Crystal

The flowing green dress is very tight.

"You must have got the measurements wrong," I say through gritted teeth at Zika.

"You must have eaten too much," they retort.

"Bastard," I hiss under my breath.

Drelix took me to an eatery where everyone seemed to know him, and we ate roasted meat until I thought I was going to burst. The afternoon passed easily, laughing and joking with so many species. It was as if I wasn't some weird human from a planet which is out of bounds. I felt like I was…home.

With Drelix. With the big bad Sarkarnii who ruts for me, who thinks I'm his fated mate or something if I'm to believe the ribbing he's been getting from some his friends. Drelix has taken it all with incredible good humor, and seeing him smile made me realize just how gorgeous he is.

And how I should think myself lucky.

I'm a million light years from my planet, I still have all my limbs, and I have an enormous dragon shifter whose cheeks color delightfully as he's gently teased by his friends about being mated. Drelix is everything I should have had on Earth. Everything I should have had when I ended up on Station X42 and more to the point, he is into me, if the little sideways glances I keep getting are anything to go by.

So, if I'm so lucky, why do I feel like all of this is just an illusion, ready to be swept away at any time?

It means I'm taking it out on the Kosta and their team, but then Zika is an arse.

"Can you let it out?"

"No time," Zika trills. "You'll have to hold your breath."

I consider what I could do with my dagger, if I could reach it. But I suspect violence isn't the answer.

"Fine," I say through gritted teeth. "Are you done?" I flap my hand at the Kosta fiddling with my hair.

It's been piled up on my head, curled, and plaited in an elaborate style which pulls and pinches. I'm not sure I've ever been more uncomfortable in my life.

Without waiting for an answer, I leave Zika and their entourage and stomp into the main part of the suite.

"Are you ready?" I fire at Drelix. "I'd like to get this over with before I burst out of this dress."

Drelix says nothing, his jaw slack and the pulsar pistol he was inspecting dangling from one claw.

"Drelix?" I query, wondering if he's had his drink drugged again.

He blinks and shuts his mouth with a snap.

"Heartsfire," he rasps, his tail thrashing behind him. "You are…" He closes the gap between us both in an instant, enclosing me in his arms. "You are perfection."

"I'm like a trussed-up chicken," I grumble, but it's nice being held by him, and given how close we are, I can feel exactly how much he likes this outfit.

"I think you are the most beautiful creature I've ever seen," Drelix says into my hair. "And you smell like a promise I have to keep."

"Thanks, I think." I smile into his warm, scaly abs. "I'd still like to get tonight over with."

"Not a fan of Tatatunga?" Drelix chuckles.

"It's full on," I sigh. "I was never much of a one for crowds, even before I ended up on Station X42."

"How did you end up there?"

I still against him. For all his growling, snarling, and delight in weaponry, Drelix seems so innocent. I almost don't want to corrupt him. I don't want him to know what goes on out in the galaxy.

"The species which took me, the Drahon, after they…experimented on me, there was some sort of problem. They had to return to their home world suddenly, and I was…sold…to a Yetag, who…used me. Once we got to the station, I escaped and hid in the ducting until Nayl found me and helped me," I rush out.

A deep snarl emanates from Drelix's chest.

"You were abused by these…creatures?"

I squeeze my eyes closed and hope alien makeup has good staying properties. "Yes. I'm sorry, Drelix."

His chest heaves. I feel his hot breath on my forehead.

I always knew I was tainted goods. I knew I shouldn't have let him in, allowed my heart to even take a peek out of its cage at what is good, and right, and pure, like my dragon, Drelix.

"You're sorry?" He growls low. "You're sorry?" I try to recoil, but he doesn't let me. He seems to be struggling to breathe. This was what I didn't want.

I didn't want him to hate me, to reject me because I am tainted as much as he is pure.

"You should never be sorry for what was done to you. You should want their heads on spikes, their entrails spread for the entire universe to see. If I find out who did any of this to you, I will ensure they grovel at your feet before I strike the killing blow."

His lips brush over mine, sending goosebumps skittering over my skin.

"I said it once, and I'll say it again. You are perfection, and from now on, no one gets to touch you, not for an instant, a seccari, never. You belong to me, Crystal, and I'd leap into the heart of a dying star for your honor."

"You…you don't need to do that." I stumble over the words, my body shaking against his, the rejection I was certain was coming turned on its head.

"I will always come for you, heartsfire. I will always defend you. You are not alone. Not anymore." Drelix tips my face up so I can see his, one thumb gently stroking across my cheek. "You belong to me now."