Текст книги "Wed To The Alien Prince"

Автор книги: January Bell

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CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

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KANUZ

I have never felt so whole in my life, as I do with this delicate golden female slumbering beside me. I hardly dare take breath, too afraid of disturbing her.

All I want is to watch her sleep, watch the delicate fluttering of her eyelids, the lax shape of her addictive mouth. The plump curves of her breasts and the muscled thighs. One leg’s draped over me, and my cock’s hard again, still inside my sleeping mate.

It feels so fucking good.

Our scents mingle together now, and it heightens my desire for her. I want to mate her, fuck her, until there is only us. No fear scent, nothing but our shared pleasure.

There will never be enough where Gen is involved.

My princess.

My mate.

Finally. Finally. I frown, my gaze wandering past the treasure in my arms to the temple courtyard, overgrown with vegetation.

I do not know what the puzzle will be here, but I do not doubt this place is chock full of challenges. I hope on the asteroids above that the many-faced-goddess will take mercy on my mate and me. I hope that we are through the worst of it.

I long to have her safe and sound and well pleasured in my bed, not sprawled on the ground covered in muck, hungry and exhausted.

This is no way for a princess to be treated.

It is no way to treat a treasure at all.

When the moons are heavy in the sky, I finally close my eyes, somewhat assured that we will find no trouble this night, at least.

My eyes fly open.

Beside me, Gen stirs in her sleep, restless. I pause, frowning. The night is almost over, orange and red breaking across the sky as the sun blazes into view. A bush rustles nearby, and I tense, on high alert, only to relax again as a bird flies from the brush.

Gen cries out next to me, her feet slamming into my shins.

“No, don’t,” she pants, the words thick with sleep. Her fingers move, all her muscles twitching. “I can’t. Don’t.”

“Gen,” I say, shaking her shoulder, alarmed.

“Don’t fucking touch me,” she screams, her eyes squeezed tight.

“Gen, my princess, it’s Kanuz. You’re safe.” I wince. Safe enough, at the moment. “Wake up.”

She inhales deeply, her bare chest heaving. Slowly, her muscles calm, and her eyes blink open.

“What’s wrong?” she asks blearily.

“You were having a bad dream,” I tell her, pulling her closer to me, now that I’m not worried she’ll kick me in the xof.

“I was,” she says, her face falling, her gaze going distant. “I was dreaming about the invasion.” Her breath hiccups. “Did I wake you? I’m sorry.”

“No,” I tell her, nuzzling the nape of her neck, drinking her in. “Do not apologize.”

She snuggles closer, throwing an arm over my neck. I like her like this—sleepy and loose-limbed, soft and sweet. I like her in all moods. She’s a summer day, golden sunshine and humor, hot sun and passion, a sudden storm breaking in the afternoon, the warm night holding close in a dark embrace.

“Do your dreams trouble you often?” I ask her, worried. Worried, and furious at the Roth, for all my impotent wrath will do to help her now. If I see another Roth ever again, I’ll rip their spine out and give it to her as a gift.

“I mean, it’s not a big deal,” she says softly, her voice already thick with sleep again. I have run my poor mate ragged.

“It is to me.” I smooth her hair away from her face, luxuriating in her presence.

“It’s over. It’s over,” she repeats, and I wonder if she’s telling me, or if she’s simply reassuring herself.

I hate them even more for what they did to her, and for what they did to her people. What they did to Suevans and the other species at our settlements was terrible, but we had the technology and numbers to repel them.

The humans were sorely outclassed.

And here is the outcome of it: my sweet Gen, lax with sleep beside me, sold into our marriage by a government who would do anything to stop the Roth from attacking again.

At least I know our shipment is well on its way to Earth.

“I will not allow it to happen again, my love,” I tell her, holding her tighter.

She sighs against me.

“I vow it on the goddess herself. I will not allow the Roth to ravage another planet like they did Earth.”

