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 of Lopixa.
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 to Lopixa, 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 they hadn’t had 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, the kirvax, as he called them, were naturally heated from below the mountain, like a hot spring that continually filtered the water. There, in Lopixa however, they’d emulated the kirvax with 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 of Lopixa, 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.
Soon, like always, that soft kiss became something more and it was a long time before they emerged from their washroom, flushed and clean and sated.
And as Taylor fell asleep in Vikan’s arms later that night, tucked securely into his side, in their luxurious bed of furs and cushions, she listened to the sound of his deep breaths, to the gentle hissing of the ocean waves beneath them and placed her hands over Vikan’s, which were resting protectively over her growing belly.
She felt his love for her through their blood bond, even though he was already asleep, and Taylor smiled, knowing he would find her that night in their dreams.
Her eyelids grew heavy and soon, she fell asleep to wait for him.
* * *
Taylor’s eyes drifted open slowly, that feeling of love and calmness crossing beyond the boundary of the dream with her, back to reality in their little cave, somewhere close to Lopixa. Her lips parted and for a moment, she swore she felt the heavy touch of the blood bond in her mind, just the way she remembered it from the dream.
But soon, it faded. Her vision, however, did not and her hands skimmed down her naked body, grazing over Vikan’s heavy arm, which was slung over her hips, until she touched her stomach.
A child.
Vikan’s child.
She’d been pregnant in her vision.
Taylor bit her bottom lip hard, a thousand emotions hitting her at once. The logical part of her brain said that it might have just been a dream, nothing more, that she shouldn’t get her hopes up.
Because the truth was that she’d always wanted children, had always seen a family in her future, but had lost some hope over the years of her ever making that dream a reality.
And now…she’d just been hit with everything she’d wanted most in life. A caring, protective partner, a child—and the possibility of many more—in their future, safety, security…love.
Happiness. Intense happiness, the kind she never thought was possible. The fairytale kind.
The logical part of her brain said it was too good to be true, that the amazing sex last night was just messing with her mind.
But…what if it is true? she thought. What if everything was true? The visions, the Fates, the blood bond, the pregnancy? What if choosing to stay on Luxiria, to build a life with Vikan, would be the best decision she would ever make?
She was so confused. All of her adult life Taylor had been proud that she was the type of person who knew exactly what she wanted. And here she was…confused about the most important decision that would change the course of her life forever, and she couldn’t pull the trigger.
Taking a deep breath, she turned slowly in Vikan’s arms so that she was facing him, side-by-side. Her body ached in protest, muscles twinging that she never even knew existed. The cave floor wasn’t the most comfortable thing to sleep on, but she had a feeling that she’d sleep on a cactus plant if it meant being next to Vikan.
Beyond the soreness, she felt amazing. All because of him.
Surprisingly, her Luxirian warrior was still sleeping but she supposed that the amount of energy he’d exerted last night during their marathon of sex had exhausted him. Every so often, she saw his eyes flicker behind his lids. The suns were still low in the horizon that early in the morning, so most of his skin still appeared a soft gray, just like his eyes, and flashed golden whenever the firelight hit him just right.
Beautiful, she thought, her eyes flickering over the masculine, strong lines of his face. If she closed her eyes, she could still see him, so perfectly that she could draw a portrait of him.
And it suddenly hit her, out of nowhere. The answer was clear.
Taylor couldn’t say goodbye to him.
She drew in a deep breath before exhaling softly, relief making her sore muscles relax.
Perhaps it was reckless. Perhaps it was unlike her, to make such a spontaneous decision after knowing Vikan for less than three weeks, ever since he’d rescued her from the Pit.
But she also knew that despite her fears, she trusted her judgment. She trusted her intuition and everything told her that the dreams that had been plaguing her since she first saw Vikan were visions. Visions of their future together. Not just a possible future, but the future. The only one.
And in that future, they were happy.
And that was all Taylor had ever wanted. She’d already begun falling in love with Vikan. From her visions, she knew that love only multiplied and grew to astonishing heights and she simply couldn’t imagine just throwing that away.
She wanted to stay with him. Forever.
Taylor smiled, reaching out to touch her mate, trailing her fingers over the sculpted lines of his chest.
Now, if only he would wake up so that she could tell him.