An Alien To Love (5 page)

“Yeah, well Frey was, too. He expected you to be there when he woke up. That’s why he wouldn’t talk to you; he was afraid you’d hang up on him. He didn’t know what he’d done wrong.”

She took a step back. Had she misinterpreted everything?

Tamara handed her a piece of paper. “He wants you to stop by his house. You have to go there anyway since he has your phone.”

She should make things right with Tamara, but exhaustion overwhelmed her. Too tired to deal with anyone, she wanted to get home to bed before she said something else she’d regret. “What does he want?”

“Besides to give you your phone back? He wants to talk. I get the feeling he was looking for more than a one-night stand, too.”

Under his human image, Frey had more confidence yet he could not stop himself from pacing in front of his window. Would Carrie show up and if she did, would she just take her phone and leave him again?

He took a glance around his small bungalow. Her phone sat on the counter dividing his living room from the kitchen. It would give him a chance to invite her in. Nothing else seemed out of place, but he took a quick trip through the house to make sure; sitting still proved impossible.

When he left the bathroom after wiping off the sink for the fifth time, he heard a car pull into his driveway. As she stepped out of her car, he decided to let her ring the doorbell before opening the door. He didn’t want to appear too anxious.

“Hi.” His throat constricted. Her weak smile did nothing to hide her red, puffy eyes. He’d unintentionally caused her pain and now he needed to make everything better. He wanted to pull her into his arms and absorb all of her pain. Instead he waited for her response.

She stared at her feet. “You have my phone?”

Right to business
. Well, he refused to let her go so easily this time. “Yes, come in while I get it for you.”

He returned to the foyer with her phone and found her only a few steps inside the doorway. “Carrie, we need to talk about last night.”

Tears formed in her eyes. “I’m very grateful for the….gift you gave me. I will always remember you for that, and the wonderful night we spent together.”

Unable to hold back any longer, he set the phone down on a side table and pulled her into his arms. He kissed her forehead then trailed kisses down her face to her lips.

She responded briefly before pulling away. “I can’t do this.”

His heart ripped wide open, but his arms would not let her go. “Why? Are you afraid of what I really am? Does being with an alien disgust you?”

Her expression changed to shock. “No, last night was very special. I have no problems with what you are. I will never forget you.”

He lowered his hands to her waist and kept her in front of him. “Then why? Why can’t you be with me?”

“I understand why you want to experience other women, but I don’t want to be tossed away when you’re done. I can’t handle that again. It’s easier to just leave this now and remember our one-night stand.”

Resting his hand under her chin, his thumb brushed across her cheekbone. Her heart was still so fragile after her husband had left her, but he could not let her walk away. “There is a reason I took so long to find my perfect match. It relates to me being an alien, but there’s so much more involved.”

“Why then?” Even on the verge of tears, her cold words pierced him. “Why should I feel special that you picked me to have sex with?”

He leaned down to kiss her neck then moved his lips to her ear. “Not only did I want to find a gorgeous woman to share my gift with, but I was looking for more than a one-night stand. Ginnunians mate for life.”

***

She gasped. Had she heard him correctly? “For life?”

His light kisses on her neck sent thrilling sensations through her body, coming to rest between her legs. She resisted the temptation. She didn’t want to go through all that pain again. “Why should I believe you?”

He stood upright. His hands rested on her arms and he held her with his gaze. The black pools of emotion returned. She saw his fear, his desperation.

“I can’t make you believe anything, but Carrie, you are my only mate. I never have and never will be with another. If you are not with me, I will live and die alone.”

After only one night of staring into his revealing alien eyes, she knew he wasn’t lying. They gave everything away. She leaned into his chest and he surrounded her. Her body gave way to exhaustion and her tears flowed. As he kissed them away, she asked, “So what do we do now?”

Will we date? Will we move in together right away?

As if he’d read her mind, his mouth crushed hers, his kiss numbing her thoughts. He scooped her up in his arms. “Let’s not worry about the future just yet. You look like you need to sleep.” He carried her to his room and laid her down on the bed.

As he lay behind her, molding his body to hers, he changed to his alien form.
This is my Frey now
. His blue, elongated fingers combed lightly through her hair, bringing her a sense of peace. Then he rested his hand on her belly.

She closed her eyes and heard him whisper, “Rest now my love, because in nine months our baby will be born.”

A 1Night Stand Story

by

Jessica E. Subject

~
DEDICATION
~

To my four CPs. I don’t know what I’d do without you.

Danyka’s eyes flew open. The phone danced around on her nightstand. The numbers on her alarm clock blurred and came into focus. Seven o’clock.
Shit
! She’d meant to nap for an hour, but had slept for three. She fumbled for the device, but it stopped before she could reach it.

Eighties pop music jived from her Android again, sending it into another jig. Grabbing the phone, she pressed it against her head. “Hello?”

“Dany, where are you?” Her friend, Ellie, squealed on the other end.

Danyka yanked the phone from her ear and rubbed, before listening again.

“We’re waiting outside—in the limo.”

Double shit
. She needed a shower and time to dress in her eighteenth-century inspired designer gown. Closing her eyes, she pinched the bridge of her nose and fell back on the bed, staring at the ceiling, trying to gain some control over her body. “Give me half an hour to get ready. Can you come back?”

Ellie sighed. “Fine, it’s your dollar. See you in a bit.”

