Chapter 2 #2
It offered an unforgettable view of such splendor that it stung her eyes.
Each time she set her gaze on the crystalline, emerald waters, its wild serenity enamored her.
She only had clearance to access this stratum of luxury because she was covering for her colleague, Keera, who was bedridden with a gut-worm ailment.
Now she blessed Keera, wherever she was, as butterflies flitted around her.
The area was lush with leafy fronds and greenery, perfect for a walk around the long, winding track that circled the peaceful, azure reservoir.
Soleil’s gaze fell on the tall reeds rustling in the breeze, tree branches arching with an old-world elegance, and birdsong that sent chills down her spine.
Rumors whirled in the lower decks that when night fell, fireflies sparkled over the water like miniature stars mimicking the vast sky they all were able to touch.
This freakin’ luxurious existence was a universe away from her cramped dwelling on a habitation deck far beneath the executive levels.
That was where she slept on the floor, curled on a thin pallet behind the aqua filtration stacks, wrapped in an old heat blanket.
She didn’t belong at this level; she never would possess such privilege.
A bird flew past, a streak of wild color and stunning beauty, startling Soleil from her musing.
Drawing a deep breath, she straightened her shoulders, guided her hover kit toward the lakeside showers, her first task of the shift.
The facilities, shaped like half-moon shelters, were an architectural delight.
Constructed from reclaimed wood and brushed alloy, they opened to the view, letting the lake breeze roll through.
Plants and palms swayed overhead, adding to their inviting ambiance.
Each hut faced the beachhead, where pale sand curved like a smile against the water’s edge. Elegant privacy screens cast dappled shadows from the boughs of synthetic cypress trees.
A narrow, sun-bleached, and warm boardwalk connected them all, leading to the service entry.
She slipped in her earbuds, scarcely holding a charge, and tapped play.
The swell of old-world big-band music, the brassy swing of horns, and the swoon of strings burst into her ears.
It was a sound that evoked warmth, images of sophisticated cafés she had only seen in holo movies, where women in bright red lipstick, and men in tailored suits danced in each other’s arms.
As she rolled up her sleeves, a soft smile surfaced on her face, losing herself in the music, sunlight, and the scent of wet pine drifting off the lake.
Soleil worked through the first two stalls, moving with focused effort, spraying down nozzles, polishing the pristine tiles, and replacing sanitation tablets.
It was the third stall that shattered her focus.
She opened the door. Steam poured out, and she sucked in a breath.
Her eyes blinked at the unexpected sight.
A man. Nada, a god, for he was that tall, potent, and lithe to befit the title.
His skin was sun-warmed bronze.
Ink swirled down one shoulder in deep gold and sable hues, and violet sigils etched along his ribs caught the light in pulsing runes.
She tugged off her earbuds and froze.
He stood beneath the shower head, his head tipped forward, cascading water trailing over his nape, his locks, and down every line of carved muscle.
His body possessed an inherent grace.
One hand rested on the tiles, the other loose at his side.
Before she had a chance to retreat, he turned his head and locked eyes with her.
Sunken suns! It was him.
The man she’d encountered in the void of the Wildlight Expanse.
She never forgot him; heck, she even dreamed of him.
Especially of his freakin’ beautiful eyes; sapphire and violet, flecked with gold, and glowing with an inner aura of an intoxicating power.
She jolted, rocked to the core as his gaze pinned her.
Heat coiled in her belly, in a surge of wild and reckless desire.
She stood frozen, blinking, shocked.
His eyes shifted, and she sensed a taut alertness about him, a sudden rush of arcing voltage in the air.
The same energy that had encircled his spectral form before he sent her flying across the heavens.
Then he smiled, a slow, slanted, dangerous smirk that struck her like a physical blow.
Her breath caught in her throat.
Soleil spun around with a strangled gasp, slamming her back to the door frame.
‘Sorry!’ she blurted. ‘I thought it was empty.’
She tried to move, but a power, an energy far more potent than her own, took hold of her limbs.
She remained fixed, eyes averted, as heat, not from the steam but radiating off him, cascaded over her.
It was as if she were being assessed, seen, and dissected, down to her very essence.
A chuckle, rich and velvet-toned, sounded. ‘Not a crime, carino.’
Her eyes were the only part of her she had the command to compel, and she risked a glance back.
He stood at ease, water streaming down his inked, naked torso and thighs, his aura laid back and composed.
Dog tags gleamed against his collarbone.
Glyphs shifted across his skin, over his lower body, and the mesmerizing shadow between his legs.
What was she doing?
She tore her gaze away once more, her face burning.
She caught sight of his hand reaching for a towel on a nearby rack, and with a quirk to his lips, he wrapped it around himself, covering his midriff.
‘De nada. I thought I locked it,’ he rasped, stepping from the stall with a relaxed yet wolfish ease.
Water dripped down his chest, his abs, and his quadriceps.
Her face flushed deeper.
‘It’s fine,’ she muttered. ‘I’ll go. Really.’
He studied her. No anger. No shame. Just that lazy half-grin, as if he found the entire encounter amusing. ‘Are you new to this deck?’
He didn’t recognize her. Why would he? She’d worn a mask.
‘I’m a cleaner,’ she said, her voice tighter than she desired.
‘I see that.’
His tone held no mockery. Amusement, perhaps, but not cruelty.
‘I have to leave. Please.’
She was pleading now.
Without warning, the unusual energy that had ensnared her snapped, and her limbs released.
She turned and fled, aware of the intense heat rising along her neck.
She did not slow until she was outside, gasping in the fresh air.
As she hurried back down the path, mortified and furious with herself, she forced herself not to glance behind her.
Yet, she sensed those dark violet and gilded eyes scorching her retreat, tracking her long after she vanished from sight.