Chapter Two
The maid didn’t scream or surrender meekly.
She fought.
And she fought well.
In fact, she battled Acion with a strength disproportionate to her size.
Acion took a strike to the face before he could evade her quick fist. He grabbed at her, but she ducked, spinning into the darkened chamber like a whirlwind. She was either bold or foolish to move in such darkness! Or perhaps she was familiar with the room’s contents. He tapped his right temple, turning on the light embedded in his brow, and something quickened within him at the sight of her.
She was crouched, her eyes glittering, her hands raised. Her hair was coming loose from her braid, as if it moved of its own volition. If he’d been more fanciful than it was possible for an android to be, he might have seen flames light in her eyes. But that was impossible, so he knew it had to be a trick.
The chamber, to his surprise, was empty. Why had she entered it? Acion could find no reasonable explanation.
Even as he considered this, he moved swiftly, striking three blows in rapid succession, but pulling back slightly before connecting with her. He needed to capture her, not injure or incapacitate her. She was no good to him dead. She was smaller than him, female, and undoubtedly more fragile, yet blocked his blows with unexpected ease. In fact, she attacked him, with no regard for ensuring that he wasn’t injured. He defended himself, a little less easily than might have been ideal, and recognized that he was hampered by his need to avoid hurting her.
She took advantage of his choice, kicking him hard in the gut, then striking at his brow so hard with the heel of her hand that the light was smashed. Acion stumbled backward, amazed that she could hit with such power.
She struck like a warrior, as well, not slapping or scratching as women without military training often did. Her moves were decisive and clean, so forceful that it took him a moment to realize that she meant to disable but not kill him. Acion took a kick to the gut and dropped to one knee, assessing.
She was absurdly fast.
The conclusion was inevitable: she was an android, as well.
His processors spun, drawing data from his brief and comparing it with the furious fighting skills of the woman. There were officially no androids on Incendium, which was an odd detail, but that didn’t mean there weren’t any secretly on the planet.
Like himself.
If there were androids being developed and trained secretly, learning more about her would provide useful information to the Hive.
If there were androids infiltrating Incendium society for some other purpose, learning more about this one would provide useful information to the Hive.
Acion existed to serve.
He immediately decided to let her win. She wanted to subdue him, which meant she had a plan—and learning the details of that plan would tell Acion a great deal about her programming. She lunged at him, driving two fingers hard into his throat, a point of vulnerability for men, and he was assured that she didn’t know the truth of his nature.
Acion fell, as a man would.
How would she explain the broken light in his brow? Would she conclude he was a cyborg? That seemed probable, especially when he took the blow like a man.
Acion made it look as if he hit his head on the floor and let his body go limp. He turned on all of his sensors, determined to gather as much data as he could.
She leaned over him, still poised to fight. She had a light as well, because Acion saw its illumination through his eyelids but he didn’t open his eyes to look. She surveyed him. She checked that he was breathing.
Then, to his astonishment, she touched her lips to his, a gesture of intimacy that sent a strange fire through his body.
“Mine,” she whispered, her claim giving him a strange thrill. She then seized his ankle and dragged him from the chamber back into the corridor, once again showing that remarkable strength.
Where was she taking him? What would she do with him once they reached their destination? Would she take him closer to the royal chambers? Would she present him as a prize to the king? Or was she a spy of some kind?
Why claim him as her own? That and her kiss hinted at a more private conquest, although there was no telling what sexual practices were common on Incendium. Those details were lacking from his brief, much to Acion’s annoyance. He found incomplete information caused unnecessary inefficiencies and it was unlike the Hive to be sloppy.
The details must not be known.
Or not available to him at this time.
The woman dragged him, her ability to do so despite his considerable weight only buttressing to the probability of his conclusion. Acion tabulated to the best of his abilities, but her destination, once he recognized what it was, astonished him all the same.
* * *
“The princess has abandoned her own plan,” Ector said to his subordinate, Salvon, knowing his concern was clear.
