Page 17

I manage a nod, little shockwaves pulsing through my body with every twitch he makes. "Feels amazing, Bodhrri."

"Can I move?" He gives his hips a little surge to punctuate his question.

My tongue nearly glues itself to the roof of my mouth. "Yes. Do it."

He chuckles at my insistence, but that chuckle turns into a hiss when he draws back and plunges in, sinking deeper. Then there's not much chatting as we struggle to find a rhythm. Or at least, I do. My movements feel awkward and ungainly, and so I'm grateful when he pins my hips and holds me in place as he fucks the daylights out of me. Bodhrri moves over me, hammering into my body with his cock and driving home, and I've never felt anything so good. I whine with each stroke, until I sound as if I'm a scratched vinyl record stuck in the same place, skipping over and over again.

I lose myself in the sensations for a time, but when my knees start to hurt, I decide to help things along. I lean on my front,my hand stealing to my breast. My nipples have been incredibly sensitive since getting pregnant, and just touching one makes my entire body clench up. "Oh god."

Bodhrri makes a pained sound over me, as if he feels my cunt squeeze around his cock. His movements speed up, and his purring changes to a low, delicious growl. I keep teasing my nipple as the tension builds, and then I'm climaxing around him, every muscle in my body locked in an earth-rending orgasm that seems to go on forever. Bodhrri's growls become stronger and his thrusts harder as he seeks his own release.

Then he's coming, and his big body quakes against mine, his fingers digging into my hips as he pins me in place. My name is a wheezed pair of syllables before he makes a guttural sound and shudders. He's careful not to fall over me, his hands stroking my hips with little touches over and over again while we both come down.

"I need to roll over," I tell him, panting.

He pulls from my body immediately, and I want to protest at the sudden bereft feeling. I liked being filled up by him. But then he's helping me get comfortable on pillows and tucking the biggest ones against my side so my belly is supported. His fingers move over me, caressing, and Bodhrri looks me over with a mixture of pride and contentment. "Wait here. I'll get wet towels."

"I'll be here," I joke, because I don't think I could get up even if I wanted to. My bones are noodles in the best way.

Bodhrri dumps the carafe of water onto one of the cloth napkins he brought out and cleans me gently, then cleans himself off. He tosses it into the grass once he's done and then flops onto his back next to me in the nest of pillows, his fur sticking to my slightly sweaty skin. "That was amazing, just so you know."

"I'm pretty happy with how it turned out," I agree, lifting my hand towards his. He snags my fingers and twines his with mine, and my joy feels as if it's going to bubble over. I gaze up at the night sky, catching my breath, and notice the stars are out now. "Look up."

As I say it, a star shoots across the glittering sky, full of planets and rings and nebulas and all kinds of colors you wouldn't see back on Earth. We both exclaim at the same time, pointing.

"Make a wish," Bodhrri says.

That's an easy one. "I wish for all of our moments to be as good as this one."

"They will be," he says, all confidence.

I think he's right.

Epilogue

BODHRRI

When I thought about our children being born, I did not realize that all of them would wake up at the same time in the middle of the night, all demanding to be fed. This makes things tricky as my poor mate only has two breasts and we have four very small babies. It means that we both take two of them, and I bottle-feed the two less fussy ones while Payton holds the other two and feeds them.

It's been less than a week and I can already tell the personalities of our babies apart, just from the way they feed. Our oldest, Bram, is the biggest. He drinks the most and tackles his bottle with vigor, and as long as there is a nipple in his mouth, he does not fuss.

The next two are also boys, Marak and Aylex. Marak is active, watching everything as he feeds, and he squirms the entire time as if he does not want to waste a moment. Aylex is the fighter of my boys. He bites. Everything. Both of them refuse to take thebottle and scream like they are being murdered unless Payton holds them. She feeds them both when they rouse.

The tiniest one, our surprise baby, is our daughter. Her name is Estrella, which is a human word for "star." She is so delicate and dainty that sometimes it frightens me, yet she is sweet and easygoing as her mother.

Four children, incredibly enough. It is a mind-boggling amount, and yet I would not trade a single one of them for anything. I do not care about missing sleep, or the fact that I have worn the same clothing for the last three days. All I care about is that they are healthy, and they are here with us.

I hold one bottle while I pick up Bram, who is already finished. I cradle him against my shoulder, jiggling in the hopes of a burp and nothing more. Estrella is still nursing her bottle, so I hold it propped up and glance over at my mate. Payton sleeps upright in our bed, her mouth open slightly. She has a sleeping baby on each breast, their tiny fists curled against her skin, and the picture they make hurts my heart with how achingly perfect it is. I will let them sleep a while longer, I decide.

Bram kicks his legs against me, and I adjust my grip. It's not easy to burp one baby while feeding another, but I am getting the hang of things. He whimpers and I press a kiss to his soft, round head. He does not have my ears. Estrella does, and she also has the tiniest little claws. All three boys have my tail and their manes are the same bright orange that mine is. "Hush, my son," I whisper. "Let your mother rest and I will tell you a story."

As if he can understand me, Bram calms. Estrella finishes her bottle and I pick her up, carefully maneuvering until they are both upright against my chest, and I pray to all the gods in the universe that there is no spit up, because I forgot a towel. It is unimportant at the moment, I decide. My tunic already needs washing.

"There was once a young male who grew up on a small, old station called Alos, off of Praxii Minor. The station was very old and its systems breaking down, so every day when the boy took a breath, it hurt his chest. His health suffered and when it came time for him to contribute to his family, as all honorable praxiian third sons do, he could not. Because he could not take deep breaths, the military would not have him. His parents tried to sell him into honorable slavery, but no one wanted a slave with bad lungs. He was removed from his family and shamed and left to fend for himself. He grew up unloved and unwanted and took odd jobs to make ends meet."

Bram whimpers against my chest. Estrella just leans against me, her big eyes wide and unblinking.

I give them both a little bounce and then continue, my voice low and soothing. "The male survived. He grew up, moving from station to station, but all of them hurt his lungs. The rooms he could afford were always in the cheapest parts of the station, where the air quality was the worst. He was resigned to never being able to draw a deep breath, never being happy. And then one day, his crew was assigned to a distant, privately owned planet to help expand a space port. He'd never been to a planet, but the pay was decent and he was curious. There were a lot of rules of conduct for this job, but he didn't mind. And when he got to Risda III, it was like the permanent fist around his lungs disappeared. His coughing stopped. He could take deep breaths of natural air. It didn't hurt to breathe anymore. He thought this place was paradise...and then he met a pretty female, and heknewit was paradise."

Against my shoulder, Bram burps politely. A small burp, so I know he has more in him. I continue.

"This female was a different species than him. She was short and loud and very drunk, but she was beautiful and wise. She pointed at the stars and told him that when they fall from thesky, you make a wish and you get everything you want. He thought for a moment, and when it came time to wish, he wished for this planet, with this beautiful female. He wished for every day to be spent in the sunshine, with the happy, loud female at his side. He wished for a family with her, one without praxiian rules. One where their children would be welcome to stay as long as they liked, and where they would be valued no matter how strong or weak their lungs were. Where they would be loved and happy all their days."

Estrella lets out a long, loud belch, startling me.

Bram spits up against my chest, then looks up at me, distressed.

I chuckle and go to clean us all up. "We'll finish this story another time, but just so you both know, my wish came true. All of it at once."

Shooting stars were very potent things.