Burning Love [Flights of Fancy 1] (Siren Publishing Menage Amour) (5 page)

Star finished eating and pushed her plate to the side.

"I hope you don't mind, but I have more questions I'd like to ask."

He smiled at her, mostly because the way her face crinkled into pretty smile lines when she laughed pleased him. "Of course not. As you say, they pay us to talk."

Her brow wrinkled in thought for a moment, then the easy smile returned. She'd done that often enough that he wondered if it was a learned thing, something humans did in negotiations and discussions with some goal in mind as to the impact on the other party.

"I wonder about your pyrokinetic abilities. Do you have other psychic skills?"

"As a people, no, though there are some who have a limited ability you would call telekinesis. They can sometimes move small objects with little mass."

"Can you do that?"

"No, I'm afraid not." Her smile told him nothing of her thoughts. Krell wondered if she found him as attractive as he did her.

He also wondered how his other wives would react to a new addition, particularly an alien.

* * * *

In spite of her insistence that she could find her suite on her own, Krell insisted more strongly that he walk her there after dinner and their talks. As he walked alongside her, she felt a shiver from where her hand touched his arm. He never failed to offer his arm to her as they walked, and Star wondered if it was Hendri custom or something he'd learned from the information sent down from the ship.

The air was hot, almost sweltering, and more heat radiated from Krell's body, but the shivering chill from his touch ran through her again and again. She couldn't help stealing a glance at him now and then as they made idle chatter while walking through the practically bare halls of the building.

Krell chuckled a little. "Human females are very different from Hendri women."

As he spoke, he didn't look at her, but watched straight ahead, as if he knew she would remain by his side. "Come to think of it, we haven't seen any females since we arrived."

"No, you haven't. Our females take care of the home and children."

"So none hold any public positions?"

He hesitated a moment. "I'm not sure you can understand this, Star, but Hendri women don't do anything outside of the home."

"Are they prohibited from doing other things?"

"No, not prohibited in the sense that we have laws setting that standard." He again paused, but she saw him glance toward her for a moment, and Star wondered if he gauged her reaction. "Tradition is the only prohibition, but that runs strong with us."

"It was that way for much of human history, too." She recalled history classes, particularly one taught by Princess Allison, about how woman were treated at various points in the past. "At some times, women were seen as little more than property."

"In some ways, that is the case here, but not all. Many women have a good deal of privilege granted by their husband." He chuckled again. "I cannot see a woman like you tolerating anything less than total independence."

"I think most human women today would feel that way." She paused, thinking about the reality of the Empire. "I should qualify that, though. The Empire of Mankind is very much patriarchal, and women play a very different role than do men."

"How is that?"

"There are very few women in politics outside of the royal family, and Fleet command is dominated by male officers."

He laughed. "What of you and your Captain Davis?"

"I'm a diplomat and the rank is more or less honorary. Captain Davis is a bit unusual, though."

"I can see in my few contacts with her that she's a very strong woman, perhaps even stronger than you."

Star felt her cheeks flush a bit. She realized that she never learned to graciously accept compliments. Even as a middy, she recalled feeling embarrassed when the officers would give her a compliment for a job well done. "Thank you."

"I didn't mean to make you feel uncomfortable, Star."

"No, it's nothing you said, it's just that I get a little embarrassed sometimes."

"You shouldn't." He again looked straight ahead, as if he never doubted she would continue to walk beside him. "You're a very capable diplomat and a very attractive woman."

Heat again flooded her cheeks, and Star wasn't sure what to say in response, but Krell didn't even give her time to answer before he continued.

"I imagine your scientists have learned it already, but we Hendri have multiple spouses." His brow knitted in thought. "I believe you call it polygamy."

"Humans have something similar. Our Emperor has four wives, in fact."

"I see. So a man with several wives is not uncommon for humans, then."

