Lady Lure by Flora Speer

difficulty in
obtaining a hot beverage from it.”
    With a chuckle, Halvo rose, pleased to note
that his physical condition appeared to be improving. He was able
to get out of the copilot’s seat with neither pain nor vertigo.
    “Heskay tea and straightforward logic. Now I
know how you keep Perri under your thumb,” he said to the robot. “I
must remember your methods.”
    “Thumbs?” Rolli asked. “Precisely speaking, I
do not have thumbs in the human sense. I am merely equipped with
five jointed digits at the ends of metal arms.”
    “Right. And you don’t have a fondness for
Perri integrated into your main circuitry either.” With one of his
own hands about to descend on Rolli’s square metal shoulder in a
gesture of comradely affection, Halvo stopped himself just in time.
Rolli did not appear to notice either the motion of Halvo’s hand or
the muttered oath with which he turned away from the control panels
and left the cockpit.
    Hot heskay tea was a thick orange brew with a
fetid odor that threatened to turn Halvo’s stomach. Holding a mug
of it he left the galley and headed toward Perri’s cabin.
    The interior sliding doors were not
functioning. All of them were wide open. This was one of the ship’s
systems that would require further repair work once they located a
safe landing place. Thus, Halvo was able to walk right into Perri’s
cabin. She was curled up on the bunk, her knees drawn almost to her
chin and her eyes closed. Setting the tea mug down on the shelf
beside the bunk, Halvo sat next to Perri. He stroked her glowing
hair gently, letting his fingers tangle into the thick waves while
he reflected that it was a good thing he could not close and seal
the door and be alone with her.
    Perri’s eyes opened, but she lay unmoving
while Halvo’s hand slipped through her hair over and over again.
Finally, she stretched, turning onto her back. Catching Halvo’s
hand, she held it against her cheek.
    “I do not want you to think I am feeling
sorry for myself,” she said. “I have only been thinking about what
has happened and trying to make my peace with it.”
    “I know how difficult that is. It can break
your heart to learn that the people to whom you have devoted your
life set your value so low.”
    “You brought me tea.” Dropping his hand, she
pushed herself up to a sitting position. Halvo put the mug into her
hands and she sipped appreciatively.
    “I don’t know how you can drink it,” he said,
grimacing at the smell of it.
    “It is an indulgence left from my childhood.
My mother used to prepare it for me. I shall probably never outgrow
my taste for it. However, a fondness for heskay tea is all I ought
to retain from my youth. It is clear to me that I must discover a
new way to live.”
    She looked so downcast that Halvo took the
chance of spilling the disgusting tea on himself. He put his arms
around her. Perri nestled against him so easily that Halvo knew he
was risking far more than a dousing with hot, smelly tea. He was
about to lose his self-control.
    Perri was small, warm, and beautifully
rounded. Her hair flowed over his arms, strands of it catching in
his hands. Halvo rested his cheek on the silky red curls and, for
just a few moments, he gave himself up to sweet desire. His hands
molded her shoulders, then wandered downward to the small of her
back and farther, to trace the feminine curves of her hips.
    “Halvo.” She leaned away from him. Her eyes
were wide, her rosy lips softly parted. The hand holding her mug of
tea trembled slightly. “I am not sure you ought to touch me like
that. It makes me feel most peculiar.”
    “Touching you has the same effect on me.” He
took the mug from her unresisting fingers, stowing it safely on the
shelf. Then he put both arms around her and kissed her hard.
    She did not protest. Her hands slid up his
chest and around his neck, and her lips opened at once to Halvo’s
thrusting tongue. The interior of her mouth was as smooth and every
bit as