“Does the thought of me rutting you and making you swell arouse you as much as it does me? Your body tells me it does.”
“You can smell me?” I don’t even know what to do with that information. Frankly, we went from zero to sixty on the communication scale. Sixty is a little too fast.
And I should not be thinking about sixty-nine.
“Your scent is the most delectable thing I have ever experienced.” His diamond pupils expand as he watches me from over his shoulder, his translations forgotten. “Say the word, and I will gladly bury myself in your eager cunt.”
“Whoa,” I say, my eyes wide. “Listen buddy, I’ve had my share of dirty talking partners in bed, but I can’t say anyone’s ever told me that.” And I’ve always loved dirty talk, and even now, knowing that this alien wants to get me pregnant, that that’s why he married me… I’m turned on.
This is… a lot.
He stands up, towering over me, and I swallow hard. “Do you want that, my flower?”
My stomach growls, and I blink, the spell of attraction suddenly snapped.
Kanuz’s lip curls, disgust clear on his green features. His tail whips behind him, and he mutters something to himself before turning back to the wall.
I sink to the floor, crossing my legs and putting my face in my hands. What am I doing? Am I seriously thinking about fucking this massive alien?
Yeah, yeah I am. Yep.
Maybe it’s a combination of dehydration and hunger and exposure.
Or maybe I want him. Maybe I, the most stubborn, meanest person I know, likes the idea of someone else shouldering some of the burden for a while. Of being protected by a huge dude.
Of not having to worry about when the Roth will attack again, because I’ll be here, away from the reality of their assault.
Or maybe I’m losing my mind. A memory of the Roth attack surfaces, and bile fills my throat, my pulse quickening. The smell of burning buildings, so many on fire that the sky rained ash for a day after. The sound of screams. The frenzied run from Houston down highways packed tight with cars that would be incinerated by the Roth in the coming hours.
“I was right,” he says suddenly, and I flinch, slamming the door to those memories shut.
“About what?”
“This temple. This is no ordinary temple.” His voice is full of excitement, the words tumbling over each other.
“Is that a good thing? Does that mean we can get out more easily?”
“It is the best thing, my human flower.”
“That sounds… gross. Don’t call me that.”
He frowns at me, then beams, flashing fangs in a boyish grin that’s so charming I can’t help but smile back a little. “What would you have me call you, then? My starlight? My soft moonbeam? My little mate? Tell me, so that when I bury my cock inside you, I know what you want to hear me moan.”
“Gen is fine,” I croak, face heating. “Let’s just get out of here before we worry about that.”
“No, I will think of something perfect for you, my Gen.” He steps closer, his chest brushing against my breasts. “I will be the only one to call you this name, so that when you hear it, you perfume the air with the scent of your arousal, and I’ll know you long to have me inside you.”
“For crying out loud.” I scrub a hand over my face. “Just tell me what the damn wall says.”
“Dam wall? No, it is just a regular wall. There is no water behind it.”
Ugh.
“This is the temple of the snake goddess. One of the many faces of the mother goddess.”
“Ooookay,” I say slowly. “Tell me more.”
“This is the temple where the true treasure of Sueva is hidden.”
“Is that treasure food?” I say, arching a brow at him. “Because we can’t eat treasure, and your wife is hungry.”
“Hungry for food or cock?” he says, smirking at me. “I can still scent you.”
“Fucking hell,” I say, shoving him away from me. “For food.”
“Food will not be a problem.” His eyes shine in the firelight, his third eyelid blinking open and shut as he stares at me. “The pool behind us is full of fish and fresh water. It’s filtered, too. I could feel it pulling on my toes as I swam with you soft in my arms.”
“So we’re safe in here.” I narrow my eyes at him. There’s something he’s not telling me. “Because treasure doesn’t fucking matter if we die trying to get it.”
“Eh,” he says, shrugging. “We are no worse off than we would be in the jungle with the separatists and Crigomar after us.”
“Separatists… That’s why we’re in the jungle?” I have vague memories of an explosion, of blinding pain, before I woke up in a downpour with Kanuz’s worried mug swimming overhead. “They attacked the welcoming ceremony.”
“Marriage ceremony,” Kanuz corrects, and I blow out an irritated breath. “But yes.”
“They would attack the prince?”
“They have many reasons to despise me, but the most important of them is that they do not approve of our choice to blend our species, even if it means the survival of Suevans. They believe the mother goddess disapproves, too.” His tail smashes against the stone wall, his expression tight with displeasure.
“Riiiight. So… I’m not safe here, then.” Fuck. Talk about bursting my bubble. He skewered it.
“I will keep you safe, my flower. I will keep you safe, and happy, and treasure your every breath. You are the most enchanting female I have ever seen. I like your spikes as well.”
“My spikes?” I say, confusion overriding my many questions.
“You are angry and mean, and I find it most charming.”
“Oh,” I say. That’s a new one.
“The treasure of this temple is not like most,” Kanuz says, his eyes alight with sudden zeal. It’s infectious, and a little thrill of excitement goes through me. “This treasure could reunite Sueva under my rule.”
“What is it?” I ask, interested despite myself. If the way to treasure is just as dangerous as a jungle full of angry Suevans and dinosaurs, then maybe I should take my chances on it. Why not?
It’s not like I have anything left to lose, anyway. Go big or go home.
Or, you know, never go home. Whatever.
I snort.
“It is the symbol of the many-faced-goddess herself. A symbol that will reunite all of Sueva. No one would contest my rule if I had it in my possession.” A muscle ticks in his forehead.
“What is it? Gems? A crown? A scepter? Some kind of technology?”
He shakes his head, a crazed look in his eye. “That is the best part, my cunning diamond. I do not know.”
“Cunning diamond?” I scowl at him, then shake off his new weird nickname. “How is that the best part? How would your people even know it’s supposed to reunite them? Isn’t that the whole point of a symbol? That people recognize it?”
“That doesn’t make any sense.” He gapes at me, his head tilted to the side. “The mysterious nature of the symbol is the important part.”
I can’t help but roll my eyes. “You’re literally making no sense.”
“You dare tell a prince of Sueva such a thing?”
“Yeah, absolutely, you big idiot,” I say, annoyed beyond reason. Hangry and cold do not my best moments make, but I can’t stop myself. I poke him straight in the chest. “While I am not opposed to a treasure hunt—because from the looks of it, we’re stuck in here unless you can figure out a way to get us out of a hole fifty feet up—and I’m all about why not? adventures, I fail to see the logic of a symbol nobody recognizes.”