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Then Mia grew up. Her parents guided her toward a good college, where she settled down for the first time in her life. And instead of hopping from place to place as many other college graduates did, Mia had stayed. All her degrees, right through her PhD, had been obtained from schools within a relatively easy drive from her apartment, the same apartment her parents had found for her at the start of her junior year, when she left the dorms.

Oh, God, she thought, stunned. Shehadneeded a stable home.

Mia snagged a towel and hurriedly dried off, shoving down any guilt the realization carried with it. Not that she hadn’t loved the globetrotting or spending so much time with her parents. In many ways, her childhood had been ideal. Her parents loved her, no doubt, and she loved them. She’d gained so much from her time roaming Earth.

But it had been so, so nice to settle down, to find a place she belonged, not just people she belonged with.

The outer door opened. Mia wrapped the towel around her and exited the bathroom, expecting to find Zoran.

Instead, Leona and Kira stood just inside the entrance.

“Sorry to barge in,” Kira said. “Zoran asked us to check on you.”

Leona shot her a wry look. “That might be what he said, but it wasn’t what he meant. I can’t believe you’re not dressed yet.”

Mia shoved her wet hair back and hurried across the room, one hand holding the towel in place. “Sorry. Had to clear my head.”

“The old water trick,” Kira said sagely, making Leona snicker.

“Oh, shut it, you two.” Mia offered them a meek smile to soften her words. “I have to find something to wear.”

“The robe,” her friends said in near unison.

“The robe,” Mia replied slowly. Yes, of course. What better way to demonstrate her, what? Loyalty? Understanding? Support?

Belonging?

Leona marched across the room, guided Mia firmly to the edge of the bed, and shoved her down. “We’re both wearing ours. See?”

Mia followed her friend’s gaze to the console where two silky robes lay. “Oh. You took the mating mark, too?”

Kira’s dark eyes widened, and her skin went ashen under her natural honey-brown skin tone. “No, not for lack of trying on his part. Did you?”

Mia brushed her fingers across her throat where Zoran had bitten her and found the skin curiously whole, if slightly raised. “Uh. I thought so.”

Leona stood upright from the trunk, where she’d been rooting through Zoran’s clothes. “What does it feel like?”

“Well, it’s like this rightness settles inside you.” Mia placed her fingers to her chest, over her heart. “It feels almost like…home.”

“Oh,” Leona said dreamily. “All that ape barbarian talks about is sex.”

Kira steadied herself against the wall. “Mine hasn’t mentioned sex at all. He just wants to cuddle all the time.”

“Take the cuddles,” Mia said.

“Hell, yes,” Leona agreed.

“But what if he wants more?” Kira glanced between them, a raw starkness etched in her expression. “I don’t think I can.”

“Oh, honey,” Leona murmured, then she rushed across the room and enveloped Kira in a hug.

Mia followed her and leaned her head against Kira’s shoulder. “Maybe you should give him a chance.”

“Like you’re doing with your alien?” Kira scoffed weakly.

“No, like you, in your own way,” Mia countered. “We’re stuck here for a while. Maybe we should make the best of it.”

“I certainly intend to,” Leona said as she pulled away.