Riley boards the Starship Matchmaker, desperate to escape all the heartbreak she’s known on Earth, only to find her hopes for a better life soon shattered. The starship is attacked and she’s sold to a fearsome creature—who displays her as a curiosity in an alien marketplace. Just when she thinks her situation can’t get any worse… here comes a deadly flash flood. But to her utter surprise, she’s beamed onto a ship, where a huge green alien greets her and claims he’s her mate. Though she’s grateful for his help and can’t stop admiring his muscle-bound physique, she wonders if she’s truly safe with him. Zurron is enraged by Riley’s treatment in the alien marketplace. He vows swift and brutal vengeance upon the creature who bought her, but first he must get her settled safely on his home planet. He’s entranced by her delicate beauty and light blue eyes, and his blood heats at the prospect of finally claiming her. He delights in exploring every part of her and making her blush hard, and he’s thankful to finally have a female to call his own. But when tragedy befalls Zurron’s family, honor and duty dictate that he must depart Norina and go to battle. Riley finds it difficult to believe the very alien who kissed her senseless and made her body hum with pleasure possesses such a violent and vengeful side. Yet she longs for his homecoming and fears being given to another Norinan male if he perishes in battle. Will the hunky green alien who’s captured her heart return before it’s too late?