A flock of birds flings itself into the dawn sky, silhouetted black against the rising sun.

I tuck my Gen under my chin and watch them fly, wishing we could sprout wings and do the same, so that my female could be safe.

I cannot fail her again. I cannot be the reason she wakes in the night, screaming her fears into the dark.

I will not allow it.

Sleep finally claims me again, but it’s restless despite the blessed female in my arms.

When we wake again, the sun’s hot in the sky above.

Gen stretches long, yawning and blinking. A sheen of sweat dots her brow, and she sits up slowly, rubbing her neck.

“Why are you staring at me?” she asks, shoving my shoulder playfully. At least, I think it’s playful. Maybe it is a hard shove for her.

“Because you are the most miraculous thing I have ever seen.”

Her cheeks flush pink, and a low growl slips out of my throat. “When you turn that color, it makes me ravenous for you. For all your parts that are that same color.”

She gives me a coy smile, her arm crossed over her chest, hiding her breasts from me.

“Do not hide those.”

“I need to find my bra.”

“Is that what you call it?”

She tilts her head at me. “You don’t have that word? It’s like…” She jiggles her breasts, and my cock immediately stands at attention. “It holds them down. Keeps them from bouncing around, you know? It hurts when they move too much.”

“I like when they move,” I say, only half-paying attention to what she’s said.

A small laugh ripples out of her, her cute furry eyebrows darting upward. “I’m sure you do. But if we have to run… it doesn’t feel good.”

“I want you to feel good,” I say sincerely.

“Me too, dude.” Sighing, she stands, then her eyes go wide as she looks back at me. “You ripped my underwear off. I have no panties.”

“Does that—” I motion to her cunt. “—hurt when you run, too?”

Her cheeks suck in, an expression I now recognize as her trying not to laugh “No. No, it doesn’t, but I don’t want to be completely naked in the jungle.”

“Completely naked?” I stare at her for a long second, then remember how I found her. Leaking water and crying, wearing only the tiniest scraps of fabric. “What happened to your shoes? You cannot run in the jungle without shoes.”

“I don’t have a massive tail, Kanuz. They would have weighed me down in the water. My pants, too. Surviving in the moment seemed smarter than bringing all that shit with me.”

I blow out a breath, frustrated at myself all over again for putting her in this situation, where she had to choose between nudity and survival. Not that I am upset she is nude.

No, quite the opposite.

But her skin is too fragile to be exposed to the elements, and her little feet will surely be hurt by stepping on things.

“I am sorry,” I tell her, my heart heavy.

“Why? You didn’t summon that giant tentacle monster. You didn’t drop me here and force me to marry you.”

My fangs bite into my lower lip, my molars grinding together at her words. “Is that how you feel?”

Sure, I know now that she was, in fact, tricked into marrying me, and as reprehensible as that is, I am a prince. I am handsome, and I brought her pleasure and smiles.

My stomach sinks.

“Kanuz, wait, I like you. A lot. I was… terrified that something happened to you.” Her words turn thick, her eyes welling with more emotion water. “But yeah, I was forced here under false pretenses. I’m not going to lie to you about that to make you feel better.”

I stand and walk over to where my pants lie in a clump on the ground. “Here,” I say, my voice rough and gravelly. “Take mine.”

“Kanuz, stop.” Her expression is pained, and I long to soothe her, to rub it away with kisses.

But she’s right. She is completely correct. She was forced to marry me, tricked by her own people. And I have taken advantage of her most cruelly. Her survival was dependent upon me, and now?

Now all she wants is to cover her body.

The least I can give her is that.

“Kanuz, they’re going to be huge,” she says. “And don’t. Don’t act like that.”

“I am not acting like anything.”

“You’re being weird.” She purses her lips, her eyes welling with water again. “Is it because we had sex?”

I want to tell her no. But of course, she is right. It is because we had sex. Because I took something that she wasn’t ready to give. She might have said yes, but she didn’t say yes to being my wife… nor my mate.

