Page 3 of Warped

I resist the urge to look around for any signs of danger. It wouldn’t do any good, and I don’t want to let on to my companion just how desperate I really am.

Not desperate for sex, mind you.

Desperate forsurvival.

“Don’t worry about it,” Rek says in a low, rumbling baritone that instantly sets my nerves at ease. He gestures at the small wheeled suitcase I’m pulling along beside me. “Here, let me carry that for you…”

“No!” I blurt a little too quickly. “I… I can handle it.”

Rek gives me a funny look, but he doesn’t press the issue, and we set off together down the street.

“Can I ask why you did it?” he asks.

“Did what?”

“Why’d you use a fake picture on your profile?”

“Oh. Right. Aboutthat…”

“You don’t have to tell me if you don’t want to.”

“No, it’s okay. It’s stupid really. I was just worried someone I know might stumble across my profile. See, I have a day job, and if it gets around the office that I’ve been working as a Warp companion in my free time… Well, let’s just say it could be a problem for me.”

I’ve never been good at telling lies, but at least I manage to get through that one without tripping over my words. Rekseemsto buy it.

“Fair enough,” he says.

“I hope you’re not disappointed.”

“Oh, on the contrary,” he says, and the faintest hint of a smile plays across his lips. “I’m pleasantly surprised.”

A blush scorches my cheeks. Apparently Rek likes what he sees.

So do I.

As we make our way down the crowded sidewalk, I can’t stop stealing sidelong glances at my massive companion. The truth is, Rek hasn’t been completely honest with me either. Okay, he didn’t outright use a fake picture the way I did, but he certainly downplayed just how intimidating he looks in person.

As a warper, he stands head and shoulders above everyone else on the street. That head is covered in a thick mane of black hair and a matching black beard, and those shoulders are about as wide as a hovercar, and as round and solid as a pair of boulders. His skin is pale to the point of looking vampiric, with a slightly bluish tinge to it, and when the light catches it just right it sort of shimmers, almost like it’s been coated with metallic body paint.

But there’s no paint involved. That’s hisrealskin.

Rek’s size and coloration are common side-effects of traveling through the Warp. A single faster-than-light journey won’t cause any noticeable changes in a traveler, but over time the mutations add up. Based on Rek’s appearance, I’d say he’s a seasoned warper indeed, and it hasn’t hurt his looks one bit.

His clothes seem as if they’ve been specifically selected to show off his magnificent body. The black tee he’s wearing looks like it’s been shrink-wrapped onto his torso, and his jeans are so tight I can see the muscles of his thighs rippling beneath the denim with every step.

God, I’d love to see how he even puts those jeans on.

Or how he takes them off.

It suddenly occurs to me that I’m going to get a chance to witness both of those things. Before this day is through, I’m going to see every inch of Rek’s incredible body, and he’s going to see every inch of mine.

And we’re both going to do more than just look.

A lot more.

To say I’m nervous about it would be an understatement, but it’s part of the agreement we discussed online, and I can’t back out of it now.

I guess that’s not entirely true. Icouldback out if I really wanted to, but I won’t. The consequences would be far too dire. I have to go through with this. I have to let this man use my body however he wants, and I have to do my best to please him. I’m sure I won’tcompare to the pros he’s used to dealing with, but I’m going to try my best.

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