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As I’m still seated on the ground, I’m not entirely surprised when Nassakth leans over and puts his head against my belly. It’s not flat anymore (or, cough, ever was) and I’m only a few months along but I’m already starting to show in a major way, and Doctor Roo says I’ll be enormous by the time I get ready to deliver. I think of the fact that I have three of Nassakth’s children inside me and suspect my belly’s about to grow to gargantuan proportions…and I’m slightly giddy over the prospect.
“Not upset,” Nassakth says in a quiet voice. His arms go around me and he just nuzzles my belly. “Overwhelmed. Three at once.”
“The doctor said it’s two girls and a boy.” I curl my fingers in his mane and play with it. “I don’t know how much will be human and how much will be praxiian, so it’ll be interesting to see. I hope they look like you, though.”
His arms tighten around me. “Three.”
“At once,” I agree, chuckling. It definitely took a moment for it to sink in for me, so I totally get his stunned expression.
“We are selling none of them,” my mate says thickly. “I cannot imagine how callous my family—my people—are to just turn their backs on a child.” He shifts a little and presses his mouth to my belly. “If they felt like I do right now…”
His voice trails off.
“Good?” I prompt, stroking his mane. “I hope you feel good?”
“I am at once delighted beyond words and utterly terrified.” His expression grows thoughtful. “I am so happy it feels my heart cannot contain all the feelings inside it.”
I smile.
“And I think I will need to increase my exercise regimen.”
I blink. “To…hold all three babies?”
“No. Because I will need to destroy anyone that looks at my daughters.” His voice grows fierce. “Anyone.”
I’m hit with the giggles again at the thought. Nassakth is going to be the overprotective dad from hell…and that’s so adorable. “You could always hire Bethiah to be their bodyguard.”
He considers this, and grunts. “It is a good thought—”
“No! I’m joking!”
“I am not. As you have said, with three cubs, we will need all the help we can get.”
“No,” I say firmly, and grab a fistful of his mane, forcing his head back to look at me. “This is our house. You and me, and our babies. No one else…certainly not Bethiah.”
“More weapons, then,” my mate says thoughtfully. “And perhaps well-trained guard animals.”
I smother a groan. “Are you going overboard because we’re having three babies now instead of one? Or has this been brewing for a while?”
“It is not overboard to wish to protect one’s family.” Nassakth strokes a big hand over my belly, his gaze on it thoughtfully. “Maybe we need a larger house.”
“I like this one.”
“And a larger air-sled.”
I frown at the thought of going anywhere with three infants. “Not right away—”
“And I will need a cart.”
“A…cart?” I echo, distracted. His hand continues to rub my belly, and I get turned on. There’s something about his hand on my stomach, and the thoughtful expression on his gorgeous face that’s making me completely and utterly horny. Of course, it doesn’t take much lately to get me turned on, but this is absolutely doing it for me.
“Yes. Between three cubs and my affections, I fear you will be too tired to walk. I will need to cart around my poor human like—”
I grab a fistful of his mane and yank. “You ass!”
He grins widely, showing sharp teeth, and then rolls both of us on the ground, laughing. “I am to be a father three times over, Kim! My heart-feelings overflow!”
There’s such utter delight on his face that I decide to let his teasing slide. I roll around on the floor with him, as overjoyed as he is. There’s nothing better in the universe than the smile of my handsome praxiian mate.
Nothing at all.
Epilogue II
Years later
KIM
Breakfast for a family of five—especially my family—is an all-out affair. There’s meat for my husband, who still refuses to eat anything but slabs of roasted animal, the bloodier the better. The girls are like me—they love a good pancake in the morning but they also like to pair it with an even sweeter hot beverage. My son is a cross between human tastes and praxiian tastes—so he gets pancakes with tidbits of meat mixed into the batter and covers them with a thick gravy instead of syrup.
It’s kind of gross, but after years of dealing with all the different diets in my household, I don’t blink an eye. I prepare each plate, along with my own of bland noodles and dry crackers. It’s not the usual breakfast fare for me, but the thought of eating something sweet this morning makes my stomach turn, and I touch my abdomen absently. A lot of things have made my stomach upset lately. Now that I know the reason, it makes sense, even if it fills me with wonder. Life never turns out how you think it will, I muse as I fold napkins and set them next to the array of plates on the table.
