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  Raine opened her eyes and checked the seals in the mirror. Each port had a tiny silver cap on it and a quick touch with her fingers confirmed that her ports were indeed covered.

  She walked to the edge of the huge soaking tub and smiled. "I will just take a quick shower and then come back for that soak."

  Minya smiled in approval and prepared a stack of towels.

  In the shower, Raine could barely contain the pleasure that vibrated through her at the touch of hot water. It seemed to be years since her skin had absorbed moisture that wasn't ingested. Gel showers were efficient and perfect for a person with the implants, but the quick-hardening slime was less than satisfying as a cleaning mechanism. Water, however, was perfect.

  Knowing that a hot bath waited made her shower for cleansing purposes only. She exited from the shower and wrapped herself in the fluffiest robe she had ever put on. Patting on bare feet, she blushed when she noticed Minya waiting to take her robe.

  "I am your maid while you are here, Madam Raine, best you get used to my assistance." The maid slid the robe from her shoulders and helped her into the tub.

  As the water churned around her, she smiled. She just might be able to get used to this environment. Now, if only her implants would stop humming, she might just be able to relax.

  Chapter Three

  The beds on Yosh had to be made of puffy clouds, because when she sat up and Minya placed a tray on her lap, she realized that she hadn't slept that well in years. "Is it morning?"

  "Yes, Madam. You slept for eighteen hours. It is amazing what relaxation can do for your rest. Now, have some water. You are dehydrated."

  Meekly, Raine rubbed at her eyes with one hand while holding a glass to her lips with her other. When the first glass was empty, another was placed on her tray.

  "I have booked some spa treatments for you. Your skin is rather dry and you have enough tension in your shoulders to enable me to break rocks on them."

  Raine grinned and shrugged, "It's an occupational hazard. It isn't a natural thing to run electronics through one's brain. It takes a toll." She drank the second glass of water and then started to squirm slightly.

  Minya nodded and lifted the tray. "Your breakfast will be waiting at the table."

  After the necessary events of morning were taken care of, she put on the fluffy bathrobe waiting for her and returned to the bedroom. "Wow, you are fast."

  The room looked pristine, as if Raine had not just spent close to a Terran day asleep in that huge bed.

  Minya finished shoving the used sheets into a cleaning cabinet and she nodded. "I do this for a living, Madam."

  A dome had been put over her breakfast, keeping it hot for her return. A selection of cured meats, eggs, toast and fruit waited for her. Memories of her last meal on Earth rioted in her mind as she took her first bites.

  "It tastes like…home."

  Minya grinned. "I will tell the staff. They were concerned that they hadn't gotten the textures right. They slaved over your breakfast all night."

  Raine chuckled. "So, I should expect a lunch at sundown?"

  "No, Madam. Now that we know we have found your correct taste zone as well as dietary requirements, everything will be adapted for your species specifications."

  "When do you sleep, Minya?"

  "I slept last night. I have a room on the main floor and an alarm sounds in my room if you get out of bed, alerting me to your needs."

  "That is a little much. Can't you just tell me when you are on duty and I will move my schedule around you?"

  Minya smiled. "It doesn't work that way. I am only explaining it to you so that you are aware of what is going on around you. I believe it is important for you to be aware of what the staff here is used to so that you will understand the attitudes of the guests here. They expect us to be available no matter the time of day or how tired we are. You are an unusual guest and the others will expect you to act like they do."

  The maid went to the wardrobe and withdrew a glittering piece of fabric and a pair of jewelled sandals. "This will help you to blend in. The management has provided a full wardrobe for you so that you won't experience any uncomfortable moments. There is a jewel chest within the drawer of the dressing table. You can select whatever you wish."

  Curious and with a mouthful of toast, Raine got to her feet and investigated the drawer, choking at the cask of jewels and gems that met her gaze. It took a lot of swallowing and coughing, but eventually, she got herself back under control. "Is there some kind of deposit I have to leave?"

  "No, Madam. They are at your disposal so that you will feel at home here."

  With Minya's help, she got dressed and slipped into the sandals. Minya selected jewels that made Raine's eyes look huge in the mirror. The sarong was a clingy platinum and the blue green pearls made her skin glow and her eyes seem dreamy. Her hair was arranged in a loose tumble that framed her features and when Minya was finished fussing, Raine had to admit that she looked fabulous.

  "Someone at the front desk will take you to the spa. A full range of body and skin care has been scheduled and before you know it, you will be one hundred percent."

  The soft slap of her sandals kept her company as she left her private house and made her way through the fragrant gardens surrounding her home away from home.

  An attendant welcomed her to the reception area and led her through silent halls to the spa. The masseuse had strong hands and the intoxicating flowers were blooming in a pot nearby. After an hour of being forcibly relaxed, Raine was soaked, buffed, polished, trimmed and plucked until she was sure that every inch of skin was throbbing with awareness and abrasion.

  Back in her sandals and gown with her hair up in an elaborate and gem-studded arrangement, she followed her nose to the dining room. The staff came to her without her beckoning and in a moment, she was seated with a server all her own standing by.

