Butting In (7 page)

Gera was limp, sweaty, exhausted, and she wanted to run a marathon.

Riox pulled out of her and turned her in his arms, holding her against his chest. “I have never felt that before.”

She was too tired to raise her head. “What?”

“That I could be with you and a moment later want you again.”

Her vantage point let her know that he wasn’t kidding. His erection was back again.

She chuckled and stroked his chest and ribs with one hand, enjoying the play of muscle under skin. “It will pass. When I am pregnant, it will pass.”

He blinked. “This happens a lot?”

“Beasts mate when they are in season. They send the signal out that they are receptive. When the males get the signal, they come running. When the females are out of heat or pregnant, the males go about their business.”

He stroked a hand down her back. “You are in heat?”

“I am pretty sure. It is kind of obvious when you are a shifter. Your whole body changes, and your beast gets really aggressive.”

He chuckled. “How so?”

“If I acted on every time I wanted to crawl over you and feel you inside me, we would not get out of bed very often.”

“I can deal with that. How many children would you like?”

Gera paused. “I haven’t really thought about it. I guess it depends on how much space we have. I had to share a room with one of my sisters, and it sucked.”

He chuckled. “That will not be a problem.”

“I don’t know, maybe six? It is a lot, but I think we could manage.”

He kissed the top of her head. “I will hold you to that, provided that everything goes well for the first. If not, we will renegotiate.”

“I can’t believe that I am with a fey, and you of all people.”

He stiffened. “Why me of all people?”

“Well, I have already seen you naked, and it didn’t exactly rock my world. I suppose that time changes everything.” She bit his chest lightly.

He quivered a little as he laughed. “Fair point.”

She sighed and relaxed against him. “Do we have to go out tonight?”

“We don’t. I think Drak will have to practice making arrangements for a balance ceremony. Does tomorrow work for you? We will have a lot of things to arrange in the human world when we get back, so no point in delaying.”

She snickered. “Of course. Right. Well, my sister’s wedding will come in two weeks. Will you be my date to the wedding?”

He laughed. “Of course.”

She snuggled against him.
This could work. Maybe.

Drak fussed with her gown for the balance ceremony. “Too bad Riox can’t do this. He is so much better at this than I am.”

Drak held up a sketch and looked at the dress before he nodded. “Done. You look amazing, sister.”

Gera blinked. “I hadn’t thought of that. I always wanted a brother.”

She lunged forward and hugged him, her crystalline gown moving in the light breezes.

Drak hugged her out of reflex before he made a genuine effort. “Welcome to the family, little one.”

She smiled. “Okay, now, let’s go and make this official.”

He offered his arm, and she took it, placing her hand gently on top of his for the walk to the Meditation Centre for the ceremony.

She was beyond butterflies. Condors were whipping around in her abdomen. Gera entered the space, and several folks stopped to stare at her as she made her way to the platform.

Riox was opposite her, and she stared at him while the mage went through the motions and their power was drained from them, combined, divided and returned to them.

Gera didn’t feel any change, but the looks of those around her told a different story.

Riox was dealing with the horns. His were sprouting, and he was fighting them.

Gera ran over to him and pulled his head to hers, kissing him softly. “It is all right. He is part of you now. Just let him know that you know he is there.”

Riox nodded, and the horns receded.

He smiled at her. “Your ears are pointed.”

She chuckled. “I guessed as much.”

“And you have gained the ancient markings. They look lovely.”

“Wait, what?” She lifted up her arm, and there it was. Energy under the skin was radiating in constantly shifting patterns. She was a fascinator. “This is going to be hard to explain to my family.”

“My family will love it. Drak is already keen. Our great-great grandmother was a fascinator. There hasn’t been one seen in nine hundred years.”

Gera looked around, and Drak’s face was shining with pride and excitement.

The men in the gathering were all staring at her, so Gera moved in close to Riox. “How do I turn it off?”

“Accept that it is part of you, and go from there.”

She closed her eyes and found a coil of power that hadn’t been there before. She welcomed it, embraced it, and asked it to be quiet.

She opened her eyes, and the glow was much more subdued. It was a start.

Next, they had to be congratulated by the organisers and guests of the Crossroads who wondered what was in store for them.

Drak had prepared their luggage, so they were ready to be sent to Riox’s home. Teal and Tony had them sign mating contracts, and when everything was finalized, Riox wrapped her in his arms, and light flared around them.

When the light faded, they were home.

Gera sat up using Riox as a chair while he went through the different businesses that he owned, including a magazine and a photography studio.

“Why did you collect all these places?”

He shrugged. “They seemed like good investments, and then, I began to enjoy them. It was a fun process of acquisition.”

“I see. So, when were you going to tell me that you were also one of your own clothing designers for the design house?” She turned and looked at him with serious eyes.

His cheeks darkened. “It isn’t something I mention to strangers, and when we weren’t strangers, I didn’t think to tell you.”

She laughed. “It explains your serious interest in my clothing choices.”

He snorted. “It almost physically hurts me to see women in ill-fitting clothing or clothing that doesn’t flatter them.”

“You are one strange dude.”

He kissed her. “You love me anyway.”

“I do. It comes and goes though.” She laughed as he turned her around and nibbled his way down her spine.

He had found the spot on her lower back that drove her insane, and three minutes later, she was explaining how much she loved him and that she would do so as long as they lived, as long as he either left that spot alone or got inside her.

