Alien Morsels: Short Tales from Zerconian Warrior Series Read online

  Alien Morsels

  Sadie Carter

  Copyright

  Sadie Carter

  Alien Morsels

  © 2016, Sadie Carter

  ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. This book contains material protected under International and Federal Copyright Laws and Treaties. Any unauthorized reprint or use of this material is prohibited. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system without express written permission from the author / publisher.

  This story contains explicit sex scenes.

  Cover Design: No Sweat Graphics

  Editor: Ave’s Editing

  Author Note:

  I hope you enjoy Alien Morsels. I wanted to revisit the characters in the previous books and see Zoey and Dex have their baby. Alien Morsels also acts as a turning point in the series, so it’s best enjoyed as part of the series, rather than a stand-alone story.

  Sadie xox

  Chapter One

  Buzz, buzz, buzz.

  Zoey snuggled deeper into her hiding place. Whoever wanted access to her quarters could bugger off. Or stand there all day if they wanted to waste their time. It made no difference to her so long as they left her alone.

  Her communicator beeped twice in quick succession, indicating the door to her quarters was open. She scowled. What the hell? Didn’t they understand she wanted to be left alone?

  “Go away,” Zoey yelled.

  The beeping stopped, and she sighed with relief. She shifted around on the large pillow, trying to find a comfortable spot. Her back ached, her joints burned and her stomach grumbled noisily. She was hungry, but didn’t want to eat. She was tired, but couldn’t sleep.

  And she was grumpier than the Grinch at Christmas. She sighed. She owed Dex a huge apology after practically snapping his head off this morning. All he’d done was try to cajole her into eating, and she’d hurled insults she didn’t mean to drive him away.

  If it was the old bat again, then she’d better watch out—one more mention about proper baby names, and Zoey would take her handheld and bash—

  “Zoey?”

  Shit. Willa.

  “Zoey, are you in here?” Mila called out.

  Damn. Double assault.

  “Go away,” she repeated. She’d dragged a large, pillow-like cushion, big enough to seat four people comfortably, into what she called her dressing room. With her handheld and Giz for company, she’d been quite happy napping and reading.

  Well, sort of.

  Dex wouldn’t be pleased that she’d moved the pillow. She could always tell him Boris moved it. He was on guard duty today. You know, because she couldn’t be trusted to be on her own.

  Not fair, Zoey. Dex is just concerned. Scared. This is his first child, too.

  Dex’s protective instincts had roared into overdrive since they’d discovered she was pregnant. A guard was now permanently assigned to her, even inside the palace. Here in her quarters was the only place she could find some personal space, even though there was always a guard outside.

  It was getting so bad that she half-expected them to start coming to the bathroom with her. If they wanted to see her pee, that was their problem. But watching a pregnant woman heave herself off the toilet wasn’t a real pretty sight.

  She tugged at her hair in frustration. By the time this baby arrived she would be bald. After snarling at every guard assigned to her, she was now stuck with Boris, Jaxan, or Macon, when Dex wasn’t here. They were the only ones who ignored her snarling and snapping.

  The other guards nearly tripped over themselves trying to make her happy. In Zerconian male eyes, pregnant women should be coddled and protected from every stress.

  “Zoey? Where are you?” Mila asked.

  Damn it. They weren’t going to leave her alone. Mila might appear to be all sweetness and light, but when she set her mind to something, she was like a dog with a bone.

  Her due date, as close as she could figure out, had come and gone. Zerconian women carried their babies for fifteen months. No way could she carry this gymnastic loving ball of energy around for another five months.

  How come this baby had to do all his or her dancing at night? Seriously, 2 a.m. was not a good time to break out the funky chicken dance moves.

  There was never a good time to break out the funky chicken.

  If she had to carry this baby for five more months, it would be enormous. Uh-uh, not happening. There was no way she was pushing a baby the size of a toddler out of her poor hoo-ha.

