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Silence.

“Shoot,” she repeated.

“Do you wish me to proceed?”

Brigit opened one eye and looked at him. He was dead serious. Her stomach flip-flopped. She got the feeling she wasn’t going to like this conversation. “Yes.” She took a deep breath and released it slowly, waiting.

Orion didn’t speak.

The feeling in her gut got worse. “Tell me already.”

He gave her a curt nod. The movement reminded her of historical palaces, charming royals and courtly gestures. Funny, that she’d never made the connection before. She brushed the thought aside.

“Jac and Queen Rachel now reside on the planet Zaron.”

Uh-oh, here we go with the Queen Rachel thing again. Brigit smirked, then mustered enough energy to laugh. “Sure they do,” she humored, expecting him to tell her he was kidding, but he didn’t.

“I speak the truth.”

“Yeah, right. My friends are on another planet. As much as I wish that were the case, we both know it’s not. Jac and Rachel are stuck in some godforsaken jungle a few thousand miles away.”

“I tell you I speak the truth.”

Brigit opened both eyes and stared at Orion. He appeared sated but serious. His strong jaw set and unyielding.
Oh geez, why her?
She had the worst taste in men. Somehow she’d gone from cheater to loony in one fell swoop. Did she have “loonies welcome here” tattooed on her ass?

“I speak the truth,” he repeated.

She groaned, struggling to her feet. Her legs shook as they supported her weight. Why her? This truly couldn’t be happening. He seemed like such a—well normal wasn’t exactly the word she was searching for—decent guy. Just her luck that the first guy she could see herself falling for since Rocket Man Rick would turn out to be insane. Something inside of her died a tiny death over the loss.

Brigit wobbled toward the shower using the wall to prop her, unable to stop the mini-quakes from reverberating through her. She kept her attention focused on Orion. None of this made a lick of sense. How did he know about Rachel and Jac? She talked about her friends a lot to other attendees, but hadn’t mentioned them to Orion. Brigit’s stomach clenched.

“Did you have something to do with my friends’ disappearance?”

He hesitated, then slowly released a breath. “No.”

Well that was good at least.

Moisture trickled between her legs, momentarily drawing her attention away from their conversation. She glanced down. Her mind refused to acknowledge what she saw. Holy crap, was that blood? Had Orion’s amazingly talented ringed-cock ripped her in two?
Calm down. Let’s think about this logically.

“Did your rings do this?” she blurted, knowing instinctively that wasn’t the case.

“No.” Orion shook his head vehemently.

Brigit knew what she’d felt wasn’t that kind of ripping pain. If it had been, they would’ve stopped before they got started. Funny thing was, it did remind her of something. The memory niggled at the back of her mind. She reached for it, but damned if it wasn’t too much effort to recall.

She watched him, but he seemed content to lie on the bed. A myriad unanswered questions pummeled her thoughts. Why would he make up these terrible lies about her friends? Why didn’t he say something before he stole her heart? What did he have to gain from all of this?

The word
nothing
hovered in her mind. It just didn’t make sense. Brigit vowed to discover the truth.

She glanced once more at the small trickle of blood. She’d seen that before, but where? Her gaze flew to Orion.

He stared at her intently, his eyes fixed on the same spot. He looked as unhappy as she felt.

Torn hymens, loss of virginity, Bobbie Huntsicker’s basement her senior year of high school, all very real pictures that flashed consecutively in her mind. No way! She searched Orion’s handsome face for answers, yet found none other than the impossible.

“Who are you really? And what in the hell just happened?” She wasn’t a virgin. So what the fu—

We linked.
His answer popped into her mind like a waffle out of toaster, just like it had on stage earlier.

“Stop that!” She hissed through clenched teeth. “Stop that right now! What are you a mesmerist? Or are you some kind of psychic?”

Orion’s eyes widened, then his expression turned to one of resolve.
No, I’m not psychic. I know not what the future holds any more than you do.
Or I would’ve avoided this situation was left unsaid. Yet he might as well have shouted that thought through a megaphone.

Her heart clenched. “Did you slip me something?”

His expression hardened.
I would never do that
.

