Total pages in book: 24
Estimated words: 21341 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 107(@200wpm)___ 85(@250wpm)___ 71(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 21341 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 107(@200wpm)___ 85(@250wpm)___ 71(@300wpm)
But now that resonance has happened again...oh, the possibility. A tiny brother for Lukti, or a sister. Another baby to love. Another bond with my mate. It feels like a gift, not an imposition. A surprise gift, but a gift all the same.
And I can't stop laughing about it. Because there's so much going on that Halloween feels like the worst time to resonate. There's the trick or treating tonight. There's more food that needs to be prepared. I've crafted colorful braided bootlaces since I have no candy to hand out. The costumes need tweaking. Then there’s clean-up. The—
"Why are you laughing?" Salukh asks, his expression yet one of confusion. "The storm should not bother us in the canyon if you want to play."
I grin at my mate. It's not like him to be so obtuse. "There's no storm."
"I heard it." He points at the sky. "It is just that the drums are so loud..."
"There's no drums," I tell him patiently as I tug on his hand again. "Just as there's no storm. How are you not getting this, love?"
He staggers along, rubbing his chest absently. "I am having a difficult time concentrating." He brushes his fingers over the front of his tunic again...and then stops.
His eyes widen.
"Not a storm..."
"No." I laugh again, so delighted and full of joy that I can't keep it all inside. "My mate, how did it take you so long to figure this out?"
"I have been distracted." He gives me another wry smile, still touching his chest. "I thought perhaps you had used a new soap because you smelled so good. And that you had done something different with your mane. And how red your lips are today. And..."
"And you're unable to focus because we're resonating again!" I pick up the pace, rushing past Marlene and Zolaya, who give us puzzled looks as we storm away in the opposite direction of the festivities. I pick out my craft hut—it's a bit farther away from the ones everyone has claimed for their families, near the stable where the two dvisti are kept, and across from Hemalo's smelly hide-curing hut. Inside I have a bunch of skins that we can use as blankets and hide away from the world for a bit.
"So we are. Resonating. Are you happy about this?" The look of wonder on his face turns suddenly concerned. His steps slow. "I know Mah-dee is quite content with one kit, and Lukti is all I could ask for in a son..."
I pull him close before he can question how I feel. "Kiss me. Right now."
He drags me against him, his arms going around my waist, and kisses me so hard that I'm left breathless and panting afterward. "Our life is so good right now, I would not wish to change anything," he murmurs as I caress his jaw. "As long as you are happy, I am happy."
"I have never been unhappy with you," I point out to him, tracing his soft—damn, so soft —mouth with my fingers. "Another baby will be nothing but more joy for all of us."
A smile breaks through his worried expression. "Yes?"
"Yes!"
"Good, because I do not much feel like fighting resonance," he tells me, and then glances around the village. His gaze lands on the hut I've been steering us toward. "Is that one yours?"
"Yes—"
He hauls me into his arms and carries me into our new love nest, and I wonder if it's possible to overflow with too much joy.
CHAPTER
FIFTEEN
KATE
"Hopper!" I bellow as my son races past, naked as a jaybird. "Put your costume back on!"
Hopper, of course, ignores me. He trots after the others, clutching his bag of goodies as his tail swishes merrily. "I'm invisible! You can't see me!"
"We can see all of him," Brooke jokes at my side.
Trick or treating is in full swing right now, and the village is bustling after dark. There are a few fires lit on the main “street” of our village, and Brooke and I sit in front of my house with candles at our sides, our “treats” spread out in front of us as we hand out the gifts and watch the children enjoy themselves.
And in true Hopper form, my high-strung son wants to enjoy himself to the fullest...without clothes.
I just sigh. "I guess I should be glad his father doesn't share the same predilection for stripping." I glance down the long canyon, where one of the football games is still going. It's dark now, which means the humans and smaller children are done playing. Now the dads have taken the field and are playing far more roughly than they did with the kids. I hear the crack of two headbutting each other and then laughter. I hope Harrec stays away from that, because if there's blood, my poor mate's going to be on the floor.