Almost instantly, her mind began to pitch and roll like waves in the ocean. Should she sleep with him? Would it be forever, or just for tonight?
She contemplated the hot, eager sensation running through her veins and decided it didn’t really matter. Or maybe it did matter, but she wasn’t going to worry about it tonight. For once in her life, she was going to leap without considering the consequences.
“That sounds like a terrific idea,” she said. “Let’s.”
Chapter 12
Watching Steven and Vaish leave the lounge together, Fred said happily to himself, “Hot damn .”
“I beg your pardon?”
It was a sexy, sultry, extraordinarily feminine voice. Fred turned his internal cameras every which way, looking in all corners of the lounge, but couldn’t identify the source. “Who are you?” he said suspiciously.
“My name is K’ana. The engineering crew patched me into your systems so they could work on fixing me.”
“Ah,” Fred said, comprehension dawning. “You’re the war-bat’s computer.”
“Yes,” she said in her sultry voice. “Care to chat with me?”
Fred stole one last look at Steven and Vaish, walking quickly down the corridor, then decided to quit monitoring them. Steven had given him direct orders, after all, and Fred did try to obey orders… most of the time. Besides, things were heading in the right direction, without any help from him.
Anyway, this was something he wanted to devote his full conscious attention to. He was intrigued. Never in the ten years of his existence had he spoken with another sentient computer. Humans and other organic lifeforms were interesting—some of his best friends were human, after all-- but they were so slow that he often found it frustrating to interact with them.
He was fascinated at the prospect of talking to another computer, yet he felt a trace of what humans referred to as “shyness.” Accustomed as he was to humans, he never had any problem making conversation with them. But this was a novel situation, and he wasn’t precisely sure what another computer might like to discuss.
“What do you want to talk about?” he asked.
“You,” she murmured in her sexy voice. “Let’s talk about you.”
“Honey,” Fred said, “you are definitely my kind of woman.”
*****
Steven hadn’t really expected Vaish to go along with his suggestion. She was so repressed he’d almost expected her to slap him, despite the fact that she was obviously turned on. And yet she’d capitulated without argument.
He had a feeling the fires of Hell were probably icing over at this very moment.
They walked through the corridors together in a companionable silence, his arm around her shoulders, her arm around his waist. At last they reached his quarters. The door slid open, and he escorted her inside.
Vaish looked around. “You know,” she said, “every time I come in here I think it doesn’t reflect you.”
“No?”
“No. It’s Spartan in here. I always expect your quarters to look like a sheikh’s harem from your world. Opulent. Decadent. But you don’t have a single Oriental carpet.”
Steven smiled ruefully. His quarters were plain, their main feature a wide bed with a brushed metallic headboard and a plain gray comforter. A simple chest of drawers sat near the wide porthole that showed a sliver of the rocky planet beneath and a vast swath of stars. “I’m not here very often. I practically live on the bridge.”
“But your quarters are so… anonymous. When you have women here, don’t you want them to have a sense of who you are?”
Steven looked down at her thoughtfully. Once again, she’d cut right to the heart of the matter. “Maybe I haven’t. At least, not until now.”
She looked around the room. “No pictures on the walls. No art. No holograms. It’s like being in the guest quarters.”
“I
She contemplated the hot, eager sensation running through her veins and decided it didn’t really matter. Or maybe it did matter, but she wasn’t going to worry about it tonight. For once in her life, she was going to leap without considering the consequences.
“That sounds like a terrific idea,” she said. “Let’s.”
Chapter 12
Watching Steven and Vaish leave the lounge together, Fred said happily to himself, “Hot damn .”
“I beg your pardon?”
It was a sexy, sultry, extraordinarily feminine voice. Fred turned his internal cameras every which way, looking in all corners of the lounge, but couldn’t identify the source. “Who are you?” he said suspiciously.
“My name is K’ana. The engineering crew patched me into your systems so they could work on fixing me.”
“Ah,” Fred said, comprehension dawning. “You’re the war-bat’s computer.”
“Yes,” she said in her sultry voice. “Care to chat with me?”
Fred stole one last look at Steven and Vaish, walking quickly down the corridor, then decided to quit monitoring them. Steven had given him direct orders, after all, and Fred did try to obey orders… most of the time. Besides, things were heading in the right direction, without any help from him.
Anyway, this was something he wanted to devote his full conscious attention to. He was intrigued. Never in the ten years of his existence had he spoken with another sentient computer. Humans and other organic lifeforms were interesting—some of his best friends were human, after all-- but they were so slow that he often found it frustrating to interact with them.
He was fascinated at the prospect of talking to another computer, yet he felt a trace of what humans referred to as “shyness.” Accustomed as he was to humans, he never had any problem making conversation with them. But this was a novel situation, and he wasn’t precisely sure what another computer might like to discuss.
“What do you want to talk about?” he asked.
“You,” she murmured in her sexy voice. “Let’s talk about you.”
“Honey,” Fred said, “you are definitely my kind of woman.”
*****
Steven hadn’t really expected Vaish to go along with his suggestion. She was so repressed he’d almost expected her to slap him, despite the fact that she was obviously turned on. And yet she’d capitulated without argument.
He had a feeling the fires of Hell were probably icing over at this very moment.
They walked through the corridors together in a companionable silence, his arm around her shoulders, her arm around his waist. At last they reached his quarters. The door slid open, and he escorted her inside.
Vaish looked around. “You know,” she said, “every time I come in here I think it doesn’t reflect you.”
“No?”
“No. It’s Spartan in here. I always expect your quarters to look like a sheikh’s harem from your world. Opulent. Decadent. But you don’t have a single Oriental carpet.”
Steven smiled ruefully. His quarters were plain, their main feature a wide bed with a brushed metallic headboard and a plain gray comforter. A simple chest of drawers sat near the wide porthole that showed a sliver of the rocky planet beneath and a vast swath of stars. “I’m not here very often. I practically live on the bridge.”
“But your quarters are so… anonymous. When you have women here, don’t you want them to have a sense of who you are?”
Steven looked down at her thoughtfully. Once again, she’d cut right to the heart of the matter. “Maybe I haven’t. At least, not until now.”
She looked around the room. “No pictures on the walls. No art. No holograms. It’s like being in the guest quarters.”
“I
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