Her Alien Hero (1Night Stand) (3 page)

She reached room 318 and paused, her destination still a few feet away.
Is this really such a good idea?
He hadn’t given her much attention when she weighed several pounds less. She hadn’t minded as much then, believing there to be plenty of other good guys out there for her, but she since learned otherwise. This date was supposed to be with her ideal man. What if he rejected her like all the others before him?

Should she take the plunge, risk being late— her biggest pet peeve—or leave? Sure, she wouldn’t have to face rejection, but she’d never know if anything was possible with her longtime fantasy man.

She shuffled the last few feet before knocking on the door. She cringed at the burning sensation in her chest. No meeting had ever mattered more. If this didn’t work out, she would swear off dating forever, conclude she was destined to be alone.

The lock clicked open. She held her breath, anxious about Cooper’s reaction to seeing her again.

The door opened, and she saw him, a wide smile on his face and his eyes sparkling. “Wow, Melinda, you’re even more beautiful than when I lived next to you.”

Heat rushed to her cheeks. She bounced on her toes, unable to think of a thing to say. Instead, she waved like a teenage girl with a crush. Not so long ago she had been that girl.

Cooper gestured her inside. “Come in. Our dinner will be here soon, but we have a few minutes to catch up.”

She nodded, her cheeks aching from her perma-grin. “Okay.”
Gah!
Why couldn’t she think of anything else to say? One would think she’d never been in the company of a good-looking guy before. No, not good-looking, Cooper was gorgeous. Hardly a geek anymore. He still had thick blond hair, and his blue eyes seemed to reach into her soul. His faded black T-shirt stretched across a muscular chest and arms. His jeans rode low on his hips, yet didn’t seem to sag over his ass. How she wished for him to turn around for a better view of his rear. As she passed him, he kept his gaze on her, the color in his cheeks growing deeper. She paused, unsure where to go. The dining table? The sofa? The bedroom? She released a soft groan at the thought. Had he heard it? By the end of the night, she might have slept with the man of her dreams.
For real
. But she didn’t want to come off easy, planned to stretch out their time together as much as possible before they had sex. Being asked to leave by Cooper after their time together would break her heart.

Cooper locked the door then headed her way. Instead of passing her, he lingered at her side. “Melinda, I have to tell you something.” He cleared his throat and rubbed at the middle of his forehead. “You see, my friend set this whole thing up. When I found out, I wasn’t very happy and planned to leave.”

A sudden coldness hit her core. His warm greeting, the compliments, all an act. Not the first time. He didn’t want to be there. With her. “Fine.” She peered around Cooper toward the door. “I understand. I’ll go.”

“No.” He moved closer and brushed his fingers across her hands, sending a jolt of electricity up her arms. “I changed my mind when I saw your picture.”

She swayed on her feet. Cooper had stayed for her?

He closed in, and she backed up a step. “You see, I always wanted you, even after you moved away.”

He held her tight to the wall with his muscular frame, restricting her movement. When he gripped the cheeks of her ass, she jumped at the bold move. She recovered in a split second, but didn’t miss his brief chuckle.

She reached across his shoulders, clasping her hands behind his head. So much like the beginning of all her fantasies, with Cooper taking her the moment he saw her. She pinched the back of her hand to ensure she remained in reality.
Completely authentic
.

He touched his forehead to hers, his breathing ragged. “What do you want, Melinda?”

She melted at the sexy rumble of his voice. She’d never stopped wondering what happened to him after she’d moved away or imagining him instead of many men she’d been intimate with. Everyone else had acted as an appetizer, leaving her craving him as her main course, her dessert, and every single meal thereafter. “You,” she whispered.

Cupping the back of his head, she touched her lips to his. The feather-light contact quickly became more urgent as Cooper enticed her lips open and fucked her mouth with his tongue. He grabbed her ass, lifting her closer to him. Her heart thundered. She molded into him, letting his dominating energy take control.

He fisted the material of her dress covering her thigh, kissing along her jawline, behind her ear, and down her neck. If not for the support of his hard body and the wall, she would have been on the floor, ecstasy leaving her legs numb.

