Page 11 of Iced Heat

“My life used to be less messy,” I sighed and put my forearm over my eyes.

Xav traced around the edges of my silver star scale. I focused on his finger tracing around and around it. I was hard and slick and we hadn’t even talked about babies. I wanted babies, of course. I wanted a family. I’d played myself right out of the hookup culture while down in the tropics. A smile pulled at the corners of my mouth as I imagined Xav carrying around a little baby with my eyes and his dark hair. A fox/dragon who could turn into a whisp of something. Ice? Fire? Maybe smoke? Would they have a smaller wyrm form too? The questions circled my brain and eventually pulled me under into the dark abyss of sleep. Later, I’d face palm at how I fell asleep the first time I shared a bed with my alpha. Only Xav never brought it up that way. Later when he told the story it would be how we walked ourselves damn near to sleep because we couldn’t get enough of just talking to each other and how we barely made it into our tinyhotel room before we both passed out all curled up together after he stripped me half naked.

Chapter Six

Daliah

At Fred, Elio, and Nelum’s house in the GGB Territory

I paused outside of the bedroom door and listened for Rosemary’s heartbeat. I prayed the babies had gone down early and that she dozed off with them. I didn’t want to tell her that my brother was up to his same bullshit. Didn’t want to see her flash me that understanding look or hear her say that it was because he met his true-mate. I knew better than that. Sequin hated change and Rosemary changed everything. I thought she changed everything in the best possible ways but if my brother was to be believed I couldn’t see past my own nose.

“You’re not going to wake me up, babe,” Rosemary whispered from the other side of the door. Our wedding was less than a week away and we were trying to make the final arrangements and confirm everyone’s clothes, but Sequin was doing his best to dig his heels in and make something go nose up.

“I’m sorry,” I sighed, pushing the door open. The room was too quiet. The kids were down the hall in the nursery with my younger siblings. Except for Minter who was in his own ‘big boy’ room humming away to himself. The song sounded suspiciously like an old Moonscale handfasting song.

“I didn’t think he’d go for it,” she said from the edge of the bed.

She sat with her bare legs stretched out in front of her only wearing her favorite pink over-sized t-shirt and matching socks. She was fucking adorable. How could Sequin not love her straight to bits and pieces was beyond me.

“Then why’d you send me?” I laughed softly, shutting the door behind me. “I could’ve saved us all some drama.”

“Because it was the first thing to do. Offering him that was another way of inviting him back into your life. You obviously want him back.”

“It doesn’t matter what I want,” I said, kicking off my heels and unfastening my bra through the back of my dress. I wiggled out of the straps as I talked and let it drop to the floor where I stood. “He’ll probably go back with Dad and them now. Hell, it’s probably for the fucking best.”

“I hope he doesn’t. I don’t want to spend the next year hearing about it,” she laughed and stood up before motioning for me to turn around so she could unzip me. I let her unzip my dress and the cool air of the room played on my naked back and belly as it fell to the floor in a puddle around my feet. “I’ll listen, of course, but it’ll break my heart.”

“I’ll do my best not to complain too much,” I said, turning to face her.

“Don’t bother,” she shook her head. “For better or worse, right? It’s like I said before, I’m not marrying Sequin or any of your family. I’m marrying you. That means we have to put up with each other’s families sometimes, but it doesn’t mean I’m going to run screaming. Sequin doesn’t scare me. I don’t think he wants to scare me. He just…. I think he was surprised you liked feminine things at all.”

“After Mom went I was surrounded by all men all the time. Even more so after my grandparents’ door showed up.”

“I still think you should’ve told him you liked the house. I liked it. Yes. A lot of the things were mine but…” she tried to go on, but I kissed her. Of course, I liked them. They reminded me of her. Of course, I liked soft fluffy things too. I was part fox too. It wasn’t just Rosemary who Sequin pushed away. It was another part of me.

“I think we should offer to move the wedding back and make it a double wedding,” Rosemary said when the kiss broke. “Thatway they can have their matingmoon and have time to actually plan what they want --- I mean if they want to get married at all.”

“Anything for you,” I frowned.

“That’s my line and it’s anything for you. My family is surprisingly well-behaved about it all,” she laughed.

“Maybe they heard me spanking you last weekend and are afraid they might be next,” I teased her.

“If they didn’t hear it, they saw the handprint you left,” she laughed and rubbed her butt as if it still ached.

“Well,” I said, wrapping my arms around her and rubbing it for her, “love, remember that the next time you say harder.”

“I meant what I said. Zero fucking regrets,” she smirked at me.

“Want me to make it feel better?” I asked, leaning in close enough to kiss her but holding back from it.

“Wait! Yes! I do, but in a minute!” she said, putting her hands on my shoulders. “Ask him again tomorrow, okay? Tell him we’ll work together and find a better date and we’ll even give up one of the colors and they can choose the other one.”

“Why do you keep trying?” I groaned.

“Because you want him in your life!” she mock-groaned back at me.

“Fine,” I rolled my eyes, “but I get my treat now.”

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