by Susan Hayes
“So, what happens now? How long have we been observing them? Have we made contact yet? What are we prepared to offer the inhabitants in exchange? They’d most likely want advanced technology. Another thing we’re not allowed to offer to less-advanced species.” Joran was musing out loud as a myriad of thoughts and concerns raced through his mind. It took him a few minutes to notice that his parents were sitting in stony silence.
He stopped talking and waited for one of them to speak. It was an uncomfortably long wait, and the longer it stretched on, the more certain he was he wouldn’t like whatever was coming next.
“We can’t make official contact. There will be no negotiations. We’ve already initiated a plan to identify unmated females and screen them for potential matches using the same system we’ve created to find mates for the females of our race.”
“And if we find matches, what then?”
“Then we send our males to claim their mates and bring them home to Pyros. The first trip will have to be limited to only a few males.”
Joran frowned. “How will they be selected?”
“To ensure that we have the support we need, we’ll have to give the first opportunity to those who can fund this mission, or have political influence we might need if we’re discovered,” his mother explained.
“So we’re starting with the unmated sons of the elite? That’s not going to sit well with the rest of our people.”
His father sighed and nodded. “I know. If this is successful, then we will open the matching process to include the other males, but remember, we cannot secret enough females away to match every male on this planet. The human species is advanced enough to notice if we are not careful.”
Joran didn’t like any of this. Not the restrictions for his people, or the plan to do this without the consent of world involved. “Is there no other way?”
“No, son,” his father said.
“If your mate is on that planet, then it is because the Gods have willed it to be so. Her destiny is here. You must find a way to convince her of that.” Lilanna’s hand landed sharply on the table to emphasize her last words.
“And if she doesn’t agree with the will of the Gods?” Joran asked.
“Then you will bring her here by whatever means necessary, no matter what her feelings may be.” his father declared in a tone that bordered on royal command.
Lilanna gasped. “Janus!”
“You know that’s not our way, Father.” Joran shook his head in defiance. “I’ll go, because that is what needs to be done for the good of our people. But I will not abduct a female from her homeworld against her will. No Pyrosian male would force a female that way.”
“We cannot save our future by stealing someone else’s,” Lilanna rebuked her husband gently.
“You’re right, seska,” Janus said with a sigh. “But there is so much at stake.”
“I know you only want what’s best for our people, but it falls to our son to convince his mate to come to Pyros.”
Janus lifted his gaze to stare at Joran. “The future of our people is in your hands, Joran. Don’t fail us.”
The weight of his father’s words pressed down on him, but he nodded stiffly and rose from his chair. “I will not fail, Sire. If my mate is out there, I will bring her home.”
He’d been raised to understand that his birthright required sacrifice. It was his duty to do what he must for the sake of the ones they ruled. Now, he had to hope that whoever his mate was, she would forgive him for the sacrifices she was about to make in the name of a world she didn’t know existed.
2
When Maggie first saw the acceptance email in her inbox, she couldn’t remember what it was for. Two months had passed since she and the others had made their wine-enabled decision to sign up for Star-Crossed dating site. This was the first time she’d heard from them since.
“Welcome to the most stellar dating experience of your life.” She read the email from beginning to end, skimming the hyperbole and enthusiastic promises until she got to the important information near the bottom. First came the legal disclaimers, followed by a link. “Start your dating adventure today.”
She closed the email without clicking. Before she agreed to this insanity, she wanted to know if Lisa and Gwen had been accepted, too. She wasn’t going on this adventure alone.
Almost immediately, her cell phone rang, the opening notes of Queen’s “Bohemian Rhapsody” announcing the caller’s identity. Lisa must have gotten an email, too. That’s the only reason she’d call during Maggie’s all too brief lunch break.
“Hi, Lisa. Let me guess, you got an acceptance letter from that dating site, too?”
There was a high-pitched shriek of excitement. “Oh my god. Yes! You got one too? Who did you get as your match? My guy is gorgeous. His name is Vadir, and he is stunning. I might have licked my screen.”
“You clicked the link? I haven’t done that, yet.”
Maggie had to pull the phone away from her ear as Lisa’s voice hit a note that made her wince and probably sent every dog within earshot running for cover.
“Do it!”
“My break is nearly over. I should probably wait—“
“No waiting. Do it now. Put me on speaker and tell me who they matched you with. If you don’t, I’ll come by this afternoon and pester you while drinking nothing but double shot Americanos.”
“You wouldn’t do that to me.” Lisa was high-energy on a normal day. Lisa highly caffeinated was something out of a science fiction novel. You could almost see her vibrating fast enough to move through solid matter.
“You know I would. Now open that email again before I decide to start sketching nudes and give them all your face.”
“Clicking. I’m clicking!” Maggie fumbled with her phone for a few seconds, but eventually, she managed to put Lisa on speaker and call up the email again. She hit the button and waited for the site to reveal what they promised would be her perfect match.
“Well?”
“Waiting on the Wi-Fi. Hang on.”
