Sweet Alien Savage (Zerconian Warriors Book 4) (3 page)

She rubbed her stomach with a sigh. “I’m going to be fine, Dex. Women have babies all the time.”

“But not my mate. I cannot stand to think of you in pain.”

As her pregnancy wore on, Dex grew increasingly stressed and overprotective. Zoey found herself having to reassure him.

“Koran can do this.” Dex frowned.

“You’re worried about him.”

“My hope is that one of these humans might be his mate. It’s the reason I am sending Darac, also. He is even closer to the edge than Koran.”

“Ooh, the baby’s kicking. Want to feel?”

Instantly, his face lightened. He placed his hand on her stomach, grinning hugely as he felt the baby kick. “Amazing.”

Zoey placed her hand over Dex’s. “Everything will work out. I know it will.”

Dex nodded. “Yes.”

She grinned. “I just hope Koran doesn’t insult the ambassador and get them all evicted.”

“Koran has come a long way since meeting you. He no longer views humans as inferior, less intelligent beings. I have every faith he can do this.”

Humans were an inferior race.

Some individuals perhaps possessed redeeming factors, such as Zoey. She was courageous. Smart in some ways—although common sense wasn’t her strong point. However, humans were physically weak, they allowed emotions to guide them and often engaged in irrational behavior that baffled him.

But right now, he had to push those thoughts aside and focus on the mission. To find who had made and distributed that vid. He also needed to figure out how to be charming.

Inwardly, he grimaced. He would rather fight a hundred Coizil warriors than act charming.

At least this investigation would only take a day. Two at the most.

Koran studied his surroundings as he strode down the ramp towards the welcoming party. Zazarn was a small planet and much of the surface was covered in jungle. It was humid, although not as hot as Zerconia.

The Zazarn High Chief bounced up and down as he waited. Next to the High Chief stood his mate. It was hard to tell the difference between male and female Zazarns, but females tended to be taller, and they had a third, tiny nostril.

Beside them stood two human females. One stood straight and tall, the other almost slouched as she stood behind the taller female. As though she wished she were anywhere other than here.

Koran could relate.

Koran greeted the ruling pair first. They spoke a few words in Standard, before making their excuses. He probably wouldn’t see them again as they weren’t much for socializing.

That left him with the humans. He turned to the blonde human female. She might be considered attractive. Her black garment hugged her curves, highlighting her small waist. Humans seemed to find such things important. He didn’t understand why they placed so much importance on appearance. What did someone’s appearance have to do with their worth?

Someone could be beautiful on the outside and evil underneath.

Like he said, humans were strange creatures.

Still, he could appreciate that this woman’s hair was shiny and clean. Her skin was smooth, and her features were pleasantly symmetrical. Eyes not too far apart, nose not too long, ears not too large.

“Hello, you must be Koran Al’a.” The female held out her hand. He took it, aware of the human custom of shaking hands. Zoey had given them all a quick briefing about human customs before they had departed.

“I am Ambassador Thorn. But you may call me Aline.” She smiled up at him.

Koran frowned as a hint of arousal drifted through his body. Was he attracted to this female? He stared down at her, puzzled. Trying to regain his focus, he turned his attention to the female standing behind the Ambassador.

“Hello.”

The smaller female jumped, staring at him with wide eyes, her mouth slightly open. She seemed timid. Shy. Certainly rather unmemorable with her plain brown hair and oversized clothing. And she was so pale he wondered if she were about to faint.

Stars. He’d only been here a few minutes, and already he was scaring females silly. She was so terrified she could not even speak.

The Ambassador cleared her throat, calling his attention back to her before she grabbed his arm. “Don’t worry about Mila. She’s timid. But she’s a good assistant.”

Was she? When she couldn’t even manage a simple hello? When just the sight of him seemed to terrify her? Was she one of those silly females who believed that vid?

Would all the humans react like this?

Irritation filled him. He needed these humans to accept him and his warriors, not fear them. Their fear could make it harder to track down the culprit who’d made that fabricated vid.

