“It’s not. I searched everywhere!” Fred complained.
“Did you search under the bed?”
“Of course I searched under the bed, Anita!” Fred snapped back. Ouch, she was in a grumpy mood. “That ring was a gift from my last boyfriend.”
Boobs or Shallow snorted. “Boyfriend or sugar daddy?”
“Same thing,” Fred snapped back. “I have to find it!”
“Enough about your damn ring. Did you hear the real reason we were all locked in our rooms yesterday?”
Hmm, so they had been locked in? Interesting. By the time she’d reached her room, the lockdown had finished. Everyone had been on edge, thinking they’d been tucked away for their own safety.
“No, why?” Fred asked.
“Apparently, an injured Zerconian warrior was brought on board. They treated him and now he’s staying onboard.”
“What? How do you know that?” Fred asked.
“Alastair told me last night.”
“Oh, Alastair, huh? He’s still sneaking into your room at night? He does know that you’re on this transporter to find a mate? An alien mate.”
Hmm, fucking one of the guards, was she? Georgie didn’t even have to strain to hear their conversation. If they were trying to be discreet, then they were failing miserably.
“Why are you playing around with Alistair when you could have a Zerconian?”
“I’m only messing with him to pass the time. As soon as we get to Zerconia, I’ll be searching for a mate. I’ve heard they’re all enormous. Like. All. Over.”
The women all giggled. Maybe the recruiters needed to add that to their recruitment drive. Zerconian warriors. They’re all built in proportion. She laughed to herself.
“I wonder if this guy is gonna come out and socialize,” one of them said in a hushed voice. “It could be fun to take one for a test drive. Just because he’s built doesn’t mean he knows what to do with it, you know what I mean?”
Jealousy flooded her. Ridiculous. Why would she be jealous? The goliath was nothing to her. So they’d shared a moment. He hadn’t exactly looked inviting. And frankly, in her opinion, no man knew how to use his dick properly. Sex was just a whole lot of thrusting, messy body fluids, and disappointment.
Yeah, she was being silly.
As she reached the food, she sighed. Mounds of reconstituted mashed potatoes and fake roast beef. Oh well. Maybe tomorrow.
She smiled again at the same dour-faced woman, who gave her some extra unbeef. That wasn’t what it was called. It had some fancier name. Georgie didn’t know if getting an extra serving of it was a good thing.
She’d been right. He was a Zerconian. That was interesting. Why all the secrecy, though? And how had he hurt himself?
As she sat and started eating, trying to ignore the weird taste of the unbeef—she was getting fussy after a couple of weeks of regular meals—she tried to figure out what was going on.
Things just weren’t adding up.
And she was determined to figure out what was going on. Question was, how was she going to do that? She replaced her empty plate for cleaning. Well, she knew where he was. Maybe later on, she’d go for a little walk.
Couldn’t be too hard to find him, right?
* * *
Okay, so it had sounded simpler than it actually was. For a start, she’d decided it was wiser to wait until after dinner when most people retired to their rooms so there was less chance of her getting caught sneaking around. Patience wasn’t her thing, so she’d been antsy all day.
Which damn room was he in? She’d been searching around for ages, trying to figure out where he was.
The gossip could be wrong. He could have already left the ship. You could be doing all this for nothing.
Oh well. Wasn’t like she had anything better to do.
She groaned silently. She had no idea why she was so determined to talk to this guy. He could be an absolute asshole. It was just. . .how had he known she was hiding in the alcove? And did he feel that same spark she’d felt as their gazes connected? Or was she just imagining that pull?
You’re getting delusional, Georgie. Why would he be interested in you?
She was just a skinny street rat with no family, no education, and no prospects who’d had to jump on a transporter in order to keep herself alive. She didn’t actually expect to find a mate.
What about him?
She snorted. Yup. Right. Like it would be that easy. Apparently, only a handful of women on each transporter found a mate. No, he wasn’t her mate.
Then why are you spending so much time trying to find him?
Um, because she was nosey.
Taking a calming breath, she started along another corridor, pressing on each door to see if it would open. This was probably a pointless mission. And what was she going to do if she did find him?
Then she saw movement up ahead of her. It was the dour-faced woman from the food line. She was picking up a tray of empty dishes that were probably left there from dinner.
Bingo. Got ya.
The woman thankfully turned and walked in the other direction. Georgie moved forward, feeling like a ninja in some cheap spy film.
“Being a ninja would be so super cool,” she muttered.
She reached the door.
Okay, genius, now what? She placed her hand on the pad beside the door, hoping like hell it didn’t set off some alarm. Nothing happened. All right, then. She took a deep breath and pressed the button at the top of the pad that would tell the person in the room there was someone outside wanting in.
She stood there, waiting.
Nothing happened.
She sighed. Well, that was anticlimactic. But then, what did she expect? For him to open the door to some strange female? She shook her head at herself. All these cool ninja moves wasted for no good reason. Ah. Well. At least it had provided a bit of excitement.
She turned away. In the corner of her eye, she saw the door slide open and then a large hand wrapped around her bare forearm. A wave of arousal rushed through her. Her nipples grew hard, her clit throbbed. Darkness crept into her gaze. She opened her mouth to speak as her knees weakened, and she slumped into a faint.
