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.
With shaky hands, he brushed the tips of his fingers along the side of her face. “I’m so glad Madame Eve brought us back together.”
Without giving her a chance to respond, he moved his grip to the back of her neck and leaned forward to kiss her moist lips. She gripped his sides and released a soft moan. Opening to him, her warm tongue met his in a mating dance. The music faded into the background, raw need consuming him.
He fumbled with her dress zipper. Finally getting it down, he ran his fingers along the smooth skin of her back.
Melinda pulled away with a gasp. Her eyes appeared glassy, her skin flushed. “Let’s go to the bedroom.”
Melinda slid her dress off, eyes cast down. Self-consciousness wasn’t sexy, but the sting of rejection didn’t hurt as much if one didn’t gaze straight at it. Her dress had helped to accentuate her better features, squeezing in under her breasts to make her boobs appear larger and her waist smaller. But, without the material, she had nothing to hide behind.
And Cooper, a fine male specimen who worked out on a regular basis, saw women all the time who didn’t have her extra curves. She didn’t want to change herself, but could never compete with a size four. Would he accept her for the woman she’d become?
Cooper laid a hand on her shoulder from behind, sending a chill along her spine. “Are you okay?”
She nodded, running her teeth along her bottom lip.
He inched forward until she could just feel the press of his skin. After a deep inhale, he sighed. “You smell divine, like vanilla ice cream. I just want to lick you all over.”
A rush of adrenaline zinged through her, and she prayed for his words to be true. His palm traveled down her arm, sparking her latent desire. He laced his fingers with her and moved even closer. “I can’t believe I finally found you,” he whispered in her ear, his breath sending goose bumps down her arms. “I always hoped to run into you again.”
She sucked in a sob, not wanting this perfect moment ruined by an emotional breakdown. “Me, too. I mean, I wanted to see you, too.”
He spun her around to face him and tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. “No more waiting. No more interruptions.”
The sexy rumble of his voice lulled the last of her fears. She yearned to continue what they’d started earlier, to feel the soft ply of his tongue in her mouth, across her breasts, and between her legs. “Yes.”
Grabbing her bottom, he shuffled her backward until the back of her knees met the bed. He tenderly lowered her onto the covers, maintaining eye contact the entire time. She shivered with pleasure as he crawled over her. Imagining him in the place of her previous lovers or her vibrator had never produced the same delirious need as the real hard flesh resting on her thigh.
He kissed her, his lips igniting her hypersensitive skin as he traveled from her mouth, down her neck, and to her chest. Cupping her breast, he licked her puckered nipple, sending jolts of euphoria through her veins. He continued to lick and suck, caress and grip. She arched her back off the bed, thrust her hips toward him, craving a more intimate connection.
She rocked under him, hoping he would get the message. Cooper reached between her thighs, stroked her sensitive nub, parted her swollen folds. He moved easily inside, stroking her inner walls at first with one finger. Then two. Nuzzling her neck, he continued to thrust, driving her hunger. Her muscles tightened around him, as if the sexual energy from their encounter in the foyer had never disappeared. Her clit pulsed. The moment he returned his attention to her bundle of nerves, circling his thumb against it, she burst, crying out in pleasure. He continued to torment her, inside and out, prolonging her orgasm until she became lost in the euphoria.
Jolts raced through her. Cooper ran his tongue along the side of her neck, clouding over the last of her senses. Seconds, maybe minutes, passed before she surfaced from the pleasure, gasping for air. He splayed his fingers on her belly, giving her a chance to regain her composure.
“You’re even more beautiful when you release,” he whispered. “Now, I want to see what you look like when I’m buried deep inside you.”
She emitted a nervous laugh, not used to any talking during sex. At least not unless a guy told her what he wanted her to do next or tried to sound like a porn star.
He left the bed for a moment, grabbing and slipping on a condom. The clouds blocking out everything but him never subsided. Cooper filled her thoughts, drove her hunger, and ramped up her excitement and lust. The sooner he plunged into her, the better.
A second later, he nudged her legs apart then kneeled on the bed, between her thighs. The tip of his cock rested at her saturated entrance. His stare fixed on her, he grabbed her hips and plunged inside.
Melinda stifled a groan. Having him inside her flooded her senses, magnifying the soft growl of the man above her. His touch sent jolts of lightning skipping across her skin.
“Finally,” Cooper growled, his gaze never wavering. He rocked above her, slow and gentle, rolling his hips. Every glorious inch of cock sliding in and out of her left her head spinning.
Without warning, he lifted her leg onto his shoulder. Then he lifted the other, almost folding her in half with his weight. Slow at first, his movements became quicker, slamming into her until he matched pace with her heart. She gripped his biceps as a bundle of heat balled low in her belly. He hit her G-spot with every thrust. She gripped his arms with maddening desperation. Nothing happened. No matter how hard she willed the orgasm to come, it stalled. Yet, the pressure continued to build until she believed she would explode.
“Please,” she begged, panting and crying.
Cooper pulled her against him with his next plunge, grinding his pelvis along her clit.
Melinda detonated. Her eyes rolled back in her head, and she screamed with pleasure. Shockwaves raced through her, resulting in the twitching and pulsing of her muscles. She broke out in a sweat and struggled to catch her breath.
“Absolutely stunning. Are you ready for another?”
She shook her head, still buzzing from the rush of endorphins. Another orgasm like that would kill her.
With a gleam in his eyes, Cooper let go of her legs and leaned down to kiss her. “You know you want another.”
Wow, another?
She hadn’t expected Cooper to be so skilled in the bedroom, not with how introverted and hidden away he had seemed. How she loved to be proved wrong. She ran her fingers across his wide, muscled back, yearning to live the rest of her life in this state of ecstasy.
He drew back, once again propping her legs on his shoulders. No longer focused on her, he thrust in with quick determination. Her nerve endings lit up, but not with the same intensity as before. Melinda rocked with him, content to help
him
reach orgasm.
“Oh, fuck!” He grabbed her sides and hammered into her.
His cock swelled, pushing her over the edge. Her back bowed, she felt as if she floated above the bed. Lost in sensations. A dream, yet not.
Cooper’s gentle strokes along the side of her face brought her back to reality. She opened her eyes and closed them again in an instant.
No way!
What she’d seen had to be an illusion, a result of her overactive imagination. Or a result of multiple intense orgasms.
Opening one eye at a time, she focused on Cooper and gulped. Same thing. His skin shimmered, somewhat translucent, and appearing to have scales—like a fish—embedded under the top few layers. She had to be hallucinating, high on endorphins.