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Now he could move on to other women and Brigit could seek other men. The second the thought formed, rage engulfed Orion. His hands curled into fists.
How dare she hide herself from him? How dare she seek other men to assuage her need? Did she not understand she was his?

He stopped, his heart hammering in his chest as the words reverberated in his mind. His entire body shook with unremitting anger. It took him a few seconds before he could focus. He released an unsteady breath. Orion’s lip curled in disgust at his own weakness.

He needed to get back to his ship and file a report on his progress thus far. He paused, deciding it may be necessary to censor part of his entry. Perhaps, he’d even send a message to his brother, Ares, while he was there. Not that he needed his older brother’s advice. He simply wanted confirmation of what he knew was the truth.

Brigit was not his true-mate, even though he’d said the binding words. The ceremony was incomplete without his people’s blessing and would remain so. She was a mere Earthling. She had no control over him and he didn’t control her. He wanted it that way. He girded his loins against the unpleasant knee-jerk response in his gut.

Orion gave her back one last look of longing. He could already feel his cock roaring to life and the link between them growing. He refused to accept what fate dealt him.

And this was how it would remain…for all eternity.

Chapter Five

Orion rose from the bed and dressed without another word to Brigit. They left her room and found a Star Battle party taking place in one of the nearby conference areas.

They’d been milling around with other conference attendees for the past hour. Brigit thought of a half a dozen strategies for sneaking out of the room so she could pack and be ready to follow him, but Orion thwarted her at every turn by keeping his attention locked on her—ass.

Brigit tried to ignore the tightening in her nipples and the moisture gathering between her thighs. She found it as easy as attempting to put contact lenses into a hippo’s eyes.

Several minutes dragged by. She’d all but given up hope, when Orion suddenly pulled her aside. “I must go back to my ship for a while.” Something akin to regret passed over his features, but was gone so quickly she didn’t get a chance to analyze the emotion.

“Of course,” Brigit said, realizing her chance had come. “I’ll wait right here,” she lied, praying he couldn’t hear the excitement in her voice.

His brow drew down. He opened his mouth as if to say something, but then closed it.

“Well, you better get going. It was nice fuc—meeting you.” She forced a smile.

“I will return as soon as I can.”

“Yeah, sure. Great.” Brigit shrugged. “Take your time,” she added hastily. It wasn’t like Jac and Rachel were nearby, but hopefully Orion would leave her a clue to their whereabouts.

Orion’s jaw clenched for a second and Brigit thought she saw hurt in his eyes. But that wasn’t possible, was it? He reached out and stroked her cheek with one finger. Her heart threatened to leap out of her chest and shatter. What was the matter with her? How could she feel so much for a man who in all likelihood was deceiving her?

The word “link” slammed into her mind. Brigit shook her head in denial and closed her eyes a second. They were not “linked”. He was not from another planet called Zaron. And there was no spaceship.

“See you soon,” she said a little too cheerfully.

Orion hesitated, then dropped his hand away and turned to stride across the room. People stepped aside to get out of his way, their gazes darting nervously in his wake. He paused in the doorway, his knuckles turning white as he clasped the frame. Brigit half expected it to break off in his hand.

He glanced back to look at her one last time. His eyes met hers. The longing in their depths nearly knocked Brigit to her knees. Something akin to panic struck her, but she refused to move. She had to wait until he was out of sight. She couldn’t risk him catching her. Brigit inhaled and counted to ten. The next second he was gone. The wrenching sensation she felt in her heart was all too real. At that moment, Brigit wasn’t at all certain she’d survive the separation.

* * * * *

Orion forced himself to leave the building when every instinct told him to stay. He’d delivered his message as ordered. That part of his mission was now complete. It was time to find the Seer and Coridan. He wasn’t proud of his behavior with Brigit, but would be
Atlantean
enough to do what was right for them both. He’d leave this place and allow Brigit to get on with her life, find a human mate and settle down. They had no place in each other’s worlds.

And he’d keep telling himself that until he believed it.

