Michelle twisted back toward her. “What? Who is Madame Evangeline, anyway?”
Ava glanced around. The rest of the staff seemed to be engrossed in their own conversations—reciting their plans during the layover on Elatia—but she still didn’t want anyone to hear. She leaned closer to her friend. “I applied to a dating service before we left. Madame Eve is the woman who runs it. I’m saving myself for my date.”
Michelle’s eyes widened. “So you’re meeting your special someone on Elatia? Could it be a passenger from the Star Spirit?”
“No.” She dreaded the thought. Guests from the mother traveler would still see her as a second-class being, and she didn’t know of any employee on board looking for a serious relationship. She jumped at the crunch of the ship docking, unprepared to meet her date already. “It won’t happen until we return to Earth. It can’t.”
“Well, do you mind if I come with you to find out? I have to wait for the twins to complete their quarantine period, anyway.”
“Sure.” She could use the support. Clasping her shoulder straps, she took a deep breath, willing her body to stop shaking.
***
“What does it say?” Michelle leaned over her shoulder, trying to read the message on her tablet.
No one had questioned her in the communications center. The technician had simply glanced at her identification then transferred the message to her device. Unable to wait until she arrived in her room, Ava opened the email from 1Night Stand and began to read the letter while in the elevator.
Dearest Ava
…
The elevator slowed. She braced for the change in direction.
…
I trust the first leg of your journey went well. While you traveled through space, I received an application from a man whom I believe would be an ideal match for you. Since you already have the required inoculations and do not need to go through the quarantine period before entering Elatia, I have arranged for someone to meet you. His name is Jacobus. While he is not your date, he will prepare you then escort you to the man you will spend the evening with
.
Affectueusement,
Madame Eve
So soon?
The woman had found her a match already? A rush of giddiness filled her before nerves pushed it aside. She wasn’t an impossible match. Then bile burned the back of her throat. What had Madame Eve meant by
prepare
? She spun to face her friend. “I can’t do this. I thought I could but I don’t even know this guy.”
She paced, the walls seeming to close in on her. “I wanted to find someone to spend the rest of my life with. On Earth. But this is just going to be another one-night stand. I fucked up. What am I supposed to do?”
Her friend shrugged, an amused grin on her face. “You can spend the next couple of days hiding in your room, wondering who you were set up with, and whether things might have worked out, or you can get your ass moving, pack a bag to meet Jacobus and then your date. If in your position, I’d be already gone.”
The difference between her and Michelle…she couldn’t spend the night with someone without feeling some sort of connection. Somehow, her friend could walk away the next morning, ready to find another guy. Maybe she’d feel different if she had guys falling at her feet due to her big bust on her curvy frame. In comparison to her friend, Ava looked plain, resembling a girl in the early stages of puberty. No one wanted to spend a lifetime with her. Every guy she’d ever slept with proved so.
The elevator opened. She stepped out, heading down the hall toward their room, still trying to decide how to spend her layover. Contacting Madame Eve had been a mistake. One-night stands didn’t agree with her heart. She pressed her thumb to the scanner, waiting for the door to open.
So much money spent
…
She sauntered inside, but stopped when Michelle darted in front of her.
“Quit doubting yourself.” Her friend grabbed her arms, staring her down. “You’re beautiful and deserve to be happy. If you don’t hurry up, I’ll knock you out then find a luggage cart to carry you down to Jacobus myself.”
With a deep breath, she nodded. She could do this.
Might as well get my money’s worth.
“Okay, I’ll do it.”
Michelle reached in her closet then tossed her a duffle bag. “Good. I’ll help you pack.”
***
Ava hugged her friend then glanced down to the golden-skinned Elatian man waiting for her. She trekked down the steel ramp, noticing the subtle hints of the man’s age as she neared; the graying of his light brown hair, wrinkle lines around his mouth.
He held out his hand. “Welcome to Elatia, my dear, Ava. I am here to escort you to the Delectatio hotel to ready you for your date.”
She hesitated to grasp his hand. “Ready me?”
