Sweet Alien Savage (Zerconian Warriors Book 4) (10 page)

“Now what?” Mila asked, sitting back with a sigh. She suppressed a yawn. She was tired, sad, frustrated, and hungry.

Baaad combination.

And no matter how Koran might wish she would suppress her emotions and just get on with things, she couldn’t do it. She couldn’t forget that she’d found Sally dead, right here in this bedroom.

“We’ve turned this place upside down and there are no clues here about what happened to Sally. So what do we do next?”

“Someone must know something. We talk to her neighbors.”

She glanced around the room. “If we go on the theory that the killer sent Darac a note to frame him, then how did they know when he would arrive? How did they know someone would walk in and find him with Sally’s body?”

Koran looked up from where he was searching through Sally’s underwear drawer. “Perhaps there is a camera in here.”

“I really don’t think you’re going to find it in her panties drawer,” she told him dryly.

“What?” He paused.

She pointed at the thong he held between his forefinger and thumb. “I don’t think there are any clues hidden in her thong.”

“Thong? Is this what this is called? How does one even wear this?”

“The wider part goes over your, um, front and the thin part goes between your, um, bottom cheeks.”

“You have gone bright red.”

“Look, how you wear a thong isn’t the issue here.”

“Do you have some of these?” he asked, still studying the thong.

Mila ground her teeth together. “No.”

“Why not? It looks very sexy. I would like to see you in one of these.”

“No, you wouldn’t.”

Koran’s gaze had grown amber. Shit. What did amber mean? Purple was happiness. Red was anger.

Holy crap. Amber was arousal, right?

Her body had been in overdrive for the last few hours as they searched Sally’s quarters. Each time he’d grown close to her, she’d found herself leaning towards him, wanting to brush her body up against his, to breathe in his scent.

This attraction was like nothing she had experienced before. Like he’d rolled himself in catnip and she was a kitten ready to pounce.

“Mila? Why wouldn’t I want to see you in this thong?”

“Because you don’t really want me.”

“Is that so?” he drawled, leaning back against the drawers and crossing his arms over his thick chest.

She’d never been attracted to men with muscles before. But damn if Koran’s muscles flexing didn’t make her pussy clench with need.

Shake it off, Mila.

Keep your pussy on task.

Mind. She meant mind. Keep your
mind
on task.

Holy crap, even her thoughts were stuck on sex.

“No. You just told Aline that to get her off your back. I get it. It’s not the first time I’ve been used as a scapegoat.”

“Scapegoat?”

“Someone you use to take the blame. To take the heat off you. Aline is pushy and she won’t take no for an answer. You told her I was your mate so she would leave you alone. I just wish you had chosen someone else.”

“Mila. I did not lie. And I would not use you as this scapegoat. Only a coward would do such.”

“But that means…”

“That you are my mate.” He kissed her. His mouth hot against hers. Arousal flooded her, making her head spin.

When he pulled back, she had to fight against the urge to beg him to kiss her again, to touch her, take her.

She cleared her throat, trying to force herself to think. “You believe there is only one mate for you, right?”

“We don’t just believe it. There is only one. Our population is decreasing and the hope of finding a mate has become increasingly unlikely for many of us. Without our mates, males go mad, insane. Females grow melancholy and fade away.

“Then Dex mated Zoey, giving my people hope. Over the last year, Dex and Zoey have been reaching out to Earth to ensure our races build a relationship. Only now, it seems someone wishes to sabotage it.”

“The vid. But not that many people saw it.” Her lips tingled. She was shocked she could think let alone speak with the need flooding her body.

“Enough did. They will talk. And now this murder. What next? How many Zerconians will die because they did not find their mate in time?”

“And what happens when they do find their mate? They have no choice?” she asked. “What if they refuse?”

He frowned. “They hold our lives in their hands. Mates need to be together. They connect each other. Once we join, we can sense our mates, their feelings.”

“And these matings are never broken? There is no divorce?”

“Zoey explained divorce to me. The thought is abhorrent. It is impossible for us to leave our mates. To cheat on them.”

“Sounds almost too good to be true. My father had five wives. He’s currently engaged to number six.” Not to mention all the women he’d slept with through the years who he wasn’t married to.

“I do not understand Earther males.” He scowled. “They have no honor.”

“Some do. They’re not all like my father.”

“Mila, I would never leave you. Never divorce you. I would be here for you always.”

“What is a joining?” she asked, trying to make her mind function.

“I believe you humans call it making love.”

“So we have to have sex to mate?”

He nodded. “That is correct. We will join and mate. Then we will be together forever.”

“Just like that, huh? No dating, no getting to know each other, just wham-bam-hello-mate.”

“I do not know this wham bam, but this is how it happens on Zerconia. We find out mate, we join, there is a mating ceremony and we are together until we die.”

“Very romantic,” she said dryly.

“If you think so. Warriors know little of romance.”

“Yeah, that’s obvious. I was being sarcastic. Don’t you think dating should play a part? Don’t you think that people should get to know each other before entering into something that will tie them to each other for the rest of their lives? What if you find out you can’t stand the other person but you’re stuck with each other?”

He frowned. “That does not happen. The fates choose our mate, the other half of our soul. Why date when everything is already set?”

