Page 25 of Naughty Elf: Alfie
Before I can argue, Yolanda ends the call. I stare at my phone and burst into laughter. “Love ya, Yolanda.”
“She’s probably right, you know,” Alfie pulls me onto his lap. He stiffens and leans into me, sniffing.
“That tickles.”
“I think you’re knocked up. Your scent changed.”
My hands drop instinctively to my stomach. “We’re gonna have a baby? Babies probably.” I thought the idea would terrify me, but peace washes over me. I’m having children with my fated.
“I think so!” His arms wrap around me, squeezing me close.
“Are you scared?” I whisper, playing with his pretty hair.
“No. We may not have grown up in the best families, but our kids are going to know more love than they know what to do with.”
Tears well in my eyes. “I hope so.”
“Iknowso.”
Chapter 11
Alfie
I do not like humidity.August is hot as fuck and humid as fuck here, and I’m not a fan at all. It’s the one time I miss the North Pole. Pisces fiddles with the thermostat in the back of the shop.
“There! That should help.” He rubs his tummy, even though he’s barely showing. “I hate being hot.” He fans his face.
“Agreed. Spring was nice, but way too short.”
“Oh yeah, spring is just a tease of pleasantness before summer comes in and pours humidity over your head. Ugh.”
My poor omega has to deal with being pregnant in the summer. I come up behind him and rub his tummy with him. “You’re amazing, Pisces.”
“What’d I do this time?”
“You’re mine. And you make the magic air thingy do the magic air thing.” I wiggle my fingers at the thermostat. “Oh, speaking of magic…” I send a few sparks to the thermostat to help it along so we’re not waiting hours for the shop to cool down and make it more efficient, saving us some money on the electric bill. I don’t know why I hadn’t thought of this sooner.
Yolanda comes in behind us. “I just love your wittle tummy.” She rubs her own. Her latest heat came last month and, being a raven, her pregnancy is accelerated. She’ll give birth long beforePisces does. We’re due around Christmas. “Our babies are going to be besties. We’ll have all the play dates and it’ll be amazing. Two pairs of triplets. Who would have thought?”
Yolanda and Sheila planned this pregnancy, but the timing couldn’t have been better. I’m excited at the thought of all our babies being besties. Raven crow hybrids and rabbit elf hybrids. I still hope our babies are shifters, but I’ll still love them with all my heart if they have more elf in them than rabbit.
“Let’s get this sale started,” Pisces says. He planned a sidewalk sale of crystals from his warehouse that hadn’t sold in a while. He’s wanting to make room for other product and hopes to sell out of all the old stock.
Unfortunately for me, that means I’ll be sitting outside with the tables in case people have questions. But I’ll do anything for my Pisces, even sit in the sun.
“Oh! Before I forget again—” He dashes away into the kitchen. Yolanda and I follow him. There’s a small storage space he rummages around in and pulls out a white folded up canopy in a carry bag. “So the sun doesn’t blaze down on you so hard.” He clutches the bag to his chest. “But you can say no to sitting outside if you don’t?—”
“I’m happy to sit outside to watch the tables.” I take the bag and kiss his cheek. “You’re so thoughtful, my omega.” He really is.
Yolanda presses the back of her hand to her forehead and fakes a swoon. “You two are too cute.” She grabs Pisces’s hand and the two heads towards the counter.
There are already people lined up at the door and I still need to take the tables out. I flip the sign to open and let everyone in before I start hauling empty tables outside. Yolanda and Pisces help bring small boxes of crystals out to fill the tables. I bring out the bigger boxes. It doesn’t take us much time to get everything set up to Pisces’s satisfaction. I open the canopy and drag a chairover to sit under it. I have a good amount of shade and it does decent keeping me cooler than if I sat in the sun.
“Oh!” Pisces runs inside. Yolanda cocks her brow as she arranges crystals on one of the nearby tables. My beloved is back out in a flash caring a soft sided cooler. “I filled it with ice and water. But you’re allowed to come inside whenever you want. You’re not stuck out hereallday.”
I pull him close and press my lips to his. He melts beneath me and sighs.
“This wouldn’t be possible without you,” he says waving his hand around. “You helped turn everything around and I don’t even know how to say thank you.” Tears well in his eyes and I don’t know if they’re hormonal. I pull him closer.
