Page 8 of Sealed With A Kiss
“Deal. We have a weekend binge date planned for three months from now when they are both on streaming video. I’ll make the popcorn.”
“And I’ll add the chocolate to it.” Milo winked and popped a meatball into his mouth.
And that was the moment I knew I was starting to actually fall in love. Melted chocolate on my popcorn was the key to my dragon’s heart.
8
Milo Mikolov
Rolling my shoulders, I scooted back from my desk and stretched. It had been a long afternoon full of going over applications and setting up interviews then matching the incoming students with the right teachers. The longer I was here and saw the work the training center was doing, the more excited I’d become about the future of shifters and magic workers. There had been a lack in the magical educational system for my generation, where many shifters never got an opportunity to learn their innate abilities. If it hadn’t been for the fact that my parents both came from families mixed with witches in strong covens, I doubted I would have honed the skills as well as I had as a teenager. Now that the youngest of the new generation was showing signs of incredible magic-weaving at such an early age, it was a good thing the training center had opened programs for all ages. Their expansion plan was amazing, and I had full faith that Rayne and Zander would achieve the goals they set out to meet.
“You are going out to the north lawn today?” Rayne walked into the office and handed me a coffee. He was the best according to my caffeine-addicted self. “We are meeting out there to do some shifting and eating, maybe pull out the projector and watch a movie or two once it gets dark. Usually, we do a family-friendly one first, then once all the kids are asleep with full tummies on the picnic blankets, we adults get to watch something good, like the latest superhero movie or thriller.”
I took a sip of the warm vanilla latte and nodded. “Yeah. Nik asked me to meet him and Willow. I think I will be heading down there in a few minutes. I just finished that last stack of files you gave me, so it’s a good place to stop.”
“Fantastic. We will probably be sitting near you, then.” Rayne sat and set his cup down on my desk. “Are you two doing anything fun this weekend? If you need a babysitter, Zander and I can take Willow for the night.”
“Are you sure? I don’t want to add more to your plate.”
“Honestly, after you have a fourth child, it all seems the same whether you have five kids at the house or eight. So having Willow over won’t add too much stress.” Rayne shrugged. “At least that’s my experience. We have watched her a few times in the past for Nikolai and it went smoothly.”
“Yeah, but were you pregnant at the time?” I gestured toward his already slightly rounded belly. “With triplets?”
“When haven’t I been pregnant, or just barely post-natal, within the last few years?” Rayne scoffed but had a smile on his face. “I swear that man wants me to birth his own mini-clan.”
“True.” I chuckled and packed up my laptop, clearing my workspace. “I’ll speak with Nik and let you know. I think we were going to take Willow to the beach, but I’ll see what he thinks.”
“The beach sounds amazing.”
“Right? I was hoping to get some shifting in this weekend. It’s been a bit too long.” I stood and stretched out my legs aftersitting so long. “Nik says there is a secluded area that the water shifters like to go to. Since it’s not public, non-shifters won’t feel uncomfortable seeing a man turn into a seal.”
“I hate that we must sometimes go out of our way to make non-magical humans comfortable. But yeah, the area he is thinking of would be perfect for you. Why don’t you guys consider leaving Willow with us? That way, you two can get to know your shifted side a bit better.” Rayne winked and I felt my cheeks blush.
“Maybe.” Unbidden thoughts of Nik thrusting into me from behind, overlooking the waves took over my brain. Ever since our date this weekend, I had been dying to get a taste of my mate. We’d only kissed.
“Let’s go find our mates. I need to feed these kids before they get angry.” Rayne rubbed his bulging belly. “I swear if I don’t eat every hour, they will start fighting in there and give me heartburn or cramps.”
I raised a brow and smirked. “You mean to tell me pregnancy isn’t all lollipops and sunshine? Going off what some of the alphas around the council used to say, you would think it was the greatest gift they could bestow on an omega.”
“It can be.” Rayne nodded, grabbing the last of his garbage from the desk and tossing it into the trash bin. “But about 60 percent of it is aching body parts, elbows in your ribs, and peeing yourself when you sneeze.”
“Oh, I can’t wait.” I rolled my eyes. “Is it any better if they are born in eggs than not?”
“So much better. No elbows in the ribs or footprints showing through tight tops.”
I felt my mouth drop and would bet my eyes were as big as saucers. “Seriously, you can see little footprints?”
“Not yet, but I saw it happen to my cousin last Christmas. This is the first pregnancy for me that isn’t going to be a hatchling.So, it’s still a new experience. Didn’t think that was possible after having so many kids already.”
“Maybe one day I’ll know how that goes.” An image of a tiny, scaled egg surfaced in my mind and I felt a pang of longing in my heart.
Rayne tilted his head. “Have you and Nik spoken about kids?”
“Not really. He did tell me about Stacey and how he blames himself. So, I don’t know how to approach it with him.”
“Make sure you do. Don’t wait until you are already pregnant and he’s freaking out.”
“I will. Maybe if you take Willow, I will speak with him about it. I think that is something to discuss outside the vicinity of little ears.” Willow might not comprehend the words we were using yet, but I was sure the discussion would be charged with too much emotional energy for a young witch to handle.
