Authors: Brenna Lyons
Gabe erupted in a spate of Xxan language, and his
gran-seir
replied.
“Daily for
three
months. My apologies. I was not aware that the young one had already injured you. Or that you had been injured by those who hate our kind. Both are inexcusable.”
Abby forced her eyes open. Something told her to continue addressing Zhaahvan. “Bathing?” She knew the Xxan used bathing in ritual, but she didn’t know what it meant to them.
The elder tipped his head to Gabe, and the latter started explaining.
“The private clove bath daily is ordered for a period of time for several reasons. Yours... It would be a mixture of apology for the injuries against you and to strengthen the bond between us with...intimacy.”
Her cheeks heated at the unspoken implication.
It’s sexual.
Abby nodded. “I see.”
“We can use the bathing pools upstairs for some of them, but the first will be in here in the center nest...after a family bath of welcome for you and Michael.”
Her heart stuttered. “Family bath? Everyone?”
Naked? In the pond together? Not a chance.
Gabe shook his head. “Zhaahvan will enter the pool with us, as will my seir.”
She started to protest.
“Clothed, for your comfort.”
Zhaahvan let out a sound akin to a snort and grumbled something in Xxan. Gabe answered, and the elder made several soft snuffling sounds.
“We will bathe Michael first, and my
seir
will remove him from the pool and dress him again. Considering the time, he and my
Hauaa
and sister will feed him.”
“And your
gran-seir
and the two of us?” she asked.
“In the deep water, where no one can see, I will remove your
S’suuhhea
.
Gran-Seir
will bathe your neck and back. Then he will leave the pool, and we will finish the bath alone.”
“How often do we...do a family bath?”
“When you come to the nest the first time. When you present a new child to the nest. And when you are injured. Those are the only times we do this.”
Her stomach squirmed at the idea, but Abby nodded. If this was what being mated into Gabe’s family meant, she could accept that. “Well then... I suppose we should get started? Just let me know what I’m supposed to do.”
Gabe smiled and kissed her cheek.
****
He could hardly believe Abby was so at ease with the situation. He’d been told most human mates were less sure about the bathing rituals the Xxan indulged in, though there was nothing sexual beyond the mated pair involved.
“It is simple enough.”
With that, he released a now-calm Michael into Zhaahvan’s hands. His son looked up at the massive elder and patted his unarmored chest, prompting a barking laugh from
Gran-Seir
.
Zhaahvan snuggled the young one under his chin and started the soothing rumble used with infants. Gabe and his
seir
joined in, and Gabe laid a little hand to
Gran-Seir’s
neck, his fingers rubbing up and down along one of the ridge plates in the elder’s throat. The other hand went to Michael’s mouth, and he started sucking on the side of his fist.
Brien reached up and drew off Michael’s
S’suumea
. He dropped the rectangle of silk to the grass, then removed the diaper. Gabe tensed for the usual fountain of urine open air brought out in Michael, but his son must have recently relieved himself in the diaper.
Zhaahvan led the way to the pond and stepped in, still clothed, Brien on his heels.
Gabe broke off the rumble and offered a warning...in English, to avoid translating again for Abby. “Michael likes to swim. We’ll have to be cautious around the pools. If he can reach them, he will go in.”
Both elder males turned to shoot him looks of disbelief, the rumble dying out abruptly.
Gabe didn’t have to question what they were thinking. Most Xxanian children liked water, but few were natural swimmers, and most wanted an adult with them when they braved the pools before the age of one. Swimming so young was a much more human trait than they were accustomed to.
“He’s good, but I worry.”
“I took him to infant swim classes,” Abby inserted. “He likes the water so much. Of course, I had to find a pool without chlorine and a class that would accept Xxanian children. Doctor Rayn helped with that.”
Zhaahvan squatted, bringing Michael down to the surface of the water. The babe kicked his feet, splashing and squealing in delight, then turned belly down and started using his hands to create big arcs of water toward Brien. The elder lowered him into the water and let him go, seemingly amazed. Michael flipped to his back, arms spread, and started kicking for the far wall.
