Bringing Heat Read online

  She stroked the point of his ear with her fingertip.

  He sighed and leaned into her touch.

  “So, how is the city?”

  “Flourishing. They had twelve new citizens born this month.”

  She laughed. “Yeah, not fair that I get stuck with a Terran-Drai gestation of eleven months.”

  “You are almost there, dear heart.”

  She snorted. “Help me out of this chair. I need to make myself some dinner.”

  “I will make you dinner.” He smiled and picked her up.

  “You always make me grilled meat. I need a vegetable or two.”

  He carried her out of the com room and out to the kitchen where he set her on a tall chair and bowed. “I will make you some grilled vegetables with a bit of meat and that sauce that your avatar sent.”

  She grinned and watched him cook and then turned her head. “Is that the newest breeding fruit?”

  “Yes.”

  “Why is it silver?”

  “It’s for you. Los made it for you.”

  “Uh, I don’t need breeding fruit.”

  He chuckled. “I am aware. Los is aware. This is something different.”

  “Can I have some for dessert?”

  Los confirmed from inside her. It is fine for the baby.

  She smiled. “Good. I am not even going to ask if it is sweet or not.”

  “You are the first taster, so you will have to tell us.”

  Idalia grimaced. “Hooray.”

  She laced her fingers over her belly. “Now, ruler of Los... make me dinner.”

  He got to work.

  She held the fruit in her hands and turned it around a few times, looking for the logical way to cut into it. Eventually, she just had to go for it.

  She picked up a knife and tried to get through the outer skin. “This isn’t working.”

  Keydo came up behind her, wrapped his arms around her, and pulled the fruit in half neatly. “Start anywhere you like.”

  She looked at it. “Half in half again.”

  He nodded and broke it again for her. She picked up the quarter of the football-sized fruit and licked it. She exhaled in relief. It was sweet.

  She took a bite, chewed, and swallowed. It was like vaguely lemony sweet water. It would be really nice on a hot day. “This is really good.”

  “I am glad. Los made it especially for you.”

  “What is it for?”

  “Well, he guessed that you might not go into labour naturally, so it has been crafted to get things going.”

  She turned her chunk of fruit in her hand. “You couldn’t have mentioned that before I started eating.”

  He kissed her cheek. “No. You get stubborn.”

  “Get stubborn? I was born stubborn.”

  He wrapped his arms around her. “And yet, you are exactly what I need. I love stubborn.”

  She was about to comment when something started in her abdomen. The first feeling was a twinge. Then came a squeeze and then her breath rushed out of her lungs.

  “Oh, that’s it. You are cut off, Keydo. No more sex for you.”

  He chuckled. “You are almost as bad as me lately. I don’t think you are going to be able to resist your own impulses.”

  She glared at him and hopped down to the ground then started to waddle carefully toward the stairs.

  “Where are you going, love?”

  She paused and groaned. “None of your business. I’m fine. I’m fine.”

  She huffed, and when the squeeze released, she got moving again. Los was quiet, but Los hadn’t been in labour before. It was fair, neither had Idalia.

  She made it up the steps about half way when the next contraction brought her to her knees.

  The music started in her head, and Keydo’s song took her over. He picked her up, and she glared at him while her body relaxed. “This doesn’t mean I forgive you for sneaking the fruit on me.”

  “I will take whatever punishment you choose to dole out as long as you let me take care of you now. Fair?”

  She grunted with the next contraction. “Jackass.”

  “I love you, too.” He kissed her lips and brought her to their bedroom with a two-hundred-and-seventy-degree view of the valley around them.

  He had prepped their bed, gotten a bassinet ready, and there were diapers and blankets ready to go.

  “You are such an asshole.”

  He nodded. “I know. That is my duty and pleasure in our relationship.”

  She breathed, but it was difficult. “If I had known how it worked, I would have eaten less.”

  He stripped her and settled her in bed with a light blanket over her. She growled and tossed the blanket aside. His song in her head kept her calm as her body progressed far more rapidly than she was comfortable with.

  When she felt the pressure, Keydo got into position to catch it, and she snorted. “I really hope you did some studying.”

  She huffed and tried to stay relaxed, but it was going fast. There was stretching, she was panicking, and the song in her mind kept her going. There was a tremendous pressure and then everything eased up.

  Idalia panted and lay back. A tiny squall brought her head up. “What? What happened?”

  Keydo-Los was holding their daughter, and shining tears were in his eyes. “We have a baby girl.”

  She chuckled and groaned as another spasm hit her. “A baby girl. Yikari.”

  The placenta emerged, and he handed her the baby while he took care of her previous life-support system.

  Her baby was shining pearl with a shock of black hair. Her eyes were deep blue, and her lips were a small pink rosebud. “Hello, baby. It is fun to see you instead of feel you.”

  She stroked her baby’s back, and the wing buds were there. Her body ached, and she still felt huge, but she had her baby. It was a win.

  The little fists started moving, and the pearl skin flushed grey. An angry wail came out, and Idalia laughed. “Aw, baby.”

  Keydo came back, and he joined them on the bed, pulling her away from the blood and other mess at the edge of the bedding.

