His former MC flinched. “You do not belong here. You can do things the people on Earth can’t. You don’t even look like them. This human image that you’re hiding under is just that—an image.” His face became red. “You’re not one of them. Take it off! If they find out….”
“They won’t. This is where I belong, now let me off this ship.” Frey didn’t once regret his decision to stay on Earth. He’d had enough of the ship, his former Commander and the conversation. With more pressing matters, he needed to leave. “I’m late for a meeting.”
The MC’s eyes narrowed. “What kind of meeting?”
For a second, he hesitated. “A date.” That kind of fraternization was expressly forbidden by the Space Service, but they no longer held any control over him.
The MC stumbled backward. He pushed a hand against the wall to regain his balance. “You’ve chosen an Earthling as a mate?” He clearly understood the implication.
“I have.” He’d yet to meet the woman, but the picture he’d seen of her caused his heart to thump faster, his blood to flow to places only used in mating. He examined the ship for possible exits so he could get to her.
The ship lurched as it dropped in elevation. Within minutes it landed and the ramp door opened.
“Get out!” His former Mission Commander all but shoved him out of the ship. “You don’t deserve Tandee. I will inform the Chancellor you are dead.”
Although the old Ginnunian meant his words to hurt, Frey smiled as he stepped off the ramp. Staring across the recently harvested cornfield, he spotted his car parked on the side of the road. He rushed across the frosted dirt and corn stalks toward it, with the light reflected from the moon illuminating his path. He’d finally ensured no one from Ginnun would return for him.
The door handle to the hotel room rattled. Carrie stopped reading and waited. She hadn’t ordered room service; they would knock anyway.
She shot upright as Frey, the man she recognized from his profile, burst into the room. “Sorry I’m late. I would have called you, but I couldn’t get any reception.” With eyes wide, he stared at her, a slight grin on his lips as she stood naked in front of him. She threw towels from the edge of the tub at him. “Turn around!” Trying to cover herself with her hands, warmth spread from her cheeks to her ears and down her neck.
He turned around and picked up something from the floor. As he sidestepped toward her, she cringed. “I’m just going to hand you a bathrobe. You might be more comfortable wearing that for now.”
For now?
Yes, the one-night stand. Nerves attacked once again. Taking the robe, she wrapped it tightly around her body. He held out his hand to help her out of the tub, but she only stared at him. This man who’d left her waiting for hours wanted the date to go on? No apologies? Then she met his eyes, reminding her of tropical waters and captivating her very soul. She reached for him without any conscious thought.
“Why don’t we sit by the fireplace?” He led her to one of the loveseats in front of it.
She wanted to yell at him, put him in his place for disrespecting her, for stripping away more of her self-confidence, but she couldn’t form the words. Her heart pounded.
He’s even better looking in person
. With her hand held firmly in his, anger ebbed away with each step. Maybe the night would turn out better than she’d expected, so long as he didn’t disappoint her again. One night in the presence of this god-like man couldn’t hurt.
She wanted to see every inch of him, to burn his image in her mind for the nights she decided to satisfy herself. She might regret it in the morning, but she held no desire to let him out of her sight that evening.
She expected him to sit beside her and whisper sweet nothings before he became familiar with her body. He sat on the loveseat across from her instead. That gesture snapped her out of her trance, and made her more comfortable. Maybe her instincts held some merit. She
could
spend the night with the captivating man.
“You are very beautiful, exactly what I hoped for when I applied to Madame Evangeline’s service.”
“Thank you.” Blushing, she stopped herself from telling him he was drop-dead gorgeous, that she suddenly didn’t care if the date only lasted one night. But she couldn’t say anything else, her ability to speak vanishing. His eyes captivated her, their greenish-blue color blending into his pupils and she couldn’t stop staring.
“So, how long did you have to wait before Madame Evangeline found your perfect match?”
“I….”
He laughed, the sound deep yet gentle. “You know, I’m just as nervous as you. I worried that you’d leave without meeting me. I’m really sorry for being so late.”
She hadn’t wanted to go home. It would only remind her of another failed relationship.
