Free Fiery Match by Tierney O’Malley Page A

of becoming a mother of his child. When that happened, his job here on Earth would be done and he could go back to Rhyn, work beside his father, defend his planet, and help clean it by getting rid of the fucking greedy rats who had cost many Rhynians’ lives.
    Rhyn, a planet he loved and would continue to defend suffered in the hands of Orkinians from the planet Orkin. The smelly and pasty bastards, jealous of Rhyn’s success, penetrated their defenses by pretending to agree to a truce. The sons of bitches made sure they killed all women and children.
    Led by his father, they fought a bloody battle that lasted longer than they had expected. Strong and better-trained soldiers, they had managed to drive the Orkinians out of Rhyn, but not until after many lives were lost and only a few men had survived.
    It didn’t take long before the council leaders realized the significance of the number of deaths. Almost all child-bearing women and children were killed. The Orkinians meant to wipe them out, and had nearly succeeded on their first attack.
    With Rhynians on the verge of extinction, his father and the other leaders had thought of a way to save their race—send men to Earth to find their match. Keep the blood of Rhynians alive through women on Earth.
    And Cor wouldn’t disappoint him.
    Fuck. He must not botch his chance with Nikka. Cor took a pen from his back pocket. On the table he spread the napkin that he snagged from the coffee shop.
    With the pen poised over the napkin, he thought about Jade’s advice. Hopefully, it would help him get passed Nikka’s invisible barricade.
    His sister in-law said telling a woman she was beautiful and asking her out on their first meeting was his mistake. But she also said that if a woman said no , she actually meant yes . If she said that’s okay , be warned. She was thinking hard about how to make you pay for your mistake.
    Not only that, but Jade put a totally different meaning to the word whatever . So, if Nikka showed disinterest in him, it meant the opposite. Jade also added that watching Nikka from afar was a brilliant move. Because once he stopped showing up she would wonder why and would look for him.
    His sister in-law’s explanation about a woman’s mind nearly gave him a migraine. His brothers, Syd and Sky, however, laughed.
    Syd, was right. Deciphering a woman’s brain was tougher than solving Rhyn’s crisis. In Sky’s opinion, a woman’s brain didn’t need deciphering. Just put your head in between her legs, and she’d say whatever you want to hear.
    They laughed at that. Despite all the fun though, they all knew their father sent them here to Earth because he believed in them. Kyr proved the task to be doable, and there were perks, too. Oh, yeah. Women may be as tough as an ancient pyramid—complex, hard to break and open, but once you were inside, there were treasures to be had.
    Now, what to write. Think. Think.
    “How are you, son?”
    Cor looked up. He smiled at the elderly couple about to go in the coffee shop. They were a regular here.
    The way they were looking at him, he could tell they were wondering what he was doing loitering outside the coffee shop.
    “I’m good. How are you?”
    “Oh, just having a good walk in this rare warm Seattle weather,” the older man said, his hand still on his wife’s elbow.
    “Isn’t it a beautiful day?” The woman took a deep breath. “We’re lucky to have this kind of weather to enjoy.”
    “We are.” People in Seattle, Cor learned, loved, and appreciated sunshine as much as they loved their coffee.
    The man pointed at his pen. “You were so deep in thought. I hope you’re not contemplating anything stupid.”
    “Not stupid, but…” Cor glanced at the shop across the street. He could see Nikka through the glass window talking to her customers. “Wise and for the good of a planet.”
    “Thought so. Well, son, you should just pack up the courage and cross the street if you want to help a planet. There