Page 76 of Fire Forged

He put his utensils down and held her gaze.“Dates, a wedding with your father walking you down the aisle, our first house, and falling pregnant.”He savored his juice to buy him time to find the words.“We can date every night for the rest of our lives.I would like that.”

She chuckled.“That’s just dinner.”

He ignored her.“You have two new fathers.Though they can never replace your love for your human father, I have no doubt both would be honored to step in for that day.Our house is being built in preparation for our arrival.I am sorry.”

“It’s still our first home, Nerx,” she said, sipping from her soda.

“As to falling pregnant, I am working on it,” he said, running a gaze over her tunic.Images of what lay beneath that fabric hardened him.“Perhapswecan work on that soon?”

“Sure,” she said, her gaze hooded as she smiled at him.“How did the chat with your king go?”

“Well.”He took up his knife and fork and cut into his steak, swirling the piece in the sauce for good measure.

“Is that so,Ambassador?”She arched a brow.

“I resigned as supreme commander.”

“Oh, and you were going to tell me…” She waited.“When, Nerx?”She pushed her soda aside, clasped her hands on the table and leaned in.“A marriage is all about communication.You share, I share, and nothing momentous is decided on without checking with each other.”

He paused, intrigued by this woman before him.“I…wecannot raise a daughter on a battleship.It puts you both in harm’s way.”

“I agree.So where to?”

Stunned at her response, his answer tumbled from his tongue.“Fuyra.I can be of service there, hence the promotion.”

“Makes sense.”

“Of course it does.”He eyed her.Why is she agreeing with me?

When Lily drooped, Britta dragged her across her lap, cradling her close.Within seconds, Lily slept.

“Do we get a honeymoon?”Britta asked, her voice breathless.“We’d have to take Lily with, but still.”

“Honeymoon?”His breath caught at the imagery his O.D.I.flooded his mind with.He snatched on the first few, that of beaches and barely clad females.Britta in something that looked like lingerie… He cleared his throat.“We do have such a place.The Galaza beaches—one of the few places the carnivorous omeika avoid.”

“No flesh-eating omeika sounds amazing.”She grinned.“How much will it cost?I don’t want to go into debt over this.”

He frowned.“For Etterians, Galaza is free, as humans term it.We do not do ‘vacations,’ though we understand the concept of tourism.”

“Can we go there?For a day or two?”This time, her waiting was peppered with eagerness.

“Of course.As to the honeymoon, we are already on it.”Lest he ogled her again, he stood, cleared the table, then reached for Lily.“Come,thamani, it has been a…long day.”

She trailed him, her demeanor too docile for his liking.It had him on tenterhooks, like he was stuck in the eye of a storm.As he tucked Lily into bed, he listened to Britta’s movements in his…theirquarters.Was she readying for bed?To sleep?His malehood twitched, almost with disappointment and resignation.

The day had been long, eventful, with too many emotions and too few things registering, as if his mind reeled.From commander to ambassador, from estranged to talking to his father, forming an alliance with the Viqrians, to realizing what pulsed through his chest when he glanced at Britta.

Now, all he longed to do was hold her.And if that meant while she slept, then so be it.

Chapter Twenty

Brittgargledwithshowerwater she captured in a glass.It sure made dental hygiene easier.She finger combed her hair, then sniffed her pits.She’d already showered after Luchur, but now that she was going to get it on with Nerx, she worried she might smell.With their sensitive everything, she couldn’t be too cautious.She wiped her damp palms on her baggy sleepshirt.

When she’d promised to make it worth his while, she hadn’t thought she’d be this anxious about it.She could count on one finger how many times she’d ‘blown’ a man.But that’s what she wanted to do.She had no doubts he’d never experienced it.And since she was it for him for life, the poor dude, she might as well see if he liked it.

“What’s taking so long?”she whispered, then yelped when he filled the door to his room.

“I need a cleanse,” he said, striding into the bathroom.The door shut on his ass.

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