“Brien,” Zhaahvan barked.
Gabe’s
seir
chased Michael down and scooped the happy young one up again. He shot a look of worry at Zhaahvan.
The elder grunted.
“I propose a motion tracker.”
Gabe swallowed a laugh.
“A sensible decision,
Gran-Seir
.”
And a choice no Xxanian elder likely thought he’d have to make to safeguard a young one of his nest.
“How old is Michael?”
his
seir
inquired.
Gabe bit back a wince.
“Four months.”
Abby shifted uncomfortably at the potent silence, proving even humans could feel the rising tide of a battle-ready Xxanian warrior, extended ridge plates or not. “What is it?” she asked.
“Michael’s age,” Gabe replied.
Her cheeks went darker than the red of her
S’suuhhea
. “Oh.”
I have to explain this.
“My mate’s frailty meant that Michael was born very early.
Premature.
”
Some words just didn’t have a Xxanian equivalent.
“He slept in the womb for less than three and a half months.”
Beside him, Abby wiggled in a show of nerves. She looked from Gabe to the elders and back again.
Zhaahvan walked to Abby and scooped up her hands. He tipped his head down in a bow and brought the back of her fingers to his forehead in a show of respect. At last, he focused on her fully and spoke in English. “Four moons.” He strode back into the pool and lifted Michael from Brien’s hands.
Abby watched him, seemingly stunned. “I don’t understand,” she admitted.
Gabe smiled. “I had better order another case of clove.”
****
Words stuck in Abby’s throat. She forced them up. “I understood
that
part.”
Gabe searched for a translation into English for the Xxanian saying. “There is no pain deeper than a mother’s love tested.”
She gaped at him.
“
Gran-Seir
recognizes how hard it must have been for you to carry and care for Michael, believing he would not survive, despite all you did for him. It is a pain he cannot conceive of. He respects your strength as...something of a female warrior.”
Tears stung at her eyes, and she nodded.
“Gabe,” his
seir
reminded him.
He nodded and stripped off his
S’suumea
.
Abby forced herself not to protest. Of all the males in the pool, he would naturally assume she wouldn’t mind seeing him naked. It seemed as if it was expected for this sort of event.
Gabe took her hand and guided Abby into the pool. The water was warm and heavy in the scent of salt and minerals, the type of water high-end spas charged big money to access.
The silk clung to her thighs, her hips, her abdomen...Gabe helped Abby to her knees, so the water reached to her upper chest.
Brien crossed the pool to them, Michael bouncing in his arms and waving to her. When Gabe’s father reached them, he dropped to his knees. Zhaahvan settled in the water next to his son.
All three men spread clove oil on Michael, bathing the baby with care, while Michael kicked and splashed, laughing and wiggling in Brien’s arms.
The low hum rose in intensity, and Brien took his leave with Michael peeking over his shoulder. Abby watched him go, waiting for the protest that Abby wasn’t coming with him, but Michael went along silently, seemingly content with the additions to his family.
It’s probably scent based. So much of Xxanian life is.
“He’ll be fine, Abby,” Gabe assured her.
“I know. I’ve just never had someone I could leave Michael with...until now.”
No one Michael would allow himself to be alone with, certainly. Save the staff at SLAL.
Gabe cupped her face, and Abby focused on him. She managed a weak smile.
A slight stirring of the water was her only indication that Zhaahvan had moved. Then his hand was wrapped around the back of her neck, spreading clove oil and massaging gently. His skin was softer than she would have anticipated before she met him.
The elder grumbled something in the Xxan language, and Gabe reached up to untie the
S’suuhhea
. Abby’s breathing hitched and she reminded herself that there was no way Zhaahvan could see her in the murky water.
Gabe pressed a kiss to her lips, and she let her eyes slide shut. The silk peeled away from her body, and droplets of water rained down as he tossed it away.
Zhaahvan moved on to washing her back, while Gabe started spreading the clove oil along her cheeks and chin. Before the elder’s massage of her back muscles was complete, his grandson’s attentions had moved to the front of her shoulders and her chest.
