“I do not have kaw-fee, and I do not have po-tay-toes.” Kanuz sighs, shaking his head as he tosses the still-flopping fish near the fiery wall. “I only have the fish, my Gen.”

“It’s all good.” I nearly correct him on calling me his Gen, but I don’t. Why bother? It has nothing to do with the little warm fuzzies I have now.

Probably.

He beams at me, his tail swishing behind his powerfully sculpted butt, his thick thighs corded with muscle. I don’t even look at his dick. Much.

“Any chance you know where to start getting us out of here this morning?” I ask, watching as he easily cleans the fish with nothing but his scary ass talons. Geez. No wonder he was worried about me scratching my eyes out. Now I’m worried about him scratching my—

“You always have those talons?” I cringe at my own random question.

He looks up slowly from the gutted fish, that same self-satisfied smile tugging up the corners of the fish. “Why are you thinking about my talons?”

“Just curious.”

“I can rid myself of them, if you are worried, my flower.” He purrs.

I turn away, staring at the etchings in the glossy wall. “Anyway!” I nearly yell it, managing to startle myself as the sound echoes off the solid wall. “Where do we go after we eat? I don’t see a door, or a handle, or anything.” Now that I’m awake enough to think about it, my lips twist to the side.

God, I hope there wasn’t a damn door here all night. I slept really great, amazingly well, in Kanuz’s arms, but the thought of there being a door here, leading to who knows what… It freaks me out.

Why did I sleep so well last night? Exhaustion and a full stomach for once. Yeah. That’s gotta be it.

“There is no door. Not right now,” he says cheerfully. He’s standing right beside me, and I startle again.

The fish sizzles where he holds it against the flames still burning on the wall. It smells amazing, and my mouth waters.

“There is a riddle at the end of this wall. We have to solve it before the goddess will allow us to move on.” He hands me a skewer of fish.

“Thanks,” I tell him. Potatoes and second breakfasts aside, I’m beyond grateful for more food. “Before the goddess allows us? What does that mean?”

His tail thumps against the floor, and my gaze darts to it. Gah! He’s still pantsless. “It means that we have to solve the riddle before we can leave this chamber.”

Sure, why not? “Think we can be out of here today?”

“Perhaps,” he says slowly, heating his own skewer of fish. “Perhaps the goddess will smile down on us and decide we are worthy sooner than later.”

“So not likely, then.” I blow out a breath, making a frustrated raspberry sound.

He shakes his head, amusement sparking in his eyes. “My flower, I enjoy your company very much. You are like sunshine given life.”

I snort. “Yeah, right.” No one’s ever said I had a sunny disposition before, and I laugh some more, before quieting. Well, no one’s said it since the Roth attacked. Maybe I used to be.

I finish off the rest of the fish in silence. Kanuz doesn’t speak either, though it’s not an awkward quiet. No, it’s companionable, like the quiet a married couple who’s been together a very long time might have after breakfast.

Good grief. I am married. It doesn’t seem quite real, probably because we married in their Suevan tradition and I had no idea it was happening, but still! There’s the proof, all near seven scaled feet of him, grinning at me when he catches my eye.

Now that I can talk to him, really talk to him, that is, not play that terrible version of survivor charades, it’s easier to be in a good mood.

I guess communication is the key to a good marriage, after all.

I snort at myself, washing my hands off in the pool, before cupping them and drinking deeply.

“Take off your shirt,” Kanuz tells me, kneeling beside me and cleaning his own hands, using some of the gritty gravel to scrub his talons.

“What?”

“We can use your shirt to carry the cooked fish in. I will knot it into a little pouch for you.”

I sigh. I can’t fault the logic of it. It makes sense, considering the delicate flesh of the fish would get smashed to smithereens in the crappy pockets of my uniform pants.

“Fine.” I tug it overhead, and Kanuz makes quick work of it, depositing the chunks of cooked fish into the fabric before handing it back to me. “Do I just hold it?” It feels weird to hold my own shirt, full of fish, and for a second, I don’t know what to do with my hands.

“You are like a youngling.” He laughs. “Here.” Kanuz takes the makeshift pouch from me. “I will fasten it to you.”

His talons scrape gently across the waistband of my pants, and I shudder at his unexpected touch. Not a bad shudder, either, but an excited shake that sends goosebumps all over my skin.

“Why are you bumpy?”

“It’s just a thing human skin does sometimes. I have no idea.” I frown, his dick all too close for comfort. “Why are you bumpy?” He is, too, his rock-hard alien eggplant covered in texture. “That’s not, like, diseased, is it?”

“Diseased?!” His tone is offended, and I snort again, glancing up at him. “I am not diseased.”

“I don’t know! You keep bragging about how many women you’ve slept with.”

“Diseased,” he mutters to himself. “Diseased, me, the prince of Sueva. You humans have strange ideas.”

I resist the urge to poke his cock out of sheer curiosity, clenching my hands into fists. He’s too close. Too warm. Too muscled. I squeeze my eyes shut, because truly, that’s the only way I’m getting his bumpy dick out of my line of sight. Sure, I cuddled up with the jolly green giant last night, but this feels… different. Like my whole body is awake and aware of him.

“It is not a disease, my flower. Those are my pleasure bumps. If you were not holding your blue eyes closed, you would see how they are bigger for you the harder I get. They will make you feel good, so good, as I thrust inside you, filling you with my pleasure.” His voice is a husky whisper.

I bite my cheeks. It should be funny, right? This alien prince telling me about how he’s going to fuck me silly with his sex toy cock, bumped for my pleasure… but it is not. It is not funny, because my stupid body is clenching in anticipation.

Why does dirty talk have to be my thing and why does Kanuz have to keep TALKING DIRTY?!

“Riddle!” I yell out. “Let’s solve the riddle and put pants on! Pants and riddles! They go together like potatoes and coffee!”

“Why are you shouting at me, Gen? Is your translator failing again?” Worry creases his forehead. “Those damn symbionts. I told my scientists that they could be too untrustworthy. They have a mind of their own, you know.”

“Symbiont?” I tug at my earlobe. “I can’t. You know what? I really can’t with that. That’s one too many facts for me right now.”

“It is a perfectly safe creature, Gen, I promise you that, they are just a little temperamental. Which is why I told my scientists to look for another—”

“I really don’t want to hear anymore. I really don’t want to hear about it.” I shake my head again, trying to dislodge that extremely disgusting new information. Alas, my brain is not an etch-a-sketch.

“Do humans often argue and yell when they are aroused? You are a confusing female.”

“No. Yes.” I throw my hands in the air, narrowly missing slapping the still-too-close Kanuz. “Focus,” I yell again, mainly talking to myself. “Let’s get going so we can get out of here.”

“I, too, am eager to begin making our family together, my flower,” he says agreeably. Ugh. He’s so cute when he smiles at me like that, like I’m his whole world.

A woman could get used to that kind of thing. “That’s not… I want to see my crew,” I say faintly.

“Because you are a good leader.” He nods. “You must see to them before you can focus on swelling with our young.”