Page 73 of The Pregnancy Pact

“A what?”

I’d never heard the strange human term.

She chuckled. “Back in the day, a long, long time ago, people traditionally didn’t sleep together until after they were married. Then they’d go on a trip right after the wedding, a honeymoon, where they’d spend all their time having sex and getting to know each other. It’s supposed to be the most amazing, blissful experience.”

“You did not have that with your first husband?”

“Oh, gosh. No,” she sighed. “Like most couples, we were having sex before we ever got married. Even if we hadn’t been, I don’t think the honeymoon stage would’ve happened for us. We just…never were that wild about each other, I guess.”

“My parents arranged my union with Druea,” I admitted. As I lay there, I pictured her face in my mind. She had not been my mate. That was not her fault. I should have treated her better. She’d deserved far better. “Her parents were in agreement with the arrangement my parents offered, so, we were married.”

“Oh. I guess I didn’t realize arranged marriages still happened.”

“Still?”

“They’re not very common on Earth anymore,” she chuckled. “Or, I guess they were. Just not in my part of the world.”

Something else was not common, either. A mate. A mate bond across species. My son had found it. Now I had found it. And I did not intend to let it go. I finally, fully understood why Caide had turned down everything to remain on Earth with his human wife. Why he’d been willing to fight or even kill to protect her. Like Caide, I would do anything for my human female. Anything.

Even as my mind wandered, she drew me back to other issues, saying quietly, “Ellax? As incredible as this is, we still have work to do.”

“Allow me a minute to rest,” I quipped, “and I will work for you all over again.”

“Not that,” she giggled. She pushed away from me, sitting up in bed. Instantly, my body missed her warmth, the feel of her flesh against mine. My eyes, however, devoured her breasts, her hips, her belly. Everything I could see above the blankets.

“I was referring to the proposal, Ellax. The one you’re supposed to submit soon. The one you asked for my help with?”

“Ah, yes.”

I draped my forearm over my eyes, shutting out the light, the impending reality of what we faced. For a time, it had been so easy, so pleasant, to focus on my wife and my strengthening feelings for her, shutting out the duty I had to fulfill as a Lead Advisor. However, Lorelai was right. We had work to do. I removed my arm, swiping back the blankets.

“I’ll fetch a screenpad and stylus,” I said, “so we can begin.”

“Wait. Ellax.” She caught my arm, preventing me from rising. I half-turned, marveling at how beautifully her pale human skin contrasted with the deep silver of my own. At how delicate her fingers looked on my flesh, not to mention the incredible satisfaction they’d brought me earlier.

Stars.

I had to force my memory from that. A few moments had passed, and my body was signaling its willingness to work for her again, as I’d offered. That could wait. The proposal really could not.

“What is it?” I asked, fixing my gaze on her face rather than her body, attempting to keep my thoughts in line.

“I, um…” She appeared slightly nervous as she used her free hand to swipe her mussed hair behind her shoulders. “Now that we’ve had sex, the possibility is there, of course, that I could be pregnant and give you your heir. But, at the same time, I’m half afraid. I…”

She swallowed, staring down at the blankets.

“I know this is a bad time to be bringing anything else up. Still, what if I can’t get pregnant again? I’m almost forty. What if I don’t? Would you…” She stopped, shaking her head sharply. “Never mind. I’m chasing rabbit trails. Never mind.”

Rabbit trails? I was unfamiliar with the term, but I knew rabbits were an extinct mammal species on Earth, similar to our own wild hares on Asterion. They were often hunted for sport, due to their sly, wily nature. I could hazard a fair guess at what she meant.

“Do you fear I will forsake you for another female if you don’t become pregnant?”

“I wasn’t, really, until now,” she admitted. Her hand slipped from my hand, to my thigh, her fingers resting on my leg. “I didn’t think sex would change my feelings, but I feel…this sounds silly. It’s probably just the honeymoon phase. I feel this connection with you, a connection so strong that I’m terrified of losing it.”

“You will never lose it,” I assured her. Despite loving the sensation of her hand on my skin, I picked up her fingers, bringing them to my mouth to kiss them one by one. Her eyes lifted to mine and I held them there by force of will and my own stare, willing her to truly hear me.

“You will never lose it,” I said. “You are my mate.”

“Your mate?” She wrinkled her nose. “As in, I’m the one you’re breeding? Mating with? Or your mate as in, I’m your soul mate?”

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