Or even liked someone.

My cheeks burn, though, and his nostrils flare slightly.

“How much, exactly, can you tell by the way I smell?” I ask, narrowing my eyes.

“You wear every thought on your face,” he says seriously. “It makes matching up what I’m scenting with the truth very easy.”

A blush heats my face, and I bite my lip, unable to deny what he’s said. Instead of a rebuttal, a small snort of amusement comes out.

“You’re nervous,” he says easily.

“Aren’t you?” I fire back. “You just married a stranger, but you don’t seem worried at all by that.”

Silence stretches between us, the low rumble of the transport’s engine louder in the thick tension.

“My sister hand-picked you. My sister, who knows me better than anyone, thought you were the best possible match for me.” His voice drops, low and soothing, honey sweet. “When I saw your image, I was captivated. When you stepped off the ship and I caught your scent, I was entrapped.” He leans back suddenly, but his gaze is just as intense as before.

My mouth goes dry. “Things don’t work like that for my species.”

“You asked what I could tell by scent.” His long, thick fingers drum against his seat. “I can tell you’re attracted to me. I can scent your interest.”

If I thought I was blushing before, it has nothing on the ridiculous heat wave traveling up from my chest now. I wonder if he can see steam rolling off me.

“Right,” I say, trying for agreeable and sounding like a mouse instead.

His gaze swivels to the dense forest whizzing by outside and then to the clock display in the shuttle, showing Wulfric time.

My heart beats a quick hammer against my chest.

“We should work out the details now.”

“Details?” I wet my lips with my tongue, the word a question between us, even though I’m fully aware of what he’s saying.

The details of the new contract between us.

He knows I know. I can tell by the slight upward tug of his lips. “I don’t want to move too fast. Your scent tells me you’re ready for me.” The words are a dark caress against my skin. “But I can see your nervousness on your face.”

He tilts his head, his odd hairstyle tipping with him.

I don’t know what to say. This is brand new territory for me.

“I need to know exactly what you are willing to do and what is a hard no,” he says.

My pulse increases, and I can’t deny the feeling of excitement going through me.

“I’ve modified the clan contract to include several clauses that cover any possibilities, and I’d like everything to be as spelled out as possible.” He leans closer, and his pulse thrums at the base of his throat.

It’s not as fast as mine—not nearly—but it’s a relief to know I’m not the only one affected by our proximity, by the fact that we’re alone in this small space together.

“Okay,” I say slowly, waiting for him to pass me the comms pad.

He doesn’t, though.

No, he clears his throat.

My eyes widen at the realization that he’s going to read it out loud to me.

“Willing sexual acts to include: oral sex, penetrative vaginal sex, anal sex⁠—”

Shocked, I wheeze slightly, my insides molten and my core clenching around nothing. “I don’t know about anal sex,” I start, absolutely interested in it and scared of the idea all at once.

“I can strike it⁠—”

“I’ve never had—” I clear my throat again, realizing I’ve interrupted him and suddenly worried that’s going to piss him off. I don’t want to piss my new alpha werewolf husband off.

“Anal sex?”

“Sex at all,” I whisper.

He goes still, preternaturally so, eyes ablaze and pupils blown.

I fidget in my seat, feeling strangely like I’ve let him down. Like he won’t want me at all now, now that he knows I’m completely inexperienced.

I don’t want him to send me back. I don’t want to go back to my old space station.

“I’m willing to try,” I blurt out in a rush of emotion, my chest tight and throat thick with worry. “I don’t know what I like, though, because I grew up on a space station with barely any humans, and I wasn’t interested in my roommates or the other alien species⁠—”

“You’re untouched.” It’s his turn to interrupt, and the words are a low groan.

I’m going to spontaneously combust from the heat of embarrassment.

“Moon goddess help me.” He drags a palm over his face, his claws extending, becoming sharper.

“I’m… I’m sorry,” I whisper. I squeeze my eyes shut, feeling so fucking uncomfortable that I wouldn’t mind swinging open the door of the transport shuttle and flinging myself into the forest.

Embarrassing as all hell.

“Please don’t apologize, little human wolf.” He unclicks the safety webbing, and before I can move, he’s wedged between my legs. The tip of his tongue darts out, touching the fangs that seem even longer than before. “We can forget the contract.”

“What do you mean⁠—”

He presses a finger to my lips. “I will not push you.”

A small growl of discontent escapes my throat, surprising us both.

He quirks an eyebrow, waiting.

I shouldn’t say anything. I should take the promised money and keep my mouth shut and let him play the gentlemen, but⁠—

“I want to have sex.” The words slip out of me.

They hang between us like a neon sign I saw once in the station I grew up on, blaringly bright to the point of ultimate distraction.

There’s no taking them back.

“I might not have been interested in the other aliens or the girls I lived with, but… they weren’t you.” I gulp, unsure of where I can look that won’t embarrass me, which is stupid, because I am completely embarrassed. “They weren’t you,” I repeat, finally making eye contact again.

The smile that breaks across his face is genuinely sweet. My heart squeezes a little, and it has nothing at all to do with the fact that I’m ready to throw myself at this hot alien werewolf.

I like him.

I barely know him, and that seems utterly ridiculous.

But I like what I’ve seen so far.

“You are in charge, Aileen. However you want to move forward, I put it in your delicate hands.”

It’s hands, however, that have my full focus. They span the width of my thighs, one on either leg, heavy enough that I can feel the weight of what he’s saying.

“I don’t know how to be in charge,” I admit. I bite my lower lip, and even like this, kneeling in front of me, he’s tall enough we see eye to eye. His broad chest forces my knees farther apart as he scoots closer.

“Can I touch you?” he asks, his voice a hoarse rasp.

I don’t answer.

He sits there, silent.

“I’m scared,” I whisper back.

“Your face?” he says, his gaze never leaving mine, anchoring me. “Can I touch your face?”

I nod. That seems like a safe place.

His fingers trace across my cheekbones, both hands finally cupping my face, so tenderly that some more of that fear leaks away, replaced by curiosity and desire.

“Have you… touched yourself?” he asks.

I go hot all over. “I…”

My nose scrunches up, and he huffs a soft laugh. His eyes crinkle at the corners, and I jut my chin out defiantly.

“Don’t make fun of me.”

“I’m not,” he says. “I just… it will be easier if I know that. It will help us both if you know how to pleasure yourself. If you do want me, like you say you do.”

The hands on my face tighten, just enough for me to feel the bite of his claws, then fall away.

“Yes,” I make myself say, finding the bravery that eluded me from the moment I was picked, hand-picked by his sister, for the Starlight Lottery. “I have.”

“Show me,” he says. Brekker leans forward, his claws swiping at the safety webbing compressing my body to the seat of the transport.

I gasp as it falls away into ribbons, caught between excitement and trepidation.

“What if we hit something?” I ask. “I have no idea what in the whole stupid Wulfric world we’d hit, but I’ve never been on planet like this⁠—”