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 hardening.
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.
She recoiled, radiating fear. “Your eyes…they’re totally black. Even the whites of your eyes. Y-you really are an alien?”
He nodded.
“Get out!” She pointed at the door. “Get out of my house, and out of my life. Don’t talk to me or my kids again. Don’t even look at us.”
His chest constricted. How could she go from loving him to fearing him? He hadn’t done anything to bring her or her children any harm. Yet, there was no mistaking the anger and betrayal rolling off her now.
Without trying to explain, he left, since she wasn’t willing to listen. The door slammed behind him, followed by the unmistakable click of the deadbolt. She wanted him gone forever.
Fate had won after all. Stepped in and stolen his soul mate from him, snatched away his chance at happiness.
After climbing the steps to his loft, he’d barely made it in the door before collapsing.
His head pounded, so much pressure he expected it to explode. His ears rang. His vision blurred. Bile burned its way up to his throat. Every ounce of hate Sera felt toward him blazed through his body. All because of his father’s DNA.
His stomach revolted and unable to prevent it, he vomited on the floor. Then his world went silent and everything disappeared.
Chapter Six
Aliens. I live beside aliens. They’d befriended her, deceived her, and one had made her lust for him, made her believe she loved him. Beings from another planet. How could she have been so blind?
Maybe he’d fabricated the entire story, performed some kind of trick with his eyes to turn them black. Eyes that had haunted her for the past week. She didn’t sleep without waking to dreams of the guy she once considered spending her life with, turning into a green-skinned extraterrestrial, with multiple tentacles and abducting her, leaving her children behind.
“Mommy, can we please go outside?” Zach tried to reach the chain lock she’d added to the rear door to prevent him and his sister from trying to sneak down to the lake. Now, it protected them from the neighbors.
Melody stared at
her, hand on hips. “Adam is waiting to give us more swimming lessons. You always said it was important we learn how to swim. But you’re keeping us locked inside so we can’t see him.”
God, how she wished for a way to help them understand. Though, she’d never tell them about the aliens next door. They didn’t need extra ingredients for their own nightmares. No, it was time to find a place to live in the city, get away from the sparsely populated wilderness. She’d thought she wanted a place in the middle of nowhere, but after Adam’s confession, she worried for the safety of her children, as well as her own.
“I’ll sign you up for swimming lessons at a real pool.”
“No, I want Adam to teach me.” Melody kicked the door and her brother on the way past.
Zach screamed, shoving his sister to the floor.
Sera grabbed them by their shirts. “Go to your room. I’ve had enough.”
Tears fell down her cheeks. Being confined to the house grated on her nerves, too. Her kids never fought, at least not to such an extreme. And she tried not to yell at them. The past week had been hell on all of them, but she hoped the start of school in two days would improve everyone’s mood.
Glancing out the kitchen window, she caught sight of a wet, bare-chested alien. She sighed, remembering lying on his hard chest, how he elicited the most extreme orgasms she’d ever had, and how he treated Melody and Zach like they were his own. Why had she kicked him out?
Because he’s an alien! Or he thought he was, anyway. What kind of a person went around telling people that? And why wait until she’d told him she loved him? She had to purge him from her mind and her heart, forget about the eight weeks of bliss she’d spent with him.
Maybe she should talk to him again, find out if there was a misunderstanding, if she’d heard him wrong. He had treated her so well, and she’d been on an emotional rollercoaster that day, running into Derek again, then realizing she loved Adam and telling him.
Sera walked to the door and grabbed the knob. Time to apologize, swallow her pride and admit her mistake for the sake of her own happiness. Then she’d forget the mention of aliens.
The phone on the counter rang and she picked it up, forgetting to check the caller ID. “Hello?”
“Hey, Sera, it’s Derek. I wanted to apologize for the way I acted last weekend.”
“That’s okay.” Rolling her eyes, she tapped her fingers on the granite counter. Hurry up, I’m busy. She returned to the window, anxious to get outside and be near Adam again. “It was kind of a surprise for all of us.”
“Yes, well, I’ve got another surprise for you. I’m in the area, and I thought I’d drop by to check out your new house—visit Rob’s dream home. You up for it? I’ll bring dinner.”
What happened to the shy Derek I remember? “Um, I guess.” If he wasn’t her late husband’s friend, she’d slam the phone down in an instant. No way was she interested in him.
“Great, I’ll be there in an hour. Just you, me, and the kids, right?”
“Sure.” Unfortunately.
She peeked out the window again. Adam had already left the lake. She would straighten things out with him in the morning. With the holiday, he shouldn’t have to work.
“Perfect. I’ll be there soon.”
Sera hung up and rushed outside. Did she have time to catch Adam on his way to his loft, ask him if he’d be around the next day?
Nope, gone. Disappointment clutched her gut. She refused to chase after him, not with Derek on the way. The last thing she needed was another confrontation between the two of them. But she hoped she wasn’t too late, that he still believed in their soul mate connection. Because she wanted to believe, and she could only know for sure by spending more time with the man she loved. Alien or not, she could not deny her feelings for Adam Jones.
***
With the headache finally subsiding after several bedridden days, Adam slipped into the water. All week, he’d stayed home from work, unable to function due to the symptoms of Sera’s emotional state. His mother, concerned about his inability to keep anything down, threatened to take him to the hospital, but he refused. He didn’t need anyone else to learn of his otherworldly heritage. He simply waited for the ailments to go away, or, at least, become less severe.
