Sweet Alien Savage (Zerconian Warriors Book 4) (2 page)

Yeah, right,
Mila thought skeptically. When had Aline ever cared about making a difference? Personally, Mila loved Zazarn. The locals were sweet and welcoming, and there was zero crime.

“I deserve better than this. After how long and hard I have worked for the Earth Council, they keep giving me these meaningless assignments. It’s because I’m a woman, you know.”

Personally, Mila wondered if it was because Aline had pissed too many councilors off. She didn’t exactly have the warmest personality. They’d probably sent her here because it was very hard to insult the Zazarn.

Unlike the last assignment she’d had, where Aline had managed to alienate not just the ruling couple but their vast and extended family as well. “Earth doesn’t have an ambassador on Zerconia,” Mila stated. Zerconia had only opened its borders to visitors a few months ago. “Do you know that the Zerconians believe in soul mates? That there is only one mate for each of them?”

The concept was a foreign one. Her father was on his fifth, no wait, sixth wife. Mila was pretty sure she had received an invitation to their wedding.

Aline snorted. “Probably a load of bullshit to help them get laid. No one remains loyal to their partner forever.”

“There are couples here who have been married for years.”

Aline rolled her eyes. “Stop being so naïve, Mila. One or both of them probably had a bit of a fling on the side, and their partner simply never found out. Just look at Dad, how many times did he cheat and one of his wives took him back?”

Mila’s mother had taken him back twice—until he’d moved on to wife number three. Her mother had never remarried. She’d become a shadow of herself, pining for a man who didn’t want her. Mila swore she would never let herself get into that state. Love didn’t exist, and she wouldn’t make the mistake of buying into that propaganda. “So you think that all that taking a mate forever stuff is something the Zerconians made up?”

“Of course. It makes it sound all romantic, doesn’t it?”

“I guess so.”

“Imagine if I could secure the assignment as ambassador to Zerconia? The Zerconians are a rich and powerful race. If I can win over this Commander Al’a, then I might just get the ear of the Crown Prince himself. The Earth Council cannot refuse the Crown Prince if he insists on having me as his ambassador.”

“Right. You know that they’re a patriarchal society right? They might not agree to a female ambassador.”

Aline snorted. “Time for them to change their ideas then.”

Mila shook her head. Like they’d just change how they’d lived their lives for thousands of years because it didn’t suit Aline.

But then that was her sister. Self-serving. Completely caught up in her own wants and needs.

Why do I stay with her?

Oh yeah, because she’s family.

“I’ve decided to seduce him,” Aline stated.

“Uh, sorry, what?”

“That’s why I need help choosing a dress. I need something sexy, but not desperate.”

“Seduce him? Are you serious? You don’t even know him.”

“What does that matter? The idea is to fuck him not marry him. I just need to get Commander Al’a on side. Apparently he is very good friends with the Crown Prince.”

“You’ve researched him.”

“Of course.”

“You didn’t ask me to help.” Which was surprising. Mila usually did all the background research.

Aline picked up a red dress and turning to the mirror, held it up against her body. “I don’t need you for everything, Mila. Besides, I couldn’t be bothered listening to your lecture about how this was a bad idea…blah, blah, blah.”

Mila sat back, feeling a bit hurt.

“Look, Mila, you don’t know how these things work. If you want to get anywhere in life as a woman you have to be prepared to sleep with a few people along the way. That’s why I’m an ambassador and you’re just my assistant.”

Only Mila seemed to do the majority of the work.

“Besides, it won’t be much of a hardship to sleep with him. I hear these Zerconian warriors are big all over.”

Do not blush. Do not blush.

“What do you think I should wear?” Aline held up the short, red dress with no sleeves and a tucked in waist. “This?” She grabbed a deep blue dress that fell to the ankle and had a plunging neckline. “Or this?”

“I’m not certain either of those dresses are appropriate.”

Aline frowned down at the dresses. “No, you’re right. I want to make the right first impression.”

“What about this?” Mila went over to the wardrobe and pulled out a slim, black skirt and white, tailored shirt.

“Boring.” Aline grabbed another dress, holding it against her body in front of the mirror. “I think this will work.”

It would. The dress she held was deceptive. It appeared modest, with a high neckline and sleeves, but it hugged Aline in all the right places. And while black washed Mila out, making her look like a vampire’s bride, with Aline’s tanned skin and dark blonde hair, she would look amazing.

“Do you think it is a good idea, letting these Zerconian warriors come here?” Mila stared down at her boring black pants and oversized dark gray shirt. She wished she dared wear something tight fitting like Aline, but she just didn’t have the body to pull it off. She was built like a teenage boy. Slim and curveless.

Aline turned to stare at her. “Why wouldn’t it be a good idea? They’re powerful and rich. And desperate.”

“Desperate for mates for their people. I didn’t think you’d want to be tied down to one man.”

Aline frowned at her. “What are you saying, that I’m a slut?”

“Of course not.” Mila shook her head.

“Then what? What exactly are you saying?”

“It’s just that a lot of women on base are nervous after seeing that vid.” The one showing a bunch of human females locked up in pens while a large, muscular man terrified them.

“Stupid, silly twits, the bunch of them. That was nonsense.”

Well, of course, it was. But Mila could understand why people were nervous. Zerconian males were huge and masculine, kind of intimidating.

Too much male. Not that they’d ever look twice at her.

Mila knew she was boring and drab. And even if she did manage to catch a man’s eye, he usually dumped her once he discovered how klutzy she was. She couldn’t blame them. Having your date trip over nothing in the middle of a restaurant, smash into a waiter holding a tray full of drinks which then tipped onto a large male, staining his white shirt wasn’t exactly a great first date by anyone’s standards.

