Page 7 of Chosen By the Alien (Halloween Temptation #11)

I wake before the sun.

The light filtering through the broken blinds is pale and thin, brushing over the cabin floor like fingers through dust. My whole body aches. My thighs, my back, my neck. But there’s a hum beneath the soreness. A deep, bone-deep warmth curling in my gut, like embers still burning after a wildfire.

Tahl’s arm is draped across my stomach, heavy and protective.

His skin is warm. His breath is steady, brushing over my shoulder in soft gusts.

He’s not snoring, he doesn’t even seem to make noise when he sleeps.

Still, I can feel him there, so there, every inch of his big, powerful frame pressed to my back.

And I can’t stop thinking about last night.

My chest tightens. I shift slightly, trying to breathe around the memory of how he took me. How I wanted him to take me. Every second of it is still vivid: his tongue, his voice, the way his cock stretched me open until I was shaking apart, moaning like someone else. Someone I don’t even recognize.

What the fuck am I doing?

I stare at the ceiling, eyes dry, brain racing. This wasn’t supposed to happen. I don’t sleep with men. I don’t kiss men. Let alone throw myself onto an alien creature with glowing eyes and a dick that practically rearranged my organs.

But here I am. Lying in his arms. And the worst part?

I don’t want to leave.

Tahl shifts behind me. His nose brushes the nape of my neck. A low, soft sound rumbles from his chest, something like a purr, but rougher. I hold perfectly still, my heart pounding.

Then he speaks, voice raw with sleep. “You are awake.”

I swallow hard. “Yeah.”

He doesn't move, just keeps his body flush against mine. His hand skims down my side, not sexual, just… there. Like he’s reminding me he’s real. That last night wasn’t a dream.

“You are quiet,” he says.

“I’m thinking.”

“About?”

I hesitate. I don’t know how to say any of it out loud. That I feel like a different person. That I don’t know who I am right now. That I’m scared. That I liked it so much it makes me want to scream.

I roll onto my back slowly, and his hand slips off me. I meet his gaze. His eyes are heavy-lidded, silvery in the light, still glowing faintly like coals under ash.

“I don’t know what this means,” I admit. “I don’t even know what I am anymore. I mean, I was straight. I thought I was straight.”

His expression doesn’t change. He’s listening. Patient.

I exhale. “And then you showed up. And then last night…” I trail off. “Jesus. I let you… fuck, I wanted you. And I don’t regret it. That’s what’s messing me up.”

Tahl lifts himself onto one elbow, the blanket slipping down his bare chest. “You do not need to name it. Not now.”

“But what is this? Is this just sex for you? Is this some alien ritual thing, or…”

“You are my chosen,” he says simply.

I blink. “That’s… not helping.”

He smiles faintly. “In my world, to choose someone is not casual. It is not mating or claiming. It is deeper. Older. We choose with instinct, and we wait with patience.”

I stare at him, my heart thudding.

“You do not need to decide now,” he says. “But I will wait. For you.”

It knocks the breath out of me. Not just the words, but the way he says them. Like they’re solid, real, like a promise carved in stone. No pressure. No pleading. Just fact.

My throat tightens. “You’re serious.”

“Always.”

I let out a shaky laugh. It comes out more like a cough. I glance away, rubbing a hand over my face. “Fuck.”

He brushes a strand of hair off my forehead. “If it frightens you, I will keep my distance. If you wish to pretend last night never happened, I will not speak of it again.”

“No,” I say quickly, and I don’t even know where that no comes from, but it’s out before I can stop it. “Don’t… disappear.”

His hand stills. “I will not. Unless you ask me to.”

I look up at him again. His face is close to mine, close enough that I can see the shifting colors in his irises, like molten metal.

My lips part. And without fully thinking, I lean in.

I kiss him.

It’s slower than last night, gentler, lips brushing together like we’re testing the feel of it. His hand cradles my jaw, thumb stroking my cheekbone. The kiss deepens, tongues slide, breath mixes. I open for him easily, like my body remembers everything he did to me, everything I craved.

I break the kiss first, pulling back just a little. “Maybe we take this slow. One day at a time.”

Tahl nods. “That is enough.”

I lay back against the pillow, his fingers still ghosting over my skin. I exhale and let the silence settle. And then, quietly: “Tell me more. About your world. About… you.”

He tilts his head, pleased. “It is far from here. Dry. Harsh. Our cities are built into cliffs, cooled by the rock. We were hunters, once. Now we travel. Adapt.”

“Like you’re doing now?”

“Yes.”

“And the shapeshifting thing? That’s real?”

He nods. “Our tech allows it. Not true shifting. But altering what you see. Making the form… softer. Less threatening.”

“Human-looking.”

“If that comforts you.”

I glance down at his chest, at the ridges of his muscles, the strange markings down his sternum. “It doesn’t scare me,” I say. “I like the way you look.”

Tahl hums, pleased. “Still, I can change. If you wish.”

“No.” I shake my head. “I don’t want you to pretend. I want you like this.”

His eyes darken slightly. “Say it again.”

My pulse jumps. “I want you like this.”

A low growl rumbles from him, like I’ve fed some animal instinct. His hand moves down, over my chest, tracing lines with his fingers. His touch is reverent, not hurried.

“I will take you again,” he murmurs, “when you ask.”

I feel my cock twitch, even through the lingering ache. I’m already half-hard, just from his voice.

“I’m… still sore,” I admit.

“I know.” He leans in and presses a kiss to my shoulder. “I left my scent inside you. I could smell it when you moved.”

I groan and cover my face. “Jesus.”

“You liked it,” he whispers against my skin.

And fuck me, I did.

I lower my hands slowly and look at him. “You’ll really wait?”

“Yes.”

Even if I’m a mess? Even if I have no clue what I’m doing?

“Okay,” I say. “Then I guess… I’ll figure it out.”

He smiles and pulls me close again, tucking me under his chin. We stay like that for a long time. Breathing. Listening to the birds outside. My mind still races with questions and doubt, but his body grounds me.

I don’t know what this is. I don’t know if I’m gay. Or bi. Or just broken in a way that somehow fits him.

But I do know I’m not ready to let him go.

And for now… that’s enough.