I wish I had a better filter.
Because now I feel my face trying to burn off my cheeks again, though I can tell by the rumbling purr he liked hearing it.
"As are you, Ree. I have never met a human before. You are delightful."
I feel a glow in my chest, but it dims when I wonder if he simply means that I'm entertaining like some sort of bumbling tourist trying to order a pound of fish.
What an odd example. I feel so flustered right now.
The last time I felt like this was when Asad was talking about his plans for the weekend and I thought he might be about toask me out. According to Tam, he likely was trying to ask me out before I panicked and started talking about needing to clean out Sammy's kitty litter.
Thankfully I'm interrupted before I can keep spiraling. I don't really want to think about how an alien has sparked my ridiculous social anxiety.
I'm officially far too old for it.
It needs to grow the hell up or something, dammit.
"We should wait to talk until we gain some distance from the dead slimes," he explains.
I breathe out in relief, hoping my addled brain will somehow find a calm, cool version of Ree so he thinks of me as an attractive sort of interesting instead of pitiful.
Whoa, whoa, whoa, there, I chide myself.I just met this man. Lion thingy.Whatever!This is just the nanites at work, I tell myself firmly.
But I know it's a lie.
My mind was totally on board with hating the genali. I'm in control of my thoughts and they say Thivoll is the most interesting being I have ever met.
I thrust those thoughts aside. I can't do anything about the lust pumping through me, but no need to trot out those thoughts and risk blurting them out.
I instead focus on trying to figure out what bone and ligament structure would lead to this type of movement.
The wind is blowing my hair behind me and I can't help but feel exhilarated by the speed. Not to mention the feel of his flexing muscles and the surprisingly silken feel of his fur in my hands.
Or the musky scent that smells better than any expensive cologne imaginable.
18
Thivoll
She's almost completely bald, her skin is the color of kit vomit, her legs bend the wrong way, and her species is deplorably socially primitive considering how many technological advances they've made recently.
She should be grotesque or at the very least I should chide myself for even thinking of anyone of her species as anything other than the galactic equivalent of children.
And yet I find myself intrigued and aroused.
Her aroma is trying to pull that primal part of myself I had to work so hard to squash right back up to the surface. I've seen enough images of humans to know she's been changed and feel guilty when I think about how much I love the modifications.
I doubt she feels the same.
Her fully blue eyes look so much more natural than the disturbing white eyes of her species. Her hair is the most glorious mane I could ever imagine. It's odd to see one on a female. The sensation of it rippling against me brings up all kinds of carnal thoughts one simply cannot share when first meeting someone.
I know she should repulse me, but no one ever said I was a normal male.
To be panting over a human is clear evidence, if any more was truly needed. There's a reason I ended up relegated to air scrubbers and paperwork.
That reminds me of ships and the fact that Ree was so close to a crash site. "You were in the ship when it landed?"
I feel a shudder pass over her body at the reminder and a prickle of guilt makes my scales itch. I shouldn't have brought it up.
