Alien Admirer (Alien Next Door) (4 page)

Chapter Four

Butterflies
swarmed in Sera’s stomach. After a week of deliberation, she’d decided to take a chance on a relationship with Adam. And now, she waited anxiously for him to return.

Melody
sat on her knee, gazing up at her. “Adam really is coming back, right?”

“Yes.”
Sera tickled her daughter, hoping she hadn’t picked up on her own fears of the same thing.

Zachary bolted into the room, naked. “I’m ready to go swimming.”

“Ewww.” Melody covered her eyes. “Adam’s not here yet.”

Sera
sighed. At least they had kept her occupied over the past seven days. “And I think you need a bathing suit.”

“Oh yeah.” He flew
back upstairs. Hopefully, to get dressed.

A
huge diesel work truck roared up the driveway. Her heart raced. Finally, Adam had returned. She gripped the cushion, restraining herself from rushing out to meet him. She couldn’t show the kids anything had changed until sure Adam still wanted her.

An hour passed, then several more.
Melody and Zach demanded supper, holding their bellies and grumbling.
Too late for swimming anyway. And no chance of Adam coming over tonight.
If he ever wanted to visit again.

Enough!
As tough as it was to raise them on her own, she managed. She could very well cope without the boy next door.

Boy.
Who was she kidding? Adam was all man. Hard muscles, big cock, and the feeling of him inside of her…. She pulled out the frying pan and slammed it on the stove top. Thoughts like that lead to disappointment.

Opening a
package of ground beef, she dropped it in the pan for the tacos Melody and Zach had requested, but she’d eat something else, her stomach too unsettled to digest anything spicy. If she ate at all.

She jumped at the loud knocking on the door.
With her palm on her chest, she tried to catch her breath. Her children stampeded like a herd of elephants for the door.

“Adam!”
Their excited cries revved up her own enthusiasm.

He’d actually come over. But for what? To tell her he’d changed his mind? He’d found someone else? Someone younger?

Sera clenched her fists and headed toward the front of the house, bracing for his rejection.

“And there’s the most beautiful woman in the whole world,” Adam said as she entered the living room.

With a wickedly handsome grin directed at her, he held both of her children in his arms. She smiled. Why he wanted, at his age, to be saddled down with young ones, she had no idea, but she refused to turn him away, though his tardiness nagged at her.

“My very own Prince Charming has returned.
You’ve been home for a few hours already. What kept you?” An elastic band tightened around her chest.

His smile faltered. “I’m sorry. I really wanted to come over right away, but I had a mountain of paperwork
, and wanted a shower to wash off all the grime.”

God, why did I worry?

He hadn’t spent the last week partying. The tension drained away and she longed to be in his arms and beside him in bed again.

He raised his eyebrows. “You okay? You sure you want me here?”

She nodded.
Time to take a chance.

Setting the kids down, Adam
walked toward her. “You’re certain?”

She nodded again, more sure
than she’d been of anything over the past year.

He opened his arms and she leaned into him, yearning to have the support of another once again. Before she could turn away, he kissed her, drawing her under his sp
ell. Excited squeals echoed all around her, but she rejected the idea of pulling away from his sweet lips.
Just a moment longer.

“Adam and Mommy, sitting in a tree, k-i-s-s-i-n-g.”

Adam backed away with a laugh. “I guess they’re okay with us.”

“
Yes, more than okay.” Considering they’d asked her all week when Adam would come home, she hadn’t expected them to have a problem with her dating him. “Will you stay for dinner tonight? We have tacos on the menu.”

“Sounds delicious. And maybe we can have an after-dinner swim?”

Melody and Zach’s heads bounced like bobble-heads.

“Okay.” She
headed back to the kitchen. “I’ve got to return to the stove before everything burns.”

“I’ll take the
Melody and Zach outside to play then.”

As much as she wanted
him in the kitchen with her, they wouldn’t get a moment of peace until her children had gone to bed. She hoped he’d stick around until then. Maybe spend the night.

***

Standing on the dock in her white string bikini top and matching boy shorts, Sera resembled a swimsuit model. If Adam were a cat, he would’ve purred. Good thing he stood in water past his waist so no one saw what she did to him.

Every time
Sera had swum with him in the past, she’d worn a one-piece suit. Except for the time he’d caught her skinny-dipping. But the bikini was new.

She
crossed her arms and legs in front of her, one step away from running to hide. If she only knew how hot she looked, like a sexy angel fallen from the skies. Whether she was fully dressed or naked, he wanted to claim all of her. And when Melody and Zach went to bed, he would do so, leaving the white two-piece on the floor.

