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  “Thanks for the suggestion, but I don’t want a mate. I like my life just fine the way it is.”

  Indigo scoffed then softened the sound with a quick smile. “Famous last words. Yesterday you didn’t believe in aliens. How can you decide what you want out of life until you’ve experienced more of what this reality has to offer?”

  “So educate me,” Lexie challenged. “What drew you to Zilor? Was it just physical?”

  “Not at all. I’m just as attracted to his personality as I am to his unbelievable body. To understand Rodyte courting, you’ll have to stop thinking like a human.”

  “Why is that?”

  “Because Rodytes share themselves in ways humans can’t. There’s no pretending with a Rodyte, no deception. It’s not possible. Once the mind link is formed you’ll have access to your partner’s thoughts and feelings. You don’t have to rely on what they tell you. You’ll actually feel what they feel.”

  Lexie tried to imagine what that would be like. It sounded so intimate, and yet so intrusive. “I don’t think I want someone else in my mind. I’m a very private person.”

  Indigo shook her head, clearly confused by Lexie’s reluctance. “It’s the most natural thing in the world and it takes sex to places you can only imagine.”

  “I’ll take your word for it.” Lexie felt her cheeks heat as her mind filled with sensual images. Kaden hadn’t so much as kissed her, yet she could almost feel his mouth covering hers and his hands exploring her body. She cleared her throat and pushed the half-formed fantasy aside. “What about the transformation program? What all did that involve and did it work?” She looked at Zilor. “Do you have access to your magic?”

  Before either could answer, Kaden stopped them. “Lexie, I was unaware that you were a reporter when I asked for your opinion of the program. I’m not sure it’s in our best interest anymore.”

  “You don’t want my opinion because I’m a reporter? You wanted a human female’s perspective. My occupation has nothing to do with it.”

  “Really?” He chuckled. “Your casual conversation suddenly sounded an awful lot like an interview.”

  She shrugged, annoyed, but trying hard not to show it. “You asked me for my opinion. I was just trying to understand how it all works, so I could decide what I thought about the process.”

  “Let’s focus on finding Libby,” he suggested. “The rest can wait.”

  She glared at him. “That’s the second time you’ve inferred that Libby is not my top priority. Don’t do it again.”

  Indigo and Zilor exchanged knowing looks, both clearly amused by Lexie’s show of spirit.

  “You might not need to kiss her,” Indigo told Kaden in a stage whisper. “I think she’s feeling the pull already.”

  Lexie didn’t bother denying it. Any protest at this point would just convince Indigo that she was right.

  A few minutes later Kaden announced, “Thanks for dinner, but we need to get going.”

  “Anytime,” Zilor said as they all stood.

  Kaden swung her backpack onto his shoulder, his expectation clear. She was in trouble and they were leaving, whether she was ready to go or not.

  “I enjoyed our chat.” Indigo hurried to Lexie’s side and hooked her arm around Lexie’s.

  Lexie smiled despite her annoyance. It was hard to remain in a bad mood when Indigo was so lively.

  “Come back once he’s worked out the authorizations. I’ll happily tell you about my experiences.”

  “I’ll do that, but he’s right. We need to stay focused on Libby.”

  Indigo walked with them to the doorway. “I hope you find her quickly.”

  “So do I.” Lexie smiled though her mind had rushed on ahead. What would they do if Rex Dravon refused to cooperate? Mercenaries weren’t known for their willingness to play well with others. And if he didn’t return until tomorrow, how would she make it through the night without losing her mind?

  Kaden led her back across the railed bridge and into the express tunnel. She hadn’t spoken to him since he shut down her interview with Indigo. And whether or not she was willing to admit it, she had been interviewing the other woman. In fact, Lexie was desperate for some time alone so she could document everything she’d learned so far. There was so much to share. She’d need to do a series of in-depth exposés if she hoped to cover everything.

  They were about halfway through the express tunnel when he asked, “Are you angry with me?”

  “I’m not angry,” she insisted. “I’m annoyed. You shouldn’t have accepted their invitation if you didn’t want me to talk to them.”

  “I didn’t say you couldn’t talk to them. I told them not to reveal the details of the transformation program until I determine whether or not we can trust you.”

  She gasped and faced him, hands on her hips. “You don’t know if you can trust me? I’m not the one secretly invading your planet!”

  “No, you’re the one spying on one of our compounds and sneaking onto a shuttle, not to mention lying about who you are.”

  Her chin came up and rebellion ignited in her soul. No one questioned her integrity. She’d earned her spotless reputation. She was certainly not going to take disparagements from a domineering alien. “I didn’t lie about who I am. I omitted what I do for a living. Most people don’t consider that a lie.”

  Suddenly on the offensive, he backed her into the wall and caged her there with his arms. Her backpack hit the deck with a loud thunk, but he didn’t seem to notice. “Did you intentionally deceive me, yes or no?”

  “Yes, but—”

  “Have I intentionally deceived you?”

  She glared up at him. Interrupting people was so rude she wanted to slap him. “That’s not the point. Your people—”

  “We’re not talking about my people. We’re talking about you and me.”

