by S. E. Smith
“How are you feeling?” Trisha asked, taking the ornament and hanging it on the tree.
Morian chuckled when she saw Paul pause and glance at her with intense, scrutinizing eyes. Blowing him a kiss, she laid her hand against her rounded stomach. At almost five months, she was getting very close to her due date.
“I’m fine,” Morian assured her, handing Trisha another ornament. “The healer says I could deliver any day.”
Trisha grinned and took the beautiful glass dragon that Abby had made. “I can’t believe I’m going to have a little sister,” she murmured as she hung the dragon high enough that she hoped Bálint wouldn’t be able to reach it.
“Neither can Kelan or the others,” Morian commented dryly. “I fear she is never going to be allowed out of the palace.”
“Yes, she will,” Paul replied with a grin, holding Bálint by his ankles as his grandson hung upside down over his shoulder squealing in delight. “She’ll learn about the forests and the rivers and the animals that live on this world, just as Trisha did back on Earth. She’ll also learn how to protect herself should the need ever arise.”
“Only if we are there as well,” Kelan commented, stretching his arms up before he plucked Bálint off of Paul’s shoulder. “In the meantime, I have a son to pick on for a few minutes before I go help Mandra. I had another idea last night.”
“You’d better tell Trelon about it,” Trisha warned, shaking her head. “I don’t know why you guys won’t let us girls help. Shoot, at least get Cara to help you. Poor Trelon looked pretty ragged yesterday.”
Kelan chuckled, lifting Bálint up so he was sitting on his shoulders. “There is a method to our madness,” he replied with a huge grin. “The busier we keep Trelon, the less time he and Mandra have to put up their creations. I’m sure Creon and I are ahead.”
Trisha rolled her eyes at Morian when a smothered snort escaped Kelan’s mom. The guys’ competitive nature was hilarious to observe, but painful to live with. Between the constant power outages, there had been the tangle of wires, a few minor trips to the healer for cuts and burns, and some very late nights waiting for their respective spouses to come home.
“You should be nicer to Trelon,” Trisha murmured, stepping up to tickle Bálint’s toes before she brushed a kiss across Kelan’s lips. “He has enough of a hard time dealing with Cara and his two little ones.”
“Little dragonlings, you mean,” Kelan chuckled. “I wonder what happened last night. Cara said the girls got hold of his duplicator again and used it on his symbiot. Something tells me the Goddesses would not allow their blood to be duplicated so easily.”
“You are pure evil at times,” Trisha admonished even as she fought the giggle that was trying to escape. “Hand over Bálint and go find out if Trelon needs any help. Remember, we are all meeting at Abby and Zoran’s quarters tonight for dinner, cookies, and eggnog.”
Kelan lifted Bálint from his shoulders, barely moving his head to the side to avoid the tiny kicking feet. Holding Bálint close to his chest, he bent and pressed a kiss to the chubby cheek before handing him to Trisha. His eyes softened as he gazed down into Trisha’s warm brown eyes.
Lifting his hand, he trailed his fingers down along her cheek before he cupped her chin and lifted it. He captured her lips in a kiss full of love. A low moan escaped him, and for a moment, he forgot that they were not alone as he deepened the kiss. His tongue tangled with hers in a dance as old as time, awakening the dragon inside him. The fleeting thought that perhaps either his mom and Paul or Bio could watch Bálint for a short time disappeared with a painful grunt.
“Bálint, no biting,” Trisha chided in a husky voice.
“Dada bite mommy,” Bálint growled. “No bite, Dada.”
Kelan grimaced and rubbed his throbbing ear before he bent and nibbled on Bálint’s neck, sending his small son into a fit of giggles again. His eyes smoldered with desire as he stared at Trisha. Tonight, after dinner, he would be doing some serious biting.
“Tonight,” Kelan whispered, brushing another kiss across Trisha’s lips before he reluctantly stepped back and turned. “I’m sure we’ll be successful this time. That is, if Vox and Ha’ven don’t set the palace on fire first.”
