Page 8 of Princess for the Space Cowboy

He reaches over, curling his big hand over both of mine where they’re clasped on my knees. Energy races through me in a loop, fiery and intense.

“Do you feel that?” he asks.

I can barely breathe as I nod with a sense of connection and intimacy surging through me, almost its own force. “What does that mean?” I whisper.

“That is what my people call infinity pulse. It only happens if we’re meant to be mated, and not everyone finds their one true mate.”

“It’s not just lust?” I can’t help but ask.

Asher’s intense blue eyes hold mine as he shakes his head slowly. “This isn’t just lust. Have you felt lust before?”

Fair question. I’d felt a dim shadow of what this was but nothing more.

“So we travel to your planet and marry. Then?” I prompt.

“I think that might be the easy part,” he says. “Then you set up a matchmaking service. You will need to travel to and from Earth until you decide if you prefer to have someone else handle it here.”

“How many men on your planet need brides?”

“Many,” he says.

Chapter Eight

ASHER

Jane stares at me. “Well?” I prompt. I’m trying to wrestle my body’s powerful response to her under control.

She takes a quick breath. “I’ll do it.”

Satisfaction surges inside me. I traveled here hoping to find my bride, but this with Jane is so much more than I expected. I was prepared to compromise. To simply find someone suitable. But for us to truly be linked? It was all I wanted.Sheis all I want.

“What do I need to do now?” she asks.

“We need Helena.”

I stand quickly, and I’m about to walk to the door when I turn back. Jane stands and starts to follow me. I stop in front of her, reaching for both of her hands. “The next few days will feel rushed, but I promise you it will be okay.”

She blinks at me. “Okay.”

Chapter Nine

JANE

I stand in my apartment that evening, looking around at the tiny space. I’m about to leave not only this apartment but also this entire freaking planet.

O.M.G.

There’s moving, and then there’s what I’m about to do.

My cell phone vibrates on the table, jangling with a distinct harsh ring I’ve set for only one person. Part of me had wanted to block Kylie’s number, but I’d opted against that. I need the reminder so my anger stays alive.

I cross the room to glance down at the screen. Kylie never has the nerve to leave a voicemail, but she always texts after she calls. I don’t answer.

True to form, a text follows after the phone stops ringing.You have to know how sorry I am. Please call me. He’s cheating on me.

I snort.

In a welcome change, the anger burning like a hot coal inside me over her betrayal barely registers. It’s still there, tangled with bitterness. I don’t know if trust will ever come easily for me again. Yet those moments with Asher have shifted something inside me.

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