The featherlight touch of a hand across his hair brought Ryder abruptly out of sleep. Confusing images of a young man and a woman in a Drahkian transport tore through his mind, and he was besieged by an avalanche of grief—her grief—which rolled into his system past all of his control.

Ryder bolted out of his chair as if he had been touched with a live wire. He twisted around in shock to see Kea’s hand hovering over the back of the chair where his head had just been and found her gazing up at him with aching, raw need.

“Why?” he shouted roughly, pressing his right arm up against the sudden pain in his chest.

Kea’s eyes welled with tears which spilled down her face. “I just needed someone … I miss them so much,” she managed to say as she started to sob and reached a trembling hand toward Ryder with an unspoken plea.

“I can’t do this!” he exclaimed, warring with a sudden rise of his own shattering emotions which he did not want to experience. He was terrified of what would come up if she touched him again and gaped at her outstretched hand as if it were a snake ready to strike.

Defeated, Kea pulled her arms in close to her body and slumped, weeping miserably. “I’m sorry, I’m sorry,” she mumbled brokenly.

Ryder stared at the small woman standing in front of him. Her fragile frame shook and she cried as if she would break in two. He hadn’t asked for this, but, for whatever reason, here she was in the middle of his protected space, alone and hurting, reaching out for comfort—from him. Unbidden, the buried memory of being rocked by his father’s strong arms washed through his muscles, along with forgotten feelings of their deep connection, loving reassurance, and solace.

Slowly he loosened his stance and stood still, forced himself to breathe, and, with a supreme effort of will, let go of his death-grip on the aging facade, allowing the transformation into his natural form to sift through his cells. He lowered his arm away from his chest and held a shaking hand out in front of him. “Alright, come here.”

Kea lifted her face and her iridescent eyes widened as she took in his appearance and saw what he was offering. With a small cry, she stepped forward and took hold of his hand.

As soon as she touched him, the floodgates opened again and he tightened his grasp on her tiny hand. “Oh my god,” he groaned as he was bombarded by a deluge of difficult feelings, this time hers mixed with his own. Slowly he pulled her into his chest and reached down to surround her with his arms as she sank against him and cried.

For a moment, he was overcome with dizziness from the full body contact, but he clung to her small frame to keep himself upright until the moment passed. Cradling her closer, he bent down to lay his face against the top of her head while he struggled to make sense out of the jarring sensations crashing through him—fear, shock, and the pain of sudden separation swirled around the two images he had already seen before dissolving into despair, hopelessness, isolation, and aching loneliness. He pulled in a choked breath as the loneliness grew until it filled his whole chest, his whole body, threatening to burst out and take on a life of its own. His father’s face appeared in his mind, as plain as day, staring down at him with tormented eyes on the morning he disappeared, followed by the terrible, hollow grieving that had haunted him for years. The sting of tears rushed to his eyes and fell silently in streams into Kea’s hair.

Kea’s slid her arms around his waist. “Oh, no, you hurt, too,” she said in a muffled voice against his chest. “I feel it—it’s so deep.”

Ryder responded by tightening his arms around her slight body. It was like holding onto a lightning rod, draining away the built-up charge of painful emotions lodged in his tissue for far too many years. The longer he held her, the easier it became to handle the flow of images and feelings that ran between the two of them.

“Ohhh, I really needed this, Ryder,” Kea murmured into his shirt. “It’s been so hard the last few weeks. I’ve never been without my mom and Stani. I felt so helpless watching the Drahks haul them away. I’m afraid I’ll never see them again.”

Ryder reached a tentative hand up to Kea’s head and was startled by the feel of satiny softness gliding under his palm as he gently stroked her hair.

“Some days it feels like the sadness will crush me,” she went on, nuzzling against him. “My mind keeps wondering what awful things might be happening to them. They must be terrified, or in pain, tortured—”

“Shhh, don’t,” he soothed, giving her head and body a squeeze until she quieted again.

“Being alone has been the worst thing of all. I miss my aunt and uncle, my friends in Cullin and the people up at the market. None of them wanted me to come—I’m sure they’re probably all worried sick over me. Here in Tessin, I’ve had no one to talk to, nobody willing to help. Everyone is so shut down and closed off.”

Ryder held himself very still, knowing he had given her no encouragement or reason to reach out to him. “Why me, Kea?”

