasping forearms.

  Zoe looked down and then back up at him. “I think this is the kind of deal you seal with a kiss.”

  Oh, that would be unwise. His blood heated, and he couldn’t tear his gaze away from her red lips. He’d imagined the taste of her more than once. And all he had to do was lean forward and there’d be no need to imagine anymore.

  It was beyond foolish. But he wasn’t one to deny a lady, especially one who was doing him such a huge favor.

  He stepped forward. Zoe looked up.

  They leaned in.

  The fire at the core of him stoked into a conflagration as their lips touched, the taste of her crashing into him in one breath. It should have been a simple meeting of the lips, but her mouth opened beneath him and Asher swept inside, powerless to hold back.

  She clutched him close, making a noise against him that had his blood pounding even harder, his cock twitching with need.

  He wanted to lay her down on the bench and take her right there, heedless of the fact they were in the Verdant Sector where anyone could see.

  Let them. With the way she fired his blood, she made him feel like a god.

  It was Zoe who had the sense to pull back while his blood was still rushing. She raised a hand to her lips and their gazes locked.

  He wanted to kiss her again. Wanted far more than that.

  Wanted everything.

  Instead he gave her a solemn nod. “I should like to dine with you tonight.” Then he turned on his heel and fled.

  8

  She’d crossed half the freaking galaxy and her date was still obsessed with his phone.

  Zoe snuck glances at Asher, hoping that maybe she’d catch his eye and knock a bit of shame into him. Sure, this was supposed to be a fake relationship, but shouldn’t they be putting on a show? Wasn’t her fake fiancé supposed to at least pretend to like her?

 

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