More babies? The twins weren’t even walking yet? What if I had twins again?
I would absolutely have twins. The knowledge was there, rock solid. I was pregnant. Again. With twins. More girls. Four little girls.
Four babies at the same time? Four little ones to take care of, all under the age of two?
I couldn’t breathe. I doubled over and braced myself against the pod. In. Out. Air. It was easy. Deep breath in through the nose. Out through the mouth.
Again.
“My lady? What is it? What is wrong?” The doctor approached me with one of those fancy scanners. I bolted to the opposite side of the ReGen pod. If I was pregnant, I didn’t want the official news from a coppertop alien while the father was laying here unconscious.
The seal of the ReGen pod broke with a quiet hiss. The translucent cover retracted into the base. Velik sat up, said nothing and pulled me onto his lap. He looked over his shoulder at the doctor and ordered the guy to leave. Which Mersan did, without a word.
“Mate, why do you smell of those creatures?”
“I—”
He leaned in close, his nose in the curve of my neck. “I heard the words spoken. You have not eaten? Nor bathed? You have refused to take care of yourself? Why are you doing this? Do you seek to punish me?”
“What? No!” I wrapped my arms around him and leaned in. “I was afraid to leave. Last time you were in a ReGen pod—”
He spoke softly, his lips moving over the skin on my neck. “Shhh. We will not speak of it.”
“Okay.”
“You agree?” He lifted his head and there he was, my mate, alive and well and close enough to kiss.
Suddenly I wished I’d showered, and brushed my teeth at least once in the last twelve hours. “Can we get out of here?”
“Of course.” Velik swung his legs over the side of the ReGen pod. He stood, cradling me to his chest, and walked out of the medical bay.
Naked. Bare assed, cock swinging in the wind, naked.
He carried me that way through what felt like the entire ship. We got a few looks. One female—looked like she was Prillon—opened her mouth to say something.
Velik growled at her.
She glanced down at…his cock, looked at me, laughed and moved out of the way. Once we were safely past her in the corridor, she called out to me. “Have fun!”
Velik carried me through some kind of cafeteria, causing a few eating utensils to freeze in midair, down another long corridor, into an elevator of some kind. By the time he carried me into what looked like a large hotel suite—bed, sofa, few basic items of furniture—I had no idea what was up, down, or sideways. And I was sure everyone on the ship had seen his magnificent backside. And frontside. All sides.
He carried me straight into the bathroom and stripped me of my clothing with an almost medical precision. Fuzzy slipper-socks. Yoga pants. He pulled the hoodie up over my head. I held out my hands so he could pull my arms free of the sleeves.
He froze. He didn’t move, or speak. Did nothing but stare at the mating cuffs I’d put on my wrists.
And his. Had he not noticed them on his wrists before now?
“I’m sorry if—I shouldn’t have put them on without asking. I hope you’re not mad.”
He stared. His face was smooth as granite. I had no idea what he was thinking.
“I can take them off if—”
“No!” I thought the beast was about to come out of him. Instead, it was Velik who pulled my wrists together, held my hands in his, and knelt before me. “My lady, I have made many mistakes. I have caused you pain. I abandoned you when you needed me most. I know these things can never be forgiven.” He dropped his forehead and lifted the back of my hands to his lips. “I am not worthy, Stefani. But I love you. You are mine. My mate. My brave, intelligent, strong female. You are beautiful. Perfect. I cannot let you go.“
Everything he had suffered and survived. His devotion. The gifts of Terra and Alena, two daughters to love. His willingness to die so I could be with a human man he believed I loved.
This beast, this honorable man, knelt before me and believed he was not worthy of being loved?
