Tempted by Celestial Bodies

Chapter 2

chapter two

The subdued lights of Glow Road’s many shops disappeared into the pavement beneath my feet. I kept my pace brisk, but casual, hoping I blended in. The scents of street food gave way to stray wafts of perfume, then shifted to the stench of old garbage. The farther I traveled down the twisty road, the more I garnered interested stares from the aliens hanging out in front of the shops.

This planet was a study in contrasts. Rojab One orbited as close to a sun as you could get without becoming barbecue. The sun-facing side remained unlivable to most species except those born here. I’d only met one Sun Rojabian. Some might find their textured, rock-like skin or their towering stature unnerving, but their three eyelids over two sets of eyeballs, one on the back of their head and one on the front, was what sent shivers across my skin.

Then came the Night Rojabians. Their darker skin and glowing eyes distinguished them from their sun-loving counterparts. They ruled Carlow City and all the tourist destinations along The Span, the boundary where the darkness met the light. Aliens from all over came here to trade, or work, thanks to the flourishing mining and entertainment industries.

“Hey lovely, are you here for a ride of a lifetime?”

The satiny smooth voice pulled me out of my thoughts and I spun on my heel. A two-headed alien with a body similar to a horse swayed in front of me. I’d seen this species before, but didn’t know what planet they came from. The building behind them towered over the ones flanking it, at least six stories tall. The sign glowing softly on its facade read “Dream Land.”

I returned my attention to the alien’s heads.

“My eyes are down here.”

The irritated voice snapped my attention to the middle of the being’s chest, where two cartoonishly cute eyes glared at me. I grimaced.

So, not two-headed after all. Two-breasted? This wasn’t the first time I’d made an alien faux pas and it wouldn’t be the last.

“Sorry, not interested,” I murmured and scurried farther down the street, praying the being wouldn’t come after me for the slight.

Heinrick provided specific instructions on how to reach the dream broker’s lab. I needed to walk down Glow Road until it split in two directions, then take the right fork to the dead end. Sounded simple, but the further I walked, the fewer people I encountered, and the more I checked over my shoulder, paranoid. Shadows cloaked doorways instead of the array of fixtures I’d come to accept as the Rojabian norm. My shoulders inched toward my ears, my stomach swirling with nerves.

I would turn back right now if I could, but I didn’t have any other options thanks to Jordan and transport incident. Dickhead ex-boyfriend. Dickhead dust storm.

Rojab One didn’t use biometric credits like most of the planets in this system. They used credit sticks. I’d downloaded a good chunk from my Earth account at the exchange terminals when I’d arrived, and ignorantly didn’t check off the “added insurance” box when I signed up for this little jaunt back on Rojab Six.

“Don’t live with regrets, they said.” My mutter turned into a whisper. The dark buildings on either side of the road narrowed so much a transport wouldn’t fit through. I stole another glance over my shoulder, and kept walking.

I had more regrets than sense at this point. The tour transport carried my group to the other side of the mountains beyond The Span. With the planet’s natural tilt, the sunrise effect with the chemicals in the upper atmosphere occurred only once every hundred years. I’d heard the experience was supposed to be life-changing. At least, that was what the travel agent on Rojab Six had promised.

I tried not to cry in defeat at the irony.

A dust storm developed halfway to our intended destination. The planet had ample warning systems in place, and we would have made it back in time if it hadn’t been for the dust sharks. I resisted the urge to rub my raw cheeks again. The sharks took some of the tourists as a late-night snack, and the rest of us huddled in the transport’s wreck until rescue arrived. I’d been grateful for my life, but being stranded wasn’t the worst part.

I’d lost my credit stick to the desert. After the rescue, I’d tried to access my off-world funds and my accounts were empty. That piece of shit Jordan had stolen from me. We’d joined our accounts when we’d moved in together. What a mistake. Had he planned it all along? Seemed stupid to invest two years of his life for one measly bank account. He’d probably done it to impress his new green girlfriend. As soon as I returned to Earth, I was going to nail the fucker to the wall.

But that legal action waited for another day.

If it weren’t for Heinrick lending me a few credits and sharing the other bunk in his room at the hostel, I would’ve been sleeping on the street.

The passageway divided, the shadows lengthening even more. My feet slowed while nerves renewed their dance in my belly. I took another peek over my shoulder. All the artificial light from Prime Street had disappeared, leaving the dim of Glow Road in its place. I squinted ahead. None of the facades were lit along this strip. Illumination came from the occasional light orb on the ground and the slice of stars between the top of the buildings.

