21. Merry

Chapter 21

Merry

“Are you trying to get me back into bed?”

My dragon shifter leaned over me, and thank gods he wasn’t offering me coffee, or worse, bacon. My exhaustion must’ve come from the festival's aftermath. I’d put all my time into it, running on empty for days, not eating properly, making lists, and checking them twice.

That was a North Pole elf joke. We had computers, not a pen and paper.

My head was fuzzy, and I couldn’t figure out why me huddling under the bedclothes was a hint I wanted sex. I didn’t. Not now, not this morning. In general, yes. Sex with Hernan was the perfect way to begin and end the day, and if afternoon delight was on the menu, I chose that every time.

“No.” I rolled over and squinted. December light was muted and gray but still too bright for me. I must remember to put sunglasses on the nightstand this evening.

“I thought you were luring me back to bed by not getting up and making breakfast together.”

My cooking skills were expanding thanks to Hernan. I could cook bacon without singing it and didn’t put bits of shell in with the egg. My slicing and dicing skills were improving, though my mate still did most of the cooking.

What I enjoyed most about us cooking was being together. Laughing, chatting about our day, along with smacks on the ass and squeezes of a butt cheek or two.

“Nah. Just worn out.” The festival committee needed a lot of hand-holding during the weeks I’d been in command. Everyone worked hard, but I was the puppeteer, pulling the strings and making sure everything had been done.

Now it was over and I had to make a plan about future work, though that would wait until the new year. Nothing much happened between Christmas and New Year.

“The committee thinks you deserve a prize for all your hard work, and I can think of something to give you.” Hernan grinned and shoved his hand under the covers, but I stopped him.

“I love you, and on any other day, I’d be begging you to have your length buried inside me.”

One of Hernan’s brows shot up. “But not today? I get it. Cuddling and spooning can be more intimate than penetration.”

How did I tell him I didn’t want to be touched but left alone to wallow in my exhaustion and sleep until this evening.

“I don’t have time this morning, as my dragon has to fire the pieces that are on order for Christmas.”

I blew my mate a kiss. “Don’t worry. I’m not going anywhere, and I’ll be here when you’re done.”

He asked if he could bring me breakfast in bed, and I fibbed and said I’d make something later. The idea of putting food in my mouth made me want to puke.

The door closed, and I drifted off to sleep, hoping when I woke up I’d feel better. But Hernan returned, the mattress dipping as he sat.

“Did you forget something?”

He kissed my cheek. “I’ve been gone most of the day.” His pre-Christmas firing was done, and the pieces were delivered or waiting for collection.

I’d slept for more than eight hours and felt just as lousy as I had this morning.

“Shirley collected the piece she’s giving her mom for Christmas.”

“That’s nice.” I yawned. Shirley was the woman on the festival committee.

“She suggested you might not be ill.”

Hauling myself into a sitting position, I stuffed the pillows behind my back.

“Is she a doctor?”

My voice was more shrill than I intended because Shirley was insinuating I was faking. Why would I do that? I’d helped produce a successful festival and received lots of praise. I had no more responsibilities other than being a loving mate until I found a paying job.

“No.” Hernan slid into bed beside me. “It’s not anything bad. At least I hope you’re pleased.”

He wasn’t making sense. “Is there a nasty bug going around town?” I put his hand to my brow. “Have I got a fever?”

“Not sick, babe. She thinks there’s nothing wrong with you.”

A little ball of fury grew in my belly, and if Shirley were here, I’d tell her to take her nose out of my business.

“Pregnant.”

“Shirley’s having a baby?” Oh, that was why she was a little off-kilter. She was experiencing mood swings. I sent her a silent apology for having mean thoughts about her.

“No, you are. Maybe.”

“Me? With a baby in my belly? How is that possible?”

Hernan gasped. “Do elves get pregnant differently from humans and shifters?”

“No.” I said that without thinking, but perhaps we did. “No, I just never imagined myself with a dragon baby.”

“Is that bad?” My mate turned my head so our eyes were locked on one another. “The baby might be an elf.”

“The opposite. I’d be toasty warm inside during my pregnancy, but having a baby wasn’t part of the plan. I was supposed to get a job and earn money so I could contribute and be part of the Hernan and Merry team.”

My mate peppered kisses over my cheeks and brow, ending with a peck on my lips. “And do you think carrying eggs, laying them, watching them hatch, and parenting our children is not contributing?”

“Backtrack.” My mind was buzzing with the information he was feeding me, and my thoughts were bounding ahead, leaping forward in time. “Eggs?” I gulped. “I have eggs in my belly?”

“If the baby or babies are dragons, yes.”

I was an elf, a teenie-tiny guy who barely reached Hernan’s shoulder. How could I carry a clutch of eggs?

“What if I can’t?”

“An omega’s body can perform amazing miracles and adjust to an egg or eggs, a shifter or human baby.”

“How do I find out what I’m carrying?” What if I jiggled and broke the eggs?

“I’ll take you to a shifter midwife. It’ll be so much fun building a nest.”

I was an elf who enjoyed comfort. No way was I sitting in a bunch of sticks. There would be no owie nests in my future.