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“You’re going to love them,” Mia whispered. “Trust me.”

She snuggled against him, content, and quickly became engrossed in the movie. They’d debated all day which one to show. Some had wanted to go with an animated adventure, likeCarsorFinding Nemo, to keep it kid friendly. Finally, though, they’d narrowed it down toRaiders of the Lost ArkandThe Princess Brideso the adult males in attendance wouldn’t get bored. Mia had had the deciding vote, and it had been a tough one. She’d ended up closing her eyes and choosing at random. As Indiana raced across the screen, she thought it was a good choice.

The Xeruvians in the audience were all receiving a translation directly into their earpieces. Mia hoped they could understand most of the film’s context. The action, at least, was sure to keep everyone engaged.

Or so she thought until she caught Raelka Korlis sneering at her. Mia lifted her chin and stared the young woman down. Zoran had chosen her. Raelka would just have to learn to accept that.

Nem crawled into her lap and yawned, and Mia put Raelka and her ilk firmly out of her mind.

“What is it, baby?” she whispered.

He whispered something in Xeruvian, then buried his head against her shoulder. She cuddled him close, rocking him gently as his body went limp against her. A fierce protectiveness washed over her. How many children like Nem had she encountered over the years? Children whose parents had died or abandoned them, children who desperately needed someone to shelter them from the cruelties life inevitably heaped on their young shoulders. She’d had to sit helplessly on the sidelines for entirely too long, unable to save those children, but this child, she thought fiercely. This child she could help.

This child she could love.

Zoran draped an arm around her shoulders and brushed his lips across her ear. “Would that you carried our child within you.”

Soon, she thought. She wouldn’t be able to resist him for much longer, and wasn’t sure, in that moment, why she shouldn’t give in now.

Her gaze fell on her friends, seated nearby. Lorik brushed Leona’s hair back, then pressed a kiss to her shoulder. Kira leaned into Ryrda, who was looking at his mate as if she were the most precious woman in the universe. Jyrak’s brother Thorian had brought his mate, Elara Vega, and held her hand tenderly.

Mia sighed and leaned into Zoran’s touch. This mating thing wasn’t so bad, if it meant finding a deep and abiding love.

And she did love him, though she couldn’t quite pinpoint the moment when she’d fallen. Despite his fierce possessiveness, despite his demands, she’d drifted into loving him, like a leaf gliding slowly along a gentle breeze. He was a good man, a proud one, not without his faults. But those faults she could forgive if he could find it in himself to look beyond the mating instinct and see her for who she was, warts and all.

His hand stroked over her hair, drawing her gaze to his. “What troubles you, beloved?”

Her heart clinched at the endearment. He said it so casually she wondered if he meant it or if it was simply what mates called each other.

“Nothing, my love,” she whispered.

His gaze warmed, then he pressed a tender kiss to her forehead and tucked her against his side.

Later, after the movie ended and people started clearing up or drifting home, Mother Alara collected Nem from Mia.

“I see my grandson has claimed you as well,” she said, amused.

Mia unwound Nem’s arms from her neck and passed him to Alara. Her arms ached from holding him. For such a small child, Nem was surprisingly heavy. “I was surprised he accepted me so easily.”

“Yet how could he not, when his uncle worships you as a goddess?”

Mia flushed. “He does not.”

“My daughter, my daughter,” Alara said in the same singsong tone she used when she chastised her son. “Have you not eyes to see? Has your heart not found him good and wise?”

“He’s a good man.”

“And a worthy one, else I would not entrust you to him. Do not make him wait too long, Mia, for his love can only control his instincts for so long.”

Mia sucked in a gasp and whispered, “He loves me?”

“Have I not said so? Has he not demonstrated his love on every occasion?” Alara shook her head, clicking her teeth in disapproval. “We will speak more of this on the morrow. I must return Nem to his father soon. Peace be unto you, my daughter.”

“And unto you, my mother.”

Alara flashed a pleased smile as she carried Nem away, leaving Mia deep in thought.

Zoran collected her much as Alara had collected Nem, by swinging her into his arms and carrying her to his conveyance for the ride home. She rested her hand on his heart, letting its solid thump soothe her.