Taken by the Alien Next Door (Aliens Among Us #1) - Tiffany Roberts Page 0,125

was this man, her mate, the man who loved her. All of her, imperfections included.

Tabitha tipped her forehead against his and closed her eyes. “I love you.”

Zevris hugged her closer. “And I love you, Nykasha.”

“Just do me a favor?”

“Hmm?”

“Don’t smell my breath till I have a chance to brush my teeth.”

He laughed, the sound rumbling from his chest and into her, kindling that delicious heat at her core. “It’s a little late for that. But don’t worry. I would still love you even if you smelled like the trash can you emptied your stomach into.”

Tabitha buried her face against his neck and laughed. “You say the sweetest things.”

Damn, I love him.

Twenty-Seven

Tabitha woke with the feeling that something was wrong. This wasn’t like other mornings, during which she’d drifted on a sea of contented grogginess until finally crawling onto the beaches of awareness; she was instantly awake and alert. There was a prickling sensation on her skin, and a heavy, ominous feeling in her gut.

She didn’t know what was wrong or why she felt this way. Everything had been…perfect. Despite that bout of sickness at the fair the evening before, the last night had passed without incident. Tabitha and Zevris had shared dinner, a shower, and some pretty amazing shower sex before they’d collapsed into bed.

She swallowed thickly and snuggled against Zevris, tucking her head beneath his chin. He inhaled deeply and let it out in a deep rumble as he pulled her closer. Tabitha closed her eyes, intending to go back to sleep.

But the reasons for her wakefulness resurged an instant later with much, much less subtlety.

Tabitha’s eyes flared open, and she shoved hard against Zevris, making him grunt. Throwing off the blanket, she scrambled out of bed, slapping a hand to her mouth as bile rose in her throat, and sprinted to the bathroom.

She barely made it to the toilet before everything she’d eaten the night before came back up. She clutched the sides of the bowl as she retched, again and again, her stomach clenching in pain.

Tabitha wasn’t aware of Zevris’s approach, but he was suddenly there with her, pulling her hair back out of her face, crouching beside her, stroking her back with one of his big hands. When she lifted her face during one of the brief respites between her retching, he flushed the toilet, wiped her lips with a tissue, and immediately resumed his gentle ministrations.

She groaned and lay her head on her arm, closing her eyes. Tabitha felt miserable. She was bare-assed naked, kneeling on the bathroom floor, vomiting her guts out. Even worse than that? Zevris was there to witness it all.

Not my finest hour.

Zevris brushed the backs of his fingers over her clammy forehead. “You are ill, Nykasha.”

It wasn’t a question, just a statement, leaving her no room to disagree or deflect. Maybe I’m fine had worked last night, but she knew it wouldn’t anymore.

Tabitha opened her eyes and looked up at Zevris. He was wearing that concerned frown again, and his brows were low with a crease between them, just as they’d been last night. But there was more now; despite the gentleness of his touch, she could feel the tension in him. For the first time since she’d met him, there was a gleam of fear in his eyes.

“This is twice now, Tabitha, in twelve hours,” he said softly. “I do not like this. Tell me what I can do for you. Tell me what we need to do to help you get well.”

Maybe this wasn’t her finest hour…but she’d changed her mind about his presence being a bad thing.

Yet apart from vomiting, she didn’t feel like she was sick. There was a little queasiness left over, but now that she’d emptied her stomach, the unpleasant sensations that had awoken her were fast fading.

She scratched food poisoning off the list of possibilities, as she was sure she’d be feeling more miserable than this. And she didn’t feel feverish or achy like she usually did when she was coming down with the flu. The only other thing she could think of was…

Can it be?

No. It was too soon…wasn’t it? And they didn’t even know if it was possible.

Not knowing doesn’t mean it’s not possible.

It’d been at least a month and a half since they’d first had sex, and not a day had passed since during which they hadn’t make love.

I haven’t had my period.

Anticipation swept in to fill the space left by the dread that had woken her, making her stomach