“Women can be impulsive,” Salvon replied. They watched the security display together, their uncertainty palpable. “She did command that we not tell the king of her activities.”
“But her welfare is our responsibility. Why would she change the plan?”
Salvon caught his breath as the princess flung down her prize at the end of the corridor. She approached the barred door there with its glowing lock and raised one hand.
The Hoard.
“She wouldn’t,” whispered Salvon in horror. Princess Thalina gave the command and the door to the Hoard slid open. Both men winced.
“She is,” corrected Ector. “I must tell the king.”
* * *
The Seed had a power that Thalina hadn’t anticipated. Its scent awakened her senses, fed her desire, and made it impossible to think of anything other than mating with Acion. It awakened a desire to possess that was so primal and overwhelming that Thalina was shocked. It gave her a strength beyond her usual abilities, as well, and a sense of invincibility.
There was no question of denying its demand.
She’d known that Acion’s reaction would be quick, and she had hoped that hers was quicker. Against a non-shifting mortal, she knew she’d be faster—against a cyborg or android, she wasn’t sure. The uncertainty had added a little more spice to their first fight.
But he had let her win. Thalina was curious about that choice, but glad of it. She didn’t want to shift shape in his presence, not yet. She didn’t want to reveal all of her secrets.
Not until she had the Seed.
The Seed changed her plan, too. She wouldn’t claim him in a dirty storage room in the bowels of the palace. That deed deserved dignity and honor. Cleanliness and comfort. She didn’t dare take him to her chambers without knowing what threat he posed to her father or family, if any. There was only one place close enough that would suffice. She hauled his weight to the entry to her father’s treasury, commanded the portal to open, and smiled as the armored interior was revealed.
The Hoard was a fortress. The walls were of the strongest metal known to their kind. The doors couldn’t be forced open, and the chamber could be defended from within. The treasury had been built as a safe room and sanctuary, a last place to defend in the case of the worst siege. It dated from the era of Scintillon himself and was the oldest part of the palace, though it had been buttressed as the palace had been built around it.
No one would be able to interfere.
And Acion wouldn’t be able to escape.
Thalina dragged him into the Hoard, knowing that she would be pursued and soon. The guards would be too late, though. She was in. She laid her hand upon the panel beside the door for her print to be scanned.
“Secure portal,” she commanded and the doors closed. A sequence of hidden latches clicked in rapid succession.
They were safe, at least until Ouros commanded the portal to open. There was no door in Incendium that could be barred against the king.
She should be quick.
“Illuminate,” Thalina commanded and torches sprang to light around the perimeter of the room. They were mounted in the walls, well above Thalina’s head in her human form, and powered by a crystal generator buried beneath the floor. The lights and the generator itself warmed the floor, taking the chill of stone from the refuge.
The chamber of the Hoard was round and of considerable size, built to accommodate the dimensions of the royal family in their dragon forms. No earlier King of Incendium had had as many children as Ouros, and Thalina had to admit that it would be a bit cramped for her and her eleven sisters as well as their parents to take refuge in the Hoard, if they had all assumed their dragon forms.
The Hoard held the sum of Ouros’ treasury, gold and gems and jewels inventoried and stacked behind numbered panels in the walls. Most believed that the wealth of the Hoard was in those material treasures, but Thalina knew better. The more important panels secured information and records.
In the middle of the chamber was a fountain that splashed, providing clean water and a welcome noise, one that disguised the truth of the occupants being essentially buried alive. To one side were stores of foodstuffs, preserved and compressed to provide sufficient nourishment to the family and their retainers for the duration of a long siege. There were couches and tables, games and pastimes, as well as monitors of the world beyond the Hoard. Those monitors were currently dark, and Thalina intended to keep them that way.
“Full defensive mode,” Thalina commanded as she tugged Acion to a couch beside the fountain. Plates of metal slid into place over the door, securing them inside, and she felt his interest.
She was glad he was awake.
