“Enough,” Coto grumbled.

“I’m talking you up to her. Be cool.” Vhon smiled at Lynn. “I would totally say yes to him if I were a girl. He’s got lots of muscles and all our warriors have big swords.” He wiggled his eyebrows. “And we know how to use them. We have stamina too. Lots of that.”

Lynn couldn’t help but laugh. Vhon wasn’t what she had expected and he had a good sense of humor.

“Enough,” Coto repeated.

Vhon sucked in a deep breath and shot Coto an irritated look. “Fine. I’m trying to help you out.” He caught Lynn’s eye. “You’ll enjoy our food. I have three sisters-in-law and a stepmother from Earth. They love Zorn and are happy to live there. You’ll have a built-in Earth family. I’m done now.”

A faint buzz sounded and Coto reached down and pulled out one of those communicator devices from his pocket. “It must be one of our ships.” He pushed a button, making the sides of it light up. “This is Coto.”

“It is good you are alive. What is the status of Argis Vhon?” The man had a raspy voice.

“We all survived the crash. There are none seriously injured. Our ship was destroyed. How long until you can reach us?”

“Eighteen hours.”

“We will be ready. There is cleanup to be done.”

“Understood. Ending transmission.”

Coto turned it off and returned it to his pocket. He held Lynn’s gaze. “Our time is shorter than I estimated.”

He was leaving in the morning. She wasn’t certain how to feel about that. It wasn’t as if he were moving to another town or even another country. It would be impossible for her to visit him. She glanced up at the blue sky, then him. Her chest tightened and it was difficult to breathe.

“Why don’t we all go inside?” Vhon motioned to the other men.

“We should return to our camp,” Holion argued.

“Geez, you’re thickheaded.” Vhon sighed. “Get inside and give them a little privacy.” He spun, striding toward the broken front door. “Follow me. That’s an order as your Argis. Not you, Coto.”

Lynn waited until they were alone and swallowed hard. Coto stepped closer and brushed her hair away from her cheek. They just stared at each other until she finally couldn’t take the silence anymore.

“Are you coming back to Earth soon?”

“It’s uncertain. Berrr won’t be happy that we were attacked. He might station a war ship to protect the planet from Collis. It would mean they’d have to stay far enough away to prevent Earth from detecting us. He’ll also be concerned that we weren’t able to hide our visit and might ban anyone from returning here for a long time. We don’t wish to frighten humans.”

“Oh.”

“It’s possible I won’t be able to return for years, if ever.”

That pain in her chest increased.

“Have you considered leaving with me?”

Part of her was tempted to say yes. It was a terrifying concept though. She’d have to leave behind everyone and everything she knew and face so many uncertainties that she had a difficult time trying to imagine them. She had a job, a house payment, and how could she give up one life for another?

“Can you stay here with me? I mean, you could always contact Zorn if you wanted to go home later.”

“I can’t do that, Lynn.” He wrapped his fingers around the back of her neck, gently cupping her there. “It would be impossible for me to fit into your society.”

She studied his features, knowing he spoke the truth.

“We’re aware of the kind of reception Earth could give an alien. We’ve been studying your society. They would fear me, examine me, and I wouldn’t live long in captivity. They wouldn’t allow you to be with me. I’d face certain death.”

He was right. She knew it. They’d probably dissect him within a week of discovering him. That would be the least of it, if the military wanted to torture him to learn everything they could about his people and their technology.

Coto tried hard to think of what to say to convince Lynn to return to Zorn with him. “I’d do anything to make you happy. I know you reacted badly when I told you women and men are not equal on my planet. I’m larger and physically stronger but I see you as my equal. We would be married.” He wasn’t sure if it would be a good thing or not to point it out but she was a woman. “We can have children. It’s been done. Our races are compatible.”

“Do you want children?”

He couldn’t determine from her expression or tone how she hoped he would answer. He decided to be honest. “I would with you. I would be honored for you to be the mother of my sons and daughters.”

“I have family and friends…”

“I understand that. It would be difficult for you, but you would have me. We would have each other. There, you would have a family of your heart. They will accept you with gladness. You will have other Earth women to talk to and spend time with. I’m certain you will grow close to them and bond.”

“I don’t know. This is so fast.”

He was losing her. A sense of panic struck. He didn’t want to leave her behind and never see her again. Argernon had just taken his Casey. It was tempting to toss Lynn over his shoulder and refuse to let her go. Casey had forgiven her bound. They were happy. It was possible though that she’d grow to hate him. He couldn’t stand it if he hurt Lynn and caused her pain. The choice must be hers.

“Stay with me until our ship arrives. It will give us more time.”

“You found Vhon, and I have to get back to my life. I’ll also need to report Mr. Avery’s death.” She grimaced. “That’s going to be a nightmare. They’ll look for a murder suspect. I’ll wait until tomorrow afternoon to do that, and find an excuse to head to his cabin then, after you’re gone. I’ll lie and say I just found him.”

“Stay with me tonight.”

“Jimmy’s place is close and that’s where I left my SUV. I really do need to go back. It would be bad if they sent out a search party for me and came across you and your men. You need time to clean up. I heard what you said.”

He leaned down and just took her mouth, kissing her. He put his emotions into it. Lynn responded and he wrapped both his arms around her. She dropped the shotgun on the ground and clung to him. He resisted the urge to take her to the ground. Anyone could walk out of the human dwelling. She finally pulled her mouth from his and he stared deeply into her eyes.