THE OFF WORLD COLLECTION (Short, Steamy Science Fiction Romances) (Off-World Series) by Rebecca York Page B

her upper body, and boots. At least they’d issued her suitable clothing for the climate and conditions. As she walked slowly down the three steps, all eyes focused on her. Caleb felt his heart start to race. She was blond, but he didn’t think it was Beka.
    More women followed, and he anxiously studied each face. What if she wasn’t here? What if she’d changed her mind?
    And then he saw her, looking scared and determined and fragile.
    Damn. He hadn’t been able to tell her size and physique from the holio. Even dressed for the backcountry, she hardly looked like she was going to survive a night on the homestead.
    oOo
    Beka Gunnarsen stared out at the crowd of men, all of them focused on her and the other women coming down the ramp into a totally unfamiliar environment. They were a scruffy lot, like characters in one of the historical dramas called Westerns that she’d seen on the amusement system back home.
    Stop thinking about home, she ordered herself. It didn’t exist for her, not any more. She’d been in a bad situation, one it had been impossible to escape on Elmen. But when she’d heard about the bride program for some of the planets that had been settled by men only, she’d known it was her best shot at getting away.
    She’d made her preparations in secret, including the medical exam where they’d made sure she was prime breeding material. And the travel permit where she got away with fudging her background.
    Now she was wondering if she’d been crazy to sign up. But at least she’d grown up on a farm before she’d run away to Mitchell City. She knew something about raising plants and animals, and she gathered from reading about Palomar that this was SOP on the homesteads.
    She’d spotted Caleb Raider at the same time he focused on her. As their eyes locked, she felt a jolt of fear. She was going off with him to the outlands, fate knew how many klicks from the spaceport, where he could do any damn thing he wanted with her. She ordered herself not to think about stuff like that as she studied him. He was well built, tall and fit, with a shock of unruly dark hair, and she couldn’t stop her mind from zinging back to the disadvantages of those qualities. He could hurt her out there if he wanted. Had she jumped from the frying pan into the fire?
    She hoped not, and as she stared at him, she decided he didn’t have that mean-around-the-eyes look that she’d grown to fear.
    He’d been frozen in place as he spotted her. Suddenly he moved, pushing his way through the crowd toward her. He wore a sidearm like he buckled it on every morning when he got dressed, and he walked confidently, but she sensed that the self-assurance was for this familiar environment. Below the surface, he looked as nervous as she felt. Which was a relief.
    When they were finally face to face, he swallowed hard before asking. “ Beka?”
    “Yes.”
    “I’m glad to meet you.”
    “Same.”
    They stood less than a meter apart, two strangers who were going to get to know each other a whole lot better. Or not.
    Movement around her caught her eye and she turned to see some of the men pulling their new brides into their arms like they’d known each other for years. Caleb stood stiffly, still three paces from her, eyeing the carry bag slung over her shoulder. “That’s not all your stuff, is it?”
    “No. I have a small crate in the cargo hold. I think they’re unloading now.”
    “I can bring the hauler around.”
    “Or you could meet me outside the gate.”
    “Not a good idea,” he said flatly.
    “Why not?”
    “There were some incidents when the first bride ship landed.”
    She kept her gaze steady, waiting for him to explain.
    “Some guys were angry that they didn’t come up at the top of the list. They tried to snatch themselves a wife.”
    She shuddered. “Is there a lot of crime on Palomar?”
    “Probably more than where you came from.”
    Maybe not, she thought, but she saw no advantage in disagreeing.
    He waited