“Seriously, Dex, this is supposed to be a romantic getaway for the two of us.” She held up two fingers. “See, two. One. Two.”

Dex turned to look down at his mate in confusion as she frowned at the people loading the spaceship they would be using to travel to Ulrika. It was a small planet with beautiful scenery. The inhabitants of Ulrika were welcoming and peaceful.

They had requested a villa next to the lake in a secluded setting. Or that was what Zoey had told him. How had Zoey described it? Oh yes. Romantic and tranquil. He still did not understand the point of a romantic weekend, but if it put a large smile on his mate’s face, then he was willing to go along with it.

His mate also told him romantic weekends away meant more time for joining. That was never a bad thing.

So her frown now had him perplexed.

“There is not just the two of us.”

“Yes, that’s my point.” She glanced around her with an unhappy frown. “Are all these people coming with us?”

“No, of course not.” That was the issue? The number of people coming with them? He knew that Zoey did not wish his mother to join them to care for Elodie. He did not quite understand the issue of having his mother close. They already lived together in the palace. But Zoey had been adamant that you did not take your mother on a romantic weekend.

It was strange. But then these humans held many strange beliefs he did not understand.

“Oh good,” she replied, the tension slumping from her shoulders.

Dex smiled, glad that he was able to settle her worries. He knew that Zoey had found the adjustment to becoming an Empress a challenge. Combined with being a new mother, still adapting to life on Zerconia and rising tensions between the Zerconians and Coizils, this had not been an easy time for her. It was why he had agreed to this weekend away. His family was everything to him. He might be responsible for the safety of thousands, but it was the safety and happiness of just two that came first.

“Only Boris, Rastian, Macon, Jaxan, Racar, Safan and Torex are coming.”

She blinked up at him, those beautiful green eyes widening. “All? Dex, are you kidding me?”

“I am not. Why would I kid you about this?” He was confused.

She wiped her hand over her face, muttering something under her breath. He caught some words, but they made little sense.

“Dense…. dumbass…. romantic weekend…. fishbowl.” Finally, she looked up at him.

“Are you well, my own?” he asked with concern, watching a muscle tick beside her right eye.  Her face had turned an unusual shade of red with splotches of white. “Perhaps we should not go. Do you need medical support?”

She grabbed his arm as he reached for his communicator. “I don’t need medical support, but you might.” She took a deep breath in then let it out slowly.

 

It’s not his fault. He’s not purposely being dense. Don’t lose your temper. Be cool. Be queenly. Be calm. Handle this like an Empress. Mature. Calm. Collected.

“God damn it, Dex!” She told him, throwing her arms up in the air. Urgh, screw being dignified and all that shit. “We can’t take all these people with us!”

He looked from her to the spaceship. “The ship can handle twice as many bodies.”

“This isn’t about the ship's capacity, it’s about privacy. What’s the point of going away if we’re going to take half the palace with us?”

“Zoey did you not hear me, we are only taking Boris, Macon—”

She placed her hand over his mouth. “I heard you the first time. Next, you’ll be telling me that you’re taking your new assistant as well.”

He raised his eyebrows. “I did hope you would not mind, but I was not certain after your reaction to my suggestion of taking my mother.”

“Dex! Damn it. No. Your assistant cannot come. Neither can half these people.”

He scowled. “They are necessary.”

“Necessary? Where are they even going to sleep? Gonna be kind of hard to be romantic with Macon, Jaxan, and Racar sleeping in the same bed with us.”

“They will not sleep with us!” He looked at her aghast. Zoey knew she wasn’t explaining this very well. This was a weird concept for him. Zerconians didn’t take holidays, let alone romantic trips away with their mates.

“Look, I get that we need some guards, but do we need so many? I only rented a three-bedroom place.”

“Yes, we do. Although Ulrika is a safe place, there are still dangers. There is not just your safety to consider, but Elodie’s as well.”

And Dex was nothing if not protective. It was actually something she liked about the big dude, even if it did drive her absolutely nuts sometimes. But he was right, Elodie’s safety came first.

She touched his arm, leaning into him. “It’s okay, big guy. We’ll take them all.” The last thing she wanted was to stress him out. “I’d just built this idea into my head of how this weekend was going to go. I know we need to be careful and I don’t want any of us to be at risk. So take as many guards as you like, we’ll work it out. But no work stuff.”

“The guards will stay out of the way. They can remain outside.”

She was surprised at his compromise. Dex wasn’t the most bendable of men. Although now she felt guilty at the thought of the guards having to stay outside. “But where will they sleep?”

“They can take turns using one of the bedrooms. I wish this weekend to be what you wish it to be.”

“Aww.” She swung her arms around him, not caring who was looking. These Zerconians weren’t big on public displays of affection and Liula would have a fit if she saw her, but Zoey didn’t care.

“Sometimes you say just the right thing to turn my insides to mush.”

He frowned. “Is that healthy? Is it something you need medical assistance with?”

She opened her mouth to explain what she’d meant when he winked at her.  Zoey’s eyes widened in surprise. “You’re teasing me. Look at you.” She gave him a whack on his arm, nearly wincing as her hand immediately began to sting. It was like hitting a brick wall. He took her hand with a frown of disapproval and rubbed the sting from it. “Being around all these humans must be a good thing, you’re actually starting to understand me.”

“My own, I love you, but I think it will take a lifetime to understand everything you say. I only understood that because Koran had a panic attack when Mila told him something similar a few weeks ago. He had called Thor to examine her before she could fully explain.”

She grinned, the image of tough, grumpy Koran having a panic attack was pretty damn funny. “Classic. I am so going to keep that one up my sleeve when he’s in one of his dictatorial moods. I swear that man is getting grumpier every day. Last week he yelled at me for climbing on a chair. Lord knows how Mila is putting up with him. Her being pregnant has turned him into an overprotective mama bear.” She looked up at him, expecting him to agree with her that Koran was acting crazy.

Instead, he frowned. “Why were you climbing a chair? That does not sound safe.”

“You know, you’re lucky you guys are so cute.” She patted his chest before moving towards where Rastian stood holding Elodie.

“This conversation is not over, my own.”

She smiled. She looked forward to the argument. Or more specifically the making up. This weekend was going to be perfect.