No, it wasn’t her dollar, but her boss’s. Personal assistant to Josh Summers, film producer, she’d intended to enjoy her two weeks off—while he traveled across Europe on his honeymoon—and her sizable bonus. She’d picked up the envelope that had held the extra cash and three tickets to the Kartha Studio’s charity ball and pulled out a note.

Danyka,

Take two friends and have fun! Connie from Connie’s Couture, will take care of all of your gowns, and a limo will provide transportation there and home (if you need it then). Enjoy yourself while I’m gone, because we’ll be working crazy hours when Tamara and I get back.

Thanks for your dedication these last two years!

Josh

She’d fist-pumped the air before spinning in circles around her apartment when she’d read it. The ball would be A-list celebrities and industry giants from wall-to-wall. She’d phoned her friends, Ellie and Vanessa, right away, barely able to contain her excitement. But when they’d visited Connie’s to find dresses, she’d been filled with a sense of dread, reminded again of her freakish size. While she’d been granted womanly curves and a considerable bust, she towered over most men. She even had a couple of inches on Josh.

He’d never seemed to care, but when it came to finding a boyfriend, or even a date, her options were limited. Any guy she’d met taller than herself seemed to prefer women half her size. Those shorter than her gawked from a distance, but their eyes bulged out of their sockets when she approached them. On occasion, a short slimeball would come on to her, wondering what it would be like to
do
a giant. There would be civilized, respectable men at the ball. At least, she hoped so. In the end though, she expected to spend the night alone.

Her friends had found their dream gowns after trying on what seemed like hundreds of dresses, but she hadn’t had a single choice. There had been one she’d admired. Connie took her measurements and promised to search for a similar one in her size. Instead, on the day she went to pick it up, the woman had surprised her with a custom-made dress.

Sliding off the bed, she groaned. Her knees were already sore from the impending precipitation. Her joints were as good a gauge as any other high-tech gadget to measure the barometric pressure. Plus, she planned to wear heels the entire night, making it a double-whammy.
There had better be someplace to sit down, because it’s not as if anyone is going to ask me to dance anyway
.

After a quick shower, she pinned her hair up, sprinkled glitter all over, and slipped on a black thong. Then she carefully placed her pasties.
Okay, time for the gown
.

Unzipping the polyester bag, she gasped. The magnificence of the dress still shocked her every time she saw it. She brushed her hand across the pleated red silk of the skirt. But she didn’t have time to bask in its elegance. At least not until she had it on. She stepped into her red net petticoat, sliding it up to her waist, and spun in a circle. Oh, how she missed her childhood ballet classes. Even then, she’d towered over the rest of the students. Though classes hadn’t made her any less clumsy, as her parents had hoped, the friends she’d made there never let her believe she was anything less than a prima ballerina. As they pirouetted in front of the mirrors, in leotards and tutus, she’d forget her size.

With her stature and blazing auburn hair, she always attracted unfavorable attention. Tonight, though, she wanted people to stare, and maybe, just maybe, her knight in shining armor would arrive to sweep her off her feet.

She wiggled the skirt on and brushed her hands down the material to smooth it out.
Almost ready
.

Deciding to forgo the detachable straps, Danyka wrapped the red silk corset around her torso, buttoning it up in the front. With a squeal of delight, she raced to the mirror.

She couldn’t help but twirl like a little girl. Before this moment, nothing in her life had resembled a fairy tale, except landing the position as Josh’s assistant. At the age of sixteen, she’d been orphaned when her parents died in a horrific car accident. Her aunt had agreed to take her in, rather than sending her to a group home, but the woman had spent as little time with her as possible, always busy planning some
important
event.

With her back toward the mirror, Danyka caught sight of the ink on her right shoulder. The Milky Way—a tribute to her and her dad’s shared love for space and science fiction. The day she’d come home with her first tattoo, her aunt had decided she should find an apartment of her own. Lucky for her, Ellie and Vanessa, classmates from the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, had needed a roommate. They’d since graduated and found their own places, but remained close as they made their way in the
real world
.

She suspected her interests made her a perfect fit for Josh, a former sci-fi television star, now producing his own space flick. The tattoo had never bothered him, but would it be inappropriate at a charity ball? Why hadn’t she thought of that earlier? She didn’t have time to have her mark covered up. No, the ink would be just another way for her to stand out in the crowd.

Once she’d applied her make-up, she fished in her closet and pulled out her brand new black slingbacks—matching the lacing on the back of her dress—still in their box. They’d probably be off again in a couple of hours. She and heels never got along. When she opened the box, a small brown paper package lay on top.
Where did that come from
?

The bag felt weightless in her palm. She removed a small piece of tape, letting a handkerchief and note fall to the floor. The red silk material could have been made from the same fabric as her dress, her initials DAR embroidered in the corner with black thread. Combined with the gown, shoes, and her awaiting carriage, the silk accessory completed her transformation into a princess. All she needed was a Prince Charming.

After a quick glance at the clock, she picked up the note. She had seconds to read it before fashionably late turned into rude. Although the paper came from Josh’s personalized notepad, the handwriting did not match that of her boss.

Danyka,

I hope you enjoy yourself at the Kartha Ball tonight! As we figured Ellie and Vanessa would be going with you, we have an extra special surprise for you and you alone. Although Josh and I don’t discuss this with anyone, we met through a dating service called 1Night Stand. The owner, Madame Evangeline, has matched up not only us, but many of my close friends. We have arranged for you to go on one of these dates tonight. We hope we have not overstepped our bounds, but we consider you part of our family and want to see you happy.