  She laughed. “I am not cleaning up these sheets. We are going to have to move.”

  He snorted, and a wave of fire moved from them across the bed until the gross bits disappeared.

  “Cheater.”

  “She’s hungry.”

  Idalia nodded. “I know, but I wanted it to be a family moment.”

  She helped the baby to a nipple, and she fumbled with attaching for a moment, and then, she showed her resemblance to her father. “Yikes!”

  He chuckled. “She takes after me.”

  She elbowed him. “Shut up, jackass.”

  “Love you, too, my dearest rose.”

  They sat there with their new addition until Idalia heard Keydo-Los’s triumphant song in her mind, and she fell asleep with his arms around both of them.

  Idalia listened to the soft baby sounds, and she turned to look at the baby in the bassinet beside the bed. The baby was here. “Hello, Yikari.”

  The baby was dressed in a soft silver dress, which was a brave colour for an infant. Idalia sat up and picked her daughter up, starting nursing while she looked around at the bedroom. It had a definite family vibe now. There was a rocking chair for her to nurse in, gowns instead of her warrior princess attire, and where the hell did her stomach go?

  “Um, Los?”

  “Yes, Idalia. The baby is beautiful.”

  “What happened to my body? I look like I did before the pregnancy.”

  “Ah, Keydo suggested that you would return to his arms more readily if your body had returned to your standard form.”

  “Oh, did he? How thoughtful.”

  “You are more relaxed when you two are coupling. You can then breed again.”

  “Do you just want this place covered with Los-Drai-Terran hybrids?”

  “Yes!” Los’s tone was excited. “Y
ou are pretty, and she can fly. A flying population would be exciting.”

  “I would say so. I have invited every Drai offshoot and half-breed to come here. You will soon have it. I don’t need to breed them all directly.”

  “But you made such a beautiful little girl. More girls would be good, boys would be good, too.”

  “I am not a herd animal, Los. I can’t just be bred over and over. The development for my offspring is too long. I can’t have an entire warehouse of babies. Who would take care of them?”

  “The Losians. That is what they are for. To take care of Keydo’s mate.”

  “Wait. What?”

  “I promised him that if he joined with me as avatar, I would create an ideal situation for his mate. You are here, you like the world, the dragon, the home. It is all ideal for you. You love Keydo, he loves you, neither of you can be without the other, and now, you have started reproducing. It is exciting!”

  “How old a world are you, Los?”

  “I am young. You are my first avatars, and I want to keep you as long as I can.”

  She chuckled and shook her head. “Oh, boy. I don’t want to spend my lifetime pregnant. It isn’t comfortable, and I won’t be able to enjoy being with my child.”

  “What if you accidentally catch with Keydo again?”

  “Then I will have to deal with it, but I will be upset that I can’t spend as much time as I would like with Yikari.”

  She thought she had gotten through to Los by the time Keydo returned to her with a tray and a smile. “So, Los has explained that he repaired your body and I could start breeding the next child whenever I wanted.”

  “Yeah, I have been getting a lot of interesting information from him as well. He wants a flying population.”

  “Ah, so he has just informed me.”

  “That’s why he picked you and designed an entire world to help you get a mate.”

  He set the tray down next to her, and he held some fruit to her lips. “Well, it did work.”

  She bit the fruit, and her teeth grazed his finger. “My avatar mailed me here, ordered me to be mutated, and then you had to work to seduce me so that you wouldn’t burn me.”

  “I had to stay in the magma layer to make sure that the warmth returned at the proper time. Because I didn’t want to wait until it was done, I had Los change you to withstand a higher temperature. That was me. He just agreed to do it. He could have done it in one event, but the gradual change meant you could accept it when everything else was happening.”

  She sighed. “So much manipulation. I suppose that alteration on this level is something. I hear that one of the other resets gets her guys pregnant.”

  He smiled. “I wish, for your sake, that it was possible.”

  “Maybe Los could do some research. I mean, if he rewired me, he could rewire you.”

  She laughed at the look on his face. “Oh, that look is priceless. Don’t worry. I like your bits working in the prescribed method.”

  He smiled. “Do you?”

  “I do.”

  He held out his hands for the baby, changed the diaper, and got little Yikari photo ready. She passed out after her clean butt and full belly in baby fashion.

  Idalia got to her feet and stretched. She went to the wardrobe and slipped on the gown, belting it. It felt like too much fabric, so she looked for a simple breast wrap and wrap skirt. She was hot, and clothing wasn’t even in her top ten of life requirements.

  Keydo wrapped his arms around her, and he exhaled and inhaled deeply next to her skin. “You smell like Idalia and milk.”

  She blushed. “That is a side effect of producing a mammal.”

  “I like it. It is my new favourite scent.” He licked her skin.

  “I just gave birth yesterday.”

  “I recall, I was there.”

  “Are you putting moves on me?”

  “I want my mate in my arms.”

  She turned to him. “Me, too.” She reached up and stroked his hair, his neck, and his chest. “I don’t think that they make Drai birth control.”

  “They do not. We don’t breed often. Los will make sure that we have some time before another child begins.”