Nausea turns my stomach. “Put on the pants, Gen.”

She sniffs, and my heart aches as I realize she’s leaking water from her eyes again. “What happened to being your flower?” Her voice is tight, and shock jolts through me as I realize I’ve hurt her.

Which means… she does like me. And I’m pushing her away.

“I am being an idiot lunch.” I sigh, rubbing my neck.

Gen sniffs, then laughs, wiping her eyes with her hands. “Idiot sandwich.” Her small hands clasp my larger ones, and the pants fall, forgotten, to the ground. “And yes, you are, Kanuz. I wouldn’t have had sex with you if I didn’t want to. And I did very much want to have sex with you. Would I have chosen to marry you after being in your august presence for five minutes? No, because I am not an idiot sandwich… And as awful as the last few weeks have been, you’ve been the only bright spot. You have kept us safe, and fed, and made me laugh more times than I can count. Don’t push me away because I’m angry that the Federation took my choice away. It doesn’t mean I’m not choosing you right now.”

“I feel foolish,” I admit. “I am sad that you did not choose to come here and be mine. But I understand your anger. Would you choose to marry me again? Now that you know me?”

She blows out a breath, tilting her chin up and staring me down in her frank, no nonsense way. “Out of all the males that were there, Prince Kanuz of Sueva, I am glad you chose me to be your princess and your wife.”

It’s not an answer, not really, but perhaps it was unfair for me to ask that of her.

So instead of pressing her more, I push down my sadness and draw her to me, kissing her firmly. She makes a small noise of pleasure, and I don’t care if she would marry me or not.

Right now, in the temple of the many-faced-goddess, she has said she is mine.

And I will do with my mate as I please.

Starting with making her scream with pleasure, yet again.

“It seems to me that I did not keep my promise to you last night.”

Gen stares up at me from heavy-lidded eyes. “What promise?”

“That I would make you come as many times as you could handle.”

She squeals as I hoist her up, and I raise her high enough that I can capture the pink tip of her enticing breast. “I will never get enough of these. Of you, my golden flower.” I stare at her, and she throws her arms around my neck, kissing the column of my throat. I do not have much feeling there, as my scales protect my neck, but I learned last night that she likes to be kissed there very much, so I do the same to her.

A sigh wends out of her, and she goes soft against me, her legs circling my waist. Her hands cup my face, and my heart aches at the beautiful trust etched on her face. My prickly princess has come so far.

And it only took days of terrible ordeals to get her to trust me. I sigh wearily.

“I have not pampered you as I should have,” I tell her.

“Please. I’m a military officer in the Earth Federation. Or—” she pauses, looking slightly lost. “I was. Regardless, I don’t need to be pampered.”

“It is not about need. It is about what you deserve.” I kiss her cheek bone, where it pinkens under the slight pressure from my lips, then the tip of her nose, then the other cheek, and finally her mouth. “I want to take you again, Gen, but I think for now? I will simply pamper you as you deserve before we move on.”

“Oh, is that right, Tarzan? And what are you planning on pampering me with around here?” A lyrical laugh trickles out of her. “Lemme guess: mud baths. Clay masks. Salt scrub. Hot stone massage.”

I shake my head, not understanding her strange string of words. “Are these things humans do? Does Indiana Jones do a hot stone massage?”

She laughs again, the sound vibrating through her chest into mine. I hold her more closely, enjoying being near her. Her happiness is like bathing in the sunlight.

I step back, still clutching her tight against me. A burbling stream runs through the overgrown courtyard here, and I walk along the bank, holding my Gen all the while. She smiles at me, looking around curiously with her big blue eyes.

“What is this place?”

“I do not know, not exactly, but I assume it is one of the places where they would worship the goddess, a long time ago.”

“Are there many places like this on Sueva? This is so magical.”

