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I shook my head. "Good grief, I love you so much. Thank you!"

"For what?"

"This." I patted his knee. "For you being you."

"Well, I'm always happy to amuse you. How about mini conquerors?"

"Stop." I nearly choked on the water I was drinking to soothe my throat.

I was still thinking about our exchange and babies and sperm-killing healing wands when, a little while later, Thrax announced that we should meet up with the others any moment now. I wasn't sure what to expect, but if the other Space Guardians had mating marks, it should be logical to conclude that I would meet some human women, right?

I was starved for some girl time. Not that Thrax wasn't enough for me, but everything that had happened between ushad been so fast and intense that I craved to hear similar stories. I didn't need validation. I knew my feelings for Thrax were true, but now and then, I still questioned my sanity.

We had stayed away from Possedion during the last two days. Thrax went in to bring food and water to our prisoner, but that was it. Neither one of us was willing to deal with the evil Ohrur. Both of us feared how that would end for him. So we decided to wait until we met up with the others. They would have some questions as well.

Last night, Thrax activated the drone again to prevent Possedion from sleeping. Just a subtle reminder of our power over him and to turn him more cooperative when we presented him to the others.

The others.

With every minute that ticked by, my nervousness increased. To a level where I wondered,what if they don't like me?

"Easy, Hannah, all will be well," Thrax assured me, rubbing my knee lightly to stop my leg from moving up and down to the beat of a drummer on speed. I hadn't even noticed I was doing it.

I smiled up at him. "It will be, right?"

"One way or another." He nodded.

I took a deep breath and felt myself calm some until he shouted, "There!"

His voice betrayed his own nervous anticipation, making me smile. He wasn't as cool as he liked to portray.

"Now what?" I asked breathlessly.

"Now we dock. Come." He quickly entered a few orders, then took my hand to lead me back to the cargo area of his ship. My heart was pounding inside my throat now, and my hands were getting clammy. I would have loved to wipe the one Thrax was holding, but I didn't have the courage to let go.

A small jerk moved through the ship, and then the hatch opened. My legs felt frozen to the ground, but a gentle tug fromThrax made me move forward, following him a step behind as we walked through the opening into another cargo area, very similar to his, just bigger and stacked with boxes.

"Welcome." A tall Space Guardian moved forward, holding out his hand. "I'm Zaarek, and this is Nova," he said, introducing the woman next to him.

"The others are waiting in the break room. We didn't want to overwhelm you."

Thrax and Zaarek clasped each other's elbows. Thrax must have been just as surprised as I was when the other man pulled him in for a quick hug, clapping him deftly on the shoulder.

In the meantime, I took the opportunity to look at the other woman, who was definitely human, like me, and was taking me in with her electric blue eyes. Not as curious as me, more assessing. She wore a smile, but it looked like it was more for show than heartfelt. I swallowed, hoping she didn't dislike me on the spot.

I hadn't been a popular kid during high school, but I had gotten along with everyone—the loners and the popular kids. I didn't always get invited to their groups or outings, but I would sometimes hang out with one group or another. Later, it was my job to get along with everyone and be the shoulder my clients could lean on. Close friends were never part of my life, yet I always had a list of names to reach out to when loneliness or boredom struck.

"Hi, nice to meet you," the black-haired woman said in a deep Southern accent.

"I'm Hannah." I quickly wiped my hand on my pants before holding it out to her, "Nova?"

She took my hand. "Yes, and that big guy there is Zaarek, in case you missed it." Her smile was warming up slightly.

"Hard to miss," I replied with a small smirk.

"Right?" Her eyes darted over to the silver alien and lit upwith love, helping me relax a little. She seemed as smitten with her giant as I was with mine.

She noticed my gaze moving to her marks and held out her arm. "It's strange how similar they are."