Surprising absolutely no one, human females are in high demand.

The goddess who talks to me sometimes pipes up during those sessions too, full of ideas on how to entice more women here. Even though Piper can’t hear her, she doesn’t seem to think I’m crazy. Or maybe she’s just too sweet to say anything about it.

Lyko watches Piper whenever he gets a break from his kingly duties, and I wonder how long Piper will studiously ignore him. She refuses to talk about their trip to the settlements, and I try not to pry.

Billie and Ayro are still out, recruiting the few remaining Roth settlements against the Overlord.

I stay pretty busy with Nydo, though.

I hardly recognize the thoughtful male he’s turned into. The sex is still hot enough to melt ice, something I have a feeling we’re going to put to the test in a few more hours. There’s enough stubbornness in both of us that we need those moments of control and resistance in the bedroom.

But he talks to me now, too. About everything.

“What are you thinking about?” he asks.

“You,” I say honestly. “Us.”

“That explains the smile on your face.” He sniffs, and I roll my eyes, laughing already. “And the delicious scent in the air.”

The mouth of the cave yawns ahead, starlight spilling across the entrance, glitter on the ice.

“We made it,” I say excitedly, and Nydo laughs, a sound that I’ve heard more and more the last few weeks. He seems happier now, without the weight of the throne weighing on him, the weight of ruling the Roth.

“Of course we did,” he says, smiling at me. “We make an excellent team.”

He takes my gloved hand in his, helping tow me up the slippery edge of the ice cave.

“Oh, wow,” I say, utterly stunned by the sight.

White snow lines the ground, crunching underfoot. Thick, dark, pine-like forests span the distance ahead of us.

But the sky is the true glory. It’s nearly bright as day, and I throw a hand across my brow to shield my eyes. Stars are so big and bright here, so much closer than they seemed back on Earth. There are two moons, a huge grey one that seems so close I could reach out and touch it, and a smaller, yellow-tinted moon that reminds me of Earth’s.

The colors dancing across the sky steal the show, though.

It’s a deep green aurora borealis, flickering and waving and so beautiful it makes it hard to breathe.

Little purple lights zoom around, too.

“What are those?” I ask, awed, watching one flit by me.

“They’re sulkri. Small animals that fly. They glow at night to catch a mate.”

“Is that right?” I say archly, grinning into the vibrant darkness. “They glow to catch a mate.”

“Indeed. They pulse colors at slightly different light frequencies, and when they find another pulsing at the same light frequency, they pair up. The sulkri mate for life. They have short lives, it’s true, but there is no denying that they are full of joy.”

I watch for a beat longer, wordless, enjoying the natural spectacle of Roth before me. I never thought the pang of missing Earth, missing home, would subside, but here, with Nydo’s hand in mine, the sulkri flitting about, it lessens.

I can breathe here, and it’s something I never thought possible.

I sneak a quick look at Nydo, only to find he’s not watching the sulkri or the aurora overhead. No, his eyes are fixed on me, studying me, love and desire so plain on his face that it makes my whole chest ache.

Biting my lip, I focus on the energy roiling under my skin. We still don’t know if he transferred the power to me, or if the goddess somehow imbued me with it, but I’m starting to get a handle on it.

Well, enough of a handle to at least enact my little plan.

I grit my teeth.

And I begin to glow. Let it go. Glow again.

Nydo stares at me, a puzzled look on his face.

My lips screw up in concentration as I pulse the glow a couple more times, heat melting the snow around me.

“What are you doing?” he finally asks.

I grin up at him, letting the power slip from my grasp. Batting my eyelashes, I squeeze his hand. “I’m trying to catch a mate.”

A huge smile splits his mouth, and he catches me in his arms. I let out a pleased squeal as he plants a kiss on my lips.

“Consider yourself caught,” he says in my ear.

His fingers slip into my pants, and I gasp as he immediately finds my clit, making slow, sensuous circles. “This is caught, too,” he tells me. He glows once, dazzling my eyes.

He kisses my cheek. “This is caught.”

His lips brush my nose. “This is caught.”

He captures my mouth in a searing kiss, our tongues tangling together, desire flooding me as he bears me down to the snow, his heat keeping me warm as his hands travel the surface of my skin.

“This, all of this. Caught. Mine,” he says, and I sigh with pleasure at his possessive tone.

“Then you’re mine too,” I tell him.

He might not be perfect, he might still have a few villainous tendencies, but when his touch burns down my body like this… when he holds me tight at night, when he soothes me with careful words and gentle caresses, I don’t care.

I have a few morally grey tendencies of my own, after all.

All that matters is we love each other, and we’re trying to be better, for ourselves.

“I love you,” I tell him.

His expression turns so tender that it chokes me up. “I love you so much, little flame.”

Because this is what healing looks like—choosing to love. Choosing each other.

And I’m glad that’s the choice I’ve made.

******

Thank you for reading Alien On Fire! I hope you enjoyed it. Don’t worry, Lyko and Ayro are both getting their own books in 2023. Sign up for my newsletter at my website, www.januarybellromance.com, for all the latest information and exclusive subscriber behind the scenes!

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ALSO BY JANUARY BELL

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ACCIDENTAL ALIEN BRIDES

Wed To The Alien Warlord

Wed To The Alien Prince

Wed To The Alien Brute

Wed To The Alien Gladiator

Wed To The Alien Beast

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BOUND BY FIRE

Alien On Fire

Alien in Flames

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FATED BY STARLIGHT

Following Fate: Prequel Novella

Claimed By The Lion: Book One

Stolen By The Scorpio: Book Two

Taurus Untamed: Book Three

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NEON RENEGADES

Stranded With The Cyborg: Prequel Novella

Rescued By Her Enemy

Hard Drive

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR

January Bell writes steamy sci-fi romance with a guaranteed happily ever after. Combining pure escapism, a little adventure, and a whole lotta love makes for romance that's a world apart. January spends her days writing, herding kids and ducks, and spends the nights staring at the stars.