He continued, “I had to wait six months to find my perfect match.”
Six months? She couldn’t imagine looking for a date that long. Not looking at all became much easier. She focused back on him and found her voice, too curious not to say anything. “Why so long?”
“Let’s just say I have very particular tastes. Don’t worry, it’s nothing kinky, but I require a partner who is….open-minded.”
She didn’t know how open-minded she was since the idea of a one-night stand made her panic and the thought of leather and chains made her cringe.
I’m so inexperienced. Maybe I should have followed Tamara’s advice long ago and stepped outside of my comfort zone
. But, she arranged the date and would try to remain as
open-minded
as possible.
“I read on your profile that you are divorced.” His voice sounded so soft, gentle. He didn’t make her feel like a failure. “Will you tell me what happened to your marriage?”
He caught her by surprise. She found it hard to focus on anything in his presence. “I….wow, you sure are forward.”
“I really want to know as much as I can about you.”
Does he really care that much?
“It’s going to take more than one night to get to know me.”
He left the loveseat and sat down next to her, placing his hand on her thigh. “I understand, but we’re here now.” He brushed a thumb across her lips.
She could only sigh, craving his attention more than anything.
“Will you please tell me?” he asked. “My….fiancé left me for my roommate. I understand the hurt of a broken relationship.”
She looked into his eyes, wanting to tell him her entire life’s story with the compassion he showed her.
“I can’t have children. My ex-husband left me to be with someone who could. We could have adopted, but….”
He wrapped an arm around her shoulders. “Shhh, don’t tell me any more. I see this topic causes you pain, but from what I understand from your profile, you are a pediatric nurse. How are you able to cope every day, caring for children, but knowing you can’t have your own?”
“I guess it’s my way of dealing with it. With such long hours, the hospital feels less like my workplace and more like my home. But it’s always felt that way, even before I knew I couldn’t conceive a child.” She’d never really thought of her life that way, but it had become her reality. She’d go back to her apartment to sleep and shower, but could never forget about all the children she’d return to on her next shift.
“If you found a way to have your own child, would you still want to?”
With his arm around her, she wanted to lie back against his chest. It felt so intimate, so comforting, but her guard lingered. She’d only just met him. “I can’t think like that anymore. I’ve come to the conclusion I’ll never give birth to a child of my own, but I haven’t ruled out adopting in the future.”
He pulled her closer, her side pressed against his. “I appreciate you answering such personal questions. Now, ask me anything. It’s only fair you know more about me. I don’t want you to think of me as a stranger.”
Carrie pulled away. No matter how hard she tried not to think about it, Frey would never be more than a stranger, one she went there to have sex with. Asking a couple of questions about him would not change that for her. “I….I don’t think I can do this.” She stood, rushed to the bathroom and locked the door. Hoping he would fulfill all of her fantasies, she still wanted to have sex with him. But not on the first date. Her heart hadn’t fully mended. She needed more. As she sat on the toilet seat, the tears flowed. Why did she think she could handle this? She wasn’t Tamara. She needed more than just sex. Peter hurt her too much to give herself to someone so freely. She couldn’t separate sex from a relationship. Tamara should have gone on the date instead of her. Her friend could easily walk away in the morning.
He knocked on the door. “Carrie, are you okay?”
“I’m sorry Frey, but I can’t have sex with you. Your perfect match didn’t work out.”
“Sex? You think this is just about sex?”
“Yes, that’s what we signed up for.” She wiped away the tears. “That’s what this date was about, the date you showed up three hours late for.”
“I said I’m sorry. I had a meeting that ran late. When I tried to call, I couldn’t get any reception.”
“And I’m sure this meeting was in the middle of nowhere?” She only heard lame excuses from men. Her ex had given her enough when he’d presented her with divorce papers.
“The meeting took place on a private plane and we literally landed in an airport in the middle of farmland. By the time I had any reception, I was only five minutes away.”
Her eyes narrowed. She didn’t know whether to believe him. “You have meetings with your clients on private jets? What kind of construction company do you run?”
