Page 6 of Rescued By the Luxirian

“Don’t judge me!” I said, pushing away from him. “I’ve been saving up for something more important, okay? I thought it would befine.”

The Luxirian actually snorted.

Yes, admittedly, Starlight United hadn’t been thebestchoice. I was usually very responsible but Iwasfrugal, 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 andstillhad 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 washappybecause 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.

Thiswoman—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’tme.

But my luggage was back on the ship. My clothes. My shoes. My emergency survival kit, where I’d packedmorethan 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 ofhope.

“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.”

Chapter

Four

DROXAN

“This…this is…” Lyra started, her eyes widening on my dwelling when it came into view and I began to guide her up the stairs to the top landing. “This isn’t a home. It’s afortress.”

Did that mean shelikedit?

Because I wanted her to. And perhaps it was the pesky, stifling sensation in my chest of my newly awakened Instinct or the pulsing heat in my groin, but it wasimportantto me that she liked the home I’d made for myself here on Ullima.

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