All I want for Christmas is my Alien: A Christmas Novella (Zerconian Warriors Book 8) Read online

  “Umm, have you ever done a five-mile run?” Mila asked.

  “Have you ever done any running?” Willa added.

  “Of course. Back when I worked on Solim, we got a supply of donuts only once every four months. It was first in first served. You should have seen me run to the supply room. I was like greased lightning.”

  “Not certain it’s the same thing.” Mila gave her skeptical look.

  “What’s the difference? Then I was running for donuts, now I’m going to run to lose weight. It’s exactly the same.”

  Willa grinned. “Sounds the same to me.”

  Mila glared at Willa before turning to her. “Zoey, is something wrong?”

  “Wrong? What could be wrong?” she puffed out as she attempted to stretch her leg out to the side. Damn, these things were tight. Weren’t they meant to stretch?

  “I thought you would be really into the idea of celebrating Christmas. Don’t you like Christmas?”

  “Of course, I like Christmas, who doesn’t like Christmas? I know some great Christmas movies we can watch, and I’m sure I can talk Dex into it. But I’ve just got some things on my mind right now.”

  Like getting her mate’s attention.

  “Sure, what you’re doing right now looks vastly more interesting.” Willa stood and stretched, looking graceful and elegant and fit.

  The bitch.

  Oh, she didn’t really mean that. She loved Willa. But she was everything Zoey wanted to be right now, and that made her jealous as hell.

  She spread her legs and leaned forward to touch the ground.

  “Will you talk to Dex, Zoey?” Mila asked. “If he says yes, then everyone else should come onboard. We’ll help you with the party planning.”

  Because she wasn’t capable of doing it on her own.

  Zoey pushed the negative voices from her mind. These were her friends. She loved them. She’d be lost without them. But right now, she just wished they’d leave her alone.

  Especially because she was pretty certain she was stuck.

  “Zoey?”

  “Ah-huh.”

  “What do you say, about Christmas?” Mila asked. Damn that woman was like a dog with a bone sometimes.

  “I’ll ask. I’ll ask.”

  A face appeared next to hers on the floor. Willa grinned at her. “You’re stuck, aren’t you?”

  “Yes, now go away before I can humiliate myself any further.”

  Hands grasped each of her arms and heaved her up. “And my humiliation is complete.”

  “Umm, Zoey, I think those shorts might be a bit tight,” Mila told her.

  “I feel like mincemeat stuffed into a sausage casing. With overflow.” Her stomach was surging out over the top of the shorts. “Will one of you please find something to cut me out of these with?”

  Willa raced away and came back with a knife and a laser cutter.

  Zoey gave her a wary look. “You are not using a laser cutter or a knife on me. I’ve got scissors in the drawers in my bedroom.”

  Willa returned and snipped off the shorts. It only really took two cuts and they practically fell apart. Zoey nearly collapsed in relief.

  “Thank God for that, I was starting to get claustrophobic.” She slipped on a pair of comfier pants.

  Mila reached out and took her hands in hers. “Zoey, what is going on with you?”

  “What do you mean?”

  “She’s worried you’ve lost it,” Willa told her.

  “You’ve never expressed an interest in exercise before,” Mila said, shooting Willa a glare.

  Elodie let out a cry before she could answer. Moving to the other room, she picked her up and held her close to her chest, patting her back. The baby immediately stopped crying, snuffling into her.

  “What a good baby you are.” She rubbed her back in circles then moved into the living area and sat to feed her.

  “Okay, spill,” Willa demanded. “We’re not leaving until you do.”

  Zoey sighed. “Is it so bad to want to get fit? To lose some weight?”

  “No, of course not.” Willa sat on the chair opposite while Mila rested on the sofa beside her. “But you once told me that exercising was the devil’s way of getting a laugh at our expense. So, what gives?”

  Zoey sighed. “Things just aren’t the same between Dex and me anymore. I’ve been so busy with Elodie. I’ve been tired and grumpy and not much fun to be around. The other night I fell asleep while eating dinner. Dex came home to find my face planted in a plate of food. He then proceeded to lecture me on all the ways I could have harmed myself. How I could have choked or suffocated.”

