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right mood. Why I’ve seen our Rhodi—”
    “Yes, that’s fine, Aidan. Thank you,” he said, cutting his cousin off, then turning to Amanda. “My concern is for your safety, and that of your fellow officers. Our earliest forefathers learned of the Green’s dangers the hard way. It was decades before the colonists were able to achieve a measure of safety on the planet. I’m simply trying to spare you a repeat of their rather painful learning experience.”
    “Of course you are,” she said with blatant insincerity. “Tell me something. What’s the guild?”
    He scowled. “What guild?”
    She bared her teeth in what might have been mistaken for a smile. Yeah, right. He knew a challenge when he saw one.
    “When Fionn joined us out there this morning,” she reminded him, “he referred to you as his fellow guildsman. I assume that means there’s a guild.”
    He cursed silently. She wasn’t only lovely, she was smart, too. And fucking Fionn needed to concentrate more on minding his tongue and less on charming the ladies. The existence of the Guild came too close to the one subject they definitely didn’t want to share with their Earth visitors.
    “There’s a Rangers Guild,” he admitted, parsing the truth. “Most of us serve for a time, patrolling the forest around the city, chasing away the worst of the predators. We escort hunting parties and student groups, that sort of thing.”
    “Oh! Can anyone join a hunting party? I’d love to explore some more, and I’m not without skills.”
    The sparkle in her blue eyes made him want to say yes. He could picture her in the deep forest, the joy on her face as she made new discoveries, the dappled sun playing on her hair, the scent of the loam beneath her feet… The destruction her fellow Earthers would leave in their wake.
    “Unfortunately, they don’t go out frequently,” he heard himself say. “I doubt you’ll be here long enough. How long do you think your fleet will remain in Harp orbit anyway?” he asked, knowing he was being rude, but for some reason she brought out the worst in him. Probably because he wanted her, and knew he couldn’t have her. Or at least, he shouldn’t . Damn it. He nearly choked on the snarl of frustration that tried to crawl up his throat, but she didn’t seem to notice. In fact, she was giving him a delighted smile that told him her next words weren’t going to make him happy at all. And she was right.
    “Haven’t you heard?” she asked. “Your Ardrigh and Admiral Nakata just agreed to build a shuttle base on Harp. Congratulations, de Mendoza, you’re about to become part of Earth’s trade route.”
    He bit back a curse. What had Cristobal been thinking in granting the Earthers that kind of access?
    Amanda was giving him a very speculative glance, as if she’d noticed his reaction and was determined to figure out why he was so opposed to the fleet’s presence. Which was not a path he wanted her going down.
    It was Aidan who jumped in to change the subject, however. “What of your Earth, Amanda? I’ve seen several old images of your planet’s great forests. Are they as spectacular now as they were then? And how do they compare to our Green?”
    She turned to Aidan and shook her head, saying, “I don’t know. I’ve never been to Earth.”
    Rhodry was startled enough that he stared at her. “But your fleet is—” he began.
    “The fleet is Earth-based,” she finished for him. “And many of the crew, civilian and military, were born there, including my mother.” She nodded in the direction of the lovely, dark-haired woman who’d arrived with Leveque. “I’m ship-born. I’ve never spent more than a few weeks on a planet, and never on Earth.”
    He didn’t know which revelation was more stunning. That she’d lived her entire life on a spaceship, or that the black-haired beauty was her mother. They looked nothing alike. He struggled for something to say.
    “Beauty runs in the family, then,” Aidan said