He shivered with anticipation.
Gliding toward the dock, he forced his thoughts on something else…anything to calm his raging hormones and get rid of the tent in his pants. Like his sister dating one of his buddies. That always hit a nerve.

“Do you like her swim suit?” Melody asked. “She bought it just for you.”

Sera flushed, and he couldn’t help but smile. She’d thought of him while he’d been gone. Just as he’d thought of her. His thumb still hurt from when he’d whacked it with a hammer while daydreaming on the job.

“I like it very much. Your mom is so pretty.”

Melody giggled, while Zach rolled his eyes. “It took her hours to pick this one out. I don’t know what was wrong with the other one.”

With a chuckle,
Adam grabbed Sera’s leg, pulling her into his arms and dropped her in the water. “It’s time to test the bathing suit.”

Sera
fluttered and splashed water before finally standing again. “You’re going to pay for that.”

Something he very much looked forward to
, since any form of punishment was worth the sight of water droplets falling down her most delicious body. He longed to lick every last drop.

Shit. Way to keep your mind out of the gutter.

A human cannonball landed in front of him, spraying water in his face.
Well, that works.
He wiped his eyes to find three smiling faces staring at him.

A family.
One he desired to be a part of. Groaning, he turned from them. As much as he wanted Sera, and treated her offspring as if they belonged to him, could he ever truly call them family until they knew the truth? About everything, including his alien DNA?

Family meant no secrets. At least, not from
Sera. Maybe one day he would tell her, though not anytime soon. On the day he proposed marriage, perhaps? Or on their one-year anniversary? Then it would be much harder for her to walk away.

“What’s wrong?”
Sera touched his shoulder. “Did Zach hurt you?”

“No, no. Just a cramp. Guess I didn’t wait long enough after I ate.” Like he didn’t think through
the relationship before plunging in.

Shit, what if his parents or sister let something slip wh
en they came over for dinner? His family remained careful and cautious, but occasionally the word,
alien,
tumbled into the conversation, and tracks had to be covered. Most of their friends brushed it off as a joke, but Adam always worried about the day that didn’t happen, when someone contacted the tabloids claiming to know extraterrestrials.

“Why don’t we go inside then?
”

Sera
helped Melody and Zach out of the water, and she kept pulling at her bikini as if uncomfortable. He wrapped an arm around her waist and nuzzled her neck, kissing her soft, wet skin. “And once the little ones are in bed, we can find out how quickly this new bathing suit of yours comes off,” he whispered.

She sighed. Before desire
took over, he scooped her up and set her on the dock. Hands on the edge, he hoisted himself out of the water then followed them back to the house.

One day,
she’d have to find out about his ancestry. He hoped she accepted him as an alien, because no matter how she reacted, she would always be a part of him.

Chapter Five

Sera
’s head spun and her stomach churned. Why had she agreed to go on a ride called
Death Mountain
?

“Why don’t you sit the next one out?” Adam rubbed her back while
an eager Melody and Zach yanked on his other hand.

“C’mon. We want to go on
Tower of Doom
,” Melody and Zach pleaded.

She
glanced up at Adam, not sure how many of him really stood in front of her. “That would be great. I’ll sit here, and once my vision returns to normal, I’ll go get us some drinks.”

“You sure you’re okay
? I don’t want to leave you alone if you’re not.” He touched her forehead like a parent checking a child’s temperature.

She
shooed him away. “Go. I’ll be fine.”

“
Okay, if you’re sure.” Holding Melody and Zach’s hands, he strolled off to the next ride.

God, how had she been lucky enough to find a guy who cared so much?
He’d taken them to the aquarium the week before.
And today, an amusement park
.

He included her children in just about everything, never
complaining they were a hindrance to getting her in bed. And once they fell asleep, he made her feel all woman, leaving her oh-so-satisfied and always wanting more. Except for Thursday nights, when he played poker with his friends, and the occasional night out of town for work, he spent every evening at her house. Where he belonged.

When she’d decided to start dating again, she
hadn’t expected their relationship to progress so fast. Once it had though, she didn’t want to go back to her life without Adam.

Sera
headed toward the closest concession stall while eyeballing the line for
Tower of Doom
. Adam had Zach in his arms and played a counting game with Melody. A familiar tingle swept through her. After only a few weeks, she loved Adam Jones.