Bit by bit, he inched the side of her dress up until he’d exposed her entire leg. As he ran a hand across her bare bottom, she released a quiet moan. She hadn’t expected a greeting quite like this, but she refused to stop him.

Cooper shifted, his swollen cock pressing against her through his jeans. Heat radiated off him, his need mixing with her own.

With desperate movements, he lifted her leg around his waist and reached between her legs from behind, plucking the thin material of her thong away from her folds.

Her lust cranked higher. Melinda stood on her tiptoes to grant him better access. Mind whirling, she rocked her hips toward her fantasy come true.

Knock, knock, knock
. “Room service.”

“Fuck!” Cooper released her and slammed his fist against the wall.

Melinda whimpered, disappointment clawing away at her lust. Cold leached into her veins. Her dress slid back down her thighs and past her knees. So much for keeping her legs closed. With Cooper’s irresistible charm, she’d need a chastity belt for the rest of the evening.

Cooper threw his head back.
What have I done?
If not for the interruption, he would have fucked Melinda right there in the foyer, before he’d even learned where she lived, where she worked. Never had he moved that fast with a woman, even on the rare occasion a date invited him back to her place after dinner. Sure, Melinda hadn’t objected, but he hadn’t planned to start their date with sex, not when he’d hoped the night would lead to more time together. Perhaps a lifetime.

With a sigh, he gripped the dinner cart and wheeled it into the dining room where she waited for him. He stole a fleeting look at her then quickly turned away. She must think him barbaric, a caveman taking what he wanted.

“I’m very sorry, Melinda.” He gulped, awaiting her rejection. “I should never have come on so strong.” His mother had never talked to him about the opposite sex, probably assuming he would never have a girlfriend. Frey had given him some advice, but the respect his alien friend had shown the women in his life had influenced Cooper most. And he’d forgotten all of it the moment he’d seen Melinda again, letting his primal urges control him.

She shook her head. “Don’t you dare apologize for what happened. I admit, you caught me by surprise, but you made your intentions known and eased all my worries about this date.”

A wave of relief rushed through him, though he still remained hesitant, wouldn’t take her on the table—right away. He gulped. “It’s been a long time.”

A light flush danced across her cheeks. “It has. So, do you still live on Taunton Road?”

“No.” He set the dishes from the cart onto the table and lifted off their lids, hoping to keep his hands busy with dinner rather than touching Melinda. “I live in Lindsay now. I’m a heavy-diesel mechanic.”

She frowned and narrowed her eyes, an expression common to most people he told his profession.

“I fix and do maintenance on construction vehicles like excavators and bulldozers.”

“Oh, so that explains the new physique.”

He swallowed hard, ignoring the sting of pain at being reminded of how tiny he used to be and the teasing that had come with it. “I was rather skinny when you knew me. Now, a family friend drags me to the gym a couple of times a week. He made sure I could bench press two hundred pounds before he stopped hassling me. By then, I didn’t want to stop.”

When she bit her bottom lip and glanced away, he decided to change the subject. “So, where are you living now? I never heard where your family moved.”

“Port Perry. Not far from you, actually. My parents are in Waterloo, but, after college, I decided to move closer to familiar territory.”

“I understand. Though I’m sure Waterloo, the technology hub of Ontario, had more to offer.” Cooper sat down, his date and dinner making his mouth water. “So, what do you do for a living?”

“I’m a librarian. There was an opening in Port Perry.” She cut a slice of her poulet de provencal and lifted it toward her mouth. “And I write.”

“You write?” He filled her glass with wine, a red from the Niagara region. “As in, you’re an author?”

The color in her cheeks brightened until it matched her hair. “Yes.”

“Wonderful!” Tabitha insisted he needed a creative woman, one who would be more accepting of the different and the unknown on the off chance she ever did find out about his secret. “So, have you written anything I might have heard of?”

She swallowed the bite of chicken and lifted her wine. “Not unless you read romance.”

Romance? Not his first choice for reading material, but he could play the role of her Prince Charming. “So, do you prefer cowboys, military men, or shifters?”