His jaw clenched as he reached the clearing and punched a button on his wrist. The woods were quiet and a warm gentle breeze stirred the air. The ship appeared before him a second later. Orion hit another switch and the portal opened with a slight swoosh, allowing him entrance.

Brigit accused him of lying. She didn’t believe her friends resided on Zaron. She didn’t even believe he had a ship. Orion stared at the control panel, knowing it would be so easy to prove his words if he brought her aboard. But he wouldn’t. He didn’t dare. For that would mean acknowledging their
link
. And Orion flat-out refused to be bound to an Earthling, no matter how beautiful, sensual and obstinate a creature she was.

Why had he said the ancient words? Orion still could not believe he’d done so. Never in all his years had he acted so foolishly. His behavior went beyond foolish and straight to reckless. No one uttered the words of binding without weighing the consequences first. It was as if he’d been unable to control himself. What for the love of the Goddess was he going to do now?

Orion hit several buttons on the control panel in order to display a map of the planet. The holographic image swirled before him as he searched for the jungle. He entered the coordinates his brother Ares gave him and found the location the Atlanteans lived in before their
exodus
.

It would only take a few minutes to reach the deserted village. He could retrieve the Seer and Coridan and return to Zaron before Brigit was any wiser. Prior to that, he’d contact Cassandra to see if she’d had enough of this planet. Goodness knows he had. Brigit’s face fluttered before his eyes and his body tightened.

The thought of the redheaded spitfire brought an unexpected pain to his chest. He ignored it. He’d suffered far worse injuries on the battlefield. Like those, this would eventually heal. But even as the thoughts filtered through his mind, Orion wasn’t convinced of their truth. He’d survived many wounds, but none quite as deep as those caused by the fear and disappointment he’d witnessed floating in Brigit’s green eyes after he’d told her the truth.

He entered the coordinates into the onboard data system. The ship hummed to life and rose silently off the ground. He cloaked the craft from prying eyes. Perhaps once he had performed his duties Orion would return and bid Brigit a final farewell, since he had promised to do so. He shook his head. No, that wouldn’t happen. ‘Twas best this be the end for both their sakes. Orion wasn’t at all sure if he saw her again he’d be able to let her go. That thought alone scared the Zaronian fires out of him.

The urge to reach out and touch her mind was strong. His body ached with need. Orion battled it as he strapped himself into the seat and flew the ship away from a woman more dangerous to his wellbeing than any beast he’d ever encountered.

* * * * *

Brigit rushed to her hotel room, packed and checked out in record time. She knew if she hurried she could catch Orion on the highway. He couldn’t be that far ahead. She stilled as she realized she had no idea what he drove. Jeez, she forgot to ask even the most basic information all because the man could fuck like a god.

Pathetic!

If this was what mind-blowing sex did to a woman, Brigit wanted no part of it. This was her last chance to locate her friends and escape with her heart unscathed. Who was she kidding? She’d passed unscathed the moment Orion sank that ringed cock into her body. Even now she could almost feel the vibrations in her clit.

She groaned and threw her suitcase into the blue rental car, then jumped into the driver’s seat. Orion told her he was going back to his ship. Ha! She truly must have “I’m a moron” tattooed on her forehead. As much as she’d love to believe he stood on the deck of some starship, Brigit knew that right now Orion sat behind the wheel of his car probably phoning the woman he’d spoken to earlier.

Her heart gave a little flip at the thought of him leaving without saying goodbye and going to this woman. Brigit growled. She could not be jealous. Not when he’d deceived her.

As far as she was concerned, they’d said hello, goodbye and have a nice life the second he’d slipped out of her body and told her that whopper story about her friends.

Yet, he’d appeared so sincere.

And that pissed Brigit off even more. How dare he make up stories about her best friends and then act innocent? Didn’t he know how much she missed them? If he were a real man, he’d come right out and admit what he’d done and rectify it. Hell, he was probably on his way to the jungle right now. She slammed her fist onto the dashboard.

“Ow!” Brigit’s hand throbbed as she shook it out, trying to ease the pain.

