Alien Conquest

by Carter, Sadie

  Find your words, Georgie.

  Not happening.

  “Yes, we can. Good monkey.”

  Noodle blew a raspberry at him then turned around and wiggled his ass. She had to bite back her laugh at the sight of Zandar’s face as the monkey mooned him.

  Definitely her spirit animal.

  * * *

  She plodded behind him, trying hard not to complain.

  She congratulated herself on a job well done—until she tripped over an exposed root. For the fifth time. Seriously. Nature sucked. She was not used to trees. Or bushes. Or all the tricky ways they tried to kill you.

  How was she meant to know that berries could be poisonous? Her hand still kind of smarted from where Zandar had whacked the big, red, juicy berry from her before she ate it.

  She thought he’d hit her a little hard.

  She knelt on the ground, trying to convince herself to get back up. Give her a jungle of concrete any day. She could deal with pollution and acid rain and pushy people trying to get to the subway. She could not deal with all this silence and tramping.

  “Female. Up.”

  She just glared up at him. He sighed then leaned down to pick her up, placing her on her feet.

  “Is it just me or is the trip out of here taking much longer than the trip into here?” It wasn’t complaining, she consoled herself, just a genuine question.

  “We moving slower.”

  “Oh, so we don’t alert anyone that we’re here?”

  He snorted. “No one here. You slow.”

  “What? You’re saying that I’m slowing us down?”

  Pretty accurate really. She had been over his shoulder as they’d raced through here, but now, he was making her walk.

  Bastard.

  “Yes,” he simply stated.

  Then he paused and held up his hand. She slammed into his back, too busy thinking of ways to murder him in his sleep to pay attention to him.

  “Owie,” she complained as she smashed her nose into his back. “You are definitely made from steel.”

  “Hush, female.”

  This again. She sighed but fell silent as he moved forward. She heard it then. They were close to civilization. Well, if you could call it that.

  She didn’t call it that. Diclac was worse than a butthole. It was an outhouse. Diclac was the outhouse of the universe.

  She looked around for Noodle, spotting him high up in the trees. She smiled and waved up at him as Zandar moved forward and crouched behind a tree, peering out.

  Zandar glanced around, assessing his surroundings.

  He would gain less attention if he was on his own, not that there were many people around currently. It was nearly dark. Most people knew to find shelter at dark.

  But moving around on his own involved leaving Georgie alone. Which wasn’t an ideal situation. She seemed to find trouble wherever she went. She had little sense of self-preservation. If he left her alone, she’d probably get kidnapped or start a forest fire or who knew what. . .

  “Female, you must be quiet. Follow me.”

  He turned to look at her.

  She smiled and raised her thumb in the air. He was not certain what that was supposed to mean. So he looked up, but it was growing increasingly dark and he could see nothing beyond the tree canopy above them.

  “It’s thumbs-up; it means all good,” she whispered.

  Well. Why did she not say so?

  She moved up next to him. “How will we know which ship the disc controls?”

  “Press button on disc as we walk around.” It was the only thing he could think to do.

  She nodded.

  Determination filled him. He would not fail her.

  * * *

  “Wow. Did we upgrade or what?” Georgie sat in a seat in the pilot room. She didn’t know what you actually called it. What she did know was that there was more than one room in this ship.

  So. Definite upgrade.

  She hadn’t been sure that Zandar had known what he was talking about when he said the disc would know what ship was there. But sure enough, when he’d pressed the button, the ramp to this ship had lowered.

  It had been a little nerve-wracking sneaking onto the ship with no idea whether anyone was on board. At least, she’d found it nerve-wracking. Zandar hadn’t given away how he felt. She was starting to read his little tells, though. When he was regular-grouchy, he frowned. When he was really grumpy, he got these lines between his eyebrows. And when he was super-grumpy, he had a tick beside his right eye. Plus, his eyes would turn red.

  And when he was worried, he didn’t have any of those. He’d been worried too. But it turned out the ship was empty and now they had to make their great escape. “Please tell me there is fuel. And food. And a shower. That would be amazing. Any idea whose ship this was?”

  “Gigan ship,” he told her, turning from where he’d been studying something written on the screen. “Creature who threw you.”

  “Ah, then I don’t feel guilty at all for stealing his ship.”

  “Belt on.” He turned to place the safety belt over her, like he didn’t trust her to do it herself. She barely refrained from rolling her eyes at him.

  “Wait!” she said urgently.

  “What?” he barked. Two lines between his eyebrows. Not a good sign.

  “What about Noodle? Is it safe for him to fly without a belt?” She looked down at the monkey sitting next to her on the floor. He blew a raspberry at her. She didn’t take offense.

  Zandar grumbled under his breath as he sat back in his seat and started up the ship.

  “He fine. Animal.”

  They’d already had an argument over whether Noodle was coming with them when they found the ship. She knew she’d only won because Zandar had wanted to get out of here. But she knew bringing Noodle was the right thing to do. She couldn’t leave the poor wee guy. Besides, as she’d pointed out to Zandar, he had brought them the disc.

  He was angry.

  He didn’t know why. He just could not seem to contain the anger bubbling in his stomach. It needed an outlet and, unfortunately, there were only two other creatures in this confined space with him on which to expend it.