“Don’t be late,” Morian called to Kelan as he opened the door. “And help your brother.”
“I will,” Kelan replied before he shut the door behind him.
Paul gazed after Kelan for a moment before turning when he felt a delicate hand on his arm. The corner of his mouth lifted when he saw her silent request to follow Kelan. Brushing a tender kiss across her lips, he stepped back and gave her a slight nod.
“Thank you,” Morian whispered. “Sometimes they have just a little too much fun.”
Trisha stepped closer to Morian and watched as her father walked out of the living quarters. She lowered Bálint to the floor when he started to wiggle. With a loud sigh, she grimaced when she realized he was making a beeline for the lights.
“Daddy will be able to get them organized,” Trisha said, reaching for Bálint again. “I think we are going to need Bio’s help if we are going to get this done before tonight.”
Morian chuckled as she watched Trisha trying to peel Bálint’s fingers from the string of lights. Every time she got one hand free, the other one reached out and grabbed it. Waddling over to them, she bent with a grimace and helped rescue the battered string.
“I wonder how the other girls are doing,” Morian commented, rubbing her lower back with a soft groan. “I forgot about this part of being pregnant. How Carmen and Cara dealt with carrying twins, I’ll never know.”
*.*.*
“Cara! There’s another one of these golden zombies,” Abby shrieked in surprise as she fell backwards from where she had been hanging more tinsel on the tree in Cara and Trelon’s living quarters. “Oh my god, they are just… creepy.”
“Symba! We need you again,” Cara frantically called out as she tried to sweep the inch sized golden robot-type creature into a dust pan. “Damn, this one looks like something straight out of a Tim Burton film.”
“That or one of those demented purple minions, only this time in gold,” Abby added in a shaky voice. “I hope you’ve hidden that duplicator thing so the girls can’t find it again.”
“We did. Trelon took it down to the lab,” Cara explained as she turned and tossed the golden replica through the air to Symba. Both she and Abby winced when they heard a loud screech before Symba swallowed the damn thing. “I hope that is the last of them.”
“Where are Amber and Jade?” Abby suddenly asked, looking frantically around for Zohar. “Oh God, where is Zohar?”
Cara blanched and turned when she heard a muffled cry. She released a curse when she heard Amber and Jade’s giggles. Hurrying around the couch, she sent an apologetic glance at Abby.
“I’m so sorry, Abby,” Cara mumbled as she skirted the couch. “Girls, Zohar is not a present. You cannot wrap him up.”
Abby bit her lip to keep from laughing as she followed Cara. Amber and Jade had rolled Zohar up in some Christmas paper that Cara had duplicated. It wouldn’t have been so bad, but they had used what looked like a whole roll of tape and the rest of the fabric bows to decorate him.
“Oh Zohar,” Abby chuckled when she saw that he looked like a rolled sausage. “At least they didn’t cover his face.”
“Momma, pretty,” Amber said, patting Zohar on his forehead as he looked up at his mother with pleading eyes.
“Yes, he is pretty, but he isn’t a present,” Cara admonished. “Jade, what do you think you are going to do, young lady?”
Jade grinned up at her mom and dropped the box that she was carrying. It toppled over and more than two dozen tiny golden creatures in various shapes escaped. Loud giggles burst from all three children when Cara and Abby both released a startled squeak as the demented gold creatures began crawling out of it. .
“Oh my goodness!” Abby groaned breathlessly as she scooped Zohar up in her arms before t
hey could reach him.
“Symba!” Abby and Cara yelled at the same time.
“Mine!” Jade growled when she saw Symba bounce into the room. “My toys.”
Cara grabbed Jade in one arm as her daughter reached for one of the golden monsters before turning to grab Amber in the other. Struggling to get the two squirming girls up onto the couch where Abby and Zohar had taken refuge, she watched as Symba chased the creatures around the room.
Abby sighed as she watched the pile of wrapping paper and boxes the girls and Zohar had been playing with scatter in all directions as the tiny beasts tried to escape Symba’s tongue. By the time the last one had been scooped up, the room looked like a dozen tiny tornadoes had swept through it.
