There was no alien butthole.
My strange flicker of disappointment was quickly overshadowed by curiosity. If he didn’t have an anus, what was in its place?
My gaze drifted between Linn’ar’s thighs. There was no visible scrotum and no penis. That was obvious from looking at him, since most Maeleons didn’t wear clothes. But I heard Levi mention Zat’tor’s cock enough to know that there must be onesomewhere.
“May I ask you something, Linn’ar?”
“Anything,” he replied cheerfully.
“Where is your penis?”
His body rumbled as he laughed. “Tucked away. If I let it hang out, it would knock into everything.”
I flushed at the mental image. Given his particular wording, it implied an extraordinarily large member.
Science, I reminded myself firmly. Why was I even getting flustered in the first place? I had no strong feelings about genitalia, alien or otherwise.
And yet...
“Can I see it?” I asked.
The question tumbled out of my lips before I could stop it. Mortified, I felt my blood run cold. Why did I say that? That wasn’t an appropriate question.
Isn’t it, though?the devil’s advocate within me asked. I was studying Linn’ar’s body, after all. If he was okay with it, then there wasn’t a problem.
My curiosity was vindicated when Linn’ar flashed an approving grin. “Sure you can,” he confirmed. “Let me get into a better position.”
My chest squeezed with anticipation—for a new discovery, of course. No other reason.
As I knelt on the ground beside Linn’ar, he sat back on his haunches. The muscles in his thighs bulged, making him look effortlessly powerful. Though he wasn’t the largest Maeleon I’d seen on this planet, he completely dwarfed me. He could’ve picked me up with one clawed hand and crushed me like a grape.
Linn’ar tapped the space between his thighs with his claw, drawing my attention. This area had pronounced scales like a snake’s underbelly.
“Do you see it?” he asked.
Leaning in, I looked harder. My eye caught a narrow, shadowy slit beneath his claw.
I hovered over it with my fingertip. “This?”
“Yes. It’s tucked inside there.”
I nodded slowly, recognizing the evolutionary trait. “A cloaca. Do all Maeleons have these?”
“As far as I know.”
My hands trembled with excitement as I raced to write this down. Not that I could forget such an experience. It was right in front of me, almost begging to be touched and explored.
Shocked, I stopped breathing. Where did that come from? Did Levi rub off on me with his crude urges?
I sucked in a steady inhale. No, there was nothing lewd about these thoughts. I was propelled forward by the desire for scientific discovery. I wished to learn with my own hands. This wasn’t comparable to what Levi did with Zat’tor in their sparetime. Besides, those two were mates: parents and partners. Linn’ar and I were just friends. Acquaintances, even. Just two people connected by their mutual curiosity.
That didn’t stop Levi’s snarky grin from popping into my mind unsolicited. He predicted I’d fall for Linn’ar, or vice versa. Unfortunately for him, he was throwing spaghetti at the wall and hoping it stuck. He didn’t know what he was talking about. It wasn’t the first time he’d been wrong about something, and it wouldn’t be the last.
“Jaeyoung?”
Linn’ar’s voice jolted me. My hand was so close to his belly that I felt his pulsing body heat. Startled, I sat back to put distance between us. When had I gotten so close?
His concerned magenta eyes searched my face. “Are you all right?”
