Tempted by Celestial Bodies

Chapter 7

chapter seven

They shared another tryst in the shower before climbing into bed together. Baxian held her with his chest to her back, and though they likely didn’t slumber long, Aivey couldn’t remember waking quite so refreshed…or aroused given that she woke to Baxian stroking his fingers over her clit.

Not long after they both found release again, Aivey’s comm bracelet vibrated with the reminder to meet her friends back at their hotel. Their time together really was at an end. Aivey excused herself, slipped out of bed, grabbed her discarded clothes from the night before, and hurried off to the bathroom. Cleaning herself and dawning her clothing was easy. Smoothing out her mussed hair was…fine. It would do. Wrangling in the tears that burned at the corners of her eyes? That was the hard part.

You just met him, for fuck’s sake, she scolded herself. No one came to Incandescence looking for more than a little fun. That was all she had been looking for. But then, she never expected someone like Baxian. He was just too…everything. One in a million, and she’d certainly looked.

Walking out and never seeing him again was inevitable, but the thought pained her more than she ever expected. Good job catching feels in the sex club, Aivey.

She should have just turned and run right back out of the bar last night the first time her gut told her to. Hook-ups never ended well for her. Didn’t she know that by now? How silly she’d been to think this time in this place would be different. Everything would have been easier if she’d just stayed at the hotel. She never would have met him.

But then… She never would have met him. And the thought of that, of erasing the moments they spent together and the knowledge there was a male out there like him, hurt worse than the thought of leaving.

So Aivey washed her face, pulled in a deep breath, let it out, and strode back out into the main room.

Baxian had donned his pants and sat on the edge of the bed, his head in his hands, that silvery hair spilling like a waterfall around him. The moment she entered, he lifted his head and whatever expression had been on his face shifted into something completely neutral.

“I…” Aivey’s tongue was suddenly thick in her mouth. Her chest fucking ached and she hadn’t even said goodbye yet. She sucked in another steadying breath. Just get it out, Aivey. “I have to go soon,” she said so quickly it was almost one word. “My friends and I are leaving today,” she continued a little more slowly, “and I’ll be late to checkout and might miss our transport if I don’t head back.”

“I understand,” he replied, expressionless.

She licked her lips, drinking in the sight of him one last time. “I enjoyed our time together.”

Say something. Ask me to stay. Even if she couldn’t, she wanted that, she needed…something.

“As did I.”

Silence followed his words, hanging so heavy in the air it nearly drowned her.

Fuck, well, okay then. Aivey turned on her heel and headed for the door. She’d nearly reached it when a strong hand wrapped around her wrist and pulled her to a halt. She whirled and nearly smacked right into Baxian.

“Aivey.” Her name was a broken rasp on his lips. His bare chest rose and fell. The hunger still lingering in his gaze nearly brought a whimper to her lips.

“I know you have to leave, but I want to give you this first.” He dropped her wrist and pulled out a small silver card from his pocket. “It’s my private comms card. It has my information across all the galactic channels, so you can reach me from wherever.” He ran his other hand through his hair and looked away. “If you want to, that is.”

Her mouth parted. Stars above, was he nervous? She blinked at him, her breath coming short and fast as her pulse hammered against her ribs. She could barely tear her gaze away from that little card. Reachable anywhere in the galaxy no matter the distance? That kind of comm required payment each use, and he offered it to her? A way to reach him literally any time anywhere?

Tears burned at the corner of her eyes again, but this time, it wasn’t from sorrow.

“It’s okay if you don’t—” He started to drop the offered card, but Aivey snatched it up like lightning, blinking away her emotions before they overcame her.

“Yes, Baxian.”

His gaze snapped back to hers, and she smiled at him.

“Thank you. I’d like to keep in touch, too.” She held the card to the thin silver band of her comms bracelet to download the data. “I don’t have a fancy card like you do, or cross-galactic comms…”

His lips turned up at the corners. “Just call my number, I’ll cover any fees if we’re not close. I’d like to see you again, Aivey. To talk, to spend time together, or more…” He glanced back toward the bed. “Whatever you’re up for.” The blue of his eyes positively sparkled.

The band around her wrist chimed, and Aivey held the card back out to him. Her arm nearly vibrated with barely contained joy. He wanted to see her again, and it didn’t feel like a hollow, insincere offer.

The look he’d had when she’d come out of the bathroom had been sorrow, she knew it now, the echo of misery that she felt at parting from him. He’d offered a way to get in touch that few could. No one would do that on a whim, not without serious interest.

Baxian reached for the card, but instead of taking it, he wrapped Aivey’s hand around it. “Keep it. Just in case the download failed or something.”

It didn’t. It wouldn’t. He had to know that, but he wanted her to have it anyway as backup. Her chest swelled with emotion.

“I…” He rubbed the back of his neck, his gaze cutting away. “I know we just met, and I can’t fully explain it, but I feel a connection between us. Some kind of pull that I can’t ignore.”

Aivey’s heart skipped a beat. Her breath lodged in her throat.

Baxian muttered some curse she didn’t understand. “Sorry. I should have kept my mouth shut.”

“No!” She reached up and took his face between her palms. “Don’t be.” Aivey pulled in one desperate breath then another. “I feel it, too.” Without another thought, she flung her arms around his neck and pulled him into a desperate kiss.

He tasted like passion, like dreams and hope. Baxian pulled her close, cupping her backside and tugging her up. She gave in to the invitation and wrapped her legs around his waist, locking them together. And then he was moving, pressing her back up against the wall as he all but consumed her. Aivey laughed amid the kiss, overcome, and she felt his lips stretch in a grin.

Whatever had sparked into being between them wasn’t something she could put into words exactly, but the feeling was undeniable. And she wasn’t alone in it, this crazy thought of so much more with a man she’d just met. Stars above, it wasn’t just her.

She’d read about some species and their mating bonds. Tethers that connected two individuals and bound them in this life and beyond. But she was human. Humans could create deep connections, but not quite at the level of, or as quickly as, other species. Even so, she imagined it had to feel something like this.

All too soon, he pulled back. But Baxian didn’t let go, just stared at her, their breaths mingling in the narrow space between their faces. His forehead leaned against hers. “You’re something special, Aivey. I never…I never expected to meet someone like you here, but I’m so glad I did.”

“Same. To think I nearly ran right back out the moment I stepped inside.”

He laughed, his chest rumbling against hers. “I’m glad you didn’t.”

“Me too.”

With one last peck on her lips, Baxian let her back down. “And now you really should go before I decide to keep you and piss off your friends before I ever get to meet them.”

“Well…” She stroked her fingers down his bare chest. “We wouldn’t want that.”

“I’ll talk to you soon, Aivey.”

She stared at his hooded gaze, memorizing the shape of his face, the hue of his eyes, and the striking form of his body. “Soon. It’s a promise.”

Glowing within from the connection she’d forged and comfortable in the knowledge that their goodbye would only be temporary, Aivey left to return to her friends. They’d planned for the trip of a lifetime, for a finale they’d remember for years to come, but in all Aivey’s imaginings she’d always thought it would be just one night. Somehow, she’d found so much more. Perhaps, she’d found forever.