It hits me then, that she does not know anything about our planet. Our people. Not really. We’ve been surviving in the jungle for two weeks now, and she has seen nothing of Sueva save for the small village we had her crew debark at for counter intelligence’s sake.

“This temple is very, very old, but if you mean to ask whether there are places where nature and people live in harmony, then the answer is yes. We respect the goddess, who is everywhere in Sueva. The city of Edrobaz, where our First Warlord Draz rules, is full of myza.”

“Myza?”

“Houses in trees,” I clarify. “Edrobaz is one of a kind, a city in the clouds at the top of a mountain.”

“Oh, wow,” she breathes, her eyes round and focused on me. “That sounds really cool.”

“The temperature is steady, thanks to an atmospheric dome.”

She grins, and I realize I’ve misunderstood the human slang word.

“Don’t pout,” she says, clucking her tongue and poking my bottom lip. “It’s cute when you don’t get it right away.”

“I am a prince! I am not cute.” I spit the last word, my mock rage making her laugh.

“Princes have to be cute. It’s in the job description.”

“And princesses must be beautiful warriors, so it looks like I chose perfectly.” My tone is smug, and her grin widens.

“You know,” she says, her fingers dancing along my shoulder. “I haven’t liked to be called beautiful lately. It’s been a long time since I liked hearing that. A very long time.”

“Why is that?” I ask, stepping carefully around a weathered statue. I think I know the answer, but maybe it will help her to speak her truth. And what better place to speak truths than in the temple of the many-faced-goddess?

Her sigh is long, and she’s silent for long enough while I walk that I think she will not answer.

“After the Roth came, everything changed. There wasn’t room for being pretty. I didn’t want to be pretty. Even trying made me feel silly and young and naïve. I saw firsthand what happened to the people they murdered, and there just wasn’t a point to it after that.” She lapses into silence, her expression contemplative, her fingers tapping a staccato beat against my scales.

I let the silence grow, my heart breaking for her all over again. This woman, she has been through so much. She had to grow a thick skin to hide her softness from the world. She had to be tough.

And now she opens up to me, just like the golden flower greets the morning sun, showing off the true treasure inside.

“It’s nice,” she says, her voice so quiet I have to strain to hear her. “It’s nice to feel like maybe, with you, I can be both parts of me. I can let myself have pretty things, if we get to Edro—” She stumbles over the word.

“Edrobaz,” I finish for her.

“If we get there, I can be both. I can be the Genevieve I used to be, and I can still be the new me. I can let myself enjoy things.”

“It makes me sad to hear that you have not enjoyed things since the Roth invaded.”

She makes clicking sounds with her tongue, her mouth pulling to the side as she stares at a patch of clouds beyond my head. “No, I did enjoy things. Just different things.” She shrugs one shoulder, drawing my eye to the fetching way her breast moves. “I put aside things that weren’t necessary. I enjoyed my work. I enjoyed learning to protect people. Protect myself.”

“That is very honorable. You will be a wonderful princess.”

Her legs clench around me, then loosen again. I narrow my eyes at her, pushing a branch of a tree out of our way.

“What? Do you not want to be a princess?”

“I mean, I already am, right?”

“That is not an answer.” The mud squelching between my toes turns to stone, and I glance down in surprise. Ahead, the thick underbrush butting up against the stream fades away into a stone courtyard. A fountain lies in the center, a worn statue of the goddess in the middle, one palm raised toward the Suevan sky, water running from her other hand. It’s so old that the likeness is barely recognizable, all features battered away by the constant exposure.

The fountain water runs clear and clean, however, a testament to the knowledge and prowess of the Suevan ancestors.

“Here we are, my Gen,” I tell her. “Now I can pamper you thoroughly.”

“I do love to bathe,” she says, her white teeth flashing in a smile. “That was something I never quite managed to give up.”

“Here,” I say, placing her on the edge. She immediately steps into the water, mud and dirt flaking away. She cups her hands, placing them under the spout and drinking deeply.

