Page 43 of Secretly Abducted
"This is ridiculous," he finally says, floating beside me as the sun reaches its peak. "We're accomplishing nothing."
"We cleared that whole section," I protest.
"That should have taken an hour. It took three."
"Well, whose fault is that?" I grin. "You're the one who keeps lighting up every time I look at you."
"You're the one who keeps..." He gestures vaguely at my body. "Being distracting."
"Being distracting?"
"Swimming around half-naked. Wet. With your..." Another gesture, this time at my chest.
"My chest?"
"It has hair. It's very... human."
I laugh, delighted. "You like my chest hair?"
His colors shift to purple. "It's different. Intriguing."
"Just my chest hair?"
His gaze drops lower, following the trail down my abs. "No."
The heat in his voice makes me groan. "Okay, we need to actually focus or I'm going to have to take care of myself right here."
"That would be... inadvisable." But his colors pulse with interest.
"Rain check for tonight?"
"Rain check?"
"Human expression. Means we'll come back to it later." I force myself to swim toward a new section. "Come on, let's at least try to be productive."
We manage another hour of actual work, though the tension never dissipates. It's like there's an invisible thread between us, pulling tighter with each passing moment. When other farmers pass by in the distance, we wave normally, but I can see Vel'aan's colors shifting—nervous green mixed with residual purple, like he's wondering if they can tell what we did.
By late afternoon, we're both exhausted from the work and the constant state of arousal. The sun hangs low, painting everything gold, and I realize we've been out here for nearly eight hours.
"We should stop," Vel'aan says, pulling himself onto the platform. Water streams down his body, and I watch a droplet trace the line of his spine. "The heat will be gone soon."
I join him on the platform, careful to leave space between us despite every instinct screaming to touch him again. "Same time tomorrow?"
"You still want to help?" He sounds genuinely surprised.
"Vel'aan, I would do the kelp farming forever if it means spending time with you."
His bioluminescence does that beautiful gold spiral that means he's happy. "It's zhik'ra, not kelp."
"I literally do not care what it's called."
We sit there for a moment, legs dangling in the water, shoulders not quite touching. The easy silence feels comfortable, weighted with promise rather than awkwardness.
"Tonight," he says suddenly, then stops.
"Tonight?"
"You mentioned... watching." His colors shift to purple despite the embarrassment green trying to dominate. "Is that something humans do?"