He chuckled, wrapping his arm across her back, and guided her into the streets of Elatia. “You are very tense. I will help you relax before you meet the man you are to spend the evening with.”
Dropping her shoulders, she released some of her anxiety. A massage sounded like a wonderful idea. She’d never had the money for such luxury.
Side-by-side with Jacobus, she strolled past booths selling eletin creams, lotions, and oils, while others sported various wares made from veech. The delicious scent of spiced cider wafted around her. She licked her dry lips, her throat suddenly parched. Glancing around, she paused, longing for something to drink. On the other side of the street sat the brewery, with a vendor out front pushing an assortment of candy including eletin chews. Her stomach rumbled. She hadn’t eaten since grabbing a protein bar at breakfast.
“Hungry?”
She nodded, biting on her bottom lip. Although eager to sample the tempting food of this planet, she’d forgotten to grab some spending money before leaving Star Spirit.
Out of luck
.
With slight pressure on her back, Jacob encouraged her to continue walking, leaving the vendors behind. “All of this awaits you in your suite. There is a full spread of delicacies from this planet, as well as the highest quality of eletin products to enhance your pleasure.”
For the first time since she’d received the message from Madame Evangeline, Ava smiled. Even if her date didn’t work out, the preparation would be well worth the money. At least, she hoped.
***
Nate shivered as he stripped off his clothes behind the curtain. Did he really want an erotic massage from an Adamo trained in the art of erotic pleasure? A woman who wasn’t his date? Sure, the idea of the sexy Elatian woman running her hands over every inch of his skin left him craving a good fuck, but he’d rather have his actual match rub him down. He wouldn’t be of any use if he released early. His date would find him sleeping rather than awake to enjoy her company. Not the kind of reputation he wanted to garner his first night on the planet. He might have bedded many women across the universe, but he’d left each and every one of them satisfied, at least until they found out his ancestry. He couldn’t help his explosive releases. He’d tried everything to learn how to control them, but with no luck. Not since his first girlfriend, the one he’d left behind. Most women didn’t appreciate the damage he caused, nor his immediate need to rest after the orgasm drained him of all his energy.
“You’re a Claustrian,” they would shout before tossing him, often naked, out onto the streets. Thank goodness, he always managed to park the star cruiser nearby. Shuffling into his clothes, if the woman decided to throw them out, too, he would crawl back to his ship, ready to snooze an entire day away.
Though he didn’t know which, one of his parents had donated DNA of a now extinct people. With their destructive power, the Claustrians had been hunted down. Claustrum became their prison, their place of execution, then the military continued to incarcerate prisoners there from all over the universe. A few less powerful crossbreeds like him still existed in the cosmos, though no one except Wyn had wanted anything to do with him.
He worried how this date would end, yet Madame Eve had ensured him everything would work out. But unless the woman had matched him with a female who could extinguish his flames, his date would never want to see him again, either.
The eletin-infused air had already awakened his manhood. How long would he last before he brought the date to a disastrous end? Gods, he hoped Madame Evangeline knew what she was doing.
He climbed onto the massage table, lying on his stomach, waiting for the Elatian woman, Kalara, to return.
The curtain rustled beside him. He glanced over. “I’m ready whenever you are.”
All movement halted on the other side of the room, as if the person froze on the spot. Had he said something wrong? Kalara had only left to give him a chance to remove his clothing.
He rose onto his elbows, ready to climb off the table to peek past the curtain when Kalara swept into the room.
“Ah, perfect. Let’s get started then.” She ran her fingers along the back of his leg as she passed, causing his cock to throb. He shifted on the table to ease his discomfort. At this rate, he wouldn’t last long at all.
She poured oil from a brown glass bottle onto her hands, rubbed them together then spread liquid warmth across his back. She dug deep into his muscles, leaving him moaning, chasing away all of his anxiety regarding the date.
Sinking into the table, he fought to stay awake, the massage more relaxing than erotic. Maybe he would last until he met the woman Madame Eve had set him up with.
The sigh of a woman yanked him back from his stupor. Was Kalara getting off from touching his body? He chuckled.
Yes, I’m that good
.