He
peered over at her from his place in line smiled as if reading her mind. More than once, she’d wondered if he had telepathic abilities, since he always seemed to know when she needed comforting, a moment to herself, and even an extra boost of confidence. Was she that transparent?

While they stood
in line, she bought drinks, hoping to meet them once they’d finished on the ride. Propping the cups on the bench beside her, she waited near the exit.

“
Sera? Is that you?”

She
turned toward the familiar voice, shocked to be face-to-face with a friend of Rob’s. “Derek, is that really you?”

He’d lost weight
and toned up since the last time she’d seen him. “Wow, you look really good.” Not that she held any attraction to him, but she considered Derek a friend.

His cheeks reddened
at the compliment. “Thank you. When I moved out of my mother’s house, I also joined a gym. Best two decisions I ever made.”

She chuckled, happy for his success. “Did you buy a house then?”

“No, I rent an apartment. But it has three bedrooms, two bathrooms, and a huge galley kitchen. If you ever return to the city, you should stop by some time.”

“I will.” Her trips back home occurred less and less frequently, though she did miss
visiting with their old friends.

“So, who are you here with? Where are Melody and Zach?”

“They’re in line with my…boyfriend.” Sera swallowed the sudden lump in her throat.
What are Rob’s friends going to think?
She hadn’t thought about that.

“You’re dating already? I thought you
’d wait longer, at least until I had a chance to ask you out.”

Sera
crossed her arms. She didn’t expect her friend to make her so uncomfortable. Fingers clenched onto her shoulders and someone cleared their throat behind her.

“Hi
, Zach. Hi, Melody,” Derek said.

They waved
and grabbed their drinks before sitting beside her.

“And this must be your boyfriend. A little young, isn’t he?”

Adam’s grip tightened.

“
Derek, this is Adam Jones, my boyfriend, and a wonderful role model for my children.” Age didn’t matter so long as he treated them well.

Neither
guy reached out to shake the other’s hand.

“They’re Rob’s children, too,”
Derek said.

He had no right to
judge her or tell her who she could and couldn’t date. “That’s enough, Derek.”

“Fine, but
they need a real man in their lives, not a guy who’s just a kid himself.”

And he definitely had no right to tell her what
Melody and Zach needed when he hadn’t had a girlfriend for as long as she’d known him. And only
just
left his childhood home. “Goodbye, Derek.”

“You know how to get
hold of me when you’re ready for someone better.” He pivoted and left.

Gah!
How could he say such things when he didn’t know Adam? She refused to date Derek, but he was supposed to be a friend. Losing weight did not give the guy the right to be a prick.

Sera
rose and kissed Adam, rubbing his arm. “You have nothing to worry about.”

“I know,
but I didn’t like the way he talked to you. You deserve more respect than that.” He balled his fists then relaxed them again. “It was all I could do to refrain from knocking him out. But I knew you wouldn’t approve. And I would never do such a thing in front of your children.”

She
passed him the remaining drink. “I know. And that’s one of the many reasons why I love you.”

Adam dropped his cup,
spraying colored ice across the pavement. He gave her a blank stare. “You love me?”

“Yes, I do.” Though maybe she should have waited longer to say the words
, or at least when they were alone. Because instead of the deer-in-headlights reaction he’d given her, she’d hoped to hear the same words in return.

***

She loves me.
Adam clutched the steering wheel to keep his joy from bubbling over. He wanted to show Sera how much he loved her, too. But he had to wait until they arrived back at her house and had the little ones tucked into bed.

The DNA condemning him to be happy with only one woman had lost.
His soul mate loved him. He wanted to shout it out to the world, the universe. He’d won, found his soul mate, and received her love in return.

With
Sera’s reluctance for any bond at the beginning of the summer, he hadn’t expected their relationship to progress as fast as it did. And now he was one step closer to securing a future with the woman he was meant to spend a lifetime beside.

As he pulled
into the driveway, the sound of faint snores drifted toward him from the back seat. “They’re asleep already.”

“Yes
.” Sera crossed her arms and sighed. “It’s been a long day for all of us.”

Pain
burrowed into the front of his head and he pressed the brakes, careful not to wake the little ones. “You’re mad. Sera, why are you mad?”

“I’m not mad. I’m just tired. And I want to go to bed.”

“To have some fun?”

She glared at him. “No, to sleep for a change.”

What the hell?
When had she turned from the woman who loved him, to sitting beside him, throwing off waves of anger? “Tell me what’s wrong.”

“Nothing. I just want to get the kids to bed.”

