Barbarian Alien(61)

“Not at all,” she says, and a smile crosses her solemn face.

Aehako adds, “It’s not as if they are not entertaining other big blue friends—“

Again, she bats at his arm and I see a blush creep up her face, but they’re both hiding smiles. There’s a story there, and probably a juicy one, but I’m too tired and mentally worn out to ask about it right now. I just want to curl up with Raahosh for a while.

“You can have my bed,” Kira says. “It’s about as private as you get around here.” She nods and gestures for us to follow her. We do, and Kira leads us to one of the back caves. Two familiar human faces look up as we approach, but Kira waves them off. “Liz needs to rest. There’ll be time to chat later.”

The ‘bachelorette’ cave is fairly roomy, the ceiling smooth and tall. If I had to guess, the room’s about twenty feet long and maybe half as wide. There’s a couple of beds along the floor, a fire-pit in the center that Tiffany’s feeding fuel into, and a curtained area off to one side. Kira brings us there and gently pulls aside the leather curtain, revealing a niche in the wall that holds her fur-strewn bed.

“I was going to share my bunk with Nora, but then she resonated…” Kira shrugged. “I’ll bunk with another one of the girls tonight. You rest. If you get hungry, let me know and I can bring you guys something.”

“Thanks, Kira.” I crawl into the hidey-hole of furs and blankets and sigh happily when I lie down. My feet ache from all the walking, and when Raahosh draws the curtain again, it’s private. I can almost imagine we’re alone again.

Almost. There’s still the hum of voices nearby, all speaking a strange language.

My big delicious alien lies down beside me, and pulls me gently into his arms. His fingers brush over my cheek and his worried gaze sweeps over my face. “Are you well, Liz?”

I nod. “Just…stressed. They don’t seem like they are happy to see you again.”

“In their eyes, I have done a bad thing.” He shakes his head and then lightly kisses my mouth. “Yet I would not change it for anything.”

I kiss him desperately, twining my fingers in his hair. I love the hot, hard feel of his body against mine, and I’m starting to love the way my cootie vibrates whenever his is near. “I just worry about you,” I tell him when I pull my mouth from his.

A flicker of surprise crosses his face. “Me?”

“Yeah, I don’t know if you’ve noticed, but your people are kinda being dicks,” I say softly. “But don’t worry. I have your back.”

“My back?” His brows draw together.

“It means I’ve got you. Whatever happens, you can depend on my support.”

His lips part, and for a moment, he looks utterly speechless. Then, he crushes me against him again. “You are everything to me, Liz. You are my world.”

“I love you too, big guy,” I tell him. And then I perk up, because I have some news, however early it might be. “Hey, guess who is going to be a father?”

Raahosh’s eyes light up with happiness, and his hand reverently touches my stomach. “Truly?”

“Confirmed by the healer,” I agree. “Junior will be born sometime between nine months from now and uh, thirty six months or something.” I’m trying not think about that.

“Junior?”

“I guess we could Brangelina our names. Raahiz? Lizhosh?”

“Those sound…terrible.” His fingers trace over my flat belly.

“You’re not wrong.” I’m smiling. “I’ll give it some thought. Maybe shorter. Like Raaz or Losh.”

“Our child,” he murmurs, and places his head on my belly. “Our kit. We will be a family.”

I drag my fingers through his hair, petting him. “I like the thought of that. A family.”

Raahosh’s family.



• • •





No one bothers us for the rest of the evening, and I eventually drift off to sleep. I’m too exhausted and unsettled to do more than just hold Raahosh close and snuggle with him, and so we cuddle through the night. In the morning, though, the small, peaceful bubble we have disappears.

“Liz?” Georgie says through the curtain. “We need you and Raahosh to come out, please.”

I yawn and move to pull back the curtain. Before I can, though, Raahosh pulls me against him. He cups my face and gives me a solemn look.

“Know that you are my life, Liz,” he says in a soft voice. His khui resonates with mine, and he gives me a gentle kiss on the mouth.

“I know,” I tell him. Then, I pull back the curtain.