A name appeared first, along with a few descriptive tidbits. Her match’s name was Joran, and he was six feet tall with blond hair, brown eyes and…holy shit, was that his picture?
Lisa laughed. “Is he hot?”
“Huh?”
“You just cursed out loud when you saw his photo. So, what does he look like?”
Maggie wasn’t sure how to describe the man on her screen. Hot didn’t begin to cover it. His hair was trimmed short at the sides, but longer at the top, falling in soft waves around his forehead. He had a chiseled jaw, perfect cheekbones, and a boyishly charming smile that probably caused women to fall at his feet on a regular basis.
“It has to be a fake photo. No one that good looking could possibly need a website to get a date.”
“If my guy is half as yummy in person, I’m calling it a win.”
“You’ve already decided to meet your match? Isn’t that a little…fast?” Maggie asked.
“You know me. I like to move past the awkward email conversations as quickly as possible. You can’t tell what a guy is really like until you’re face-to-face. That’s the only real way to know if there’s any chemistry. Besides, we’ve come this far, why not meet these guys? I bet Gwen got someone amazing, too. Why don’t you spend the last few minutes of your break reading up on your match, while I call Gwen and see how she did?”
Maggie agreed and hung up. She had less than five minutes left before she had to go back to work, and she wanted to take the time to read the rest of Joran’s profile. Lisa might believe in chemistry, but she also believed in crystal therapy, crop circles, and UFO’s. Maggie preferred to be more pragmatic. If something appeared too good to be true, it usually was.
By closing time Maggie still hadn’t found any reason to reject Joran out of hand. Of course, he hadn’t gotten in touch with her, either, so maybe he’d already rejected her as a match and moved on to the next one. Vancouver was full of beautiful, single
women. It didn’t make any sense that he’d want to spend any time getting to know someone like her. She was so far out of his league they weren’t even playing the same game.
She was cleaning up when the door chimes sounded. Jess must have forgotten to flip the sign over to closed on her way out. “I’m afraid we’re closing down for the night. I can make you a cup of regular coffee to go if you’d like? And I think we’ve still got some orange and cranberry biscotti left,” She called out without bothering to look up from her task.
“A regular coffee would be fine, thanks. And uh, what’s a biscatti?”
A tingle raced down her spine as the customer spoke. She couldn’t place his accent, but whatever it was, she liked it. A lot.
“Biscotti? If you don’t know what that is, you can’t be from around here.” She popped up from behind the counter with a smile. “Where are you from? I’ve never heard your accent before and I…Joran?”
Standing at the serving counter in front of her was the man from the dating service. It had to be him. There couldn’t be two men in the world who had won the same genetic lottery.
He was here. Now. He looked incredible, and she was in a shapeless uniform shirt, with her hair in a frizzy braid and only a minimal amount of makeup. The universe was seriously messing with her today.
“Do I know you?” he asked.
“I uh. No. I mean, sort of. We’ve never met though. I’m Maggie. I joined Star-Crossed dating service, and I’m pretty sure they sent me your profile a little while ago. How are you even here? I didn’t list my work address.”
“You’re my match? Really? I haven’t checked my email in a few hours. I was just roaming the city, exploring a little, and got thirsty. This is a coincidence, but I have to say, it’s a very nice one.” His smile brightened. “I’m Joran. Joran Pyr. It’s nice to meet you, Maggie.”
“Hi. I’m Maggie O’Hara.” She reached across the counter and offered him her hand. This wasn’t the way she’d hoped to meet her match for the first time, but she’d have to make the most of it. He only hesitated a second before taking her hand, coffee stains and all. The moment they touched, a blue spark crackled and arced from her hand to his. “Sorry. Must be static electricity.”
Joran knew exactly what that Spark was, and it had nothing to do with static. She was the one. This green-eyed beauty with hair the colour of flame was his mate. He owed his mother, and the Gods, an apology.
“Uh, if you want coffee, I’m going to need my hand back.”
“Sorry.” He forced himself to let go when what he really wanted to do was pull her closer. If there hadn’t been a counter between them, he probably would have. He needed to have her near him. Soon, that need would become an insatiable desire. The Scorching had begun.
He hadn’t considered that possibility when he’d decided to come down to Maggie’s workplace. He’d been staring at her image every day since the match had been confirmed, and he didn’t want to wait any longer to see her. He’d been so focused on checking out the female he was supposed to bring home to Pyros, he’d given no thought to what might happen if they touched. Until it happened, he hadn’t been sure this human female could even trigger a full mating bond. Apparently, she could.
“Do you want anything in your coffee?”
The question confused him. What else did humans put in their coffee beside coffee? There hadn’t been enough time to create a complete database of every language and culture on this diverse planet. He and the half-dozen other matched males had all undergone cognitive augmentation to learn what they could, but now he was here, Joran was quickly realizing how much he didn’t know. “What would you recommend?”
“How about a shot of vanilla syrup?”
