Free Lady by Viola Grace Page A

first date. They always had a dozen distracting comments that hid the one she was looking for. They didn’t want to see her again.
    She was the epitome of an ice queen. Her blood refused to heat no matter how intense the cuddling got. Human men just couldn’t counteract her cool body temperature.
    “Can his body handle the cold?”
    Norz smiled. “I can safely say that, yes, yes, he can.”
    She looked around at the empty house that she had once dreamed of filling with children and a husband. Julian had his family and she wanted hers. If she had to head to the stars to find it, so be it.
    “Where do I sign?”
    Jules smiled and gave her shoulder a squeeze before he warmed his hand on his coffee cup. “Good. I will take care of your place.”
    “Don’t worry about that, Jules. You and the family can use it as a summer cabin or a second home. I want it to be lived in. I have always wanted a family here.” She wrapped her arms around her and smiled.
    Norz brought up a contract on the screen. “Read it and sign it. We can bring you to the space station today if you don’t mind.”
    “Jules, will you make my goodbyes?”
    “No need. Laura and the kids are on their way up right now. I am fairly sure that Decker already has a list of items he would like you to ship to him from outer space. I don’t know if you can, but humour him.”
    Rox smiled and flicked through the contract. She agreed to remain on Irudan for no less than three years and to act as a bride for the man who had applied for a Terran mate. She could do three years, and it wouldn’t do her any harm to get a grip on her talent.
    Living in Alaska was the best disguise her family had come up with when they had to flee Siberia. The talent for cold ran through all of them, but Roxelena was the first girl born to the family in five generations. She got the full blast of cold and wore it in her body each and every day.
    She read the earnings report and the benefit potential for the contract and signed her name with her finger, using her thumb as final proof of agreement. She handed the tablet back to Norz. “There you go. Where is your ship?”
    “Just around the mountainside on what your brother termed the goat track.”
    Rox nodded. “Right. Well, if you want to get out of here before they arrive, you had best leave now. There is a vehicle and four heat signatures coming toward us.”
    Jules smiled. “Is it them?”
    Rox chuckled. “Well two of the heat signatures are bouncing with incredible regularity, so I think Laura is playing their video while she drives.”
    Recruiter Norz clutched his tablet as if it was a holy relic. “I will get this filed and wait for you to finish your farewells to your family. They will receive a com unit so that you can keep in touch. I understand how important roots can be to your kind.”
    Rox inclined her head. “Thank you for your understanding. Now, unless you want to deal with my nephews and niece, I suggest you take the goat path. I will be with you in two hours.”
    He gave her a sharp bow and left the room, heading for the back door.
    Rox looked at her brother. “That explains how you two got in.”
    He grinned. “That and you never lock your door.”
    Rox smiled. “I am glad that you brought him here. I was getting a little frustrated.”
    “I know. I have seen your mounting irritation with the world around you and this is the fastest way to change that that I could think of.”
    She chuckled. “Is that just because four out of five of Laura’s friends that you set me up with are no longer talking to her?”
    “Yes, the one who does, talks about the one truly cold woman he ever met. It is narrowing down your options for a spouse.” Her brother smiled. “I have done most of your packing for you. You are allowed to take one duffel, so I filled it full of your favourite things.”
    She laughed. “You knew I was going to say yes?”
    He smiled sadly. “I know you have no other choice. You want a life and