Chapter 14
POV Melissa
I breathe slowly, and the air here smells like plants, wood, and damp earth, as if I were in the greenhouse on the ship where I was born. Beyond that, there’s the scent of someone- not something–close by. A smell I can’t even begin to describe, but it’s the scent of skin, not perfume, and the hairs on the back of my neck rise.
I think my list of aromas is far too limited to pinpoint what’s so enticing about this scent.
“Melisha?” Someone calls me, so I open my eyes and feel like I’m waking up from a long night’s sleep, only to remember I wasn’t sleeping–I was almost freezing to death.
“Melisha?”
The male voice is very low, not because he’s whispering, but because it’s hoarse, almost like a faint growl. He says something like “Melisha” instead of Melissa, pronouncing each syllable slowly, letting my name slide lazily from his mouth.
His mouth, with a blue tongue.
Then I look at him more closely as I wake to reality. First, I see his nose, which is neither small nor delicate. Then my gaze moves to his elongated eyes with blood–red pupils, paired with thick eyebrows and straight lashes. Finally, I focus on his pink, full lips, with a blue tongue peeking out slightly.
“Melisha?” he asks again, probably because my name isn’t common on his planet. Now, he stretches out his massive hands–at least twice, maybe three times the size of mine–and places them on my shoulders, making me notice three things.
First, I’m not wearing a shirt or a bra. My chest is exposed, and I’m sitting on the floor wearing only pants, my legs spread apart.
Second, it’s still cold–the tip of my nose feels frozen–but it’s not the same biting cold as
before. It’s milder.
And third, Kaleo is practically on top of me in this place that hums with energy, lit by warm yellow light from the ceiling.
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“Where am I?” I hug my body, covering my chest, though he doesn’t even glance at it. I’m answered by a series of strange sounds that I wouldn’t be able to reproduce without several attempts.
“I don’t understand. I don’t speak your language,” I explain, which clearly disappoints him. I see it in the crease between his brows.
Instead of trying to respond with words, the alien stands up and moves around the space I can’t fully take in yet because my focus is entirely on him and what he might do to me.
When he briefly turns his back to me, I get a better look at him and try to memorize his many details.
He’s still only wearing pants with a hole for his tail, which is such a dark blue it’s almost black. The tail ends in a tuft of fur, which is intriguing but not the most fascinating thing about him. Besides being ridiculously tall, his arms are a mix of dark blue shades, and his shoulders have a rough texture, almost like scales–a bit like a reptile’s.
It’s similar to the texture of crocodiles, with strange ridges, and also blue, but only on his shoulders. The center of his body–his torso and chest–is like that of a deeply tanned
man.
It’s as if human and alien parts were fused together. His neck, for instance, is entirely dark blue, but his face is fully human, with a beard and long hair. Despite this strange combination, he is… beautiful.
Not beautiful in a delicate or serene way, but in a rough, raw, and… sexy way.
Could the hypothermia really have messed with my head for me to be drooling over this alien without even knowing him?
But I spend so much time thinking about how surreal and attractive this alien is that I don’t notice him picking something up from a wooden table in the corner. When he returns to me, still sitting on the floor, Kaleo kneels before me and speaks again, his voice a rough velvet in my ears.
This time, though, a feminine voice echoes his words in English.
“I am Kaleo Ni, of the Ni family, and I understand you. I have a translator with English installed in my ears.”
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The hologram’s voice sounds nothing like Kaleo’s tone. So he grabbed a hologram device to serve as our translator!
“Was it you who found me when I landed?” I ask cautiously, looking around and realizing I’m in what appears to be a room entirely made of wood, from ceiling to floor. There are two rounded objects, like oversized poufs covered in some furry animal hide.
This must be his living room, which feels pretty empty, to be honest. The ceiling is high, clearly designed for beings his size, not mine. But honestly? Other than that, it’s not far from what humans might have. It’s a lone hunter’s place, with animal skins everywhere and lots of wood.
As I observe, Kaleo takes a short detour to another room, out of my sight, but quickly returns with a cream–colored shirt. It looks like something from Earth, made of thick cotton.
“Put this on.” He hands me the shirt, which is coarse, oversized, and long–sleeved.
For about five seconds, I hesitate. If I take the shirt, my chest will be exposed because I can’t cover everything with just one hand. I have too much to cover, and gravity has done its job.
But I still need warmth, so I hurriedly take the shirt and slip it on. When I lift my head again, Kaleo is staring at me, his pupils dilated.
I think this stranger has already seen everything there is to see, and if this were a show with everyone behind screens, it’d be fine. But this is real life, where he could hurt me if he decides my exposed chest means “I’m offering myself.”
“Are you feeling well? Warmer?” the hologram echoes his words after he speaks.
“Yes, I’m better,” I reply, feeling strange, like I’m the alien here, judging by how he looks at me. But technically, I am the alien–this is his planet. “Where am I?”
“This is my home,” he explains, confirming my suspicions. “Are you hungry, Melissa? I can prepare something for you to regain your strength,” he offers. But there’s something I need to know, even though, yes, I am hungry.
“How do you know my name?”
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Chapter 14
I don’t remember telling him my name.
He held my life in his hands for seven years and now… I think I was way more of an idiot than I ever thought I could be in my whole life, and I just got played by that disgusting, filthy bastard.
WHAT A BIG MESS!
“What are you talking about, Melissa?”
“I have to leave,” I whisper, still hoping I’m misunderstanding everything. Maybe it’s just a
mistake. “I was signed up for a Faleu program, I… I have a Faleu husband and…” I begin to
say, but Kaleo interrupts me, speaking clearly angry, while scanning my face with his eyes full of confusion and urgency.
“You’re my female, I bought you, not a Faleu!”
Then the tightness in my throat turns into unbearable pain.
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