Page 32 of Bound By the Vori

“Are we going to be able to see all that much already?” Kim asked, blown away by the fact that she wasn’t going to have to wait longer. She’d seen ultrasounds that were done at six and eight weeks by her cousins, and they hadn’t looked like anything more than indistinct blobs.

“The technology allows us a better image than what you have,” Vadal explained with a perceptive smile. “Nestlings also develop quickly in utero. Although the brain will continue developing as they grow, they will mostly be fully formed at this point and will merely be increasing in size.”

A holographic image projected from the scanner, and her jaw dropped at the very clear images of three small humanoid fetuses with the little nodes of their crown coils along their heads and alarmingly short tails that wiggled in the fluid of their amniotic sacks.

“Crap. Where’s their tails?” she demanded, her voice rising with her panic.

There was dead silence, and then suddenly all males in the room chuckled once.

“You all can go to hell,” Kim muttered under her breath, and Reggie gave her an understanding smile.

“Ignore them. To them, this is natural—it only looks weird to us,” she said loudly, giving each of the males a withering look.

A look of chagrin crossing his face, Vadal nodded at his mate’s observation as he pointed to the tiny tail. “At this very early developmental stage, they have buds for their crown coils and a tail bud. It will quickly get longer,” he assured her. “In a few more weeks, it will be long enough for them to curl it around their bodies.”

“See? Nothing to worry about. And since the guys were so busy laughing, perhaps they could do with some more entertainment,” Reggie said slowly, a sweet smile pulling at her lips as she regarded the males in the room.

“Reggie…” Vadal groaned.

She gave her mate an innocent look. “Don’t you think they should know? I do. They might need to come equipped with smelling salts or something if anyone passes out like Walooth did. The guys should be prepared, after all,” she added with a devious grin.

Kim had to hand it to her. Reggie’s smile didn’t falter once and instead only grew wider as she told the males in exacting detail what to expect during delivery and after birth. Perhaps it was a little much because Kim was feeling a bit queasy herself, but she felt a warranted amount of satisfaction seeing the looks of horror on her mates’ faces.

Now that was entertainment.

Twenty-Seven

Sijhord’s tongue teased along Kim’s belly as she lay naked along his and Rykaal’s tails. She still scented of sex from their frantic bout of mating. He should feel guilty for being so needy of his mate when his nestlings were at their most fragile state as they grew within her. The flavor of her skin had changed even further, ripening with the presence of their young.

He nuzzled the soft plushness of her belly, murmuring contently. This is exactly where his mate and family belonged, safely within their nest and his coils. That the incident at the vorubal was now officially declared an unfortunate accident following Zana’s examination and the thorough questioning of her guards only comforted him slightly. He was not sure if he would ever truly rest easy. Part of him would always wonder.

Kim’s hand slid through his crown coils, caressing them. They curled in response as they attempted to caress her in turn, and he leaned into her touch. The comm alert for their entry went off again, and he groaned, burying his face against her hip as her body vibrated lightly with her laughter. He did not want to get up.

But he did not want Kim to move either when he had her right where he wanted her, and by the way her body was starting to shift under his, he was certain that she was intending to do so at any moment. And if she got up, then Rykaal would awaken and get up and their relaxing coil with each other would be over. And that was something that Sijhord wanted to put off for as long as possible. Pressing a kiss against the flesh beneath his lips, he pushed himself up off her and sighed.

“Stay here. I will see who it is,” he told her, dropping another kiss to her lips, his tongue briefly teasing the lush surface of her bottom lip.

She hummed a little purr in agreement as she stretched languidly, the sound curling the tip of his tail. He did not bother putting on his vest. Whoever was interrupting them could deal with the fact that he was not properly adorned for the day since he had no intention of being so at all. He was admittedly more than a little annoyed as he made his way through their nest, enough that he did not even bother to temper his glare when he opened the door to find a young pale blue Edoka standing at the other side. The male’s eyes went wide as he stared up at Sijhord, his spines rising instinctively—though foolishly. At least the male had the sense not to use them.

“Apologies for interrupting,” the Edoka rushed in a flurry of words. “I just have this delivery for you from someone named Reggie es’EtaliAgor. “Nice female. She tipped me a lot to bring this to you—please do not kill me!” he added, his final words ending on a squeal.

Sijhord blinked, his eyes dropping to the large basket. He recognized the numerous flowers tucked into the outer double basket in the style of some of the more exclusive Vori shops. The addition of the blooms was what they called a signature touch of guaranteed highest quality. His tongue flicked as his nostrils flared with interest as he peered at the various items crammed into the inner basket. There were fruits, some of which he recognized, and it appeared to also contain a wide selection of various sweets.

Kim would be very pleased.

Glancing at the male again, his expression softened. The male did well delivering it before Vori’s midday heat caused a mess. Tapping his wrist comm, he sent a connection request with a generous tip for the courier. The male’s comm chimed and his eyes widened at the amount. His smile widening as he rapidly expressed his thanks, he handed Sijhord the shockingly heavy basket. He was impressed. The young male had more than earned every credit carting it to their door. Obviously, the tip was still not enough to assuage his natural fear of a considerably larger male. His spines clattering softly with a nervous tremble, his hand shot up in a hasty wave as he spun from the door and hurried back down the hall, his long blue tail whipping behind him.

Sijhord stared after him for a moment and shrugged, shutting the door. Edokas were a strange species. Though their closest planetary neighbor, the smaller species still confused him even as he admired their interesting evolutionary advantage. He had a long retractable spine in his tail that he could use defensively, but the Edokas were covered in formidable spikes. And yet despite that, they were more often than not nervous around the larger guards of Vora. It was strange to him.

Strange but quick. Sijhord smiled down at the contents of the basket as he undulated back on his tail and brushed his hand over the keylock absently, carrying the basket to the kitchen table. The door snicked shut behind him, and he set the basket down to quickly survey its contents. There were several bars and round items that had a distinctly rich smell that intrigued him and smelled like nothing from Vora. Various nuts coated in different substances with again the mixture of products from both Vora and Earth. Intriguing.

Tucked among them he noted a stiff card. Plucking it from the basket, his eyes narrowed on it with interest.

“To help with cravings. Congratulations, Reggie.”

His nose twitched and his tongue flicked with interest, however, as he caught the scent of something that made his mouth water. Poking through the basket, he discovered a large bag of ormi, freshly prepared and sealed. He groaned. Perhaps his mate would not mind if he opened it and enjoyed a few for himself. Just to sample it. Make sure it was safe. He nodded in agreement with himself. It would only be responsible for him to try one little morsel. His claws teased the edge of the bag, but he paused when the sound of a low moan met his ears.

Abandoning the sweets, his tongue flicked rapidly as he turned back toward their sleeping room. The rush of fresh pheromones in the air coated his tongue, and Sijhord shivered. His crown coils rising in a wild mass, he hissed softly and rushed for the room, eager to join in.

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