“Would you and your men like to rest?” the ambassador asked.

“Rest? Why would we need to rest? We are not ill.”

“No, you all look very healthy.” She looked him up and down, almost as though she were assessing him. “Why don’t you and your men follow me. We have some refreshments ready.”

He did not understand how a female could hold such a vital position. But this female seemed very strong. Self-assured and confident.

She didn’t seem like a female given to dramatics and tears.

Again, something stirred in his blood. Could this female be his mate? But she hadn’t reacted to his touch. Zoey fainted when Dex first touched her. Although theirs was the first and only Zerconian-human mating, who knew if that was typical or not?

Perhaps he had simply gone too long without relief. Yes, that had to be it.

He did not want a human mate.

***

Oh hell.

How was it possible for someone to be that gorgeous? So goddamn masculine?

He was the most stunning male Mila had ever met. His stride full of confidence, his stance assured, his men silent and watchful behind him. Koran. Even his name was masculine and strong. Like him.

Over seven feet tall, thick with muscles, and with a hard, rugged face, Koran had a dark, dangerous look. A wicked scar ran down his neck. With regeneration chambers able to heal most things, scars were now a rare sight.

It made Koran appear menacing. Lethal.

But it was her reaction to him that was the biggest shock. Arousal slammed through her body like a jolt of lightning, filling her from the inside out. Her legs were jelly, her heart racing, palms sweating. She had never felt such an instant sexual attraction to someone before.

And then he’d turned to her and said hello. And what had she done? Had she managed to be charming? Had she pretended to be smart and assured? Had she even just attempted to be welcoming and polite?

Nope, she hadn’t managed any of those things.

Instead, she’d stood there like a dummy and stared at him. Now he probably thought she was a bit simple.

Mila could kick herself. If she’d managed to pull her head out of her ass, she might have touched him, felt his skin against hers as they shook hands. It might have been her only chance to touch him. She’d noticed the way he’d focused on Aline. The same way all men watched Aline. As though she was filet of steak and he was stuck on a broccoli diet.

Personally, Mila liked broccoli. But not many people would go for broccoli over steak. Especially not a manly man like Koran. Even his voice was masculine. Deep and husky. He hadn’t smiled, which was probably just as well. If he smiled, she might well have self-combusted.

“Mila!”

She looked up, blinking at Aline’s hiss. “Yes?”

Glancing around, she spotted Koran and his men across the room, gathered around the table of food.

“Get them all out of here. I want to have a private meeting with Commander Al’a.”

“How?” Mila asked.

“I don’t know.” Aline glared at her in irritation. “Just get rid of them all.”

How the hell was she going to do that?

Gathering up her courage, she moved towards the group of warriors. She’d figured that such large men would need a lot of sustenance, so she’d arranged with the kitchen staff to prepare what she considered a feast.

Eyes widening, she noticed most of the food had already been demolished and they’d only been here a few minutes.

Mila cleared her throat.

Nothing.

They continued to chat in Zerconian. Mila was good with most languages, but Zerconian wasn’t one of them.

“Um, excuse me?”

Crap. Nothing. She needed some way to grab their attention. Mila glanced at the plates of food and grabbed one that held pieces of fried nonka bird and a dip made from a tomato-like fruit grown here on Zazarn. Maybe she could lure them away with a plate of food.

The way to a man’s heart was through his stomach, right? Not that she wanted to win the heart of any of these guys.

Grabbing the plate, she turned, stumbling over a large foot.

Oh shit. Not now.

Mila held onto the plate in desperation as she frantically tried to regain her balance.

Everything moved in slow motion as she fell against one of the Zerconians, spilling the plate of food down his back. Horrified, she took a step back, watching as the red dip dripped down the back of the wide-shouldered warrior.

He turned, swinging his arm out and catching her in the shoulder. She flew backward.

Oomph! She landed against another male and they slammed to the ground. She fell on her side, her head rested against something warm and hard.