She then strode to the bank of displays. “Kill monitors and key release to a single word in my voice,” she said, turning slightly to watch Acion. “The command that secures Princess Callida’s diary will be the word.”
Acion’s eyes flicked. Thalina knew he was searching his databanks for references, but he wouldn’t find that one.
Callida didn’t think anyone knew it, and it was only an accident that Thalina did. Her sister would have to be added to the security loop to approve the release, but that was incidental. Thalina needed a word that Acion couldn’t possibly know or figure out.
Callida might not be overly inclined to reveal her code word to the security forces of the palace—she’d have to vent frustration with Thalina over the violation of privacy first—but Thalina didn’t intend to use the release word soon.
It could take a long time to ensure that she had the Seed.
She wanted at least the day and night that she’d ordered, and wondered if her father would allow it.
She had best begin the seduction soon, not that the scent of the Seed allowed any other possibilities to enter her thoughts. She licked her lips without meaning to do as much, and knew that Acion noted the gesture.
“This is not the agreed protocol,” came a voice.
“I’ve changed it due to an unexpected development.”
There was a pause. “Of course, princess,” Ector ceded, and she was sure he’d already sent word to her father.
Thalina watched Acion scan the room through narrowed eyes, his gaze lingering for the merest instant on three points. She’d bet that was where the speakers were hidden. “We will secure Princess Callida’s assistance in this matter. Portal sealed. Oxygen feeding. Monitors off in three…two…one.”
There was an audible click and then silence.
“I know you’re awake,” Thalina said. “And I know you let me win. Will you tell me why?”
Acion opened his eyes. He sat up and openly surveyed the room, then surveyed her.
Assessed her.
Thalina could almost hear his processors sorting and discarding courses of action.
“This is the Hoard,” he said, no question in his voice.
“It is.”
“Why would you bring an intruder to the treasury of Incendium?”
“Because it’s the one place we can’t be easily interrupted.”
Their gazes locked and held for a long moment, and she was interested that he didn’t ask the obvious question. Instead he stood, then walked toward her with steady steps. Thalina didn’t move, but she thrilled at the scent of the Seed drawing near. Her heart was thundering and she wondered if he knew it.
Acion stopped right in front of her, looking and undoubtedly gathering her biometrics. “You are not what you appear to be,” he said, without inflection. “It is unlikely that a serving maid would have such authority, although she might know that secret word.”
“And you’re not what you appear to be,” she countered. It was fascinating to watch him gather information and choose his reaction. He was a much more sophisticated device than any of the automatons she’d taken apart to study.
Acion regarded her, his head slightly tilted. It was a good imitation of curiosity, so good that she wondered if he could be curious. “I do not understand your meaning.” He gestured to himself. “I am precisely as I appear to be.” His voice warmed, as if he sought to gain her trust, and Thalina wasn’t fooled.
She braced herself for his move. The scent of the Seed sent a confusing heat through her body and she hoped it didn’t slow her reactions too much.
It did. Acion abruptly closed the distance and seized her tightly before she could evade him. His arms locked around her again, and Thalina felt her body respond to his touch once more, long enough that he caught her by surprise.
It took a moment for Thalina to realize that he held a knife at her throat. Interestingly, it was an actual weapon, a knife from his belt, not a device hidden within his fingertips.
“You will aid my escape from this chamber and ensure my access to the palace, whoever you are,” he growled into her ear. “Use the release word.”
Thalina laughed. “I won’t.” She felt the tip of the knife move against her throat. She rubbed herself against him a little and was glad to feel his body’s reaction. Her new confidence was clear in her tone. “The odds of you injuring me without being certain of my identity is very low, perhaps one in three.”
He paused for just an instant, considering that.
Thalina twisted in his grip in that moment, wanting to watch his eyes as he worked through the ramifications.
“You are very sure,” he said softly, his face very close to hers.