"Well, no, but it's not limited to just men with several wives. A woman can also have more than one husband." She shrugged. "It is more common to see multiple marriages with one man and several women, though."

"Perhaps it's the tradition of the woman caring for the home and children, but a Hendri female with more than one husband is unheard of." Krell frowned. "The Rangor allow that, though."

Something about the trace of distaste in his voice made her focus on the Rangor. "Tell me more about the Rangor. What are they?"

"As I said before, they are little more than higher-order animals."

"I wonder about that. You said yourself they can use tools, and we saw them using weapons in a coordinated manner to carry out an obviously planned raid." Star thought for a moment, considering her diplomatic options. "I'd like for the science officer to have a chance to examine a Rangor close up, and I'd like to meet one, too."

For the first time since she started communicating with Krell, he hesitated before he spoke. She felt the muscles of his arm under her hand tense slightly, and she wasn't totally certain, but she thought his gait stumbled ever so slightly. When he spoke, his voice sounded flat and mechanical, with little inflection.

"I'm not sure that can be arranged. The Rangor are dangerous animals, but I'll look into it."

* * * *

Krell knew this was coming, he just didn't know when. He hoped it would be later rather than sooner, but something he'd said triggered Star to ask to meet the Rangor as soon as possible. As he answered her, he realized his reaction probably fed her curiosity as well, but the time to change that had already passed.

She nodded. "I'd appreciate that."

He managed to bring himself back under control. "I'll see if it can be arranged in a safe way." He needed to change the subject, get her focused on something else, and her shyness was just the tool he needed. "Returning to our earlier discussion, even by Hendri standards, you are a beautiful woman."

The pink flushing of her cheeks told him he'd found the lever to turn her away from the Rangor. "Thank you again."

He waved his free arm in the manner he'd learned indicated dismissal to a human. "You're welcome, but I'm not the one to thank for being lovely."

They reached the door to the suite she shared with the warrior, and again Krell wondered if she and that beast shared a bed. The thought made the power build in him, and he felt his temperature rising in angry response to the idea.

She smiled up at him, but he saw the smile was a forced thing. The smile Star used was the one all diplomats kept in a little box in their mind for use when cordiality was needed, though not felt.

"Thank you for a wonderful dinner and interesting conversation, Krell."

His own smile in return felt perfectly natural to him, though he hated the things he concealed from her. "You are very welcome, and I hope we can share more such evenings together in the future."

Something flickered across the pretty face before him, far too quickly for him to read accurately, and he couldn't decode the meaning. The off-the-shelf smile faltered for an instant, only to snap firmly back into place. "I'd like that very much."

He'd already decided not to push his luck tonight because of the turn in the discussion to the Rangor, but he couldn't help himself. Krell leaned and touched his lips to her cheek gently, brushing them across the tender skin.

The pheromones in her perspiration were radically different from those of Hendri females, as he knew they would be. Despite the differences, the similarities of all carbon-based life were much greater, and the chemicals lingering on Star's skin slammed his brain and organs like a boulder falling from a cliff. Rising desire welled up in his body and mind, threatening to overwhelm him, and Krell fought to maintain control.

This was a battle he couldn't afford to lose. He couldn't risk a negative reaction from her, and the barbarian warrior would be just on the other side of the door, ready to attack. Krell knew he could deal with the physical attack of the human male simply by setting him to burn, but the impact on Star would be bad in the extreme.

She stood, her eyes wide and unblinking as her fingers touched the place on her cheek where his lips had brushed over her skin. Star's breathing came rapid and in shallow gulps.

Krell managed a small smile, and again marveled at how easily it came to his face while looking at her. "Forgive me, Star."

"Is that a Hendri custom?"

"In a way, yes." He hated misleading her, but he had much to conceal.

"Then there is nothing to forgive." The smile that eased its way to her full lips wasn't the stock diplomatic smile now. "I just could have used some warning."

"You're so comfortable with our ways I forget you may not know them all."