At the sound of a snarl, she glanced up to find Koran glaring down at her. What the hell? Why was he angry?

Shifting herself with a groan, she turned her head to see what she’d landed on. Horror froze her tongue as she realized her face was only inches above the crotch of a blond-haired Zerconian.

Red filled her cheeks, making them burn as she gaped at the warrior in mortification.

Oh hell, what had she done?

“Are you all right?” one of them asked in Standard.

Her mouth opened but nothing came out. She couldn’t think, couldn’t speak.

Aline moved up to Koran and taking his arm, quickly steered him away from her.

This was not happening. No way. She had to be stuck in a nightmare. Like the ones where you dream about turning up to school naked.

It had to be. This was too humiliating to be real. She must be still tucked up in bed, fast asleep.

“Wake up, Mila,” she whispered. “Wake up, now.”

She could feel everyone staring at her. Someone spoke quietly, but she couldn’t hear what they said. Why wouldn’t she wake up?

Because you are awake, Mila. This is not a dream.

Mortification filled her as she heard her sister apologizing for her.

Koran turned back to stare at her, a frown on his face. He was probably wondering how she could be such a clumsy idiot.

“Allow me to help you stand.” Another warrior stepped forward and held out his hands to her.

Mila reached up and took them. A low growl filled the room, and the warrior froze as everyone turned to look at Koran. He appeared just as surprised as Aline spoke to him quietly.

“I’m not dreaming, am I?” she asked the kind warrior who had helped her up. He smiled slightly, amusement dancing in his eyes. “That really just happened?”

“Yes. It did.”

Mila placed her hands over her face. “Jesus, Mary, and Joseph. I’m such a stupid klutz.”

The warrior frowned. “Klutz?”

“Oh, it means clumsy. I’m always tripping over my feet.” The other warriors gathered around her. Her cheeks burned as tears formed.

With a supreme effort, she brought herself under control. She turned to the blond warrior she’d fallen on. “I’m really sorry about that.”

He grinned. “I’m certain I enjoyed it more than you did.”

Not knowing how to reply to that, she decided she needed to get away from these guys as quickly as she could. “If you’ll all come with me, I’ll show you where you’re staying.”

The warrior who had helped her up reached out and gently touched her arm. “Your face is red. Are you hurt?”

“No, I’m fine. Well, my butt is probably bruised.” She resisted the urge to rub her aching posterior.

The warriors all frowned.

“Shall we take you to a healer?” another warrior asked. He scowled, his dark eyes watching her closely.

Surrounded by a wall of freakin’ huge men, she swallowed heavily. They had to be all over seven feet tall. Their tight black pants and sleeveless vests left very little to the imagination. Bulging biceps and wide, muscular chests. She studied them, looking for an imperfection, love handles, a weak chin, squinty eyes.

Nothing. They were perfect. Although not as perfect as Koran.

“No, I’m used to having a few bruises. Nothing to worry about.”

“I am Jaxan.” The one who had helped her up held out his hand. He introduced everyone else. Mila tried her best to memorize each name. The one with the dark eyes and deep scowl was Darac. The blond one she’d landed on was Safan.

“You fall often?” Safan asked.

“Yes, I’m certain you’ll see me humiliate myself a few times while you’re here. Just try not to step on me if I fall over in front of you.”

“Someone stepped on you?” Darac thundered.

“Oh, ah, it was an accident. He was walking behind me and couldn’t move in time.”

All of the warriors just gaped at her. Why was she telling them this? Hadn’t she humiliated herself enough for one day?

“If you’ll follow me, please.” Turning, she strode away, not looking back until she got to the door.

She gasped, shocked to find them right behind her. “Um, you guys sure move quietly.”

Jaxan frowned. “That is a bad thing?”

“I guess not. Just try not to sneak up on any of the women around here.”

“They are scared of us?” Darac asked. Did the man always look so dark and dangerous? He was almost as scary looking as Koran.

“Most of them saw that vid warning them against you guys.”