“Completely sure,” Thalina agreed in a whisper. “Because I know that you’re not a thief, breaking into the palace, which is what I’d expect of someone who forced entry through a neglected portal. You’re certainly not desperate or cornered, and you won’t make such a foolish decision as to hurt the one person, maybe the only person, who could help you complete your mission.”
His gaze flicked. “My mission?”
“To deliver a gift to the king.”
“There is a second security feed,” he concluded, no doubt in his tone.
“Of course. Dragons don’t like being surprised.”
It was a hint but one he didn’t take. Thalina wondered if his ability to adapt to new information was being overwhelmed. She doubted it. There must be more variables to consider than she’d realized. “But how could you know my mission?”
“If I saw one security feed, what are the probabilities I would have seen another?”
His eyes narrowed. “Ninety-six per cent.” His lips tightened. “The probability that a serving maid would have seen either is negligible. Who are you?”
“Why would I surrender my one advantage so quickly?”
“You would not,” he murmured. His grip upon her had loosened slightly.
Thalina pushed the blade of his knife aside with a fingertip. “I think we should negotiate,” she said, running a hand over his shoulder. “Are you a cyborg or an android?”
He put a little distance between them, but didn’t lower the knife even as he regarded her with new wariness. He certainly didn’t answer her question. “Are you one of the fabled sirens of Incendium’s marketplace?”
“No, although I’m intrigued that you would ask.” Thalina said and stretched to touch her lips to his throat. She could feel his pulse there and the warmth of his skin. “It seems we have a certain urge in common.” No matter whether he was augmented or fully android, intimacy might be the best way to investigate his abilities. “Let’s make a deal, Acion,” she whispered into his ear.
His gaze swept over her again, then lingered on her mouth. “I see no cause to bargain.”
“No? Even though the door is sealed forever, without my release command?”
“I could compel you to give it.”
Thalina shook her head. “You won’t.”
“All beings can be persuaded to part with information.”
“Not this one.”
Their gazes locked again. She liked to watch the automatons work, but this was infinitely better. Was there a way she could see the workings that led him to make decisions? “You are not in a position to barter.”
“Neither are you.” Thalina decided to provoke him with a guess. “Unless it’s your goal to rust away in the darkness here, sealed forever in a chamber designed to provide shelter for years.”
“Rust,” he echoed, tilting his head again. “A whimsical choice of word.”
“Rust,” Thalina repeated. She touched his finger, the one with the hinged tip that concealed a tiny saw. “A perfectly apt choice of word for an android.” She kissed him below the jaw and saw his throat work. “But you’re not just any android, are you, Acion?”
He spun away from her touch then, retreating to pace. He took a deep breath and glared at her when he reached the couch beside the fountain. “You are neither serving maid nor whore. You are not a guard in the king’s service. Who are you and what do you desire of me?”
“I want the truth, first of all,” Thalina replied. “Tell me why you came to the palace.”
“That information is not available to you at this time.”
“What gift did you bring the king?”
“That information is not available to anyone at this time.”
“Show it to me, then.”
He straightened and folded his arms across his chest, looking both formidable and resolute. No machine could appear so enticing. He must be a cyborg. “That request does not cohere with the instructions in my assignment.”
Thalina took slow steps toward him, as if she stalked him. She supposed she was stalking him. She liked how avidly he watched her and deliberately took a deep breath, savoring the scent of the Seed. His eyes brightened and she knew he noticed her body’s reaction.
“Who sent you?” she asked.
“That information is not available to you at this time.”
She stopped in front of him, folding her arms across her chest. She saw him glance down at her cleavage, then swallow. “But here’s what I really want to know,” she whispered. “How can you be the Carrier of the Seed?”
She’d shocked him. Thalina saw that immediately. He frowned and looked down at her in confusion, then his eyes revealed that he was reviewing the information he had about Incendium. “The Carrier of the Seed is the man who can impregnate one of the royal dragon shifter princesses of Incendium,” he said, as if reciting from a reference source. Thalina supposed that was exactly what he was doing. “This cannot be the case. You are testing my knowledge of Incendium in an attempt to put me at a disadvantage…”
Thalina closed her hand over his erection and he inhaled sharply before he stopped speaking. He was scanning her, seeking the solution to the mystery in her eyes. He was hard in her grip, hard enough that she tingled in anticipation of claiming him. He took a slow breath and she knew he was assessing the magnitude of her arousal.