  Raising both hands to his chest, she tried to shove him back. He simply ignored her efforts and stared into her eyes. “There is no ‘you and me’.” Her voice sounded breathy and uncertain despite her determination to remain calm.

  “I think it’s time to change that. Don’t you?”

  Before she could reply, he covered her mouth with his. She inhaled sharply and her senses came alive. Her skin tingled and her joints ached as blood rushed through her veins.

  “Taste me, Lex. Find out if I speak the truth.” His lips rubbed against hers, but he was clearly waiting for her to take the next step.

  “I don’t want a mate,” she whispered, reminding herself why she couldn’t surrender.

  “You don’t know what you want.” He lightly fisted her hair and tilted her head back. “You can’t run from this. I won’t let you.”

  “It’s not your choice to make.” Her voice grew stronger, but her body swayed toward his, needing something only he could give.

  “Of course the choice is yours, but how can you choose if you don’t understand what’s being offered?”

  She had no answer for that, so she just glared mutinously. His scent was making her dizzy. She wanted to rub against him and tangle her fingers in his shaggy hair.

  “Kiss me, love. It’s just one kiss, nothing to be afraid of.”

  She wasn’t afraid, well, not of him. She was afraid of the radical changes he would bring into her life.

  His head lowered slowly, giving her plenty of time to turn away. Then his lips brushed against hers, pressing, caressing, without taking. “Taste me, Lex. Give me your tongue.” He whispered the directive against her parted lips and she was helpless to refuse him.

  Slowly, she touched his lips with the tip of her tongue. He groaned, then silently encouraged her. He circled her tongue with his, inviting her inside. She pushed deeper, seeking out his warmth and the evocative taste promised by his scent. He rubbed his tongue over hers, spreading his flavor. Then his tongue was in her mouth and his lips moved urgently as the world reordered around them.

  Her senses shifted into overdrive, inundating her nerve endings with impulses and
tightening muscles all through her abdomen. All she could smell was his scent and his taste spread through her mouth. She rocked to the balls of her feet, returning his kiss with equal abandon. Their tongues slid and twined, then slid again. Her pulse tripled and her ragged breathing rubbed her nipples against his chest. Desire throbbed through her body, hot and demanding. She wanted him here and now, needed him moving strong and steady deep inside her aching body.

  She tore her mouth away from his with a cry of alarm. “Okay, so it’s like a drug.” She panted, keeping her face averted so she could think. “A very potent drug. This doesn’t mean anything. Heroin makes you feel good too. That doesn’t mean we should take it.”

  His large, warm hand caught her chin and turned her head back around. “It’s not a drug. It’s the natural response of your body to mine. We’re mates, meant to spend the rest of our lives together. Fate delivered you to my ship.”

  “I don’t believe in fate. We create our own destiny.”

  “Then how do you explain being here, in the arms of your mate? We weren’t looking for each other. This was clearly fate.”

  She shook her head, using their disagreement to rein in the pull. Now she understood what that phrase meant. She felt as if some unseen force was drawing them together. And the more she struggled against it, the stronger the pull became.

  “I’m here for Libby,” she stressed. “Everything else can wait until she’s safe.”

  He inclined his head in silent agreement, then pushed off the wall, slung her backpack over his shoulder and started walking again.

  Desire thrummed through Kaden’s veins as they emerged from the express tunnel. Lexie had clearly felt the pull as soon as their tastes mingled, but she was fighting it. That was to be expected. She wasn’t Rodyte, hadn’t been raised with their customs and beliefs. He had to take things slowly, allow her time to explore the possibilities and accept the inevitable.

  He tensed at the thought. Genetic compatibility made their joining possible, not inevitable. Lexie could have other potential mates, perhaps many others. As he’d said, human DNA tended to be more accommodating than most. When Zilor ran Indigo’s DNA through the transformation database, the report identified over seventy potential matches.

  They reached the commerce tiers in reflective silence, then Lexie asked, “Where are we going?”

  “Back to the Intrepid. There’s nothing more we can do until Dravon returns.”

  “Can I watch General Nox’s messages again? They’re all over the internet, so I shouldn’t need permission.”

  She was obviously avoiding thoughts of their courtship, but pushing her right now would only make her angry. Besides, she was right about the messages. Not only were they readily available, but Garin himself had decided how much information to offer. “Or we can just review the content of the messages.” He wanted to be able to gage her reactions and answer her questions, if possible.

  “Even better.” Her steps became more purposeful as they emerged onto the upper concourse. “I have a basic idea of what the battle born are trying to accomplish and why you want it so badly. What’s not clear yet is the specifics. How will you match each volunteer with her potential mate and how long does she have to decide if bonding with a Rodyte is something she wants? It’s a huge, life-changing decision.”

  He sighed. Garin’s messages contained very few details. It was doubtful she’d be satisfied with his answers if he stuck to that criterion. “We’ve developed a multi-level screening process for the applicants.”

  “What are the levels and how long will it take to process each applicant?” Her steps slowed and she pivoted to face him as the details captured more of her attention.

  “We’ll start with an online application. The questions will be a combination of those asked by a potential employer and a dating site. While her answers are being analyzed, we’ll run a background check and scan social media to determine her basic character.”

