“Ah, mate, a challenge. When the doctor is done, I will take you back to our quarters and ensure that your legs don’t work at all. You’ll just have to keep them spread so I can have my way with you.”
He grinned, pressed a kiss to the tip of my nose, then went to the door. It opened silently, and Rezzer stuck his head out and said, “Doctor, we’re ready now.”
I hastily smoothed any real or imagined wrinkles from my dress and had to hope the doctor had no intention of taking it off. God, if I had to put my feet up in stirrups and he saw the evidence of what we just did…
The doctor held up a wand and he smiled at me. Doctor Surnen was big, a Prillon warrior with their oddly golden coloring and sharper features, and like everyone here the Hive had left their mark on him. His left hand was completely silver, but his smile was genuine. “Don’t worry. This won’t hurt.”
He waved it in the air for all of two seconds, then turned it off, the red light fading. It looked like a miniature light saber from Star Wars but the glow came from within, not on top.
“Congratulations. You are expecting.”
“What?” My mouth fell open and Rezzer grinned. That was it? Just a few seconds waving around a little glowing stick?
Rezzer leaned down, pulled me to him and kissed me tenderly. “You see, I was right.”
I wanted the doctor to be wrong just so Rezzer wouldn’t gloat, but then I wouldn’t be pregnant. And I wanted his baby with a ferocity that shocked me.
“I’m pregnant? Already?” I asked, a hitch in my voice, and the doctor nodded. “That’s it? That’s all the testing you need to do?”
The doctor offered me a smile, one that was just pleasant and not ecstatic like Rezzer’s. “You are completely healthy, Lady Caroline. You are having a baby. Time will prove me right if you do not believe the test.”
“Thank you, Doctor.”
Rezzer led me out of the med unit and down the corridor. Wow. He was practically beaming. I’d never seen such a big smile on his face. He appeared a foot taller and not because of his beast. He was proud of his manliness. He’d knocked me up, and he was all but preening.
I was letting him guide me as I was too overwhelmed. I was pregnant. With a baby. With Rezzer’s baby. That we made by having lots and lots of sex.
I was having a baby.
And he’d known.
He leaned down and murmured. “I’m not done with you, mate. Here’s what I’m going to do to you first. I’m going to—”
“Warlord Rezzer,” a voice said, cutting in.
The guy wore a uniform similar to Rezzer’s and equally commanding, although he was much smaller. Not tiny, probably several inches taller than me. He had mocha skin and black hair shaved close to his head. He looked human, but instead of two normal eyeballs, both of his eyes were shiny, metallic silver.
“Apologies, but the governor has requested your presence in command.”
“Now, Lieutenant Denzel? I need to celebrate with my mate.”
“Yes, he mentioned you have a mate. Congratulations to you and Lady Caroline.” He gave me a deferential bow. “Where are you from?”
English. Definitely human. But God, those eyes were freaking me out. And just that fast I understood what Rezzer had tried to explain to me. Just because this man could return to Earth, didn’t mean it would be a happy life. I loved my people, my planet, but we were all still savages, fighting over religion and territory and who had sex with whom. Gay, straight, trans, Christian, Muslim, African, Asian, whatever. The list was endless.
But silver, cyborg eyes in a tall, battle-hardened black man who’d spent two years killing aliens in space?
People would freak.
“New York. You?”
“Atlanta.”
On impulse, I grabbed him and pulled him to me for a quick hug. Someone else from home. Someone who probably hadn’t been hugged in quite a while.
He held me tight for a few seconds before reluctantly letting me go. The mood was heavy, so I did what I did best. “Denzel? Really?”
His grin was worth it, even if his eyes were still startling. “My gran named me after her favorite actor.”