“You and I know it was fake, and the others probably do as well, deep down. But we know very little about these Zerconians,” Mila pointed out. “For years, they’ve kept mainly to themselves and the unknown makes people nervous. Add that stupid vid to the mix and some people are worried. What if they try to force women to mate with them?”

“How can they? That’s ridiculous. They’re coming. End of story.”

“What about the Zazarn? Did you consult them?”

The Zazarn were a peace-loving race. Small, purple, and round, like over-sized plums with a face.

“The Zazarn like the Zerconians. They’re fine with them coming here. The High Chief gave his blessing.”

The High Chief was two feet tall and as wide as he was round. He could speak a reasonable amount of Standard, the language that was widely spoken by different races involved with interplanetary trade. But he was reclusive and rarely left his house.

Aline threw off her clothes and drew on the dress. Mila had long since ceased to be embarrassed by her sister getting naked in front of her. Aline didn’t have a self-conscious bone in her body.

Sometimes, Mila wished she could be more like Aline. More confident and assured and less worried what everyone thought.

“Could they not have waited a few more weeks, until people had calmed down after seeing that vid?”

“They can’t. Apparently that little vid came from here.”

“Here? This outpost?” Mila sank back onto the armchair in shock. “Someone here made it? How?”

“I don’t know if it was made here, but it was transmitted from somewhere on this compound as it was traced back to our mainframe. Apparently they couldn’t pinpoint the exact location due to scramblers or something like that. You know I don’t pay attention when people get all technical.”

Mila’s hands itched. She bet she could pinpoint where the transmission had originated from. “I could help them.”

Aline frowned. “No. I need you. I won’t have you running around helping other people. You’re already busy enough.”

That was true. But she could reduce how many hours she spent sleeping. How many hours did she need to get by? Three should do it.

“But if I accessed the mainframe, I’m sure I could unscramble the signal and pinpoinr where the vid came from.”

“No, I don’t want you getting involved, Mila. You know what would happen if the Earth Council discovered your abilities. They’d pull you away from me and use your skills for their purposes. Do you want that?”

She knew her sister was right. It wasn’t her business.

“Plus, if you figure it out then there’s no reason for these Zerconians to come here.”

Right. That was probably the real reason Aline cared.

“I’m surprised one of the tech experts didn’t manage to unscramble the signal.”

Aline shrugged. “Bastian tried. He couldn’t do it.”

Bastian was the head of tech. “What do you need from me?”

“I need you to observe. Take note of anything that might help me figure out what makes these guys tick. I need any advantage I can get. If I can secure a post on Zerconia, then the Earth Council will have to take me seriously. Imagine the trade deals I could negotiate. Although I can’t imagine why the Earth Council hasn’t achieved a trade deal yet. I mean, they’re desperate for our women, right? Couldn’t they just do a trade?”

“What? Trade women for resources? You’re talking about selling human beings! That’s slavery, Aline!”

“Oh, don’t get your panties in a twist. I didn’t mean it like that. But there are plenty of women on those dating sites looking for men, why not just offer a dating service but with Zerconians? You know, we could send a shipload full of desperate women to Zerconia and just let them loose for a while. No one would force them to hook up, although I can’t see why they’d turn one of those Zerconian males down.”

Aline brushed her hair until it glowed, put some red lipstick on then turned to Mila. “Well? How do I look?”

“Beautiful. As always.”

Aline smiled, her white teeth gleaming in the light. Mila sighed. Sometimes she felt like Cinderella—only the closest thing to a fairy godmother she’d ever encountered had worked the corner of 9
th
Avenue and Stern Street. He’d worn a tutu and fairy wings and had been very popular with middle-aged white guys.

When Mila was seven, he’d given her a teddy bear and five dollars for sweets. She’d thought he was wonderful. It wasn’t until she was older that she realized what he actually did for a living.

“Good. It’s been too long since I had a real man in my bed.” Aline turned and left the bedroom.

“What about Zac? What does he think about your plan to seduce this Commander Al’a?” Zac was head of security. There was little crime here, so he wasn’t exactly raced off his feet. Soon after she’d arrived, Mila had left her quarters unlocked. Not one thing had been disturbed. If she’d left her old apartment in New Jersey unlocked, the place would have been stripped bare, graffitied, and squatters would have moved in, claiming the place as their own.

And that would have been all before lunch.

Aline snorted. “Zac is boring. All he’s interested in is pumping iron and watching sports.”

“I didn’t realize you were with him for his conversation skills.”

Aline gave her a funny look. Then she shrugged. “Doesn’t matter. Zac is old news. He was never going to be around for long.”

She looked Mila up and down then sighed. “Couldn’t you have at least made some effort with your appearance?”

“I didn’t know we were trying to charm these warriors.”

“I suppose it doesn’t matter what you wear. You’re just my assistant. I guess it makes it easier for you to gather information on them if you fade into the background. Just try to keep from tripping over your feet, all right?”

Easier said than done.

“Think he can do it?” Zoey asked once Koran left.

“Find out who made that vid? Yes, of course.” Dex lifted her tired, swollen feet onto a stool then he placed a pillow behind her back. As much as she liked to complain about his fussing, he always knew exactly how to make her feel better. A benefit of the mating bond. He could sense her emotions, her aches and pains. Of which she had plenty.

Being pregnant kind of sucked. Nausea, bloating, aching back and hemorrhoids. She shuddered.

“No, I mean, can he be charming. This is Koran we’re talking about. Can he even smile? Shouldn’t you have sent Thor?”

“No,” Dex replied sharply. “Thor is needed here to look after you.”