Page 51 of Tempted by Celestial Bodies

Swirls of color, both subtle and bright, over a backdrop of dark, composed the skin of his chest, his face, his arms.Everywhere. Navy blue, teal, and deep purple dust-like movement moved like a living, breathing entity. It was all an effect, like how a chameleon changed its skin when camouflaged, but it mesmerized. I couldn’t tear my eyes away. I’d seen a lot of aliens since beginning this fiasco of an interstellar tour, but I’d only heard whispers about Sawartians, and had never seen one in the flesh.

He didn’t have hair, but thick cords of flesh that extended from his scalp, then tapered to delicate points to rest on broad shoulders. They swirled with color like the rest of him. His skin appeared as smooth as a dolphin’s and he had to be over seven feet tall, his rigid posture adding to his height. He braced one of his hands against the door frame and the other curled around the top of the door, five thick fingers on each in proportion to the rest of him.

My gaze dropped below his waist, noting the bulge beneath his black pants, the only clothing he wore.Definitely in proportion. My chafed cheeks burned and my eyes snapped back to his. Mortification constricted my chest, but he didn’t react to me noticing the size of his package.

Because he stared at me in the most disconcerting way, like he could see right through me,insideme, and knew my true nature. Or like he peeled my skin layer by layer like an onion, leaving me exposed to his gaze. The longer he stared, the more my body flushed with heat.

Since I’d begun the tour, aliens hadn’t done it for meat all. Until now. I mean, I could see the appeal of the green girl Jordan dumped me for, but other than her, no one had turned my head in a sexual way.

But this guy?Holy hell.He was something else. Standing this close to him prickled my body with humming interest. Thick jaw, high cheekbones, fierce scowl—his face alone could probably launch a thousand spaceships.

And he kept staring at me.

I stared back.

Tension crackled between us.

His fingers tightened on the door frame, making it creak.

Did his species have some sort of welcoming ritual? The old backpacker hadn’t said a word about it. Was this even Khor Drath?

“Heinrick sent me.” The words left my lips in an embarrassing squeak.

He shook himself and straightened away from the door. His eyes scanned me again, this time taking in my features, clocking the scraped skin of my cheeks and forehead, then downward over my wind-torn clothes.

When he opened his mouth to speak, I held my breath in anticipation

“Sand sharks?” he asked.

chapterthree

His voice rumbled through me,deep.So deep. It vibrated through my belly and down between my legs. Every other thought I’d had up until this point escaped out my ears in a puff of smoke. I went stupid, forgetting why I was here.

He peered down at me in charged, silent expectation, like he waited for an answer.

I didn’t remember the question, but he kept staring, and the blood rushed to my head in a volcanic surge, and if I didn’t say something soon I was probably going to scream, or he’d shut the door in my face and I’d continue to be broke and stranded.

“MynameisMonroeandIamhereforthedreamthing.” The words tumbled out so quickly, I gulped a breath to compensate. The sound bounced loudly off the brick caging me in.

Khor Drath’s eyes narrowed, intensifying their white glow. “Monroe?” His deep voice penetrated my stomach then lower, a whole new sensation enveloping me. Could a voice curl into your underpants? I’d heard of Sawarstian allure before, but this was ridiculous.

I nodded, maybe a little too frantically, because he tilted his head, forehead furrowing. “That’s me. Yeppers. Totally me.” Now it sounded like I was lying, and from the way Khor Drath crossed his arms over his chest, he thought so too.

But the chest-crossing thing? It was a problem. A big, sinewy one because the muscles of his forearms shifted with nebulous colors of turquoise, purple, and orange.

I cleared my throat. “So, yeah. Heinrick sent me, said you might need some fresh dreams. He asked for a cut because of the referral.”

The corner of Khor Drath’s mouth twitched and curled up. My heart fluttered. Why did humor on this big, color-changing dude look so hot? Why dideverythingabout him seem to steam up the air? Maybe I needed revenge sex and this was the first being to twinge my lady parts since Jordan. Wait, why was I thinking about sex? Yesterday, I was adamant aboutnothaving sex with a random alien. I came here for the dream thing, nothing more, no matter how hot the dream broker turned out to be.Heinrick should have warned me, the bastard.

“Areyou Khor Drath?” Probably should have cleared that up first thing.

He tilted his head slightly in acknowledgment, then stepped back. “Follow me.” Leaving the door open, he led the way deeper into the building.

God, his voice.So deep. It made me want to roll over and call him Daddy.Space Daddy.

I stepped fully inside and scanned the space. Warm-toned light cast everything in a soothing glow. I blinked repeatedly as my eyes adjusted from the contrast to the dark outside. The walls were curved, stretching into a dome-shaped ceiling that appeared almost cave-like. This entryway served as a waiting room of sorts, but no one sat upon the comfortable sofas—if you could call the bulbous shapes that—or the matching poofs in green, gray, and blue big enough to fit a Sawarstian or two. Three corridors led off the main space, and the darkness of the narrow passages reminded me a lot of the streets I’d just walked.

Khor Drath disappeared down the middle corridor and I jogged to catch up, leaving the inviting entry room behind. Already, the sweat on my body dried in the cooler air. I pulled my tank top away from my skin to speed up the process, then gave my armpit a surreptitious sniff to make sure I didn’t stink too much.

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