I shoved my hands in my pockets and tried to think of another way out of this mess, but came up empty. I couldn’t afford not to do this. Inhaling a fortifying breath through my nose, I aimed myself at the right side of the fork and forged ahead.

Heinrick told me the deeper a broker traveled into the Night side, the higher the price they’d pay for my dreams. With zero credits to my name, that made Khor Drath my only option. For such a ubiquitous entertainment staple on this planet, I couldn’t decide if it were ironic or appropriate that dream brokers lived in the shadows of Carlow City.

The walkway stopped abruptly. The darkened walls of the buildings seemed to curve inward they stretched so high, blocking out the stars. My eyes adjusted enough to see the indentations between the organic-shaped black brick which constructed most of the buildings on this world, but it took me a minute to make out the door inset into the dark surface.

My heart pounding with apprehension, I reached my hand forward, searching for the key pad Heinrick said would be in the center of the door. The rough stone felt surprising cool compared to the heat of the planet. I brushed my fingers back and forth until I connected with smooth metal.

A screen activated, the glare almost blinding in the dim of the dead end. I blinked, then pressed the circular button to announce my arrival.

“What do you want?” came a brusque voice a moment later.

“Uh…” I licked my lips and swallowed. “I’m here for the dream broker.” It would be just my luck if I’d arrived at the wrong location and wound up applying for a job as a Mannramm milker by accident.

The door clicked, a sliver of light spilling between the gap. I lifted my hand to push it open when it swung inward. More light washed over me and I squinted. A form blocked the doorway, and I looked up, and up, past a bare chest and wide shoulders before I reached his face.

Silver-white eyes shone down on me, glowing like the brightest of stars. My breath left me in a whoosh. Awareness tingled over my body like a living thing.

Heinrick hadn’t told me what species Khor Drath was. I’d assumed a Night Rojabian, but I’d assumed wrong. Khor Drath was a Sawarstian, the warrior race who notoriously kept to themselves when not fighting someone else’s war. I’d heard it said we were all made of stars, but not Sawarstian. No, they were made of nebulae.

I’d never seen someone so breathtaking in my life.

Swirls of color, both subtle and bright, over a backdrop of dark, composed the skin of his chest, his face, his arms. Everywhere . Navy blue, teal, and deep purple dust-like movement moved like a living, breathing entity. It was all an effect, like how a chameleon changed its skin when camouflaged, but it mesmerized. I couldn’t tear my eyes away. I’d seen a lot of aliens since beginning this fiasco of an interstellar tour, but I’d only heard whispers about Sawartians, and had never seen one in the flesh.

He didn’t have hair, but thick cords of flesh that extended from his scalp, then tapered to delicate points to rest on broad shoulders. They swirled with color like the rest of him. His skin appeared as smooth as a dolphin’s and he had to be over seven feet tall, his rigid posture adding to his height. He braced one of his hands against the door frame and the other curled around the top of the door, five thick fingers on each in proportion to the rest of him.

My gaze dropped below his waist, noting the bulge beneath his black pants, the only clothing he wore. Definitely in proportion . My chafed cheeks burned and my eyes snapped back to his. Mortification constricted my chest, but he didn’t react to me noticing the size of his package.

Because he stared at me in the most disconcerting way, like he could see right through me, inside me, and knew my true nature. Or like he peeled my skin layer by layer like an onion, leaving me exposed to his gaze. The longer he stared, the more my body flushed with heat.

Since I’d begun the tour, aliens hadn’t done it for me at all . Until now. I mean, I could see the appeal of the green girl Jordan dumped me for, but other than her, no one had turned my head in a sexual way.

But this guy? Holy hell. He was something else. Standing this close to him prickled my body with humming interest. Thick jaw, high cheekbones, fierce scowl—his face alone could probably launch a thousand spaceships.

And he kept staring at me.

I stared back.

Tension crackled between us.

His fingers tightened on the door frame, making it creak.

Did his species have some sort of welcoming ritual? The old backpacker hadn’t said a word about it. Was this even Khor Drath?

“Heinrick sent me.” The words left my lips in an embarrassing squeak.

He shook himself and straightened away from the door. His eyes scanned me again, this time taking in my features, clocking the scraped skin of my cheeks and forehead, then downward over my wind-torn clothes.

When he opened his mouth to speak, I held my breath in anticipation

“Sand sharks?” he asked.