“You’re cute when you ramble,” I laughed. “And I know how dicks work. I’ve had one forever.”
“I know that.. I just…”
“Are you nervous?” I asked.
“I guess that’s what you call it,” Vallis nodded, his eyes wide with realization that after everything something could still make him nervous.
“Hey, it’s okay to be nervous. We don’t have to do anything and if we do and I touch you and the fat bear sings, well, grats to me. You must really like me if it happens that quickly.”
“Is that what the other guys told you?” he laughed, some of the tension leaving his shoulders.
“No,” I shook my head. “But it’s how I think about it. I mean, dicks have a mind of their own when it comes to orgasms. Nerve endings need practice to last longer but lucky for you, I love to practice. Hell, I’ll even watch you practice.”
“Uhh… I might need some time before that,” he said.
“We have time. That’s one thing we finally have,” I leaned in and kissed him slowly.
CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE
Vallis
Nightshade Bear Territory
I didn’t need to worry so much about Lero getting inside his head about how quickly his touch brought me over the edge. Sure, it only took a few minutes the first time but the good thing about how long it’d been since I’d been touched was that it didn’t take long for my dick to be hard again. Maybe that was from sucking on him because as soon as I came, I was ravenous for him. I stripped away his pants and buried my face against his dick, breathing in his scent. I licked and kissed up and down his shaft, worshipping my mate as his breaths grew heavy with pleasure. I reveled in every little sound that my mouth coaxed from his and as soon as he came he was tugging me back up to the top of the bed for a long, slow kiss.
“Hey! Pregnant mate of mine! Don’t tug on me!” I laughed, but real worry tinged my thoughts.
“I could carry your ass through a blizzard and all three of us would turn out fine,” Lero laughed and kissed me again. Then his hand wrapped around my dick, and I had to take him at hisword because I was too tongue-tied to argue with him about it. This time the pleasure was deeper and moved in tighter spirals, but it didn’t overwhelm me. Lero went slow in his strokes and squeezed just the right amount. I let him consume my thoughts. After two weeks in the hospital, it was nice to think about him and nothing else. We kissed hard while he played with my dick, coaxing another orgasm out of me. I roared this time, the sound rattling my own brain as warm, sticky streams covered his fist. We definitely needed a shower before the going away party.
We lingered under the hot water, washing each other. We left the shower door open because though his shower was made to fit several people, the confinement of it was too much. He’d left it open without my asking and I silently wondered if he felt my newfound claustrophobia too. I hoped he didn’t.
The whole village was headed to the square at the same time as us. Walking hand in hand with Lero it felt as if this had always been my real life. I wasn’t sure how things were unfolding on my home world but I couldn’t go back. Hopefully, without Pami, they’d carry on peacefully as always. Plus, I was sure I’d run into Nashen eventually. He always ventured out for books. Hopefully he didn’t blame his sister’s death on me. I shook the thought away as we reached the picnic tables. I wasn’t sure where to go, but Lero led the way to where his grandparents, Mori, and Preston already sat. Wess sat next to his mate holding both of their babies while Baby Andy dipped his hand into a cup of what looked like apple juice before shoving it into his mouth.
“Broug would’ve loved this place,”my bear rambled off into my thoughts, and I froze for a second. I thought I had worked through all my grief while I was underground but that was the thing about grief. It lived in your cells and replicated itself with each and every divide.
“Still good?”Lero asked, giving my hand a reassuring squeeze.“We can still go home. No one would blame you. I’ll snag us some more of the goody bags too.”
“Yes, to the bags. No to going home. If I start hiding away now, I might never come out. Besides, everyone is looking at us.”
“That’s because we’re a good-looking couple,”Lero teased.“They’re in awe.”
“And they’re not allowed to tease us like they’d tease a lot of new couples because of what happened. That and because of you, Sharon Claudis croaked,”Lero’s bear cut into the conversation.
I let out a long, slow breath and followed Lero to the table where his family had gathered. Ivan flashed me a knowing look. I almost asked how long it took to feel normal, but I knew better. Normal was over. The coffin and Broug’s death would be a dividing line between before and after. Whatever happened now, I had to find a new normal. Lero squeezed my hand as he sat down at the picnic table. I glanced around the gathering. Some other pregnant shifters sat in lawn chairs to avoid bumping their pregnant bellies on the table itself from the proximity of the benches to the tables.
Food was everywhere. From the looks of it, whoever cooked had been doing it for weeks because each table was filled to the brim. Lero dug right into the food but for a moment I was frozen again. How many days had it been since I was locked underground? I shook my head. That math wasn’t going to help me. Lero held up a fork with a bite of baked potato on it and I took it before starting to fill my own plate. Broug might never seethe Nightshade Bear Territory but at least he was safe from Pami now.
My heart skipped a beat. Maybe he wasn’t safe at all. Maybe she was tormenting him in the afterlife since she too was dead. My heart pounded against my ribs and Lero and Ivan reached out for me at the same time.
“That’s not how the afterlife works,” Xenos announced, either picking up my thoughts from Lero or over the group link. “There are rumors that some victims get their revenge after death but I assure you, whatever waited for Pami through her door, it wasnotBroug waiting to be hurt by her again. I don’t know how or who works this stuff out in the in-between because true-mates aren’t supposed to be able to do what she did. It should’ve hurt her too much.”
“Sorry,” I shook my head. “We have lots of time to talk about this later and Mori is about to leave and….”
“Does it help to talk about it?” Mori asked, meeting my gaze from across the table.
“I don’t know,” I admitted and Lero squeezed my knee.
“That’s okay. Not knowing is the best place to be,” Ivan chimed in. “If you don’t know that means you have lots of possibilities. Do you want to have a memorial for Broug?”
