kissing me.” Dora shoved to her feet and dusted her palms, hoping she could manipulate him by causing even a little jealousy. “I think I’ll go visit another man. One who likes me better than you do.”
“Don’t act like a child.”
“Then don’t treat me like one.”
Zical reached out with a lazy snap of his wrist and jerked her back down, his gesture revealing a tension that she couldn’t discern in his soft tone. “So men are all interchangeable. Any one of us will do?”
She shrugged, unwilling to tell him that she considered him special, that she wanted her first time to be with him. There was no point to making that kind of admission when he wouldn’t even kiss her. She’d already made her body in the form of his fantasy woman, and his rejection still stung. She wanted to return the insult. She might be new at the human-relationship business, but she’d always had feelings, and he had no right to trample them.
Dora tossed her hair over her shoulder, concealing her pleasure that he’d pulled her onto his lap. “All men have the necessary equipment.”
“But they don’t all use that equipment with the same expertise,” he countered.
Her heart thumped crazily. “I suppose I’ll find out for myself … especially now that you’ve convinced me that it’s not so dangerous to go outside.”
“You have a prospect?” His eyes narrowed.
Her intense physical awareness of his irritation with her, an outward display of jealousy, summoned a boldness to surface. Hoping she sounded confident, she wrenched her gaze from her revealing preoccupation with his handsome face. “Tessa assures me that with this body, I’ll have my choice of offers.”
His gaze raked her curves, causing her to realize that despite his previous outburst, he was susceptible to her charms, but his tone turned serious. “Perhaps you should return to Mount Shachauri with me. There’s lot of men there. Many with brilliant minds. We could use your help.”
She squashed her disappointment that he was offering to take her to see other men. He seemed to miss the point that she would be with him—or perhaps she wasn’t giving him enough credit. Perhaps her being with him had been his real plan all along. Either way, she hadn’t realized how much she missed being useful until he made the request. Besides, the idea of spending time with Zical intrigued her as much as seeing the alien machines from a human perspective. “I’m not a computer any more. What could I do to help?”
“You know computers from the inside out better than anyone else.”
“Not better than Ranth. He has a lot of technical expertise I couldn’t fit in this brain.”
“But you have a unique outlook and might help us figure out what’s going on. One of our archaeologists has a theory I’d like you to hear.”
Excited by the idea of spending more time with Zical as well as helping, Dora had no difficulty making the decision. “Okay. I’ll go with you on one condition.”
“What’s that?”
“Kiss me.”
Zical sighed and shook his head. “You have a one-track mind.”
“So, do we have a deal?”
He put her off with a frown. “You figure out what those machines are for … and then … I’ll kiss you.”
THE TRIP TO Mount Shachauri’s peak clearly tired Dora. From her increased trembles and spasms, Zical suspected she fought a multitude of fears, but to her credit, she didn’t once complain. Tessa had been pleased that Dora had agreed to make the journey, but Zical had kept their bargain private, telling himself that kissing Dora would probably put an end to his fantasy for good. Kissing her might be exactly what he needed to chase his lusty thoughts from his mind.
Still, he wondered why he hadn’t asked her for something in return if she didn’t figure out the puzzling mystery surrounding the machines. It wasn’t like him to miss an angle, but Dora had his conflicting emotions so muddled he felt like a null-grav bouncing ball.
He
“Don’t act like a child.”
“Then don’t treat me like one.”
Zical reached out with a lazy snap of his wrist and jerked her back down, his gesture revealing a tension that she couldn’t discern in his soft tone. “So men are all interchangeable. Any one of us will do?”
She shrugged, unwilling to tell him that she considered him special, that she wanted her first time to be with him. There was no point to making that kind of admission when he wouldn’t even kiss her. She’d already made her body in the form of his fantasy woman, and his rejection still stung. She wanted to return the insult. She might be new at the human-relationship business, but she’d always had feelings, and he had no right to trample them.
Dora tossed her hair over her shoulder, concealing her pleasure that he’d pulled her onto his lap. “All men have the necessary equipment.”
“But they don’t all use that equipment with the same expertise,” he countered.
Her heart thumped crazily. “I suppose I’ll find out for myself … especially now that you’ve convinced me that it’s not so dangerous to go outside.”
“You have a prospect?” His eyes narrowed.
Her intense physical awareness of his irritation with her, an outward display of jealousy, summoned a boldness to surface. Hoping she sounded confident, she wrenched her gaze from her revealing preoccupation with his handsome face. “Tessa assures me that with this body, I’ll have my choice of offers.”
His gaze raked her curves, causing her to realize that despite his previous outburst, he was susceptible to her charms, but his tone turned serious. “Perhaps you should return to Mount Shachauri with me. There’s lot of men there. Many with brilliant minds. We could use your help.”
She squashed her disappointment that he was offering to take her to see other men. He seemed to miss the point that she would be with him—or perhaps she wasn’t giving him enough credit. Perhaps her being with him had been his real plan all along. Either way, she hadn’t realized how much she missed being useful until he made the request. Besides, the idea of spending time with Zical intrigued her as much as seeing the alien machines from a human perspective. “I’m not a computer any more. What could I do to help?”
“You know computers from the inside out better than anyone else.”
“Not better than Ranth. He has a lot of technical expertise I couldn’t fit in this brain.”
“But you have a unique outlook and might help us figure out what’s going on. One of our archaeologists has a theory I’d like you to hear.”
Excited by the idea of spending more time with Zical as well as helping, Dora had no difficulty making the decision. “Okay. I’ll go with you on one condition.”
“What’s that?”
“Kiss me.”
Zical sighed and shook his head. “You have a one-track mind.”
“So, do we have a deal?”
He put her off with a frown. “You figure out what those machines are for … and then … I’ll kiss you.”
THE TRIP TO Mount Shachauri’s peak clearly tired Dora. From her increased trembles and spasms, Zical suspected she fought a multitude of fears, but to her credit, she didn’t once complain. Tessa had been pleased that Dora had agreed to make the journey, but Zical had kept their bargain private, telling himself that kissing Dora would probably put an end to his fantasy for good. Kissing her might be exactly what he needed to chase his lusty thoughts from his mind.
Still, he wondered why he hadn’t asked her for something in return if she didn’t figure out the puzzling mystery surrounding the machines. It wasn’t like him to miss an angle, but Dora had his conflicting emotions so muddled he felt like a null-grav bouncing ball.
He
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