Page 51 of An Alien for the Future

“Correct.”

Donna’s mouth falls open before she snorts again.

Resting her head against my chest, silence surrounds us once more.

“How much is this ore worth? The one you’re looking for?”

I shrug. “A clawful is worth enough credits for a lifetime.”

Her head snaps up from my chest, eyes wide. “Could you…could you survey my farm? Check if any ore is there?”

It is my turn to study her now. “If there is, we would have to destroy your farm to retrieve it. It is buried deep. There would be nothing left of this place.”

Something dims in her gaze. “Oh.” She rests her head again and there is more silence.

“Why, lira’an? Are you low on credits?” If that is her worry, she need not. I have enough to take care of her and twenty other Kari generations without trouble. As my mate, she will be well-provided for.

I feel when her throat moves. When a sigh makes her body shift against mine, reminding me of just how close we are together. “It’s just…I need to find a way to make money out here. It’s not urgent, but…I have to put things in place now. Bluebread isn’t working for me and I’m not a great farmer. I guess I’m just worried. It’s only me and—”

I growl, stopping the words in her throat. Donna looks up, meeting my gaze.

“It’s not just you,” I grunt. “Not anymore.”

Something changes in her gaze. A hesitant hope. A flicker of trust that makes my core-beat thrum with a joy I haven’t felt in orbits. My shaft pulses in her heat as those dark eyes of hers take me in, seeing me, truly seeing me, for the first time.

“You really see me in your future…” she whispers, her voice a breath against my scales.

I growl again, a sound of possession, of promise, as a wave of pleasure, so intense it borders on pain, washes over me. My knot loosens, releasing its hold, and a guttural moan escapes my lips, mirroring the soft cry that escapes hers as our bodies convulse in unison. A wave of my essence spills between us. Warm. Marking her as mine.

“Notinmy future, lira’an,” I murmur, my voice hoarse as I pull her closer. “Youaremy future.”

14

DONNA

Where do I go from here?

I wake up feeling so completely sated, I don’t feel like myself at all.

The blanket is tangled around my limbs, still warm from Tovan’s embrace, and the scent of him, that sweetness, lingers in every fiber.

I dip my face in it, inhaling deeply, even before I can stop myself. When a deep groan rumbles in my throat, I freeze.

Oh Lord,what is happening to me?

The question comes clawing at the edge of my consciousness. I’ve crossed a line, a galaxy-sized line, and there’s no going back. I’ve given myself to an alien, a creature from a world I barely understand, a creature who claims I’m his…lira’an. Hiskahl. His mate.

Hisfuture.

The thought sends a tingle right through me, starting at the base of my spine and spreading right through to my fingertips. I take a deep breath, forcing myself to calm down, but what only happens is that I pull in more of the scent of him and our lovemaking.

I groan again, another shiver going through me.

“Tovan?” I hazard, but thankfully, there’s no answer. I don’t think I can face him just yet. What will I say? He revealed so much yesterday.Ifelt so much. Rolling over, I lift my comm from where it rests near the bed. As the screen lights up, it looks like Xarion has been trying to ping me and there’s still that notification blinking in the corner, too, the one about that blood sample New Horizons wants me to give so I can hopefully find my Kari match.

Before, I’d decided not to do it simply because I didn’t want to invite trouble into my life. But now, the thought of that test confirming everything Tovan’s been saying has something strange settling deep in my gut.

Because I’m starting to believe him. I’m starting to believe every word he says.

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