He nodded and Lucas walked closer to him. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to snap at you. I know this must be hard for you. I’m finding it’s a little hard for me too.”

Sighing, he pulled Kai close to him and kissed his forehead. “Go on to the last bedroom at the end of the hall and get in bed. You look exhausted. I have a few things to check on, and then I’ll come join you.”

It wasn’t hard to get ready for bed, since he had no clothes at all. He’d been wearing some of Lucas’s things on board the ship, but usually slept naked, since that was what Lucas seemed to want. Kai wandered down the hall to Lucas’s room. He got into Lucas’s big bed, sinking down into a soft, comfortable mattress. The pillow smelled like Lucas, and the familiar smell relaxed Kai enough that he soon fell asleep. He awoke sometime in the night to find Lucas’s big, hard body spooning him, his arm wrapped tightly around Kai’s waist. Kai snuggled back against him and let sleep overtake him again.

Now, only a few weeks later, his husband no longer slept by his side at night. How had things unraveled so much between them in such a short time? Sighing, Kai gathered up his arrows and walked back toward the house. He’d been standing in the yard daydreaming so long that he looked around nervously to make sure none of the neighbors were watching him. Ryan had told him many of the Lycan people had wanted a female consort for their alpha, so Lucas could get an heir. When Ryan saw the stricken look on Kai’s face, he blushed and said he talked too much and not to worry about it in the least. Lucas and Blayde and the rest of the family were handling everything.

Kai caught a glimpse of his reflection in the glass doors that led inside the house. He looked very different from the person known as Princess Kai, and he no longer resembled a woman at all. Lucas had made him cut his long hair to a much shorter length. Not quite as short as his and the other Lycans, but close. He never wore makeup any more. He’d been glad about the makeup, and hadn’t minded at all about his hair. He liked the freedom of the shorter cut, and he’d wanted to look more like Lucas, whom he considered very handsome. Still, he wondered if there was anything about him that Lucas did like, and he felt little pieces of himself slipping away.

Kai’s body looked longer and leaner in the clothing he wore now too. Lucas had purchased an entire wardrobe for him, consisting mainly of the trousers and shirts and soft leather boots the other Lycans wore. They were comfortable enough, though still stiff and new. He still preferred his comfortable leggings and since he was back inside, he went to his room to change into them.

Afterward, he checked his compnetto see if his mother had sent him a message. Lucas himself had sent the queen a brief message telling her they’d arrived on Lycanus 3 safely. But, at first, he’d forbidden Kai to contact her. When he saw how unhappy it made Kai, he’d relented, and now allowed him to send messages to her regularly. Kai was well aware that Lucas read his messages, probably hoping to learn the secrets Kai was keeping from him. It did him no good whatsoever.

The lines weren’t secure into Scythia, so neither Kai nor his mother ever sent messages of any importance. Kai and Merrial had long ago worked out a system of secret communication, though, starting when he was only a child. Merrial had a beautiful wife named Lythiquo. As a young girl, Lythiquo had been quite beautiful and when she’d first come to Scythia as a love slave, she worked in the royal palace. Merrial met her there, and when Lythiquo became too old to be desirable any longer, Merrial was allowed to purchase her for herself.

Lythiquo came from a tiny planet on the outskirts of the known universe. Its sun had super-novaed and the few inhabitants who managed to escape sought refuge all over the galaxies. Lythiquo had sold herself into slavery in order to survive. Her planet, QVR 7, had a strange, obscure language known as Quevarian, and it was so obscure and difficult to master that no one really knew it any more, except, of course, for the few refugees like Lythiquo. She had taught it to Merrial, who in turn, taught the language to Kai when he was very young, and he had spent many hours practicing with both Merrial and Lythiquo. Thus, they could have entire secret conversations no matter who was nearby to hear them.

Occasionally, he and Merrial still used this language to send their messages to each other. Lucas must have noticed, but he’d never questioned it. Perhaps he thought messages to a servant were beneath his notice.

Kai was sitting in the main living area, his leg swung over the arm of the big lounge chair when Lucas came in late that afternoon.

As always, Kai’s heart leaped at the sight of him. Lucas came over to sit on one of the sofas. “Are you all right?” he asked.

“Yes,” Kai said quietly. “I’m fine.”

“No pains?” Lucas asked solicitously. “I’m trying very hard not to think about any of the…issues…between us. I hate the thought of you in pain.”

“None,” Kai said, lying only a little. He was beginning to be able to live with the discomfort. It wasn’t too bad so long as he kept busy. “I practiced with the bow you bought for me today.”

“You did? Did you have a good day then?”

“Oh yes, fine. Maybe a little…”

“A little what?”

