Alien Tongues by Chloe Parker

Dr. Natalie Lewis may be an expert in alien languages, but there’s more to fluency than simple vocabulary.

When Natalie arrives on the alien planet of Logos to study an ancient artifact, she expects to be welcomed by her Lyran hosts with open arms. But not all Lyrans like humans, and a violent faction of the alien race thinks of human culture more like an infection to be eradicated at any cost.

Guardsman Kiran Va’shan is assigned to watch over Natalie as she conducts her research. From the moment they meet, he feels a sense of protectiveness toward her – an urge to be with her no matter the cost. Lyran legend speaks of a “cosmic bond” between two people that ties their fates together, but the archaic notion of fated mates flies in the face of Lyran culture, which emphasizes logic over love.

A relationship with Natalie is forbidden, but Kiran can’t help but fall further into her orbit.

Beyond all reason, Natalie and Kiran begin to explore their attraction, even as Lyran politics threaten to tear them apart. Physical relations between humans and Lyrans are strictly forbidden, but the two find it hard to resist their cosmic bond. As they’re drawn into a complex web of cultural relations and political turmoil, the starcrossed lovers fight for an impossible affair that is, somehow, destined to be.