“Zoey, you are back.” Dex strode down the stairs towards the small shuttle as his mate climbed from it, looking disheveled, exhausted and ill. Macon had informed him when she had left to go shopping. He didn’t like the idea of her in a foreign place without him by her side, but he knew Boris would protect her. However, when she was gone longer than he had anticipated, he had started to worry. He’d been just about to contact her when the shuttle pulled up.

He knew she wouldn’t be pleased with him for working during their weekend away. And he felt guilty, even though he’d been pulled away by something that couldn’t wait.

“What is wrong? Are you ill?” He looked over at Boris as he spoke, but Zoey’s guard was looking decidedly ill himself. Suddenly, about three feet away from his mate, he came to a sudden stop, an awful scent assaulting him.

It was difficult to describe. It was like rotting garbage mixed with decaying flesh and fresh feces.

And the smell was emanating from his mate.

“Don’t say it,” she warned. She coughed then gagged. “I know exactly how I smell. I was just trapped in a small shuttle with this smell.” She glanced over at Boris and Giz. Boris looked as ruffled as Dex had ever seen him, although Giz seemed unaffected. “Sorry, you had to put up with that.”

Boris gave a stoic nod.

“What happened?” Dex asked. “Are you injured?” Carefully breathing in and out of his mouth, he stepped forward, reaching for her. Shock filled him as she stepped back before he could touch her.

“Don’t,” she warned. “Don’t touch me.”

He knew she would be angry at him but was she so mad she could not bear his touch? Normally when she was angry, she yelled, sometimes she stomped a foot, or paced back and forth until his neck ached from watching her. But she had never rejected him.

“I don’t want you to be infected.”

“Infected?” Alarm filled him. “You are ill. I will call Racar.”

“Wrong choice of word. I’m not ill. I just stink, really, really bad. I’m going to throw myself into the lake. Maybe you could bring me some soap and some new clothes. We’ll need to burn these clothes.”

Relief filled him. She was not ill or mad. “I do not think soap will help, my own.”

“Just bring it all. Whatever you think will help. I’ve just got to get this smell off me cause there really is nothing left in my belly to throw up.”

***

Three hours later, Zoey was finally able to breathe without wanting to vomit. And it was bloody awesome.

“I never thought I’d be clean again.” She smiled down at Elodie who was sleeping quietly, the excitement of her mama coming home smelling like a stink bomb had been too much for her. Of course, Rastian had kept her safely downwind from Zoey as she attempted to wash herself with anything they had on-hand. It was finally Racar who had come through with a concoction that had rid her of the terrible smell. She still smelt slightly off but not enough to truly bother her. Hopefully by morning that lingering scent would have disappeared.

“Come, my own. You are exhausted.” Dex slipped his arm around her waist as she swayed.

She yawned as he led her out of Elodie’s bedroom. “Who knew bathing could be so tiring?”

“You have had a busy day.” There was a note of censure in his voice as he steered her into their bedroom. Dex led her to the private balcony that looked out over the lake. He sat on one of the large, padded seats and pulled her onto his knee. The sky was filled with a soft pink light as the sun set over the mountains. The view was spectacular, and she sighed with happiness. It had been a horrid day, and now, thankfully, it was nearly over.

“Lean into me,” he ordered.

“I still smell,” she protested.

“Do you think I care about a slight smell? I spent the last three hours scrubbing your skin and hair clean.”

She winced. “This isn’t exactly the romantic trip I had planned.” She laughed, but there was no humor in the sound. “Maybe it wasn’t meant to be. I was aiming for sexy and irresistible instead I managed to make you vomit.”

“I did not vomit.”

“It was pretty close. Admit it. You vomited just a little.”

He didn’t say anything, but when he pushed her against his wide chest, she didn’t resist. She was exhausted, and he was warm, and he smelled sooo good.

“I’m sorry, Dex.”

He had been rubbing her back with long gentle strokes, but he paused at her words. Placing a finger under her chin, he raised her face. “For what?”

“Umm, isn’t it obvious? I’ve ruined the whole weekend.”

“You have?”

“Well, yeah.” She sat up to frown at him. “You’re acting weird. Why aren’t you doing your stern, I-am-in-charge-and-you-will-obey-me routine?”

He smiled and that just worried her even more. What was going on? She’d told him the whole story while he was helping her bathe and he hadn’t said anything then, but she’d figured he was holding the lecture in until they were alone.

“You wish me to lecture you?”

“Well, I wouldn’t say that I wish you to give me a lecture. But you’re freaking me out with this whole mellow attitude.”

He placed his hand around the nape of her neck. “Am I upset that you put yourself in danger? Yes. Do I wish I could lock you up somewhere and keep you safe forever? Yes. Do I want to make you promise to never do anything like this again? Of course. But I feel that I am more to blame for this than you.”

“You?” She looked at him in surprise. “But you weren’t there.”

“I should have been. Or perhaps you would not have been there had I been giving you my full attention as I promised.”

Oh. She leaned against him. “Look, I might have gone shopping today because I was annoyed that you were working. But that wasn’t very mature of me or very fair. I mean, you have an important job, and you can’t just turn it off. I should be more understanding.”

He was silent for a long time, and she finally started to shift around on his lap. What was he thinking?

“Dex? Come on, say something. You know I don’t deal with silence very well.”

“I am sorry, my own. I was thinking that perhaps it is I who need to be more understanding.”

“You?” She nearly fell off his lap in shock.

“Is that so surprising?”

“Well, yeah.”

“I know I can be, what do you call it, bug-headed?”

“Bull-headed? Stubborn. Commanding. A Neanderthal.”

He held up his hand. “I believe that is enough.”

“Oh, sorry.” She hid her grin.

“You have adapted to life on Zerconia, to being my mate, an Empress, a mother without complaint.”

She snorted. “Okay, have you hit your head or something?”

He felt over his head. “No. Why?”

“Doesn’t matter. But have you forgotten all of my complaints?”

“Perhaps there have been a few complaints,” he admitted. “But I have asked a lot of you. And when you asked for some time with just our family, I bring along a number of others, and I leave you on your own to attend other matters. So while my actions do not excuse yours and we will be having words about your tendency to leap into dangerous situations without thinking of your safety, I do not wish to spend any time during this time alone arguing or lecturing.”

She bit her lip. “What would you like to spend your time doing?”

His eyes glowed amber. “Go climb onto the bed and I will show you.”

Oh hell yes. He didn’t have to ask her twice.