Chapter Six
Nylora held onto the pack and kept it between her and Stomp.
“My name is Solor.”
“Okay. Nylora Mills.”
“You are pregnant?”
Her human seeming turned scarlet. “Yes.”
He looked her up and down. “Where is it?”
“The traditional place, my uterus just tilts back, so it’s not as visible as it would be otherwise.”
He paced toward her, and his hooves and antlers became apparent. This was the creature that had been with her in her hotel room.
A young woman said, “Uh, Solor, maybe you shouldn’t freak her out.”
Nylora looked at her for a second. “I have seen this manifestation before.”
He chuckled, and his tone was deeper when he said, “You did more than look, if I recall correctly.”
“Yeah, as I have a reminder while my feet slowly disappear.”
“I can’t sense it.”
“I have a bajillion concealments on it. You XIA guys get all funny if you sense a pregnancy.”
He smiled. “We do. Are you taken care of?”
“I have a roommate who cooks for me. We were foster siblings to the Mills family.”
He blinked. “Foster?”
“Yes. Long story. We didn’t even get to names, let alone personal histories.” She clutched the bag a little tighter.
Akkas walked up to her and said, “I will put it in the rig. There are some pastries that are best not combined.”
She reluctantly released the bag as Akkas tugged it from her with a jerk. “Butthead.”
She crossed her arms under her breasts, realized that the increase in her structure was now obvious, and she pulled her shirt out slightly and patted her hands on her hips. “Right. Um, so what brings you here?”
“You. I have been trying to meet you for a conversation for months.” He eased closer.
She looked up as he got closer. “Where’s the other one?”
“In the car, blocking the ambulance in.”
She blinked. “Ah, so you are committed to the conversation.”
“Yes. That is my little sister, Myor.”
“Uh-huh. I am going to get a crick in my neck if you get any closer.”
He stopped and said, “What shall we do about the child?”
Her stomach dropped, and she held her belly. “What do you mean?”
“I wish to be involved with its entry into the world and the rest of its life. Do you know the sex?”
“No. I don’t care, and it pisses people off.”
He smiled. “You have been well?”
“I can’t eat tacos anymore, and they were my favourite. I don’t actually enjoy—” she shuddered “—Vegetables. I don’t even know myself anymore.” She heard Myor and Jennel giggle.
“You didn’t before?”
“I was best described as a meatavor.”
He chuckled.
She whispered, “Don’t you dare say anything.”
He grinned. “I believe that Demuel and I would like to take you out for dinner.”
“Make it after shift breakfast, and I am in. I would have to tell my roomie, but I can go for breakfast.”
“Fine, but it will be both of us.”
“Great. This time, I get some warning.”
He grinned again. “I like you in this seeming. Your dark fae body is delightful, but the human appearance is cute.”
She huffed. Her phone chirped. “Right. I am going to see if I can visit the woman I flew last night.”
“Not before I taste you again.”
“That is a weird caveat to my heading to work.”
Myor laughed. “If you wonder, he doesn’t act like this with other ladies.”
“I wasn’t wondering, but thanks.”
He smiled. “So, a kiss?”
“Oh, thank god. Yes, a kiss is fine.”
Jennel burst out with a blast of laughter, and Myor went, “Oh.”
Nylora put her hands on his arms as he lifted her up. He held her against him and grinned.
She stared at him and took in his deer-like features, thick neck, and ears that could wiggle on their own. Nylora remembered hanging onto those horns for dear life, and the hours had flown by. His horns were more elk than deer. They had a lovely fuzzy covering.
Solor murmured, “My eyes are down here. Stop staring at my rack.”
She stopped remembering screaming and using the horns for leverage, and her gaze jerked to his.
He was smiling softly. She leaned in and kissed him quickly.
He stomped and pulled her in tight. The kiss turned into the pressure that she had offered, and she held his arms as he tilted his head, wrapped an arm around her, and gripped her tight ponytail with the other.
At this proximity, he could definitely feel the bump under her concealment.
His arm shifted as his tongue stroked hers, and her belly was in firm contact with his.
He might be able to feel the kicking, but she wasn’t sure until one energetic wallop.
The kiss froze, and he leaned back. He blinked. “There’s a baby in there.”
“Yup. I know. Bump reminds me at every opportunity.”
“Bump?”
“Yup. Bump. Twelve more weeks until show time.” She smiled.
Solor stared at her and said, “You are beautiful.”
“Oh, pregnancy glow. It just means that I have a lot more blood than I used to, so I am all shiny.” She wrinkled her nose. “Also sweaty.”
He smiled. “Gorgeous.”
The next kiss was slow and thorough. She remembered his taste, the feel of his tongue, and the scent of his skin. This was just what she had been trying to avoid. Lust was rising, and it wasn’t hesitating.