“You are the Carrier of the Seed,” she murmured. “Your sensors are providing evidence of my response to that truth.”
His voice dropped to a hoarse whisper. “But that means that you are one of the dragon shifter princesses of Incendium.”
Thalina smiled. “It does. It also means that you must be a cyborg, not an android.”
His gaze flicked.
Thalina was intrigued. “An android couldn’t be the Carrier of the Seed.”
Acion ignored her comment. “It is my understanding that dragon shifters cannot deny the opportunity to accept the Seed.”
“That is correct.”
He nodded slightly, apparently reassured. “So, the wager you would logically propose would be my surrender of the Seed in exchange for my freedom from the Hoard.”
“That would be an excellent start.” Thalina couldn’t resist the urge to tease him a little. “What would you calculate to be the probability of a successful exchange?”
“In excess of ninety-eight per cent,” he said immediately. “With some allowance for slight variations in our physical compatibility, coupling abilities, and sexual customs in our respective cultures.” Thalina knew her surprise at his precision showed. “I have the necessary programming and physical enhancements for sexual functionality and performed in the top percentile of my class in assessment.”
“What benchmarks were used in the assessment?” Thalina asked before she could stop herself.
Acion counted them on his fingers. “Physical dimensions, endurance, technique, variation in technique, adaptability to a partner’s needs, and successful simulation of foreplay.” He nodded. “That was calculated based on the partner’s biometric response.”
“And how would you calculate mine right now?”
He studied her with a little frown, then cupped her chin to look into her eyes. “Your pupils are dilated, a sign of arousal in humanoids. I can smell that your labia are wet, an indication of your preparedness for union. Your pulse has accelerated steadily since our enclosure in this room, and your breathing rate has also increased since we have touched each other. Your skin is warm and flushed, a sign of heightened circulation.” He ran a hand over her breast. “And the erectile tissue in your nipples is contracted. I would calculate your arousal to be between seven and eight on a scale of ten, with seventy per cent surety.”
“Why the seventy per cent?” Thalina asked, hearing that her words were breathless. His touch was sending fire through her veins, undoubtedly because of the vehement call of the Seed.
“I have no data upon the signs of sexual arousal in dragon shifters and am thus assuming that while in the humanoid form, a dragon shifter exhibits similar signs to those found in humans who are not dragon shifters. This is by no means a certainty, though, and my conclusion must be qualified.”
“Your assumption is correct.”
His brows rose in relief. “Then your arousal must be between seven and eight on a scale of ten.” He pursed his lips, clearly confronted by a question.
“What is it?”
“I must consider whether desire is increased in dragon shifters in the same way as in non-shifting humans.”
“It is.”
He was calculating again, but now there was a small smile curving his lips. “Then I must increase the probability of a successful union.”
“And what about your arousal?” Thalina caressed him.
“My arousal remains steady at five on the same scale, an optimal level to provide satisfaction without incurring any unnecessarily impairment of my awareness or responsiveness.”
Maybe it was the dragon in Thalina, but that confession made her determined to push Acion’s arousal rate past ten on that particular chart.
“Only five?” she purred and he nodded. “Let me see what I can do about that.”
* * *
Acion was intrigued. Not only were there secret androids on Incendium, but this one insisted that she was one of the royal family.
The notion was ridiculous. No princess would be permitted to challenge an intruder without protection. Perhaps he was to provide a test of her functionality. It was remarkable to consider that they might have similar assignments, but when he considered how often androids tested enhancements to their functionality, the prospect was clearly likely.
