She suddenly became all business as she glanced at him. “This is something I could trade for, Challen. Is there a lot of it on Sha-Ka’an? Is it easily obtainable?”

He took the stone from her, set it on top of the box, and moved the box away from her. “Eat the food I have brought you,” was all he said.

“All right, so maybe you don’t have the authority to trade with me, but you could at least answer my questions about your gaali stones.”

“You will not speak to me of trade, woman. You will eat now; then will you work upon my body as I did earlier mention.”

The reminder that she was to give him a massage sent all thoughts of trade right out of Tedra’s mind. She felt her body come alive with arousal just from the thought of touching his. She squirmed where she sat back on her heels, glanced at the plate piled high with large chunks of roasted meat and some type of root vegetable, and wasn’t hungry anymore.

“Why don’t we do the massage first?” she suggested, only to see him shake his head.

Her disappointment was almost palatable. Well, what had she expected? He was made of stone, after all. What had made her think that a massage might arouse him enough to finally share some sex with her? He didn’t look any more interested in sex-sharing now than he had all day.

She picked up the plate and stared at the food in an effort to get her mind off the question of whether she was going to get breached tonight or not. There were no utensils to eat with, so she hesitantly picked up a chunk of meat with her fingers, trying to ignore the fact that it had been a live animal not so many hours ago.

Challen had leaned back on an elbow on the fur, but watching her, he couldn’t help but see the face she made with her first bite. “You have no liking for kisrak?”

“I suppose I’ll get used to it since I’m going to be here at the very least a month.”

“And where do you think to go when a month passes?” he asked indulgently.

“You told me not to speak of it.”

He snorted. “There is other meat roasted if kisrak suits you not.”

She was surprised at the offer. At least it wasn’t in his plans to starve her, which was reassuring after she’d waited so long for this nourishment.

“Thank you, but one kind or another isn’t going to make any difference, since it’s the meat itself I’ve never had before. We have stuff that tastes like your kisrak. We even call it meat, and it comes in a variety of different tastes, textures, and colors. But it’s not real meat. We stopped killing animals for food centuries ago.”

“Unreal men, and now unreal meat. What else is unreal in your Kystran?”

She gave him credit for concealing his disbelief behind a bland expression. But she’d take any opportunity she could to tell him of the wonders of the modern worlds. She never knew when she might hit on the one thing that might convince him she wasn’t just spinning tall tales for his amusement.

“There are lots of things, I guess, though I pretty much take them for granted. Take pets, for instance. Since many of our animals became extinct during the Great Water Shortage, the few remaining live animals suitable for pets are so outrageously expensive that only the really determined are willing to pay the price, especially when mechanical pets are so much cheaper. Now, I’m not talking about pets like your fembair there, but something cute and cuddly, with all the behavioral qualities of the animal it’s meant to resemble.”

“You own such a pet?”

“I’ve got Martha, who gives me all the trouble I can handle. What do I need with a mechanical dog programmed to dump on my carpet every so often?” At his blank look, she made a face. “That was a little humor, barbarian. Actually, it was a toss-up for me between buying a house in the suburbs and buying a pet. I chose the house, wanting a little privacy more than companionship, since I did already own Martha, who is a companion of sorts, just as Corth is. But I would love a pet as soon as I can save up enough exchange tokens again to afford one.”

“A real pet would cost as much as a place to live?” He was no longer hiding his disbelief.

“Just about.” She grinned. “Aren’t the rare things here more expensive than what you have in abundance? What about your gaali stones? Are they very-”

“Now do we change the subject,” he said shortly.

So much for slipping that by unnoticed. “Very well, but I’ll change it. I have some questions for you anyway. What would happen if I ask for protection of another warrior before my service ends? Would you two end up fighting over me?”

“Do you seek to cause deliberate mischief, woman, you will be punished.”

She smiled at his set look. “I was only curious, babe. How else can I learn the rules unless I ask? You seem too content to wait until I break them before telling me about them. That’s rather late from my point of view.”

He ran a hand through his hair, actually seeming flustered. “It is strange, having a woman not know the laws. All women know the laws from the earliest age.”

“In other words, you haven’t deliberately tried trapping me with my ignorance? Why, barbarian, I guess I owe you an apology, then.” This was said too dryly to be taken seriously. “Now let’s try this one on for size. What happens if I challenge someone while still under challenge loss to you?”

He sat up, an indication he wasn’t pleased with the direction her thoughts were taking. “This you will not do, woman.”

“I won’t? Who says I won’t? For that matter, what if I feel like challenging you again?”

“You will lose; thus will your service be extended for another month.”

“But if I won, you’d have a month to look forward to Tedra-getting-even, wouldn’t you? Now that’s a sweet thought. Would it make you think twice before punishing me again?”

“No.”

“You could at least have hesitated a little before answering that,” she said sourly.

He smiled at her now. “I have told you what you must do to avoid punishment; thus should there be no more.”

“ ‘Should’ is a far cry from ‘will.’ Now don’t get me wrong,” she said when his smile disappeared. “I have every intention of obeying you when I’m supposed to… Speaking of which, these living quarters of yours are going to have to be redecorated if this is where I’m to live for the next month. There’s going to have to be some kind of divider rigged up to make only one section of this tent the place where you sleep.”

“That will not be necessary.”

“Then we’ve got a really big problem, friend, because nothing was said about you keeping me all day long in your bedchamber. If that’s the case-”

“It is not. This is merely the camp we have used while hunting in this area. On the new sunrise do we return to Sha-Ka-Ra, the town where we live.”

“In houses, I hope.”

“Yes, in houses.” He grinned. “We are not as primitive as you would make us.”

“That’s debatable, but I’m willing to reserve judgment,” she said, pointedly looking at her greasy fingers.

This caused the barbarian to burst into laughter. “Come, kerima, I will take you to the stream where you may wash.”

“A cloth will do. Until you come up with one of those chauri for me to wear, or at least a belt to make this covering halfway decent, I’ll stay in here-if it’s all the same to you.”

“It is not,” he replied, though he wasn’t annoyed with her for trying to get out of what had been in effect a command. “You must also relieve yourself.”

“Oh,” she said, but charged through her embarrassment by adding, “Well, that changes everything. Silly me, for thinking the bathroom was going to pop out of the walls of a tent.” At his stare, she grinned. “Never mind. I’ve amused you enough for one day with the wonders of my-Kystran. Lead on.”

Tedra set her plate aside and stood up, but before Challen joined her, he drew to him the fur sack and took out of it the rope he had earlier removed from her wrists. She scowled at it, then at him, but held out her hands anyway. He grinned as he stood up, then wrapped the rope around her waist, tying it together for her, and even pulling the sides of her covering closed so that they would stay closed.