  Calm. Calm.

  They had exited Diclac’s fly space without incident. No one appeared to be chasing them and the ship had a nearly full tank of fuel.

  “I’m going to go see if I can find us something to eat, okay?” Georgie said in an overly cheerful voice.

  Why was she so happy? What was there to be happy about?

  He grunted a reply, turning to glare at her. “Try not to make more trouble.”

  She frowned back at him. “Jeez, what got your knickers in a bunch?”

  “What?”

  “Why are you so grumpy? Shouldn’t we be celebrating? We got a new ship like you wanted. This one is way better than that emergency pod and we’re safely away from that hellhole.”

  “You disobeyed me.”

  He had nearly negotiated a deal. Certainly, the ship he had been negotiating for was far inferior to this one. But he had nearly had their problems solved when Georgie disobeyed him.

  “I didn’t mean to,” Georgie told him. “Do you know how hard it was to kneel there? And then I saw that sasquatch abusing Noodle. He was chasing after him, and I had to stop him. It wasn’t my fault he took offense or that the whole bar started to fight.”

  “You could be hurt!” he roared, surprising himself and her.

  She started, glaring up at him. Then she climbed out of her chair, seemingly forgetting about her seat belt as she was slammed back into the seat. Finally, she fumbled around and managed to get it off.

  “I’m going to go have a shower and find something to eat. Maybe you could take the time to calm the fuck down.”

  He undid his own belt and stood, looming over her.

  “Next time. Obey me.”

  “Next time? When the hell is there going to be a next time?” she yelled.

  “Probably tomorrow with you
! Trouble!”

  “I am not trouble. You are impossible! Bossy! Dictatorial! Asshole! Grr!” She turned, stomping away. The monkey poked his tongue out at him before bouncing after her.

  “Come on, Noodle, come away from Mr. grumpy pants. He needs a time out.”

  He sat with a groan, leaning his head back against the seat. The female was impossible. Annoying.

  So why did he find her so intriguing? Why did he care so much about her health and safety? He could tell himself it was a debt, but he would not feel this way about a male he owed a debt to.

  No, he had a feeling this was just about Georgie.

  Only what did he do about it?

  “What a jerk,” she said to Noodle as she stomped out of the cockpit. Yeah, that sounded more likely than “pilot area.”

  Georgie moved down the small passage and stepped up to another door. To her surprise, it opened automatically. She stepped inside, her nose crinkling a little as she saw this had to be the sasquatch’s bedroom.

  Ew. It even smelled like him. Kind of like a combination of wet dog and rotting garbage.

  “Not going in here.”

  She turned and looked back down the passage. Three more doors. The next door led into a small eating area. There was a bench with two stools and a complicated-looking machine that she hoped made edible food.

  Her stomach rumbled and Noodle chattered at her.

  “Soon,” she told him. “First, blue slime. Then food. Hopefully, food that is not poisonous. I know, let’s make Zandar taste test it first. If he gets the runs, we’ll know to steer clear. Couldn’t happen to a nicer guy.”

  Why was he being such a jerk? She got it; she’d messed up. But it had worked out in the end, right?

  “I mean, he should really be grateful to me for getting us this awesome ship. Well, grateful to you,” she told Noodle.

  The monkey smiled.

  “Why am I so itchy?” Her clothes just felt wrong against her skin, like little pinpricks going across her skin. It was irritating and bordering on painful.

  “Obviously, I just need a shower.” She tried the next door and walked into a room with a bed that was clean and tidy. And it didn’t smell.

  “Hallelujah, please let there be a bathroom in here. Please.” She walked over to another door that led into the bathroom.

  She couldn’t get her clothes off fast enough. But the cleaning tube was enormous and she was kind of scared to get in. It was obviously made for a beast the size of the sasquatch. She was far smaller.

  Thankfully.

  She looked around for where she could wash her hands. There had to be a sink somewhere. What did she have to do? Knock on panels?

  “Where the hell is the toilet? Don’t tell me those sasquatch things don’t use a toilet? What the hell do they do?”

  Great. Just great.

  She leaned her head against the wall in front of her and something shot out and hit her in the stomach. She looked down at the metal object. It was rectangular in shape with two circles cut out of the top.

  “Well, if ever I saw an invitation for me to stick my hands into something. . . Here goes nothing, Noodle.”

  She put her hands inside the object and let out a cry as she felt something wet tickle them. “It’s just water, please let it be just water.”

  Then something warm engulfed her hands. Finally, she pulled them out and stared at them in wonder.

  “Totally clean. Awesome. Still, I think we’d best not try the cleaning tube,” she told Noodle. “Thankfully, I don’t have to pee yet.”

  Which was a slight worry since she hadn’t peed in a while. She should find something to eat and drink. But she felt too worn out to move. She stumbled out of the bathroom and over to the bed, lying down with a groan.

  God, what was wrong with her? Her skin felt like it was on fire. She couldn’t bear the idea of getting dressed again or even pulling up the covers. Her eyes drifted shut. She’d just catch a little nap and then she’d figure out what the hell was wrong.