A total one-eighty. For no reason. Completely out of the blue. She was mad, and directing all of her animosity at him. He parked and turned off the engine. “What did I do wrong?”

Her nostrils flared. The pain in his head intensified.

“Nothing.”

Yeah, right.
Sliding out of the truck, he opened the rear door, unhooked Zach from his booster seat, and carried him to the house. Sera met him there, but her emotions hadn’t ebbed at all. Shit, he wished he had the ability to read her mind rather than just her emotions. He laid Zach in his bed then returned to the truck for Melody.

Sera
waited in Melody’s room when he arrived. He set the child on her bed. “I’ll wait for you downstairs.”

“If that’s what you want.”

He cringed at the cold response. Trudging down the steps, he remembered the encounter with Derek. Had she thought about what the man had said? Did she consider Adam too young to help her raise her children?

He sat
on the couch and buried his head in his hands. What the hell had happened?

Several minutes passed before
Sera entered the living room, her face red and puffy.

Adam rushed to her, holding her tight. Rubbing her
shoulders, he yearned for the ability to fix the problem. “What’s wrong? Please tell me.”

“Do you still want to be with me?”

“Of course. I wouldn’t be here if I didn’t.” What on Earth had prompted her to think he didn’t? “I love you, Sera.”

She glanced up at him
with tear-filled eyes. “You do?”

“
Yes. I have for some time, but didn’t want to scare you by saying it too soon.”

“Then
when I told you I loved you earlier, why you didn’t say it back?”

Hence why she’s mad at me.
He guided her over to the couch and sat beside her. “I’m really sorry I didn’t tell you I loved you at the amusement park. I wanted to wait until we were alone, because it’s not about simply saying the words, it’s about showing you at the same time. I love you, Sera.”

Leaning
away, she gave him a pained look. “Do you think we’re moving too fast? Do you need your space?”

He reached for her hand, clasping
it in his. “No, not at all. If I have a problem, I’ll be sure to talk to you about it. Now, do you need your space? Am I over here too often?”

“No.” She squeezed his
fingers. “I really enjoy having you here. It feels so right. But, I do have one question for you.”

“Go for it.”

“Why is it that when I’m down or mad, or even really happy, you always seem to know? Today, I was thinking how much I love you, and you looked over from the line and smiled. And just now, you knew I was mad, wouldn’t leave me alone about it.”

“Because you wear your emotions on your face.”
He didn’t want to reveal the truth too early.

“You couldn’t have been able to tell from that far away. You’re more perceptive than my friends, more than Rob ever was.”

Adam gulped. She needed to drop the subject. He never wanted to be compared to her late husband, and it wasn’t the time for confessions of the extraterrestrial kind. “You’re exaggerating.”

“
And you’re deflecting. C’mon, Adam. What’s your secret?”

His secret
. A huge one. Had the time come to confess? Tell the truth?

Sera
lifted off her shirt and snapped open her bra, exposing her full, creamy breasts. “I’ll let you play if you tell me your secret.”

Torture. Adam groaned, his cock hard
ening.

Shit.
Eventually, he’d tell her, right? Why not now?

Capturing her breast in his hand, he
licked a pert nipple. “I’m an alien and you’re my soul mate.”

With a laugh, she
shoved his chest. “Liar.”

“Sorry
, you’re right…I’m only half-alien. My mother is from this planet. It’s my father who’s from Space.” He pulled her onto his lap, not wanting to give her any time to think about what he’d just said. Sucking the other rosy nipple into his mouth, he rolled his tongue around the hard peak, longing to do the same to her clit.

“Prove it.”

Fuck!

Apprehension bubbled inside her.
Being able to read her emotions didn’t help him at the moment. He shouldn’t have said anything, or made something up, instead.

“Forget about it. I was just joking.”

“No, I don’t think you were. When you’re joking, your eyebrow twitches. This time, it didn’t. But I’ve seen you naked, and you look totally human to me.”

“Forget it,
Sera. You don’t want to do this.”

“Then why would you say such a thing?” She slid from his lap and stood. “Is this your way of breaking things off, making
me think you’re crazy? One last fuck and you’ll never talk to me again?”

What the hell have I done?
“No.”

“Then prove it. Prove to me why you think you’re an alien. Otherwise, leave.”

“Sera.” He grabbed her wrist to pull her closer, but she shook free.

“Are you an alien?”

“Yes.” He glanced down and let go of the disguise he’d kept since he was two. Returning his gaze to Sera, he held his breath, waiting for her reaction.