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—being a miner’s wife, but it was the short-term objective Less than three years—that was all she needed to survive—then she would be free of him and able to pursue her dream with more dollars in her pocket and the credentials she required There was no going back, no quitting, she was cohtmares and woke up swathed in sweat

The shuttle docked, a long process of regulating at colony The outside air unbreathable and the terrain perilous Nobody stepped foot outside the colony without wearing protective clothing and an air tank

After one swift peek out of theas they canored the bleak terrain Now, her attention focussed on the rotating air lock The ed out of the chamber and huddled around a tall man aved his hand above his head Next to him stood another man She sed hard This had to be Blake

He didn’t look like his ier A powerhouse of a man and dressed in a short sleeved work suit, she could see his bulging biceps and what e to exa forward, she stepped over the ried closer His hair was shaven to a crew cut, nearly clean shaven at the sides with short tufts at the top of his head He possessed dark hair with ether

Lysa froze to the spot and dropped her heavy bag on the ground “Blake?”

He nodded and still his features didn’t shift She held out a hand and it hovered in rasped her hand, squeezing her knuckles until they hurt “Welconition He let go of her and scooped up her bag as if it weighed nothing “This way”

They walked side by side, out of the docking area and into the dimly lit corridor Lysa started The floor ht light and what she guessed was thecolonies scattered about the surface of the moon

Blake cleared his throat “Good journey?”

“Yes, I suppose Long,” she replied The ground rumbled underneath her feet “Do you mind if alked I’ve been cooped up…”

“Sure, no proble next to her

The light grew closer and she shaded her eyes with a hand The aard silence continued Should she be throwing herself into his ar and kisses? Apparently not, he’d not touched her Her belly fizzed with nerves and with it came a wave of nausea

“I’et to know each other over the co days”

The travelator ca forward Blake grabbed her ars have been under used for a feeeks The strength will coradually”

His fingers pinched, not painfully, but the o, they’d arrived at a junction of tunnels

“Down here I’ll take you to my habitat pod” He pointed down another corridor

“And then?” Lysa knew she had no more than teeks to accept his proposal—if he intended to continue with the wedding However, the coordinator of es had told her that the number of potential brides who returned unwed had been zero

They passed several doors and other corridors branching off, for a network of tunnels Blake directed her down one “There are some formalities to complete, then you can rest”

“Fory, fearful of the unknown, the strange environment she’d entered, so different to Earth Even the air had a hu was recycled or shipped in on cargo vessels, including herself—a requested bride

“Best to get it over with” Blake stopped at a doorway “Don’t worry”

She opened her mouth to enquire what he meant, but before she could speak the door of his pod unlocked He nudged the door with his foot and pressed a hand to her back

“This is what I call home, not much, but it’s comfortable” He propelled Lysa across the threshold

Small It was to be expected, she’d come prepared for the lack of space But privacy? One room with no partitions, nowhere to hide or seek sanctuary The door slam was rudi doors with hinges instead of auto ones seemed bizarre and archaic