"Perhaps that's it." She tapped at the door controls. "Again, thank you for a wonderful evening. Goodnight."

"Goodnight." She turned and went into the room, the door hissing closed behind her.

In spite of Krell catching her totally off guard, Star thought she'd managed to retain some semblance of control when he'd kissed her cheek. She had no time to consider the event, though, because Spence and the science officer waited in the sitting area of the suite.

Spence frowned when he saw her gently rubbing her cheek. "What's wrong?"

The pair obviously wanted something, and this wasn't the place or time to tell anyone about how Krell's brief touch had excited her. "Nothing, but I could ask the same of you two."

He didn't look much happier having her answer than before she spoke, but Spence seemed to relax a little. "Just some things Ensign Harvey found you should know about."

Debi Harvey was even younger than Star, but everyone said she was a genius, and the captain considered Debi among the top scientists on
Daedalus
. She turned her data recorder so Star could see the display, and a picture of a Hendri body appeared in the classical pose Leonardo da Vinci made popular in his works on anatomy.

"The Hendri are really just a simple humanoid variant." Debi pointed to things on the screen as she spoke. "Arms, legs, head, genitals, and all the rest are exactly what we would expect in the gross anatomy picture. Internally, there are also no surprises in the big picture." The image changed to view of the internal organs, the skin fading away to reveal the structures beneath. "Stomach, intestines, lungs, heart, liver, just a single kidney, and what looks amazingly like an appendix."

Star nodded. "OK, so they're a lot like us."

Debi laughed. "A lot more than you might think. We seem to share a good deal of DNA as well, about 70% or so. The idea of sleeping with one probably wouldn't work too well, though. There are, um, mechanical problems."

Spence rolled his eyes. "Now that's way too much information."

Star stifled a giggle. "Alright, they're a lot more like us."

"Right, at least until you get to the brain." Debi touched the buttons on the recorder, and the image zoomed in on the head. "Look here." She pointed at some part of the brain that glowed in a purple hue.

"I have no idea what I'm looking at, Debi." Star smiled. "I flunked biology. Twice."

"That's not brain tissue." Debi touched another button, and the image zoomed in even closer on the glowing structure. "It's metallic, and it's giving off electrical impulses."

"What?"

"Exactly. I have no idea what it is, but it has connections into several areas of the brain, including the frontal cortex and pons." Debi smiled. "It's artificial."

"What does it do? For that matter, what's it doing there?"

"I have no clue. It gets stranger, though. Only males have it."

Star thought about the things Krell said earlier. "You've been allowed to examine females?"

"Just two, but yes. Other than the sexual and reproductive things you'd expect, the females are identical to the males, just like humans. Until you get to the brain and this..." Debi trailed off for a moment, staring at the screen. "Device."

"Have they let you examine a Rangor?"

"No, I asked, but they told me that wouldn't be possible."

Star thought for a moment. She glanced at Spence, and he looked nervous, his arms flexing and bunching as he listened to her and Debi talking.

"We may get that chance. Is the captain aware of this?"

Debi shook her head. "Not yet. I wanted to talk to you first and see if maybe you knew something from your discussions with Krell."

She didn't know what all of this might mean yet, but Star knew it was something the captain needed to know. "We need to talk to the ship." She turned to Spence. "Can we do a secure channel from here, or do we need to go to the landing craft?"

She thought she saw a small smile on Spence's face for a split-second. "I'll get Douglas in here to set it up." He used the communicator on his helmet.

Corporal Douglas quickly set up the secure connection, and soon Star faced Captain Davis. She transmitted the data and explained what Debi had found.

The captain frowned deeply. "And no one there told you anything about this?"

Star swallowed. Rousing her from bed at 0230 didn't help the captain's mood. "No, Ma'am."

"And there's no chance this is some sort of prosthetic device to treat an ailment?"

Debi shook her head. "If that's the case, they have a very high percentage of their male population with treatable brain damage."