Page 47 of Rescued By the Luxirian

I crouched.

“Hello, my love,” I murmured, seeing Droxan approach us, his eyes rapt on the scene we made, as if he would never tire of it. Through our mating bond, I could feel the strum of his love, his pride, his fierce protectiveness over us. I pressed a kiss to my son’s cheeks, holding my lips there, breathing him in. “Having fun?”

“Tev,” he exclaimed. “When do we get cake?”

I laughed, smoothing back his hair when a curling lock of it got tangled around his left horn. He’d been asking nonstop since I mentioned I was baking at Mrs. Smyth’s yesterday.

“Soon,” I promised, meeting his father’s eyes when he stopped next to us. Then to Maxon, “Let me talk to your father. Go play.”

“You’ll get me for cake?” he asked, squinting at me.

“I promise, you little cake monster,” I told him, laughing. “Give me a kiss and then go play.”

He pressed a sloppy kiss to my lips and Droxan’s ruffled his hair as he ran past, sprinting back towards the fountain and the small group of his friends in his clumsy, adorable way.

“Cake monster,” Maxon cried out, a bubble of a laugh rising from him. “I’m a cake monster!”

His friends shrieked, running circles around the fountain. I shook my head, smiling, and then my eyes slid to my mate.

I rose from my kneeling position, Droxan stepping up towards me. He smelled of sweat and the mist of the waterfall near our home. Heat curled low in my belly—he knew what that smell did to me.

“Ravenous,” he purred, scenting my sudden arousal in the air.

“It’s better if you’re not here right now,” I informed him, keeping my tone playfully prim. “I don’t need any distractions and the vendors will be here within the hour. So much to do before then.”

He laughed, snagging me when I pretended to turn away. I grinned, finding myself in his arms, the front of our bodies pressed close together. I could feel his own arousal against my growing abdomen. We meant to wait another year to have our second child—but the Fates had other plans.

“Where’s my kiss,luxiva?” he murmured, leaning down to nudge the sharp line of his nose against my temple.

I sighed, my eyelids going half-lidded. I would never get tired of him calling me that.

When our lips met, it was soft and gentle. His hands cupped my waist and hips, though I knew that if we were alone without the prying eyes of our neighbors, they would be curled into the cheeks of my ass, possessive and utterly presumptuous. I would be half-naked already and he would be drawing little teasing circles between my thighs.

I felt his kiss grow hotter, more desperate as the seconds ticked by.

“Droxan,” I breathed, smiling as I pulled away, hearing the children laugh at the fountain as Max pretended to be a monster. “Later.”

“Promise?” he growled.

“Cross my heart,” I whispered, meeting his eyes, reaching up to trace his jaw. His forehead met mine and we stared at one another. A feeling of complete contentedness rose in me, comforting and warm, like wrapping myself in a thick blanket on a cold morning. A shared emotion between us, I knew.

“Ready for today?” he asked.

I nodded. “Nervous, but excited. We’ve all worked so hard. Today is a celebration, of how far we’ve come, more than anything. I want to remember that and savor it.”

He grinned. He pressed a kiss to my forehead, letting his lips linger there.

“I’m all yours,” he told me. “Put me to work.”

“Be careful what you wish for,” I teased. “I’ll take advantage. I’ll make you lift all kinds of heavy things just so I can watch you work up a sweat.”

He growled low in my ear before it dissolved into a purr. “I want nothing more, my beautiful little mate.”

Gods, I love him, I thought. As I often thought only a million times a day. I knew he felt that strum in our mating bond and his gaze went from playful to soft.

“I’m proud of you,” he told me. “Today will be special because you’ve made it so. You remind me to celebrate these moments so we can see how far we’ve come.”

My throat went tight. I was going to cry and I didn’t think I could blame it on the hormones again.

“Thank you,” I said. “But I’m proud ofus, Droxan.”

His smile was the last thing I saw as I leaned forward.

Lucky, indeed, I thought, smiling into his kiss even as I tasted the saltiness of my happy tears.And blessed by the Luxirian Fates to have crash landed into this beautiful life.

When I pulled back, I grinned.

“Let’s get this market day started.”

“Tev, luxiva.”