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“Me, I’m a genius.” She laughed as he scooped her into his arms. “Wait! No more amazing, distracting sex. We both have work to do.”

“Not even one more round of amazing sex?” His head lowered as he moved his kisses down her stomach.

Heather beat a hand against his horn.

“That is only making things worse,” he said.

She placed her feet on his shoulders and gently pushed him away. “Enough! Or I really won’t be able to walk for a week.”

Loka wrapped Heather in his arms and held her against him. Everything felt perfect. He didn’t even mind about his missing horn. Heather had shown him she loved him just the way he was.

“Come on, Horny, let’s get moving.”

“Before we do.” Loka stood and hurried to his collection of coal. He extracted his two favorite pieces and returned to the bed. He knelt on the floor and held his hands out, the coal clenched in his fists.

“More gifts?” A smile played on Heather’s lips.

“The coal is given for a specific reason,” Loka said.

“I know. To show you like someone. It’s very sweet of you.”

“They are also to help provide for the future.”

Heather tilted her head. “I didn’t know Picars traded in coal?”

Loka shook his head. Focusing all his energy into his fists, he squeezed his hands together, touching each hand in turn with the tip of his horn. Heat radiated from his palms, and his teeth gritted as sweat slid down his face.

Heather watched in silence, her eyes wide as the room grew warm.

Loka released his grip on the coal and uncurled his fingers. Sitting in each palm was a small diamond.

Heather stared at the diamonds. “That’s magic.”

“It’s science,” Loka said. “We have a... talent for doing this, only for our chosen mate.”

Heather nodded, her mouth hanging open. She picked a diamond from his hand and inspected it. “It’s beautiful.”

“It’s yours.”

Heather lowered the diamond. “Every piece of coal you’ve given me, you can turn into a diamond?”

“That’s what we do,” Loka said. “It’s not a well-known custom outside of my own race. You can imagine what some aliens would do if they knew we could create diamonds. Not every piece of coal can be made into a diamond. I always hunt for the best pieces, the pieces that will produce the purest diamonds.”

“Diamonds that will be worth a fortune if we sell them.”

Loka’s head lowered a little. He had debated showing Heather this ability. Picars rarely sold their diamonds—they were given as a sign of commitment and trust. But if they sold one or two, they could buy their space pad a lot sooner. He would be able to make Heather happy.

Heather tilted his chin up with her hand. “I love every single lump of coal you’ve given me. They are all beautiful, whether you turn them into diamonds or not. They’re important to me, and I love them because you gave them to me.”

He raised her fingers to his mouth and kissed them. “We will sell these two. We want our life together to begin as soon as possible. With these, we can.”

“I can wait. I don’t mind. It will be worth it.”

“My diamonds are yours.” Loka reached down for the box. “As is this.”

Heather stared at the tiny, perfect diamond set in a silver charm shaped like a horn.

“Do you like it? I thought you could add it to your charm bracelet.”