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Eva spoke in a calm tone, but Crystal could tell that was just a façade. She was certain Eva felt as freaked out as Crystal did right now.
But Crystal refused to be a meek little lamb cowering in a corner. She glared at the two uniformed men standing between them and the door.
“What is going on?” she demanded.
As if on cue, the door slid open. Crystal turned to see another gorgeous hunk of man step into the room. His honey-blond hair fell in waves to his shoulders, and his uniform jacket, adorned with three small gold ovals on the stand-up collar, hugged his broad, muscled chest.
The man’s deep turquoise eyes turned to Eva, and her breathing seemed to stop. He smiled, and her breath expelled. Crystal watched as Eva’s wide-eyed gaze remained locked on him as he moved to stand in front of them. This man seemed to be having the same effect on Eva as Terrien had on Crystal.
“Good evening, ladies. I’d like to welcome you to our ship, the Patira Alana. I am Commander Larson Raa-ling, the first officer. I’m sure this has been quite a shock for you.”
“Yeah, no kidding,” Crystal said.
“I want to assure you, you will not be harmed,” he continued.
“What do you want from us?” Jenna asked, her voice quavering.
“Let me explain why we have brought you here.”
He sat in the chair facing them and settled back into the cushioned upholstery. The tapered line of his uniform accentuated his broad shoulders and slim waist. From the fascinated expression on Eva’s face, she seemed to be mentally stripping away his uniform piece by piece.
Crystal could imagine his dark green jacket slipping away, followed by the shirt beneath, to reveal muscular arms and tight, ridged stomach muscles. He was a fine specimen, and she would love to fuck him, but when she tried to imagine it, images of Terrien replaced him.
“There is a power in the universe that takes a hand in our lives,” the commander said. “We call it nata’tai. It provides the means to keep us healthy, as individuals and as races.”
“We don’t want a lesson in alien religion,” Crystal sniped.
“To stay healthy,” he continued, “a race must grow. It must embrace other cultures. It must open its gene pool to other races, otherwise it will stagnate. Physically, emotionally and culturally.”
“Oh, my God, they’ve brought us here as breeding stock.” Jenna’s face paled.
Breeding stock? Crystal glanced at the other two women.
Eva held Jenna’s hand, her lips a tight line. Crystal sensed she was nearing the end of her rope. Eva stared at Commander Raa-ling and shifted in her seat. Her face went pale, and she seemed absolutely terrified.
“You have not been brought here to be sex slaves,” the commander reassured. “As a race matures, nata’tai gives its people the ability to sense their tanash’ae—what you would call their soul-mate—even over great distances. To ensure a mingling of races, nata’tai directs the spirits of tanash’aei—soul-mates—to be born in different races on different planets.”
“Soul-mates?” Jenna repeated in a hushed tone.
“That’s right. Each of you is the soul-mate of a member of this crew. That’s why you’ve been brought here. To meet your tanash’ae.”
“So you intend to convince us we’re in love with some guy, then use us for breeding,” Crystal scoffed.
“This has nothing to do with procreation. I’m talking about love.” He focused directly on Eva. “The love of two people destined to be together. Of people who make each other complete. Soul-mates. Tanish’aei.”
Eva seemed mesmerized by his words.
“Excuse me, Commander.” The woman who’d dragged Aria away stood in the doorway. The woman had two gold ovals on her collar, while the two men who stood by the door had none. Possibly they were a symbol of rank.
“Captain wants to see senior staff.”
“Thank you, Casey.” The commander rose. “Excuse me, ladies. You will remain here until someone is free to take you to your quarters. Make yourselves comfortable.”
He followed Casey, the female officer, out of the room, followed by the other two men. The door slid closed behind them, leaving Crystal and her companions alone in the room.
Crystal rose and approached the door, but it didn’t open. She flattened her hand on it, then dragged her fingers along the edge, searching for a way to trigger the mechanism.
“Are you okay, Eva?” Jenna asked, sliding her arm around Eva’s shoulders.
