by Sabrina York
Carrie nodded, wiping the tears. Everything about their night had been great, until the end.
“So tell me about it. How was he?”
The memory brought a smile to her face. Not just the sex, but their hours of talking, learning of his origins, and his gift to her. His gift. Can I really get pregnant now?
Her hands moved to her stomach while Tamara stared at her in anticipation. “It was….cosmic, out of this world.” She would never tell Tamara that her date came from another planet. Who would believe her anyway?
“Well, except for the end, I’m glad you enjoyed your date, ‘cause mine sucked.”
She’d been so wrapped up in her own sorrow, she’d forgotten to ask Tamara about her date. Now she felt like a horrible friend. “I’m sorry, what happened?”
“Don’t be. I know you expected much more from the date. Me, not so much.”
Carrie looked up at the clock, confused. “If your date was so bad, how come you just got home?”
Tamara’s eyes lit up. “I met someone else at the restaurant and spent the night with him.”
“You spent the night with a stranger?” She’d done the same thing, but the date happened after weeks of planning. It wasn’t on a whim. Then again, Tamara became open to dating outside of her usual type, and had been uninhibited sexually since she’d returned from Las Vegas.
“Not a stranger. Remember my one-night stand I told you about?”
She nodded. Her friend radiated with excitement.
“Well, I was hiding in the bathroom from my date. He kept babbling on about fruit fly mating. The only time he shut up was to check out every other woman in the restaurant. I mean, hello, I’ve got plenty for him to look at. Anyway, when I finally got up enough courage to return to the table, I left the bathroom and ran right into Josh. He’s up here on business. He said that his business meeting was almost over and asked if I wanted to meet up after.”
She found a glimmer of hope. She might never see Frey again, but she could get out and date like Tamara, find the right guy and have the family she’s always dreamed of. “So what did you do about your date?”
“I paid for my portion of the bill and left him sitting there. Josh met me at the coffee shop down the street an hour later and we went back to his hotel room.”
Her friend glowed, the same as she had after sex with Frey. “Will you see him again?”
“I’m not sure, but when I told him I’d be down there next month, he said I could stay with him. And we exchanged our new numbers. I guess that means there’s no woman in his life right now.”
Her mood brightened due to Tamara’s happiness. They sat on the couch and watched reruns of Firefly on the sci-fi channel while finishing off the tub of ice cream.
Her eyelids became heavy from a night of no sleep. She stood up. “I’m going home.”
“You can crash here,” Tamara offered.
Her phone blasted some rock song before Carrie could respond. Her friend grabbed it from the end table and looked at her. “Just wait.” She went to the kitchen to talk then stuck her head back out and whispered, “It’s Frey.”
Her stomach twisted. Why was her date calling Tamara and how’d he get her number?
“Would you like to talk to her?” Tamara asked him.
When Tamara went back into the kitchen, she assumed the answer was no. Great! Now my one-night stand is trying to make a date with my best friend. Maybe he believed Earth girls really were easy. She went to the kitchen to say goodbye to Tamara, but saw her best friend writing on the notepad on her fridge. She swallowed the lump in her throat. They weren’t even going behind her back; they were planning a date right in front of her.
Her phone. That must have been how he found Tamara’s number. And she had talked up her best friend so much to him, too.
After grabbing her purse from the living room, she rushed toward the door.
Tamara stepped in front of her. “Oh no, you don’t. You’re not walking out on me like you did to Frey.”
“I won’t stand around while you arrange a date with my one-night stand.” Tears formed, but her anger held them in.
“Oh, Care, I’m sorry that Peter stole so much of your self-confidence that you’d think I would even consider dating someone you’d been with.” She wrapped her arms around her. “I would never do that to you.”
Carrie wanted to hide under a rock. Had she really said that to her best friend? “I’m so sorry. I was just so disappointed with the way my date ended.” No excuse would make up for her accusation.
“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.”
Chapter Twelve
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 p
icked 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.”
~ABOUT THE AUTHOR~
Jessica Subject went from fearing the possibility of aliens to reading and writing about them. Combining her love of both science fiction and romance, she creates happily-ever-afters for the entire universe. She lives in Southwestern Ontario, Canada with her husband, two children and their seven year-old rabbit.
Visit Jessica online at:
http://www.markofthestars.com
Unsportsmanlike Conduct
Hat Trick Trilogy Book 3
A 1Night Stand Story
By
Angela S. Stone
~DEDICATION~
For Emily Cale, thanks for sticking with me, and to Wiebke White for her help with my very poor German!
Chapter One
Owen looked up from his position next to the boards. The boys on the ice were doing a drill, and TJ showed off in top form as she sent pucks flying left and right. The next two rapid-fire shots deflected off her mask. Scott Alder, team captain and TJ’s boyfriend, snapped the last puck right at her head. Everyone stopped when she pulled her mask off, her hand going to her forehead. The trickle progressed from a slow ooze to streaming through her fingers in a few seconds. Shit. He skated toward his goalie. Scott screamed for Jon, the trainer, and followed him.
They took TJ’s arms and hurried her off the ice, her face and the front of her practice jersey already crimson. They had almost made it to the locker room when Jon arrived from the bowels of the arena.
He took one glance at TJ and ordered someone to get the team doctor. “Bring her into the medical room.” They helped her through the changing area and into the medical office. Scott picked her up and set her on the trainer’s bench, ignoring her grimace.
Jon grabbed a towel and wiped the blood away then applied pressure to the wound. “What happened?”
