Rorik turned his boxy muzzle towards me and smiled. “You don’t need to. My family’s right here.”
My heart swelled. I nuzzled his forehead with mine.
I was relieved Rorik had no desire to return to his controlling clan. He’d agreed to air the season, not caring whether the alphas saw it or not. From what he’d told me, the leaders consisted of just two alphas. On the other hand, we were seven dragons, their predator shifter mates, and one gryphon shifter who was painful to look at. Hell, a single one of Gaius’s horrible shirts was enough of a deterrent.
Basically, Rorik was untouchable. Especially now that he was pregnant. Even if they magically showed up on our doorstep, the tundra alphas weren’t stupid enough to pick a fight with a pregnant omega’s dragon mate.
The lights were dimmedin my air-conditioned bedroom. Beeswax tea lights flickered on the bedside tables. Rorik and I cuddled together in bed, getting ready to watch a romcom on my laptop. I felt the need to broaden his movie genres so that his only anchor to pop culture wasn’tIce Princess.
Rorik squirmed a few times. As his pregnancy progressed, discomfort plagued various parts of his body. I felt annoyed that I couldn’t just take the pain away from him.
“Are you comfy?” I asked. “I can adjust your pillows.”
“Hmm… That would be nice.” He sat up, letting me fluff his stack of pillows, then settled with a sigh. “Thanks.”
“How’s your back?”
Rorik grunted. “It’s okay. The lower half’s sore today. The pillows help.”
“Are you sure? I can massage it,” I offered, wiggling my fingers.
Rorik mulled it over. “Sure, but we haven’t started the movie yet and it’s getting late.”
“Oh, screw the movie.”
Rorik’s jaw dropped. “I can’t believe a dragon just said that about his hoard,” he muttered.
“My pregnant mate is more important than watchingLegally Blondefor the millionth time.” I paused. “But trust me, we’ll get there.”
Rorik chuckled as he put the laptop aside and lay down sideways on the bed. His fat and muscle rippled as I dug my thumbs into his lower back, smoothing circles against the knots in his sore muscles. I loved the way his skin reacted to my touch.
Rorik shut his eyes and released a deep hum of approval. A content expression spread over his face. He’d changed so much since he first arrived on our island. It was a struggle to catch a glimpse of him simply looking relaxed like this. He’d been so wound up, so tense. Afraid to trust. Afraid to let himself be happy.
“Say, Rorik,” I began. “If you had a hoard, what would it be?”
“I don’t hoard. You know that.”
I let out a mild scoff. “How could I forget, Mr. I-Didn’t-Bring-Any-Clothes? I saidifyou did.”
Rorik stared up at the ceiling for a few moments as I continued to massage him. Eventually, he said, “Food. But the hoard wouldn’t last long, because I would eat it.” He slapped a hand over his belly. “And this would get even bigger.”
I grinned at his honesty, then reached over to caress his tummy. “That’d be awesome.”
Rorik flashed a shy grin. “You’re the only person who thinks that.”
“So what? That’s whyI’myour fated mate and not anybody else.”
He accepted this with a nod. He was thoughtful for a moment, then smirked. “Maybe you’renotthe only person who feels that way. Aurum clearly likes Mylo’s size, too.”
The realization made me cackle. “Oh, shit, you’re right. I guess we have a shared type, huh?”
Rorik glanced at his belly. Recently the shape of it had changed, visibly rounding as his pregnancy shone through. It was an exciting reminder that he was carrying our baby—or possibly,babies.
“What’re we gonna do if we have twins?” I blurted.
We’d talked about it once before and Rorik seemed surprisingly enthusiastic about the idea, but now it all started to feel capital R real. In a few months, one—or more—new lives would join our growing family.
Rorik didn’t miss a beat. “Love them as much as if we had one.”
