Free Delivered to the Aliens: Cosmic Connections by Nancey Cummings, Starr Huntress Page A

a decision now,” Zan said. “Let’s just explore.”
    Sophia nodded. Exploration sounded reasonable, responsible, even. She owed it to herself to explore this unmapped territory. “Can I touch your tail?”
    Alton looked like she could knock him over with a feather.
    Zan gave Alton a smirk. “I told you she was bold.”
    A blush overtook her. “If it’s weird, never mind.”
    “No, no,” Alton stuttered out, his cool confidence shaken. “That’s just not a first date kind of thing.”
    “We’re married,” she said.
    “So we are.”
    “And I’m curious. Terran’s don’t have tails.”
    “I’ve noticed.”
    “Been starring at my ass?”
    “I have,” Zan added helpfully. “You can pull my tail anytime, asali .”
    Alton placed the end of his tail in her hand. The tail was covered in a light, downy fuzz. It was soft, almost velveteen. The end was tufted in course hair nearly the texture of a beard. The color matched the hair on his head. She worked her fingers into the tuft, like she would pet a cat. His eyes closed in pleasure.
    Yeah, she was digging the tail.
    She turned to Zan. “Your turn.” She gave his tail the same treatment and was rewarded with the same eye rolling reaction.
    Alton pressed against her while she stroked the underside of Zan’s tail. His thumb worked under her panties, brushing against her lower lips. As he brushed his thumb against her tingling core, she jumped with a bolt of electricity. Sophia glanced away, fixing her gaze on the clock on the wall.
    Zan placed his thumb and forefinger under her chin and turned her head back to him. A week ago she worried about making rent and finding a job. Now she was on an alien planet, married and making out with her two gorgeous husbands. Shit. Sophia’s heart raced, thumping heavily in her chest from arousal and worry. The last man she took a chance with made her life hell. What did she even know about them?
    Nothing. Not a damn thing.
    Sophia pulled away, extracting herself from Zan’s embrace and Alton’s hands. “This is too fast,” she said.
    “Okay,” Alton said, backing away. “Then let’s slow down.”
    Sophia brought a hand to her mouth and bit on a knuckle, suppressing a laugh.
    Zan exchanged a look with Alton. They thought she was batty now. Fantastic.
    “How do we slow this down?” she asked. “We’re already married.”
    Alton shrugged. “How about a date?”
    Sophia laughed. “Oh my gosh, that’s so old fashioned. Can you pick me up at my mother’s at seven?”
    “When’s curfew?” he asked.
    Sophia went to the kitchen sink, grabbed a glass drying in the drain board and filled it with tap water. How much wine did she have? Enough for a hangover. Enough to regret.
    Sensing the mood had passed, Zan and Alton cleared the table. Zan washed and Alton dried the dishes. Sophia sat at the table, staring at her glass of water. When the last dish was put away, Sophia said, “The night after tomorrow.”
    “Pardon?” Alton asked.
    “Date night,” I said. “Don’t get any ideas. Woo me.”
    A smile spread across Alton’s handsome face. “Challenge accepted.”
     
    ***
     
    The front door closed. Steps echoed on the porch before vanishing. Sophia rolled over in the bed, struggling to empty her mind and go back to sleep.
    Unfamiliar insect noises and bird calls drifted in through the open window. Otherwise the homestead was quiet. Sophia had lived with the constant drone of the space station, noise from ventilation, life support, neighbors, the hum of electricity and the very quiet, almost imperceptible rattle of artificial gravity. Every night she slept with the white noise of the station. She barely noticed it in the end and missed the comforting noise. The silence of insects and birds was deafening.
    A skittering outside the window drew her from the bed.
    Sophia reached for the baseball bat and inched toward the window. Alton said nothing could breach the house’s shielding and it was safe to sleep with