Zander gave him a nod and took his place in line as the person who would dump the water inside.
We all worked together as one community passing buckets down the line all the way from the river to the village. It wasn’t much longer until the tub was full, and Zander gave the signal to stop bringing up the water.
Everyone cheered. We’d worked together as a community to get this done for one of our own. I only hoped that it would provide Kayla the relief she needed. Sozu was on standby to lend her his healing strength in case her weak heart needed it.
After Drovo gave the water level one final inspection he called Zander forward. The fire shifter turned his right hand into a fist made of flames and dipped it into the water until it started to boil. He kept it there for about ten minutes to make sure all the harmful bacteria in the water had died.
Almost everyone had gone back to their normal activities, but I kept my feet planted as I watched Zander work. He stayed with Drovo until the water had cooled to a safe temperature for Kayla. Then the dryad shifter escorted his mate to the tub. Kayla was wearing a thin robe which swayed in the water as she got in. Drovo kept her steady as she sat down in front of him, and he pulled her to his chest so she could rest against him as the warm water soothed her aching body.
Zander left as soon as she was settled and closed the door behind him.
“Good luck my friend,” I whispered to no one but myself. I was happy she had her luminescence mate by her side. The little one growing inside me was a welcome gift, but I had to admit the idea of giving birth all alone besides the midwives Drondia and Neelu, was scary.
Zander gave me a respectful nod as he walked past me like a man on a mission. His commanding presence reminded me of the kiss we shared on the beach. It had been electric and all consuming. I had wanted him more than I’d wanted anyone in my entire life.
I had built up so many walls to protect myself, but Zander was making me question if I really needed to be so rigid in my desire to face the world alone. Throughout my entire life, the only person I could truly depend on was me. But as I thoughtabout how Zander was taking care of me despite all my protests, I could feel small cracks forming in the walls I once thought were ironclad.
Maybe things would be different with him. Maybe two people could fall in love and truly depend on each other without luminescence after all. I wouldn’t let my guard down yet. That would be foolish, especially considering that I had a little one depending on me now. But I think I’ll at least give Zander a chance. He, like so many others, might disappoint me in the end, but I wanted to see where this would go. I would rather be disappointed than always wonder what could have been.
I was still standing in the middle of the village path when my stomach started to growl. It was a harsh reminder that it was time to eat. A let out an annoyed moan. For the past week, I’d try to eat whatever Orsu and Julie made, and I’d inevitably smell something I didn’t like and run the other way trying not to vomit.
I was just about to head that way, when the door to Zander’s cabin swung open. The fire shifter walked out of his house with a flat bowl in his hands. As he approached I could see that the bowl had been filled with pancakes and bacon.
I couldn’t stop the smile that spread across my face. He’d told me he would cook me this dish for every meal and here he was staying true to his word.
“You’re lunch buffet will have to wait until dinner,” he sounded so dejected that he couldn’t produce his promised buffet lunch on time.
“That’s alright, you were busy,” I teased.
That seemed to cheer him up, and a small smile tugged at the corner of his mouth.
“You can eat this for now, and come to my house for dinner.”
Again, his commanding tone made a sensual shiver run down my spine. It might be the hormones but I wanted to kiss himall over again. No, it was more than that. I want to know what noises he made in bed. Would his mouth go slack as I stroked his cock? Would he let out a choked cry as I toyed with the base of his tail?
Zander’s nostrils flared, and he let out a moan.
“You may eat this where ever you please. I will see you for dinner tonight.” He placed the bowl in my hands, then strode back into his house with a rather large bulge in his pants.
It was easy to forget that these guys could smell arousal. I needed to be more careful about that. I wanted to take things slow with Zander, and by the way he just ran off, it looks like he might want the same thing.
I took my bowl of food and headed toward the dining hall. I was looking forward to finally sharing a meal with my friends with food that wouldn’t turn my stomach.
Chapter 11
Zander
After I handed Fatima her lunch, I rushed back to the privacy of my home. I didn’t know what caused her arousal, but I could smell the thick sweet scent in the air. My shaft immediately grew hard and the need for release quickly overwhelmed me.
I untied the fastenings on my pants as soon as I closed the door. Then freed my aching cock. I leaned against the hearth as I stroked my cock thinking only of Fatima. Her lips pressed against mine, her soft tan skin, her shiny black hair, the way she laughed when she found something truly funny, and the way she smelled so sweet just now.
It did not take me long to find my release, and soon I was grunting her name as my seed spilled into the fire. I leaned against the hearth as my labored breathing finally began to slow and stayed there until I could think clearly again.
I shook my head trying to clear out the last of the lustful thoughts from my mind and got to work. I’d promised a meal with many dishes for Fatima, and I would keep my word. I’dalready gathered supplies from Orsu and the storehouse where we kept our extra food supplies.
My plan was to make her multiple dishes with fatty or sweeten meats along with fruit jams, bread, vegetables and more. She would need a range of foods in order to keep up her strength throughout her pregnancy, and I would make sure she would have the variety she needed.
She liked the sweetened flat bread that the human’s called pancakes, so I played around with adding meat and vegetables into dessert-like dishes. My proudest creation was a nut-filled dough that I drenched in a floral sweet nector. I could only hope that Fatima would like it as much as I did.
