Heart of Gold

Chapter Eight - Loving

Kilnor had led Sunny through the streets for what had felt like another hour, before arriving their destination. Back on Earth, Sunny would have been distinctly unimpressed by the old, stone building, but after her day being locked in what amounted to a barn, and her night traipsing through the city, the building looked like heaven.

A faded sign hung over the door, foreign script scrawled across it. Parts had flaked off, leaving the sign illegible to all but the most learned readers. Another sandwich board stood next to the door. Sunny was amazed that it hadn't been stolen. She assumed that the sign indicated a vacancy, for after a quick glance at it, Kilnor led her inside.

It was toasty warm inside, a fire crackling merrily in the grate. Candles provided initial light, lending the otherwise cramped room a cozy air. Behind the counter sat the receptionist, clearly a species Sunny had yet to encounter. Her loose blouse-like top did nothing to disguise the fact she was very well-endowed with three breasts, the entirety of her skin a pale blue colour that on her, was not unbecoming. Whilst her outline (asides from the extra breast) was vaguely humanlike in shape, her features had been markedly different - her head had been almost completely circular in shape, her eyes dominating her face, her nose nothing but two slits, and her mouth vertical rather than horizontal.

Sunny has started at the sight, and decided to stare at the least intimidating part of her anatomy - her breasts - whilst Kilnor had negotiated for a room.

The exchange had been blessedly quick, and after Kilnor had handed over a portion of their ill-gotten bounty, he had followed the receptionist up the rickety stairs. She had led them up there flights of stairs, and down a dark cramped hallway before she came to the room that they had evidently hired, pushing open the door and gesturing for them to enter.

Sunny had entered before Kilnor, eyes widening at the perceived luxury of the room. The bed, which would have been a small double by Earth standards now seemed the height of comfort. A corner of the room was partitioned off, and a quick peek had shown Sunny a narrow bathtub next to a rudimentary toilet. It had seemed heaven. Kilnor had followed behind, nodding his head at the accommodations, before he had turned back to the receptionist for another brief interchange. Sunny had not paid attention, too enraptured by the possibility of a bath.

Now, she sat on the bed, listening to the familiar rumble of water filling the tub. The receptionist had returned, bringing with her a faded dress and a few toiletries. The dress would drown Sunny, but did not care. Kilnor had dismissed the receptionist, and he too sat next to Sunny on the bed as the bath filled. They sat in charged silence, neither of them speaking, not knowing quite what to say.

The pitch of the water changed slightly as the level rose, and Sunny got off the bed to investigate. sure enough, the water was deep enough. Calling out to Kilnor that the water was ready, she felt a brief moment of shame as she stripped out of the clothes, but the feeling soon evaporated, the prospect of being clean too good to ignore. Plus, she reasoned, she'd already spent weeks naked with Kilnor, how different could this be? That was a lie. It was different, the desire-fuelled kiss earlier that night had proven it. Sunny felt a certain type of readiness, a physical awareness of Kilnor that she had not possessed earlier.

She sank into the water, moaning slightly in bliss. The feel of the water on her skin was heavenly, and she reached for the soap the receptionist had brought before realising she had left it on the bed. She hesitated, momentarily torn, but then she called for Kilnor.

"Could you bring me the soap?"

Even to her own ears, her voice sounded husky. There was a moment of silence where she considered the implications of her decision, and then Kilnor stepped around the partition. His eyes locked with her own, and he stopped. She wondered what sort of picture she presented, her hair wet, slicked back from her face and trailing down her back and front in slick tendrils. Her body reclined against the back of the bath, the tips of her breasts just covered by the water, but still easy enough to make out.