Asha leans over and points at one of the scraps. "This is very pretty. Zalene has a tunic in this color, yes?"
Elsa nods.
My Anna turns to me and gives me a thoughtful look. "Mama, how did you and Daddy resonate?"
I blink, my tea cup halfway to my lips. "Uh, where did that come from?"
Asha just smirks. She gets to her feet, snatches my tea cup from my hand, and goes to refill it. "Yes, No-rah. Why do you not tell the girls about your resonance?"
That shit-stirrer. I arch a brow at Asha for being, well, herself. "I'm just curious how this came up."
Anna blinks those big eyes—so like her father's—at me. "Analay asked his mama and she told him. And Zalene heard about that and so she asked her mama and her mama told her their story. How come you haven't told Elsa and me your story? With Papa?"
"You've never asked," I bluster, blushing just a little. I can feel my face getting hotter and hotter, and Asha's smirk of amusement just grows. "Besides, it's not much of a story. We saw each other and boom, resonance."
Asha holds the tea cup out to me. "Oh, but that is not the full story, is it?"
I glare at her as I take the cup. She knows as well as I do that the full story is far too dirty for children's ears. She's overheard some of our…nocturnal happenings with those sensitive sa-khui ears of hers, and she knows darn well why I've avoided the subject. "It's not," I admit when both girls turn to look at me. "And maybe if you're both good, I'll tell you the story tonight before bed."
Elsa and Anna smile at me, straightening in place, and I know they're going into “well-behaved” mode. They play quietly while Asha smirks at me.
I don't care. I've bought a few hours at least. I sip my tea and try not to think about what to tell my kids. Mommy likes being spanked and held down by Daddy. Isn't that romantic?
But of course, it wasn't always like that…not that I can tell them those parts either.
The girls are on their best behavior for the rest of the day, much to my chagrin. Anna and Elsa share their toys, play quietly together, and even help me make dinner. Dagesh will be home soon, and I'm ready to see his smiling face. He keeps his hunting nearby during the brutal season, especially now when I'm heavily pregnant, so he can be back every night. Normally he's back before the suns go down, so today must be productive for him. I hope he's not too tired when he gets home, because then I feel guilty that I can't help more. I'm not much of a huntress, so I handle the home stuff and raising the girls. Lately though, he's taken on a lot more in the house because I've been so damn tired, and that just makes me even more guilty. I sit near the fire, drowsing, thinking of my mate's gorgeous smile and the way he crooks it up in the corner when he's watching me and he thinks I haven't noticed…
"Mama?" Anna tugs on my hand. "You look sleepy. Don't sit near the fire when you're tired or you'll fall in." She uses on me the same imperious tone she uses on her sister.
I blink, sitting upright. Oh. I look over at Anna. "I'm okay."
"You're tired," she says firmly in her little tyrant voice. "Go lie down until Papa gets home. We'll stir the stew."
"Just let it simmer," I tell them, yawning. I push off the enormous rock I'm using as a seat. "Wake me up if you need anything. I'll just take a quick nap."
Both my girls are there, pushing me into bed, and Elsa tugs the blankets over me as I shift my weight and get comfortable. I mean to only close my eyes for a moment, because even though the girls are far more self-sufficient than I was at their age, they're still young and I should watch them but…
…I jerk awake to the sound of Dagesh's laughter. It rumbles, smooth and pure and deep, echoing in our small hut. Rubbing my eyes, I try to roll over so I can look at them. My efforts fail spectacularly and all I do is flail on my back like an upside-down turtle.
"Did we wake you, my pretty one?" Dagesh asks, hovering over the furs and holding a hand out to me.
I push my hair out of my face—it got loose from my braid while I slept—and take my mate's hand. "How long was I asleep? How long have you been home?"
"It does not matter," he says in that easy way of his that tells me he's been letting me sleep for a while. He hauls me to my feet, effortlessly strong, and then curls a big arm around my back and puts a hand on my belly. He nuzzles my neck affectionately, his teeth scraping ever so lightly against my skin in the way he knows I love. "How do you feel?"
Better now. I suck in a breath, because it doesn't matter that I'm ridiculously pregnant and half-asleep and it's been a long day and he smells like sweat and hunting—I'm utterly turned on. I cling to him, wondering if we'll have another night tonight like last night, where I was too big and ungainly to do much, so Dagesh just murmured naughty things in my ear as he worked my clit until I came, quaking in his arms. "I feel good."
"Yes, you do," he teases. "Food is ready. Are you hungry?"
"I should be taking care of you," I protest. Some people might not like to be a homemaker, but I really love it. I love making my little hut snug and taking care of my loved ones. I love making sure that everyone around me is comfortable and happy. Maybe that's one reason why I'm so bad at being pregnant—everyone takes care of me instead of the other way around. "Take a seat. Let me fix up a bowl for you."
Dagesh presses a kiss atop my head and then steers me toward my normal seat by the fire. "Hush. You are tired and your belly is big. Let me take care of you."
It doesn't matter how much I protest. Within moments, I'm tucked in securely in the most comfortable seat in the hut, a bone-lattice making a firm back for the chair so I can relax against it. Anna tucks a thick fur around my legs while Elsa hands me a bowl of food, and Dagesh moves behind me and begins to braid my hair so it's out of my face. I want to protest again, but my mate's fingers on my scalp feel so good that I bite back a moan.
It's quiet except for the click of bone spoons against bowls as the girls eat and I manage a few mouthfuls of food.
"Have we been good enough for a story tonight?" Anna asks.
Oof. I was hoping they'd forget.
Dagesh just chuckles, dragging his fingertips along my scalp in a way that sends prickles up my spine. "I wondered why you two were so very quiet. Did you make a deal with your mother?"
"Mama said we could have the story of how you two resonated if we were good." Elsa holds out her empty bowl. "And I ate all my stew. That means I'm good!"
"Did she?" My mate sounds amused.
"Girls, take your bowls and wash them out please?" I say, and they race away to the far side of the hut, where our tiny “kitchen” is set up. The moment they do, I grab Dagesh's big hand. "Help me," I whisper. "They've backed me into a corner and they want to hear our story and all I can think about are the dirty parts."
He rumbles with amusement, and he sounds sexier than ever. This big guy can still make my toes curl with arousal even after eight turns of the season. We rarely argue, the sex is scorching, and he loves to rub my feet or my head and dote on me. I absolutely scored with this man.