3
Mine.
Mine.
Mine.
His mind was stuck on repeat, the same word dancing through his brain. He stared down at the tiny female. She could not be fully grown. Most certainly a child. She didn’t even reach the middle of his chest. Her too-thin limbs were flung out where he’d lain her down on his bed.
Her hair was a tangled mess of dark curls, her skin so pale, he might have worried she was dead if he could not see her chest moving. Why had she passed out?
Mine.
Mine.
Mine.
A growl rumbled in his chest as he studied her. She looked starved. That was obviously why she had lost consciousness. She was not being fed enough. Where was her keeper? Why was no one ensuring that she ate? How did she come to be outside his door on her own? Did her keeper not know how to take proper care of her?
Mine.
Mine.
Mine.
He paced back and forth; his fists pressed against his forehead. There was something he should know about this. He tried to access his trapped memories. A sharp pain stabbed him and he groaned.
What was happening? Why had the humans answered his distress call? Why did they say they had a treaty with the Zerconians? Where were his people?
And why did the female lying sprawled on his bed call at him like no other? He stared at her again, frowning slightly as he realized it was the female from yesterday, the one he’d seen hidden in the alcove while he had been escorted to medical so he could access the regen chamber.
Why had she been spying on him?
He did not trust the humans. If he’d had any other choice, he would not have allowed them to pull his small ship on board. But he’d been injured, his ship damaged after being attacked by Coizils. It had only been by ente
ring a meteor belt that he’d been able to escape them. But the ship had been damaged and he’d had no choice but to send out an emergency beacon.
Mine.
Mine.
Mine.
Why did he keep thinking that? This half-grown child could not be his. She was not even Zerconian. Something tugged at his memory. Something about human females, but he could not pull the memory forward.
She groaned and he froze. Then he stood next to the bed, looming over her, waiting for her to wake.
* * *
Georgie stretched. “I could get used to sleeping on a mattress. Hope those Zerconians have actual beds and don’t sleep on the floors in caves or something.”
The recruiters had reassured her that she would be provided every basic necessity. Funny what they considered a necessity. To her, that meant food and a roof over her head when acid rain struck. A bed had never been a priority.
Sure was nice to have, though.
She opened her eyes and blinked. She stared up into the most intriguing face she’d ever seen. His eyes were dark and filled with secrets. His hair was curled into twists that looked a little like a rat had gnawed at the ends. Not the nicest thought, but she had to hope that wasn’t actually the case.
He had a firm jaw, chiseled cheeks, and he was built like a freaking cage fighter. His clothes strained against his muscular arms and chest. Those guys were ripped. This dude could give them a run for their money.
“Bet you’d wipe the floor of the lot of them,” she muttered. He frowned down at her. She closed her eyes. “All right. Obviously, I’m still sleeping.” She opened them again. “Nope, you’re still there.”
She sat up as it all rushed back to her. “Holy shit. You’re the Zerconian they brought on board. I found you. High five.”
She held up her hand. He looked at it strangely.
Okay, calm down, Georgie.
“Sorry. I forgot you’re an alien for a moment there. Hi, I’m Georgie.”
He stared at her blankly. Hmm. Maybe he didn’t understand her. She was using Standard, though. She’d been trying to learn some Zerconian, but she didn’t know much. Her short attention span made it difficult.
“Can you understand me?” Well, that’s a dumb question, Georgie. Obviously, if he can’t, then he won’t answer. And if he can, then maybe he’s not talking for another reason.
His frown deepened. He continued to stare at her.
“Well, this isn’t awkward at all.” She ran her gaze up and down his body. Fuck, his body was gorgeous. Her insides heated in response. She grew flushed and sweaty.
“Shoot, what’s wrong with me?” She waved her hand in front of her face. “Sorry, I think I must be coming down with something. Maybe that’s why I passed out. It’s weird because I felt fine before. I should probably go back to my room. I don’t want to infect you.”
Plus, this was just getting weird.
This is what you get for letting your curiosity get the better of you. You couldn’t just leave well enough alone, could you?
And now, here she was in a stranger’s room having a conversation with herself while she sat on his bed. Yeah, that sounded all perfectly normal.
Time to leave. But as she made to slide off the bed, he stepped into her way, stopping her.
“Um, okay. Listen, I really need to get going. I admit I probably shouldn’t have come down here. I just wanted to check you were all right. Obviously, you’re fine. But I seem to be coming down with something, so I think it’s best I just go before I infect you.”
She slid along the bed and stood. A wave of dizziness assaulted her right before he grabbed her around the waist and deposited her on the bed once more.
“Stay,” he growled.
“You can talk. Good to know. But I’m afraid I really can’t stay; I’ve got things I have to do. There are people waiting for me. They’ll come looking for me soon.”
Good one, Georgie. Make out there’s someone who will even notice you’re gone. Like anyone would freaking care.
Even though this guy was acting weird as fuck, she didn’t actually get the vibe he wanted to hurt her.
Then again, her radar about this stuff was probably a little whacked, considering her life.
