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“I beg you not to say I sent you,” Behn called after hiant office

Erick didn’t dignify it with a response He returned to his ship and set the course back to the pod

Then he allowed himself to check the security feed on the pod for Mina’s location

There He found her in the Great Rooaht from Zandia

These holograms were the extent of his interaction with Mina since she’d walked out of his roo Mina—or Tara, as she went by at the pod—alone again see him at every turn

The better part of him wanted to respect her wishes He understood—she wanted to bury her past as a sex slave But veck if he would let her bury hi his sha hihly and intimately as he’d known Mina

And it wasn’t just about sex Their chemistry was incredible, that was true Not a nanosecond had passed since he’d clai to have her sain, coax those sexy moans from her lips, or make her cry out in pleasure as he sank into her wet heat

But his attraction to Mina went far beyond her glorious, nith Tara was every bit the warrior her father was And when they’d been together in his chamber, he’d been electrified by her presence It was as if the piecefrom his life all this time had fallen into place He used to think he ached for Zandia Or his parents But the hollowness in his core filled just being near her It was as if his purpose crystallized—and it was to be worthy of Mina To protect and provide for her To be her mate

Unfortunately, she didn’t feel the same way

For four planet rotations, he’d stalked her about the pod, atteain even a ed hied with any other males, either

Thank veck As it was, he wanted to throat punch every male who looked at her Her father excepted, of course

But her apparent dissatisfaction with her new life bothered his of the pod without engaging She stared out s ed the children far less than the other females

So

Mina had wilted in her new environ her eclipsed all else Even his problealactacarriers

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