She thought about Orion’s ability to speak into her mind, the wrist device that seemed to give him information, his ringed cock and the fact he wasn’t familiar with basic knowledge. Nothing made sense.

Orion didn’t seem like the type of guy who got off by hurting women. He’d been genuinely upset when he saw the blood between her thighs and was quick to assure her it hadn’t come from his rings. There was no way he was telling the truth, was there? Brigit knew only one way to find out.

She dropped her head onto the steering wheel and banged her forehead, while repeating
stupid, stupid, stupid
in her mind. When Brigit finally straightened, she had a big red mark the size of a strawberry to show for her foolishness. Her hands shook as she fought to get the key into the ignition. Hopefully with a little distance things would get better or at least clearer.
Yeah? Tell that to your heart.
She ignored the insipid little voice. It didn’t know everything.

She drove, looking for any sign of Orion. It was like trying to find a flea in a shag carpet. He’d disappeared, but at least she knew where he’d gone. She needed to get home. Maybe Jac and Rachel had returned while she was away and she could chalk this whole situation up to a huge clusterfuck. She’d check their apartments first. If she didn’t find them there, Brigit knew she’d need to make a trip to the jungle.

The one place Jac and Rachel didn’t reside was on planet Zaron. Brigit shuddered as she realized she was about to go on the long journey her horoscope warned her about. Was she up to taking a trip to the jungle?

Hell no!

Her fingers trembled as she drove back to Manhattan, breaking every speed limit along the way. She glanced in the rearview mirror, catching sight of the hoop earring Orion had placed in her ear before the contest. Her heart hurt and the sadness she felt seemed to be growing by the mile. Didn’t he say something about not being able to separate? What was she saying? She didn’t really believe that. Brigit stared a moment at her reflection in disgust. “You are so weak.”

Brigit fingered the silver hoop while her eyes returned to the road. She scanned the cars around her, noting the drivers. Her heart swelled as she saw a dark head in the distance. Could it be? She held her breath and waited. As the driver drew closer, she realized he wasn’t who she sought. Disappointment weighted her shoulders until they slumped.

The further away from the conference hotel she drove the more Brigit hurt. The pain reached viselike proportions at mile forty. If she hadn’t felt fine earlier, she would’ve gone to the nearest hospital and demanded a doctor examine her. She thought about the men in the white lab coats poking and prodding her and came close to vomiting.

What in the hell was the matter with her?

The word
linked
popped into her mind. It wasn’t possible, was it?
No!
Definitely not.
He’d probably hypnotized her or something. Yeah, that was it. He made her believe her heart would break without him. Orion was damn good, she’d give him that. Almost too good, considering she really did feel heartbroken, which was impossible since she’d only known the man for a day.

No one could fall in love in a day.

Not even her.

She reached the rental car place an hour later. It only took a few minutes for the lot attendant to examine the car and then release her. She caught a cab afterward and headed to her apartment. With any luck, Brigit would have a message waiting from Rachel and Jac. They’d know what to do about Orion.

Please don’t make me have to go down to the jungle. You guys know how much I hate bugs.

* * * * *

Orion resisted the urge to check on Brigit. Time and again his gaze shifted to the tracking panel on his control system. He knew it was wrong to place a tracking device on her, but he couldn’t resist. He glanced one last time at the panel, then gave up the fight.

The second Orion flicked the switch he knew something was wrong. Instead of the blip remaining stationary, it was moving. He frowned and his body tensed. Orion hit the side of the readout, but it remained the same. Brigit headed away from the hotel, away from him. The pain he’d felt before suddenly became much worse.

She was running.

So, she’d decided to leave without bidding him a final farewell. Had he not told her he’d return on the soonest? She’d chosen not to wait. How strong could their link be if she could leave him without a second thought? Orion slammed his fist down onto the panel, making the instruments jump. He’d been a fool.

He knew he should be pleased. Her retreat only validated Orion’s earlier decision to not return. This was the way things should be. They could not be joined like traditional Atlantean law dictated, so it was best they part company for good. Brigit had obviously come to the same conclusion he’d reached earlier. Yet, Orion was anything but pleased. How dare she leave him!