The Alpha King (Kingdom of Askara #1)(51)

“Sire?”

Sam walked up to them with an apologetic look. “We are camped for the night, and I have posted guards.”

“Which tent am I in?” Kit asked.

Sam grinned and gestured to the other cart before walking away. There were three, all covered. One had been parked at the edge and left. It mostly contained spare clothes, animal feed in case there was no grazing for the horses, and food that wouldn’t spoil for a while. The one Kit had been sitting on contained all the cooking implements and sleeping bags. The second had tents, tools, and spare harness parts for the horses in case something broke. That one was empty at the moment. Kit followed Sam’s look. “We’re sleeping in the cart?”

Luca nodded and put a protective hand on Kit’s belly. Kit shook his head and pulled Luca to one side. “Luca, I’m willing to bet I have slept in far worse circumstances than you. I’m not a girl.”

Luca grinned. “Please never say that around Iris. She would kill you, and I want you around for a long time.” Luca held a hand up when Kit was going to object again. “Apart from the fact you are pregnant and I want you safe, it is difficult for me to sleep with the men. I want them to relax, not be on their guard and worried they might say something unfit for a king’s ears.”

“Okay,” Kit said grudgingly. “That makes sense, I suppose.”

“Plus,” Luca leaned close and whispered in Kit’s ear, the warm breath dusting seductively over his skin. “I want privacy for all the plans that I have for you tonight.”

Kit shivered. Luca had been insatiable for the past four weeks and Kit had loved every minute of it. Not that he hadn’t been pretty insatiable himself. Luca walked over to his men and thanked them, and Kit went to see if he could help get the meal ready.

Henry looked alarmed when he asked. The other man, Attica, had disappeared to get water. “I can at least peel potatoes,” Kit suggested. Within minutes he was ensconced on more cushions, busy filling two huge pans while the other two carried the water and lit the fire. He caught Luca’s amused glance a few times, but Luca didn’t interfere. Gabriel was busying himself organizing the perimeter guards and then he would curl up near the fire and study one of his books. Kit knew Gabriel was one of the wolves who didn’t really care for horses. Nial was corralling the horses together and examining the lame mare. Two wolves returned carrying a huge buck between them, but Kit didn’t watch as it was butchered. He was lucky he’d never had morning sickness, but it never took much to put him off food entirely, and there was a lot of blood. He didn’t need that vision in his head.

Everyone ate quickly. Kit was pushing his food around after barely a dozen mouthfuls. Tiredness had hit him hard and fast and he was struggling to stay awake. He was quite disgusted with himself. All he had done was sit on his ass and peel potatoes. Luca, Sam, Nial, and Asher were all looking at the lame horse and debating what to do tomorrow.

Kit’s head drooped a little and before he knew what was happening a hand had whipped the plate out from his own. Attica chuckled, and Kit smiled sheepishly. He had been at serious risk of face-planting into the food. Attica smiled and replaced the plate with a mug of tea. Kit looked down at it suspiciously. He never drank tea.

“My wife ’ad three sons, and after the first we knew when she was expectin’ both times afterward because first thing she did was go off coffee.”

Kit opened his mouth to agree but yawned instead. “I’m sorry,” he said weakly.

Henry, another human, who hadn’t said a word to him up to this point, joined in. “And that’s the other sure sign. Tiredness that would hit you faster than a brick wall. One minute my Bess was the life and soul and the next she’d be snoring.” He cackled. “Only way of shutting her up.”

Attica nodded as Kit sipped his tea and hugged the warm mug. It was getting chilly.

“Yer back givin’ yer ’ell yet?” Attica asked.

Kit huffed; Attica obviously came from Tethra. His accent was a dead giveaway.

“Feet swollen?”

“Indigestion?”

“Swollen ankles?”

“Stretch marks?”

Kit looked up indignantly at both men and caught their twinkling smiles. He chuckled. “Don’t be mean.”

“Mood swings,” a third voice piped up. Kit gazed in astonishment as one of the other guards shuffled over to them. He wasn’t even sure what his name was.

“And don’t even start me on what she would or wouldn’t eat,” the guard who sat closest to him said. Kit knew that one was named Ben. All four nodded in solemn agreement. “Not that it’s not worth every minute when you hold them for the first time, though,” Ben said after a few seconds.

“I was petrified I was going to drop my Heather. Tiny thing she was. Came early, but she had the biggest pair of bleedin’ lungs on ’er this side of the Mendrik sea,” Attica put in and he turned to the man Kit didn’t know. “What about you, Charlie? Didn’t you have twins?”

Charlie nodded. “Aye, both boys. Eric was a saint, but Jay screamed every day for the first eight weeks.”

Kit paled. Eight weeks?

A soft footfall had all the men scrambling to their feet. Luca waved them back down. “I don’t think we need stand on ceremony out here.” He looked at Kit and held his hand out, and Kit let himself be pulled upright. Kit dissolved into giggles and let himself be led away. He was nearly out like a light once he lay down though. One minute Luca was kissing his neck and the next minute he blinked awake to the sounds of metal clanging as the tents were torn down and packed away. He sat at the entrance to the wagon and tried to wake up properly. He needed to pee and he wouldn’t have minded a hot drink.