Page 2 of Right on Time

“Lady Loe?”

It looked like Chloe was going to be late for her meeting after all. By a light year.

CHAPTER 2

Not Your Lady

This could not be happening. Yes, everything in life happened for a reason, but… a Gaenthian? Having to marry an extraterrestrial because an alien computer program had indicated she was his perfect match both physically and spiritually?

Chloe had studied her butt off. Worked long hours for laughable pay to eventually get a proper accounting job. Poured every free minute into her jewelry to one day start a real business that made her happy… And now she was supposed to forget about that over an arranged marriage in space? Had she postponed dating for years because she couldn’t give a man her full attention, only to end up marrying a complete stranger?

No. Nope. Nuh-uh. The aliens’ matchmaking program must have made a mistake.

Yes, that had to be it.

Earth’s treaty with the alliance of advanced alien civilizations obliged any unmarried woman to go to her Gaenthian ‘fated mate’ once the program found a match. That was the price for the planet’s protection by the peaceful extraterrestrials. And humans did need protecting, because the space opening their experiments had accidentally created next to Mars – the unclosable Black Portal – had evil aliens occasionally coming through.

Reportedly, no woman had refused in the two years since the treaty had been signed, going willingly to her future extraterrestrial husband wherever in the galaxy he currently was. Some women considered themselves as lucky as having won the lottery, since Gaenthians were humanoid, very fit, and attractive males with the means to offer their wives a good life.

Other women regarded the marriage deal as their duty to Earth after the Gaenthian space army had saved the planet from the first evils to come through the Black Portal three years ago. There were also adventurous women who saw a marriage to an alien as a free ticket to explore space.

Chloe didn’t have an adventurous bone in her body. She had done her duty in the form of undergoing the compulsory testing to be entered into the matchmaking program’s database.

She was not going to a space station next to Jupiter to be married off to some unknown extraterrestrial.

She opened the front door with newfound resolve.

A Gaenthian stepped into her apartment as soon as she moved away from the open door, but Chloe didn’t waste a second taking the huge male in. “Your matchmaking program is mistaken,” she told the broad expanse of a uniform-clad chest at her eye level.

“Lady Loe Davis–”

“I’m sorry you have come all this way for nothing, but the mistake–”

“My lady–”

“It’s a mistake!”

The Gaenthian issued a low rumble.

Chloe bit her lip. She might have started this conversation on the wrong foot. Gaenthians were known for their politeness, and being respectful just might get her out of the situation somewhat smoothly. Because the marriage stuff was a mistake, but that didn’t mean her behavior couldn’t get her in trouble. The human authorities didn’t take kindly to Earth’s space saviors being disrespected.

Chloe cleared her throat and forced herself to look up. Way up, since the extraterrestrial guy had to be at least 7 feet tall. With her height of 5.9 feet, she had never before felt petite. “Sorry, I meant no offense. It’s just that…”

Gone. Her vocabulary was suddenly as MIA as her red purse. The moment she took in the face of the Gaenthian in her entryway, Chloe lost the ability to speak.

He was… wow. She had seen many attractive aliens on TV and in photos online, but this one was hot. Capital-h-hot. He had dark-blue hair that was braided at the top and fell freely in slight curls down to his shoulders, giving him a sexy Viking look. His cobalt-blue eyes drew Chloe in like a magnet. The high cheekbones, plush lips, and strong jaw made him perfect for the cover of a magazine. Though it covered him from neck to ankle, his skin-tight black uniform left little to the imagination: the guy was pure muscle all over. Hard and well-defined, with broad shoulders leading to a tapered waist leading to an impressively big, clearly outlined co–

Chloe looked away, lightheaded all over again.

“Lady Loe?”

Dang, his voice was sexy too. Deep and rumbly, it sent pleasant tingles across her body and made it hard to focus on what the guy was actually saying.

She risked looking at him again. Even the two white horn nubs in between his braids were sexy. Most of his kind had big horns, some curling and others pointing straight up, but intimidating in their size all the same. His gave him a cute devil look.

Oh, and he was purple. His face, his hands, his bare clawed feet, his feathery wings – everything not covered by his uniform was purple. Gaenthians’ skin tone came in various colors – the two aliens standing guard at her door were dark-yellow, but Chloe hadn’t seen a purple one before. Her favorite color.

“Lady Loe, if I may explain?”

---