Free Close Encounters by Katherine Allred

approach and watched with interest. The only sound now was the thundering of the falls behind me.
    Thor slowly obeyed my request, then rose from the water like the god of the seas. Maybe I should have named him Neptune, I thought fuzzily, my gaze moving over his body. The water trickled over thick, well-defined chest muscles, and highlighted his trim waist. It dripped from his hair onto a perfectly shaped forehead and slid sinuously over prominent cheekbones.
    Not even his facial hair could hide the sudden softening of his lips, and I felt a familiar stirring inside. It took an effort, but I forced it away. This was no time to get overly friendly with the natives, even if the idea was tempting. I glanced at the enthralled tribe. Maybe another day, when we wouldn’t be turning sex into a spectator sport. I may be a promiscuous gal, but I’m a private one.
    Keeping a tight rein on my libido, I moved around him, spritzing him with the soap. It was concentrated and self-activating, so a little went a long way. As soon as it hit his hair and skin, it foamed up into a wealth of lather.
    Technically, no scrubbing was required, but I couldn’t resist getting my hands on that wonderful expanse of hot, male territory. I started on his back, sliding my fingers over long corded muscles that flexed under my touch, and then moved on to his front.
    Thor’s eyes were closed, his nostrils flaring as though he wanted to catch every scent and imprint it on his consciousness forever. The shampoo did smell good. It wasn’t the loud floral type, but more like the clean earthy scent that fills the air after a thunderstorm.
    When I put my palms on his chest, his eyes opened, heavy-lidded and intense, and his head dipped to watch my movements.
    The close contact gave me greater access to his emotions, and he was radiating even more than he normally did. I was almost bowled over by his feelings of pleasure, his desire to take the proceedings to the next level. In reaction, and despite my best intentions, the scrubbing turned into a caress.
    All my nerve endings went on alert, and time seemed to stand still. Even the small islands of lather drifting on the water slowed to a stop, and the buzzing in my head swelled to a roar.
    “Kiera.” I was barely aware that Max had spoken and I didn’t respond, my attention focused solely on Thor.
    “Kiera!”
    It was the tinge of panic in Max’s voice that snapped me back to the here and now. Panic? Max? I dropped my hands, stepped back, and time began to flow again.
    “What’s wrong, Max?”
    He sounded a bit calmer when he answered me. “Your heart rate was entering the dangerous zone, and your blood pressure was rising. But it seems to be dropping now.”
    I rolled my eyes. Damn medic scanner bracelet. I’d worn it so Max could gather more in-depth information on the Buri physiology, but now he was using it against me. How do you explain the body’s natural preparations for intercourse to an intelligence whose only body is a spaceship? You don’t. And prude that he was, it would only embarrass him if I tried.
    “I’m fine, Max. It must have been a momentary aberration.” One that I wasn’t about to let happen again. I had no idea why I seemed to be so attracted to the big guy when I’d sworn off men, but I needed to be very careful around this particular male.
    Thor was still standing in front of me covered in lather, but the spell had been broken for him, too. Before I could tell him to rinse, he dove into the water and came up free of the suds.
    But I wasn’t quite done with him yet.
    Once we were out of the pool, I motioned him down onto a rock, and then retrieved my knapsack. The first thing I took out was a stiff bristled brush. It was oval-shaped with a strap across the back to slide your hand through.
    I set to work on his hair and discovered something surprising. Their hair and skin must have evolved to repel rain, because he shed water like a duck. One swipe of the brush, and the