“Life is such a tenuous miracle.” Trixie held her belly.
Kostas pointed beyond the fields they faced. “Soon, these woods at the edge of our fields will teem with animal life. Next year, there will be hunting.”
A small mew made Trixie turn to see Viking trotting toward them, tail up, on the wall walk.
She crouched to pick him up and marveled at the sight. “Kostas, look!”
Viking wasn't alone. Five healthy kittens, three yellow ones, one black and one black and white, lurched and staggered as they hurried to keep up with what Trixie now understood was their mother. “Our cat is a female!”
Kostas frowned and blushed fiercely in the golden light. “Really?”
Trixie laughed. “In all that mess of thick yellow hair, neither of us bothered to check her gender.”
Kostas shook his head. “To think, that I shared my most intimate guy problems with a... female? She must have been taking your side at each and every turn.”
Trixie laughed and mussed Viking's fur. She kissed the furry head. “No wonder you were so fat, and then you trimmed down all of a sudden.”
Kostas snorted derisively.
Trixie sat on the stone walk and reached for one of the yellow kittens. The little one played with her fingers, shyly at first. Soon she had five purring fur balls climbing her uniform and worming their way on top of each other to get close to her face. “We'll have to find them names.”
“You do it.” Kostas looked down at them sternly. “I certainly messed up last time.”
“Not so.” Trixie smiled. “The Vikings had female warriors in the old days.”
“By the Halls of Montezuma, you are right. They did.” Kostas smiled down, then turned his watchful gaze outside, toward the plains. In his uniform, with his sword and his dirk, he looked in the golden sunlight like a mighty guardian of the citadel. As long as he was in charge of the garrison, Trixie would feel safe.
She stood up, her arms full of kittens, and leaned against him. “Even after all that happened to us, I'm glad I embarked on this doomed expedition. It led me to you.”
Kostas set his chin on top of her head. “We are not really safe, you know. The danger is still out there... lurking. It could return at any time.”
“I know.” Trixie inhaled his sweet male scent, enjoying his solid chest at her back. “Still, I'd rather be here with you than back on Earth.”
He kissed the top of her head and encircled her body from behind, kittens and all. “I'm so glad to be here with you. I love you, Angel. You made a man out of me.”
“You were a man all along. You just didn't know it.” Trixie closed her eyes to revel in the warmth of his embrace. Now, with two children on the way, no one could accuse Kostas of being a clone. “I just made a father out of you.”
Kostas chuckled. “We are finally home. We both belong here.”
And in this very moment, Trixie realized she didn't need anyone's approval. She was happy, free to be herself and raise her own family as she pleased... starting right now, with this litter of unruly kittens.
The End
More Sci-fi romance titles from BWL Publishing by Vijaya Schartz
Chronicles of Kassouk sci-fi romance series
(new edition from BWL Publishing 2019)
Prequel – Noah’s Ark
Book 1 – White Tiger
Book 2 – Red Leopard
Book 3 – Black Jaguar
Book 4 – Blue Lioness
Book 5 – Snow Cheetah
Azura Chronicles series:
Book 1 - Angel Mine
Book 2 - Angel Fierce
Book 3 - Angel Brave (2020)
Byzantium series:
Book 1 - Black Dragon
Book 2 - Akira
Ancient Enemy series:
Book 1 - Anaz-Voohri
Book 2 - Relics
Book 3 - Kicking Bots
Single title sci-fi romance:
Alien Lockdown
Snatched
Archangel twin books:
Archangel Book 1 – Crusader
Archangel Book 2 – Checkmate
Also check out Vijaya Schartz’s medieval fantasy series CURSE OF THE LOST ISLE
and her contemporary romance novels
Born in France, award-winning author Vijaya Schartz never conformed to anything and could never refuse a challenge. She writes strong, independent heroines and brave heroes. Her love of cats transpires in many of her books… and she had thirty titles published over the years. She likes action and exotic settings, in life and on the page. She traveled the world and claims to also travel through time, as she writes without boundaries about the future and the far away past. Her stories collected numerous five-star reviews and a few literary awards. She makes you live these extraordinary adventures among her characters. Reviewers compared her stories to Indiana Jones with sizzling romance, and she takes that as a compliment anytime. Find her and her books at http://www.vijayaschartz.com
Noah's Ark Page 27