But what had finally eased his pain? Had Sera accepted him as an alien, or moved on? Would she ever talk to him again?
He spotted her gawking at him through her kitchen window. Did she know he saw her? Fuck, he yearned for her to come out, to talk to him again, to race around with the kids once more, and teach them to swim like fish. Even if things with Sera returned to the platonic relationship they’d had before sleeping together, he didn’t care. Anything to have her in his life again.
In an instant, she disappeared from his view, his brief connection with her gone. Was she on her way outside? He waited several minutes, but nothing. She remained in her home, and out of his life.
He slammed a fist on the water’s surface. How long would she take to come around? Hopping up on the dock, he left his hope for a reunion behind. His swim hadn’t been as relaxing as he’d expected. Not with Sera still avoiding him.
Up in his loft, he grabbed a beer and flopped on the couch, peering out the window. How was he supposed to get over her? Dating another woman wouldn’t help him forget about Sera. And none of his friends would understand, most of them still working on their scorecards. Although, he couldn’t condemn them. He’d had his share of casual relationships until meeting Sera. After her, no one else mattered.
Gravel crunched on the driveway below. Adam leaned forward, catching sight of a shiny black SUV pulling up to her house. He squeezed the cushion beside him, waiting for her visitor to get out. Better not be a guy. Had to be just a friend.
The asshole from the amusement park exited the vehicle. Derek. Adam’s stomach twisted. How could she?
Sera appeared instantly to meet him. Her voice carried up to Adam. “You’re early.”
“I couldn’t wait to see you again.”
Derek bent forward for a kiss, but she turned her head, letting his lips brush her cheek. Still too much touching for Adam’s liking.
She caught Adam staring and quickly glanced away. “Let’s go inside.”
Fate plunged a knife deep into his heart before reaching into his chest and ripping it out. Adam may not be able to move on, but she could, and had, with a man totally not right for her. She deserved more respect than that guy gave her. If not from Adam, then someone else. Just not Derek.
Adam paced, seething with frustration, then sat on the weight bench, but wanted to punch something rather than lift weights. A ride on his bike wouldn’t take him anywhere to make things better, only let him a temporarily stop thinking about his soul mate with another man. Yet, nothing else came to mind.
He opened the door to leave and slammed into two little people.
Attaching themselves to his legs, Melody and Zach clung to him. “Adam, we’ve missed you.”
“And I’ve missed you, too.” Just as much as I miss your mother. They were a part of her. He rubbed their heads, smiling for the first time in days.
Melody peered up at him, her bottom lip sticking out. “Then why haven’t you come over?”
“I’ve been very sick. Didn’t want any of you to catch anything.” And he didn’t know what Sera had told them.
“You’re feeling better now?” Zach asked.
“Much.” At least they still wanted him around, even if their mother didn’t. “Does your mom know you’re over here?”
Shaking her head, Melody peeked into his loft. “No. Derek told us to go out and play so he could be alone with Mommy. We decided we wanted to visit you.”
Adam’s stomach twisted. A week had passed since Sera kicked him out of her house, and she was already dating another guy, letting Melody and Zach out to play while she got it on? That didn’t sound like the Sera he knew. And why would she allow them out alone, near a lake?
Sudden, intense waves o
f apprehension rolled through him. Something wasn’t right.
“Stay here.” He rushed down the stairs then stopped at the bottom. Was his queasiness due to Sera’s need for help, or pure jealousy? He didn’t want to knock on the door and look like an asshole. Then again, Derek hadn’t had a problem looking like one at the amusement park. But, she was with that guy and Adam had nothing to lose.
He stalked up to the porch and knocked, ready to ream someone out for not watching the kids. No answer. She couldn’t possibly be fucking him already, could she? Pain sliced through his brain, trying to rip out his eyes from the inside.
A high-pitched scream echoed from the house. “Let go of me!”
Adam kicked open the door and scanned the living room. Empty. He refused to let anything happen to Sera, and raced for the kitchen.
“I’m going to have you, bitch. If you can screw the boy next door, you can have just as good a time with me. I’ve always wondered what it would be like to fuck you. But you never gave me a second glance.”
Adam spotted Sera, face down on the kitchen table, her dress pulled up and legs spread. Derek held her arms behind her back, pinning her with his weight.
Fire rushed through his veins. Gripping the man by the throat, Adam tore him off her, tossing him across the room like a ragdoll. How dare he touch her. The man lie slumped on the floor, no longer a threat.
He helped her up and held her. “Are you okay?”
Before she responded, Derek ripped her from his arms and shoved him down on the table. A sharp object pressed against his throat.
“You shouldn’t have interrupted, boy.”
Sera shrieked. “No! Derek, let him go. You don’t want to do this.”
“What I want is you, Sera. I’ve always wanted you. And since this boy’s here, I’ll make him watch.”
Derek’s weight shifted above him. Grasping the hand behind his head, Adam bucked, his head slamming into Derek’s face. The crunch of bone echoed in the kitchen.
“Fuck!”
He must have hit his target. Adam spun, smashing his fist into Derek’s nose. Blood spurted and the knife he clutched clattered across the floor. The fucker was going to kill me!
Alien Admirer (Alien Next Door) Page 4