She had always thought of herself as a cautious woman who was content to lead a rather routine life. She was everyone’s dependable friend, the person who could be counted on to be reasonable. Other people led lives of messy emotion, she was the one that could be relied upon to help them clean up the mess.

She was stable and structured and even a little boring in some ways. No surprises, no real passion, and no real pain. But, underneath all that lived a woman who could rage and fight and hurt like anyone else. A woman who could be passionate and difficult and not at all reasonable. A woman who could love deeply.

Sharon’s head dropped to her hands. There, that was the crux of it. People who loved deeply risked being deeply hurt. And in the last ten days, she had fallen passionately, deeply, foolishly in love with Liken. There was nothing cautious or reasonable about it. It was utterly ridiculous. It made absolutely no sense, but it was undeniable.

He made her feel out of control. He challenged her and seduced her and pushed her at every turn. It was frightening, but she had never felt so alive in her life. He was arrogant and domineering at times. He could be sweetly tender and giving. Physically, he was a fantasy male come to life. Sometimes, he understood her better than she understood herself. At other times, she wondered if he knew her at all. All she knew was that the last ten days had been the most incredible, happiest, most confusing days of her life. And she didn’t want it to end. She wanted to spend the rest of her life loving and fighting with Liken.

She thought of the library on Earth, her job, her friends. She knew she could get a job on Shimeria, probably even at the local Earth library with Gar. Her heart twisted in her chest at the thought of being separated from Kate. More than anything right now she wished Kate were here so that she could talk to her and tell her how she felt. Of course, if Tair had his way, Kate might be living here, too. She cheered at that thought.

The bottom line, though, wasn’t whether she should give up her old life or not. The bottom line was whether she had the guts to step out on a very high limb. She would have to start a new life on an alien planet with a man she loved-a man who might or might not love her back.

She thought sometimes he did love her. When he looked at her with such melting tenderness, she could almost believe it. But, at other times, she felt like a possession he had claimed and wouldn’t give up. He had tried very hard to make her happy, but she wasn’t sure if it was to make her stay or if he loved her enough to want to see her happy. She had felt his affection and happiness run through her many times. She could make him happy in the long run. She was almost sure of it. They could have a good life together. Did she have the guts to try?

Sharon felt her heart pound at the thought. She had come to a strange planet. She had slept with an alien and eaten weird food. She had yelled and cussed and been completely unreasonable at times. She had two men with a doorway into her head, and a near threesome under her belt. Did she have the guts to grab her own happiness? Hell, yes she did!

Her head came up and a huge smile filled her face. The old Sharon would have stayed sitting on the bed half the day, listing all of the reasons why it was a bad idea to let emotion rule. The new Sharon stood up and headed for the bathroom. She was going to see Liken and tell him she was staying. She was going to risk everything and tell him she loved him.

Her confident steps faltered as she thought of his reaction. What if he stared at her blankly or worse, uneasily thanked her in response? Well, then, she’d just have to kill him. She strode into the bathroom like a soldier headed off to battle. Kate would have applauded.

Chapter 14

An hour later, having eaten and showered, she headed out the front door dressed in a shimmering blue blouse and skirt. It was the outfit they had purchased during their shopping trip. She didn’t care if the outfit was more revealing than anything she had ever worn on Earth.Besides, she knew it was the most flattering thing she owned.Her hair was gleaming around her shoulders and she felt ready to take on the world.

She had seen Liken’s office a few days ago. On one of their trips into town, he had taken her by and given her a tour of the place. His coworkers had been curious about her, but unfailing gracious and charming. Their respect and affection for Liken had been apparent.

Sharon had considered waiting until he returned home from the office in the afternoon, but had decided against it. She had made her decision and was eager to forge ahead. Besides, being impulsive for a change wasn’t a bad thing. Liken’s work hadn’t sounded critical, merely something minor that couldn’t be put off. She would surprise him with her visit and give him a good reason to rush home.

Entering the building where he worked, she began walking toward his office in the back. A few people smiled and greeted her, but she answered them with brief, friendly responses and kept walking. She couldn’t wait to see Liken. She reached the doorway of his office and felt her entire body turn rigid with disbelief.

Liken was embracing a petite redhead. His mouth was moving over hers with gentle hunger and she was responding with enthusiasm. She could feel his tenderness for the woman run through her in one long wave. Sharon’s mind blanked. A pain so sharp it felt fatal hit her in the chest. Disillusionment and agony cut her to the bone. When she could draw a breath, the words tumbled out from her mind to her mouth without a second in between.

“You cheating bastard.” Her voice was actually soft, but his head came up with a snap. She must have screamed it in her mind because he winced in pain and brought a hand to his head. He looked shocked to see her. The redhead turned in surprise. Sharon’s face was without an ounce of color. Her voice shook as she said, “I thought I would surprise you by showing up. I guess I did.”

Liken took a step toward her, but she threw up her hand in response. He spoke her name, “Sharon…” but that was all he had time to get out before she spoke again.

“So you had to go into the office today, huh?” She looked at the redhead, who was beginning to frown in confusion. She said flatly, “I’m his pactmate.” The woman’s eyes widened.

Sharon felt a welcoming numbness spread through her, overcoming the pain. Liken said firmly, “Sharon, you must listen to me…”

She cut him off. “No, I don’t need to listen. “ Looking at the redhead, she said, “You’re welcome to the faithless asshole. Enjoy him while you can.” She looked back at Liken. “You can go to hell.” With fragile dignity, she turned and started walking away quickly.

She heard the woman say “Liken?” in a throaty, questioning voice. His voice murmured in response. She sped up. Reaching the doorway of the building, she started to run. She could hear his voice behind her yelling, “Sharon, wait!” but she didn’t stop. She kept running, taking side paths at random, one after another, wanting only to escape.

She ran until her legs ached and her eyes were too blurred to see where she was going. She finally stopped and looked around. She was in the park area. Walking to a tree with huge red leaves, she sat down under it and drew her knees to her chest. She took gasping breaths and stared blindly ahead. She couldn’t even cry. The shock and pain were so deep that her chest hurt, but her eyes remained dry. She sat in rigid silence, totally unaware of her surroundings.

Her mind raced in frantic circles as she strove to block the image of Liken and the redhead from her mind. He had feelings for that woman. That kiss was not platonic. It had been passionate. She had been on her way to tell him… The first edge of anger shot through her. And he had been… He was a bastard, plain and simple. Fuck risking, and destiny, and most especially fuck that cheating Liken.