“A little lonely. But I understand you have to work, and the other mates are all off on trips with their spouses. I’m fine, really, but I was thinking. Maybe I could come with you sometimes? To the mines?”

Lucas shook his head. “It’s really hot and dirty. I don’t want you in that kind of environment.”

“Oh. All right then.” He chanced another plea. “I wouldn’t mind. I’d try not to get in the way.”

“I said no.” Lucas said sharply and then shifted uneasily as he glanced down at Kai. “Don’t look like that. I want you to be with me, but it’s not a place for you. Some of the workers are very rough men.

The way you were brought up—I’d be too worried about you to be able to work.”

“It’s all right. I understand.”

“Look, I was thinking,” Lucas said, leaning forward. “You said once that Scythians don’t have any household pets.”

“That’s right.” Kai said. “Animals are for outside,” he said firmly, repeating the words Merrial had told him so many times.

Lucas smiled. “Not always. When we were kids, Blayde and I had a windiga. Do you know what that is?”

When Kai shook his head, Lucas continued. “They’re pets—about so high,” he held his hand out by his knee, “with lovely brown fur. They’re fiercely loyal and surprisingly gentle to their owners, though they can be vicious to outsiders. It’s all in the way they’re trained, of course. My foreman told me his windiga had kits not long ago. He said you could have one, if you like. I thought it might be good for you, and they make very good watch animals. I like the idea that he can protect you when I’m at the mines all day.”

“But won’t they make a mess in the house?”

“Not if you train them properly. They’re very intelligent and easy enough to train. I can show you. If you want.”

“Yes,” Kai said, nodding. “When can I have him?”

“I’ll bring him home tomorrow.” Lucas stood up and held out his hand. “Let’s eat something. I’m starving.”

Kai followed his mate into the kitchen area and watched while he pulled two dinners from the cabinet. Kai had never seen these kinds of dinners before he came to Lycanus 3. They were already prepared, ready in seconds and absolutely delicious once they were put through the food processor, a small appliance on the countertop. He usually let Lucas pick out the dinners for him, since he had no idea what most of them were anyway. So far, he liked the Lycan food and almost always ate whatever Lucas fixed for him.

Lucas pulled out some kind of small red fruit and popped one inside Kai’s mouth. It was deliciously sweet and so juicy. The sweet liquid stained his lips. “Do you like them? They’re kaiberries,” Lucas said with a grin.

“Kaiberries?” Kai looked up in delight. “Like my name?”

“Yes, exactly. They have a very short growing season and are considered a delicacy.” He leaned over and licked the juice remaining on Kai’s lips. “Absolutely delicious,” Lucas said, and Kai felt a blush starting on his neck and working its way up.

Kai picked up a berry and held it out teasingly in front of Lucas’s lips. He’d only recently felt bold enough around his husband to tease him a little. Lucas seemed to like it. He opened his mouth to take the berry, but Kai held onto it, keeping the sweet, red berry just at Lucas’s lips. “Wait,” he said, “Hold the berry between your lips a moment.”

Lucas widened his eyes, but did as Kai asked, holding the berry between his lips and quirking up an eyebrow. Kai leaned forward and nibbled at the berry, feeling the juices running down his and Lucas’s chins, feeling Lucas’s soft lips against his. Lucas moaned, and Kai nuzzled his nose in closer, taking the last bite in his mouth, and licking the juice carefully off Lucas’s lips. He sat back and looked up at Lucas innocently. “There,” he said. “That’s the way to eat a kaiberry, I think. And you’re right. They’re quite a delicacy.”

Lucas swallowed hard and took Kai’s face in his hands. He bent his head and took his mouth, making a little sound that was half-groan, half-growl. “Dinner later,” he said hoarsely and hauled Kai across the counter into his arms. Grabbing the berries off the counter, he pulled Kai down the hall toward the bedroom. “I can think of another way to eat a kaiberry,” he said, and Kai squealed and pretended to try and get away.

* * * *

Throwing his boy onto his stomach in the middle of the bed, Lucas ripped at his clothing before turning his attention to his own. When he had them both naked, he looked down at Kai and saw him laughing up at him over his shoulder, sticking his ass up in the air and wiggling it.

Almost mad with desire, Lucas fell down behind him and pried open the cleft between his pretty, round ass cheeks. Burying his face in the crevice, he laughed to hear Kai scream and wiggle as if he were trying to get away. He raised his head slightly. “Oh no, you started this. I was perfectly happy to eat my dinner, but you had to get cute. “He bent back to his task, swiping his long tongue all the way up from the back of Kai’s heavy balls to the round little pink nub that was his prize. He grabbed a berry or two from the carton on the bedside and stuck them just inside the little wrinkled hole.