Transmigrated Into a Tribal World: My Alien Husbands Spoil Me Too Much

Chapter 61: Too Close to Think Straight

Now that Maeve no longer felt sick every time she ate, she could finally enjoy her meals without worrying about throwing up afterward. She ate until she was completely full and even asked for another plate before finally admitting defeat when she could not fit another bite into her mouth.

Afterward, she lay down on the animal pelt and rubbed her stomach, which felt noticeably rounder after such a big meal.

"I’m not going to eat this much after I give birth," she said lazily.

Cerus tilted his head. "Why? Will the food stop tasting good after you give birth?"

Maeve blinked a few times before giving him a serious look. "If I keep eating too much all the time, I probably won’t be able to lose the extra fat," she explained. "And it might make me unhealthy."

"Then we can exercise together," Cerus suggested right away. "You don’t need to eat less than you do now. If your body wants more food, doesn’t that mean it needs more food? Besides, you only eat twice a day..." His voice grew quieter. "And your portions... your portions are too small."

The portions were not nearly as small as Cerus claimed. In fact, they were perfectly normal, and sometimes even a little too large. Because of that, Maeve rarely felt hungry and usually ended up eating only twice a day.

"You only eat twice a day too," Maeve pointed out.

"But I eat a lot more than you do!" Cerus argued. "Alright, I know you’re smaller than me, but... I think you worry too much about how much food you eat."

"Why are you so worried about it anyway? It’s not a bad thing," he continued. "We move around every day. Sometimes we walk long distances, and sometimes we spend the whole day working. It’s only natural for our bodies to need more food."

He was right.

There was nothing wrong with eating when her body needed it.

Maeve fell silent for a long moment, thinking about everything Cerus had said and letting his words sink in.

Back on Earth, she and many of her friends had spent years worrying about calories, weight gain, and every little change in their bodies. Even before joining the police academy, she had been constantly thinking about her weight.

Maybe it was because of the harsh comments her uncle’s family used to make about her appearance or maybe she had simply become too used to criticizing herself.

[Pinky had already told you, Host. You don’t need to worry so much about those trivial things.]

It was easy for Pinky to say that, but for someone who had struggled with that kind of mindset for so long, Maeve could not get rid of it that easily.

"You’re right..." Maeve finally said. "I just need to stay active." She fell quiet again and stared at the ceiling for a few seconds before suddenly speaking up. "If I gain a lot of weight... would you mind?"

Cerus frowned because he did not understand why she was asking about something that did not seem very important.

"Why would I mind?" he asked. "What’s wrong with that?" Then he added, "Besides, I’ll still be heavier than you."

Maeve turned to look at him and slowly looked him up and down before nodding. "Fair enough. That makes sense."

The air around them suddenly became a little awkward, but then Cerus asked, "Do you want to take a bath? There’s still plenty of rainwater left."

The last rainfall had been so heavy that the settlement had managed to collect a large amount of water. Even so, water was still valuable, so nobody could use more than they needed. Each person was only allowed to bathe once a day, and they had to make every drop count.

But Maeve did not mind the limited water supply too much because the tribe had white stones that worked almost like soap. They could be used with water, but they were just as useful without it.

The stones were usually crushed into a soft powder and rubbed onto the skin. They had no smell at all, but they could absorb sweat and unwanted odors surprisingly well. For some reason, the powder also left her skin feeling smoother and her hair softer after every use.

"Yes, that sounds nice," Maeve replied.

Before she could even ask Cerus to bring some water for her, he had already gotten up and gone to fetch it.

Because Maeve was still uncomfortable with being seen while bathing, her mates had built a small bathing area just for her. The space was surrounded by animal pelts that acted as makeshift walls, giving her enough privacy. Inside, there were a large wooden bucket and a smaller wooden container she could use to scoop water.

After carefully checking that all the animal pelts were closed tightly, she finally started her bath. She did not stay long because the evening air was cool, and she had no desire to spend too much time outside.

By the time she finished bathing, Cerus had begun bathing as well.

That was a little unusual because most of the time, he simply cleaned himself with the white stone powder instead of using water.

[He probably wants to be extra clean so you can sleep beside him comfortably!]

The moment that thought crossed her mind, heat rushed to her face.

After all, this would be the first time she slept beside one of her mates without any special reason.

There was no injury, no sickness, no emergency, just the two of them sharing a bed because Cerus wanted to.

After drying her body and changing into clean clothes, Maeve quickly climbed onto the makeshift bed. She pulled the blanket up to her chin and lay as still as possible, pretending to be asleep.

If she was already sleeping when Cerus arrived, maybe she would not have to deal with the awkwardness. Unfortunately, even she knew that plan was unlikely to work.

The moment Cerus lay down beside her, Maeve felt her heart begin to race. It was so sudden that she could not keep pretending to sleep and slowly opened her eyes again.

"The bed is... a little smaller than I thought," Cerus said after a moment. "What if we sleep on our sides instead? It might give us a bit more space."

The suggestion was not entirely necessary because their bed was nothing more than a pile of animal pelts laid on the ground. If they truly needed more room, Cerus could easily grab another pelt and make the bed wider.

But strangely enough, Maeve had no desire to point that out.

"That... would probably be better," she agreed in a low voice.

Cerus smiled the moment she agreed. "Alright."

The two of them shifted onto their sides, facing each other. At first, there was still a small gap between them. Maeve kept her eyes fixed on the blanket, trying very hard not to think about how close they suddenly were.

Unfortunately, that only made her more aware of the warmth of Cerus’s body, the sound of his breathing, and the fact that his broad shoulders seemed to take up half the bed by themselves.

For a few moments, neither of them spoke. Then Cerus hesitated before quietly asking, "Can I hug you?"

Maeve’s heart immediately skipped a beat. She knew they were mates, but they had never done anything more intimate than this before.

For some reason, it felt as though they were doing something they were not supposed to do yet. They had not even gone through the wedding ceremony, and yet here she was, lying this close to him and agreeing to be held in his arms.

"Yes..." she answered at last.

The smile that spread across Cerus’s face was impossible to miss. Carefully, as if afraid he might scare her away, he wrapped his arm around her waist and gently pulled her closer.

Maeve stiffened for a moment when their bodies touched. Cerus was warm and much bigger than she had realized.

At over two meters tall, he had always looked large, but it was only now, with his arms around her, that she truly understood the difference in their sizes.

One of his arms felt almost as thick as her thigh. His chest was broad and firm from years of hunting, carrying heavy loads, and working around the settlement. Meanwhile, Maeve suddenly felt very small.

"Too tight?" Cerus asked immediately, noticing her tense up.

"No!" Her answer came out so quickly that both of them froze.

Maeve’s face instantly grew hot. "I mean... no," she repeated more quietly. "It’s fine."

Thankfully, he was kind enough not to tease her. Instead, he loosened his hold a little anyway. "Tell me if you’re uncomfortable," he said.

Maeve nodded. For a while, neither of them spoke, but after several minutes, Cerus finally broke the silence. "You smell nice."

Alright, that was it!

Maeve could no longer think straight while being held in his arms like this.

"Cerus," she suddenly called out.

"Yes?" he replied.

"Do you want a kiss?" she blurted out without thinking too much.