Chapter 14
Riley
I’m surrounded by warmth. I scoot back, getting closer to the furnace that heats my entire body. A hard bar slides between my thighs and just grazes my clit through the thin layer of my panties. I whimper with need.
That need is answered when a hand slides under the elastic waistband and connects with the oversensitive nub.
The fingers rub circles, varying in speed and pressure.
I rock my hips, and between the slick gliding of the bar between my lower lips and the teasing movements of each caress against my clit, pleasure rises fast and strong.
Noises fall from my lips. A shushing sound brushes against my ear and I bite my bottom one to try and keep quiet.
Tension builds deep in my core and threatens to erupt.
I chase the sensation, and with one long exhale it breaks.
My body jerks with pleasure, and a guttural groan comes from behind me.
Wetness that isn’t just my own soaks my center.
A pleasant, tingling sensation starts up, and another shudder runs through me.
I stretch languidly and come wide awake.
It’s dark inside the tent and the fire that had been burning in the center pit is nothing but glowing embers.
A low snore comes from behind me. Slowly, I glance over my shoulder.
Zalik clutches me tightly against his chest. I can just make out his features in the glow of the dim light.
He looks even younger than his twenty-five years.
His long, yellowish hair is spread out beneath his head and looks like a shimmering lake of molten gold.
I shift positions slightly, taking care not to wake him and I cringe a little at the wetness soaking my panties and inner thighs.
I’m going to have to wash up in the morning, whenever that might get here.
Stella lies awake, staring at me from her small bundle of furs. Knowing she’ll probably be hungry soon, I do my best to quietly extricate myself from Zalik’s arms. Somehow I manage not to wake him. He must be truly exhausted because something tells me he doesn’t usually sleep this hard.
Not caring that I don’t have pants on, I rifle through the chest that contains Stella’s bottles and milk. I fill one, pick her up, and feed her while I pace and rock her. She clutches the cylinder with both hands while she drinks.
“You were hungry weren’t you, baby girl?” I keep my voice to a whisper so I don’t wake Zalik.
I do my best to not watch him sleep or feel embarrassed by what happened.
He’s my husband, after all. Maybe it’s because the few sexual encounters over the years have left me feeling like there was something wrong with me.
Each one, although they numbered few, had left me unsatisfied.
Like I was missing something. Only one guy had ever given me an orgasm.
That was only because I’d been imagining a mystery man.
Neither of my other two partners could get me there.
I had to fake it with both of them. After a while I got tired of doing that, so I broke things off in both instances.
The last time I had sex with anyone besides myself was nearly five years ago.
I hadn’t really missed it. If Zalik had been one of my partners, I’d have missed it more than my next breath.
Of course, now I can’t stop myself from looking at him. He’s staring up at me with an expression that makes my heart skip. A faint light looks as if it’s shining from inside him and out his eyes. Is that the soul light he’s told me about? Is it even possible for me to see?
“Did she fuss?” he asks. “You should have woken me.”
I shake my head. “I didn’t want to disturb you.”
Zalik gets up. Holy shit. I try not to stare at his nakedness, but it’s nearly impossible. Especially with what recently happened between us fresh in my mind. He walks over and places his hand on the top of Stella’s head. He bends to kiss her forehead and kisses me sweetly next.
“I had the most pleasant dream,” Zalik murmurs against my lips.
My cheeks heat, but I remember our discussion on flirting. “Maybe it wasn’t a dream.”
He raises his brow bones. “Not a dream, huh? If only I had been fully awake to more greatly appreciate the pleasure of it then.”
“There’s always next time.”
Zalik grins. “Perhaps I will never sleep again so I do not miss it.”
I giggle. Something I’ve done more of with him than I have in my entire life. The bottom tier isn’t really the giggling kind of place. Nor is the upper tier. Tavikh really has been good for me despite the heartbreak I’ve experienced.
A stench fills the tent and I turn my head away from Stella to escape it. Zalik laughs.
“Here, I will clean her.” He plucks her from my arms and lays her on the table beside the basin of water.
While he gets busy doing that, I go to the chest with the clean cloths used as diapers and grab one for him.
He thanks me when I set it within his reach.
I watch as he quickly and efficiently washes our daughter’s dirty bottom and then re-diapers her.
I’ve been doing it for four months, he’s been doing it for four or five days, but he’s nearly more proficient at it than I am. It’s a little rude, actually.
“How’d you get so good at that?”
Zalik picks up our newly cleaned daughter and lays her against his chest and shoulder. “We have many kits I have practiced on in the last two sun cycles.”
My eyes widen. “You’ve been changing baby’s diapers for two years? Ones that don’t even belong to you?”
He laughs. “I have always wanted to be a baba, and I wanted to be fully prepared and skilled for when I had my own kits. When mates wanted to go on their dates, I frequently volunteered to take care of their kits so they could spend time together.”
Oh my god. My husband was a babysitter? Just because he loves kids so much? How much more adorable can he get?
“That is so sweet of you. I’ll bet moms and dads love you for doing that.”
“Let us just say I have much experience.” He chuckles.
“I’m sure you do. Hopefully no one took advantage of your kindness.” I’d be really mad if they did.