  By the time she finished selecting her food, two of the other guests had arrived and were being seated.

  It was the first time she had seen other guests up close. In the spa, walls had separated them and she had heard a few other females and males but had not been exposed to them.

  One couple had a very unattractive male with a Selna female in elegant garb. The woman looked to her companion, but the male smiled at Raine, exposing dangerously pointed teeth.

  Uncomfortable, she adjusted her field of vision to the new couple coming into the dining room. They were aloof, elegant and didn't give her more than a passing glance.

  The dining room went from pleasant to prickly in a moment and when her server attended her again, the woman whispered, "The management has requested your presence in the private dining room. Please, come with me."

  Relieved, she got to her feet and followed the woman to a set of invisible doors that appeared as a hairline crack in the wall before swinging open. The other inhabitants of the dining room stared as she followed her server through the huge doors.

  The crystals that made up the walls took on a rougher-hewn look as they walked the twenty feet to the room with one occupant.

  Raine blinked in surprise as she recognized the species from the latest Terran Times instalment, dragon shifters that had become creatures of human, as well as a number of other species, mythologies. Drai or Draikyn were one of the oldest races in the Alliance and it was only since the entry of Terrans to the Alliance that the dragons had resurfaced.

  He stood and bowed from the waist, his elegant movements in complete concert with his white vest and dark trousers. His midnight hair slid slowly over one shoulder, caressing his neck as he raised his head, his aqua eyes twinkling. "Welcome to Yosh, Raine Burke."

  His huge bat wings flexed and shivered as he straightened to his full seven-foot height.

  "Thank you."

  "I am your host, Orell Kovik. Are you enjoying your stay?"

  He moved around the table and pulled out her chair. She took her seat carefully, keeping the long slit of her gown as closed as she could manage
while he stood over her.

  "I am enjoying my stay so far. The hospitality offered here has been exceptional." She touched her neck self-consciously. Those aqua eyes of his were focussed on her implants.

  "Pardon my stare, but I have not seen a woman with data jacks in her head before. Do they bother you at all?" He took his seat across from her and nodded to the server.

  The server opened another section of wall and retreated through it.

  At his bald question, she answered him frankly. "I have experienced a bit of buzzing recently, so I will probably have to have them overhauled when I next go to the dispatch centre. It has become a rather annoying counterpoint to the serenity here."

  She rubbed at her forehead a little and then put a bright smile on her face. "So, you are the management?"

  "I am the owner of Yosh as well as the resort, yes." He leaned back in his chair and his wings extended out to either side, framing his bronze body in dark, satiny skin.

  She swallowed as some of the dreams she had had the previous night flickered into her consciousness. Half-forgotten images of wings, hands and lips on hers burned to life in her mind where before she had only had a faded memory of sensual warmth.

  A blush came to her cheeks and she folded her hands in her lap. "Is it a family business?"

  He grinned at her discomfort. "No, I am the original owner. I designed the resort and then went for a nap while it ran quietly, supporting itself as I slept."

  A ripple of unease went through Raine. The possessiveness in his gaze was unmistakable and her last medical check had taken longer than necessary. "I see. So you are one of the Drai sleepers that have been making themselves known of late?"

  He inclined his head. "I am. Centuries of silence and then you were nestled above me for weeks. How was I to resist?"

  She leaned forward, a dangerous manoeuvre in her wrap gown, and glared at him. "You are not making yourself quite clear and I value clarity."

  The server returned with glasses of water and wine, setting selections in front of Orell before placing hers in front of Raine.

  He sipped at his wine and watched her carefully. "You are the female that the Alliance has authorized to be my wife. Your genetics are a baseline match and all alterations for compatibility have been made already. There is only one thing standing in the way of my courtship of you."

  She blinked. "I thought it had all been arranged."

  "Arrangements are nothing if there can be no feeling between us. Drai courtship has several stages and with you, I cannot even begin the most basic of all overtures." He propped his chin up on his fist.

  "There is a certain amount of frustration to that, but I am sure that things will be settled in the end. I simply need to engage in patience and that is something my generation of Drai excel at."

  She bit her lip as courses of food began to appear. "What are the stages of courtship?" She lifted her fork and began to tease her salad.

  "The first contact is the dream. The second is the song that the male sings so that the female becomes used to his mental touch. The third is for the female to admit she has gotten the contact efforts from the male. Then the fourth is almost final. You must come to my home and approve of it as your own. The fifth level is consummation. That one is self-explanatory."

  He spread his words between bites as each sentence gave her a bit of insight into his motivation and the actions he described.

  "I see. Anything else?" She sat back as the servant removed her plate and replaced it with the next course.

  "Yes. The Baku crime family has placed a price on your head. Three representatives of their organization are in the outer room and if I do not hand you over to them, they will attack Yosh with all of their available ships in an effort to retain your person for their purposes." He continued to eat the next course as if he hadn't a care in the world.

  Her mind flashed her images of the Hiral with his shark-like smile, the Prial couple with their lack of eye contact, a peculiar behaviour for a curious species. "They want me? A price on my head?"