I step in beside her, kneeling at her feet and scrubbing gently at the mud that cakes her. There are cuts and bruises all over her skin.

“You are in bad shape, my love. Your poor fragile skin is battered.”

She freezes, staring down at me. Surprise is written over every inch of her face. “What?”

“You are covered in cuts. Are you in pain?”

“N-no.” Her lovely eyes are still wide, her brow pinched together. She stares at me as though I am a puzzle in need of solving.

“It does not hurt at all?” I ask, touching the wound from the zeloth.

She winces slightly. “No, it does hurt. Just not enough to complain about.”

I tilt my head, looking around at the vegetation as though for the first time. “This was once a garden,” I say slowly, realization dawning. “The priestesses that tutored me when I was young, they had a garden they kept as well. They taught me about the properties of many of our native plants. Ancestral healing plants.”

“You think there are healing plants here?” she asks, understanding dawning across her face.

“There is a plant called dreza. When crushed, the leaves make a fine salve. It has healing properties that the priestesses attributed to the power of the goddess. I wonder if there are solman berries here, too.”

“Food,” my princess moans, and her stomach rumbles loudly.

“Stay here,” I tell her, excited that I can at least soothe two of her immediate problems. We can both use the dreza salve and the nourishment from the berries, but I ache to ease her pain.

“Easy as pie,” she responds, plonking down in the shallow water, gingerly rubbing at the remaining patches of mud and grime. I watch her for a moment, transfixed by the vision before me. My naked, bathing human. She sits in the white stone fountain, the water sparkling in the sunlight, a peaceful expression on her face, water streaming over her smooth skin.

She looks like she belongs here.

With me.

I will make her see it, too.

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CHAPTER EIGHTEEN

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GEN

I like this place. Out of all the weird places on this planet, this one is by far my favorite. Water trickles over my shoulders as I lean my hair back into the clean water pouring from the statue’s hand. It’s cool, but with the sun beating down overhead, it’s refreshing as opposed to shocking.

The overgrown garden, though it seems strange to even call it a garden, is beautiful and otherworldly. Huge white buds hang from thick vines climbing up tree trunks. Several plants are shades I’ve never seen on Earth, purple ferns with vibrant pink striping, deep sapphire leaved bushes studded with crimson many-petaled flowers. Winged bugs float over the flowers, a strange cross between dragonflies and butterflies.

And they’re bioluminescent, glowing faintly when they dip into shade.

It’s striking and surreal, quiet and calm, and peace sneaks over me.

I sigh so heavily that it’s shaky, as though I’ve been sobbing for hours on end. It’s like all the anxiety and stress departs my body in that one breath, leaving me with my thoughts.

He called me his love.

Not his princess, or his golden flower, or any of the other silly and sweet pet names he’s bestowed on me.

His love.

My heart stutters at the mere thought, and I scan the foliage for him, wondering where he wandered off to. Not that I would see him, not with his coloring and the dappled light.

But I look for him still.

Part of me wonders if I’ll ever stop looking for him. I bite my lip, rubbing water over my face.

Kanuz isn’t the first to tell me he loves me.

But I think he might be the first to really mean it.

My toes curl underwater as memories of last night flash through my mind.

The prince certainly lived up to his own hype, and that’s also a new first. I’m pleasantly sore, and everything throbs with the sudden desire zipping through me as my body remembers the way he felt inside me.

I sigh, leaning back against the pocked stone of the statue, and resume trying to clean the caked on mud off my toes and feet. No use mooning about like some lovestruck teen. My alien will be back soon, and with food.

A girl can’t ask for much more than a good dicking down and some fresh fruit from the alien she loves.

I sit up quickly, water splashing all around me in my haste.

Wait.

Did I just… do I?

Do I love him?

Does the thought of being married, really being married to Kanuz, not just accidentally married, send warm fuzzies through me? My hand goes to my abdomen, and in the peaceful calm of the temple garden, I’m imagining it.