  “Looking after a newborn is tough,” Willa said. “No one can blame you for being tired.”

  “I know, but things are getting easier. I know I’m not really Empress material, but I want to help Dex as much as I can. Only every time I try to talk to him about my duties, he changes the topic. We hardly get time alone. He’s so busy with his new duties, I’ve got Elodie to concentrate on, we never have time for ourselves. And when we do, we = argue. A lot. And not the kind of arguing that ends with a bit of fun, if you know what I mean. I thought doing some exercise might make me feel better about myself and he might take more notice of me. Silly, huh?”

  “Not at all.” Mila’s face was filled with sympathy. Great, Zoey hated people feeling sorry for her. “Dex would find you attractive if you went around wearing a sack and didn’t bathe for a week.” Mila squeezed her hand. “All you have to do is watch him when you walk into the room. You’re his everything. These are crazy circumstances, there have been a lot of changes in a short time. Things will get better. What you need is a holiday.”

  Zoey snorted. “Fat lot chance of that happening. It would take a miracle for Dex and me to get more than a few minutes together where we didn’t fight.”

  “You never know.” Mila smiled. “Christmas is the time for miracles.”

  “You know what, let’s go talk to Dex now. Maybe this Christmas thing is a good idea. I’ve been thinking about ways to show Dex I can take some of the load off his shoulders, take on some of the duties Liula used to have. Maybe if I throw a kick-ass party, he’ll see I’m capable of much more than he thinks I am.”

  “Dex knows how capable you are. You’re smart and funny, and you can do anything you put your mind to,” Mila said loyally.

  Zoey smiled, she honestly didn’t know where she’d be without these two. “Thanks, I needed that. Sorry about the pity party.”

  “Time to plan a real party,” Willa said, throwing her arm around Zoey’s shoulders. “I’m here to help, so long as I don’t have to do any cooking or decorating, and I’m not dressing as an elf.”

  “But you’d look so cute as an elf,” Mila teased. “Pair of red tights and some little elf ears, you’d look adorable.”

  Willa gave her a stony look, waving a finger in her direction. “I am not, nor will I ever be, adorable.”

  Zoey burst into laughter.

  Chapter Two

  “We need to see Dex, Harr…umm, Hagartha.” Whoops, probably not a good idea to call her Harry to her face. Zoey didn’t see that going over well.

  Now was as good as time as any to talk to Dex about celebrating Christmas. Especially as there were less than four weeks left to plan. If Zoey wanted this party to be amazing—and she did—she would need every second.

  “Unfortunately, the Emperor is unavailable today.”

  Zoey ground her teeth together. Something was seriously wrong when you had to book a time to talk to your mate. She could wait for tonight, but she was ready to ask him now. Besides, she had a habit of falling asleep before he got home. Elodie was still waking a few times a night, and Zoey now had the bedtime of a five-year-old.

  She’d left Elodie back in their quarters under Rastian’s care. He’d turned out to be surprisingly good with the baby.

  “He must be able to fit us in somewhere.” Mila smiled gently at the older Zerconian woman. “We only want a few minutes with
him. Maybe between meetings.”

  “No, I regret that is not possible.” Zoey didn’t think she regretted it at all. “He is engaged with important business all day.”

  “Oh, I’m sure he’ll fit us in,” Willa said. “We’ll just wait.”

  Zoey had to turn her face to hide her grin as Harry’s face dropped, horror filling it as Willa, then Mila, took a seat. Willa sat sideways in the chair and swung her legs over the end of the chair. Her feet kept hitting the side.

  Bang. Bang. Bang.

  Zoey sat with them and whistled while Mila quietly sang off-key.

  “I need silence,” Harry told them with a deathly glare.

  “Oh, I’m sorry,” Willa told her. “I always get restless when I have to wait. Very annoying. Anyone want some gum?”

  Just then the door slid open, and Koran stepped out. He glanced over at Mila in surprise. “My mate? What are you doing here? Are you well?”

