Page 11 of Bride for the Space Cowboy

“Oh, yes. I promise I’m fine. Asher had to get married and consummate his marriage officially.” She rubs her hand over herbelly. “As you can see, I’m expecting. While they are essentially a democracy here, their people believe in the lineage of their royal family. In each generation, the first heir, male or female, must mate by a certain age. Asher had not found a mate here on the planet, so he decided it was time for another expansion trip in the galaxy. Considering that Earth is so…”

She pauses, and we all chime in with descriptions, including unpleasant, miserable, awful, shitty, and more.

Jane nods in agreement. “All of the above. After so many women here died from the space storm during the women’s festival, they decided to actively find mates on Earth. Humans have traveled here for centuries, so that’s not new, but they formed a plan to expand their lineage with matchmaking. Asher had to marry quickly to prevent an uprising over the royal succession. The small group of men opposed to this in another town kidnapped me to try to prevent me from having Asher’s baby with him. Asher and a team of fighters saved me within the first night. You needn’t worry about your safety. New security measures are in place to protect everyone here. I feel safe,” Jane says confidently.

“You have security,” Romi points out.

“And isn’t Kayden, Nadine’s guy, one of Asher’s bodyguards?” Melody asks.

Jane nods. “He is, but I’m safe. The opposition is much weaker now, and their plans are exposed. Since the dawn of time, I suppose, politics has been a problem all over the galaxy. This small group is currently in power in that town, but the people they’re trying to rule over don’t agree with them. Kidnapping me was a big mistake on their part. Asher says he hopes it’s weakening what little influence they have.”

“Do any of us need to worry about getting kidnapped?” Romi asks.

Jane shakes her head. “I don’t think so. To be honest, that event for me was no worse than what I went through on Earth. There are kidnappings all the time there. Sure, there’s a government”—Jane uses air quotes for this— “but it’s every person for themselves. Women are second-class citizens there, literally. Here, they revere women. Mating among people from different planets—human, alien, and more—is widely accepted all across the galaxy. We would know all this if Earth wasn’t so miserable to live on.”

Melody nods vigorously. “Maybe it’s a little disconcerting to learn that Jane was kidnapped, but it’s no worse than anything I’ve already been through. My parents died in that fire, but before that, a man kidnapped my mother for several weeks. He was trying to steal her from my father because he didn’t have a family. Women were practically slaves there, as far as taking care of things for men.”

“I know!” Romi chimes in. “Just not being looked at like I’m nothing feels good here.”

Melody glances at me. “What does it feel like with Kayden? We see Jane, or Princess Jane, with Prince Asher.” She winks as she casts a teasing smile in Jan’s direction. “But is it as intense as it looks? Those two look like they’re about to start a fire when they’re together.”

Heat swirls inside at the mere thought of Kayden. “I don’t know how to put it into words. It feels like attraction, but it’s so much more.”

As I ponder, Jane chimes in, “It’s hard to explain. Until I experienced it with Asher, I would’ve thought the whole idea of the infinity pulse was ridiculous.”

I nod vigorously in agreement. “Absolutely. It’s much more than I ever imagined. Honestly, it feels so good to have someone treat me well and to feel safe.” Abruptly, tears sting my eyes.When I swipe at my tears, I feel the lingering soreness from where Chad hit me.

Melody leans over, curling her arm around my shoulders and squeezing. “We all understand. We hope for the best, but the bar is so low on Earth that we could trip over it.”

Jane’s eyes catch mine. “Maybe we didn’t go through the same things, but life on Earth isn’t good. No matter what happens here, it will be better,” she says softly.

Chapter Six

KAYDEN

Helena eyes me, hands on her hips with her sharp tail twitching. “This is how it has to be. You serve the royal family. Your wedding is important.”

I bite back a sigh. “Fine,” I grumble. “I just thought?—”

Helena doesn’t give me time to say anything else. “You know better. You thought you would never experience the infinity pulse, so you didn’t plan on getting married.”

I press my tongue into my cheek as I chuckle. “Just tell me what to do, then.”

“That’s my job,” she says tartly.

Only three more days are left until my wedding. Every time I see Nadine, all I can think is that I can’t wait any longer. Yet I’m waiting.

Someone swipes my tail as I walk out of Helena’s office. I glance over my shoulder to see Asher leaving his office just behind me. He grins.

I turn to face him. “Yes?” I ask, my tone dry.

The list of people who tease me by swatting at my tail is short. It consists of Asher and a few of our friends among the group of families who protect and work directly for Asher’s family.

“Based on the look on your face as you came out of Helena’s office, I’m assuming she gave you a little lecture about how the wedding will be handled?” he teases as he falls into step beside me.

“Exactly. I presume you received the same information around yours?”

“In my case, Helena told me exactly how it would be before we even took the journey to Earth. I didn’t have time to wait. Are you ready?” he prompts as we exit the hallway and enter the main entry area for this building.

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