I’m imagining having his babies. Our babies.

A family.

A dream I thought the Roth stole from me all those years ago, roaring back full force. I never thought having kids was some kind of pinnacle goal for me, but it was something that was always there, as an option. Until Earth felt too dangerous to scrape by on my own, let alone bringing kids into the world.

I may not be safe here, in the jungle, but Kanuz is a huge, protective alien. He loves me.

He loves me.

The thought steals my breath. A winged insect darts to and from a patch of shade, glowing a luminous green.

This may not have been a life I ever imagined for myself… but I’m not sure I can imagine anything else.

My cheeks hurt. I touch my fingertips to my face. I’m grinning like a fool.

“A princess,” I murmur, wriggling my toes. “I love him?” I add, and the sudden quickening of my heart makes me smile harder.

I think I do.

The only thing that could make this perfect is if I had my friends to gossip with about it. My crew.

My stomach growls. Okay, maybe food and some clothes would help, too. And a safe place to sleep, out of the Suevan wilds and this temple.

The crew. Gah, I miss them more than I thought possible. I let the water trickle over my hand, watching it spill from my fingertips, mimicking the statue overhead. What would Bex say if I told her I fell in love with an alien prince?

A small laugh erupts from me.

She would be dancing around excitedly, chaotic and full of energy as always, probably asking inappropriate and hilarious questions about Kanuz’s package. I snort at the thought, practically hearing her voice in my head.

Still thirsty, I drink some more water. It’s crisp and delicious and leaves me feeling sated and bubbly. Or maybe it’s just finally seeing the open sky again.

“I hope my friends are all right,” I say out loud. If Kanuz’s goddess is real, maybe she’s listening. Can’t hurt to try and speak it into existence, regardless. I’m not huge on woo-woo stuff, but I have read my fair share of mind over body studies, mostly during the brutal training for Federation officers.

My lips twist to the side. I’m not sure I can speak hopes for my friends into existence.

“I hope we can leave the jungle safely,” I amend. “I hope that what I have with Kanuz is real, and isn’t some byproduct of being stuck surviving together. I hope that he doesn’t get tired of me.” I didn’t realize it was something I was worried about until I said it out loud. There have been so many other, immediate concerns that that one wasn’t even on my radar. But there it is, hanging outside my body now.

What if I’m just a passing novelty to him? What if I’m just one more alien female to bang?

“I want him to love me. Really love me,” I say quietly, to no one at all. “I want to be what he thinks I am. I want to help his people, and Earth, too.” I don’t want to be mean Gen anymore, sarcastic and thorny and contrary. It’s exhausting, being tough all the time.

I miss being able to let my guard down. With Kanuz, I feel like I finally can.

My nose wrinkles, and I stare down at my hands, which all but sparkle in the sunlight. I tilt my head. Weird. They look like they actually sparkle. I shake them, trying to dislodge the effect.

It doesn’t budge.

Maybe I’m dehydrated. I wouldn’t be surprised, not with as much physical activity as we’ve been doing. This water is like nothing else. It’s freaking delicious.

I cup my hands, drinking from the now trickling water. Weird. Why has it stopped flowing? I scoot my naked butt around, making sure I’m not blocking the drain or something.

But no. There’s no drain.

Confused, I stand. The water level’s lower, without a doubt.

“I didn’t drink that much.” I wring my wet hair out, but the water’s all but evaporated from it already. “What the fuck?”

My stomach lurches, and I stare down at my feet, which aren’t just sparkling, but appear to be glowing.

Glowing. Glowing a bright, shimmery green, just like the insects flitting around.

“Oh god,” I say, fear rippling through me. “It wasn’t water.”

I press my palm against my forehead. Maybe I’m feverish. Maybe this is a hallucination.

“My flower?” Kanuz’s voice tears through the garden, and I turn immediately to him.

“Am I glowing?” My voice is frantic. “Please tell me I’m not hallucinating. Or that if I am, it’s fine. That this is going to be fine. You can lie to me, Kanuz, I don’t care.”

