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  Joseph found he couldn’t force himself to leave her quarters. He wanted to spend every moment of this trip with Angie, and he wanted to know why she feared him. Or perhaps, he thought with a bit of clarity, it wasn’t just him she feared. Perhaps she feared all men. Male humans weren’t always honorable and from what Joseph had learned during his studies of Earth, it wasn’t uncommon for a male to be violent to a female, particularly a wife.

  His gaze darted to her left hand and he spotted no wedding band, though her ring finger had a pale circle around it, as if she’d recently taken a ring off. She shifted on the bed and he sensed her heart beating wildly in her chest.

  “Why did you faint, Angie?”

  Her eyes widened and she glanced around the room for a while, until finally meeting his gaze again. She shrugged. “Space travel doesn’t agree with me, I guess.”

  “I sense you are lying.” He stated this kindly, not at all angry she hadn’t confided in him. But oh how he wished she would trust him.

  “Yeah, well, I don’t know you and you sort of just let yourself into my room. I’m feeling better now.” She blinked rapidly after a sheen of moisture appeared in her eyes. “How did I get in this bed anyway?” Fear tinged her voice.

  “I caught you before you fell and carried you here. I also summoned a doctor who told me you had a panic attack and fainted, and he said you would awake soon. He also said you might be weak after you regain consciousness.”

  “I’m not weak!” As soon as she yelled the words, she clamped a hand over her mouth and her expression became a mixture of fear and regret. When she uncovered her mouth, she said, “I’m sorry I yelled at you. Please don’t be angry. I’m sorry. Can you just leave me alone now? Please?” She retreated to the other side of the bed.

  “I cannot leave you alone, Angie. I find I do not have the strength to leave this room.” His nostrils flared as he inhaled her intoxicating female scent. Flowers and grassy meadows and fresh air. He wanted to bury his face in her hair and her neck, all the while running his hands over every inch of her body. And he still wanted to lick her freckles.

  Her lower lip trembled. “Wh-what do you mean?”

  “I will protect you. You are afraid of all males, yes? The Reestrians and the human men on this ship?”

  She exhaled a shaky breath and regarded him with suspicion. “How do you know that?”

  “I sense your fear, sweet one. I believe you fainted because my maleness scares you, but I promise on my life I would never harm you. You are the dear friend of my brother’s mate, and I will stay with you during the trip to Reestria, and then I will personally deliver you to my family’s home where your friend’s human wedding ceremony is to take place.”

  “Why do your eyes keep changing color?”

  He froze and met her nervous stare. There was only one reason why.

  His mating urge was coming upon him.

  Chapter Two

  Angie didn’t know what to do. She no longer felt panicky, but she certainly felt uneasy in this huge Reestrian’s presence. He had blown off her question about his eyes changing color, and now he was actively avoiding her gaze. Even when she said something, he didn’t look her way, instead choosing to stand at the window and stare at Earth.

  Meanwhile she was having a hard time not staring at Prince Joseph. His deep voice resonated inside her and made her feel tingly all over. She hadn’t felt an attraction to any man in a long time, hadn’t even known if she’d be able to connect with a man after the hell Greg put her through, but here she was looking at the most exquisite male specimen she’d ever laid eyes on and practically drooling over him.

  As the minutes soon turned to hours, he remained at the window gazing upon Earth. She pretended to read, but she couldn’t concentrate enough to make it past the first chapter in the book on her e-reader. Despite her unease around Prince Joseph, she was stunned to realize she felt safer with him in her quarters than she had when she’d been alone.

  He claimed he wanted to protect her. He claimed he knew she feared men. Was that why he was standing so far away from her? Suddenly she wished he were closer, wished she could feel the waves of heat coming off his body.

