Designed Collision Read online

“How are you doing?”

  “I am fine. It is all good. It happened so fast; I think he was planning it. He was waiting for me to be alone and relaxed so he could make his entrance.”

  “I should never have left you alone.”

  “It is fine. I am fine. If we ever have another, I will make sure that you are with me every moment of every day until it decides to leave me. On the plus side, we know that it is possible and not deadly for one of my kind to birth one of your kind.”

  “He’s our kind now.” He chuckled and kissed her temple.

  She nodded. “Right. Our kind.”

  She paused. “What are we going to name him?”

  “Newek.” One letter off her family name but alien enough that few, if any, would notice.

  She smiled. “Newek. Hello, Newek. Welcome to the world.”

  Her baby looked up at her with his father’s silver-black eyes and kept nursing. He wasn’t one for chitchat.

  Karus curled around her and kissed her neck. “How are you doing?”

  “We made a person, so I am still pretty stunned about that.” She smiled.

  “The Hmrain will make you into a fertility goddess. They will come here in droves to hope that you can give off the aura that will let them find their own mate capable of breeding.”

  “So, we are not going to have any kidnapping issues?”

  He laughed. “No. You and I are firmly bonded and have mixed our genes to prove it. How did you call me?”

  She chuckled. “I caused myself pain. I knew you were watching for it, but the contractions weren’t anything like I had expected.”

  “Painful?”

  “No, just persistent. He did all the work for me.”

  Her mate whispered in her ear. “Would you ever consider another?”

  “Let my body recover from him first. We can discuss another when we know how fast he is going to grow.”

  “As long as it is still an option. I like his ears.”

  She glanced over, and Newek did, indeed, have her ears. “Well, it is nice that part of him takes after his mother.”

  “Maybe the next one will have your eyes.” He nibbled at her ear.

  “We are not having sex tonight, Karus. I have already had one Hmrain inside me today.”

  He chuckled against her shoulder. He had been fascinated with her curves from the moment they developed, and it seemed that his enthusiasm hadn’t waned after she had expanded to enormous proportions. She supposed that she had finally had bits of her to scale.

  Her body was tired, so she slept. Late in the night, she was propped up, and her child was eased into her arms. Karus was taking care of the midnight feeding in the only way he knew how.

  When the baby was full, Karus took care of the diaper, sat in a chair, and softly told the baby a story.

  Once upon a time, on a broken world, a handsome king set out to find a bride. The queen-to-be was alone in the woods. She had nothing but animals for company, and she was fascinated with the king on sight.

  He wanted to sweep her away, but he knew the rules. For her to be his in every way, he had to do it legally, so he sent his trusty knight to pave the way and educate the queen-to-be because she was ignorant of the ways of the stars.

  She passed every test that the king could throw at her and soon joined him in his traveling palace with all of her beasts coming along as part of the deal.

  Once she knew that she was safe and her creatures were safe, she saw that the king might be the one she wanted to be with for her whole life. She signed the contract, and they were happy.

  They had many adventures, many friends, and they loved each other very much. One day, the queen mentions that she is going to have a baby, and the king was very worried. The king and queen were from different worlds, and while a baby was possible, it wasn’t likely.

  The queen got very grumpy with every passing month, and it took all of the king’s charm and calm to keep her happy. The joy in her life had been given to the baby, and the king had his hands busy. He loved them both and couldn’t wait for the baby to arrive so that the queen could feel joy when she saw them.

  She got out of bed and walked over to the chair, standing behind Karus, his wings wrapping around her. “I do feel joy with you.”

  He hushed her. “This is his first story. It’s important.”

  She grinned and kissed his ear. “Keep going.”

  Then one day, the grumpy queen was alone in her room, and the prince decided to make his entrance. He came into the world in a rush, but the queen knew what to do and kept herself and the new baby safe. Now, the queen is happy, the king is ecstatic, and the prince is fast asleep.

  She whispered. “That is a good story. Am I really that grumpy?”

  “No, but every story needs a villain, and I am the valiant hero so that it couldn’t be me.” He grinned.

  She stroked her hands down his back between his wings, and he shuddered. “That story is going to need some revision if another prince or princess is ever going to be in the cards.”

  He chuckled and stood up. Taking their little one to his bed where his soft leathery wings protected his back.

  Newek had a sweet expression. She stroked his cheek, and then, Karus walk her back to bed.

  She lay next to him, and he chuckled.

  “What?”

  “I am thinking of all of the variants of that story that I can tell as he matures. I can get exceptionally graphic.”

  She snorted. “No one needs to think of their parents having sex.”

  He laughed. “What about kissing, groping, sliding my fingers into you?”

  She shivered as he continued to whisper options to include in their intimate history. His hands gently cradled her breasts before he slowly moved them down her cellularly accelerated belly. Her body was back in shape, but it was still curvier than before. He seemed intent on measuring the difference in those curves.

  Her body responded to his touch like it always did, and when she was shivering in his arms, she thought about how long it could be before she tried for another baby. Damn, that was the trap. She giggled. It wasn’t the worst way to be persuaded, and she looked forward to long and detailed negotiations in her life with her Hmrain.

  Author’s Note

  Finally, back to Shattered Stars. I don’t know if I will make more. That is a lie. I totally will. Not all have dragon wings.

  I liked Cassandra. Perky and practical.

  Thanks for reading,

  Viola Grace

  About the Author

  Viola Grace (aka Zenina Masters) is a Canadian sci-fi/paranormal romance writer with ambitions to keep writing for the rest of her life. She specializes in short stories because the thrill of discovery, of all those firsts, is what keeps her writing.

  An artist who enjoys a story that catches you up, whirls you around, and sets you down with a smile on your face is all she endeavours to be. She prefers to leave the drama to those who are better suited to it, she always goes for the cheap laugh.

  In real life, she now is engaged in beekeeping, and her adventures can be found on the YouTube channel, Mystery Bees Apiary. Just look for the cartoon kittens.