Deep (7 page)

"Yes. I can really feel you, although not in the way you can feel me."

The imaginary hand traveled down her neck, pushing aside the collar of her jumpsuit. He stroked her, heightening every nerve running under her skin. Leaving gooseflesh in his wake.

It was like having little lines of electricity shooting through her. She gasped and pressed her bunched fists together in front of her chest.

"I wish..." She paused as another hand slowly made its way down her side, barely touching the side of her breast, over her waist, until it rested on her hip. Her body was alive and waiting.

"You wish what?"

The hand on her throat went down to her breast where it gently cupped her.

"Do you want me to make love to you, Lawn?"

This time she had to open her eyes. She had to see the raw hunger in his eyes. A glance down confirmed what she already knew. A metal arm extending from behind her was gloved within his transparent hand, but she could visibly see his hand touching her breast. Touching it, gently molding it, cupping it. While she watched, he squeezed her nipple just enough to make her shiver. A little further below, his holo erection disappeared into her abdomen.

"Can you?"

"Let me show you. Come to bed."

84

Lawn opened her mouth to answer when Deep disappeared. The metal arms retracted back into the wall an instant later. Dazed, she hurried to take the ladder down to the bedroom.

Communique 5D

To: G.E. Coordinator Millner

All is a go. Buoy is in perfect running order. We are set for the coming year's tour of duty.

Addendum: Building trust and acceptance. Despite the fact that we are compatible, one cannot automatically assume an immediate and trusting friendship.

* * * *

85

Filed Under "Experience"

The lights were dimmed in the bedroom. Lawn hesitated briefly in the doorway before walking slowly toward the bed and the figure standing behind it. Everything felt surreal.

"Let me make love to you, Lawn. Trust me."

"I do trust you. It's just the fact that..."

"That I'm not a real man?" Deep moved to the side of the bed. "Close your eyes, Lawn. Give me a chance. If I can't make you happy, I promise to delete all references from my memory and never broach the subject again."

His memory?

"Deep, are you recording this?"

"No."

"But it'll be on the databanks."

"No," he repeated. "I decide what will be imprinted on the memory coils."

"But if you experience it..."

"I decide what will be imprinted on the memory coils," he reiterated.

She frowned. "There are programs that can rebuild deleted or overwritten files."

smiled. "True. But how can the Bureau find what's never appeared in the first place? I am the ship, Lawn. I make the rules, not follow them."

86

She'd reached the edge of her bed. "Do you also keep your promises?"

He nodded slowly, never taking his eyes off of her. "Yes."

The lights dimmed all the way into darkness, and another light softly glowed directly in front of her. Lawn looked down to see the bed bathed in a pale luminescence. She glanced back up at Deep, but he had vanished.

"Close your eyes."

He was behind her, whispering so as not to alarm her.

"Close your eyes, Lawn, and dream. Imagine. Believe."

Lawn shut her eyes and waited for what he would do next.

Every inch of her skin was prepared for his touch. Every sense was heightened, not knowing what he would do or how he would prove he could make love to her. The not knowing and suspense were drugging her, making her feverish with expectation.

"Can I dream it's really you?"

"As a whole man? Yes. I hoped you would."

A hand began to undo the closures on her jumpsuit. There was no fumbling, just quick, efficient movements. As hands carefully pushed the suit off her shoulders, she felt the fabric slide down her body, finally dropping onto her bare feet.

"When you went into the shower, I couldn't take my eyes off of you."

As he confessed, his hands reached up to lift her breasts.

Warm, rough but not uncomfortably so. She fought not to open her eyes and ruin the fantasy. Thumbs flicked her nipples, arousing them to thick attention. She resisted the urge to touch herself.

87

He guided her down onto the bed that smelled faintly of sandlewood. The man must have read everything about her to know it was her favorite scent.

The linens were warmed. Deep lowered her to the pillow.

In the next instant she felt her arms being wrapped around the second pillow.

"Hug this instead of me."

He brushed the hair out of her face, letting his fingers glide down her neck and shoulders. Sparks ignited under her skin, sending streaks of electricity screaming down to the heat building between her legs.

Lawn felt the sweat break out over her skin as hands teased her skin. Goose bumps rose in the wake of his light caresses. An increasing hunger manifested itself in her lower abdomen and steadily grew more insistent.

"Your body is perfect," he murmured in her ear. "My God, Lawn, you put statues to shame."