“That sounds good.” He had no idea what vanilla was. He’d never had coffee, either, for that matter, but now wasn’t the time to worry about it. He had bigger problems. Like inadvertently triggering a mating bond before he and his off-world mate had exchanged more than a few words of greeting. This wasn’t how he’d imagined things would go. Flames and fury, he hadn’t actually believed this could happen. They weren’t even the same species! Oh, she had some Pyrosian DNA in her cells. The scans had confirmed that much. But knowing the science was one thing. Seeing the Spark arc between them was another matter entirely.
This wasn’t the plan others had laid out for him. He was supposed to make contact through the archaic communication protocol the humans called email, put Maggie at ease, and then arrange a meeting at one of the pre-selected locations. Somewhere without witnesses or surveillance equipment, like the security cameras this establishment had. He was also supposed to stay in contact with the main ship and keep at least one member of the royal guard with him at all times. He wasn’t good with plans. His communicator was currently turned off, and he’d ditched his guards on the way here. They’d find him eventually, but for the moment, he was alone with the woman he’d crossed a galaxy to find.
She handed him a mug of something, and he managed to brush his fingers across the back of her hand before she moved away. There was no spark this time, just a rush of heat and raw desire that hit him like a plasma charge.
“I need to grab your biscotti.” She blushed, and her eyes widened. “Oh, god. I meant I’ll go get the rest of your order. I’m so sorry. That came out wrong.”
She bolted into the back of the café before he could say anything, which was probably a good thing. He was tempted to tell her she could grab any part of him she wanted to. Flame and fury, if this was what the next few hours were going to be like, he was going to have to hurry up and explain matters before he lost his mind completely.
He laid down some currency on the counter to cover his order, then took out his phone. He’d acquired one as part of the ruse to make him appear human. He logged into the dating site his people had created and called up her profile. She had no idea he had memorized every detail already, including quite a few facts that she hadn’t included in her application. He knew so much about her, and none of it had prepared him for this moment.
He was still staring at his phone when she reappeared.
“I looked at what we had left and decided to upgrade you to one of our wildberry muffins. They’re delicious, and the berries are all local and organic.”
The scent of the sweet confection blended with her natural perfume, making his senses reel. “Thank you.” He held up the device and showed her the screen so she would see what he’d been doing. “I thought I’d check your profile. They seem pretty confident we’re a good match.”
“Yeah, they do. But that’s just a computer’s calculation. You can’t really be sure until you meet someone.” She blushed again, her pale skin turning a charming shade of pink.
“I think the computer got it right. I’d like to take you out and spend more time with you.” He took a sip of the brew in his mug and waited for her response.
She laughed and looked at him with disbelief. “You want to go out with me? Why?”
He had no idea how to answer that. She was his destined mate. He would never want any other female except her, and she was questioning why he wanted to spend time with her?
“Because I think we’re destined for each other.” It wasn’t the whole truth, but it was as close as he could get without sending her into a panic.
“Because a computer program said so?” She gestured to herself with a dismissive flick of her hand. “I’m nothing special. We’ve barely said a dozen words to each other. So, tell me why you think we’re fated to be together?”
He was going to have to lie and hope for forgiveness later. “I walked in here to get something to drink, and you recognized me on sight. I hadn’t even looked up your profile yet. That’s destiny.”
Her lips curved up into a faint smile. “Okay, you might have a point there.”
“So, that’s a yes?”
Her smile got a little warmer. “It’s a maybe. I need to finish cleaning and lock up. You can stay until I’m done. Then I’m going
home. I’ll give you my answer then.”
“Is it close enough that I can walk with you?” He knew she lived only a short distance away, but he wasn’t going to admit that to her. That would fall into the category of stalking, something he’d read about in his research. Stalking was a practice that didn’t exist on his world, where every female was treated with care and consideration. It was, apparently, a common problem on Earth. This really was a primitive planet. His mate wasn’t safe here. The sooner he got her on the ship back to Pyros, the better.
“You want to walk me home?” Maggie asked, not bothering to hide her surprise. The last time a guy had offered to walk her home, she’d been in high school.
“I do.” He gave her another charming smile. “Now that we’ve met, I don’t have any plans on letting you out of my sight for a while.”
She was doing her best to keep her hopes in check, but the more Joran spoke, the more she liked him. “Tell me something about yourself while I finish up. I’ll decide about the escort when it’s time to go.” She paused and then pointed to his untouched muffin. “And I promise you, that is worth every sinful calorie. Eat up.”
His eyes widened, and the smile vanished as his mouth fell open. She thought he was going to take offense, but instead, he burst out laughing and broke off a portion of the muffin. “As you wish, my lovely match.”
She turned away to hide her face as she turned several shades of red. He was flirting with her. Guys who looked that good in a simple collared shirt and blue jeans didn’t flirt with her unless they wanted something. As far as she could tell, there was absolutely nothing this man could need from her. Not unless he was planning on hiring his own personal barista, and no one could afford that kind of expense unless he was rich…dammit. She needed to look at his profile again and figure out what was going on.
“This tastes incredible. What did you say this fruit was called again?”
“There are raspberries and blueberries in there. Don’t tell me you’ve never had raspberries before? Where are you from that you don’t have berries and biscotti?”