  “I’m in here.” She reached her hand up and pressed on the pad by the door to open it. She glanced up to see Mila and Willa staring down at her. Damn it. They’d known where she was all along.

  “I don’t want to talk to anyone.”

  “Ah-ha, so that’s why you’re hiding in the closet,” Willa said, snapping her fingers.

  “It’s a dressing room.”

  “And that makes all the difference.” Willa rolled her eyes.

  “I don’t think you’re allowed to roll your eyes at me. It’s a rule or something,” Zoey muttered as they hopped onto the pillow with her.

  Giz grumbled then resettled against her stomach. She patted his belly.

  “I’ve never been big on following the rules. Besides, what are you going to do? I could be halfway across the universe before you even roll yourself off this pillow.”

  Zoey grumbled.

  “So, who you hiding from? Everyone? Or just those who think with their little head instead of their big one?” Mila asked.

  “Or perhaps the old bat,” Willa added as she crossed her legs and leaned back against the wall.

  “Everyone.” She glanced up at Boris who appeared in the doorway. He frowned briefly at her then shook his head. She guessed he didn’t approve of her hidey-hole.

  She waved her hand at Willa and Mila. “I thought I said I didn’t want to be disturbed?”

  “Don’t be angry with Kruz, we were persuasive,” Mila smiled up at the dark-skinned man. Boris hadn’t spoken since his family was killed as a child. She’d given him the name Boris and even though she now knew his name was Kruz, she couldn’t bring herself to call him that.

  Boris didn’t care. He even seemed liked the name. Sometimes she questioned his taste.

  Boris shrugged. That was his ‘what harm can they do?’ shrug.

  “What did you expect him to do? Physically restrain us?” Willa asked. “Koran and Darac would kill him.”

  Zoey snorted. “Like he’s worried about your mates. Boris could take them with one arm tied behind his back.”

  “Zoey!” Mila said, looking shocked. She sent an apologetic look over to Boris. “She didn’t mean that.”

  “Don’t apologize for me.” Zoey pushed herself up as her back protested her slumped position.

  Mila sent her a pointed look.

  “What? I haven’t forgotten he’s missing one arm. He doesn’t need both arms to fight. He’s like freaking Batman. He’s indestructible.”

  “Batman?” Willa asked.

  “He was a superhero,” Zoey explained. “Dressed like a bat. Fought the bad guys. Billionaire by day, crime fighter by night.”

  “Riiight, glad you cleared that one up.” Willa gave Mila a look. They thought she was losing it.

  Maybe she was.

  Boris turned and left. She winced as the baby kicked her. Giz made a small snuffling noise as he rubbed his face against her belly. The baby immediately quietened, and she let out a sigh, scratching behind Giz’s ears in thanks.
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  “We’ve come to help you get ready for Willa’s mating ceremony tonight.”

  “I’m not going.” She felt kind of bad, but no way was she leaving her quarters.

  “Zoey—” Mila leaned forward. Zoey knew a lecture was coming. A gentle one. Mila was good at convincing people to do what she wanted.

  But Zoey was stubborn, and she was sick of everyone telling her what she had to do.

  She didn’t have to do anything.

  Okay, that was a little immature. Even for her.

  “I’m not going. I’m sorry, Willa. But I don’t feel like socializing right now. Believe me, you should be thankful I don’t want to go. The mood I’m in right now, I’d totally ruin your evening.”

  “It’s all good,” Willa said easily. “I wanted it to be just the two of us, but it’s become this big deal. I’m not big on crowds.”

  She stretched, and Zoey attempted to squelch the surge of jealousy at how easily Willa moved around when it took her ten minutes just to get out of bed. Once, Zoey bounced around energetically. Once she could see her feet, she didn’t waddle like a duck, and she could go longer than thirty minutes without peeing.

  Ahh, the good old days.

  “But I’ll do it because it seems to be important to Darac.”

  Mila sighed. “The two of you can be hard work. This is meant to be a celebration, not a damn funeral.”

