“Hey…” She gave his chest a small shove. “Don’t get ahead of yourself.”

He smiled for a beat. “I don’t like that this is bugging you. Don’t think I haven’t noticed.” He paused, clearly in thought. “I initially thought that you had dropped it, but then you kept asking me, in different ways, if you were in heat. I’ve heard you ask Sky as well. You do know that it’s considered foreplay if a person sniffs another person, don’t you? You keep making her sniff you.” He grinned.

“Oh no, really?” No wonder Sky had looked so uncomfortable, every single time.

“Yup.” He smiled but it didn’t last long. “You do realize that if you were with a human male…” His eyes darkened and narrowed. She could see that he hated the thought. “You wouldn’t have known whether you were in heat or not. This whole thing wouldn’t be an issue.”

“I’m not with a human.”

“Thank claw.” He kissed the tip of her nose. “I did a bit of research on the subject. I googled a human female’s cycle to—”

“You did?” Oh wow! That was so sweet. Then something occurred to her. “Wait a minute. Are you worried? Is that it?” She sucked in a breath and covered her mouth. “Have you changed your mind about being okay with me if… if…”

“No,” a rasp. “I will never change my mind about anything that doesn’t include being with you. We belong together. If giving up my crown in order to keep you makes me selfish then so be it.” He looked more deeply into her eyes. “Don’t ever worry about my wanting to be with you or our relationship. You don’t have to.”

She nodded. “Okay. I’m glad.”

“The reason I googled it was because it still bugged you and I knew this conversation was coming.” He ran a hand through his hair. “A human female ovulates once a month on average. We know this already. There are things that can prevent a female from ovulating. Stress is a big factor. You were abducted and hunted. You and I had a bit of a rocky start. This whole life”—he lifted his eyes for a moment— “here with me is new to you.”

“I’m not really that stressed. Maybe I was initially, but not anymore. I’m so happy it’s ridiculous. I don’t think that’s it.”

“It could be.” He paused. “It could also be”—he sighed— “based on what I researched, that your body is taking a while to get back to it’s regular cycle after being on those pills that stop pregnancy.”

Candy nodded. She hadn’t taken her birth control since coming here.