I will do anything for her.
I settle in to the bed, describing in great detail how we shall set up our cave. How my mother will fuss over the thought of having a daughter, as she has only sons and none of them mated. Of how my father will shake his head at my ways, but it won’t matter because it is all for Kira.
“The biggest, warmest bed in all the caves,” I decide. “Dvisti fur is the warmest and I will line our nest with that, and then ask Kashrem – that’s Maylak’s mate – to create soft coverlets that are softer than a kit’s bottom, but warm enough to please you. It will cost me much, but Kashrem’s always been jealous of my carving, so I shall create him some new tools, I think. Perhaps a few baubles for his kits.” I consider thoughtfully. I’ve always given away my carvings with ease, not concerned with getting anything in return. Now that I have a mate, I shall have to consider things more carefully, so I may provide all the things she wants. “And we shall need furs for the entrance of our cave,” I tell her. “To muffle your shouts of pleasure when I take you every night.”
Perhaps that is my own male pride talking there. I do not think Kira is a shouter. Not like Asha was. She will be the quiet type, the kind that comes with a widening of her eyes and a parting of the lips, and no more than that.
I picture it, and my cock grows uncomfortably hard. Time to think of other things. I stroke my hand down Kira’s arm. “I imagine that the first brutal season with my people will be hard on the humans. You struggle right now, but I will do my best to ensure that you are always warm and well fed. And when the snows are too high for even the hunters to go out, we shall stay in our furs all day long.”
Strange, how badly I want the life I am envisioning. My heart thuds hard, thinking of Kira, warm and smiling up at me from a long night of vigorous mating. Kira, with her belly rounded with my child. Kira, nursing a tiny human-sa-khui halfling, with a pink tail and stunted horns. What would our child look like?
Lost in pleasant thoughts, I continue to talk to my unconscious mate.
KIRA
My head feels like a cracked-open melon. Pain pounds in my brain, and I remain completely still, hoping that the lack of movement makes the agony dissipate. As I do, I hear a soft, low voice.
“I might have to stack the back of our cave with extra dung so I can keep a fire going for you at all times. I’ll just have to figure out something to disguise the smell. Maybe some of Maylak’s herbs. And I know you like your meat cooked, so there’s that to consider. And when it gets too cold at night, we can heat some snow in a quill-beast bladder. You can preserve them a certain way and place them at your feet to keep your furs warm at night. Either way, I’ll make sure you’re happy and comfortable.” Aehako’s big fingers trace my jaw. “But I’ll take care of you.”
My headache fades a little at his soothing touch. I’m cradled against him with my face pressed to his chest and my hand nearby. His arms are wrapped around me, hugging me against him, and it feels…like home. I keep my eyes closed, relaxing in the low thrum of his voice as he tells me all about his plans for ‘our’ cave and how we’ll weather the brutal season – the winter – together and all the plans he has for us. I have to admit that hearing him talk about his plans for the two of us together fills me with an incredible amount of yearning and muted joy. Joy because setting up a cozy cave with him sounds incredibly wonderful and I still can’t believe someone as fun and sexy as him is interested in someone as quiet as me.
Yearning because he starts talking of kits and when I have his children.
Which will never happen, because I’m still barren. A small sigh escapes me. He wants me and a family, but he can only have one of those things.
“Kira?” I feel his big body move under my cheek and my hand. “Are you awake?”
I nod and lick my dry lips. “Head hurts.”
“The shell is gone,” he says, keeping his voice low.
I reach up and touch my ear. It sends a new round of blistering pain through my head, but I also feel…lighter? I trace along my earlobe and feel the new holes there. It’s really gone. “Did you destroy it?”
He tenses against me. “Should I?”
“Please,” I whisper. “They might be able to track me with it.”
“I’ll take care of it,” he says, getting up from the bed. “But first you must drink.”
I nod and manage to pull myself into a sitting position. He pulls out his water skin and holds it to my mouth carefully so I can drink, and when I’m done, he helps me lie back down in bed and then gently tucks the blankets around me. My heart is brimming with affection for this giant, laughing man that can be so tender with me.