Free Alien Mate (Zerconian Warriors Book 3) by Sadie Carter Page B

large man. Impossibly gorgeous. Incredibly sexy.
    And hers.
    Dex. His name whispered across her mind. Dex. Her mate.
    All hers.
    She opened her eyes and rolled over.
    “Dex.”
    “Zoey? I can barely hear you. Speak up, my own.”
    Emotion rushed through her. Dex. What was she doing here? Why was she hiding from him? She would never hide from Dex.
    Standing in the water, she stared around her. Suddenly, she felt alone and scared.
    “Dex, I’m here. At the water. Dex, where are you?” She searched around for him. “Dex!”
    “I am coming, my own. Keep talking and I will find you.”
    “I can’t see you. How will you find me?” The jungle was so dense. The trees, which had seemed so lush and green before now appeared menacing and claustrophobic.
    “I will always find you, my own.”
    He pushed his way through the dense growth. Then he saw her, his whole attention zeroing in on her. To be his entire focus, to know that he loved her was a heady feeling. Something she still couldn’t quite believe.
    He made her feel beautiful. Special.
    So why had she been hiding here?
    “Zoey. Thank the stars.” He rushed forward, striding into the water, fully clothed.
    “Dex, you’re getting all wet!”
    “I don’t care.” When he reached her, he drew her against him, holding her tight.
    “What is it? Why am I here? Why did I forget you?” Confusion swamped her and panic swelled. “Dex, what is going on?”
    “Shh, I have you now. Everything will be well.” He swept her up into his arms, carrying her over to the side of the lagoon where he sat, holding her on his lap. He glanced around. “So this is where you’ve been hiding out.”
    “Dex. I don’t understand any of this. I’m confused.”
    And scared.
    Dex cupped her cheeks with his hands. “Would I let harm come to you?”
    Never. “No.”
    “I would lay my life down for you, my own. I would battle against any odds to get to you.”
    “Where are we? I don’t remember how I got here. I was swimming and I was happy. Really happy. But then I heard you and suddenly I remembered you. How could I forget you?” Sorrow brought tears to her eyes. Forget Dex? It was impossible to believe and yet it had happened.
    “You forgot me because you’re unconscious, my own.”
    “Unconscious? I’m asleep? So this is a dream?” It felt so real. But then some dreams did, didn’t they?
    “We’re not really here?” she asked.
    “It is not a dream. Although you are in a sleeping state.”
    “I don’t understand.” What did he mean? Sleeping state?
    Frustration crossed his face. “How do I explain this?”
    “Just start from the beginning.”
    “Do you remember eating on the ground with me? Outdoors.”
    She smiled. “You mean the picnic?”
    “Yes.”
    “It was so romantic. We were on our own, under the stars.” She frowned. “Then I started to feel ill. My leg was burning.” She gazed up into his face, panicked. “Am I dead? Is this heaven?”
    “You are breathing, my own. Although, for a moment, you stopped taking breath. There was a moment when you stopped breathing. You died right before me.” The starkness in his voice told her he was telling the truth. Not that he would lie to her.
    “What?” She held her hand over her chest. Why didn’t she felt her heart beating? Was this why she could swim so long under water? Because she was dead?
    “Oh God, Dex, we’re both dead, aren’t we?” she wailed.
    “We are not dead,” he told her firmly. “We are in your mind.”
    “Oh, because that sounds so much better. Not creepy weird at all.”
    He smiled. “I am glad I have made you feel better.”
    One day he would get the hang of sarcasm.
    “Dex, just explain it to me. Why are we in my head?” And how the hell did they get out?
    “After you fainted, I raced with you to the medical center. I don’t believe I have ever moved so fast. Or been so terrified. You stopped breathing. I thought I had lost you.” He tightened his hold on her, as though