“I found your book,” she answered wistfully. “We’ve had the same one since we were little. My mother used to read it to us every night.” She paused to let a new swell of heartache pass. “When I ran across your copy on the drawing table and discovered all those incredible sketches you’ve done from the story, I knew you were someone special. There are dozens of them—I looked at every single one.”

She broke off and raised her face so she could look him in the eye. “Ryder, they’re absolutely beautiful. They gave me a glimpse of who you are and told me that you dream of things we don’t have, just like I do. And then when I saw you last night, my god—”

Her voice trailed off and Ryder was stunned by a sudden cascade of arousal, unmistakable and strong, streaming into him from her slender form.

“By all that’s sacred,” he breathed when he saw the naked craving flare up in her eyes. “You want me?”

Her body shook and she nodded. Pulling her arms from around his waist, she ran her hands slowly up his stomach and chest, and laced her fingers up and out through the ends of his long hair, sending a current of electricity shooting down through his frame.

It was a match that started a fire he knew he couldn’t stop. Every cell, every blood vessel was instantly alight. His mouth came down to take hers as he slipped one arm behind her shoulders and lifted, pressing her body firmly against him with the other. Kea’s hands snaked up around his neck and into his hair while her mouth drew him into her with insistence, pulling a wave of heat up from his core.

Tearing his mouth away with a gasp, he lifted his face just far enough to suck in air. Kea’s head rocked back and she closed her eyes. “It feels so good to touch you,” she whispered as her hands dropped to run over the contours of his shoulders and arms.

With a broken sound, he carried her into the dimly lit bedroom and put her down, peeling off her clothing in swift movements before frantically stripping out of his own in his urgency to be inside her. Lifting her quickly onto the bed, he rose above her while she opened herself and reached for his skin, sliding her legs up around his waist as he drove himself in. He paused and held himself still, watching her eyes, caught up in the intense sensation of being connected with her, feeling her hunger and need through the contact as clearly as his own.

Kea looked up at him and clenched her muscles, twisting her hips and urging him to move. Startled by the bursts of sensation, he began to thrust, slow and measured, savoring the feel of sliding into her and the answering waves of pleasure he sensed spreading through Kea’s body. Gradually he stepped up the speed of his movements, building momentum, sparking and magnifying the charge running between their bodies, until he was driving them feverishly toward the climax they both desperately needed. It came with a rush and he shouted his release just as he felt her convulse beneath him and cry out. For several moments, he found himself suspended between thoughts and feelings, hovering in the midst of an unexpected calm.

Gasping for breath, Ryder gazed with astonishment at Kea’s flushed face before collapsing onto his back on the bed beside her. “I can’t believe that just happened,” he panted as he stared at the ceiling. “I don’t know what to do with myself.” He lay for several long minutes, staggered and perplexed, before turning his head to look at the small woman beside him. “I don’t know what to do with you.”

The peaceful expression on Kea’s face dissolved into an anxious frown. “Do you … want me to leave?” she asked nervously as she fought to catch her breath.

Ryder breathed heavily, regarding her in the dim light, struggling with his answer. “No,” he said at last.

With a relieved smile, Kea rolled onto her side to face him and reached over to skim her fingers down the side of his face and neck. He flinched automatically and forced himself to relax, but she raised her eyebrows in question. “It’s been a long time since I let anyone touch me,” he said in a low voice.

“By the stars, Ryder,” she breathed, openly startled. “I’ve always had my family and friends. I can’t imagine living without any kind of physical contact or the bonding that comes with it.” As she reached her hand out again to stroke his skin, he closed his eyes, the muscles in his face tensing in reaction. “Ryder, what’s wrong? Is it me?” she asked hesitantly.

“Yes,” he whispered. When she pulled her hand away as if stung, he grabbed it back and pressed it to his chest. “No, I mean, it’s not you. It’s letting anyone get close. It scares the life out of me.”

Kea blew out a gushing breath. “Thank heavens—I can deal with that. I was afraid you didn’t want me,” she added in a small voice.

His brow furrowed and he looked over at her with confusion. “Why would you think that?”

She blinked several times, her expression oddly vulnerable. “You’re a master smith with plenty of money, status, protection. I thought that since I work for you, maybe I wasn’t good enough for someone like you.”

Her admission caught him completely off-guard. “Someone like—no, Kea, I don’t think that way. I’m not anything special. For heaven’s sake, I’ve spent most of my life trying to keep the reptiles or anyone else from noticing me. I never wanted anyone to be attracted to me.”