  She shook her head in an effort to dispel the thoughts she didn’t quite understand. She’d sworn off all men, and she would be an idiot to fall for a huge Reestrian who could easily break her in two. But then she began to wonder about Prince Joseph. Was he already mated? Aside from being a prince, what did he do on Reestria? From what she’d gleamed during her conversations with Kira, there were hordes of princes and princesses in the Galattak Clan on Reestria. Surely they didn’t just all sit around in their castles all day.

  “Look, if you really insist on protecting me, please have a seat.” At that moment, her stomach decided to growl. Her cheeks heated and she ducked her head as he turned around.

  “I will get you something to eat.”

  She glanced up to see concern etched on his face, and something else. Desire? Frustration? Pain? Reestrians weren’t so dissimilar from humans in their facial expressions. At least according to what she’d heard on the news and from Kira. But there was an urgency in the way he looked at her. It unsettled her and excited her at the same time.

  For the first time in ages, pulses of heat quickened between her thighs. She clamped her legs together, fearing he’d somehow know what sort of thoughts she was having. She envisioned him in all his naked glory crawling atop her on the bed, nudging her legs apart, and teasing her clit while his huge length throbbed against her inner thigh. Was his cock in proportion to the rest of his body?

  Heat engulfed her face. She needed to erase such thoughts from her head now. Little good a crush on an alien prince would do her, especially one as powerful as Prince Joseph appeared. If he wasn’t already mated, he probably had his pick of females. What would he want with a divorced human woman with untamable red hair and far too many freckles?

  He remained in front of the window, his eyes riveted on her with growing intensity. “You are hungry, aren’t you, sweet Angie?”

  She wanted to protest him calling her sweet Angie, but she couldn’t summon the words. Instead, she nodded and wished she wasn’t blushing so hard. Maybe he was this nice to all women.

  He called up the comm system in his strange Reestrian language, and she supposed he was ordering food. For a fleeting second she wished she’d accepted the language chip that had been offered to her earlier. But no. She didn’t want a Reestrian doctor messing with her brain.

  As if reading her mind, he said, “You should accept the language chip, sweet Angie. It will make your visit on Reestria more enjoyable if you can understand our tongue. Most Reestrians do not have the language chip and will not be able to speak English with you.”

  “But you are speaking English.”

  He smiled. “I had the chip implanted before my visit to Earth. Eventually most Reestrians will be offered a language chip as Earth and Reestria become more integrated, but that will not happen for many Earth years.” He took a few steps toward her and the atmosphere in the room seemed to thicken.

  “Did you visit Earth to oversee the development of the Human-Reestrian settlements?” She’d recently seen a news story about the first human-alien settlement and couldn’t imagine any other reason for him to spend time on Earth.

  “Yes. City planning is a special interest of mine.” He came closer still, and the hairs on the back of her neck stood up. His large dark brown eyes occasionally flickered to black before returning to what she assumed was his natural shade. She wished Kira were here so she could ask what this meant.

  But she knew. Perhaps it was instinct, or perhaps she was recalling a bit of information she’d heard on the news about Reestrians. His eyes were changing color because his mating urge was coming upon him. She gulped at the realization.

  Before she could move back, he was standing directly in front of her. The warmth of his breath and the heat of his body brushed across her exposed skin. He cupped her fac
e and his hands were gentle, so at odds with how large and deadly he looked. Her breaths quickened.

  “Are you married, Angie?”

  “N-no.”

  His eyes went black again. “But you were married once.”

  “How do you know that?” She wondered if Reestrians had access to information about Earth citizens.

  “Your ring finger has a pale circle around it. You recently took your wedding ring off.” His nostrils flared but his hold on her face remained tender, and she longed to lean against him and soak up the delicious heat emanating from his muscular form.

  Why did she want to trust Joseph so much? She should be downright petrified of him. Suddenly she felt the need to clarify her reason for fainting, lest he think he was the cause of it.

  “Right before you walked in, I was scared. I kept thinking about how I am the only woman on this ship with dozens of Reestrian males and human men. I was also thinking about my ex-husband. Sometimes I panic when I can’t turn my thoughts off.”