“Keeper?” he asked.
“What?”
“Your keeper? Where?”
“Where is my keeper?” She pieced his words together, and when he gave a sharp nod, she guessed she’d gotten it right.
“Sorry, not sure quite what you’re asking, Goliath. What’s a keeper?”
His scowl grew deeper. Okay, Georgie, try not to piss off the weird guy who’s at least twice your size. Let’s try to stay on his good side, yeah?
“Name not Goliath. Lub.” He pressed a hand to his chest.
“Okay. Georgie.” She pressed her hand against her chest to match his movement.
He didn’t look too pleased by that. What was wrong with her name? She thought it was cute. Certainly better than Lub.
“Keeper. Look after you.”
“Oh.” She tried to figure that one out. “You think I need someone to watch over me? Like a parent or something? Dude, I’m a bit old to still be living with my folks.” He just gave her a confused look. “No keeper.”
“No keeper?” He looked shocked.
“Nope.”
He studied her again. “Age?”
“Well, that’s a little rude, don’t you think? Were you never told not to ask a woman’s age?” She attempted to give him a stern look but failed. She grinned. “I’m just messing with you. I don’t care. I’m twenty-four.”
His eyes flared, shock filling them. “Fully grown?”
“Oh, you thought I was a kid.” Now things made more sense. “Nah, I’m just scrawny. Years of food deprivation will do that.”
Anger flooded his face as he took a step towards her. She shied back, flinging her arms up over her face instinctively. For all of about five seconds. Then she reminded herself that she was not going to allow anyone to hurt her ever again and she quickly stood, moving into a fighting stance.
I will never be a victim again.
An outraged noise came from the male. Shit. Shit.
“I not hit you.”
It took her a few seconds to register his words. To work out that he wasn’t angry at her. He was livid because of what had been done to her. Or what he suspected had happened to her. She didn’t like to talk about the bad stuff in her life.
To anyone.
She forced herself to calm her breath, to unclench her fists and relax her stance. Even standing on the bed, she was still shorter than he was. He was enormous. He could take her out with just one punch.
This is why you have to be more cautious, idiot. Why on earth had she sought him out?
“Look, I think it would be best if I just left. I shouldn’t even be here. I mean, I’m probably interrupting your busy day. So it was nice meeting you and all, but I—”
“Someone. Hurt. You.”
Several someones actually. Her life hadn’t been pretty to this point. She crossed her arms over her chest. “Look, Goliath, obviously, we don’t know each other well. You’re not going to tell me your shit, I’m not going to tell you mine. That’s just how it is. I apologize for turning up like I did. I just saw you yesterday and I wanted to check you were okay.”
And to see whether she’d imagined that weird connection. Which it turned out, she hadn’t. It was still there, even though he’d just scared the shit out of her.
How come she was so attracted to him? She’d never been interested in a guy like this before. And that he was an alien with some sort of allergy to using conjunctions was weird.
But then, Georgie had never claimed to be normal.
Could he be her mate? Uneasiness filled her. It had seemed like such a long shot that she hadn’t actually imagined even meeting him. Getting on this transporter had been her ticket off Earth. He couldn’t be, right?
“Shit?” He gave her a weird lo
ok.
“Not literal shit. Ew. I mean, I’m not going to spill my secrets to a stranger. One who thinks he gets to keep me here against my will. Not cool, Goliath.”
“Lub.”
“Oh yeah. Goliath is in reference to your size. Are all Zerconians built like you?”
He frowned then winced as though in pain. “Males. Yes.”
“Right. I knew you guys were big, but I didn’t realize you were built like freaking giants. I’m guessing you’re proportional too. Funny how the recruiters left that out. How the hell are you even going to fit. . .” She trailed off as she realized she was speaking out loud. She could feel her cheeks growing bright red.
Awesome, Georgie. Way to talk about his junk right in front of him.
“This isn’t humiliating or anything.”
“Fit where?” he asked.
“Never mind. Forget I said anything.” She waved her hand airily, trying to pretend like she wasn’t about to die of embarrassment.
Leaving. . .you’re supposed to be leaving, Georgie.
“Who. Hurt. You.”
“Okay, I can see you’re kind of stuck on that. Thing is, I don’t talk about my past. At all. But definitely not to a guy I just met. So, I’m going to need to leave now before I say anything else embarrassing.”
“You. Human.”
“Yep. That’s right.”
“Humans. Small.”
“Not all humans, but like I said, years of food deprivation.”
His scowl increased.
“Maybe I’ll see you around. We can chat some more. This was fun,” she babbled as she walked down the mattress. Yes, she knew it was rude to walk on his bed, but she wasn’t going to sit on her ass and slide down.
He moved, stepping into her path once more. “No.”
She placed her hands on her hips. “Now you’re just making me mad. I’ve got things to do. I can’t stay here all day and entertain you.”
She had nothing to do. But he didn’t need to know that.
“You do not leave. Unprotected.”
Well, she guessed that was a little sweet. He seemed concerned about her. A bit odd, considering she was a stranger. But then she did pass out and he’d carried her into his room and laid her on his bed.
Alien Conquest Page 2