  “Will he? He was pretty sure that he wanted an army of winged citizens.”

  “I believe your hesitation has brought the situation home.”

  “Good. As cute as Yikari is, I don’t want an army of her.”

  He nodded, and his eyes flared. She knew hers were flaring as well, and they met in the middle, then fell on the bed.

  Yikari slept through it all.

  Epilogue

  The shuttle landed, and the new colonists emerged. This was always exciting. Los was really happy when new fliers arrived.

  Idalia walked to the tarmac and watched the shuttle open. She stood and smiled. “Welcome to Los. You are free to fly anywhere you wish. Ask nicely before you enter someone’s home, and be polite, or your ass will be right back on the shuttle.”

  The group of Enjel came out, and one of them sneered. “Why are you greeting us? I had heard that a Drai was in charge.”

  “Sorry. He’s watching his brood. Perhaps I can be of assistance.”

  “They only thing I want from you, sweetness, is for you to lay back and spread those silvery thighs.”

  “No, thank you, that position is usually occupied. Maybe my children can help you settle in. Yikari!”

  The heavy wingbeats of a dragon sounded from above, and Yikari’s pearl and black dragon circled the area before landing in her normal form. “You called?”

  The Enjel stared at Yikari.

  “These gentlemen are new colonists, and they seem to have trouble taking instruction from me. I thought you could fill in the details.”

  “Sure, Mom.”

  The Enjel heads stared at Idalia.

  Yikari ran down the rules and then stood next to her mom. Idalia finally said, “Welcome to Los. And in case you were wondering... these are my daughters.”

  Wingbeats filled the air, and her twenty adult girls filled the air above the tarmac. They all landed and stared at the newcomers with slight smiles on their lips.

  The dark winged male looked at her and asked, “Are these all your daughters?”

  “No. There are others, but they aren’t grown up enough to choose a mate.”

  “No, I meant are they born to you.”

  She laughed. “Oh, yes. Their father is very persistent and persuasive. The spirit of Los in him is also eager to have citizens that fly. I began the foothold of the bloodline. I might try introducing myself once again.”

  She straightened and smiled. “I am Idalia of Terra, altered to be the mate of the Drai, Keydo, and I am the second avatar of Los. Keydo is the first.” Her eyes started pulsing with fire. “If you disrespect me, my world, or my family, I will toss you into one of the lava pits that I keep aside for such situations. Are we clear?”

  They agreed that they were clear.

  “Excellent. My daughters will show you around. They are all shapeshifters and can all gut you with their claws. I don’t need to defend them, they are capable of doing it themselves. Enjoy your life here. It will certainly be interesting.”

  She nodded, turned, and walked back in the direction of her tower. A shape appeared on the horizon, and he flew toward her, scooping her up and flying her back home. It was tough administrating a new colony world, but Los was having a wonderful time, and the carefully chosen colonists settled in quickly.

  “You think they will be good?”

  “I think our daughters will smash them flat and pick through the pieces for usable parts.” She chuckled.

  “The littles are already speaking three languages.”

  “Los teaches them in their sleep. Of course they are.”

  “The youngest is four years old now.”

  “Is she? I guess that makes it seventy years now.” She leaned against him.

  “Wh
en can we have another little girl?”

  “Why are you all about the girls?” She laughed.

  “We have more Drai here than they do on Drai. I am excited to see my people coming back.”

  “Ah, so the girls are the bait.”

  “I prefer to think of them as proof of concept. Despite our crossbreeding, we have children stronger than any born on Drai in the last two hundred years.”

  “Ah. There is the smugness again.”

  He nuzzled her neck. “Give me another daughter and I will be overwhelmingly smug. Just like you like me.”

  She giggled, “Well, maybe one more.”

  Los’s fire blazed in his eyes. “The babysitter is already on duty. We have the tower to ourselves.”

  “Plotting against me, guys?”

  He kissed her neck. “With you, my rose, since the very beginning.”

  She sighed and moved her head to one side. “And to the very end?”

  “That is nowhere in sight, so yes, to the very end. With you to the very end, Los’s rose.”

  She smiled. “If you put another tattoo on me, I am going to shave your head again.”

  He chuckled. “You have only done it twice so far. I will take my chances on that one.”

  Idalia chuckled. Under black light, she had one rose for every daughter. She had a lot of daughters. She had room for a few more, but she wasn’t going to tell Keydo.

  “I heard that. Yay! More girls!”

  She rolled her eyes and held on to her mate. The planet she lived on was incorrigible, but it did take care of her. She accepted that she was in Los’s hands. From one avatar to the next, this was not how she had imagined her life to run. On Earth, she would have been dead already, and now, she had an endless expanse of joy and amusement and family ahead of her.

  She knew one thing. Douglas would have been so happy for her, and he would have laughed at her being pursued by a horny alien and that she had become an alien herself. It would have tickled the hell out of him.

  It was a thought that made her smile whenever she was overwhelmed by the sheer enormity of her life now. From not seeing to next week to seeing thousands of years in the distance.

  Keydo-Los nipped her ear and started to whisper what he wanted to do to her the moment they had some private time, which was in short supply.