Blowing a strand of dark hair out of her eyes, Abby chuckled when Cara released an exaggerated breath. With a shake of her head, she slowly climbed down off the couch and sank down onto the soft, padded cushion so she could unwrap her son. A chuckle escaped her when he took the rounded ball of paper from her hands and promptly hit Amber in the head with it. The girls weren’t the only ones to instigate things.
“No throwing,” Abby admonished gently with a shake of her head.
Zohar glared at the two girls and released a low growl when they giggled and squirmed to get down on the floor so they could chase the new ball he had thrown. He wiggled as well until Abby finally released him. A moment later, the three were back into their dragon forms and tumbling in the strewn about paper and boxes.
“How about I make us a cup of tea?” Abby asked, rising from the couch. “We can let them play in this mess for a while until nap time. Then, we can try to get the presents and decorations finished.”
Cara grinned up at Abby and nodded. “Yes, please. I’ll stay here and make sure my two monsters don’t get into anything else,” she said with a twinkle in her eyes as she slid down onto the floor to join them. “Although, I think Zohar is getting pretty good at taking care of himself.”
Abby glanced over to see Zohar lying across the opening of a box, two hissing, snarling little dragons trapped inside. Deciding to let him have his moment of revenge, Abby chuckled as she turned toward the kitchen. Maybe by the time she and Cara finished their tea the kids would be ready for a nap. If not, she was going to have one of the symbiots turn into a very large playpen so they could get things finished before tonight’s dinner.
Chapter 3
“Ouch! Darn it, Ha’ven, will you stop doing that!” Vox growled as he raised his stinging finger to his mouth. “This isn’t working. We’re going to have to think of something different.”
“Darn it?” Ha’ven asked, turning away from the panel he was working on to look at Vox with a raised eyebrow. “Since when did you start saying ‘darn’? That is more like what my Emma says when she is mad at me. If I’m not mistaken, Riley uses a different word.”
Vox scowled at Ha’ven and shook his head. “Not anymore,” he replied with a wry grin. “Roam is starting to talk clearer. The other night we were tucking him into bed, I turned out the light like I normally do and the next thing I knew he yelled out for me to turn the damn light back on. Riley decided we needed to start watching our language.”
Ha’ven grimaced and turned back to the panel he was rewiring. “Emma did that before Alice was born. She said that younglings can hear you, even in the womb. I don’t remember hearing anything, but she insisted that I watch my language,” he admitted. “I think this will do it.”
“I hope so,” Vox muttered with a tired sigh. “Trelon says we aren’t allowed to add any more lights. He has already redirected the power grids as much as he can, and he says he isn’t doing any more. I don’t blame him. Why the humans insist on doing this is beyond me. This was almost harder to do than it was to convince Riley to be my mate. It was definitely as painful.”
Ha’ven chuckled as he closed the panel. “I know what you mean,” he said with a grin. “Tonight will be our crowning victory. None of the others can top what we’ve done!”
Vox returned Ha’ven’s smile and slapped him on the back. “I hope not,” he said. “Remember, we have one of your air gliders on the line.”
Ha’ven raised his eyebrow. “I don’t care about the air glider,” he said with a grimace. “It is the other part of the bet I don’t want to lose.”
Vox shuddered and nodded. “A three-day weekend of babysitting Cara and Trelon’s two,” he groaned. “Not having to suffer that fate is worth the singed hair, burns, and exhaustion.”
“Isn’t that the truth,” Ha’ven chuckled. “I don’t know about you, but I’m looking forward to a few hours with Emma and Alice.”
“It should be about time for Roam’s nap,” Vox replied and his eyes lit with a devilish twinkle as they stepped out of the small electrical room. “He takes good, long naps.”
Ha’ven’s lips curved at the expression of hope on Vox’s face. “Just don’t be late for dinner tonight,” he warned. “The women are supposed to tell stories of a man back on Earth that delivered presents to all the good children and about an animal with a shining nose.”
