Part 4 (1/2)

”Zical. Talk to me. Are you hurt? Do you require-”

”Give me a minute.”

”I've already given you sixty.”

He wouldn't consider rolling over until the suit finished countering his arousal.

Luckily, Dora hadn't seemed to notice, or no doubt she would be asking personal questions for which he had no reasonable answer. Thanks to the suit's giving men control over their pa.s.sions, Rystani males did not have erections unless they were ready to have s.e.x.

Stunned by the tierce sensation of need, need that had no way do satisfy at the moment, be winced and lost track of the conversation. ”Say that again, please?”

”My portable unit would have summoned help but communications are still down.”

”And you sensed no immediate danger?” he guessed, rolling to his side and sitting up cautiously as he avoided putting pressure on tender areas, pleased his suit had done the job. His head pounded as if the entire Rystani army had tromped through, muddling his thoughts, scrambling his impressions. And yet his skin tingled as if stroked.

”Are you ill?”

”I don't think so, but...”

”But?” she prodded.

Stars. He wanted a woman so badly that he'd almost said so-a clear sign he was thoroughly rattled. Perhaps Dora's discussion about breast size right before he'd

30.

blacked out had remained in his mind and stimulated him. Yeah, sure. More likely, he'd put off for too long a visit to a holosim, a holographic simulator that would relieve his needs, so the first time his consciousness relaxed, his body felt as though he'd gotten a weekend pa.s.s to play. However, with Dora expanding her circuitry into every business on the planet Zical couldn't be certain his time with the holosim Xentos would remain private. The idea of Dora's knowing about his personal business, with a holosim disturbed him, so he always left his portable unit at home during his infrequent trips to that part of town.

”What happened while I was out?”

”Nothing. Your respiration and pulse remained within normal limits. You remained flat on your stomach, unmoving. Why?”

At the sound of a skimmer outside the portal, Zical staggered to his feet. Nothing hurt but his bones throbbed in a way he'd never experienced. Something odd had happened to him when the golden beam had struck. He would have thought he was simply suffering from the aftereffects of repressed s.e.xual desire, but he recalled images, images so erotic that he suspected they couldn't hare originated with him.

Zical peered toward the portal. ”Who's here?”

”My communications still aren't functioning. But my mainframe may have sent a rescue party when-”

”Zical?” Kahn's voice shouted through the portal.

”Stay where you are. I'll come out.” Zical straightened, b.u.mped into a panel, and swore under his breath. Machinery rumbled, clicked. Zical's scalp p.r.i.c.kled, stopping him in mid-curse.

”Let's get out of here.” Dora's voice deepened urgency.

Overhead, a fanlike noise whirred and fresh air wafted inside the cavern. Zical tipped back his head and spied what looked like a ventilation system, then the lines of the grill formed the shape that reminded him of the sensual sway of a woman's hips.

He felt lips pressed to his neck, but no one was there. A wispy soft breast brushed his cheek, yet he was alone, his suit in proper working order. Not p.r.o.ne to fantasizing while at work, he blinked, stared hard, now saw only the grill from the ventilation system. What in Dregen h.e.l.l was going on?

”Zical,” Dora's tone commanded with authority. ”Come on. Move.”

His muscles pulsed. His bones vibrated strangely as he forced one foot in front of the other. He put down the fantasizing to the aftereffects from his knock on his head.

Had his presence, his b.u.mp into the machinery, or the rescue party's arrival brought the machines to life? Were they about to undergo another attack of golden light? Would the portal close and trap him?

Kahn poked his head into the corridor, one thick arm blocking Tessa from entering.

In a sweeping, intelligent gaze, Kahn took in the hum of machinery and Zical's unsteady steps.

31.

Without hesitating another moment, Kahn entered the cavern, approached Zical, and placed a steadying arm over his shoulder. '”What's wrong?”

”Nothing.” Zical rubbed his forehead again as another jolt of s.e.xual need coursed through him. ”Everything. I don't know.”

Tessa slipped to Zical's other side and together they helped him stand and go outside. ”Dora, what happened?”

Concisely, yet her tone revealing her relief that Zical appeared to be all right, Dora reported the pertinent details, including that Zical's portable computer unit was undamaged and again in contact with the mainframe now that they outside. She concluded her a.n.a.lysis with the suggestion, ”Zical should undergo a full physical exam.”

”I'm fine.” What he needed was an hour with Xentos to take the edge off, a night to douse the flames of desire from his system. He hoped the sensation would abate when they left the cavern. It didn't.

And for some d.a.m.n reason, even time Dora spoke, images of her with a body, erotic images flooded his mind. Dora dancing naked for him. Dora kissing him, her mouth sultry and warm. Dora's hands busily stroking... d.a.m.n. The golden light must have put those images in his head, no matter how much he tried to focus his thoughts on the ancient machines and their purpose, he failed to get Dora out of his head.

With Tessa, Kahn, and Zical standing outside in the niche, the spot was so crowded, he couldn't move. Zical closed his eyes and mere erotic images of Dora filled his mind, images similar to those that he'd dreamed while unconscious. Dora with a s.e.xy neck, large b.r.e.a.s.t.s, and sensual hips. Dora with a body like Xentos, his holosim. lf he shared this odd information with Kahn, he'd hot only have to suffer through a psychical, but he'd also have to withstand a psych evaluation. And he hated nothing more than talking to a therapist, resented anyone probing his mind, digging into old and painful wounds better left alone.

He could imagine the therapist's questions. Did he fulfil his needs with a holosim, not a real woman, because he couldn't put aside his failure to protect Summar? He would honestly answer yes, but no good would come of tearing open old wounds. The fact remained that Summar was dead, and while he'd unconditionally loved the baby inside her, he'd always had deep reservations about his child bride, resented their arranged marriage from the beginning when he'd recognized they were a poor match.

After her death, he'd tried to numb his grief and forget his failure to protect his family by accepting one war mission after another. And if he was reluctant to involve himself another woman, he could blame his people's need for competent stars.h.i.+p pilots and his busy schedule.

Tessa peered at him, her concern showing in eyes as green and deep as the valley far below, as her voice pulled him away from painful memories. ”Do you think the golden light is a weapon?”

32.

”Rays of golden light cut through my suit like a stars.h.i.+p through hypers.p.a.ce.”

Slowly, the thrumming ebbed, leaving him certain that if the creators of the technology inside Mount Shachauri had wanted him dead, he wouldn't still be breathing. ”I'm not hurt. Maybe it was a welcome?”