15 Sam
I crashed into Saleuk and grabbed at the chocolate bar. He was solid as a tree, but when I lost my footing and started to fall to the side, he wrapped his free arm around my waist. Except that my legs were already tangled around his and the awkward positioning sent us both to the ground.
Saleuk rolled to break the fall with his body and I landed on top of him, my hand wrapped around his fist where the chocolate bar was likely squished now.
I didn’t care.
I straddled his hips and sat up, adding my other hand to try and pry his strong fingers away from my prize. But too soon I was distracted when I realized where he was.
I was sitting on Saleuk. His groin, which had a very noticeable bulge, was pressed right up against me. And while I was trying to get to my chocolate, I’d somehow pinned his hands over his head. My breasts hovered over his face and when I looked down, the sight of him beneath me sent heat straight to my cheeks. I was instantly burning up. My eyes darted to his. He was staring up at me, a little stunned, but any expression looked sexy on that face of his. His fingers went lax and I ripped the chocolate bar out of his hand, not breaking eye contact as I sat up.
I had it… but I wasn’t getting off of him and Saleuk didn’t look the least bit disappointed that he’d lost the battle. I swallowed, feeling my mouth go dry. Beneath my shirt, I could feel my nipples pucker.
Which is normal… because my shirt is wet.
“I won,” I panted.
The corner of his lips quirked, his eyes darting briefly toward where I sat astride his hips. “Did you?”
I swallowed hard, trying not to think about it… and yet, still not moving. I should have. The implications were exactly what always got me into trouble. I didn’t want to seem loose or easy, but that didn’t matter. My legs wouldn’t move. He felt too good.
“Do you, um… want to share?” I said, slowly peeling away the wrapping he’d already ripped.
He didn’t answer. He just watched me as I took off a piece of the squished chocolate and brought it to my lips. And holy hell, the way his gaze watched as I slid it into my mouth made me instantly wet. Or was it my leggings? They hadn’t even begun to dry when I pulled them back on. I was soaked, which should have helped with how feverish I was feeling, but it didn’t.
Shit, I was actually hot for an alien. A handsome alien, but still an alien. I hadn’t had sex, simulated or not, in almost a year. That had to be it.
I stared at his gradually changing skin as it shifted from lavender to pale pink.
Pink had never looked so manly.
Saleuk finally rose up on his elbows as I swallowed my small bite of chocolate.
“That looks disgusting, whatever it is,” he said.
“Chocolate.”
“You keep saying that, but that doesn’t make it look less like actual shit.”
“That’s because it’s squished. Usually, it comes in perfect little bars. Or in whatever shape you want, really. Do you want to try? I’ll surrender a piece in an act of respect for fighting well. I won’t say you fought with honor since our strength and size are completely unmatched and you used it against me.”
He laughed and the way the sound moved through him seemed to go straight to my core. I almost moaned and had to bite my tongue to control myself.
I was horny. That much was clear. But there were no simulators on Phesah, I was sure of that. No virtual reality would relieve the ache building inside me.
“So?” Saleuk said. “Are you going to let me taste it?”
It took me a full three seconds to remember he was talking about chocolate.
Get your head on straight, Sam.
Nodding, I pinched off a small piece of chocolate and brought it to his mouth. Why I decided to feed it to him instead of making him eat it himself was a mystery, but my body just did it. I was on an alien moon sitting on a guy I thought hated me for crying out loud. It must have been some kind of fever dream because I never saw myself in that position before. I never thought I’d want to put my lips on his delicious chest or grind against his groin or feed him damn chocolate.
Saleuk didn’t so much seem surprised by my gesture as he seemed intrigued by it. He locked eyes with me as I brought the chocolate to his mouth and I watched as he slowly parted his lips. Dropping the chocolate in his mouth, I absently brushed my thumb across his bottom lip and watched the color gently ripple from beneath my fingers and across his face. It was almost unnoticeable, but I saw it. I know I did.
When Innifer described touching Vahko, she described it as a pulse of energy that seemed to manifest on Vahko’s skin. Heat tickled my nerves as I watched Saleuk chew and, testing him, I slid my fingers down his neck as he swallowed, watching his pulse thrum when the same, subtle ripple of faint hues burst from my touch. And each time I saw it, something deep within me throbbed and whined for… something. A deep longing wept inside me for attention. Attention I wanted from him.
What in the actual hell?
Coming to my senses suddenly, I shook my head and took a deep breath, leaping off of him and walking to the table to wrap up what was left of my precious chocolate.
“Don’t tell me if you don’t like it,” I said. “I’ll be devastated.
“I liked it,” he said. “It doesn’t taste nearly as bad as it looks.”
“Well, coco is brown so chocolate is brown. Hey!” I spun to face him, eyes narrow and accusing. “If you think chocolate is the color of shit, what do you think of my eyes?”
He stepped up to me, gazing down into my eyes as if distracted.
“I always thought of your eyes as being the color of rich soil.”
“Rich soil?” I raised a brow. “That doesn’t seem better.”
“It is. Your eyes remind me of life. Of nature. And the tiny green specks in them are like little trees sprouting in a rain-drenched dirt bed. Green trees, like we have on Valer.”
“That’s an oddly pretty description. I’m surprised you know there are green specks in my eyes. Most people don’t notice.”
“I noticed. Our eyes pick up pigments I don’t even think humans are capable of. So? What do you think of my eyes?”
“That’s easy. Your eyes are pretty. They’re like a galaxy squished into little marbles and stuck in your head.”
His brows furrowed. I somehow made his gorgeous eyes sound like something a toddler scribbled on a wall. When I replayed what I’d just said in my mind, I laughed at myself.
“I don’t have the same way with words that you do.”
“No, you don’t.”
“So? How much longer are you going to be working on your little projects?”
“Not too much longer. The light will be fading soon. There was a patch of redra root further down the river. I’ll harvest it tomorrow.”
“Redra root?”
“Something like your potatoes.”
“Oh. I can help. I want to help, I mean.”
“Sure. We’ll walk down there in the morning. It isn’t safe to head out now with only an hour or so of light.”
“Ok. Well, I’m going to go up to my little room, then,” I said, walking back to my pack to put my chocolate away and grab a protein bar and my data pad. “I can study a little before my battery dies.”
“Study what?”
“I don’t know. Anything. That’s how I’m going to keep busy.”
In truth, studying was probably the last thing my mind would be able to focus on after the feel of Saleuk’s cock still seemed to linger between my legs. What was wrong with me? Mr. Hamburger said there were aphrodisiac plants on Phesah. He didn’t tell me what they looked like, but if their pollen was in the air, maybe that could explain why I wanted to turn right back around and lick my way up Saleuk’s torso to his chin.
Just when I was out of sight, I pressed my eyes into the heels of my palms and whimpered with frustration. I needed to focus on surviving over anything else. Not on what Saleuk would feel like…
No!
I wanted to touch myself…
I wanted relief and I didn’t know how to get it. I was trapped between my inexperience and my need. When I got to my room, I sprawled out on the hard surface of my bed and crossed my arms over my face, hiding from my shame.
It was going to be a long night.