Blackmail, the host of a world’s forests and a woman who knows how to keep her word all challenge the definitions of honour.

Honour is a horticulturist who has been blackmailed into handing herself over to Raiders. She had no idea that they were trading her for cold, hard cash. Trapped on a strange world, being groomed for a male she had yet to meet, Honour had to admit that even the alien races of the Nyal Imperium had begun to feel like home.

The host lives to serve the forest of Yalki and all the worlds in the Yalki system. He is out to choose a bride that not only matches his personal frequencies, but also compliments his personality. It is a search that he is willing to put a lot of attention into, especially when his chosen finds ways to avoid him on the dream plane. That is the kind of woman he is looking for, intelligent and sneaky. He might be in love.

Excerpt:

Honour Coyle hid behind a hill and tried to imagine them not spotting her through their myriad scanning devices.

The entire research base had been emptied, and she was the only one left at large. She heard the search ships getting close to her hiding place when she heard the offer.

“Terran, Honour Coyle. If you surrender yourself, the entire base will be released. If you agree to promise to remain where we put you, they will go free and remain so. Break your word and they will die.”

Honour wasn’t sure she was hearing what she thought she was. She looked up, and the skimmer was staring her in the face. “What do you mean?”

“There has been a request for a Terran, and we will gain much by delivering one whole and there of their own free will. No other species will do.”

Honour blinked and narrowed her eyes. “Why not?”

Men were rushing in to grab her arms. They hauled her carefully to her feet. The leader of the attackers leaned in and grinned, “Because he has all the races that he wants in his harem. A Terran was all that he was missing to complete his collection.”

As they started to haul her off, she closed her eyes.

“Damn it.”

This was not how she had planned to end her vacation.