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“You are quite welcome.” He started to reach for her hair, only to pause and seemingly reconsider touching her before dropping his hand to his side.

Holly wanted to invite him to touch her, but she wasn’t sure the best way to go about it. And before they got handsy with each other, shouldn’t they get to know one another a little better first?

“Am I truly healed? I, um, had a problem with my heart. A birth defect I only recently learned about.” Her cheeks heated.

Now that she was faced with the alien warrior the Intergalactic Dating Agency had matched her with, she couldn’t help but feel a tad guilty for signing up for the VAMOB program just to save her own life.

Would Errik look down upon her for doing so? Would he feel used?

And why wasn’t he answering her question?

He stepped closer and started reaching for her again. This time, he didn’t pause or change his mind. He gently brushed her hair behind her ears, so slowly, so carefully, as his eyes gleamed with a look of reverence that made Holly’s throat tighten. He was looking at her as though he cared for her deeply. But that was crazy. They’d only just met.

“Yes, my darling mate,” he finally said, still caressing her hair, allowing his fingers to occasionally graze her neck. “Yes, you are truly healed. The nanobots will heal all illnesses and all but the gravest of injuries, such as dismemberment. Or so I’ve been told.”

It took her a moment to absorb the truth. His words echoed in her head. Gradually, her mind started to grasp how quickly her circumstances had changed.

She was healed.

She wasn’t going to die after all.

Her throat burned anew, her chest heaved with emotion, and she suddenly burst into tears.

Mortified, she covered her face and turned away from Errik.

Oh, God. Was she really crying in front of him?

They’d just met. It was too soon for this kind of thing. In her entire life, she’d never cried in front of anyone but her parents and brother. That was it. No one else.

The idea of crying in front of any man made her feel too vulnerable. Too weak. She didn’t like it. She wished she could stop. But the tears kept coming.

All at once, huge arms surrounded her, and she found herself leaning against Errik’s broad, muscular chest. As he hugged her, his hands moved up and down her back, and he kept murmuring strange words to her that she didn’t understand. It took her a second to realize he was speaking to her softly in his native Vaxxlian.

“I’m sorry,” she said, still unable to stop the flow of tears. “It’s just… learning that I had a heart defect was so shocking. And then I couldn’t afford the surgery that would save my life or make it to the hospital that could perform the surgery. I feared I would die. The doctor from the clinic next door told me that without the surgery, I only had a few months left at best. Then she encouraged me to sign up for the VAMOB program. She told me about the healing nanobots and said it was my best shot at survival.”

He hugged her tighter and continued murmuring to her in his native tongue. Though she couldn’t understand the words he spoke, they still brought her comfort. And his tone remained calm and gentle. He wasn’t yelling at her or accusing her of using him for his nanobots… even though that was precisely what she’d done.

“I still plan to mate with you!” she blurted, pulling back to meet his eyes. She flushed. “Please don’t worry that I’m going to back out. I made a deal and I intend to honor it. I just hope you don’t think badly of me for…” Her voice trailed off as her throat tightened further and she found herself unable to speak.

Errik’s visage softened, and he shifted her in his arms, cupping her face with one hand while he continued rubbing her back with his other hand. His nearness and his touch were overwhelming but in a good way. A way that made tingles ripple throughout her body. And his scent was so masculine and pleasing. Pine and cinnamon and something else she couldn’t quite name.

“I do not think badly of you, Holly,” he finally said. “I am pleased that you decided to sign up for the VAMOB program, no matter your reasons for doing so. You are no longer alone.”

Alone? Was it that obvious that she had no one?

Her throat burned anew, but by some miracle, she didn’t burst into tears all over again. She sniffled and blinked fast, but she managed to hold herself together.

Errik gently wiped her tears away with his thumbs. As he did so, his eyes gleamed with compassion and understanding. It was the sort of intimate moment she’d always tried to avoid with previous love interests. It was the sort of interaction that might’ve sent her running for the hills in another life.

In another life…

This was her chance for a fresh start and a new adventure the likes of which she’d never dared to imagine.

By giving her the nanobots, Errik had saved her life. Even if she hadn’t signed the VAMOB agreement and promised to become his mate, she would not feel right rejecting him.

She wanted to honor the promise.

Not because she felt she owed it to him, even though a little part of her did feel that way, but because when he looked at her like that, as though she meant something to him, it filled her with wonder and hope for the future.