He concentrated on her breasts, lifting and molding them while he kept up the relentless attack on her nipples until she could feel the ache increasing between her legs. Moaning softly, Lawn lifted her knees in a vain attempt to curl herself into a little ball.

"Deep!"

His chuckle echoed in her ear. "My beautiful Lawn. What do you want me to do?"

"I don't know," she gasped, whipping her head from side to side. "Anything! Do anything! I don't care!"

88

Warm hands grasped her knees and parted her legs.

Fingers teased down the inside of her thighs, stroking and building the inferno that was burning at her core.

"You're wet for me," his dark voice murmured. "So wet. So sweet."

One hand found her mound, cupped it, and the other hand carefully dipped a finger inside her. It was exquisite torture.

Gasping for breath, Lawn wriggled her hips.

"Do you like that?"

"Yes!"

"Would you like more?"

In the back of her mind, she realized he was dead serious.

He wasn't toying with her. He was honestly working for her pleasure as his sentient brain tried to sort out the pleasurable readings from the painful ones.

"Yes! More, Deep. I want you to—"

Fingers found her clit, and they began to fondle the already aroused nub. A ragged cry tore from her throat as she felt herself already rising toward her fulfillment. Lifting her hips, she was totally unprepared for him to dip his fingers into her weeping entrance. As their rough surface scraped over inflamed nerve endings, her orgasm shuddered through her like an earthquake.

Lawn screamed, nearly blacking out. The hands continued to work her, keeping her on the cusp as shockwaves pounded into her, turning her muscles into jelly.

Minutes later, hours later, days later—she had lost all track of time. As the last of the tremors roiled through her, Lawn felt a delicious lassitude covering her like a soft blanket. The 89

hands withdrew from between her legs, and after brushing the damp hair clinging to her sweaty face, Deep lowered the lights as he faded back into the ship.

"Deep." She unconsciously let go of the pillow and reached out for him. All she encountered was air. "Deep?" She was fighting sleep.

"I'm here, Lawn. I will always be here. Now rest."

Smiling, she did.

Communique 5F

To: G.E. Coordinator Millner

Buoy is in perfect working order. Nothing detected on the scans. Ship is also in perfect working order. No problems or foreseeable complications.

Addendum: We are beginning to fit like puzzle pieces, mind to mind. Interest to interest. Oddly, the physical barriers are no longer an issue or a problem.

* * * *

90

Filed Under "Comfort"

She was cold. Her sense of the here and now told her she was unclothed and on top of her bedcovers, which was why she found herself huddled around her pillow.

She reached down with one hand and fumbled for the coverlet. Almost immediately the thin blanket pulled up over her, bringing with it its automatic integrated heat.

"Thank you."

"You're welcome."

The lighting brightened a bit. Lawn shielded her eyes and squinted at the figure standing a few feet away. If she didn't know any better, she would swear he had a satisfied grin on his holographic face. He still wore that odd, mummy-looking body suit, but the erection was gone.

"How do you feel?" he asked. "Hungry?"

Oddly enough, she did. "Yeah."

"What would you like?"

"I don't know. You know me better than I do. Surprise me." She added a smile. "Again."

He walked over and sat down beside her, turning slightly so he wouldn't have to twist his neck to see her. Lawn found the attempt so humanlike, she wondered how many other humanistic traits she would discover about him in the year to come.

The year to come.

91

A tiny chill ran through her. She tried to cover it up by plumping the pillow into her lap. She should have known better.

frowned slightly. "What's wrong?"

Damn sensors.

"I was thinking." She shrugged. She might as well be upfront and brutally open with him on all things. If not, he would automatically know when something wasn't right with her.

"About what?"

"About what happens to us...in a year. When the year's up."

This time when the smile came back to his face, it wasn't as bright. "That's a year away, Lawn. Don't worry about it."

"Oh, yeah, sure. That's like telling me not to think about a big purple rhinoceros sitting up on the bridge."

glanced upward, then back at her. "Excuse me?"

"What are you thinking of right now?"

"A big purple rhinoceros on the bridge," he answered.

"Bingo." She clutched the pillow tighter as she became serious once more. "Deep, this whole thing has me totally flummoxed."

"What part? You have to be more specific."

She gazed at him wide-eyed. "What part? Jesus, Deep, you look like the ultimate wet dream for any woman, yet you claim to love me."

