Page 35 of Treasured By the Alien Rogue

None magically appeared, but Xax told me the house god only did some things for the Zuldruxians, not everything, and that food was one of the things the Zuldruxians handled themselves.

I pawed through the cold box, pulling out a slab of meat and some vegetables. I’d have to ask Xax if he had flour. Sugar. I was no chef, but I knew how to make a few basic breakfast items, including pancakes. Without a waffle iron, I couldn’t make those, and I suspected cooking items would not be produced by Alexa no matter how much I begged.

She nicely lit the burner upon my request, however, and while I had no clue how the flame was fueled, I opted to just go with it. After slicing the meat thin and chopping the veggies, I sautéed everything in the pan and slid a generous portion onto a plate for Xax, taking a decent-sized amount for myself.

Turning, I found him leaning against the doorway.

“What are you doing?” he asked, scratching the back of his neck. His yawn stretched out.

No male should look this good in the morning, from his rumpled silver hair to his ruddy blue cheeks with a hint of stubble, to his brawny body almost glowing in the sunshine streaming in from a clear panel above his head.

He wore only a fresh loincloth loosely bound around his waist.

Swallowing hard, I tried to force down the lust curling inside me.

“I made breakfast.” I lifted the plates, showing them off. “One table and two chairs, if you please, Alexa.”

That girl delivered, and we sat, eating in companionable silence.

“I looked for tea, but I didn’t find any leaves,” I said as I scooped up the last bite and popped it into my mouth. It wasn’t pancakes, but it filled my belly.

“We can collect and dry leaves if you’d like,” he said, laying his eating implement on his empty plate.

“They’d need to be edible of course.”

“Most in the area are.”

“I don’t suppose . . .” Wait. I wasn’t seriously contemplating this, was I? “Does anyone run a tea shop in your village?”

“You mean commerce where a person offers goods for sale and others buy or trade for them?”

“Yes. Specifically for tea and other assorted goodies.” I’d planned to buy bakery goods from local suppliers, plus candy and other sweets my customers might enjoy. Perhaps I could pursue my dream here. Was I foolish to even contemplate such a thing?

“We trade with the Veerenads for anything our god doesn’t provide, or we can’t take care of ourselves. I could ask them about tea leaves, though it’ll be at least a month before I travel to the city.”

“Have any of the Veerenads opened a tea shop here?” I hadn’t seen any lizard people around the evening before, but maybe they were tiny or inside their homes like most of the members of his village.

“They’re not interested in living in shrooms or with our clan. They have their own city, and they’re happy there.”

“What if . . .” I sucked in a deep breath and released everything inside me with a gust of hopeful air. “Back on Earth, I’d planned to open a tea shop where people would come not only to buy tea and other assorted goodies but to sit on cozy furniture or at cute little tables while they sipped their tea. I’d planned to offer Wi-Fi and a free library full of donated books. If things went well, I planned to offer food for the lunch crowd. I didn’t expect to remain open for dinner. There’s only so much a girl can do in one day, but breakfast and lunch? Sure. I’d planned to hire staff and—”

“I’ll help you with this.”

My breath caught. “Really?”

He gave me a lopsided grin. “Really. If this is your dream, something you want to do more than anything, I want to help you.”

“That’s really sweet of you, Xax.”

“I want you to be happy. That’s what truly matters to me.”

“Aw, thanks.”

I was going to have to be very careful, or I’d fall in love with this big burly alien.

After taking care of the dishes, we left, riding down through the shroom stem and stepping outside to bright sunshine. It was warm enough already I could feel it coasting across my skin, but not so hot I worried about getting a sunburn, though I’d make sure I didn’t remain out in it for long. The air smelled amazing here, like the forest around us, warm grass, and with the subtle hint of flowers. No pollution. No noise from vehicles.

If I wanted, I could stay here forever.

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