Page 57 of Victoria's Embrace

He had the ability to face any problem presented to him—and in a complex with so many different species, there were some damn strange problems—with calm unflappability. That, combined with his nose for detective work—something that came in handy more than one would think—made him a favorite among the inhabitants when they had problems they couldn’t solve themselves. Hell, even Aria, not known for her quickness to dole out compliments, said he would’ve made a hell of an FBI agent.

Together, she and Thegan made a pretty kickass team, if she did say so herself. She’d gotten used to weird, but some of the complaints people came to her with could still throw her for a loop. In those cases, Thegan was there, ready to help in any way she needed, his strengths perfectly complimenting her weaknesses and vice versa.

Like the time people started sprouting tentacles in… intimate places.

She’d been there to help with the emotional trauma and calming their panic, while Thegan determined the cause. Come to find out, theirKruudianchef had shed what they’d all assumed were normal tentacles but were, in fact, parasitic organisms into the soup of the day where they’d laid eggs.

Disgusting, but a relatively easy fix with a dose ofnrekarbeans.Jerseal, the chef, now cooked in what was essentially hazmat gear, everybody who’d dined on the soup was parasite free, thanks to Thegan, and the incident was forgiven, thanks to some gentle coaxing and reassurance from Victoria.

Vi’kail, no longer needing to hide his past, was now the head of security, putting his skills, knowledge, and insights to work protecting them instead of wreaking havoc on the universe on the orders of a corrupt Federation.

He still went by Vi’kail, much preferring the name he’d given himself to his birth name of R’aithe Re’deia. It was safer to let R’aithe remain a ghost. He still had enemies out there who’d jump at the chance to kill the once feared and hated Federation soldier responsible for so much death.

Having that weight lifted from his shoulders, being free of the burden of his past and accepting, truly, that he wasn’t responsible for the horrors he’d unwillingly committed, allowed him to be a lighter, happier version of himself.

That wasn’t to say he’d magically transformed from wounded bad boy to playful frolicker, because he most definitely hadn’t. There were still some shadows in his eyes, but he smiled, real smiles, joked, played around—mostly pranks on Thegan and Thorn—and loved her with an unabashed intensity that never failed to take her breath away.

He wasn’t afraid to be himself and no longer held a part of himself back from her.

Snitch and Tesha stopped their game long enough to greet her: Tesha with a full-body rub down her side, a thorough sniff of her hair, and a wet lick from collarbone to eyebrow. Snitch greeted her with chitters and meeps that still sounded adorable, even though his voice deepened considerably in his big form, a gentle thunk of his forehead to hers, and then he bent and gently nuzzled her stomach.

Victoria gasped as realization hit her.

He’d been doing that for about a week. She hadn’t thought anything of it. Snitch was prone to odd displays of affection so, while she found it strange, she hadn’t thought much of it.

After finding out she was pregnant, the gesture took on an entirely new light.

Craning her head back to meet his eyes when he straightened, she whispered, “You knew, didn’t you? You knew right away.”

He gave her a toothy, dragon smile and bounced his wings with a smug, “Mrrrllup.”

Grinning and absurdly close to tears, she just shook her head, amazed, as always, by her beloved little squirrel-dragon.

“You’re the best space animal ever.”

He preened for a solid minute, and then he and Tesha were off again, chasing each other, Tesha hopping about like a giant, Clydesdale-sized bunny, Snitch running on all fours before spinning about, rearing up on his hind legs, and flaring his wings wide, to which Tesha responded by pouncing and taking him to the ground, initiating a wrestling battle.

“Watch the flowers, you two!”

Shaking her head, she glanced back at the house to find Thorn staring at her through the window, sending her one of those little smiles she loved so much and bringing back the butterflies in her stomach tenfold.

Blowing out a breath, she went inside only to be snatched up against a broad, muscled chest before she could close the door behind her.

“I have missed you, my heartsmate,” Thorn rumbled, nuzzling her neck. “The day is too long without you.”

Turning her face into his silky hair, she whispered back, “I missed you, too, handsome.”

Before she could kiss him, she was snatched out of his arms by Vi’kail. He took her lips in a deep, hungry kiss that changed the tightness in her stomach from nerves to need.

“Dirty thief,” Thorn grumbled at her back.

She felt Vi’kail’s smile against her mouth a moment before Thegan finished the ‘Snatch Victoria Away’ party, hauling her out of Vi’kail’s arms and into his.

“Good eve, my sweet,” he murmured then dipped down and kissed her slowly, teasingly, feeding and heightening the desire Thorn and Vi’kail had kindled inside her.

Her stomach grumbling interrupted their customary greeting, one that would’ve likely—and usually did—end with them all in the bedroom. Chuckling, Thegan set her on her feet.

“Come, my tiny, starving human. We made evening meal.”

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