Free Warrior Invasion: A Science Fiction Alien Mail Order Bride Romance (TerraMates Book 10) by Lisa Lace

minds. Troxeo had never known anyone who had experienced such a thing. If they did, they would probably be too embarrassed to talk about it.
    He had no connection with Katie’s body, not in the obvious sense. Troxeo hadn’t experienced sex with the woman. But he swore he could feel her heart beat to the same rhythm as his. And he felt a deeper sense, a primal desire to know more about her and understand her thoughts.
    Did that mean she was his eleste? Maybe he was just fascinated by a new, shiny plaything.
    “Hello? Troxeo?” Arkhan interrupted his thoughts, and a grin was on his lips. “At any rate, I’m happy to keep the human occupied for you while she’s on board the ship. You know, keep an eye on her, make sure she doesn’t try to kill herself or find a way to escape, keep her bed warm at night...”
    Troxeo was on his feet before he knew it, leaning down over his cousin. “You won’t touch her!” He wanted to sink his teeth into Arkhan’s throat and rip it out. Every ounce of his body was alive and pulsed with a wild urge that had driven all logic out of him.
    Arkhan put his hands up in a placating gesture, but the wicked grin hadn’t left his face. “Easy now, Trox. I had no idea you felt so strongly about the cargo. After all, you’ve been talking about what a disgusting creature she is. I took you at your word.”
    “She is my prisoner, and she is under my protection.” Troxeo’s voice sounded rough and gravelly. He tried to look calm, but his muscles were too tense to allow him to sit down again.
    On Oretoz, a man and a woman who decided to mate only stayed together for a season. It was enough to ensure there would be a new life to carry on their legacy. A woman was under the protection of her mate while she grew the baby inside her, safe from harm with a strong man at her side during the only time in her life she was vulnerable.
    But when a man found his eleste, the connection was different. Instead of being marked as a mate for a few months, the bond was for a lifetime. Something happened during the mating process that changed both of them. Arkhan wondered which sort of protection Troxeo meant.
    “Is she now?” Arkhan sat back in his chair, folded his hands against his abdomen, and looked up at his cousin calmly. He had always been content to let others think they were getting the better of him while he gained the upper hand. Troxeo knew this fact about him, but still often found himself trapped. “I wasn’t aware that you had taken those steps.”
    Troxeo groaned. “I meant she is under my protection because I captured her. If you think I am implying anything else, you’re delusional.”
    Arkhan nodded. “That all sounds good, cousin, but there’s a problem. What could you do if someone else were to lay his claim on Katie? Then you wouldn’t have any control at all.” He laughed a little. “I won’t pretend to be an expert on humans. My sample size is one. But I find it difficult to believe that she understands how things work for us. How could she know that women have the advantage over the men on Oretoz? They are the ones who decide when it’s time to mate and when it’s not. I’d be willing to bet I could do what I wanted to with her. I could go into her room, peel back her thin bodysuit, and run my hands over every curve of her little body. She would have no idea that the fact that I’m physically stronger than her doesn’t give me all the power in our interaction. If she said no, I would have no choice but to stop.”
    The image Arkhan projected was something Troxeo had already imagined time after time in his mind. Why was Chixo compelled to give the human an outfit that was barely more than a second skin? It was a darker blue than her haunting eyes, but it only seemed to intensify their color. She had already driven him mad with desire when she wore the clothes from Earth. Seeing her dressed like an Oretoz woman nearly made him tremble inside. It made her look powerful and