“Tark, it’s happening now. I’m sorry,” I pleaded, hoping he’d understand that I had to go. I had to make things right on my world.
“You’ve done nothing wrong,” he sighed, but I felt the fierceness in his hold. “Know this, Eva. There is no one in this galaxy for me but you. You know this.”
I nodded as tears dripped down my cheeks.
“Five.”
“I will miss you,” I told him.
“Four.”
“Eva!” His eyes widened.
“Three.”
“There’s no one on Earth for me,” I vowed, lifting up onto my knees to kiss him.
“Two.”
He pulled back, his breath mingling with mine. He curled his hand around my nape, kept me close. “You are my mate, my heart.”
“One.”
“Master,” I said as I no longer felt his touch, could not detect his spicy scent, could no longer see him.
Chapter Nine
I didn’t wake gradually from the transport as I had the first time. I woke up with a start as if I had a bad dream, jolting upright with a gasp.
“Good, she’s awake,” someone said. It wasn’t Tark.
I blinked my eyes and looked around.
I was in a small room with a wooden desk and chairs. Two men sat across from me, studying me closely.
“Robert,” I said, perhaps more to myself because I recognized him than because I was glad to see him. The district attorney wore his usual crisp suit and was eyeing me carefully, perhaps wondering if the transport would have returned me misshapen or missing a limb or perhaps even naked.
I gasped and looked down at myself. I couldn’t help the sigh that escaped when I saw I wore a plain white blouse and skirt. I felt the usual heeled shoes on my feet, but couldn’t see what kind or color because they were hidden beneath the table. Patting my hair, I discovered the wild mess had been pulled up into a neat style and pinned in place at the back of my head.
“Do you feel all right?” Robert asked. I glanced at him and the man beside him.
“Sorry, Eva, this is Special Agent Davidson with the FBI. He arranged for your transport off-planet.”
I nodded to both men. “Robert, I… it hasn’t been three months yet. What happened?” It had only been a few days since I was sent to Trion; surely the trial hadn’t been moved up so far.
Both men frowned. “What are you talking about? Eva, it’s been four months.”
“Are you sure you’re all right, ma’am?”
I was confused, my mind a blur. I’d only been on Trion, one, two, three, yes, three days. How could four months have passed? “I think… I think time is different on Trion.”
“You went to Trion?” Robert’s eyes lit up, eager like a child.
I nodded.
“Well, what was it like? Is it true the matching program works?”
I thought of Tark and how, just moments ago—at least to me—I was in his arms. I hugged myself as if I could feel him still, but no. It wasn’t the same. I recognized the temperature control of the rooms in buildings on Earth. On Trion, the air, while hot, was not overly so. It was… balmy.