Perhaps there was a plan to replace the legendary sirens of their market with androids. Such a scheme would undoubtedly improve efficiency in servicing clients seeking sexual pleasure and Acion knew it would diminish biological contamination.
This was a possibility that made sense, more sense than her assertion that he was the Carrier of the Seed. He wasn’t a cyborg, and so there couldn’t be a biological facet to his nature, such as would be the case if he were the Carrier of the Seed. No, he’d been trapped for a purpose. She’d been determined to capture him but not injure him, so as to avoid damaging his reactions in any way.
He must be her test.
He should mate with her, as she said she desired, and look for verifying signs of her true nature. An android, of course, would not be able to shift shape and become a dragon. This could explain why she hadn’t done as much already.
Acion had never mated with an android himself, though he had been used to grant pleasure to various mortal Warrior Maidens of Cumae. This android presented him with yet another opportunity to serve by gathering information.
She was attractive and stimulated his reaction, although he had to admit that much of her appeal was her intelligence. She analyzed in a way that he understood perfectly. She was fearless, as he had been programmed to be. They might have been two sides of the same coin.
He supposed that they were.
A feigned role as one of the dragon shifter princesses would explain her access to the security information. Had she been made to resemble Callida? That was the only princess she had named, and might explain her knowledge of Callida’s secret code. Acion launched a subroutine to pull the images of all twelve dragon princesses and compare their features to those of this woman.
Thalina. The conclusion was reached by his facial recognition programming and he verified the result. She certainly resembled the third daughter of King Ouros and Queen Ignita. He would have to continue his investigation to decide why such a course of action had been pursued.
Acion did all of this reasoning by the time Thalina caught his face in her hands, rose to her toes, and touched her lips to his. Acion anticipated a sweet kiss, a gentle beginning to a temperate coupling, but she surprised him. The first touch of her lips was beguiling and left him hungry for more. As soon as he leaned down and caught her around the waist, lifting her against him, her mouth locked over his with unexpected demand. She backed him into the couch, and he stumbled, then fell back upon it. She tumbled atop him, no doubt by design, without breaking her incendiary kiss.
Acion closed his eyes, knowing he had never been kissed with such fervor. He concluded that there was no need to be as gentle as he usually was, not when his partner was as strong as he and unlikely to be injured. He tried to respond in kind to ensure that the test of her abilities was thorough, his need to serve overwhelming all other impulses. She moaned into his mouth and straddled him, the scent of her need feeding his own arousal.
He knew he should have been making observations about the caliber of her programming, the sophistication of her form, the simulation of biological surfaces and reactions. But her tongue was between his teeth, her fingers locked around his head, her breasts crushed against his chest. She kissed him with a savage passion that almost ignited his circuits and certainly drove all calculation from his thoughts. Acion felt as if a fire swept through him, frying all logic and leaving him hungry for more sensation. She wound one leg around his and rubbed her belly against his erection, prompting a reaction that was quicker than any he’d experienced before.
“Kiss me back, Acion,” she growled against his throat, even though he was already doing so. The raw need in her voice sent sparks through him. He caught her buttocks in his hands and rolled on top of her, deepening their kiss and pinning her down. He felt a curious sense of satisfaction when she purred with pleasure and grazed his mouth with the edge of her teeth. She ripped open his shirt in her impatience and her hands roved over his skin. The way she touched him was proprietary, as if he was a pleasure slave commanded to serve her, and Acion extrapolated her desire from that.
He kissed her ear, her neck, the hollow of her throat, the ripe perfection of her breast. He lifted her skirts and slid down the length of her to lick her wet sex. She gasped, surprised in her turn, then parted her legs as his mouth closed over her. The attention to detail in her sexual organs was a clear sign to Acion that he had guessed her intended purpose correctly, for he’d never seen an android that so perfectly replicated a woman, in both shape, design, and function. She was gloriously wet and her labia engorged, her clitoris perfectly sensitive.