When the kiss paused, she tried not to press her thighs together. She swallowed and said, “I have a shift to get to, and so do you. Please put me down.”
He smiled. “Hiding behind work. Classy.”
“Hey, I have to go with what works. What are my odds to get past... Demuel?”
“Slim to none. He’s just as surprised as I am and just as enthusiastic.”
“Yeah, I remember that. Lots of enthusiasm.”
“You have no idea how shocked I was to see you at one of the scenes.”
She wrinkled her nose. “Funny that you and Demuel aren’t on the same team. Squad? Bunch? Is it a bunch of XIA?”
Jennel chuckled. “I think it’s a thug or maybe a quarrel.”
That reminded Solor that they weren’t alone. She could see it in his eyes. He shrank back to fae form and slowly set her on her feet. “I do want to touch your belly more directly.”
“Yeah, I guessed that.”
“You have it heavily wrapped. It is very protected.”
She beamed. “Yes, it is.”
He kissed her head. “Where do you want to meet for breakfast?”
“The diner in town.”
He grinned. “That is where most of the teams go.”
“Oh, shoot. Uh, suggestions?”
“The diner is fine, but you are going to be stared at.”
“Meh. I will take the corset off and freak them all out.”
He smiled. “Would you do it now? You aren’t hiding anything anymore. I am assuming that your dispatch knows?”
“Sort of. I am on reduced lifts.”
“Which you don’t adhere to.” He sighed.
“I have a job to do.”
“As do I. At least the shift change from day to night put me in the path of Jennor, Reymark, and Day-ek. If not for them, Jennel would not have gotten giddy at the thought of another dark fae, and she would not have spoken to you, which unveiled your nickname for me, and her guys wanted to make her happy, so they came over to mine, and she explained you.”
“And now here we are, with your hand on my ass.”
He chuckled. “Right. So, you really want to leave me?”
“Loaded question. I wasn’t intending to connect with you.”
“I know. You are a master of dodging me.”
“Got to keep those wheels rolling. Broken people can’t drive themselves.” She smiled brightly.
She turned to Myor. “Pleased to meet you. My shift is looming, and I have to get some new bedding for my rig, plus visit someone in the ICU.”
“Okay, but you have to come to the house and stay over on one of your free days.” Myor smiled. “You are going to be the next thing to a sister, so we need to have a ladies’ night. Also, you aren’t star-struck when you look at me.”
“Well, I do listen to you in the shower, but I don’t care about your face. If your voice isn’t highly processed with a backup track, I am not interested.” She flapped her hand.
Myor laughed.
“Right. Well, Stomp, I am going to head out to tell Bonehead to get away from my ambulance.”
Akkos handed her the pack again. “There you go, miss. I put cold packs on it, and there is a thermos of decaf for you.”
She winced. “Thanks for that. So helpful.”
He cackled and patted her shoulder.
She looked at Solor. “So, are you going to come outside, or do I have to let Demuel think I managed to outmuscle you?”
He grinned and walked outside with her. She didn’t say goodbye to Jennel. She knew what she did.
Demuel was leaning on the front of her rig with Jennor.
She stalked straight up to him, turned her back to him, and leaned against him, looking up. “Oh, I recognize you now. Hey, Bonehead.”
He snorted and hugged her. “It is interesting to bump into you here. I never put you together with the scrappy bitch of rig fifty-one.”
“Oh. That’s me. I try very hard to do my job, and Skip is a great partner for it.”
Demuel grinned. “Skip?”
“Sekoranatho-dal. Skip is just easier.”
Demuel wrapped his hands around her hips. “So, I hear you are transporting more than patients.”
“Yup. And nobody noticed. Not until I was tired and went to the mayor’s house. He heard Bump’s heartbeat in seconds. Nosy bugger.”
He moved his hands to touch the hard plane of her corset. “It’s well armoured.”
“I plan on taking Bump jousting later.”
“You have made peace with Solor?”
“More or less. We are meeting for breakfast after the shift.”
Demuel chuckled. “At the diner?”
“Yes.”
“That is going to be fun.”
Jennor got up and moved away from the ambulance. “See you soon, Nylora.”
She made a face.
Demuel rubbed her belly and hips. “Why did you switch to nights? It irritated the hell out of Solor.”
“Oh, you know that flying stunt I did last night?”
“Yes. I had to be on nights to be in the right place at the right time.”
“And you were, so now you can go back to days?”
“After mat leave. Yeah. So, another six weeks on, maybe eight, and I will be off on leave.”
Solor was talking with Jennor. Everyone else was headed inside.
“So, Jennel promised them sex to get help luring me here?”
Demuel laughed. “Yes. She’s very direct.”
“Yes, it’s a dark fae thing.”
“Is it? I look forward to being bribed at your earliest convenience.”