Chapter 3
Chapter
Three
EDEN
The kettle hisses angrily as rain hammers the windows and roof.
The air smells metallic, the lights flicker, and I squeeze my eyes shut.
Besides a fear of lightning, I’m no big fan of the dark.
Then I giggle, reminding myself I’m hanging out with the human equivalent of a walking, talking night-light.
Sure. Either I’m dreaming, or Bishop’s tourism board seriously undersold the local nightlife.
Halloween costumes don’t get much more functional—or harder to explain. But I promised myself I’d say yes to weird this month—new town, new job, new me. Handsome man who’s definitely not Mrs. Camden.
“You really do need to share the secret behind your cost—”
My eyes drop to the plate on the coffee table, and I gasp. The Star-honey is glowing too.
Okay, cool. Halloween tricks and treats. Maybe my bakery needs to up its spooky game, and maybe this iridescent hermit knows how.
“Where’d you get this stuff? Area Fifty-One?” Despite the eerie shimmer, I grab another and pop it into my mouth. Warmth blooms behind my eyes, slow and syrupy, like my bloodstream just turned into champagne.
Another moan escapes my lips, and his face tightens.
“What do you know about aliens, Eden?”
I shrug. “That’s the million-dollar question. Isn’t it? I suppose if I knew more, I’d have men in black after me.”
Metal clinks against stoneware as he stirs apple-cider powder into two mugs and brings them in. When he hands me one, our fingers brush—sparks arc from his skin to mine.
“If anyone comes after you, I’ll rip them apart with my bare hands,” he growls.
“Oh.” I should be scared, but something else shivers through my body. Oddly, the possessive promise turns me on. My head feels fuzzy, humming.
Am I really going to sit here flirting with a cosplay nerd? Apparently, yes, because my hormones never got the memo about common sense. After two years of dating apps and disappointment, it figures my type turns out to be bioluminescent.
I grab another Star-honey, and he laughs. “How many of those have you eaten?”
I shake my head. “I don’t know. Was I supposed to stop?”
The corners of his grumpy mouth turn up. “No. They can act like a depressant in the human nervous system—like alcohol.”
“Is that why I feel buzzed?”
“I’d like to think it’s because of me. But probably the Star-honey.” He’s definitely trying to flirt.
“So, you live all alone out here? No wife? No kids?”
He shifts. “Duty—work—kept me too busy. But lately I’m reevaluating my priorities.”
“How so?”
He rubs his beard, skin mostly normal but occasionally flashing light beneath. “I gave my entire life to a system that’s forsaken me. Now I’m questioning my loyalty.”
“Wow, heavy stuff.” I sip my cider, pretending I understand intergalactic burnout. “You ever try yoga?”
His brow lifts. “You think I need stretching?”
“Emotionally? Definitely.”
“What else do I need?”
“You’re suddenly very talkative for a Halloween date.” I clap a hand over my mouth. Did I just call this a date?
A smile fights for control of his face. He chuckles, low and rough.
“A date with a human? That could get me killed.”
Is he joking? Then he smiles, and I’m not sure anymore.
“You’re really taking this whole costume thing pretty far.”
“We were not made for halfway,” he says. “Perhaps my best and worst quality.”
I grab another Star-honey; he laughs. “You’re really not scared of me, are you?”
“Are you scared of me?” I counter. “Intimidating French maid costume and all.”
“The truth? You terrify me.” His tone is heavy, then he licks glowing honey from his finger. I can only imagine what else that mouth could do.
“You don’t seem scared,” I tease.
“I should scare you,” he grumbles. Then, his voice softens. “Well, at least should have.” He thinks for a long moment. “I’m different now. Finally thinking for myself. Taking my life into my own hands. Maybe that’s the gift I’ve learned here.”
“Here?”
“Earth, as you call it.”
The words hang between us, too serious for candlelight and cider, but I laugh anyway.
He’s shimmering again. A whisper of light ripples through him—white, lavender, gold. It’s like watching sunrise trapped under his skin. I touch his forearm; the room tilts.
“I still don’t get how you’re doing this. It’s amazing.”
“Actually,” he murmurs, fingers brushing the hem of my too-short skirt, “this costume is what’s amazing. Makes me believe the resonance can cross species.”
“How romantic,” I tease.
A deep vibration rolls from his chest. The hum slides through my bones, rearranging the air inside my lungs.
He frowns.
“Would that really be so bad?” I ask.
He nods. “Sedition. Death penalty. But only if they come back.”
“They?”
He points to the sky.
“Of course.”
“Too much?” he asks. “I know your kind can have trouble processing all of this, though we’ve been here all along.”
“Are you always this funny?” I arch an eyebrow.
“Is funny a good thing?”
I trace lazy circles along his arm, mesmerized by how the luminescence swirls beneath my touch—like a faint, living heat-map. “Most women like a man who can make her laugh.”
“And feed her well,” he says gruffly. His hand climbs higher until his thumb grazes my upper thigh. Sparks dance; I inhale sharply. “And protect her with my life, my honor, the mark of my clan.”
Okay, definitely not normal dirty talk—but somehow, my body hasn’t gotten the memo.
“You’ve really got this alien thing down.”
“And you’ve got this French-maid thing down.”
“Not sure if that’s a compliment.”
His eyes meet mine, intent. “Never thought the pull would be this strong. The need. After hundreds of years of loneliness, would it really be so wrong?”
“What are you, a sci-fi writer or something?”
“I could write stories of the stars that would make your head spin.”
“It already is,” I whisper, watching his thumb trace fire across my skin.
“You don’t have to be a recluse anymore, you know,” I say. “I’m just a short drive below … in Bishop.”
“You’re too sweet for a man like me,” he counters, licking his lips slowly, appreciation filling his eyes. He’s like a drug … one I should never start.
“You okay?” he asks.
“Yeah.” I breathe. “It’s been so long since anyone looked at me like that, I almost forgot what it feels like to be wanted.”
Our eyes meet, his intense, incinerating.
“Sorry, I think your glowing candies contain a little truth serum, too.”
“Maybe it’s time for truth.”
“Never thought I’d hear a man say that,” I counter, voice simmering. Of course, it’s a shot at my cheating ex and every non-committal man since. I don’t mean to be bitter, but I can’t help myself.
“That’s because I’m not a man.”
“Of course.” Will this guy ever drop the alien schtick?
“It’s clear you like how this feels. I can make you feel more?” He arches an eyebrow.
A moan escapes before I can stop it, heat curling low. “What do you have in mind?”
“Learning your body. Discovering the secrets of what makes your flesh vibrate for me.”
“I think it already does.” Okay, wow. Either the Star-honey’s an aphrodisiac, or I’ve officially lost my mind.
His blue-green eyes, like the night sky, glow warmer. “Once I taste you, you’ll never leave this mountain.”
I chuckle. “You’re that good, huh?”
“Won’t stop until I am. Want to find out?”
Thunder answers for me, and somewhere deep down, I know it isn’t the storm I should fear.