I looked over my shoulder at him. He frowned and stared down at his feet. I reeled the gift back in. “It’s to do with Shayat.”

“Prying eyes.”

“You know I can’t help it. What about her?”

He leaned against the door. He drummed his fingers on the doorknob. “You should’ve said.”

“Said what?”

“How you like it. You should’ve said.”

I caught glimpses of his mind as it turned and looked away to give him privacy. “I don’t know what you mean.”

He sighed. I wanted him to come to me, but he stayed where he was. “She is rough with you, Ariah.”

“Oh.” I hugged my knees to my chest. “Well…yes. She is.”

“I didn’t know.”

“Back in the desert you must have noticed. She left marks.”

He shook his head. “I didn’t. You should’ve said. Years now I been doing it wrong for you.”

I looked up. His face was still, his brows furrowed and mouth tight. “No. No, you haven’t. It’s different with you, but that’s all right.”

“You sure?”

“Of course I’m sure.”

He crossed the room and sat beside me. “I hope so. Truth be told, I’m not so good at that. Had a girl once who wanted it rough. I did it, but I felt right awful the whole time.”

I laughed. I blushed. Even then, even in that wild configuration, I still was not adept at such a discussion. My own body still embarrassed me deeply. “It’s good with you. It really is.”

He looked at me for a long time. He nodded and crawled under a blanket. He kicked at me until I curled up next to him. “What’re you going to do now that you’ve forsaken the line?”

“I don’t know. Lie low, I guess.”

“I got a girl I got to see later. Just checking in with her. She’s a nervous one. Want to come with?”

“It’ll raise questions,” I said. “Better to lie low.”

“If you’re lying low,” he said, “you got to do it proper. Don’t go skulking around the slave traders stealing songs.”