Free Brianna by Judy Mays - Celestial Passions 01

most beautiful I’ve ever kissed.” Spinning, he left the room without another word.
    Her body tight and unsatisfied, Brianna shivered. His voice was so sexy.
    Lorilana chuckled.
    A blush that began at Brianna’s breasts crept up her neck and onto her face.
    Lorilana watched with amused fascination. “That,” she said, “is absolutely amazing.”
    With Char’s presence gone, defiance replaced the confusion in Brianna’s gaze and her chin came up. “What?”
    “Why, the way you change color, of course. No one on our planet or any of the other four can turn such a rosy shade of pink.”
    That comment demanded Brianna’s full attention. “Nobody blushes? Doesn’t anyone ever get embarrassed?”
    “Of course,” Lorilana answered as she walked over to the bunk and laid the neatly folded clothing she carried there. “We just don’t turn another color.”
    “I
    have not turned another color,” Brianna snapped.
    “Blushing is a perfectly natural expression of embarrassment on my planet.”
    Lorilana smiled to herself. Any anger at the situation in which Brianna had found herself didn’t seem to be directed at Char.
    And it seemed as if he’d taken the proper steps to ensure his plan of marriage to her would proceed without any delay.
    “I’m here to check your shoulder, and I brought you some clothing,” the doctor said abruptly changing the subject. “I apologize for the delay, but your own clothing was destroyed.
    You must thank Princess Merilinlalissa. You and she are of a size.”
    Shoving all thoughts of Char and her passionate reaction to him into a tiny corner of her brain, Brianna hurried to the bunk.
    Clothing would make her feel much less vulnerable. “You don’t happen to have a brush here somewhere, do you?” she asked eagerly. “And is it possible to take a bath on a spaceship? Our astronauts can’t, but you’re certainly more advanced than we are.”
    Lorilana laughed. “Women are the same throughout the galaxy. There’s nothing like a warm bath to relax the nerves.
    Bring those things and follow me.”
    Brianna followed her to the door. After a quick glance to make sure Char was nowhere in sight, she stepped through the doorway. She hesitated when she saw Lorilana palm the door to his bedroom.
    “Char’s returned to Command,” she said. “He won’t be back for three or four hours, so you’ll have privacy. I must warn you, however, he’ll have his evening meal served here.”
    Brianna followed her into Char’s sparsely furnished room, which contained nothing more than a large bed, a nightstand, and dresser. Leading the way to a control panel located on the far wall, she motioned Brianna closer.
    “The translator in your ear allows you to understand everything anyone will ever say to you, no matter what the language. Unfortunately, you don’t gain literacy in a language with the translator, so pay close attention. The door to the bathing room hasn’t been keyed to you yet, so you’ll have to override the lock from this panel. Flip this green switch,” she said and demonstrated, “and the door will open.”
    Stepping through the doorway, Brianna entered a small room that contained a combination bath/shower and toilet facilities. “Red for hot and blue for cold?” she asked.
    “Color coding must be fairly standard throughout the galaxy,”
    Lorilana said dryly as she removed the bandage from Brianna’s shoulder. “I don’t think you need any more bandages. Your wound is healing quite nicely. Enjoy your bath. I’ll be back in about an hour. Oh, Princess Merilinlalissa has expressed an interest in meeting you. She and her husband will also be among the dinner company tonight.”
    Lorilana turned to leave but Brianna’s voice caused her to pause as she reached the doorway. “Doctor, just whom have the captain and you decided I must marry?”
    Lorilana looked back over her shoulder, surprise evident on her face. “From what I observed earlier,” she said with wry