“I won’t,” Vox replied, lifting a hand as they came to the corridor leading to his and Riley’s living quarters. “Riley said if I made her late, I would get black rocks in my stocking.”
Ha’ven nodded. “Emma said the same thing,” he responded with a shrug. “I told her I would love them as long as she gave them to me.”
Vox paused in the doorway and scowled. “Since when did you become such a wuss? That is a new word I learned from Riley when she was doctoring my burns last night and I complained.”
Ha’ven’s eyes grew distant for a moment before he blinked. “Since I met the only woman in the universe who could calm my soul,” he replied softly before he nodded his head. “I will see you tonight.”
Vox watched as Ha’ven turned and strode out along the path cutting through the garden. It was hard to believe that at one time they had been bitter enemies. Turning away, he strode down the long corridor toward his and Riley’s permanent living quarters while they were on Valdier.
A chance accident during a battle had changed the course of the war. Creon Reykill and Ha’ven, trapped together in a cave-in, discovered that the attacks against each of their worlds had been a deliberate manipulation by a few traitors intent on capitalizing on the war.
Shortly afterwards, Creon and Ha’ven had reached out to him. During their encounter, they each discovered a greater plot was underway to destroy the ruling families of each world. They were still working to unravel the traitors behind it. It was turning out to be a long, involved process in each of the three star systems.
Vox had recently discovered that it ran deeper than he expected in his world when one of the traitors who tried to kill his brother, Viper, was captured a few months ago. Vox and Viper’s brother Walkyr was investigating the small amount of information they had obtained from the traitor before he was transferred to a remote prison facility.
A mischievous grin curved Vox’s mouth when he turned the corner and saw Pearl and Asim leaving his quarters with Roam. From the faint discussion, it sounded like Roam was going to be spending the rest of the day with his great-grandmother. He waited until they had disappeared around the corner, half afraid if Roam saw him that he’d want to stay and play with Dada. Right now, Dada wanted to do some playing… with mommy.
Striding forward, Vox quietly pushed opened the door and stepped inside. He swiped his hand over the control next to it, making sure that he locked it before pulling his shirt over his head and tossing it onto the couch. The grin on his face grew the closer he got to the bedroom where he could hear Riley moving around. Stopping at the entrance to their bedroom, his eyes glowed with pleasure as he watched Riley step out of her skirt.
“You are as beautiful as ever,” he said in a soft, husky voice.
He watched as Riley turned with a small squeak and covered her heart with her hand. A grin curved his lips when she gave him a playful scowl and put her
other hand on her hip. His eyes followed the movement and a low rumbling purr escaped him.
“What are you doing back so early?” She asked with a raised eyebrow as she scanned him. “Did your shirt catch on fire this time? What else have you done? Do we need to get Roam and hightail it back to…”
With each word, Vox had taken a step closer until he was standing in front of Riley. Reaching out, he pulled her roughly into his arms and covered her lips with his. He deepened the kiss, sliding his hands up and around her until he could unhook the device she insisted on wearing over her large breasts. With a snap, the purr turned to a low groan from both of them.
“We are finished,” he finally said as he pulled back just far enough so he could look down at her. “I have the rest of the afternoon free.”
Riley released a pleased sigh before she frowned. “Grandma just took Roam so I could finish decorating and wrapping presents. You haven’t seen very much of him the past few weeks. Do you want me to ask her to bring him back?”
“No!” Vox muttered in a low voice, bending his head to press a kiss along her bare shoulder. “No, I think it would be nice to just spend it with you.”
A shiver of pleasure ran through his body when she ran her hands up his chest and wrapped them around his neck. A rumble of warning escaped him when she nipped at his jaw before running her tongue over the spot. His own hands ran down to her hips and he pulled her close to show her the effect she was having on him.
“I think someone wants to play,” Riley chuckled, rolling her hips.
“I was thinking Roam might like to have a little brother,” Vox whispered against her ear.
Riley leaned back to stare up into Vox’s eyes with a look of shock. “I thought you said we weren’t having any more after Roam,” she replied.