  The huge, gruff warrior practically melted when his mate was around. Mila stood with a smile and hugged him tight, even though these warriors weren’t fond of public displays of affection. “I’m fine. We’re just waiting for Dex’s meeting to finish so we can talk to him.”

  “Dex is not in a meeting,” Koran told them. “You can see him now. You do not have to wait.”

  “Really?” Willa gave Harry a hard look. “That wasn’t what we were led to believe, now was it, Harry?”

  “My name is Hagartha.”

  “Isn’t that what I said? Sorry, must be a translation error.”

  Zoey smiled as she followed the others in. Love filled her as she saw Dex sitting at his desk, his gaze on the tablet in his hand. He pushed his blond hair back off his face. When she’d first met him, it had been much shorter, but he hadn’t had much time lately for haircuts.

  Koran cleared his throat, and he looked up, surprise filling his face. Then he stood with a frown and her stomach dropped. Didn’t he want to see her? “Zoey, is everything well? Elodie?”

  “All good. Elodie is with Rastian, probably being spoiled rotten. I have no idea where he gets all those trinkets he gives her. Last time it was this beautiful necklace made with these purple gemstones that glow.”

  “They were waiting outside. They wish to talk to you.” Koran steered Mila over to a chair and sat, pulling her onto his lap. He held her close, and she snuggled into him, looking totally content.

  The only other person in the room was Macon. Once assigned to Zoey’s guard, he’d been reassigned as one of Dex’s personal guards after Boris became her main guard.

  “We want to talk to you about Christmas,” Zoey said.

  “Christmas? What is that?”

  “It’s a celebration back on Earth. A religious holiday to celebrate the birth of Christ, the son of God.”

  Dex frowned. “I was not aware you were religious.”

  “We aren’t,” Willa said. “But you don’t have to be to celebrate Christmas. It’s about getting together with family and friends and celebrating. Having a feast, putting up some lights, giving gifts.”

  “And while we might not be religious, some of the other humans could be,” Mila said. “It would be a great way of making humans feel part of your society. Too bad the ship from Earth won’t arrive until January.”

  Actually, Zoey thought that was kind of a good thing. She was already feeling nervous about organizing everything—and Dex hadn’t even said yes—she didn’t need any more pressure. This would be the first ship full of humans to arrive from Earth. They needed to make a good impression.

  “What would you need to do this? I could have Hagartha make a list.”

  “No,” Zoey said quickly. As Dex looked at her in surprise, she took a full breath to ease her tension. “I mean; I want to organize this.”

  Dex scowled. “You are already doing enough. Your full attention is needed on Elodie.”

  “Elodie is doing amazingly well,” she replied, feeling a little offended. Did he think she would ever put anything before their daughter? That she might neglect her? “I am perfectly capable of looking after Elodie and planning this.”

  She hoped.

  “And she will have us to help her. She won’t be doing this alone.” Mila moved to her side and squeezed her hand. Willa flanked her. Zoey straightened her shoulders. She could do this. Of course, she could.

  Dex looked over at Koran. Mila glanced up at her mate, placing her hand on her stomach. “I want our little one to know some human traditions. It’s important to me.”

  The warrior placed his much larger hand over hers then looked up at Dex with a nod. Dex turned to study her. “Very well. You can have this Christmas party. As long as it does not exhaust you too much,” Dex decreed.

  Great. It was settled. This Christmas party would be epic.

  ***

  “This Christmas party is going to suck,” Zoey stated with a groan, resting her forehead against her hand. “We can’t get any of the food we need. No turkey, no ham, no pecans, no pumpkin pie. How can we have Christmas without pumpkin pie, for God’s sake?” she wailed, throwing her hands in the air.

  Around her, everyone else looked just about as glum. Willa leaned back, resting her head on the back of the sofa in the living area of Zoey’s quarters. “And finding a Christmas tree is harder than it sounds. Do you know how few trees there are on Zerconia? No one will hear of letting us chop one down. Transporting one is going to be expensive.”