“She took a couple of pucks off the mask. Something must have cut her,” Scott explained.
“The edge of the fiberglass did,” TJ said, her voice muffled by the material. “They’re still doing final adjustments on my new mask. I didn’t get a chance to re-position before the second puck hit.”
“I’m so sorry,” Scott reached over and squeezed her arm. “I should have waited to shoot.” Owen smiled at the couple. Finding someone who shared and understood the life and drive of a hockey player was special. He pushed down a tiny ping of jealousy and focused on his friends.
“It’s just a small cut.” TJ squeezed Scott’s hand. “Not your fault. I should remember to use my catcher more often.”
Scott laughed, short and bitter, but didn’t let her go. Jon wiped up more of the blood. The profuse bleeding had stopped, but the wound still dripped. He reapplied a clean towel above her eye. “Why don’t you guys go back out on the ice? The doc will come stitch her up, and she’ll be fine.”
Scott shook his head but narrowed his eyes at Owen. “I’ll see you guys there.”
Owen patted TJ on the pads before he left. The group of players swarmed around him when he stepped onto the bench.
“How is she?” Todd Korbel asked, his forehead furrowed with worry.
“She’s all right, nasty cut above her eye. Facial wounds bleed like a son-of-a-bitch,” he replied. “Let’s go finish practice. She’ll be stitched up and as good as new by the time we’re done.”
A few guys grumbled, but they all went back to their drills. When one of their assistant captains gave them an order, they followed it.
The players wrapped up the formal part of the practice and while they scrimmaged with Ian as their goalie, Owen headed into the locker room to check on his teammates. Some of TJ’s pads were in her locker but not all of them. Concerned she remained in the medical room, he walked in without knocking.
TJ lay on top of Scott, kissing him. He paused for moment, not wanting to interrupt, but the bang of the guys coming off the ice told him he had to. He shut the door behind him with a loud slam and cleared his throat. They pulled apart, and TJ grabbed Scott’s hockey jersey, trying to cover up what Owen had already seen. “If you two are going to fuck, you should at least lock the door.”
“Fuck off, Cartsy.” Scott threw a loose glove at him.
“I’m just saying, you’re lucky I’m not Coach. You’d give him an aneurism to go along with the heart attack he had when he found out about you two.” He laughed as TJ flipped him the bird. “We’re done with practice, so finish up and hit the showers before the guys wonder what got you all sweaty.”
He slipped out and locked the door behind him. A dull thud, another piece of equipment hitting the door, made him laugh again. Scott and TJ were lovesick, but they had it really bad for each other if they were doing it in the medical room.
Owen strolled to his locker, chuckling, and stripped off. He wasn’t scheduled for conditioning, so he could hit the showers and go back to his apartment for a nice, relaxing night. He needed some rest before their next road game on Friday.
A couple of guys trickled in from the ice, and the two lovebirds emerged from the trainer’s room a bit more presentable. He averted his eyes as TJ stripped down. It had been a bit awkward when she first arrived after being traded. She was more comfortable naked around them than they were around her. Once they’d had a big meeting and she flat out told them to deal with it, everyone mellowed out about the idea of having a girl in the locker room.
He didn’t care. Most of the guys fell all over TJ, but she didn’t do anything for him. Wrapping a towel around his waist, he grabbed his stuff and padded into the shower room. She followed.
He focused on washing up, while she picked a shower head, leaving several between them. Owen fixed his gaze on the tile wall, but stared at her when she hissed. “Okay, TJ?”
“Yeah, stupid stitches burn.” She turned so water bounced down her chest and ran off her perky breasts, rather than over her face. If Owen were into that sort of thing, he would be harder than fuck at the moment
“Keep them away from the water. They shouldn’t get wet,” He’d been injured enough times to know the drill.
“Yes, Dad.” She tilted her head forward and winced as water hit her stitches.
He finished up then dried off a bit and wrapped a towel around his waist. TJ kept leaning forward and back,
only to pull away and whimper as lather poured into the new wound. “You need some help?”
She narrowed her eyes at him, but then nodded. “Can you rinse while I tip my head back?”
“Sure.” Owen sauntered over to her, standing to the side. She held still as he rubbed the last of the blood away. “Scott is going to be jealous.”
TJ laughed. “Like he could control himself. Ever notice how he won’t shower with me?” She shut off the taps, tucked a towel around herself, and wrapped another around her hair. “Thanks for the help.”
“No problem.”
The second they were out, Scott headed into the showers.
TJ giggled, winked at Owen, and wandered off to her locker, exchanging joking comments with the rest of the guys. Although most were half-dressed, they treated her like any other team member and she responded in kind. He pulled on his boxers and his T-shirt and sat at his locker.
Todd came out of the shower. “So, Owen, who’s the girl you’re seeing tonight?” Half the room snickered. He rolled his eyes. Sure he went on frequent dates. That didn’t mean he slept with all of them—or any of them, for that matter. “Leaving on a road trip tomorrow, in case you forgot.”
“I remember. I’ve got to make sure I leave Natalie a happy woman.” Todd dodged the balled-up towel TJ threw at him from across the room.
“Watch it. That’s my best friend you’re talking about,” she called. “You satisfy her lately?”
“Yes, ma’am. Three times last night.”
The whole room groaned.
Ian leaned forward, still dressed in his goalie gear. “So Owen, when are you going to find that special girl?”
Oh great, not this again. “I had one on Monday night, thanks.” He grabbed his jeans, dressing as quickly as possible in order to escape the rest of the conversation.
