Page 15 of When She Wishes

I want to shake him even harder, because this keeps getting worse the more I speak. "I don't want that. I don't need a wallet, Bodhrri. I need a friend. A partner. I can raise these babies alone. It won't be easy or fun, but I know I can do it. What I want is someone to complain with when the days are hard. I want someone that reminds me to eat when I forget. I want someone that listens to my day and sympathizes at the bad parts, and I want to do all this for someone else, too. I want someone I can curl up with, and someone that will shoulder some of the burden. I want a partner." I shake him again, just for good measure. "I want a lover. More than anything, I just want you. Not because you're the dad or because you're a good farmer, but because you make me smile and laugh, and I feel so seen and loved and taken care of when I'm with you. I might be holding myself together, but I know that when I'm with you, it's okay to fall apart a little, and I hope you feel the same. I hope that if you're having an off day, you come to me because you love me and want to share your burden. I hope if your lungs bother you that you let me take care of you. I hope you share your joys with me because you care for me, and not because you feel you have to."

He stares down at me in surprise.

"So. That's why I'm asking you to marry me." I release his tunic and clear my throat. I smooth my hand down his now-wrinkled front. "Sorry if I didn't explain it better."

"That...was beautiful, Payton." He cups my face in his big hands, his thumbs stroking my cheeks. "Do you truly feel that way?"

"I do. I didn't realize I was lonely until you arrived and made me realize what I'd been missing." I lean against him, holdingone of his hands to my face. "Like I said, I'd be fine without you. I'd manage. But when I'm with you, everything's brighter and better, and that's the world I want."

Bodhrri doesn't kiss me or smile back. His triangular ears flick and he sighs. "You do not realize what you are asking. I am an honorless praxiian who has been removed from his family's house. I have served no military service. I have no wealth and no good name. I bring nothing to a mate."

"Funny, I don't recall wishing for any of that stuff when I wished on a star," I joke.

His eyes light up. "What did you wish for that night?"

"I honestly don't remember," I say, and I hate that his expression falls. "But I'll go outside right now and wait to find another shooting star if that's what'll convince you. I'm happy with you, Bodhrri. I'm falling in love with you. When I think about the next fifty or a hundred years of life, I see myself with you, and I love the idea. I'm not terrified or lonely at the thought of spending the rest of my life here on a strange planet because you're here. I want to make this thing real between us. Not because you're the father of my babies, but because I adore you."

He studies my face, and his whiskers twitch. Bodhrri leans in and presses a chaste kiss to my mouth. "Then let's do it."

"Really?"

"Yes, but not tonight. Tonight, the stars are beautiful and I want to share them with you."

My heart swells. "I think that sounds lovely."

Holding hands, we head outside. Around the back of the house, near one of the fenced-in fields, Bodhrri has set up a charming nest for us. Blankets are spread out on the thick grass and every single pillow I own must be out here, because he knows I have difficulty laying down flat with my ungainly stomach. There's a tray next to the blankets, and it's got snacksand drinks on it. I'm less interested in that, though. I'm wanting the man at my side.

"Help me down?" I ask him as we approach our cozy nest.

Bodhrri kneels on the blankets and helps me get down next to him and then spends the next ten minutes adjusting and fluffing pillows around me (and under me) until he's certain I'm comfortable. Then he curls up next to me, our heads together, and we stare up at the twilight sky. "Hmm. You said the stars were beautiful," I tease, "but I only see a few out so far."

"They were beautiful last night. They will be again tonight. Patience."

"I wonder if there's anything we can do while we're waiting for the sky to grow darker," I muse, and take his hand. I pull it to my lips and nibble on his fingertip.

A low purr drifts through the air. "What did you have in mind?"

"You. Me. This blanket. Lots of pillows. Sex."

He groans. "Yes?"

"Oh, yes."

"It won't harm the children?"

"Not in the slightest. We'll probably have to limit our positions because of my belly, but I'm willing to get creative if you are. What do you think?"

His answer is his hungry mouth on mine.

I fall against him, leaning into his kiss. Every time his mouth brushes mine somehow feels better than the last, and I'm excited to think that we can share these kisses for the rest of our lives. To think that I get to nibble on his mouth and hear his gasps of pleasure, that he'll slide his tongue alongside mine and we'll both be overcome. I curl my fingers into the thick, bushy mane on his head and lose myself in his touch, because I'm safe here. I know that in Bodhrri's arms there'll be pleasure and security and affection and nothing else.

"My beautiful mate," he murmurs between kisses. "To think that I am worthy of such a gift. It feels like a dream."

I slide my hand down his front, heading for his cock. "You make it sound like I'm a prize. I'm older than you. I'm pregnant. Most men would run screaming the other way."

"Then I am very glad I am not most men."

God, so am I. I run my fingers over the thick outline of his cock, rubbing him through his clothing. "Most men aren't built like this, either."

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