  12

  He paced up and down the small cockpit area.

  She had only been gone an hour. They were confined in a ship. What trouble could she possibly get up to?

  This was Georgie. So a lot of trouble.

  With a groan, he gave up trying to pretend he was not worrying about her and checked the ship’s autopilot to make sure they were all on course. He had set their coordinates to head towards a planet where he knew there was a fighting ring. He would need to make some more credits in order to care for Georgie properly.

  Stars knew, she could not take care of herself.

  He stomped down the hallway, checking the first two rooms. Not there. It was tempting to check what food supplies the ship held, but he needed to find Georgie first.

  He wasn’t prepared for the sight of her as he entered the next room. His breath caught in his chest as he came to a stop just inside the door. She was lying on the bed, completely naked.

  Her mouth was slightly open. Her nipples were pink and puckered. Her legs were parted, giving him a glimpse of glistening folds. Hunger unlike anything he had ever felt before engulfed him. He had to force himself to remain where he was.

  Mine.

  Mine.

  Mine.

  He stumbled forward a step. Stop! She is asleep. She has not welcomed your touch. He would never touch a female without her permission.

  But it is okay to stare at her while she is naked and asleep? No, it was not. He just needed to tear his eyes away from her small breasts with those hard, pink nipples.

  Get your eyes off her nipples!

  He moved his gaze lower, over her flat stomach. Too flat. He could see her ribs, her sharp hip bones. She needed to eat more. He needed to take care of her better.

  That thought managed to clear some of the haze of arousal in his mind and he stumbled back, hitting the door.

  Georgie groaned, stirring. He turned around. He did not think it would be a good idea for him to find her in here.

  “Zandar? Zandar, is that you?”

  “I leave! See nothing!” He winced at his words, which only made it more obvious that he had seen her naked.

  “I feel funny, Zandar.”

  He frowned with one foot out the door.

  “I’m hot. And achy. My skin hurts. Am I sick?”

  He turned quickly and moved swiftly over to the bed. It did not matter that she was naked now. Not if she was ill and needing his help. He sat next to her on the bed and reached out to touch her.

  “No, wait, don’t touch me.”

  He pulled back his hand, staring down at her in shock. “What?”

  “What if I’m contagious?” she croaked. “What if that sasquatch gave me some horrible disease?”

  More like the monkey sitting next to her had given her something. He could have any number of diseases.

  “It hurt when he touched my bare skin. He could have given it to me then,” she said. “I don’t want to infect you.”

  “I touched you since,” he reminded her gently.

  “Oh yeah, and you’re feeling okay? Other than taking an extra dose of grouchy pills this morning, that is.”

  He ignored her mumbling and reached out to place his hand against her cheek to test the temperature of her skin. She did feel warm, but as soon as he touched her, she let out a sigh of pleasure.

  “Oh, that feels so good.”

  He frowned. His touch felt good? Deciding to experiment, he pulled his hand away from her skin. Immediately, her forehead puckered into a frown and her cheeks grew flushed.

  “What’s wrong with me?” she groaned.

  He set his hand down on her skin once more.

  “Oh, please keep it there.” Her eyes shot open and she stared up at him. He could see fear lurking in the bright blue depths. “What’s the matter with me? Why do I feel so hot and like I want to crawl out of my own skin one minute, and then as soon as you touch me, it all feels okay?”

  “I know not.” He frown
ed, puzzled.

  “Can you. . .can you bare more skin and touch me? Please?” she begged.

  He knew he should not. It felt like this was the point at which he should turn back. But he could not stand to see her in pain or ill. He drew his hand away and she groaned again.

  “Oh God, I think it’s getting worse. Please, Zandar. Please.”

  He was not certain what she was begging him for. Was not certain even he knew. But he quickly stripped off his top then lay next to her. She shuffled back to give him more room, accidentally knocking into Noodle. The monkey chattered at her angrily before climbing off the bed and moving out of the room.

  “Sorry, Noodle,” she called out.

  He would have told her how ridiculous it was to apologize to a beast if he was not feeling so utterly content right now.

  Content? When had he ever felt content? If he had felt this way in the past, he could not remember. For the first time in a long while, however, the anger that had kept him companion was gone.

  Georgie pushed him so he lay on his back with her sprawled on top of him. Her firm breasts were pressed against his chest and he lightly wrapped his arms around her back.

  His shaft pressed painfully against his pants.

  She leaned up to look down at him. Her eyes were at half-mast and a small smile turned up the corner of her lips.

  She ran a finger between his eyebrows. He stared up at her. The feel of her against him, touching him, it was almost too much. It threatened to overwhelm him, made him want to roll her over and part those legs and taste her.

  Over and over again.

  “What?” he rumbled at the look on her face.

  Her grin grew. “No frown lines. Even though you still sound a little grouchy. I’m thinking that’s just the way you always sound. I nearly died of shock when you smiled earlier.”

  Nearly died? Surely that was not true.

  “I was exaggerating,” she reassured him. “Although it felt like I was dying before when my skin was on fire. But now. . .now that I’m lying on you with all this delicious skin on show, yeah, I don’t feel like I’m dying. I feel like I won the damn lottery.”