Right. “Maybe, um, maybe we could give you one,” I say. I don't even know why I say it.An impulse.
A slow smile spreads across his mouth, and I feel like I can hear my heart beating in my eardrums. “I would very much like that.”
I nod, and my eyes fall to his skin.There are stars on it, some bright enough that they're hard to look at,and others just faint spots, like I'm peering into the distance.
“What about Starlight?” I ask.
His smile gets wider, and I have this sudden, ridiculous thoughtthat he might be a piece of the sky, but right now, he kind of looks like sunshine. “That is a wonderful name,” he says.“And what is yours?”
“Mason.” I press a hand to my chest, like a dummy. He’s not Tarzan, for fuck’s sake.
“Mason,” he repeats, like a sigh. It sends a shiver through me that I’m careful to hide.
I turn for the door again but turn back one more time. “Why me?”
His eyes rove over my face, and I’m afraid he’s going to make me say it, force me to be even more vulnerable than I already feel in this moment, with a strange man in my house—a man who seems to somehow be connected to me, even if neither of us understands how.
His lips part, and he takes in an audible breath. “I cannot explain it. I heard your voice, and it was as if something awakened inside me.”
We watch each other for one, two, three heartbeats, and then I take a step back, like I can undo all of this by putting distance between us. My skin is on fire, and I’m thankful for the low light of the lamp in Mackenzie’s room.
“Right. Well. Goodnight, Starlight.”
He nods once, his expression blank. “Goodnight, Mason.”
CHAPTER SIX
The next morning, I’m making coffee when Starlight comes into the kitchen. The last time I saw him, his skin was ocean blue, but now it’s a blue-gray color. Like it’s a reflex, I glance out the window and up at the sky.
Yep. Same color.
I turn, a mug of coffee in each hand. “Do you eat?” I ask, bringing them both over to the table, where Starlight takes a seat. He’s rigid in the chair. I’m pretty sure he doesn’t actually know how to sit in it properly.
“No, I do not,” he responds cheerfully.
Right.
I set his cup of coffee down on the table between us,and when I take a seat across from him, I find him staring at me, his eyes steady and unreadable.
“What?” I ask.
A slow smile creeps across his gray-hued face. “You are very beautiful.”
I clear my throat, forcing myself to look away from him. I know I’m a good-looking guy by most standards, but he’s never even been this close to a human before. He doesn’t have muchto compare me to. And even if he did, does he have to justsay itlike that?
I lean back in my seat. “Thanks. Okay, um, listen,” I say, realizing that I still have both mugs of coffee in front of me. I stand and go back to the sink to toss his into it. It’s better over here, where I can avoid the way he’s staring at me. “I’m not sure what I'm supposed to do with you.”
His face is blank. It’s the closest I’ve seen him get to a frown. “You do not have to do anything with me.”
Shit, that came out wrong.
“No, I just mean…” I scrub my hands over my face.“It’s my fault you’re here, and I want to help you figure out how to get home, but in the meantime, I can’t let you tag along with me everywhere I go when you look like that.” I gesture at him, and his face falls.
Now he’s actually frowning. “Like what?”
I’m clearly particularly adept at sticking my foot in my mouth.
“I don’t mean that the way it sounded. There'snothing wrong with the way that you…” I sigh. “You’re very beautiful, too.” I’m hoping the fact that I can’t stop tripping over my words doesn’t come across as insincerity.
