Page 49 of Whisked Away By the Alien

Venomous words spew from my mouth at a dizzying rate, which could explain why he looks confused and hurt. I hate how that tears at my insides. I’m hurting, too. Like an elephant stepping on thin ice, a million cracks splinter outward from the center of my heart. But it hasn’t shattered. Not yet.

I still love him.

I shake my head, trying to knock that idea from my head. Whatever I feel for him can’t be love. Not after only knowing him for a few days.

That’s what I tell myself because it softens the blow. Does he really think I’d leave my family for a guy I only met earlier this week? Of course not. That’s why he suggested it.

Stenikov’s not only heartless, he’s trying to come off looking like a good guy. He’s a rotten, manipulative scoundrel. But I’m the fool here, because I fell for him.

“Get out of my apartment!”

The tops of his horns twist and untwist. As he stands before me, holding his clothing in front of his cocks, he reaches forward and kisses the top of my forehead with such care and gentleness tears cloud my eyes. I strain to keep from crying.

“Please go,” the words limp out of my mouth.

He lifts his chin and his horns rise high, full of determination. “Now that I’ve found you, I will not lose you, sholani. We will resolve this.”

“I need to be alone right now.” My voice breaks, as defeated as the rest of me.

Silently, he dresses in the common area of the apartment. “Will I see you at your parents for dinner tomorrow, Golda?”

For once in my life, I have utterly no interest in food. Perhaps this is the way to diet… let someone you really care about break your heart.

“No. And don’t return here tomorrow. Or the day after.”

“But, sholani—”

“Don’t call me sholani! I’m not your heartmate. You used me, Stenikov. I told you I didn’t want a one-night stand, that I wanted a real relationship.”

“This is real. I want you to go with me.”

“Just like that? You expect me to leave my parents, my grandmother, my sister and my niece… everything I know and love, and fly off to another planet five days after meeting you?”

“We’re heartmates.”

“Leave, Sten. And don’t come back.”

“Aji kali faztov, miz sholani.”

I don’t know what he’s saying, but I hear the pain in his voice. It matches the pain in my heart. As silently as Sten came into my life, he shuts the apartment door and disappears.

CHAPTERSIXTEEN

GOLDA

Istayed away from my parents’ house all day Saturday because I’m afraid of running into Sten. Likewise, I skipped joining them for Sunday brunch, but here I am, walking back and forth in front of their brownstone hours later, debating my options.

The anger has disappeared, leaving a mountain of hurt in its wake. I want to yell at Sten all over again, but mostly I just want to feel his strong arms wrap around me as he whispers everything will be fine.

I’ve thought of nothing else since I kicked him out of my apartment. That’s the problem… I removed him from my home, not my heart. I love the big blue ganiff. Yes, I’m calling him a thief, because that’s what Bubbe would call him. Sten stole my heart and my dreams.

Two days. That’s precisely how long he has left on Earth. The same amount of time I wasted being mad at him. This could be my last chance to see him and make things right between us, if that’s possible.

I keep replaying our conversation over and over in my head, and it always ends the same. With me yelling at him and kicking him out. That’s not the way a woman behaves if she cares about her guy. Did I even give him a chance to explain?

Heartmates. It sounded so nice at the time but ended up being nothing but bullshit. We never did get that monster snow storm, the one that convinced me to invite Sten back to my place. I used the storm as a perfect excuse to spend more time together. Was he doing the same? Did he make up the storm, hoping to get me into bed?

No. That’s not who he is. But I’m so damn confused right now. He’s leaving…

---