  She ate absently, her mind whirling at the danger that lurked only a dozen metres away.

  "Yes. Apparently, the relay stations that you have set up are impervious to attack. They want you for the purpose of either hacking into existing systems or creating systems for them. You are quite popular in certain circles." His grin showed extended canines.

  Her smile was weak. "Yeah, who knew?"

  He remained remarkably calm as she went into a spiral of confusion. As if there were no true danger, they ate their meal, course after course, in silence while she tried to find a way out of her one conclusion.

  She was screwed.

  Chapter Four

  "What the hell am I supposed to do?" The aggression that burst out of her was unlike her, but the pain in her mind was growing with every moment. The static was building to a horrible pitch and since she didn't know what was causing it, the fear and confusion were taking over.

  "Raine, is there something wrong?" He left his chair and was at her side in an instant.

  "The pain in my implants. There has been static with me for weeks, but the pain is new."

  "This static, has it been only a few weeks?"

  She gritted her teeth as a wave of pain washed through her thoughts. "Yes."

  Through her narrowed eyes, she saw him pale. In a second, the pain receded to a more tolerable irritation.

  "What did you do?" She slumped in relief.

  "I took some of the pressure off. A specialist will be here in a day or two. She will take a look at the implants for you. I have heard that for some, they act as a low-grade infection." His face was incredibly close and she couldn't help but notice the enticing scent coming from his skin.

  Blushing, she closed her eyes and rubbed her forehead. "The pain hadn't reached that level of intensity before. Whatever is going wrong is picking up speed."

  "Don't worry about it. Now, what shall I tell the crime family waiting in the dining room?"

  She blinked. "You aren't going to collect the price on my head?"

  He laughed--a low sound that crept inside her and plucked nerves that had spent too much time alone. "Of course not. I have my own designs on you. I just wanted you to be aware of what was going on. We will send them away and they will return. Hopefully, we will be ready for them when they come back to collect you."

  "We?"

  He took her hand in his own. "We. Whether we progress beyond this moment of partnership or not, we will definitely be a we while facing your enemies."

  She straightened her shoulders and fought the rising nausea. "Then, I suppose we should start by telling them that they can leave without me."

  He smiled and nodded to the servant hovering in the doorway. The woman bobbed a quick curtsey and disappeared down the hall.

  "Denna will send the message, Tvoro will make them leave. Would you care to get some fresh air?"

  She nodded, on the verge of tears. Shifting emotions had never been easy for her, even as a child. Tears were always her default for the frustration of altering direction and shocking information. She had cried when her mother was diagnosed with cancer, cried when she underwent failing treatment and had shocked her family when she didn't shed a tear at the funeral.

  Raine had reacted to shock but not to the loss. She calculated the loss as part of the initial information. Calculation was her life.

  "Yes, I believe that it would be nice to go for a bit of a walk."

  He took her by the hand and a wall opened up for them as they left the private dining room.

  "That is a lovely trick."

  Orell grinned. "Most Drai can manipulate their homes. I installed the secret entrances and exits in the property when I constructed it centuries ago."

  "You have been here for centuries?" They passed the gardens and slowly paced their way to the beach.

  "More or less. When I was told that my true mate would not be travelling the stars for several generations, I purchased thi
s unoccupied world, built the resort and spa as well as a home on the sea."

  Raine fought the urge to freeze in place. Since she had been a child, her dreams had contained dragons and a green castle on the sea. After she adapted to the short, sharp shock that his words had sent through her, she straightened her shoulders again and paced with him toward the sea.

  The ocean breezes tugged at her skirt, pulling it away from her legs as they walked on the paved stone path next to the beach.

  "You have been awake here for that long?"

  "No, as soon as the building was finished, I set up the organizational system for the spa and resort and went to sleep. It made enough money over the time I was sleeping to have paid for Yosh twice over."

  She nodded. "A good business plan. Apparently, I am not the only one who likes to plan ahead."

  He chuckled and tucked her hand in the crook of his arm. Her fingertips memorized the flex of every muscle under her touch.

  "Drai are notorious for collecting financial security. We crave it like some species crave air."

  Raine noted that he carefully blocked the full force of wind from her by a slow flexing of his wings. The courtly action made her smile.

  "So, why was I treated to a full makeover when I arrived?"

  He looked her over. "You work hard. You deserve to be treated well when not on active duty."

  She raised her eyebrows. "Will there be an active duty here on Yosh if your courtship is successful?"

  "A woman with your talents needs to be able to use them. With a little help and organization, I believe that there is a position here for you that will challenge and occupy your intellect whenever you so choose."

  She paused and looked up at him with amazement. "You are serious."

  Orell leaned down and pressed a soft kiss on her lips. "I am always serious."

  She went up on her toes as he continued the contact, his lips firm and warm, parting hers. Her nipples scraped against the silk of her dress, her belly tingled and she clenched and unclenched her hands as they shared the one point of connection.

  The static rose in her mind again, as suddenly as it had cut off before, and she cried out as she staggered back.