“Why indeed?” she murmured. It seemed so cold, like an arranged marriage where the groom and bride let their parents arrange everything.

And yet a part of her felt relieved. If she believed him, then he would never cheat on her, never leave her. It was her greatest fear. That she would fall in love, only to end up abandoned and alone like her mother.

“You’re sure that I am your mate? I mean, could you have made a mistake?”

“No, I am certain. And I believe you know it as well. Do you feel a pull towards me? An attraction? Have you noticed yourself getting aroused more often than usual?”

“Oh my God, I can’t believe you asked me that!” Her cheeks burned. She turned away, trying to hide her embarrassment.

“When Zoey and Dex met, she refused to mate him. The idea of mating someone she did not know scared her. Gradually she grew more and more aroused. To the point where she stopped eating, where she could barely move.”

“What?” She gaped at him, aghast. “Are you saying that if we don’t…um…join that I’ll become so uh, well, you know that I won’t be able to do anything because I’ll be so…uh…”

“Aroused. Yes. Why are you stuttering over your words? Do you have a speech issue?”

No, she was just hopelessly naïve and embarrassed. Her gravestone was never going to read sophisticated and chic.

More like:

Here lay Mila Gray

Boring and staid

Not once did she get laid

Although if what Koran said was really true, it could read that could all change.

“Mila? Mila, are you listening to me?”

“Sorry? What did you say?”

“I said that soon we will not be able to deny each other. It is something you must accept.”

“It’s kind of hard to wrap my head around. I mean, you’re taking away my free choice.”

“I would never force you.” He looked horribly offended. “But eventually, your body will. Do you not find me attractive? Do you feel nothing for me?”

“That’s not the issue.”

“No? So you do find me attractive,” he said arrogantly.

“Well, look at you! You’re goddamn gorgeous. You’re like every romance novel hero brought to life. But you’re
you
and I’m
me
.”

“Yes. I know that.”

She shook her head. “That’s not what I mean. It’s just, you’re more Aline’s type than mine.”

“I do not understand.”

No, she could see that. It didn’t help that she wasn’t making a lot of sense. “You’re the sexiest man I’ve ever met. You’re handsome, strong, and gorgeous.”

“Then what is the problem?”

“Men like you don’t want women like me.” She pointed at herself.

“Like you? You mean because you’re delicate?”

“No.”

“Because you’re emotional and illogical?” he asked.

“No, well, I don’t think so. Hey, what do you mean illogical? When have I been illogical?”

He raised his eyebrows. “You jumped over the edge of the terrace to avoid walking through the ballroom with a mark on your dress.”

Okay, so that didn’t sound like a smart move but she’d had her reasons. She was tired of always being an embarrassment. Of being Aline’s clumsy little sister.

“If it is not because you are delicate, emotional, and illogical then what is it? Your height? It might cause a few issues, but I’m sure we can work around them as long as I remember you are frail and make allowances for that.”

She ground her teeth together in frustration. “I am starting to realize why you have not mated already.” Because despite his good looks, no one else would have him!

“Because I had not met you.”

Okay, that was somewhat romantic. “This all feels like some bizarre movie.”

“Ah, Zoey has spoken of movies. She misses them greatly.”

“You don’t have movies? Our cultures are so different. There’s so much we don’t know about each other. I can’t mate with you without knowing you better.”

He stared at her thoughtfully. “I have waited for you for decades. Getting to know me better will not change what is meant to be.”

“I guess not. But it would make me feel less nervous and scared.”

“I would never hurt you. I would take care of you always. I will ensure that you come to no harm under my care.”

She smiled. Even though she could take care of herself, and had since she was a child, it was nice to have someone else care.

“Then wouldn’t you want me to be more comfortable with our, um, mating? If you really want to take care of me.”

He frowned, obviously thinking that over. “This is why I did not wish to take a human female as a mate. I knew she would make this difficult.”

“Sorry,” she replied stiffly.

“I suppose I could wait a bit longer.”

She let out a silent sigh of relief.

“How long do you need? A day? Two?”

Two days? That was his allowance?

“Can we just see how things go?” she asked.

“I am here only for a week longer, Mila. We will be lucky if our bodies allow us that long. I suggest you get to know me quickly.”

“It’s just that when I woke up yesterday, I was plain, boring, single Mila. Now I am supposed to be your mate? I thought you wanted Aline. The way you seemed to look at her sometimes, well, you never seemed to notice me.”

“I was briefly confused.”

“Confused?” She shook her head. “Like you thought you wanted one sister and then no, you wanted the other one?”

“I did not know you were sisters. That was part of the problem. I think.”

“Koran, you’re not making sense.”

“I thought she would make an appropriate mate.”

“Appropriate?”

“Yes. She is logical. She acts without letting emotions guide her. She is sensible and intelligent.”

“And that’s your criteria for a mate?”

Mila couldn’t understand it. He sounded so cold.

“What about her appearance? Don’t you think she is beautiful?” she asked.

“Her features are pleasantly symmetrical.”

“What about being kind and caring and nurturing? Do you care about those things?”

He rubbed his chin. “Those things are not in a warrior’s nature. But I suppose a female could have such traits. I would allow you to be those things with our children.”

“How nice of you to allow it.” Standing, she moved to the door. “We need to interview Sally’s neighbors.”

“Mila, wait.”