Abby bit back a moan, well aware of the elder at her back. Still, she arched into Gabe’s touch, encouraging him as he cupped her breasts, bringing them to a potent sensitivity with the stinging oil.
Zhaahvan’s hands left her body at her waist and moved to her upper arm, as Gabe moved down her ribcage to her abdomen. The elder’s attentions seemed to speed. He finished with her right arm and moved to the left when Gabe had barely reached her pubic curls. Gabe shifted, teasing her inner thigh with the length of his ready cock, reminding her that they were expected to make love in the pool.
Zhaahvan made quick work of her left hand and moved away with a snuff and grumble that meant nothing to her.
Gabe’s lips parted hers, and Abby wrapped herself around him, her entire body alive to his touch. He lifted her by the waist and brought Abby down around his cock, groaning into her mouth.
Part of her argued that Zhaahvan couldn’t even be out of the water yet. The other half argued that it didn’t matter. He expected them to have sex in the pool, and he couldn’t see more than her back and the kiss they were engaged in. Some until-now-unheard part of her mind even argued that she didn’t care if the elder watched them, as long as Gabe didn’t stop what he was doing.
There was little chance of that. The heat between them skyrocketed, from thrust to thrust. Their sounds rose, echoing off the cave walls. Hands explored. Their movements became more vigorous, churning the water.
Climax choked off her voice. Then it exploded out in a scream of pleasure. Gabe pressed her hips down, seating deep inside her, his cum filling her with heat that sent her senses into a spin.
Abby sagged against Gabe, exhausted, gasping for breath. He stroked handfuls of water over her, washing away much of the remaining oil. It had the added benefit of arousing her all over again, and Abby moaned, half in acceptance and half in the realization that she was too tired to launch into another sexual encounter yet.
Gabe laughed heartily. “Food first,” he ordered.
He didn’t set her off his lap. Instead, Gabe lifted Abby into his arms and pushed to his feet. He carried her from the pool, settled her in a large chair that would easily seat Zhaahvan, and started to dry himself with a fluffy bath sheet.
Abby looked around for another, and Gabe made a sound that drew her attention back to him. He moved his finger back and forth in a negative motion. She settled in the chair and watched Gabe dress, admiring the way his body moved.
****
Gabe looked up, his heart stuttering at the sight of Abby licking her lips.
Seir-God
help him, if they weren’t expected to eat with his family, he’d carry her directly to a bed or satellite nest and make use of that tongue. And his own.
We
are
expected to dress and eat with my family.
Gabe took a calming breath and wrapped his
S’suumea
again.
That left Abby to be cared for. He picked up the towel and stalked toward her, feeling every gram the Dominant male he was.
She raised one foot and planted it on the edge of Zhaahvan’s chair, pushing herself to the high back. Abby swallowed hard, her breathing coming in ragged little movements of air in and out of her lungs.
He didn’t question that she wasn’t frightened of him. Her nipples were hard and begging for his mouth, and her scent was enough to render him rock hard again.
Gabe eased her foot up and started drying her from bottom to top. Abby arched up in the chair, inviting Gabe to prove his Dominance in a way a Xxanian woman never would. Though inviting his
gran-seir’s
ire by making love on his chair would be sweet mischief, Gabe restrained himself.
When Abby was dry, he wrapped her in a fresh
S’suuhhea
and lifted her to her feet. Abby hesitated, then raised a hand and massaged at the well of musk on his chest. Gabe captured her mouth in a searing kiss.
He pulled away, cursing traditions. “We’re expected to eat with my family now.”
Abby nodded. “And then?”
Gabe wouldn’t have stopped the smile if he could have. “Michael will need a feeding. After that...I suggest we allow my parents to settle Michael to sleep for us.”
She nodded again.
He led her to the dining area, where the family had congregated to wait for them to dress. Gabe’s
seir
and
Hauaa
had Michael between them.
Gabe didn’t waste time. He started introducing everyone to Abby, pointing them out as he went. “This is my sister Ariel, my brother Geoff, my
seir
Brien, my
Hauaa
Jana, and...of course...my
gran-seir
Zhaahvan.”