  “Your ex-husband hurt you?”

  “Hurt is an understatement, but yes, he hurt me. That’s why I left him and got a divorce.”

  Prince Joseph’s body tensed, but his grip on her face didn’t tighten. Instead, he stroked her cheeks with his thumbs, each touch causing the rising flame in her core to burn hotter.

  “It saddens me that some human men have no honor. Reestrian males protect their mates with their life. We do not harm our women, ever. When we bond with a female during our mating urge, it is a transcendent experience that links our very souls together. A Reestrian male would never raise a hand to his mate, sweet Angie.”

  She felt like he was trying to sell himself to her. But she couldn’t help her curiosity. If he spoke the truth, than this whole mating for life thing wasn’t so terrible after all. Then she remembered she was one female amongst dozens of males. “I have heard that some Reestrian males will claim a mate against her will.”

  “It has been known to happen, however that is usually when the male’s mating urge comes on too suddenly and he has yet to decide on a mate. If we do not mate when our mating urge is upon us, The Madness claims us and we are lost forever.”

  “The Madness?” She didn’t like the sound of that.

  “To put it simply, we go crazy. Most Reestrians who are afflicted with The Madness are institutionalized for the rest of their lives, though some are sent to live alone in the mountains. However you must know, that even if a female is mated against her will, she still has a joyous life with her new mate. Their bond is just as strong as any mating bond. It is different from what the human males do when they force themselves upon a woman.”

  Painful memories burst into Angie’s mind at his mention of force. She pulled away from his touch and backed up. Every time she blinked she saw cold blue eyes staring down at her. Greg had forced her once, toward the end of their marriage. It had been her breaking point and she’d moved out the next day.

  When she found the courage to look at Joseph again, she was relieved to find his eyes had returned to his normal dark shade of brown, rather than black. She focused on him and his compassionate expression. She used to hate when someone looked at her with pity, but in an odd way she felt like Joseph understood her pain. Not because he’d been abused, but because he’d experienced a deep heart wrenching pain of his own. She drew in a deep breath, finally understanding him.

  He was older than Prince Alex, Kira’s mate. If Prince Joseph was older than Prince Alex, then it stood to reason he would’ve experienced his mating urge before his younger brother. Except his eyes kept changing color and his nostrils kept flaring. He appeared just as uneasy around her as she did around him… because his mating urge was coming upon him, but not for the first time in his life. He had been mated once but his mate was no longer living.

  “I’m so sorry,” she whispered.

  “For what?” His dark eyebrows narrowed in confusion.

  “For your loss, Prince Joseph. You lost a mate, didn’t you?” She reached out and grasped his hand, needing to touch him and comfort him. He squeezed her hand back and gave her the saddest smile.

  “You are very perceptive, sweet Angie.” The blackness returned to his eyes.

  The doorbell rang and he left her for a moment to accept the covered tray of food. He placed it on a table and pulled a chair out, beckoning her to sit. She sank down upon the chair, grateful to finally be off her trembling legs. “Thank you, Prince Joseph,” she murmured.

  “I will keep guard outside your door for the duration of the trip to Reestria, sweet Angie. No one will bother you.” He began walking away, and she felt his loss like a hole in her heart even though he hadn’t slipped outside the door yet.

  “Won’t you stay? Join me?” she said, gesturing to the tray.

  He looked at her over his shoulder. “It’s probably better I am not in the same room with you, but I still pledge my protection to you.”

  Her heart sank at his words. He didn’t like spending time with her. She was damaged goods. Divorced. His kind mated for life and didn’t mate again unless a mate died. He probably thought she’d committed a terrible sin by leaving her husband. “Fine. Go.” She bit out the words and blinked hard. Turning around, she stared at the silver tray, not wanting him to witness her tears. Damn him. Damn him for making her want to trust again, only to be a complete jerk.

  She nearly jumped when she felt a warm hand upon her shoulder. She dared a glance up into his swirling black-brown eyes.

