Page 93 of Stardusted

Oh, what the hell. Why not?

This time, I let him. I couldn’t quite make myself extend the hand, but I didn’t pull away when he touched my wrist.

His fingers were warm. Steady.Real.My pulse jumped in the hollow of my throat as I watched them curve around the delicate bones.

They felt…well, like human fingers. Long, graceful, with neat nails and attached to a human-shaped hand. Great hands, really. They made mine look small and pale in comparison.

And because I was a sucker for nice-looking hands attached to nice-looking guys, I let him tug the mace canister free from my loose grip. When I looked up, his frown had faded. He gave me a small, close-lipped smile as he set the bottle on the counter behind me. Like he was quietly celebrating the small victory of not getting doused in the process.

The night was still young.

On instinct, I closed my now-empty hand, hiding the marks, but Sky gently pried my curled-tight fingers open. I didn’t stop him from doing that, either.

Once my palm was flat, we both looked down.

The strange symbols shimmered faintly in the light. I held my breath while Sky cradled my hand in his, lifting it slightly, studying the intricate swirls like they held the secrets to the universe.

Which…you know, crazily enough, wasn’t outside the realm of possibility.

Speaking of outside the realm of possibility, in case I hadn’t mentioned it, Sky was cradling my hand.

Goosebumps prickled across my skin. He’d leaned in enough, his breath ghosted over my forehead. I slowly tipped my face up. His deep blue eyes were intent, his features drawn in concentration. Those cheekbones were ridiculous.

I told myself it was fear. It had to be. That liquid warmth in my gut couldn’t be what it felt like. Not now. Notstill.

But here he was. Sky. My bartender crush. My maybe-alien protector-slash-stalker, and he was holding my hand in his nicely shaped one, and he was looking all broody and thoughtful again?—

Holy crap. That feeling. There was something very wrong with me.

He was from another world, and yet Istillwanted to lick him like a popsicle.

Chapter 24

ANIASI WHATEVER AND OTHER INSANE ALIEN BURDENS

Ishould’ve been scared. Distracted by the fact he’d just admitted to being from outer space. I should’ve been…at the very least, too overwhelmed to be thinking with any of my hormones.

But this wasSkycrowding me against the counter. And because it was Sky and I lost all sense around him, my hormones were still very much involved. They were practically throwing a party.

I’d never been this close to him before. Not really. Crescent had been the exception, and it’d been dark. Here, under the warm lamplight, I could see everything.

Tiny imperfections. A scar near the hinge of his jaw where stubble didn’t grow. A cowlick curling at his temple. A faint mole beneath his ear, along the tanned line of his throat.

They were flaws that made my heart stutter.

Human flaws.

Because despite everything I knew…helookedhuman. He felt human. And every cell of my body insisted he was.

But he wasn’t.

And for some reason, I didn’t care.

Then he brushed his thumb across my palm almost absently, and damn it, it felt way better than it should’ve. Whether it was some alien reaction or just me being pathetic, I didn’t know, but my face heated, and I barely suppressed a shiver.

Amelia wassowrong about me not being desperate.

Up close, his indigo irises gleamed with threads of pale blue and silver, the same uncanny colors I’d seen earlier when I’d glimpsed his Pladian form. Otherworldly and breathtaking. They reminded me of trapped starlight. How I’d never noticed before, I didn’t know. They weren’t quite normal.