The Barbarian Before Christmas (Ice Planet Barbarians #17.5)(18)
This is…odd.
My Ell-ee’s grip tightens in my mane and she whimpers, then jerks awake, her eyes wide. She blinks for a moment and then relaxes back against me, relieved. “I dreamed you weren’t there,” she murmurs, caressing my chest. “I’m so glad you are.”
“I will never leave you again, my mate. I mean it.” I hold her close. “I am happy at your side. But…you will have to tell me why there is a dead tree in the corner of our hut.”
She giggles, eyes closed as she snuggles up against me. “I was decorating.”
“For the holiday?”
I can feel her nod against my chest. “I figured that if you weren’t home in time, I’d just wait and we’d celebrate when you got here.” Her fingers skim over my stomach. “I was making you presents, but they won’t all be done.”
Again, I am humbled by my mate’s sweetness. “You were making gifts for me?”
“Of course.” She sits up, giving me a soft smile. “You’re the only person I want to spend my holiday with.”
I am the luckiest male there ever was. “I brought you small things as well. Though, I did not think to bring you leaves.” I gesture at the arched top of our hut. “I should have brought you some to show you that I care.”
She circles my navel with a fingertip. “Just between you and me, I’m not entirely sure I understand the whole ‘No-Poison’ thing.”
“It is in exchange for kisses. Is that not how humans do it?” I always thought it a strange custom, but humans do many strange things.
“If you wanted to kiss me, all you have to do is ask,” Ell-ee murmurs. “No gifts, no leaves, no trees necessary.”
“I shall kiss you every day and every night,” I announce to her. “But I will still give you gifts of No-Poison. It is what we do to show we care.”
“Whatever you want to do,” my mate says easily, leaning down and brushing her lips against my bare chest. “Whatever you want to call it. No-Poison, Christmas…doesn’t matter what it is, as long as we’re together.”
On that, we are very much agreed.
9
LIZ
"It's because we're pregnant, isn't it? That's why we got left behind. You don't have to lie to me. I know I'm hard to be around on my good days. I'm sure Hormonal Liz makes no friends," I tell Harlow as we sit in my tent up on the cliffs, waiting for the hunters to return for the day. Most of the hunts lately have taken a lot longer than usual because there are so many newcomers that must be brought up to speed. The island tribes are unfamiliar with snow and cold, and the human women aren't used to hunting more than a sale. As for the alien guys…I'm not convinced those red twins weren't dropped on their heads as youngsters, because they don't seem to know shit about survival. But I can't judge.
Oh wait, yes I can. That's who I am.
Harlow just gives me a sweet smile and stirs the stew over the fire. "You're just sad that you can't go with them."
"Well, yeah," I say, huffing. "Ride a dragon? That sounds cool as shit. And be home in time to celebrate No-Poison with my girls? I'd totally sign up for that. Instead, I get to stay here and babysit. Womp, womp." I make a sad trombone noise and pat my rounded stomach. "I can't even go hunting with Raahosh because of this thing. Only a jillion more months to go. Whee."
Harlow chuckles and shakes her head at me, returning to her seat. She's bigger than I am, and her movements are far more ungainly. She more or less falls backward into the stack of pillows that works as her seat, because her baby belly's so huge. At least she's put on weight now. She looks so much better than she did before. "Mine'll be any day now, hopefully." A little sigh escapes her. "I wanted Rukhar to be here, though. He's looking forward to a brother or sister so much."
"Oh, shit, don't mention the kids or I'm going to blubber like an idiot all over again." I pick up one of my bone-tipped arrows and my stone-sharpening tool, wagging it at her in warning. "No children talk." At her nod, I try to focus on my gear maintenance, but I keep thinking of my little Raashel and sweet Aayla. My girls will be getting so big. It's the first year that we're having No-Poison and Aayla's old enough to really understand what's going on. I was looking forward to seeing her big eyes light up when she saw the presents under the tree…annnd now I'm crying. "Well, shit," I say with a sniffle and wipe my nose. "That worked for all of two seconds."
"Me too," Harlow says, and sniffs as well.
It's been like this for the two days that the others have been gone. Harlow cries. I cry. Harlow cries some more. I do my best to fight off tears and then just lose it at the simplest things. I could be helping someone with firemaking, or how to add a sleeve to a tunic and boom, waterworks. Some of it's pregnancy, sure, but some of it's because I never expected to be away from my girls this long. I can't blame the newcomers. They're trying. They're really trying. But they still need help surviving. With our luck, we'd decide they can make it on their own, and then come back to a bunch of popsicles on the shore. Some of them are picking things up quickly. Samantha's smart, and Nadine's proved to be really good with hunting. Hannah knows a little about sewing and has been helping the others. The islanders are fantastic at fishing.