She laughed, her eyes sparkling. “So you do follow the romance industry.”

“No.” He forked a piece of asparagus. “I just browse the covers as I search the new releases at the bookstore. Those seem to be the most common. Well, that and the bondage book with the black cover.”

“I do know the one you are talking about, and those are big sellers. But I prefer to write about aliens.”

He sucked in air, almost choking on a mouthful of potatoes. “Aliens?” he squeaked.

“Yes, aliens. The sexy humanoid kind from space, not the insect-like creatures some people imagine to live out there.” She peered at her food, her next words coming out much quieter. “Sometimes I write about clones and androids, too, but I always go back to my extraterrestrials.”

“People actually read stories about aliens, like having sex with them and stuff?” Sure, his and Tabitha’s mothers had fallen for men from another planet, but, with a single exception, all the extraterrestrial movies he’d ever watched placed the alien as the antagonist, a killer, never the hero. And often repulsive looking.

“Well, yeah. They’re not as popular as werewolves and vampires, but I have some dedicated readers.”

Cooper sipped his wine. This had to be some kind of setup. Did Melinda already know his secret? Were the authorities waiting right outside the door? Madame Eve had promised to keep his heritage private. Maybe she hadn’t. “So, why aliens? Do you believe in them or something?”

“I believe life exists on other planets.” She took a quick bite of chicken, chewing and swallowing it before she spoke again. “Who knows if they look anything like in the stories I write? I’m not sure. But, I doubt I’ll ever come face to face with one to find out.”

Cooper stared up at the ceiling, pressing his lips together.
If she only knew
. He stood and headed for the living room. “How about some music?” Anything to get off the alien topic.

Madame Eve—or someone following her instruction—had left notes all around the suite. He’d noticed them after discovering Melinda’s picture.
Soap for fun in the shower
one had said,
condoms and lube for fun in the sheets
, and
music to enhance the mood
. Cooper had collected them all, not wanting Melinda to think he needed instructions on what to do on a date.

She nodded. “That would be nice.”

He pressed a button on the console and love songs filled the room, some current and others from the past. Enrique Iglesias whispered an offer to be someone’s hero.

Melinda reached across the table and grasped his hand, her eyes sparkling. “I know it’s crazy, but every time I hear this song, I think of you.”

“Me?” Did she want a hero? He wasn’t prepared to be one for anyone, not with the secret he kept. A lover, sure, but he didn’t consider himself brave. Chivalrous, maybe, but he had too many fears to be anyone’s rescuer. Perhaps he behaved more like his father than he thought.

“Yes. Don’t you remember the grade-nine dance? It was the only one I ever remember you coming to. This song came on, and a bunch of couples made their way to the middle of the gymnasium. But, no matter where people moved, I always had a clear line of sight to you.” She squeezed his fingers. “I kept hoping you would ask me to dance, but you never did.”

His chest tightened. He remembered the night he’d snuck out of the house and rode his bike through the city to see if she’d decided to attend. How he’d wanted to ask her to dance, spend even a moment in her company, but his mother had warned him if anyone ever found out what he was, he’d end up in a lab before she even knew he’d been taken. And during puberty, he’d had far less control of his form. Even touching a girl would have, without a doubt, taken away all his ability to manipulate his image. Cooper had never wanted to take the chance. He’d dragged his gaze away from her, after staring at her for an entire song, and left, riding home in the pouring rain. But after years of practice and no one finding out, he took more risks, tonight the biggest of all.

“Well, Melinda, I know we’re not in grade nine anymore, but would you like to dance?”

Her eyes sparkled. “I would love to.”

Cooper guided her between the dining room and foyer, enough space to dance without banging into furniture. He pulled her close, resting his palm on the small of her back. Staring into her eyes, he swayed to the music, guiding her in a slow circle. The same as he’d observed in the movies he’d watched throughout his life. His skin tingled where he touched her, where she touched him.

She licked her lips, reigniting his arousal. He wanted to hold her, pleasure her, and love her, be her hero, as she longed for, even if for one night.