  “I’ve figured out the Christmas lights,” Mila offered. “We just need to hang them singularly which will take a while.”

  “On a tree we don’t yet have,” Zoey pointed out. “My first big party as an Empress and it’s going to be an absolute disaster.”

  “There’s something else you need to know,” Mila said, glancing over at her assistant, Elika.

  “Yes?”

  “The next shipload of humans to visit are going to arrive early. Before Christmas to be exact.”

  “Oh God, just put a stick in me because I am done.”

  Elika frowned. “I am not certain how hitting you with a stick will help?” Elika was the only woman in the room that wasn’t at least part-human.

  “It won’t, but it sure can’t make things worse.”

  “I thought the point of this party was to help Zerconians and humans integrate more,” Elika asked.

  “It is,” Zoey said, not mentioning that a big part of it was her desire to show Dex that she can handle her duties as Empress. Like acting as a proper hostess.

  What in the hell did a proper hostess even do? Maybe there was a movie she could watch to figure it out.

  “Too bad the old bat wasn’t awake to see this; she’d have a hell of a laugh at my expense. Of course, once she wakes up I’m sure Harry will tell her.”

  “I don’t know why you let Hagartha get to you,” Willa told her. “She can’t do anything to get between you and Dex.”

  No? Sure felt like she was trying. Zoey shrugged that off.

  “So, it would seem to me that if you want to help integrate the Zerconians and humans that you are thinking about this all wrong,” Elika said.

  “What do you mean?” Lucy asked. The blonde had been quiet up until now, just watching everyone.

  “I mean, that perhaps you are trying to make this too human, with your need for a proper tree and the right food. Most of the Zerconians will not even try this new food or they may be insulted that there is not some of their food.”

  Zoey stared at her for a long moment. “Oh God, you’re right. I’ve been trying to do everything the same as on Earth, but we’re not on Earth. We’re here.”

  “We should have a mix of food,” Lucy said. “Try to create our dishes with Zerconian foods that are similar.”

  “Do you think you could work that out?” Zoey asked her.

  Lucy nodded with a smile.

  “And instead of cutting down a tree, we could use that big tree down on the ocean front,” Willa suggested.

  “And move the party ou
tside.” Zoey snapped her fingers, smiling slowly. “I think we can make this work.” And Dex would see that she could handle it all.

  Chapter Three

  “Is Zoey well?”

  Dex glanced up in alarm at Koran’s question. “Yes. Why?” At least he assumed she was well. She had looked well enough last night when he had returned to their quarters. She had already been asleep, and he had lain there for an hour, just watching her breathe. The longing to reach out and touch her, to pull her close and drive his shaft inside her had been so fierce, he’d actually had to get up and bathe in cold water for an hour to cool himself down.

  It was a ritual he repeated most nights. Sometimes he barely felt like he slept at all. Between the demands now on him from his new role as Emperor and his raging desire for Zoey that only seemed to grow with each hour, rest was not a concept he felt familiar with anymore.

  Koran frowned. “I just saw her walking down the corridors to your quarters, and her face was very red, her body covered in sweat.”

  Alarmed, he stood. “What?” Was she ill? Why hadn’t she told him? What was wrong with her? His heart stumbled then raced. “I must go to her.”

  “She isn’t ill,” Thor, his cousin, told him, catching his arm. “She has been exercising.”

  “Exercising?” He stilled. “Why would she be exercising?”

  She should be resting. It was not that long since she’d given birth. The pregnancy, birth, then the baby’s needs were demanding enough. To tax herself with exercise was ridiculous.

  “I am guessing to improve her health,” Thor said dryly.

  “Improve her health? She will exhaust herself. I will not have it. She is too delicate to exercise.”

  Thor laughed, and even Koran cracked a smile. “Zoey? Delicate?” Thor asked. “Are we talking about the same woman?”

  “She is delicate. She is so fragile. Anything could harm her. Illness. A fall.” Giving birth. That still haunted him. Watching her give birth had been the most terrifying experience of his life. “I am not going to have her risk herself.”