Then he heard the sound again. Not Kalara, but from the other side of the curtain. Familiar, as if he knew the woman, had met her before. Oh gods, once she saw him, the date would be finished. He lifted his head. “Who’s over there?”
“Another client,” his Adamos spoke in a sultry whisper. “Now, turn over so we can continue.”
As much as he’d believed the eletin had no effect on him, when he lay on his back, his hardening length revealed otherwise. Kalara ran her hands up his thighs, making his cock jump. “No, not there.”
She winked, walking her fingers up his chest. “Your body is very responsive.”
Yes,
too
responsive at the moment. He closed his eyes, remembering the Otarian men who had chased him, the Yeemid who’d tried to land on his head in the streets of Havmiola. Anything to postpone his release. Then again, if his date would refuse him as soon as they met, this might be his only time to get off aided by a beautiful woman.
After working a white cream into her palms, Kalara rubbed it into his face. She massaged his cheekbones, circled his temples, then drew her fingers across his eyebrows, relaxing him once again.
Gods, this is the life
. He could handle this treatment every day.
“I…I’m uncomfortable with you touching me there,” the female client said from the other side.
Nate bolted upright, no longer able to enjoy himself. He knew her, couldn’t lie back while someone harmed the woman. “Who’s over there? Tell me now.”
Kalara stood between him and the curtain. “My husband is preparing your date. You will both be ready for consummation soon enough.”
“Your husband?”
She nodded. “Yes, we are both trained as Adamos of erotic massage.”
If he ever married, he would never be okay with his wife laying her hands on another man’s naked body.
“I should be the one over there.” She probably wouldn’t want him anyway, but for the evening, she was
his
woman to pleasure. He hopped down, throwing back the curtain.
“Ava?” On the table lay a woman with smooth, perfect skin. The small swell of her breasts peaked at the tips, and he yearned for a taste. Auburn-colored locks cascaded over the edge of the table. She opened her eyes, revealing the same pale blue pools of wonder he used to stare into after making love to her.
“Nate? You’re the guy Madame Eve set me up with?”
He gulped, suspecting disappointment from her tone. Never before had he met a woman so captivating. And she was his date. His Ava. Maybe Madame Eve did know a thing or two. But did Ava want him?
Ava’s cheeks burned as she gazed at the naked man who’d drawn back the curtain.
Nate
. Her first lover. The first guy to break her heart. Tanned skin covered his muscular body. He’d kept his hair short and even his nether region was trimmed to show off his large cock. By far the most gorgeous man she had ever seen, improved even more over the star cycles, he watched her, his face void of any expression.
Yet, she could think of nothing to say to the man she’d given her virginity to, so long ago. Would he even want to be with her after dumping her as a teen? And how could she be with him again? He’d treated her the same as the other guys in her past, used her then ditched her when he’d had his fill.
Overwhelmed by the heat rushing through her body from his scrutiny, she longed for a blanket or towel to hide under, but nothing lay within her reach. She covered her breasts—what little she had—and her pubic area.
If he’d been a complete stranger, she would have loved for him to ravage her body, but not now. “Um, can I get a robe or something?”
Her question seemed to snap everyone from their frozen states. Jacobus rushed to the hot tub to grab her a veech robe. The Elatian woman pushed on her client’s chest, though she didn’t have much luck in moving him.
“Natazekial, you need to return to the massage table. I am not finished with you yet.”
He ducked past his Adamo. “It’s Nate, and I’m definitely finished.” Then he stood chest to chest with Jacobus. “This is the woman Madame Evangeline set me up with.” He grabbed the bottle of lotion from the other man. “Since she’s my date, I should be the one rubbing her down.”
The flow of testosterone blanketed every corner of the room. Nate wanted to go through with their night? But where would that leave her? Crying in a corner in the morning, trying to forget her broken heart? She thought she’d gotten over him, but seeing him now brought back all of her happy memories, all of the pain from when he’d disappeared. Fear wallowed in the pit of Ava’s stomach. She wrapped the robe around her, slid off the table, backing away. The last thing she wanted was to be alone with Nate.