“Why are you thanking me?”
“For the pleasure of tasting you twice in one night, and hearing you moan my name.”
I grinned up at him and ran my fingers through his hair. “You’re perfect. There’s no one I’d rather be with than you.”
He captured my hand in his and kissed it gently. “You’re perfect.”
The way he looked at me, made me feel as perfect as he proclaimed I was, and that was an amazing feeling.
“Let’s sleep. We’ve got more traveling ahead of us tomorrow.” Axon said as he brushed some hair off my forehead.
“Okay.”
I cleaned myself off and joined Axon in the furs. He held me close and I fell asleep to the sound of his strong heart beating softly in my ear.
Chapter 28
Axon
The morning sun poured in through the cave entrance and I wanted to keep my eyes shut and pretend it wasn’t the next day, not yet. Our mating was still so new, so fresh that holding her didn’t feel real. I knew it was. I could feel her pressed against me, and scent her sweetness in the air. But I had to wonder if there would ever come a day where waking up next to her would feel like reality instead of a dream.
My mate stretched and yawned beside me and I held her even tighter. The blow to my heart felt a little easier to bear in the morning light. I had wanted to mate with Ashley so badly. I had wished beyond all hope, that my body could handle it, but it was just too much.
Why would luminescence ever choose me for her? Almost every first luminescence brought about a pregnancy for the new couple. Would Ashley and I be able to have sietlings of our own if I couldn’t mate with her?
I pushed those thoughts aside. It was a short few days ago that I didn’t even think I’d be able to handle her touch, and now look at us, fully cuddled uptogether on the furs. If we could figure this out, then surely we’d figure out how to have children as well. That was, if she wanted to have children.
I could easily picture her heavy with my sietling like Gab-bae was heavy with Tarak’s child now. Her time to birth their sietling was drawing near. I wouldn’t be surprised if she birthed the newest member of our dekes by the time Ashley and I got back.
“What are you thinking about?” Ashley asked as she ran her fingers through my hair.
“I was wondering...” I let my words hang in the air for a moment, unsure if this topic would upset Ashley or bring her joy.
“Yeah?”
“I was wondering if you’d like to have a sietling with me one day.”
I shifted my position in the furs so we were facing each other. Ashley looked surprised by my question but not displeased.
Her face relaxed into a grin. “Yes, I’d like that very much.”
I was so happy with her answer that I’d momentarily forgotten to breathe. Ashley’s touch on my cheek drew me back into reality.
As she trailed a single finger up one horn then down the other she admitted, “I’ve thought about what our child would look like a few times,” she admitted. “I think they’d have your horns, and my hair, your ears, and my nose. They’d probably have acute little tail too.”
I could vividly picture our sietling as Ashley described them. I wanted that future for us, I wanted it so much that it hurt. We'll figure it out. One day, we’d have a penetrative mating that will result in a child, our child.
“Speaking of children, Neelu said if you guys want to prevent pregnancy, the males will chew some barra root everyday. Do you do that?”
I nervously ran a hand through my hair. “No, I’ve never done that. I doubt any of us hunters have.”
“Why not?”
“Well, until five moons ago, we didn’t think we’d have mates, so it seemed unnecessary, and until a few days ago, I didn’t think I’d be able to hold you, let alone mate with you.”
“Oh, that makes sense,” she nodded.
“Do you want me to start chewing some barra root everyday?” It seemed redundant since my body couldn’t handle mating with her yet, but I’d gladly do it if she wanted me to.
