Part 10 (1/2)

Dora held her breath. Would Zical kiss her? She'd imagined this moment so many times, but she'd never thought it would come in the midst of so much fear. She still didn't understand why he was so shocked by her transformation or that she'd grown her body to look like his fantasy woman. It wasn't as if Xentos were a person, but clearly Zical had not been pleased.

Obviously, she'd made a mistake, one she'd have to live with. Barring extensive plastic surgery this was the way she would look until she began to age. And despite Zical's surprise, once he'd gotten past the initial shock he'd adjusted quite well.

Better than she was doing. She wondered if he found her uncontrollable spasms as ugly as she did. She hated the lack of control, but the doctors could find nothing physically wrong and had suggested that time might cure the problem. But it might not.

Zical gazed at her, his irises flas.h.i.+ng into the purple spectrum. Even with only two eyes she could see his pupils dilate, his nostrils flare sightly, and a muscle in his neck throb. When she realized that her flirtation was succeeding she swallowed down a grin.

Snuggling closer, she rubbed her breast against his chest and the sensation stunned her.

Wow. Talk about pure sensual feedback. Her flesh suddenly seemed oversensitized with delicious thrumming and her nipples pebbled. Heat suffused her and her chest tightened in a pleasing reaction that made her ache for more of his touch. Thinking about him helped push her fears to the back of her mind. Touching and being touched by this man was one of the reasons she'd wanted to become human. While she suspected Tessa had had something to do with his appearance in her quarters, Dora didn't mind that the man needed prodding to visit. She simply was glad be was here.

And now that she finally had him to herself, she'd he a fool not to put aside her groundless fears. And make the most of her opportunity.

Lifting her face to his in breathless antic.i.p.ation, she gave him clear access and waited for his lips to press against hers. She was about to congratulate herself for temporarily overcoming her fear and beginning a seduction in one fell swoop, when Zical pulled back.

He wasn't going to kiss her.

Disappointed, she wondered if she'd miscalculated the heat in his eyes. Or was he holding back because be wasn't certain of her response.”

Maybe he needed more encouragement. She allowed a pleased smile to soften her mouth. ”Aren't you going to kiss me?”

He stiffened. ”Why would I do that?”

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”Because you want to?” She arched one eyebrow, hoping he'd read the gesture as impudent.

”Dora, you aren't a computer anymore. When you tease a man like that, there are consequences.”

Her grin widened. I'm ready for them.”

”I don't think so.” Gently, he set her from his lap onto the gra.s.s.

She plucked a blade and tore it to bits, disappointment nagging her, uncertainty enveloping her in a tension she didn't understand. Their first time together was not going as she had hoped. If he intended to refuse her, if he didn't want her, why was he going out of his way to be kind? Although she'd apologized, was he still upset about her body?

Or had she come on too strong? Tessa had warned her that Rystani men preferred to be the pursuers. But this rejection had made Dora start to question herself. Being uncertain was a new experience, one she didn't know if she wanted to deal with on a regular basis-not that she had much choice. When she'd been a computer, she'd gathered her facts, determined the outcome she required, and then done what was necessary to achieve success. She didn't second-guess herself because with the data available, the probabilities calculated, she always made the best decision.

Now, all she wanted to do was run away and hide in her room. Yet she'd been waiting months to be with Zical in her human body. He was the man she'd dreamed her first dream about. He was the man who intrigued her more than any other. It made no sense to run, especially when her fear of the outdoors had begun to subside. The pleasant gurgling of the fountain calmed her. The balmy breeze and the suns.h.i.+ne soothed her.

She tossed the bits of gra.s.s into the air. ”You were right to bring me outside. It's beautiful here.”

”Glad you-”

”But you were wrong about not kissing me” Dora rose to her feet and dusted off her palms, hoping she could manipulate him by causing a bit of jealousy. ”I think I'll go visit another man. One who likes me better than you do.”

”Don't act like a child” His tone was to harsh again, as if he couldn't contain his disappointment in her.

”Then don't act 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. Anyone 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 created her body in the form of his fantasy woman and his rejection still stung. She wanted to return the insult. She

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might be new at the human-relations.h.i.+p 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 back onto his lap. ”All men have the necessary equipment.''

”But they don't all use that equipment with the same expertise,” he countered, peering at her intently as if she didn't understand the basics.

Her heart thumped crazily, her hope rising that maybe he was more attracted to her than he was willing to admit since he so obviously didn't want her going to another man. ”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, and his display of jealousy, gave her courage. Hoping she sounded confident, she wrenched her gaze from her preoccupation with his handsome face and taunted him some more. ”Tessa a.s.sures me that with this body, I'll have my choice of offers.”

His gaze raked the curves, causing her to realise that despite his previous outburst, he was susceptible to her charms. His tone, however, was serious, as he said. ''Perhaps you should return to Mount Shachauri with me. There's lot of men there. Many with brilliant minds. And we could use your help.”

She quashed 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 bad 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 curie with Zical intrigued her as much seeing, the alien machines from a human perspective. ”I'm not a computer anymore. 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 that might help us figure out what's going on.

One of our archaeologists has a theory I'd like you to hear.”