Page 26 of I Fell for an Alien Popstar

Despite myself, I laughed, some of the tightness in my chest loosening.

“I appreciate you being slow,” I said quietly. “Most of my mistakes have started like a one-night stand and ended like a bad dream. This feels… different. Bigger. Like if we touch it wrong, we bend the whole timeline.”

Her breath hitched, just a little.

“Then I will go as slowly as your human heart needs,” she murmured. “I am greedy for you, yes, but I am also very patient. Well, I am learning to be.” A smile warmed her voice. “It is tragic for me to lie this close and not taste you, but I will survive.”

We lay there, suspended in the quiet, the space between us a careful, buzzing stretch of mattress we both pretended wasn’t strange. The room stayed hushed while the city’s glow seeped around the edges of the blackout shade, painting thin lines of gold along the floor and furniture.

I could feel the weight of every unspoken word, every breath we didn’t dare let out too loudly.

Then—just a graze—my foot brushed hers beneath the covers. A whisper of skin against skin, so light it could have been a dream.

But it wasn’t.

We both stilled, as if the world had tilted and we were waiting to see if we’d fall.

“Sorry,” I breathed, the word barely there.

Her voice was quiet. “Don’t be. Just… accidental gravity.”

The mattress shifted as she turned toward me, and my body followed without permission, as if my bones had conspired against me. Suddenly, we were close—so close I could see the flecks of gold and storm in her eyes, the way her lashes cast shadows on her cheeks.

Under the dim lights, I could just make out the silhouette of her body—just the faint outline of the blanket bathed in dim city lights that cascaded over the wall. We were close enough that the heat radiating from Zhari’s skin seeped into mine, sending a rush of thrill through me.

My eyes settled on the steady rise and fall of her chest, light spilling over pink skin, our breaths overlapping in the quiet room.

I could feel her gaze on me—those aquamarine eyes tracing every dip and contour of my face. It sent a shiver down my spine, that look of wanting, as if she were pulling me apart and consuming me piece by piece.

Any trace of sleep had vanished, my thoughts circling back to the curve of her lips and the soft flutter of her lashes.

Maybe I didn’t understand intimacy as much as I thought I did, because despite everything I’d said, the pull between us felt inevitable. I stilled, time stretching thin as conflict flickered inside me.

“Vada,” she murmured, her voice low. “I will not do anything you don’t want me to.”

I nodded, leaning forward until our lips hovered centimeters apart, her breath warm against my skin.

“I know.”

Her mouth lingered over mine for a few seconds. Then Zhari’s hand slid up to cradle my cheek, tilting my head just enough to deepen the kiss. Her other hand found the back of my neck, drawing me closer until our bodies settled flush, heat pressed to heat.

I parted my lips on a quiet gasp, and her tongue brushed my lower lip in a slow, teasing stroke that sent a shiver all the way down my spine.

I couldn’t breathe. My heartbeat pounded against my ribs, uneven and trembling, as if it might sync with her two heartbeats if I let it.

There was a small, visible hesitation, and I caught it. I guided her hand down from my neck and pressed it against the front of my shirt, a silent invitation.

She followed, slow at first and then firmer, as her hand moved lower and slipped under the fabric, brushing my skin.

Her mouth trailed kisses along my jaw and down the column of my neck. My head tipped back, my breath catching with every grazing touch.

All I knew was that I wanted her hands on my skin, our bodies close enough to mold into one.

Zhari’s mouth paused at my neckline. She looked up, wordless, asking permission.

I nodded.

She eased my shirt higher, the fabric bunching under my arms and baring my breasts to the dim light. Cool air brushed over my skin, and her thumb circled my areola in slow loops that had my back arching and goosebumps rising across my chest.