Chapter 3

Chapter

Three

LYRA

I 'd seen Luxirian males plenty of times before this. Hell, there had been a large handful on my space cruise and they'd always been surrounded by females of various species flirting their asses off.

I'd even been considering a Luxirian male as my sperm donor. They were strong, exceedingly adept at fighting off a variety of strange diseases, respected throughout the Four Quadrants, and I'd also thought that their dark, curling horns were so incredibly cute .

But there was nothing ‘cute' about the Luxirian male standing in front of me right now.

For one, he had the fiercest scowl on that brooding face. His full lips were downturned. His sharp cheekbones looked like they could cut me.

His eyes were a crystal blue, a common color for his species, though I'd never seen any as light as his. Looking into them, I had the strangest urge to sway because they seemed endless. They looked like a perfect, clear pond on a hot summer day…if that pond was filled with fragmented, sparkling diamonds.

His eyes were breathtaking and mesmerizing, even though they were narrowed in a small, mistrusting glare. He'd taken a step away from me when he stood, though I'd been more than a little alarmed—and strangely intrigued—by what I'd felt twitching in his pants.

Maybe the bikini had been a good idea?

I wanted to let out a hysterical laugh at the absurdity of this situation. But if I laughed, I thought it was very likely I'd start crying. Because what the hell was happening?

Taking a deep breath, I distracted myself by continuing to study him. My first assessment had been correct when I'd popped out from the life pod. He was, in fact, very, very hot.

Devastatingly handsome was a more appropriate description, even with his pouting frown. His chest was bare and a little…gleamy. Like he'd been sweating. The male was built . Rippling muscles and hardened valleys. His pants were loose, yet tight enough for me to see the outline of his cock. My cheeks flamed. I jerked my gaze to his face.

There he was all hard angles too, punctuated by a sharp jawline that looked like a blade. He had black hair, but unlike many Luxirians, his was shorn just past his shoulders, sexy but wild. I'd always thought that Luxirians who cut their hair were?—

I nearly choked again when I sharply inhaled.

My eyes went wide. "You…you…"

I stumbled back a little, edging towards the life pod.

The Luxirian raised his brow.

"You were exiled!" I exclaimed, lifting my hands to keep them between. "Just…just stay there and…don't come closer."

Shit. I had no weapon, no way to protect myself. This was bad, bad, bad. Of course my last hurrah of a vacation before I decided to get pregnant would end this way. The cruise was a bust—and literally busted. All I could remember were the blaring of the sirens as I was lounging on the pool deck and then running for my goddamn life towards the escape pods with a crushing crowd of other people.

And now, I'd crashed onto an alien jungle planet and an exiled Luxirian had stumbled onto me. I had no clothes. But I did have a chalky ration bar and a bag of thickened water. Perfect.

What the hell was I going to do?

He can do whatever he wants with me , I realized, the thought sending a prick of panic rushing through my veins.

"I am not in exile, female," came his gruff, rumbly voice. He sounded…offended. Like I'd insulted him. "Where did you get that idea?"

"Your hair!"

His hand came to the shorn locks. Luxirian males' hair often ended at the middle of their broad backs or lower. Long hair was seen as an attractive trait, one that announced their strength and sexual prowess in their society. I'd never seen a Luxirian with short hair, as appealing as this male looked.

"I work all day," he told me, his gaze narrowing, even as I got the distinct impression that he was holding himself away from me. "It gets in the way. This is easier."

Was…was he telling the truth?

"Who are you?" I asked again, suspicion making my voice climb higher. "What is this place?"

A branch snapped somewhere in the jungle and I swung my head in alarm but didn't see anything. Unconsciously, I took a step closer to the Luxirian, especially when I felt those creepy vines wiggle around my toes again.

"I am Droxan," the male rasped. "And you just hurtled onto my planet, female, so perhaps I should be asking you who you are and why you're here."

Droxan .

What did he mean by his planet?

Suddenly, a wave of dizziness washed over me. The adrenaline was beginning to wear off, I thought. I'd never felt such terror and fear as I'd felt today. Knowing that my life was in the hands of space—a merciless, terrible place—and the thin walls of a cheap escape pod from an even cheaper space cruise line.

"Female?" Droxan asked, his voice tinged in concern as he stepped closer. A warm hand clasped around my forearm and I jolted in surprise when I felt a flash of… familiarity . Like he'd touched me a million times. "Are you hurt?"

