She was too tired, too spent to think anything of his strange answer and a moment later, she tumbled headfirst into her dreams.
EIGHTEEN
TAYLOR STIRRED IN her mate’s arms and she woke, blinking past the blur of sleep.She saw bright stars overhead, revealing to her how late into the night it was.It was quiet, the only sounds she heard were the gentle waves crashing along the shoreline down below the cliffs and Vikan’s heavy footsteps across the stone of their terrace.
She sighed, snuggling deeper into him.He was carrying her bridal-style from their hovercraft to their house, high atop the cliffs ofLopixa.
Vikan’s lips quirked in amusement when he saw her waken and she groaned, murmuring, “Did I miss everything?”
“You stayed awake for the feast, female.No sooner than it was done were you wiggling onto my lap for rest.”
“I missed the dancing,” she guessed, sighing.
The lunar celebration, when Luxiria’s moon was full, was her favorite time of the month, an event she’d been looking forward to.All of Luxiria celebrated on the same night and she’d even helped with the preparations for that particular gathering.As Vikan’s mate, it was expected, her duty toLopixa, but it was something she also enjoyed.
It was a night full of good food and laughter and community and dancing.
And she’d missed it because she’d been so damn tired.
“I could not even wake you,” he murmured, pushing open the door to their house and letting it fall heavy behind them.“I was concerned, but Pillenva assured me it was normal.”
Taylor sighed again but then she teased, “Please tell me you didn’t make a scene and summon the healer in the middle of the celebration.”
“I made the drummers stop their music and roared for the dancers to cease until Pillenva could find us through the crowds,” he told her.
Taylor laughed, knowing that he did no such thing and that he was simply joking with her.“I wouldn’t put it past you, babe.”
“Would you like a hot soak or would you like to sleep more?” he asked her, his eyes studying her features.Even though he may not have made a scene at the celebration like he’d teased, Taylor could still see the concern on his features, could feel his concern and worry through their blood bond.It reached out to her, like a touch, and she met it, sending waves of reassurance back.
“Well,” she murmured, smiling, “seeing as how I already had my nap, I think a bath sounds perfect.”
Vikan purred, telling her that they would be doing more than simply soaking in their washroom that night.Honestly, Taylor couldn’t remember a time when theyhadn’thad sex in that heated pool.
He wound his way through their labyrinth of a home until he came to their washroom, one of her favorite places in the house.Like all Luxirian dwellings, their washroom had a large, sunken in ‘tub’ that was more like the size of a small pool.Vikan told her that in the Golden City, thekirvax, as he called them, were naturally heated from below the mountain, like a hot spring that continually filtered the water.There, inLopixahowever,they’d emulated thekirvaxwith an intricate heating and filtration system that pulled water from the sea.
Taylor had never been happier when she’d first seen it and they spent a good majority of their nights soaking in it…among other activities.
Slowly, Vikan set her down until she was on her feet, but he kept her close to his body as he helped her unpin and push down the dress she’d worn to the celebration.The light, gauzy material slipped down her body and pooled at her feet, baring her growing breasts and her slightly rounded belly.
That familiar growling purr rose in her mate’s throat and he dropped to his knees in front of her to help her unlace her padded slippers.But once he was done, he leaned forward and pressed his forehead to her abdomen, which protected their child that was growing quickly inside her.
Affection made tears sting her eyes as she ran her fingers through Vikan’s hair.He loved to hold her like this, loved to be close to his child.Taylor was only a month along, according to the healer ofLopixa, Pillenva.It told her that Vikan had gotten her pregnant during the last lunar celebration and Taylor remembered that night well.They’d been ravenous for one another and had mated all night long after the celebration had dispersed.
She might only be a month along, but another thing she’d learned was that Luxirian females had only gestated their young for three months.Kate, Vaxa’an’s mate, who had fallen pregnant first, had had their child a little after three months.All the healers suspected that Luxirian genes were dominant over human ones, which accounted for the quick pregnancy.
“It hardly seems real that in a couple months, we will have a baby in this house,” she murmured.
“Eventually this dwelling will be filled with offspring,” he rumbled.
Taylor laughed.“We’ll cross that bridge when we get to it, buddy.”
But she couldn’t help but smile as she pictured little Vikans running around, with budding horns and gray eyes.
Finally, Vikan rose and undressed himself, before leading both of them into the bath, carefully helping her step down to where it was deepest.If she’d thought Vikan was protective and worried about her before, it was even worse now that she was pregnant.
Taylor would be lying if she said she didn’t like it, however.He loved her.He only wanted to make sure she was safe and healthy and happy.So Taylor could deal with it if he fretted over her a little more than usual.
She sighed, feeling the hot water seep into her tired limbs, relaxing the muscles and knots that came from the stress of planning the celebration that night.She wrapped her arms around her male’s neck, letting him support them both in the deep water, before pressing her always-sensitive breasts against him.Slowly, she tugged his head down and moaned softly as his lips found her own, giving her a kiss that made her smile but one that also sent hot shivers racing down her spine.