“This was a first. Now, would you please come out and ask questions on this side of the door? Besides, I really need to use the bathroom.”
She would have to leave the room eventually since her clothes were still out there. So was the door out of the hotel room.
She opened the door and rushed past him, using the short amount of time he spent in the bathroom to put on as much clothing as possible. Unfortunately, she couldn’t find her bra and only managed to get her underwear and camisole on.
He came out and grabbed the rest of her clothes and her overnight bag, a playful grin on his face. “I’ll give these back as long as you promise to spend the night here with me. We don’t have to have sex, I’ll even sleep on the floor, but I don’t want you to leave.”
She chewed on her lip. Could she truly agree to stay with this gorgeous stranger for the rest of the night and into the morning? If she’d experienced any bad vibes from him, she wouldn’t agree to stay. She still worried about having sex. Tamara told her about so many positions and places where she’d done it, but Carrie’s ex had only known one way. That’s the only way she knew, too. But with the sex out of the way, she could enjoy herself. She’d already paid for the room. “I promise.”
He dropped her clothes and bag then reached for her hand. “Let’s sit down again. We can order room service because I’m really hungry. The meeting earlier didn’t involve any food.”
They returned to the loveseats in front of the fireplace and finished off the rest of the bottle of wine. Room service arrived twenty minutes later. For two hours, they ate, talked and laughed, getting to know each other until he no longer felt like a stranger to her. Sadness washed over her when she realized they would only spend a few more hours together before going their separate ways, never to see each other again.
“What’s the matter?” Frey asked.
“Nothing, I’m just feeling tired.” She refused to dwell on their upcoming departure. She’d signed up for the date with many opportunities to back out. She would enjoy the rest of their time together.
“If you’d like to go to sleep, feel free. I’ll just rest right here.”
“No, I can’t do that to you. The loveseat’s not big enough for you to lie comfortably.”
“Perhaps we could share the bed. I’m sure there is enough room for both of us without any pressure.”
Carrie laughed. The entire night blanketed her with pressure, pressure to sleep with the gorgeous man before her then leave him in the morning, no strings attached. Besides, she didn’t think she could
rest
with his body so close to hers. “I may be tired, but I don’t think I can sleep.”
“Then will you let me do something for you? Will you trust me?”
Trust him? “I….It depends what you want me to do.” All of the earlier anxiety came rushing back.
“I want you to lie down. Don’t worry, this is nothing sexual and I will not cause you any pain.”
His eyes pleaded for her to trust him. She wanted to, she really did. He’d done nothing yet to make her think he would hurt her. “And what are you going to do?”
He smiled a kind, compassionate, understanding smile, one she would enjoy seeing in the morning when she woke up. “Lie down and I’ll show you.”
She left the loveseat and stood at the side of the bed.
Frey waited for her to get settled before he approached her. “Now I want you to lower your panties.”
“Take them off? I thought you said this wasn’t sexual.” Her anxiety returned and she considered jumping off the bed and locking herself in the bathroom again.
He kept his distance from her, the only thing that kept her from freaking out. “No, don’t take them off. Just lower them further down your belly.” His voice deepened to a warm and seductive tone and suddenly, she wanted his intentions to be sexual. Lowering her panties, she considered taking them all the way off.
“Not right now.” He placed his hand on hers before she could lift her hips to follow through.
Frey wanted those panties to come off. She ignited something primal inside of him that no other female from Earth or Ginnun could ever spark. But he had to perform the procedure first. It remained the key reason he’d chosen Carrie from all the profiles Madame Evangeline e-mailed him on a regular basis. Evangeline seemed magical in her communications, leading him to almost reveal his secret to her with the hopes of finding the right woman faster. Had Carrie’s profile not come his way, he might have. But with her solid frame and lusty curves, he knew she would be able to handle his true alien body. If the date went well, he would reveal his Ginnunian form to her. Seeing her lie there confirmed she wouldn’t disappear underneath him. He’d also found some of the confidence he assumed she’d let slip away after her marriage ended. He would bring it back out, make her realize her worth and provide her with a gift no one else could.