Page 25 of Princess for the Space Cowboy

Before I know it, we’re on Earth. “That only took us two hours.” I glance toward Asher. “Is this how long it takes normally?”

“It depends. Cargo trips take longer.”

“You’re royalty,” Kayden chimes in. “You get the fast flight.”

It’s strange to walk out of the ship, excuse me, spaceship, and get struck by the blast of dry heat here on Earth. Until a few weeks ago, this weather was all I’d known. The contrast to Aphroditea’s fresh air is stark.

A haze of smoke in the air lets me know the wildfires are burning up North. There have been wildfires burning for years on Earth, my entire life and then some. The history books tell us it wasn’t always that way, but it has been for me. There isn’t much left to burn, but the fires still catch and burn through dry brush and scrub in areas. Smoke follows. The smoke is pushed around by the wind, swirling in dusty eddies.

The smoke isn’t too bad today. I look up at Asher, asking, “Do you bring masks when you come to Earth in case the smoke is bad?”

He nods. “We have them and breathing gear if needed. It doesn’t seem that bad today.”

“It’s not,” I offer, well aware it could be so smoky that we couldn’t even see.

Things move at a brisk pace once we’ve arrived. Asher and his bodyguards depart for a meeting somewhere. Helena brings me to the office where I met Asher for the first time.

“We own this building,” she explains as we walk down the hallway.

“The whole building?”

She nods. “Yes. We have many applicants. We’ve never had a job fair on our planet, but I’ve read they have them on Earth all the time.”

“Jobs are hard to come by. Everyone’s a little desperate for a halfway-decent life. And if they’re anything like me, they want a chance to leave Earth. Only the very wealthy can afford it. The rest of us hope we can land a place to live in the green zone.” I pause to glance out the windows. There isn’t a speck of green visible. “Maybe someday Earth will rebound enough to be the way it was before.”

Helena shrugs. “Maybe. That’s a long way off. They need more resources to make that possible.”

I have so many questions. I want to understand this relationship with my new people and those who are on Earth. I knew we traveled to other planets, but I didn’t know aliens and humans mated. I’m curious about the galaxy beyond as well. In my first few weeks on my new planet, I’ve been so caught up in Asher and the wonder of being somewhere beautiful and safe that I haven’t had time to focus on much else.

I’ve gleaned that there’s a lot of intergalactic travel, and it’s fairly common. Earth seems to be behind the ball, from what I can piece together. Today isn’t the day for those questions. Helena and I get organized quickly. There’s a downstairs area with a larger room. I realize this building must’ve once been a school because it’s an old gymnasium.

In short order, Helena and I are screening applicants. I find myself protective of the men on Aphroditea. I screen out several applicants right off the bat because they seem too shallow. I feel twinges of guilt for even thinking like that. I, too, had been desperate before.

Helena tells me it’s important to remember we want to give these women a better life. Life on Earth is abysmal. Women areoften abused and practically secondhand citizens. They need to be brave simply to survive.

About halfway through, I find the first woman I think should definitely be a candidate. She’s pretty with bouncy honey-gold curls and freckled cheeks. Her name is Nadine. Our interview process is fairly simple. We discuss the planetary differences and the expectations for a woman on our planet. At first, it sounded strange to call it our planet, but Helena repeatedly reminded me that I was one of the leaders there now and that I was a true princess.

Pain flashes in Nadine’s eyes when I ask her what prompted her to apply. “I’m just going to be honest,” she finally says, her voice low. “I was about to marry into a family in the green zone, a wealthy family. But I couldn’t do it because he was abusive.”

She swallows audibly after she takes an unsteady breath. It’s only then that I notice she’s used makeup to cover a bruise underneath one of her eyes. My heart gives a painful thump, and a familiar sense of anxiety races through me. Even though I managed to avoid being beaten, it’s common here.

“So I left, and now I’m desperate because I have nothing, and I’m afraid.”

My belly clenches with worry. “When did you leave?”

She blinks back tears. “This morning.”

The murmur of voices carries on around us. The room is filled with a line of applicants. Along with Helena, another woman helps us with interviews.

Just then, the back door to the large room opens, and Asher enters. I don’t even have to look that way to know it’s him because that vibration, which is still startling but becoming familiar to me, starts humming in my body. The sensation becomes stronger until he stops beside me and places a hand on my shoulder.

I smile up at him. “Hello,” I murmur.

His reply is a kiss. He bends low to dust one on my cheek. The touch of his lips sends a fiery sizzle of electricity through me. As he straightens, I gesture toward Nadine. “This is Nadine. I’ve already decided she’ll be coming back with us today.”

Asher smiles warmly at her as he nods. Just then, the door opens again and Kayden comes through, immediately walking in our direction once he spies Asher.

Nadine fidgets in her seat nervously. Asher looks from her toward Kayden. “You will marry him,” he says with complete confidence.

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