  “You misunderstand, sweet Angie. I must leave because I enjoy your company too much. Don’t you realize why my eyes are changing color? Are you not afraid?”

  “I should be afraid of you, but I’m not.”

  “It’s been ten Earth years since my mate died, and in all those years I haven’t experienced my mating urge again. Until now, Angie. Until I met you.”

  * ~ * ~ *

  “I don’t know what to say. I mean, I suppose I’m flattered.” Angie peered up at him, her green eyes wide and sparkling in the overhead lights. He thought he could stare at her forever. She tucked her hair behind her ears and fidgeted, and it was all he could do to keep from tangling his hands in her flaming locks. “So, help me understand this. Why does it take so long for a Reestrian to experience his mating urge after his mate passes away?”

  “Some Reestrians never experience their mating urge again after losing a mate. It takes time for the heart to heal. When a Reestrian is done with the worst of his grieving, the urge might return, although usually it’s the presence of a certain female that brings our mating urge on.”

  “A certain female?”

  “Like you.”

  “Like me? What’s so special about me?” Confusion played across her face, and his fingers itched to caress her cheeks once more, to trace the enticing freckles that covered her otherwise smooth pale flesh.

  “You are the most beautiful woman I’ve ever seen.”

  She snorted. “You probably haven’t seen many humans then.”

  “How can you doubt your beauty? Your eyes are like heothian crystals, your hair is like fire, and your skin is as pale and soft as the sand near the Blessed Rentaa Lakes. I saw hundreds of human females during my time on Earth and not one of them compares to you.” Her lips parted slightly and her cheeks reddened. He took her speechlessness as a good sign and decided to continue. “You have known pain and loneliness, and you think you’ll be better off on your own for the rest of your life. You think you shouldn’t depend on anyone again, especially a man. But part of you wants to trust. Part of you aches to be held and loved. You deserve love, sweet Angie. You deserve all the happiness in the universe.”

  As he spoke, her eyes teared up and she wiped moisture from her face. She sniffled. “You should write greeting cards.”

  “Greeting cards?”

  She waved a hand. “Never mind.” Glancing down at her lap, she stared at her fingers as she twisted them together in a nervous fashion. “Look,” she said, “
I can’t deny I’m at least a little bit attracted to you, Prince Joseph, but you’re right about me never wanting to depend on another person, especially a man. After I visit with Princess Kira and witness her wedding to Prince Alex, I will be returning to Earth.” She looked up. “Will you, uh, be okay? I mean, will the ship make it to Reestria in time for your mating urge?” The last two words escaped her mouth in a whisper.

  “I will be fine.” In truth though, he worried The Madness might claim him before they reached Reestria. Even then, he’d have to select a mate quickly. He’d never force a female to mate with him. He supposed his best shot was to pick a servant girl from the emperor’s palace. But oh how he wished he could have Angie. “What will you do when you return to Earth? Do you live with your family? Your parents?”

  A shadow darkened her features. “No, I don’t live with my parents or anyone else. I live alone.”

  “Who keeps you safe then?” Heated waves swept through him, part rage that none of her family members saw to her safety, and the other part a fierce need to be the male charged with her protection. Her mate.

  “I keep myself safe.”

  “Your country has a high crime rate. I don’t like the thought of you living by yourself, Angie. The Human-Reestrian settlements will be safe. It would be my honor to arrange for you to live in one of them, even help you find a job there. What is your profession?”

  “My current job is as a receptionist. I don’t really have any formal training in anything, but I’m a fast learner. I was only a freshman in college when I married Greg, and then we had to move because of his job and I never went back to school.”

  “I’m sure we could find something for you there. The first completed settlement will be in Oregon. Our builders are working fast and it should be ready for inhabitants in three Earth months.”

  She appeared hopeful, though still a little taken aback, perhaps reluctant to accept his help. This little human was proud, but he hoped she would take his offer.