“I cannot and will not lie to you, my Gen.” His eyes are wide, his arms limp at his sides, the huge, folded leaf in his hand forgotten. He goes to his knees, gaze glued to me. “You are glowing. The goddess has given you her gift, the treasure of the temple.”

“Shit,” I say weakly.

“That is not the gift,” he says. “You are the key, my love. You will unite Sueva.”

“Why am I glowing?” I ask. “Am I going to get sick?” I can’t even focus on what he’s saying. I’m too worried about my new bioluminescence. “There has to be an explanation for this.”

“You are the new symbol of a united Sueva,” Kanuz tells me, ignoring my questions, his gaze rapt on my naked body. “And you are a human female. They will not be able to ignore the goddess’ blessing now. Truly, my love, you are one of a kind.”

“I’m glowing.” I say again, stuck on that fact. “Why am I glowing?”

“There must be some sort of bioluminescent marker in that fountain.”

“Is it safe?” I squeak. I don’t want to be murdered by my own thirst. Real thirst, that is, not the lust I feel, staring at the big alien still on his knees in front of me.

Concern furrows his brow, and he stands, clutching the leaf to his chest. “We will find out. Do you feel ill?”

I pause, checking in with my body. “No?”

He beams at me, his smile contagious. “Then let us assume, for now, that you are safe. We will test you more extensively when we get back to civilization.”

Kanuz closes the distance between us, still staring at me with an awed expression. I shift my weight, finally logging the words he said.

“I’m the symbol of a united Sueva,” I repeat, uncertainty snaking through me.

“You are everything, my love.” He places the leaf on the now dry fountain, catching me up in a hug.

“Do I get superpowers?” I shove at him, testing my strength. I wilt a little when he chuckles. “Apparently not.”

“You already have them,” he tells me, his voice thick with emotion. “You are kind, and strong, a true survivor. You have a heart of gold, that you keep locked away. But now you cannot hide it. You shine with your goodness.”

“It sounds like a lot of responsibility,” I croak.

He snorts. “Let us focus on the positive. We are finished with this temple. I found a tunnel exit while you were busy drinking the treasure. It’s blocked by the roots of a gnarled zitsu tree, impossible to see from the outside. We are well outside the swamp entrance now, too. I think you will be pleased to hear that.”

“Oh my god, we’re free? We can leave?” I want to cry with relief. Instead, I bury my face in his chest, seeking comfort from my husband.

“We can, my love, we can.” His hand strokes through my hair, his touch soothing and so, so right.

“Kanuz,” I say, peeling myself off him and taking his face in my hands. “I love you.” It comes out fierce and harsh, with none of the softness I expected.

“Of course, you do,” he says arrogantly, his tail swishing behind him. “I am your husband.”

I can’t help but laugh.

“And I love you, my goddess blessed treasure. Now, let us get the fuck out of here, as you would say, so that we can settle the dispute on this planet once and for all.”

“Yeah,” I yell, pumping my fist. Glowing sparks shoot from my hand as I raise it, and I stare at it in alarm. “You think that’s going to wear off? That’s excessive.”

“No, I do not.” He’s downright cheerful about it. “Now, my glowing one, eat some of these berries I’ve foraged for you while we walk. Here.” He dips his fingers in the gooey stuff leaking from the big leaf, and slathers it on my skin. “The dreza will soothe your wounds.” He blows a cool breath over the salve, and it instantly seems to alleviate the aches. He smiles down at me. “Ready? If you prefer, I can carry you.”

He doesn’t give me the option, though, simply scooping my naked ass up, then tossing the leaf pouch full of berries on my stomach.

“Are they good?”

“Very good. They do not grow everywhere on Sueva.”

I eye one. It looks almost like a blackberry, but not quite. “It’s not going to poison me?”

He stops, aghast. “I would not give you poison berries.”