The Visitor: Alien Hunger Special Edition by Kaitlyn O'Connor Page A

but it was ridiculous to think he’d done it to hide
anything from her when all he’d had to do was not come to her place
at all.
    It took all she could do to resist the
urge to smooth his unruly hair but as badly as she wanted to touch
and not just look it would be awfully inconsiderate to wake him
when she could see he was exhausted. Sighing, she got up and headed
into the bathroom. She was halfway through her damned shower before
it dawned on her that it was Saturday and she could’ve slept
late!
    Dismissing her annoyance after a
moment with the reflection that there was no way she could’ve
slept, or kept her hands to herself if she’d stayed in the bed, she
left the bathroom and dressed as quietly as she could.
    “ Did you set the
alarm?”
    Chelsey halted abruptly on her way
out. “No. Do you need it set?”
    “ What day is
it?”
    Poor baby! She did feel like a bitch!
“Saturday.”
    “ Yeah.”
    Saturday was usually her day for her
chores, but Garryk slept so lightly she decided to put them off
until he left for work. Instead, after a little thought, she
decided to cook him that meal she’d considered before. She could
always say it was just returning the favor since he’d cooked for
her. Heading into the kitchen, she fixed herself a cup of instant
coffee and piece of toast, nibbling while she checked the fridge
and her cabinets to make a list. If she was going shopping for
something special to fix, she decided, she might as well take care
of the chore while she was at it and lay in a week’s
worth.
    When she’d finished, she wrote Garryk
a note, in case he woke up before the alarm, and left the house to
him. It was unfortunate that she didn’t have any idea what his
favorite foods were, but he was a meat eater, a man, and a very
muscular man. He needed protein to maintain all that muscle. A
roast was out of the question—too much time to cook. He probably
ate steaks regularly since they were quick and easy to cook. She
decided on lamb chops—elegant—expensive as hell, but it wouldn’t be
too heavy for lunch. It should still satisfy his need for protein,
and they wouldn’t take long to cook.
    She was in no particular hurry. She
thought he would probably rest a lot better without her in the
apartment, so she finished her shopping in a fairly leisurely
manner and loaded up the car to head home, timing her arrival so
that she’d have just enough time to prepare the meal before he had
to leave.
    The apartment was empty when she got
back. Dismayed, disbelieving, she searched it. Sure enough, the bed
was empty and the shower still dripping. “Damn it!” she exclaimed
angrily, flopping down on the edge of the bed. He was like a
phantom! Drifting in to arouse her from her dreams and then
vanishing with the light!
    Sighing, she went out to haul the
damned groceries in and put them up. Spying the note she’d left him
still on the counter, she picked it up, wadded it, and tossed it
into the trash. It had no sooner landed than her brain assimilated
the image she’d glimpsed when she’d snatched it off the counter.
She dove for the trashcan and dug the note out again, smoothing
it.
    I’m sorry as hell, baby. I
got called in early. Don’t lock me out. I’ll make it up to you. I
swear!
    Sighing again, wondering if all she
was going to get anymore was hastily scribbled notes and somebody
to take up most of the bed while she was trying to sleep, she
tossed the note in the trash again and set about doing the chores
she’d put off to let him sleep.
    At least he didn’t snore—not that
she’d noticed, anyway. Lawrence snored like a grizzly bear. She’d
gotten so used to tuning it out she thought that was probably why
Garryk hadn’t woke her up when he’d broken her security
chain—probably also why she hadn’t noticed whether he snored or
not.
    The bathroom hamper, she discovered,
was full of his dirty laundry. She stared at the pile of clothes
irritably for several minutes and finally piled them in