"No," I croaked, deciding to give him the benefit of the doubt. I didn't know why I believed him when he said he wasn't in exile. But I liked to think that I could read people well. That I could judge their character well. "I'm not hurt."

He jerked his head in a sharp nod.

I licked my lips, swallowing a thick lump in my throat. "I'm sorry. I'm sorry if I scared you. And I'm sorry for, um, fainting. It's just been a shitty day. And I have no idea what to do."

A purring sound rose from his chest and I blinked. It was something Luxirians did to calm their mates or their family members. I remembered it from the fact sheet about the sperm donor.

And…I felt my muscles loosening with that sound. Damn, it really worked . I had the strangest urge to press my face into his bare chest and smother myself with that purr. Heat was pouring off him and I shivered. It wasn't too cold out but I was only in a damn bikini.

He wanted to know who I was and it would be rude if I didn't answer.

"My name is Lyra," I informed him. "I was on a galaxy cruise. Something went wrong this morning—an explosion. The hallways started filling with all this smoke. And then everyone was running for the life pods…and I got the faulty one. Something was wrong with my trajectory because my pod just kept going when we were shot from the ship. The other pods were clustering together, but not mine. And…now I'm here."

I was so scared , I wanted to add, but I bit my tongue. I'd never been more scared in my life when I saw my pod drifting away from the others. Terror I never wanted to experience again.

Droxan's face softened ever so slightly when I gazed up at him. Though, I had to crane my neck back to do even that. I barely came up to his pecs.

"What cruise line?" he asked.

I sniffled. "Starlight United."

Even his brow shot up in a look of cynical disbelief. "Starlight United? Fates, female. I'm surprised the ship made it out of its docking sequence."

"Don't judge me!" I said, pushing away from him. "I've been saving up for something more important, okay? I thought it would be fine ."

The Luxirian actually snorted.

Yes, admittedly, Starlight United hadn't been the best choice. I was usually very responsible but I was frugal, especially when it came to spending credits on myself. To be honest, I held it like a badge of honor, considering how unstable my childhood had been.

I had a good, steady job as a Prime Assistant to a well-respected, inter-Quadrant merchant. I had a nice, perfectly tidy apartment on the Wero colony. I liked to be organized and well-prepared for anything—hell, I'd packed a week's worth of clothes, toiletries, and emergency items for the cruise in my smallest bag and still had room to spare. I liked to watch nature documentaries in the evenings after work as I cooked and sipped on my favorite Po'criva wine—but only a half glass on weeknights, of course.

Everything about my life was orderly. I had a routine. There were no surprises. And I was happy because everything I'd worked so hard to build was finally going to come to fruition.

A baby.

I'd finally saved enough. Well, I'd saved enough for the fertilization procedure last year…but I'd wanted to further pad my savings. A baby's needs would be expensive.

This woman—in this tiny bikini that was a ridiculous, impulsive, out-of-character purchase—who'd fainted after roaring at an attractive Luxirian male and then snapped at said Luxirian male, was unrecognizable to me.

This wasn't me .

But my luggage was back on the ship. My clothes. My shoes. My emergency survival kit, where I'd packed more than a crusty old ration bar and a bag of water, seemed to silently mock me.

My shoulders sagged. I sniffled again, feeling tears burn the back of my eyes. I was mortified when my vision blurred.

"I—I just wanted to take one last vacation for myself before my life would change forever," I said softly.

A sharp breath came from the Luxirian.

"Well, you're here now," he told me, his voice tinged in what I thought was discomfort. Like he felt bad at snorting at me. "I don't believe any other pods landed on the planet, but I'll run a scan once we get back to my dwelling."

I blinked up at him. "Your dwelling?"

" Tev ," he murmured, still frowning, but those pretty, pretty eyes darted back and forth between mine. "And back at my dwelling, I have access to the com channels. Almost all of them."

I let out a little gasp of hope .

"You do? You'll be able to call for help?"

He swallowed, his eyes flickering with an unreadable emotion.

"You'll help me get back to my home?" I asked, my eyes wide and rapt on him as I took a step closer. "Because if you do, you'll be my new favorite person in this entire universe."

Finally, he inclined his head.

In a deep, rumbly voice that made me want to shiver all over again, he said, " Tev , I will help you get back to your home, Lyra. I promise."

I held my breath, the back of my neck tingling at those words and the way his eyes darkened on mine.

"Thank you, Droxan."