  “You’re not the one being paraded in front of hundreds of strangers,” Willa said morosely.

  “I’ve done it. Zoey’s done it, and you’re not going to be paraded around,” Mila said patiently. “It’s a celebration of your mating. Everyone’s so happy that Darac found you.”

  “That’s me. Saving one Zerconian at a time. Taking one for the team.”

  Zoey snorted. “You planning on saving anymore?”

  “Hell no. Dealing with one Zerconian male is enough for me.” Willa’s mate Darac had been lost to the mating madness when he met Willa. She brought him back from the brink, although he still wasn’t completely free of the madness. Willa was the key to his sanity, and he adored her with an intensity that was almost scary.

  Mila snorted. “Plus, Darac would pull the head off any man who touched you. That man is crazy in love with you.”

  “And Koran’s not in love with you?” Willa asked.

  Mila blushed.

  Urgh. Zoey got it, she loved Dex, but right now she had to pee. Again. And she wasn’t certain if she wanted to vomit or eat. It was a fine line sometimes.

  She was not in the mood for lovey-dovey soppiness.

  “Look, it’s nice of you both to stop by. But I’m kind of feeling tired now.” So piss off and leave me alone. She congratulated herself on her politeness. She wasn’t impossible as the old bat liked to complain.

  Mila sighed. “Zoey, are you sure you won’t come to the ceremony? Might make you feel better.”

  “The only thing that can make me feel better is having this baby. I’m starting to think he or she is never going to arrive.”

  “Has Thor suggested anything?” Mila asked.

  Zoey crossed her arms over her chest or at least she tried to. Her boobs were swollen to the point of ridiculousness. Her body was no longer her own.

  Worry ate at her. What if she couldn’t love this baby? She felt little connection to it. Oh, she’d been filled with happiness when she found out she was pregnant.

  But now? She just felt tired and disheartened. What did she know about babies? Absolutely nothing. Plus, this was a Zerconian baby. Perhaps the next heir to the throne, if the baby was a boy. She was going to raise a ruler? How? She couldn’t even figure out how to be a half-decent Crown Princess.

  “No.”

  “What about spicy food?” Mila said. “Isn't that meant to induce labor?”

  “Or you could try sex,” Willa added in her frank way.

  “Spicy food upsets my stomach, and Dex hasn’t had sex with me in months.” Since she’d started to show he had refused to penetrate her, although he had still given her plenty of orgasms. But even those had dried up. In fact, he hardly touched her at all anymore.

  Could she blame him with how impossible she’d become?

  “Months?” Willa gaped at her. “That’s unbearable.”

  “He’s scared of hurting the baby.”

  “What rubbish.” Willa waved her hand through the air.

  “Dex is very protective.” Mila gave her a sympathetic smile. “All of our warriors are, but this baby seems to have made him extra protective.”

  “Screw that. If Darac thinks he’s going to leave me high and dry while I’m carrying his baby, he can just think again.”

  “Good luck with that,” Zoey muttered. “When you get pregnant, people tend to stop seeing you. Everything becomes about the little alien you’re carrying.”

  Literally, an alien. She had no idea how much of this baby would be Zerconian and how much would be human.

  Zoey yawned, deliberately drawing it out. She loved these guys. When she’d moved here, she’d longed for some friends. Zerconian females weren’t the friendliest bunch, and the fact that she was mated to the Crown Prince had rubbed some of them the wrong way. So when Koran mated with Mila, Zoey had been thrilled. Mila was sweet and kind. She would make an excellent ambassador.

  Then Darac mated Willa, who was everything Zoey wished to be. Competent, tough, a fighter. With five older brothers, Willa didn’t take any bullshit. When she’d met Darac, she’d been working as a mercenary, with a crew of men that included two of her brothers.

  Life on Zerconia had to seem pretty boring and tame in comparison.

