Page 6 of Spectacle

“Hey, we’ve got this. We’re a team, you aren’t in this alone.” He cups my cheek and presses his forehead against mine, and I sag into his arms as they wrap around me. “Everything won’t look so big after you get some rest.”

He quickly finishes washing me, leaving me to my thoughts, then shuts off the water. He wraps me in a giant towel before drying himself off. Cas scoops me up, and we return to my bedroom. It’s dark, and when he places me on the bed, I’m disappointed that no one else is here. I know Link, Maxsim, and Echo wouldn’t be and that Tirrian and Brannock are busy and Nikos is unavailable to snuggle, but I thought maybe Saxon and Xavier would be here. Xavier did leave the med bay pretty upset at me, though, and I still don’t know why.

Cas rolls me out of my towel and tosses it to the side before climbing into bed next to me. He pulls the covers over us, and I feel his body shift, and then his tentacles wrap around me in a way that I love, and I let my worries drift away as my eyelids flutter shut.

He presses a kiss to my cheek and whispers, “Sleep well, baby.”

CHAPTER THREE

Xavier

Earlier

Ihuff in frustration as I hurry after the bear. I could feel how hurt he was by Lila’s comment, and I’m super annoyed at her for not realizing that all he wants is to be part of a family—our family. She’s either too dense to figure that out or too distracted by everything else that’s going on. It’s more likely, however, that it hasn’t even occurred to her that he may want that, because nobody has wanted her for most of her life—or not permanently anyway. She’s come so far since she discovered her heritage, but every now and then, her past rears its ugly head, making her act stupid.

“Ghosie, wait up,” I call. Even though I could just appear in front of him, I don’t want to startle him. He’s lost in his own misery. I don’t usually care so much about people who aren’t in my family, but if things go right, then he’s going to be a part of it eventually, so I need to make an effort.

The bear stops and looks over his shoulder, and I see tears glistening in his eyes. He quickly looks down, and I watch him wipe his face, so I pretend not to see them. “Hey…” I go to touch his shoulder but hesitate, knowing what will happen to me if I do. I drop my hand and sigh. “Fuck, man, I want to give you a big hug, but then I’ll probably end up humping your leg.”

Ghosie snorts, the sound a mix of amusement and misery. “That’s the story of my life.”

“Come on, I’ll walk with you. Look, Lila has a lot on her plate, and quite frankly, it probably hasn’t even occurred to her that you would want to stay.”

“But the attraction mark appeared on her body as well as mine,” Ghosie argues. “She knows this isn’t a one-way thing.”

I sigh heavily. “Yes, but you need to remember this is all still very new to Lila. Heck, it’s only been a little over a couple of months since she’s known about any of it. Someone who grew up Skarrian would recognize the attraction as what it is, but Lila has had so many that she thinks it will happen with everyone she finds attractive, and unfortunately, up until now, it has, but once she interacts with more people, she will realize it’s not like that.”

“I never thought it would ever happen to me. I’ve never known if someone was attracted to me or if it was a byproduct of my fur. I’m worried it’s the same for Lila,” he tells me as we step into the elevator, and I shake my head.

“If it was because of your fur, it would have worn off. The marks would fade if the attraction waned, and they cannot be circumvented by magic. Yours was still on Lila’s back when she was naked earlier,” I assure him, and he nods.

“Yes, hers is still on my back too.”

“Look, you’re just going to have to woo her. The little darling is delightfully unaware of how attractive and refreshing she is, so I suggest you inform her that you would like to stay on, request for her to find a job for you in the circus, and then seduce her. Prove to her that you want her not just for her ability to give you little ones, which will be one of her biggest fears.”

He looks at me with horror as the elevator comes to a stop on our floor. I gesture for him to follow me. I know he has his own room, but I don’t want him to hide and wallow in his misery so I’m going to tempt him with our rug rats. I saw the way he looked at them with longing.

“But, ah, er…” He sputters, and I shush him with a hand.

“You and I both know that’s not what you see in her.” I try to put his mind at ease, because I know that is not the reason he is attracted to her.

“No, I wouldn’t care if she never changed into her bear form again. I just want to be part of her life, and I would be perfectly content raising her children as my own if she would let me.” I want to smile at the declaration, but I don’t want him to think I’m laughing at him. I just love the fact that my wife has so many men who want to make her happy.

“It’s been hectic, and I don’t think that’s going to change anytime soon, so it’s going to be up to you to put yourself in her path. Now, I had an idea about how you can help her if you’re game,” I tell him as we get to our suite—the only one on this level after the ship refurbishment. I wave my hand in front of the sensor, and it reads my aura and opens to allow me in. I hear the chatter of little voices, and love washes over me as I take in the sight of Caspian and Echo sitting at the table with our babies. They seem to be having a meal, and when I look at the clock on the wall, I realize it’s definitely dinnertime.

“Daddy X.” Jack claps his hands and holds them up. “Fly,” he demands, but I shake my head.

“No, you need to finish your dinner first, and then I’ll fly you to your bed,” I promise him.

They love it when I use telekinesis to zoom them around the room. He turns back and starts shoveling food into his mouth, and Caspian mouths, “Thank you.” Both he and Echo look exhausted. I feel a little guilty that both of them keep ending up on children duty. We definitely need to make sure we spread it out a little better.

“Grab a seat,” I tell the bear and point to the table before going into the kitchen and getting us both drinks. I could conjure them, but I’d be as big as that slug of a merman king if I never did anything manually.

“You’re back!” Echo sounds relieved. “Where are the others?” He looks over our shoulders like he’s waiting for the rest of them to come in.

I wince, but my back is to them, so he can’t see my reaction. I don’t want to upset him, but Lila is right, I need to tell him about Maxsim.

“Teddy, so soft,” Cally says as I return to the table with a drink in each hand.

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