AllFreeNovel
Share Us
He picked up his comm and held a brief, muttered conversation before frowning as he came back to the bed.
“Is something wrong?”
“I hope not. We had reports that a small group of travelers were headed in this direction. Temel went to fine them and make sure they’re all right.” He shook his head, smiling faintly. “His firstinstinct is always to care for others. He needs to care for himself as well.”
“Do you want to go and check on me?” she asked reluctantly, but he shook his head.
“No, this is where I want to be.”
“Good, then come back to bed.”
“I will, but first.” He dropped down on his knees next to the bed and her heart started to pound. “As an Erythran, the mating bite marks you as mine, but I want it all. Will you marry me?”
“I thought you didn’t believe in human marriage,” she said with a half sob.
“I believe in it with you. Will you marry me, my fojii?”
“Of course I will.”
She launched herself into his arms, blinded by tears but knowing that he would catch her, that he would always catch her. Her beloved, bossy mate.
EPILOGUE
Ten months later…
“Never again,”Borgaz swore, pacing back and forth across the bedroom floor. “You are never having another child in the middle of winter. What if the snow had been too heavy for Drakkar to make it? What if we’d been trapped here?”
“But he did make it and we weren’t trapped,” Mary said calmly as she nursed their beautiful new daughter. They had named her Virginia Mae after both their mothers, and her skin was a perfect pale pink beneath a tiny mop of dark hair. “And talking about the next child when a woman has just been through labor is probably not the best timing.”
He swore again and returned to the bed, putting his arm around her.
“I’m sorry, my little fojii. I found the situation… difficult.”
“You should have tried it from this end,” she said dryly, then nudged his arm sympathetically.
While it wasn’t the same as being in labor, she did understand how difficult he found it to be in a situation he couldn’t control. She’d half expected him to start ordering her not to be in pain.
He sighed and finally relaxed, as he stroked their daughter’s cheek.
“But she is worth it, is she not?”
“Definitely. Aren’t you glad you had the procedure reversed?”
Even though he admitted he wanted a child, he’d hesitated. At first he’d wanted to wait until everything on the farm was running to his satisfaction, but she’d gently reminded him that there would always be work to be done.
She knew he also worried about his night terrors, but although they had not completely vanished, they had eased considerably after their mating and a month after they were married, he decided he was ready. Just like Rosie, she suspected she’d become pregnant on their first try - although that hadn’t stopped him from repeating his efforts with great enthusiasm.
She smiled as he leaned closer and brushed a kiss to her mating mark. In spite of her exhaustion and the lingering soreness between her legs, excitement shivered through her before she gave him a mock frown.
“Stop that. Drakkar said we had to wait for at least a month.”
“Yes, fojii.” His eyes dropped to her breast as she gently removed their now sleeping daughter, and they glowed amber. “But perhaps I can find other ways of pleasuring you.”
“And I may be willing to let you try. In a week. Or possibly two.”
He laughed and pressed a quick kiss to her lips.
“I will wait for you to let me know. Should I put Virginia Mae in her basket?”
