contact with her again. Not yet. Not until he had a chance to
completely rebuild his defenses. Yet he couldn't refuse to return the friendly
gesture. As his hand clasped hers, he had to fight the almost involuntary urge
to pull her back into his arms. The way her eyes widened with surprise made him
wonder if she had felt the same surge of heat or merely guessed at his depraved
thoughts.
Cherry withdrew her hand
and closed the door. Her robotic arm came equipped with sensors that operated
the same way the nerves in her other arm did. She had never noticed that they
were more or less sensitive than the real thing. She flexed those fingers now,
concerned that the tingling she felt when Gallant's hand had enveloped hers was
a warning sign of a malfunction. It still felt a bit strange, as if he had not
yet released her hand. She vigorously shook her arm and the sensation faded
away, just as it had the other times she had come in contact with him.
She stripped off the
jumpsuit and lay down be-tween the clean sheets on Mar-Dot's bunk. She couldn't
help but wonder if Gallant would fall right to sleep or if their unexpected
moment of passion would replay itself in his head, as it was doing in hers.
She had told him her
analysis about why it had happened. Emotional overflow could make a normally
sensible person behave strangely. But she hadn't admitted aloud that nothing
quite like that had ever happened to her before. It was bad enough that she had
been crawling all over him as if she hadn't seen a man in twenty years!
That day set a pattern for
those that followed, with Gallant and Cherry sleeping at the same time. Mar-Dot
spent time teaching her about navigation and how the ship operated, and Gallant
occupied her with endless games of cubit.
They told each other tales
of people they knew and places they'd been, but cautiously avoided anything too
personal that might trigger an emotional response.
Cherry thought that if it
wasn't for the fact that she didn't trust him any further than she could throw
him, she and Gallant could have become friends. But that wasn't the only
problem. The tension humming between them since the
incident
prevented
either one from totally relaxing. She was constantly aware of how careful
Gallant was being not to touch her or meet her gaze for more than a second or
two and that only made her all the more curious about what had happened and why
he had called a halt to it so abruptly.
Gallant was the one who
suggested they play cubit for points rather than wagers, but Cherry was quick
to agree. So it surprised her when, two days later, he challenged her with
another bet.
"A five-game match. If
I win," he stated, "you agree to cooperate with anything I ask when
we reach Zoenid."
Naturally she was
suspicious of why he would change his mind about playing for stakes, but since
she had won more games than he had, she figured it was worth a shot. "And
I'll claim the same forfeit I did before. If I beat you, you spill the beans
about your eye patch." His dismayed look made her laugh. "You should
be able to figure that expression out on your own. You know, by the end of this
trip, I'm liable to have you speaking American like a native. So? Is it a
bet?"
He gave her one of his slow
grins that she had already learned to be wary of. "Absolutely."
The similarity of this
match to the one that had ended so emotionally was uncanny. They were tied
going into the fifth game when Gallant miraculously began rolling quads again. In
practically no time, he managed to win the match… and her promise to help with
his mission in any way he requested.
On her sixth day in space,
Cherry awoke before Gallant for the first time. Except for very short periods,
she and Mar-Dot had rarely been alone together. As she had once before, Dot
wasted no time taking advantage of the opportunity.
"I see you are still
determined to share our bunk rather than the captains."
Cherry held up a warning
finger in front of Dot. "Don't start
completely rebuild his defenses. Yet he couldn't refuse to return the friendly
gesture. As his hand clasped hers, he had to fight the almost involuntary urge
to pull her back into his arms. The way her eyes widened with surprise made him
wonder if she had felt the same surge of heat or merely guessed at his depraved
thoughts.
Cherry withdrew her hand
and closed the door. Her robotic arm came equipped with sensors that operated
the same way the nerves in her other arm did. She had never noticed that they
were more or less sensitive than the real thing. She flexed those fingers now,
concerned that the tingling she felt when Gallant's hand had enveloped hers was
a warning sign of a malfunction. It still felt a bit strange, as if he had not
yet released her hand. She vigorously shook her arm and the sensation faded
away, just as it had the other times she had come in contact with him.
She stripped off the
jumpsuit and lay down be-tween the clean sheets on Mar-Dot's bunk. She couldn't
help but wonder if Gallant would fall right to sleep or if their unexpected
moment of passion would replay itself in his head, as it was doing in hers.
She had told him her
analysis about why it had happened. Emotional overflow could make a normally
sensible person behave strangely. But she hadn't admitted aloud that nothing
quite like that had ever happened to her before. It was bad enough that she had
been crawling all over him as if she hadn't seen a man in twenty years!
That day set a pattern for
those that followed, with Gallant and Cherry sleeping at the same time. Mar-Dot
spent time teaching her about navigation and how the ship operated, and Gallant
occupied her with endless games of cubit.
They told each other tales
of people they knew and places they'd been, but cautiously avoided anything too
personal that might trigger an emotional response.
Cherry thought that if it
wasn't for the fact that she didn't trust him any further than she could throw
him, she and Gallant could have become friends. But that wasn't the only
problem. The tension humming between them since the
incident
prevented
either one from totally relaxing. She was constantly aware of how careful
Gallant was being not to touch her or meet her gaze for more than a second or
two and that only made her all the more curious about what had happened and why
he had called a halt to it so abruptly.
Gallant was the one who
suggested they play cubit for points rather than wagers, but Cherry was quick
to agree. So it surprised her when, two days later, he challenged her with
another bet.
"A five-game match. If
I win," he stated, "you agree to cooperate with anything I ask when
we reach Zoenid."
Naturally she was
suspicious of why he would change his mind about playing for stakes, but since
she had won more games than he had, she figured it was worth a shot. "And
I'll claim the same forfeit I did before. If I beat you, you spill the beans
about your eye patch." His dismayed look made her laugh. "You should
be able to figure that expression out on your own. You know, by the end of this
trip, I'm liable to have you speaking American like a native. So? Is it a
bet?"
He gave her one of his slow
grins that she had already learned to be wary of. "Absolutely."
The similarity of this
match to the one that had ended so emotionally was uncanny. They were tied
going into the fifth game when Gallant miraculously began rolling quads again. In
practically no time, he managed to win the match… and her promise to help with
his mission in any way he requested.
On her sixth day in space,
Cherry awoke before Gallant for the first time. Except for very short periods,
she and Mar-Dot had rarely been alone together. As she had once before, Dot
wasted no time taking advantage of the opportunity.
"I see you are still
determined to share our bunk rather than the captains."
Cherry held up a warning
finger in front of Dot. "Don't start
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