“Why not? My god, Ryder, you’re a beautiful man! I was dazed when I saw you. Haven’t you ever wanted this?” she asked, nodding her head toward their two naked bodies. Ryder drew in a breath and sent his eyes gliding over her breasts and the gentle curve of her hips before raising his gaze to her face without speaking.

“I thought so,” she said quietly. “I feel your hunger. So why do you hide? You could have found a lover ages ago.”

Ryder shook his head. “It’s too dangerous to look like this.” His stomach flipped over in response to any thought connected to the reptiles.

“In front of the Drahks, yes,” she acknowledged. “I’m afraid of them, too. I shifted my appearance, put on my worst, ratty clothing before I came into the city to deflect unwanted attention to a lone female.”

He nodded, glancing at her left eye and studying the details of her graceful features. “That was wise. Pretty women disappear quickly.”

Kea raised herself up and leaned on her free elbow so she could look at him squarely. “I understand the need for camouflage, but that doesn’t mean fighting off the rest of the world, Ryder.”

“It’s not just appearances, Kea. No one I know of in Tessin has relationships. Having any kind of family is a liability.”

“Are you serious?” she blurted, plainly aghast.

“You didn’t see that father and baby from your building taken away tonight, did you,” he remarked. “They hunt down anyone with children, Kea. Do you know what they do to the people they take?”

“I’m sure any sort of violence we can imagine.”

He nodded somberly. “Some are used as food, some are used as leverage, and some—” He broke his words off abruptly. “What have you heard about Tiro?”

“Specifically? He’s one of the lords on Mindaris, but they come and go, so we don’t always know who’s in control.”

Ryder sighed heavily before continuing. “Tiro’s the worst—he’s ruthless, cold-blooded, easily the most powerful Drahk on the planet outside of the Governor. He owns all the Algolian guilds, including mine, and watches us like a hawk through his lackeys like my guild master.”

“That’s why you were so afraid I was spying for them,” Kea interjected with new understanding.

“Um-hmm. We’ve made Tiro very rich, but most of his wealth comes from the Assassins Guild,” he spat with quiet loathing. “He culls assassins from people who are captured or arrested, turns them into weapons by holding their families hostage, and then sells their services off-planet for the incessant fighting between reptilian houses throughout the Empire.”

Kea’s brows knitted at the vehemence of his softly spoken words. “That’s what you’re really afraid of, isn’t it?”

An involuntary shudder ran up Ryder’s spine before he nodded reluctantly. “Look at me. I’m strong, fit, agile, sharp. I’d be a perfect target for Tiro’s league of murderers, especially if I had a wife or parent or child they could hang me with. I’d rather be dead than forced to become a killer.” He closed his eyes and wouldn’t speak for several minutes. “I’m safer if they think I’m some simpering old man who’s still useful for something. That way the only violence I have to inflict is on wax and metal. And if they ever do find out about me, I won’t bring down anyone else.”

“But you’re so alone,” she said mournfully. “And it hurts you. I feel it.”

Ryder turned his head away, but Kea wrenched her hand out of his and reached out, gently pulling his face back toward her with her fingertips. “Horrible savagery is going on here, but some things are worth the risk. Love is worth it. That’s why I came to Tessin.” She searched his eyes fervently. “You’re worth it, Ryder. Who made you feel you weren’t? Who hurt you? Who did I see when you cried?”

He swallowed hard and couldn’t bring himself to answer. The phantom he had run from for so long was staring him down, demanding to be acknowledged.

Kea sat up and laid her tiny hand in the middle of his chest. A stream of emotion poured in through her touch, but this time she was directing it—warmth, affection, the hope for something to blossom between them, sank down into his flesh and spread like fire.

“I want you, Ryder. I’m in a world of hurt over Stani and my mother, and that won’t stop. But in the middle of this nightmare, I accidentally found you. And I want you in my life.” She leaned forward and kissed him deeply, calling up another surge of arousal through both of them. She broke her mouth away and looked down at him. “Should I stop and leave you to your solitude? I can be gone at first light.”

With a ragged sound, he pulled her across his body, grabbed her buttocks, and thrust himself home once more. “Stay with me,” he ground out and kissed her hard, feeling the stones of the walls he’d so carefully constructed begin to crumble and fall.

When at last they both lay spent and exhausted in each other’s arms, Kea gazed up into his tired, placid face. “I’m not alone anymore,” she said in a breath as her eyes drifted closed.

“No, you’re not, Kea,” he whispered, kissing the top of her head. “Neither am I.”