Page 16 of Breedable Boys from Outer Space
I blinked. “But…”
Lumi reached for my hand. “May I?”
I nodded mutely.
He lifted my hand and curled the fingers around until just my index finger was pointing. He then moved it behind his ear until I felt a tiny bump. I’d brushed off grains of sand that felt larger.
“Do you feel that?” he asked.
I nodded again.
He smiled. “It is a translation device.”
“But I hear you speaking English, and I don’t have a translator.”
He laughed. “I do not know the exact method of the function, but it interrupts what I intend to say before it reaches the part of my brain that is responsible for speech. It provides new commands for what sounds to make.”
“And you hear my words in your language?”
He nodded. “I do. To me, you are speaking Lalyllte.”
“I’ve heard that word a few times, but I thought it was your… species. Not your language.”
“It is both. Our world has a unified language, but we were informed that similar usage is true here. In many places, the language and the residents are referred to with a single word: French, Spanish, Russian. It is context that signifies whether one is speaking about the language or a person who identifies with that region.”
“I guess you’re right.”
He smiled again, and I realized I still had my finger on his translator. I uncurled the rest of my hand and slid it down so that it held the back of his neck, and shifted several inches closer on the couch.
Lumi shuddered, lips parting with a soft sigh.
“Does your translator do anything else?” I asked, wanting to listen to him speak—entranced by the lyrical quality of his words.
“It does visual translation as well,” he murmured. “When I see the written languages of your world, it provides the translation immediately above or below.”
“That must be handy,” I replied, scooting closer again and staring at his kissable lips. I needed this man in my arms, his skin against mine.
He nodded.
“Will you say something to me in your language?” I asked, leaning in. “I’d love to hear it.”
“Ok…” there was a slight pause, then he spoke in a language different from anything I’d heard on Earth. It was light and had that same lyrical quality to it.
“What did you say?” I asked when he stopped speaking.
When had I gotten so close? His lips were but a few inches from mine.
His purple cheeks darkened with a blush. “I said that you are quite handsome and that I would be honored if you wanted me as your mate.”
My hand was still on the back of his neck, and I used it to pull him closer, to where his breath fanned across my skin.
I scanned his face, looking for any sign of doubt. Then his eyes flicked up to mine, the blue reduced to a thin band as his pupils grew wide.
“May I kiss you?” I whispered.
“Yes.”
The feel of Lumi’s lips against mine was akin to a first look at Heaven. Nothing would ever compare to that initial taste of perfection.
