Louis had caramel-colored skin and curly hair he’d kept cropped. She’d always damned the fact she’d inherited her mother’s paler skin, but she had her father’s hair. She stuck the photo into the pocket of her backpack. He’d always insisted that a paper picture was worth more than the digital kind, and she honored the fact by carrying this piece of paper around with her. It never left the ship, but with Promiseso banged up, she decided it was worth taking. Besides, her other good luck charm was gone for now.
She headed toward the side door and manually pushed it open.
The metal felt hot to the touch, still warm after entering the planet’s atmosphere, but the rush of cool air from outside struck her face. She enjoyed the way it caressed her curls away from her face. The sweat that had built up beneath her clothes cooled as it dried.
At least Promiseseemed to be pretty tightly lodged in the branches, because it didn’t shift with her movements.
For a second, she cursed herself for opening the door without a moment’s hesitation. What if she needed an oxygen mask on this planet? For all she knew, there could have been poisonous gas in the air. Not every planet in the galaxy was oxygen-based.
She shook her head, disgusted at her absentminded behavior.
Luckily, she confirmed the oxygen content by taking a quick gulp of air.
Alex stepped outside but couldn’t find firm ground. She tumbled forward, flying through the air as her hands clawed to grab at the branches striking her face and body on the way down.
When she finally landed, it was on top of something firm that made a sound and collapsed beneath her.
Alex felt the undeniable beating of another’s heart against her chest.
As she scrambled to press her hands against the leafy ground to lift her body, she met the blazing green eyes of a dark-haired man lying underneath her. The color stood out in his dark face so much, her breath caught for a second. He had to be the most stunning man she’d ever laid eyes on. With his black, dreadlocked hair framing his face, she couldn’t help but stare.
She was straddling him, their noses only centimeters from touching. The stranger widened his eyes as he returned her stare.
“Uh, sorry…and thanks,” she whispered. “I didn’t mean to squash you, but I appreciate you breaking my fall.” Even if her ribs throbbed, rubbing against his.
“You…you fell out of the sky.” The guy seemed amazed, as if a miracle had just occurred-not just a woman falling out of a tree, because she hadn’t been looking while she was vacating her ship.
“I fell out of the tree. My ship’s up there. I crash-landed on this planet.” Alex lifted her chest off his and sat back on his hips to take a proper look at the man. His arms were pinned down at his sides, kept in place by her thighs. Even so, she could see how muscular he was, in the same athletic way as Ulric. His arms were sculpted with muscle, and judging by the looks of the jungle around them, Alex wondered if this was some sort of rural civilization.
His eyes were shiny. “I watched the fireball descend, but I wasn’t sure if it was a ship or a meteor. We rarely have any visitors here.”
“I’m not exactly a visitor.” She watched his reaction. “Can you tell me what planet I’m on?”
“This is the planet Eden.”
“Eden? I’ve travelled through space all of my life and have never heard of Eden.” No wonder it hadn’t been listed on her navigation maps.
“No, you wouldn’t have. We’re a small planet, hidden behind the moon of Paradise. No one ever notices our planet long enough to think about landing here.” The man’s facial structure was amazing. His chiseled jaw, high cheekbones, and nose were very impressive.
Alex couldn’t stop looking at him. He was exquisite, gorgeous in a very manly way. The color of his skin was the same shade she’d always wished had graced hers. It’s the same color as Daddy’s.
No, she couldn’t let memories crowd her, now. She had to work out a way to get help and get Promiseup and running. “Listen. I need someone to take a look at my ship,” she said, still trying to shake the crazy thoughts. The last thing she needed right now was to find herself in a new attraction, after running from another. Then again, she haddecided she’d get involved with another man the first time someone interesting popped up. She shook her head. Not now, later.“My ship’s damaged pretty badly.”
The man’s eyes darkened, but he didn’t answer.
“Did you hear what I said? I need to get someone to take a look at my ship, sooner rather than later.”
“We have mechanics, but not the sort who can fix a…spaceship.” His voice was low, eyes scanning the canopy of tall trees above as if he were trying to locate her ship.
“How can that be true? Who repairs yourships, then?”
“We don’t have any spaceships.”
“Surely you’ve got a shipping dock? Where’s that?” It wasn’t as if she came in the proper way. Surely someone on this planet would have seen her breach their atmosphere without permission.
He shook his head.
For the first time, she wondered if he was comfortable. Alex still had him pinned, and she hadn’t yet made a move to get off him. She had to admit, there was something really exciting about being so close to this strange man-almost calming. That sounds totally stupid.Her brain was still muddled from the accident, memories, and all the other weird shit she’d put up with today.
“How do your people get in and out of here, then?”
“We don’t,” he answered. “As I’ve already mentioned, we don’t have ships. So, we don’t travel outside of Eden.”
Her eyes narrowed as she glared down at him suspiciously. “That’s impossible.”
“The people of Eden don’t get visitors, and we don’t visit anyone. We’re more than happy in our village.”
“Then how am I supposed to get out of here? Like pretty much everything else on the ship, my communicator’s fried. Do you at least have that? Some sort of communication device I can use to call someone off this planet?” Alex felt as if she were falling into a very dark tunnel. A tunnel leading her into a very strange and out-of-the-way planet that she couldn’t escape.
She had a life in the stars. A job, a lover…
I can’t be stranded, here.Not now and not when she’d left Ulric because of her need to be free.
“We have electronic ways of contacting others on the planet, but not outside. I’m really sorry.”
“Then, how am I supposed to get off this rock?”
“You can’t get off,” the guy whispered. “Though, I can take care of you. Take you back to my village and provide shelter, food, and drink-”