out her release, his cock jerked inside her, vibrating as his seed spurted into her depths.
He leaned down and pressed his forehead to hers, their panting breaths mingling, their bodies slick with perspiration. She shivered as another cool breeze entered the room. The night was loud, the nighttime insects buzzing and singing in the tall grasses and trees, and the nocturnal animals screeching and growling all over the mountainside.
A sense of finality and peace settled over Layla.
A sense of belonging.
A sense of home.
With his forehead still pressed to hers, he whispered an ancient Kall mating poem, a lesser-known work by Erommti of Faia District. “My lips to your lips. My flesh to your flesh. My heart to your heart. My seed to your womb.”
He pulled back to meet her gaze, and they uttered the last part together.
“My soul to your soul.”
Epilogue
Heavily pregnant, Layla stretched and placed a hand on her aching back, then she resumed pacing the dining room. A few minutes trying to sit still long enough to eat lunch and she’d gotten a backache and a leg cramp. Walking always seemed to help and she sighed as the dull cramp in her leg faded.
Betsy shot her a sympathetic look. Lissa, a Kall female who was Betsy’s sister-in-law, as she’d married Commander Edek’s brother Draken, smiled knowingly at Layla as she cradled her newborn son, Broxx, in her arms and hummed a lullaby. Fallonn arranged a pillow vertically on a chair and urged Layla to resume her seat.
Layla approached the dining room table, where the four women were enjoying a late lunch together, and sank into the chair with a sigh.
“Thanks, Fallonn.”
“How much longer do you have?” Betsy asked, taking a sip of her tea.
“At least another moon cycle, or so the doctor says,” Layla replied with a dramatic groan. She popped a piece of fruit into her mouth. More than anything, she craved fruit these days, particularly the ghrriss melons that grew deep in the forests, which Zamek procured for her on a regular basis.
“Oh, it might be more than a moon cycle,” Fallonn said, reaching for a utensil. “She’s very comfortable and content in there, and she so loves the sound of your voice.”
“Wonderful,” Layla said sarcastically, though she was secretly pleased by Fallonn’s commentary. Knowing the baby was happy warmed her heart, though she anticipated the day when she would finally hold little Colleen in her arms, and she knew Zamek was looking forward to meeting their daughter too.
It was a beautiful day, and after lunch they went for a walk in the vineyard. Layla was grateful that she got to see Betsy on a regular basis now, though she often found herself missing Fiona terribly. Perhaps one day Ambassador Merokk would decide to visit planet Kall and bring Fiona along. Until then, Layla would have to keep exchanging messages with Fiona on the interplanetary comm that Zamek had recently installed in the house for her use.
Fallonn and Lissa spotted their husbands and rushed ahead to meet them, and Layla and Betsy slowed their pace and moved closer to one another. They watched as Xazzok planted a kiss upon Fallonn’s forehead, while Draken leaned down to make a silly face at Broxx before scooping the infant up into his arms. As Draken held the baby, Lissa regarded her husband with warmth and adoration reflecting in her eyes.
Layla’s throat burned and her face also heated, because she felt like she was spying on a private, intimate moment between husband and wife as she watched Draken and Lissa’s sweet interaction. In all her life, she’d never seen a couple appear so deeply in love.
“I can’t believe this is real sometimes,” Betsy said. “That we’re here, I mean, on planet Kall. Together. And neither of us are slaves anymore, and we’re happily married to Kall warriors.”
“I know what you mean,” Layla said. She reached for Betsy’s hand and gave it a quick squeeze. “I was so worried for you. I hope you know how much I fought with your father, trying to get him to help you after you got arrested.”
A faraway look entered Betsy’s blue eyes, but her vision soon cleared, and she regarded Layla with a thoughtful expression. “Had I been on Earth when Michael did what he did, I would’ve tried everything to help you, too. Your goodbye letter, well, it ripped me apart. I was so worried for you. When Ambassador Merokk sent a message saying the general didn’t kill you in the courtroom though,