“Not at all. Besides, I truly did enjoy it. I am beyond thrilled that I finally have a kit of my own. One I do not have to give back at the end of the night.”
My heart melts even more. Zalik is clearly an amazing father.
Stella is lucky he’s the one who found her.
Maybe he’s right and whatever pre-ordained path their goddess set him on was the right one.
Which also means our crossing paths, and me triggering his mating marks to appear was also meant to be.
“What has that intent look on your face, keeshla?”
“Just thinking about fate and destiny.”
Zalik cocks his head. “And what have you decided?”
“That maybe it’s all real after all.”
He smiles softly. “Did you have doubts then?”
I nod. “A few.”
“Often, things we do not understand are difficult to accept as real. Faith is acceptance even when things do not seem possible.”
“Religion has never really been my thing. Does that shock or scandalize you?’
“No.”
I glance at Stella who’s fallen back to sleep in Zalik’s arms. “What about her? Will you teach her about your religion even though she is human?”
I don’t have anything against him doing so, I’m asking more out of curiosity than anything.
“Our kit will grow up as both Tavikhi and human. I would like her to learn of her baba’s customs and beliefs, but I will not force her to believe the same.
” Zalik glances down at Stella as well. “She should also be given the same opportunity to learn about any special customs or beliefs of her nene’s as well. ”
He lays her back down in her bed and tucks her in. I think about any beliefs or customs I actually have. Certainly no religious beliefs, that’s for sure. There is one custom I can think of that I’d love to continue, although it feels a little foolish.
Zalik turns and pulls me into his embrace. I lean into his strength—desperately trying to ignore how naked and sexy he is—and breathe in the scent that is uniquely his. I have to get past the baby smell that clings to him, but it’s there, buried.
“I did think of something I’d like to teach Stella about.”
“Good. Let us return to our furs first since it is cold and you are only wearing your human under coverings.”
My whole body goes up in flames. How the hell could I have forgotten that I’m standing around in my t-shirt and panties?
I’d been so distracted by him taking care of our daughter—and maybe his nude body—that it hadn’t even crossed my mind.
I let out a squeak and yank myself out of his arms to dive under our furs. Zalik chuckles and joins me.
I keep my back to him a bit longer until I finally rein in my embarrassment.
Slowly, I roll over. He lies on his back, staring up at the roof, but at my movement, he turns his head to meet my gaze.
His body follows and we lie there on our sides facing each other.
Zalik reaches out and plays with the length of my hair that’s fallen forward over my shoulder and lies between us.
I love the way this feels. The quiet intimacy.
Lara and I often stayed up late talking to each other in the dark, just like this.
Except with Zalik, it’s different. Maybe because Lara was my sister, while he’s my mate.
My husband. The father of my child as well as any children we might have in the future. I suspect there will be more than one.
“What is this custom you would like to share with our kit?” Zalik asks, breaking the intimate silence that had settled between us.
Now that it’s time to explain it, it feels silly. Especially given the context behind the holiday.
“Keeshla,” he prompts me.
I loosen a sigh. “Back on Earth there’s this holiday—a special day—that many people celebrate. The history of the holiday is religion-based but Lara and I ignored that part. The only element of the celebration we focused on was exchanging gifts.”
“Gift exchanging?” he asks.
I nod. “Every year Lara’s family would put up a Christmas tree and decorate it with all these beautiful lights and glittering balls.
We’d buy gifts for each other in secret, wrap them in paper so they’d be hidden, and put them under the tree.
Then, on Christmas morning we’d wake up really early, drink hot cocoa, and open our gifts. ”
I can tell Zalik’s confused, especially when he asks, “What sort of gifts did you give each other?”
“Different things. Back on Earth there are these huge markets where you can find anything. It would be like the community building back at the human settlement, but try to picture it ten to twenty times bigger, and each small shop inside this massive building offers something different. Like maybe one sells nothing but pants—leg coverings. Another sells nothing but weapons. A third offers water that smells of one kind of flower and water that smells like a second kind of flower. Let’s say I only like the waters that smells like the first flower.
So you buy that water for me, wrap it up to keep the contents a secret, and stick it under a small fiku tree we put up in the corner of our tent.
I wake up, open the gift, and splash some of the scented water on myself because I love the way it smells,”
Slowly, Zalik nods. “I think I understand this custom. Many sun cycles ago, Zydon asked Benham to craft a sword for Remi. One smaller than a Tavikhi’s sword and sized to fit her palm.
If he celebrated this special Earth custom, he would have wrapped it in hide, placed it beneath a tree, and Remi would have unwrapped on this special morning. ”
I smile. “Exactly.”
Zalik smiles in the fading light. “I like this custom, and it is definitely one we should teach Stella.”
“Really?”
“Aye. It is something you love and is a part of her human side. It will also give me an excuse to learn all of my mate’s favorite things. I enjoy finding gifts for my tribe brothers and sisters, but I will love finding them for you even more.”
I lean forward and kiss Zalik. He returns it and I snuggle closer, letting him wrap me in his arms. I lie still and quiet for several minutes.
“I know I said I’m not religious, but do you think your goddess would be offended if I thanked her for bringing you into my life?”
Zalik presses his lips to the crown of my head. “I do not think she will be offended at all.”
I close my eyes and nod. “Okay, good.”