Brigit’s hands automatically flew to her head to cover her ears. “I don’t know how you’re doing that, but just knock it off.” She inched closer to the door, this was insane. She knew it and he knew it. Her mind returned to dwell on his choice of words. Eventually, curiosity got the better of her and she had to ask, needed to know. Brigit braced herself. “Linked? You said linked. What does that mean exactly?”

Orion looked away, unable to or unwilling to meet her eyes.

This was bad. Very bad.

“We are joined mentally and can never be separated completely.”

Fear gripped her. She wasn’t about to be “joined” to a crazy man. Brigit prided herself on her independence. “Linked” meant acting…she shuddered…responsible. This had to be some kind of joke, a very cruel and decidedly vicious cosmic joke. Obviously, Orion was a one galactic starship short of a fleet. Brigit did not want to believe it, but the truth stared her in the face with his aqua and jade eyes. Her heart jumped for joy a second before her mind tackled and hogtied it.

Star travel, other planets, alien worlds, yeah they were her dream and why she was here at this conference, but they weren’t real. And no amount of wishing it were so would make it a reality. Yet, she wanted too much to believe.

She focused on Orion. “Okey-dokey, then.” The flippancy of her tone left Brigit cringing, but she didn’t care. She needed to get as far away from him as possible. If she hung around Orion any longer then that would make her just as crazy as he was. Who cared if she’d just had the best sex of her life?

Heat flared in her face as she reached the bathroom. She slipped inside, shutting the door behind her and locking it. Brigit pressed her back against the wood a second before sliding to the floor. What was wrong with her? She knew better than to bring a stranger back to her room. It didn’t matter that she felt a connection with Orion that ran deeper than anything she’d experienced in her life. Orion was obviously nutso. She needed to remember that. This was what she got for going against her good judgment.

Good judgment? Ha!

Her fingers trembled as she ran her hands through her hair and thought about the man lying on the bed in the next room. She didn’t think she could face him after his admission. Hell, after what they’d done. She snorted. Since when had she become a coward?

She pressed her ear to the door to see if she could hear him moving about the room and frowned. Brigit heard a woman’s crackly voice. Had someone come into the room? No…the woman sounded like she was speaking though a bad phone connection or walkie-talkie. That was weird. She reached for a glass next to the sink and put it against the door, pressing her ear onto the end to amplify the sound.

“Have you found the Seer in the jungle yet?” the woman asked.

Brigit gasped, clasping a hand over her mouth to muffle the sound. Was she talking about the jungle where Jac and Rachel disappeared? What were the chances she meant somewhere else?

Slim to none.

“No, I’ve encountered a complication,” he answered. “I’ll be on my way tonight once I get things settled here. Have you found that for which you’d sought?”

“Yes, and I couldn’t be happier.”

“Be well. I will contact you soon.”

“Be well.” Static followed the last words.

Brigit pushed away from the door and crawled across the bathroom floor until she reached the shower. She definitely needed the water to clear her head. What did that conversation mean? Who was the Seer? Why was she in the jungle? And what did Orion have to do with these people?

Son of a bitch! And here she’d thought he was crazy. He was—crazy like a fox and she’d almost fallen for his act.

She pushed her hand under the tap until the temperature leveled off at just below scalding. She slid the handle to the right extinguishing the tap to allow the spray. Brigit used the toilet as leverage to stand, then stepped inside the tub, pulling the curtain closed behind her.

The hot water rained down upon her head, washing away her thoughts, if only momentarily. Her body ached in places she didn’t even know she had muscles in. Brigit begrudgingly admitted it was a good ache. Anger surfaced. Too bad great sex didn’t excuse lying.

She needed to find Rachel and Jac. Unfortunately, there was only one place they could be located. The jungle. Maybe Orion could lead her to their location. If he had anything to do with Jac and Rachel’s disappearance, she’d hit him—hard.

Brigit shivered and picked up the lavender soap and began lathering her body. The more she thought about the situation, the more Brigit realized she needed to play it cool. Act casual. Her heart flipped in her chest at the thought.

“Get over it,” she gritted out under her breath.
You just met him, you can’t be in love with him.
Her chest ached in protest. She needed to push aside her feelings and focus. Jac and Rachel were depending on her.

