Ka'Cit's Haven (Riv’s Sanctuary #3)

It was humid down here.

“You’re burning up.”

She glanced at him and a soft smile spread her lips. She jerked her chin toward her chest.

“Iht iz hot downheer.”

The humidity coming from the engine room was going to be a problem and he was beginning to wonder if coming down there had been a good idea after all.

“Mai’nd iff ai trahy too kool down?” Her language was such a strange mixture of sounds…it was captivating.

Ka’Cit blinked. She was looking at him as if waiting on something. Maybe she’d asked him a question?

“I don’t understand what you just said but I agree with you.”

That garnered a small chuckle from her and Ka’Cit felt something warm inside of him.

As he watched her, she pulled her cloak down so it rested partway down her shoulders. Then, she brought the hem up and tucked it between her thighs, exposing the perfect dark skin of her legs.

The movement was so unexpected, he choked on his own breath.

Nee-ya glanced his way, her hands ready to pull down her cloak once more, and he fought to keep his face as neutral and unaffected as possible.

That was hard. But, if he wasn’t good at anything else, he was a master at blank faces.

When she didn’t pull the cloak back down, he allowed himself to relax a little.

She was overheating. She was only trying to cool herself down and a part of him wanted to tell her she could take the entire thing off, though he suspected that invitation would be misinterpreted.

He didn’t intend to creep her out, though he supposed he’d do that without even trying.

Still, he wanted her to feel comfortable.

They were going to be stuck in the nook for a while.

For the next few moments, she stole glances at him and when she realized he was watching her, she’d avert her gaze.

Maybe he was being impolite with the staring, but he’d rather look at her than at the drab gray walls.

She was far more interesting.

He could admit that he was curious about her. Her brown eyes were almost the same color as her skin. It was a rich hue, different from the other two humans he’d seen, but just as beautiful.

There was that hair that was like a cloud around her head, framing her face, and there was a little black dot in the middle of her cheek that moved whenever she spoke or smiled.

Phek. She was the most gorgeous thing he had ever seen in all his revolutions.

She was ta’ii from the first moment he’d seen her. A “sweet, flower” and that’s exactly what she looked like.

Delicate, small, and sweet.

She leaned back, closed her eyes, and her head tilted back a little.

She had a small nose, just as small but full lips, and her chin had a little indentation in the middle that made his mouth twitch at the corners.

Cute.

He almost choked on that thought.