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“Bad? No, never bad. It is…incredible.” His big hand plasters over my stomach, and his expression is one of awe. “Do you think it is a boy or a girl?”
“I don’t know. Which one do you want?”
“Girl,” he says immediately. “One that looks just like you.”
My heart melts. “What if I want a boy?”
He nods. “Then I want that, too. Truly, I would be happy with either. Both.” His face pales. “You do not think it is both at the same time, do you? D’gesh of the other tribe has two daughters that came at once. That would be…a lot of work.”
“If it is, then we’ll deal with it. You’d be a great dad, I know it.” I put my hand over his, and they both rest on my stomach. “But I think we should go back to the tribe today. I want the healer to look at your head, and I want her to confirm that there really is a baby.” I think about Willa and Gren, and how long it took them to resonate the first time. I want to make sure we truly are pregnant before I celebrate.
O’jek gets to his feet, practically jumping out of the furs. His mane is a mess of tangles, half of his hair slipping out of the braid and the other half glued to his scalp with the awful poultice. He grabs a boot—the leather bloated from salt water—and shoves his foot in.
I sit up, resting on my hands, and watch him as he shoves his other boot on and then grabs his spear. “Um, O’jek? Where are you going?”
He turns, his eyes bright as he looks at me. His gaze goes to my breasts—it’s like he just discovered them yesterday and can’t get enough of them—and then back to my face. “To camp, of course.”
“You want some pants, love?”
He glances down at his naked body, then back at me and shrugs.
Right. Because the islanders only wear pants to amuse us humans. He doesn’t care if the world sees his naked body. And honestly? It’s a very fine body. I get to my feet and start hunting for my clothing, because I am far more modest than him.
Oh, I can’t wait to see the healer. I want to hear her say it out loud.
CHAPTER 34
DAISY
We head back over land, because the cliffs are too sheer near the water and it’s too cold for me to venture in safely and swim. That, and I think both O’jek and myself have had enough of water for now. We manage to find a path up off the beach and into the hills, and after a decent amount of climbing, we set off into more familiar territory. Up atop the cliffs, I can see for a long distance, and when I gaze down at the water, it looks like we’re not too far from the camp itself—there’s a distant plume of smoke on the horizon. It’s just far enough to be a pain in the tush heading back, given that I have no pants or boots and O’jek’s are ruined from the sea. With the extra furs in the cave, we made wraps for my feet and tied them around my ankles, and I’m wearing a pelt as a skirt around my lower half.
O’jek offers to carry me, but I refuse. He’s wounded, and I can walk. He still fusses over me, though, and perhaps I’m a bad person, but I rather love the fussing. It feels good to know that every touch, every time his tail taps my leg, he’s making sure that his mate is all right.
And I’m his mate.
I’m practically euphoric by the time we hit the path back to Icehome village. The camp is busy and we’re greeted with a few hugs, but it’s quieter than I expected given our sudden resonance. Normally a resonance of any kind—repeat or new—is cause for a massive celebration, but the mood around camp seems to be distinctly strange. I can’t put my finger on why. The greetings we get are genuine, but it’s like there’s something hanging over the village that I can’t place.
I’ll worry about it later, I decide. Right now I just want to get my O’jek to the healer so she can look at his head.
We head for Veronica and Ashtar’s enormous hut, recently upgraded from the double tent they inhabited for so long. I shake the bone chimes at the entrance to let her know we’re here, even as O’jek touches my stomach again. “You feel well?” he whispers. “No cramps? No pain?”
I beam at him. “I feel amazing.”
“I want the healer to check you first,” he says, even as Veronica lifts the flap over the door and smiles a greeting at us.
Sweet of him, but I can be stubborn too. I give Veronica my best smile. “O’jek needs healing.”
