"You insulted a prince." Her voice came out too high. "You told him his ship was smaller than yours."
Kirr shrugged. "Rohn knows I'm joking."
"But he's a prince!"
"And I'm a War-Commander." He said it like that explained everything. "Technically, I outrank him. The only War-Commanders who outrank me are those from the K'Vass line, directly related to the emperor."
Harper's world tilted. "You outrank royalty."
"In military matters, yes."
The full weight of it crashed down on her. She'd been living with someone who outranked princes. Who answered only to the emperor's direct bloodline. "That whole thing sounded exactly like a pissing contest."
Kirr's confusion was immediate. "A what?"
Oh no.
"A pissing contest." She gestured vaguely. "It's a human thing. Males comparing sizes. You know."
His amber eyes narrowed. "Comparing sizes of what?"
Harper's face flamed. "You know. Their... equipment."
Silence.
Then Kirr blinked at her, his expression shifting from confusion to something that looked suspiciously like amusement. "You think Rohn and I were comparing our cocks?"
"Well—I mean—" She stumbled over the words, her thoughts scattering. "Human males are obsessed with dick size. Who's bigger. It's this whole stupid dominance thing."
"I'm not interested in males." Kirr's voice was flat. Matter-of-fact. "So why would I show Rohn my cock?"
Oh god.
"No, that's not—I didn't mean—" Harper's hands flew up, trying to salvage this trainwreck of a conversation. "It's just an expression. Humans say it when people are competing over stupid things. I wasn't saying you're actually interested in?—"
She was making this worse.
So much worse.
Kirr's lips quirked. Not quite a smile, but close. "I see."
They started walking again, moving toward a sleek vessel near the far wall. The deck plates were cooler here, the vibration from idling engines stronger. Harper kept her attention on her feet, trying to will the fire in her face to cool.
Professional. She needed to be professional. Stop thinking about his cock or ship sizes or the way his hand felt against her back or?—
He leaned down, his breath warm against her ear. "But mine is definitely bigger than Rohn's."
Harper stumbled.
Kirr's arm wrapped around her waist, steadying her before she face-planted on the deck. His body was solid against her side, his warmth cutting through the jacket and her borrowed shirt. His voice rumbled through his chest into her shoulder where they were pressed together.
"Careful."
She couldn't breathe.
Couldn't think.
Couldn't process anything beyond the fact that he'd just told her his cock was bigger than the prince's and now he was holding her like she weighed nothing and his mouth was right there, close enough that she felt his breath against her temple.