Acion feasted upon her, holding her hips so that she was captive to his intimate kiss, and monitored her arousal. It was easily nine on that scale of ten when she sat up and seized him, rolling him to his back again as she tore open his chausses. Her hand was locked around him, her hair wild and her cheeks flushed.
He was astonished to note that his own arousal was in excess of seven.
And that was before she climbed atop him like a warrior queen, claiming him and drawing him deep inside her warmth. He faltered for a moment, shaken by the unprecedented wave of pleasure that rolled through him, then she moved her hips, demanding more. She rode him, holding him captive between her thighs and watching as she insisted upon more and more. She tore off her own chemise, giving him a view of her fine breasts, and he couldn’t resist the temptation. He reached up, cupping one in each palm, teasing the taut nipples with his thumbs, and was proud of her obvious pleasure. She arched her back and moved with greater speed, her slick heat drawing him deeper within her. Acion found his heart racing, his breath coming quickly, his erection harder than it had even been before.
“Still five?” she asked, then bent and kissed his ear. Her tongue rolled in his ear and he closed his eyes, dizzy at the tumult she awakened in him.
“Almost eight,” he admitted.
She clicked her tongue. “The claiming of the Seed merits at least a ten,” she chided and he saw the challenge in her eyes.
He assessed her response. “You are almost at ten.”
She gave him a wicked smile. “I don’t want to be there alone.”
Of course, pleasure should be reciprocal to ensure that clients returned for more.
Even so, Acion wasn’t certain his systems could tolerate a higher reading than he was currently experiencing. His reasoning processes were compromised. He couldn’t think of anything except the woman atop him and the pleasure she was giving him. He was hot. He was agitated. His processes were consumed with combinations and permutations of sexual activity, and an almost frantic need to deduce which would grant this siren the most pleasure.
He reached between them and found the hard bud of her clitoris. He touched it gently with his fingertip, heard her gasp in delight, then knew.
He withdrew his hand enough to remove the tip of his middle finger and launch the small motor. He felt its hum more than he heard it, then pressed the soft vibrating tip, the one that was usually hidden away, against her clitoris.
She gasped and her eyes flew open. She stared at him as the color left her cheeks.
Acion held her gaze, increased the speed slightly and rubbed that vibrating fingertip against her. She moaned, a sound of such capitulation that he felt a primitive pride in his choice.
Then he pinched the clitoris between the vibrating fingertip and his plain index fingertip.
His partner roared. She bucked. She drew him deep inside her by some skill he’d not confronted before, then locked her legs around him. He was captive, snared inside her, barely able to move, as she convulsed and bellowed in her release.
And in the sight of her pleasure, at the mercy of her sensory demand, Acion wanted only more. He caught her around the waist, rolled her to her back and thrust even deeper Heat surged within him, fusing their desires, making the experience of her pleasure as powerful as his own. He was certain that his desire reached a ten, if not exceeding that point on the scale, but he couldn’t stop. He managed two more strokes before the fire raced through him, his mind went blank, and the Seed—if indeed he carried it—was surrendered in an explosive rush.
Then he laid his temple on the couch as his body rhythms returned to normal. It took so much longer than usual that he wondered what had just happened to him. He felt seared, cauterized on the inside…and lighter. Sexual intimacy had never been so extreme an experience for him, and Acion knew there had to be a reason why it had been different this time.
But for the moment, he was too exhausted to consider the riddle.
And that was just as strange.
He needed to recharge and restore. He launched his own rejuvenation sequences without opening his eyes, knowing the nanobots in his system would seek out all places in need of repair.
What was happening to him on Incendium?
Was he changing?
Was it because of his new programming?
Or was it because of this android and some unprecedented abilities she possessed?
Who was her maker?
Acion had insufficient information to make a satisfactory conclusion. His heart skipped with what might have been trepidation—if he had possessed the programming to experience such a sensation.
He had time to realize that the probability of his now having such abilities might be higher than previously before the rejuvenation system slowed his thoughts. Acion was put into a resting state similar to the one humans called sleep, his calculations stilled for the moment.