  A combination of amusement and disbelief twisted her lovely features into a comical expression. “People post stupid shit on social media all the time. If you hold that against them, you won’t have any applicants left.”

  “We’re aware of the tendency for humans to brag about their misbehavior, but we’ve also found consistent patterns of behavior woven through the ‘stupid shit’.”

  She nodded. “I can’t argue with that. People who don’t learn from their mistakes frustrate me too.”

  “I’m glad you approve.” He softened the sarcasm with a smile.

  “It all sounds time consuming and work intensive. Do you have enough qualified personnel to make these decisions?”

  He chuckled. “The only personnel involved are the programmers and their work is just about finished. Our computers can process enormous amounts of information instantaneously.”

  “A computer will decide which human females are worthy of mates and which to reject.” She suddenly looked horrified. “What parameters did the programmers set? Were human females involved at any point in developing the algorithms?”

  He was careful not to sound condescending, but her questions revealed how little she understood Rodyte technology. “Our computers are significantly more sophisticated than anything found on Earth, or at least anything that humans developed. Our computers are not programed so much as they’re trained. We explain what we want them to learn and where the information is most likely found and IA does the rest.”

  “How? If a person isn’t inputting specific data, how does a computer ‘learn’.”

  “The same way we do. It generally starts by gathering massive amounts of information. I don’t know the specifics, but it likely uploaded all of Earth’s dating sites, purchase receipts, and text messages from those of the appropriate age. Any easily assimilated digital information. Then it would analyze the raw data to identify social context and mating rituals. If that wasn’t sufficient, it would broaden the search parameters until it had a consistent idea of how human females think and behave.” She started laughing. He enjoyed the effervescent sound and the way her eyes sparkled, but had no idea what she’d found so amusing.

  “Most human females don’t understand why they behave the way they do, but your computers are going to unravel the mystery? This I have to see.”

  He shifted his weight from foot to foot and resettled her backpack over his shoulder. “Our computers will simply identify the applicants who are most likely to successfully blend with Rodyte expectations. Any female honestly offended by an aggressive male will not be happy as a battle born’s mate. Rodyte males are naturally dominant and those qualities have been reinforced by decades of training in each battle born soldier. Human males have been somewhat feminized in recent years. We need to make sure the applicants can deal with our aggression.”

  “I get that our societies are different, but I don’t understand how a computer is going to accurately predict who will fall in love with whom?” Her silky brows arched, reinforcing the challenge in her question.

  She was baiting him, hoping to escalate their conversation into a disagreement. It was a common side effect of bonding fever. Or was she always this argumentative? “As I said, the program simply analyses probabilities. It will be up to the males to win the affection of their potential mates and the female will have the final say in whether or not the relationship moves forward.”

  Amusement still shimmered in her gaze, but she didn’t argue. “Back to the induction process. What happens after the female gets the computer’s stamp of approval?”

  “Those that pass the initial screening will be invited to Stargazer Ranch for orientation and a follow-up interview. If the interview panel approves her, she’ll be taken to Lunar Nine.”

  She thought about that for a moment, then nodded again. “You’re hoping to keep the crazies to a minimum.”

  He wouldn’t have been quite so blunt, but she was right. “We’re concerned that many will apply to the program just to see the secret alien base hidden inside the mo
on.” He said the last with dramatic inflection and wiggled his eyebrows.

  A soft smile parted her lips. “You can defuse some of that by creating a cyber-tour, maybe include a few interviews with potential mates. It would allow people to indulge their curiosity without overwhelming the program with insincere applicants.”

  “That’s not a bad idea. We’d have to be careful not to reveal restricted information, but allowing humans to see a bit more of us could be helpful.”

  “As I told Raylon, if you present your communications through a trusted network, people will pay more attention than if you post it on the internet. Besides, the internet outlets will pick up the story anyway, so you’ll have credibility as well as a broader audience.”

  Without agreeing to or refusing the suggestions, he tried to move the conversation away from Rodyte secrets. “What did you think of Indigo?”

  “Hold that thought. I still have a few questions.” With hardly a pause, she was at it again. “Once an applicant is accepted into the program, how does she find her mate? Are the women going to wander around the outpost and let your men sniff them?”

  He laughed, helplessly imagining the chaos that would cause. “It will be a bit more structured than that.” He hesitated. She was digging for details that hadn’t been in Garin’s messages. There was nothing secret or potentially dangerous. Even though he’d stopped Indigo from answering Lexie’s questions, Kaden found himself providing the information. “After each female passes the initial screening, her DNA will be run through our database. The database provides a list of her potential mates.”

  “Mates? Plural?” Curiosity lit her green eyes, making them particularly luminous. “I could have more than one potential mate?”

  Possessive intensity surged through him. He wrapped his hands around her upper arms and pulled her against his chest. “I thought you weren’t interested in bonding?” Sensual promise growled through his voice and his phitons started to burn. The purple rings were doubtlessly glowing, but it was unlikely she knew what that meant. “If you’re receptive to courting, just say the word and we’ll begin.”