It wasn’t the worst way to spend her second night in her new home.

Keeping her new subdermal energy tattoos from glowing was the first order of business. Getting through the reception without telling Riox that she was pregnant was the second.

The blue-green bridesmaid gowns would have made her look sickly if she had her original skin, but now, she glowed with ethereal power, and her sister Lily was a little ticked.

Gera had to do her own hair to hide her new ears, so it was slightly different from that of the other bridesmaids. Not a whisper of hairspray was necessary.

This was Gera’s sixth time being a bridesmaid, and she was standing next to her other—some pregnant—sisters. It was a Williams’ joke that the wedding party had been built in.

Gera watched her sister solemnize her vows, and she smiled happily. Now, for the photos and then the reception. Only a few hours until she was back to Riox and explaining that they were expecting.

The photos were awkward, but they were out in the sun and her marks were harder to see.

Riox remained nearby, and he kept his focus on her the entire time she was holding her sister’s train and standing with the other sisters in a faked spontaneous moment.

The female guests were fawning over him, but he wasn’t paying attention. It was nice to look toward him and know that she was enough for his needs.

He said the same thing to her on several occasions.

The reception went by with only the regulation amount of hitches. When dinner was done and the dancing began, Riox dismissed the groomsman that she was supposed to be partnered with, and he took her into his arms.

“So, when were you going to tell me?” He whispered it as he leaned toward her.

“Tell you what?”

“You are pregnant.”

She wrinkled her nose and looked around to see if anyone had heard. “How do you know?”

“My beast knows. You were right. The chemical signatures are undeniable.”

Gera sighed. “I wanted to wait until my sister’s wedding was over. Today is her day.”

“Of course. Well, I am waiting for you to tell me immediately after the reception.” He smiled, and they moved gracefully around the dance floor.

“I will. I promise. Is the declaration clothing optional?”

He laughed. “Of course.”

“Do you think this might improve your mother’s opinion of me?”

“There is nowhere to go but up. My father is fine with you.” He was smiling down at her.

“I know. Ah, well. Our child will have one set of fanatically loving grandparents and plenty of cousins. Your mom can blow me.”

He snorted through his nose. “That is a startling mental image. I am sure that things will be fine. If you had shown her the fascinator markings, she would have reacted better, but she sees you as someone trying to steal the immortality of her son and corrupting the other.”

“I know. I am sure that things will get better eventually.”

Riox laughed. “That is the optimist I know and love.”

She fought the urge to stomp on his very nimble feet.

Little baby Rylin was adorable and had her father’s eyes. The fascinator markings wouldn’t develop until puberty, if at all, so she was just a wee baby elf.

Gera sat up in bed and held her little one, talking to her softly. The door downstairs opened and closed, so Gera grinned. “Grandma and Grandpa are here.”

Being at home, Gera let her markings glow bright. Her parents had seen them before.

The grandparents that walked in were not the ones that Gera had been expecting.

Gera tensed, and Rylin started fussing. “Hello, Dreama. Hello, Torix.”

Dreama stepped forward and paused, taking in the glowing glyphs on Gera’s skin. “Is it a girl?”

“She is. Her name is Rylin.”

Torix came forward, and he asked, “May we hold her?”

“Of course.” Gera handed her daughter over and smiled as she was handled with expert care.

Dreama looked at the marks. “When did those emerge?”

“On the day of the balance ceremony. If I am out in public, I keep them dampened.”

“So, you had them the last time we met?”

Gera looked at Riox, watching from the doorway. “Yes, I did.”

Dreama cleared her throat. “I apologize.”

“Accepted. Now, pry the baby from Torix. She needs to meet the grandma who will outlive her mommy.”

Dreama winced. “I didn’t mean to say that you will have a short life.”

“I won’t have a short life. I will have an exponentially expanded life, but it isn’t endless. Even the fey grow weary of the weight of time now and then. I just know that while I may watch more generations born, I will never see them all. It is the burden of the parent. The children restart the clock and you are left behind.”

Dreama carefully took the baby, and she smiled. “She is beautiful.”

“I would have to agree, but I am biased. She will have magic, and she will have a beast. What she does with either one of those is up to her.” Gera smiled.

Torix chuckled. “You gave her a warrior’s name.”

Riox came in and sat next to Gera on the bed, taking her hand. “You should have seen her fighting inside Gera’s belly. I was afraid she would punch through. She is a warrior, just like her mother.” He lifted her hand to his lips and smiled.

The Williams came into the room, and soon, all the grandparents were taking turns with the newest addition to the family.

Riox held her close and whispered, “When can we start on her next sibling?”

“Give me a few weeks and we can start trying. I want to spend time with her first. They are only this small once.”

“Fair enough.” He kissed her temple, and they watched their little one carefully.

When Rylin demanded food, Dreama brought her over, and Gera attached her to her breast, wincing as the little one got a grip.

It was a weird family moment, with everyone watching the baby feed, but then, Gera had accepted that she didn’t have a normal family. Weird was where things were comfortable.

Viola Grace (aka Zenina Masters) is a Canadian sci-fi/paranormal romance writer with ambitions to keep writing for the rest of her life. She specializes in short stories because the thrill of discovery, of all those firsts, is what keeps her writing.

An artist who enjoys a story that catches you up, whirls you around and sets you down with a smile on your face is all she endeavours to be. She prefers to leave the drama to those who are better suited to it, she always goes for the cheap laugh.