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others.”
    “Until she acclimates,” Darak added.
    “Acclimates?” Cantor felt stupid. His mind was still trying to get itself around the fact that this delectable piece of womanhood wasn’t going to be his.
    “Takes a mate,” Mary said, nudging his belly with her finger. “Aren’t you payin’ attention?”
    “But I am not interested in finding a mate,” the girl suddenly interrupted.
    Her voice arrested his attention. The gentle, singsong cadence of her words slipped around him like a caress, lifting the hairs on his body and sending blood to stir his cock. Bloody hell!
    “We can’t put her into the dorm with the rest of those horny bitches,” Mary said.
    Cantor took offense to Mary’s use of crude language in front of the girl and glared at her. “Why not?”
    “Think about it. What happens when the lights go out?”
    Cantor swore under his breath. He knew only too well, having availed himself of the bed-hopping orgies his first few months with the colony. The thought of the girl’s innocence shattered by the carnal games, made him feel a little sick. “Then we’ll have to clear one of the cabins.”
    “She can’t stay by herself!” Mary protested.
    Cantor knew she was right, but felt a bubbling panic. The girl must be kept safe—far from him. “Then you can stay with her,” he said to Mary.
    “Hey now!” Darak said, snaking an arm around Mary’s waist. “And where will I be?”
    The girl pushed around Mary to stand in front of Cantor. “I do not need anyone to stay with me,” she said, peering up into his face, her luscious breasts inches from his chest.
    In defense against her attraction, he gave her his meanest look. “Have you ever lived by yourself, little girl?”
    Her eyes narrowed. She didn’t appear a bit impressed with his intimidation. “No. But I will have you know I have reached my seventeenth year and have had my woman’s menses since I was ten! I am a woman!”
    He nearly groaned. He didn’t need reminding she was a ripening peach.
    Her small, round chin lifted in defiance. “I have come to this planet to secure my freedom from men’s desires. I will learn to stand alone.”
    Cantor suddenly became aware that the noise from the crowd had died away and many of the people around them, hung on their words. Worse, many of the men were ogling the scantily clad figure of the termagant before him.
    “We’ll discuss this later.”
    “Beg you pardon, Governor . We need to get her settled—before dark.” Mary’s words drew his attention. Her full lips were pursed in a knowing smirk.
    Cantor could feel the familiar bonds of responsibility tightening around his neck. There was nothing for it. He heaved a dramatic sigh. “She’ll stay in my cabin.”

* * * * *
    Martha hovered on the edge of the crowd, watching the exchange between Cantor and the dark-haired girl. Her heart had lodged in her throat when she’d witnessed his initial interest in the other woman. She’d seen it in the quickening of his body, so attuned had she become over the past months to his every movement and expression.
    Her hands fisted at her sides. Months of tempting him with special dishes she’d cooked herself, teasing laughter, fleeting touches, and bolder, carnal caresses hadn’t produced the heat one glance from the sloe-eyed woman had accomplished.
    When she heard the word “virgin” murmured by the men in the crowd around her, she knew she couldn’t compete with the allure of innocence. If that was what it took to draw Cantor’s interest, she was without hope. But as she continued to watch, Cantor grew rigid, his body rejecting the other woman’s appeal even as his gaze clung hungrily to her winsome face.
    Instantly, she realized he wouldn’t take the woman’s innocence. Martha should have felt relieved, but she was puzzled. Why wouldn’t he lay claim to her? Any man would consider a virgin a prize—a chance to form a lover into his own ideal partner without the competition of