"Which I do."

"A-and you make love to me with more passion and tenderness than I've ever felt with any other man."

92

"Thank you."

"But you're a ship. And in one year's time, when our year is over, we'll go back to Earth where I'll be put in some position somewhere...but what happens to you?" Biting her lower lip, Lawn cradled her head on top of the pillow. "What happens...to us?"

A moment of pure agony crossed Deep's handsome illusion. If he had been human, Lawn would have guessed he had thought about it long before now.

"Will they commission you to another flight out here with another crew member?"

Hot tears appeared from nowhere and blurred her vision.

Lawn buried her face in the pillow as she fought the jealousy which threatened to eat her alive.

Deep with another woman? For a year?

But maybe he'll be assigned a man. If it's a male crew member, she could live with it. Then again, chances were the Bureau wouldn't tell her anything once she and Deep were back on Earth. Once their mission was accomplished, she would be sent her way, and Deep would be outfitted for his next go-round.

"Here you go."

Raising her face, she saw a tray hovering before her with a bowl of soup and a grilled cheese sandwich.

"Don't tell me."

chuckled. "Chicken soup. Eat up, and I'll keep the conversation going. What would you like to know?"

"Well, for beginners, why do you wear that weird mummy-looking body suit?" She dipped into the soup and blew on the 93

hot liquid before sipping.
Damn.
She should have known the stuff would taste like it had come out of some mother's kitchen. Two spoonfuls, and Lawn found herself shoveling it in.

glanced down at himself. "You didn't specify any direct clothing."

"Oh, so if I asked you to wear nothing at all, that's how you would appear to me?" She added a wink to let him know she was teasing. Deep appeared nonchalant.

"If that's what you want." He waited to see if that was what she would order him to do.

Lawn paused, her mouth full. How would she feel about watching him parade about without a stitch on. Yeah, it would all be synthetic, but as much as the idea was enticing, it might also affect her ability to concentrate at times when she most needed her wits about her.

"How about a jumpsuit? Put on a jumpsuit, Deep."

"Regulation?" At her nod, Deep's attire morphed into the familiar dark blue GEB uniform. Although not as formfitting as the wet wrappings he had been wearing, Lawn felt her heart do a little flip. If it was possible, the man was better looking.

Sensing her approval, Deep grinned again. "Speaking of wearing." His eyes wandered down her nude body, pausing at her lap. "Was that your first orgasm, Lawn?"

His scrutiny and question had an instant effect on her. She could feel her nipples already tightening again.

"Without self-help, yeah."

94

lifted an eyebrow. "Speaking of self-help, you do realize I scanned everything that came aboard, including what was in your carry-all."

The vibrator.

"I figured you had, to make sure I wasn't some crazy lunatic trying to smuggle a bomb onboard."

"Lawn, would you allow me to use your toy on you?"

She nearly choked on her sandwich. "Uh, what?" And here she had been thinking... Good grief, what had she been thinking? That he would stand by and watch her while she used it?

"I'm restricted by what I can do to you. That's a known,"

he continued, lowering his voice until it was a sensuous whisper floating around her, enveloping her. "I can continue to bring you the way I did earlier, but after a while it might become..."

"Boring?" she offered. A warm wetness made its presence known between her thighs, and the hunger clawing in her lower abdomen was becoming increasingly hard to ignore.

God help her, she was already horny for him again.

Wiping her mouth with her napkin, Lawn nodded. "You have my permission. In fact..."

moved closer on the bed. The tray magically drifted to one side, away from the bed.

"In fact, what?"

Instead of answering, she pushed herself away from the bed and walked over to the tiny closet. The vibrator was exactly where she'd left it, hiding in a zippered inner pocket 95

of her duffle bag. Pulling it out, she clutched it in both hands and held it to her chest as she turned around to face him.

"You look incredibly sexy when you do that," Deep told her.

"Do what?"

"Lick your lips. Did you know you lick your lips when you're turned on?"

No, she didn't know that. And the smile he was giving her was making her hotter by the second. Lawn hurried back to the bed where she placed the toy on the sheets between them.

"Would you...make love to me again?"

When he swooped down over her, her imagination refused to let her believe he wasn't real.

Communique 5G

To: G.E. Coordinator Millner

Settling into a routine. All is quiet at this end of the galaxy.

Addendum: Would like to learn chess. Please send program.