  “If you’re sure you’re not going to come then we’ll get going.” Mila stood, hesitating as if waiting for Zoey to argue with her.

  But Zoey kept her gaze lowered as she rubbed Giz’s head.

  “I’d stay home too if I could,” Willa told her.

  “Let us know if you need anything,” Mila said.

  Unless they could get Dex to want her again, or make this baby come, then Zoey knew she was better off wallowing in her self-pity alone.

  When they’d left, Boris appeared, holding a tray of food.

  “Thanks,” she told him as he placed the tray down on the floor next to her. Crouching, he stared at her. He raised his eyebrows.

  Despite the fact that he didn’t talk, he sure could make himself heard. Right now she knew he was ordering her to eat.

  “Not you, too. Boris, I’m fine. Look at me, I’m the size of a whale. I don’t think I need any more food.”

  He simply shook his head and pointed at the food.

  “Yes, boss.” With a sigh, she lay back and closed her eyes as he left. In her mind, she lay on a beach, relaxing in a hammock. Dex lay next to her, running his hands over her, kissing her gently.

  There was no one else around. They were completely isolated. Just the two of them. No baby talk. No responsibilities.

  Just Zoey and Dex.

  Chapter Two

  As Mila stepped out of the palace, the sweltering heat from Zerconia’s two suns engulfed her, briefly robbing her of breath. She fanned her face, knowing she’d probably turned bright red.

  “Bit cool today,” Willa said, moving alongside her as they headed towards the marketplace.

  Mila gave her an incredulous look. “Cool? It’s 90 degrees.”

  “Compared to Joyadan, this is quite pleasant. Especially with the cool sea breeze.”

  She tripped then righted herself. Clumsy as ever. “Then I’m grateful I don’t live on Joyadan. I don’t think I would survive that sort of heat.”

  “Oh, you survive, even if sometimes you might wish otherwise.”

  Koran hadn’t allowed Mila to leave the ship when they rescued Darac, Willa, and her people from the Coizils. So she hadn’t experienced the atmosphere on Joyadan, but from everything she knew about the planet, it wasn’t a hospitable place to live.

  She was glad they’d been able to relocate some of the people from Wil
la’s village to Zerconia. Here they would have a better chance at a decent life. Especially the children. And if some of them ended up as mates, that was just the icing on the cake.

  The Zerconians were slowly coming to accept the Joyadan refuges. It was going to take time for everyone to adjust, and it was Mila’s job to ensure that happened. If she was going to entice more humans to visit Zerconia, they had to feel welcomed and safe.

  Her job as the human ambassador to Zerconia was exciting and nerve wracking. Some nights she awoke in a cold sweat wondering what the hell she was doing. But Koran was always there to reassure her. The big guy didn’t always have the right words, and he could be incredibly blunt.

  But he believed in her. That was much more important to her than soft words.

  Mila knew she wasn’t the most attractive or interesting woman. Her dress sense was almost non-existent. She had mousy brown hair, a fairly plain face, and an average body.

  But for some reason, Koran thought she was the sexiest, most beautiful woman in the universe. He told her that every day. Koran wasn’t one to talk about his feelings, but when the two of them were alone, he delighted in showing her just how much she meant to him.

  Yep, he could be a bit overprotective, and he had a tendency to think that he knew best, but she thought he was pretty much perfect.

  Nerves strummed through her as she thought of their upcoming trip. In two days’ time they were due to leave for a meeting on Newsdale with members of the Earth Council. She hadn’t officially met with the Council before. Dex had requested that she become Earth’s Ambassador to Zerconia and the Council had agreed. So this meeting was very important on a number of levels. She had to make a good impression with the Council. But her main goal was to help negotiate an alliance between Earth and Zerconia.

  The lives of the Zerconian people depended on it. Mila felt the importance of her task weighing on her shoulders.

  “Did you think Zoey seemed really down today?” Mila asked. She was growing concerned about her friend. Zoey was always so upbeat and funny. Nothing much got her down.