She didn’t want to tip Orion off or she’d never find her friends. They’d simply had a bit of fun. Nothing earth-shattering, even if it sort of felt that way. Time to cut her losses.

While she finished showering, Brigit constructed a plan. They’d get dressed and rush straight to one of the conference rooms for an after-party. She’d wait for him to leave. With any luck, he’d lead her straight to her friends. If not, she knew where she had to go.

Following Orion would require that Brigit leave the conference early. She was okay with that. She just prayed he didn’t catch her.

Her conscience pricked her. Was it wrong to spy on him?

Under the circumstances, Brigit didn’t think so. It was logical and levelheaded, so why was her heart threatening to burst?

* * * * *

Orion couldn’t move or refute her claims of subterfuge. He could barely breathe as he spied the redness between Brigit’s pale quivering thighs. He vaguely remembered saying the words of binding and feeling the link pop into place. Instantly, he felt himself stroking in and out of her.

A second later Brigit’s emotions invaded his mind. He’d shared her hopes and dreams, experienced her fears and saw the boundless love she hid deep inside of her. He had no idea why he’d performed the ritual. It was as if the great Goddess herself forced the words past his numb lips. He’d had no choice but to say them, binding their hearts together for an eternity. Or that was what he would like to believe, but Orion knew better. Even now he could feel the bond between them growing in strength. Soon they wouldn’t be able to stand to be apart for any length of time without suffering pain and discomfort from the separation. They’d both feel the loss.

The second he’d slipped his ringed cock inside Brigit’s warm quim he’d felt as if he were home. After that, linking had simply been a formality. Her body was everything he’d imagined and more. Her soft cries still filled his ears while the delicate scent of their lovemaking permeated the room. Orion could still taste Brigit upon his lips. The sensation brought a groan from deep inside of his chest to the surface. He hardened, already wanting her again.

His insatiable need for her didn’t change the fact that linking oneself to a human was tantamount to insanity. Look what it had done to his brother, Ares, and King Eros. They behaved like besotted fools, catering to their women’s needs above their own. It went beyond embarrassing.

The Queen and her friend, Jac held the men’s cocks firmly in their dainty hands. Orion shuddered at the thought. No woman would ever hold him in such a manner. He and Brigit could not be bound. He’d just have to explain to her that there had been a mistake. Yet, the damning evidence he’d seen, left little doubt that’s what had occurred.

Cassandra’s call interrupted his thoughts and reminded him that he was way off schedule with this mission.

What in the name of the Goddess had he done?

Before he could answer that question the bathroom door crashed open and Brigit stood in the frame with a white towel wrapped firmly around her body. His thoughts scattered from his mind like Zaronian leaves in the wind. His eyes feasted upon the sight of her exposed ivory-colored skin. Her red hair was damp and lay pressed against her forehead, feathering her delicate shoulders like the wings of a bird.

Orion cleared his throat to find his voice. “Are you well?”

Brigit stiffened, then gave him a half smile, before walking across the room to the container that held her clothing. “I’m fine. Why wouldn’t I be? How are you? Ready to go?” The words fell out of her mouth in rapid-fire succession.

Orion had no idea what Brigit talked about, but he hadn’t missed the change in her demeanor. She’d realized the mistake their joining had been too. He ignored the sudden discomfort in his chest. Sensible and beautiful, she was the perfect woman. What was he saying? There was no such thing as the perfect woman. He’d mated out of instinct and to continue his bloodline. It mattered not that linking couldn’t occur without the existence of a true-mate.

She dropped the top half of the towel, but didn’t turn to face him. The material pooled around her slender waist, exposing her delicately sloping back. Orion found himself wishing that he could get one more glimpse of her rose-colored nipples. Brigit shimmied, pulling clothing into place before allowing the towel to drop further.

“There is no need to hide yourself from me. I saw your form only moments ago.”

She laughed. “Yeah, well, that was then, this is now. I need to get dressed.”

Orion didn’t say anything more. He refused to acknowledge how much her sudden coolness affected him. This was what he wanted after all, a quick joining to relieve tension, nothing more. He’d delivered the message. It was her choice whether to believe it.